Last night 60 Minutes took a hard look at why, in nearly every survey, Denmark ranks as the happiest country in the world. The answer? Expectations. Danes simply don't expect too much from life so normal day to day ups and downs seem better than countries with higher expectations. I think America ranked 23rd.
More proof of the importance for marketer's to spend as much time setting expectations as they do influencing perception. More on this topic here.
Because of the credit crisis, I've been force-fed so much information about the credit industry over the past few months. I'm starting to feel like an expert and I don't like what I'm learning.
The most recent horror story was a cover story in Business Week about companies that are reselling forgiven debts owed by consumers that have successfully declared bankruptcy. That's right, a consumer declares bankruptcy, a credit debt is erased and then a few months later that debt is sold to a debt collector who goes after the consumer for payment. Often, these consumers pay because they're just trying to get their credit back on track or the debts are held over their head as they attempt to secure new loans. This is allowed to happen because credit card companies don't report that the debt has been forgiven (not surprising, there's nothing in it for them) and there's nobody overseeing the process.
In some ways, these companies are doing what drug dealers do; they're exploiting a human weakness for their own gain. That is, they know that people want fast cash. They also know that people don't manage money well and bite off more than they can chew when it comes to easy credit. To them, this is their one and only market opportunity. They hand out easy money and when someone misses a payment or can't pay the balance they swoop in and make their millions (outrageous late fees, service fees, finance charges, etc.)
I'll never say that what they're doing is illegal but I really don't like companies that make their money because people are irresponsible. Should they be allowed to continue what they're doing? Absolutely, it's a free country. But they should also be viewed as just as bad (if not worse) then the cigarette companies in their worst days.
A couple thoughts on raising money.
This is a great deal for the VC. If things go bad they can use equity (ownership of the company) as a backup. If things go well they own equity in an early-stage, high-value company.
Too often what's good for the VC is bad for the entrepreneur.
Accessories. What a great business. I just bought a protective cover for my new iPod Nano. $34.95. You can see a couple samples here.
These things can't cost more than a few cents to produce.
I think it's true that the best new business ideas come from an entrepreneurial person noticing a problem and starting a business around the solution. Often, I fear that we're going to run out of problems and entrepreneurship is going to fade away.
But then I see a ultra-high margin business like this one built around a simple solution and, instead, my fears fade away.
“There is something that happens to a person when they hit that publish" button - you cross a threshold - you move from consumer to producer - you put your intellectual neck on the line and I really think that you aren't the same person after that.” (Mark Oehlert) For more reasons, click here.
My company just held an all day recruiting event for computer science majors from top colleges in the Northeast; 48 students attended. Of the 48, there was 1 that was born in the United States.
What does this say about America and -- more importantly -- does it matter? One thought...
Given the skepticism and short attention span of many young people, it's about time teachers stopped keeping the applications of algebra, calculus and trigonometry a secret. Telling students with artificial attention deficit disorder to "trust me, you're going to need this someday" is unlikely to work. Let's start with easy to understand and cool applications -- flying planes, walking on the moon and building skyscrapers. We can back into the boring stuff.
Not sure...but here's a thought....
New marketing companies leverage things like blogs, web video, targeted emails, etc. Old marketing companies -- at least the really big ones -- do dumb things like advertise during the Super Bowl -- the epitome of wasted ad spending. If there really is something to this new marketing thing, I'm going to bet that, on average, companies that advertise during this year's Super Bowl will see their stock prices decline over the next three years. I'll list a bunch of these companies the day after the Super Bowl. It'll be interesting to see if my theory is right...