Archive
Business Plan for Lakeview Business
Over the past few weeks I have been developing a business plan for a business I would like to open in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago Illinois. It has been quite the learning experience, but I have a lot more to do before it is completed. As it stands, I have a rough business plan generated and a preliminary cash flow statement.
To develop the cash flow statement, I used my extraordinary Excel skills and created a tool that is quite robust. The tool has a multitude of settings including options for new or used equipment, leases, energy, Point-of-sale system, labor, and raw materials, among others. All which can be edited on a granular level, down to the cost of each raw material. Utilizing a bill-of-material, expected sales quantity, and retail price for each item, a revenue stream and cost-of-goods-sold is created to develop a net margin. Along side fixed costs, initial equity infusion, and loan payments, the tool can generate the first eight quarters of cash flow. It is quite the tool if you ask me!
Hopefully in the future I will post the plan here to get some feedback. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day!
Foreign Call Center’s Inherently High Cost
© H3C Technologies Co., Limited
Last month, I spent a significant amount of time talking with representatives at two different RCN call centers; one in the Philippines, and one in the United States. I was trying to get their new invalid URL request hijacking service, also known as PoxFire, removed from my account. The situation spurred me to analyze why call centers are located in foreign countries. I also wanted to review the factors that should be considered when making the decision to export a domestic call center. After coming up with a structure that can be used to determine if a call center could successfully be exported, I applied my theory to RCN’s business model. Finally, I determined if my interactions with RCN supported my theory.
Fixed: RCN Hijacking Mistyped URLs
Late last week, I was having a problem with RCN hijacking my mistyped URLs. I was finally able to get them fixed! This post has two different distinct topics; the situation and how the problem was solved. In the near future I will post a new entry analyzing RCN’s business practices.
*Update – December 31st 2009*
I added a symptoms section and two guaranteed solutions at the bottom of this post.
Richard J. Durbin’s Response
I just received a message from one of my Senators, Richard Durbin, in response to the letter I sent him.
The World According To Monsanto
The World According to Monsanto is a much watch video about GMOs and Monsanto Corporation. See below or download the torrent for a better quality version you can play anywhere.
ERP and the Business of Change
I saw an article over at SmartChange™ about ERP and the Business of Change. It got me thinking of the culture and business practices I witnessed at my last job at USG. All three main points Marcelino Sanchez reviewed hit very close to home.
Individual Change… An individual may be confronted with a new user interface, a new “best practice”, a different way to make decisions, or any number of new requirements. When this is the case, individuals will tend to experience one or more of the following five key factors: fear, anxiety, confusion, loss of control, or erosion of power or influence in the organization. The more an individual feels any of these emotions, the less likely they are to accept the new way of doing things. Lack of acceptance will diminish or delay the benefits of the ERP effort…
ED HAYES 