Monthly Archives: April 2009

An Amazing Collaboration via Youtube

Posted by on April 19, 2009 No comments

On April 15, 2009 several members of the world’s most renowned orchestras as well as amateur musicians selected by the Youtube community got together to form the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. After working together online for 9 months, everyone flew into New York City two days before the event to practice together for the first time in person. Many found it bizarre to be finally meeting their fellow musicians in the flesh.

Over 96 professional and amateur musicians from 30+ countries and territories on six continents representing 26 different instruments performed at the Carnegie Hall event.

Pricing & Cost Curves

Posted by on April 10, 2009 No comments

One of the most befuddling questions for an entrepreneur to solve is the matter of pricing. How do you know how much to charge a customer?

Most entrepreneurs arrive at the pricing figure by looking at their own production costs and then charging a percentage above that (profit margin). The problem with this method is the price could be totally off base from what customers are willing to pay as costs vary from producer to producer. You may simply have an inefficient system and that is why your costs are high, forcing you to charge more than industry average.

Another common method is to simply look at what competitors are charging and then choosing a position within or outside of that range. While this is a much better method, it only takes into account the present and successful entrepreneurship is all about foresight. Entrepreneurs should also look ahead to see where the industry is moving towards since improvements will put pressure on the cost curve.

cost-curve

Taiwan’s Gold Mining Past

Posted by on April 8, 2009 No comments

goldmining

Industries come and go … in this case, Taiwan’s northern shores had to transform itself after all the gold had gone. Jiu Fen’s gold rush actually started in 1893 and was exploited by the Japanese. It ended abruptly in 1971 and the once flourishing village became an empty town.

It wasn’t until 1990 that the town’s dramatic slopes that plunge into the ocean and quaint tea houses was rediscovered when the movie “The City of Sadness” was shot there. Having no gold left, the inhabitants set to transform the village into a haven for tourists who wanted to touch the past instead.

juifen

What about you? What do you have or do that has gone past its date of usefulness? How are you reinventing yourself?