For better marketing think Media Cycling

I have been trying to decipher online marketing for a long time and although in theory everything that I now know works, in reality, every business need is different when it comes to social advertising. The truth is that online advertising isn’t easy, unless you have thousands and in some cases millions of dollars in advertising budget.  So the question is really about how do you, a small business, leverage the free accounts and services you have available to you and use them successfully to earn customers?

Below is a list of profiles (assets) you might already have that are free to use and how maybe combining them can give you some leverage regardless of what campaign goal you might have. Is all about getting more exposure and more likes or followers, but your true bottom line is to get more welcoming recipients of your information.

 

Niche Apps

Facebook is huge in terms of daily users yet not every social website or app needs such a large amount of profiles to be successful and beneficial to you.  Websites or Apps like Instagram, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Studio, Tumbler and even Fiverr can do a lot for your business.  Find the closest related to your niche market and increase awareness to your brand or services in a non-pitchy way. You do this by simply taking the native use of the platform in mind, Instagram for example is king with foodies while Studio is more of scenery and or motivational quotes layered over simple background images… the goal with either is to simply put out content with your signature on it building awareness. Websites like OppenUp, allow you to add to your team by hiring in a creative way and engaging your market with something as simple as hiring. If you can do motivational quotes or relate to food or clothing accessories on Instagram, well then you’re better off!

Also, always consider your website and or app as a social media tool, if your site or app is not driving more customers you have no purpose for it.

 

More popular sites

As I mentioned, Facebook is this generation’s Myspace (in technology each decade is a full generation) but you also have social gains like LinkedIn, Google (not specifically +) and Twitter.   Just like with smaller ones, is all about knowing who uses the platform, what times, and what they are looking for. Always remember that they are not there for you, you have to convince them though that you are there for them.

In order to simplify your efforts and improve your ROI, you need to combine these assets into one ad campaign with multiple legs and in essence bombarding your audience with the same message in every platform at once.

Create a campaign with one goal in mind such as information, spreading word about a coupon code, holiday sales, event, season, service, how to, blog or product introduction with a simple message that can be used in all platforms because your fan in one site will most likely be your follower as well in another.

 

Example of Media Cycling

I will use me writing this blog entry as an example. Now considering the social media tools I currently use: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Studio, OppenUp and Blogger I can promote this blog entry through them by cycling the posts through them.

Most picture apps will generate a duplicate edited version of a picture which if used right can drive readers to my blog post, so I will always try to put a picture in my entries. Having a picture allows me to post this on blogger with a caption on it using this post’s title, then on Instagram I can post it or I can take a picture of my lunch and comment how I’m eating this delicious meal while writing a blog on combining social media efforts and add a link to the post in the picture comment on Instagram or Studio.  While I’m posting the original blog entry, Blogger allows me to instantly share with my Google+ friends so I can easily share a link and a description directly targeting those who I think would read it or know someone who would benefit from it. Pinterest allows you to target a specific website link as long as it has a picture to pin onto a board. I will pin the picture in this blog entry onto a niche board such as “internet things” or “marketing tips”  or even something as simple as a board titled “useful” or since it has to do with pictures I can pin it onto “photography”.  OppenUp is a hiring platform that uses social networking and video used by creative people in traditional job sectors so I might be able to link the website’s followers in twitter with a “Special Report: For better marketing think "Media Cycling" add a link and a few hashtags like #oppenup #creative & #marketing. My Facebook profile has a good number of dedicated fans, small list but amazing people so I know that if I post something they like I encourage them to read versus liking the post because is about giving them information not me gaining likes. In Facebook what I will most likely do is post a picture of something funny and mentioned a by the way, I just wrote another blog entry with a link…and that’s it. If I can make my Facebook friends laugh a bit I’m happy.

Does this help? Do you have any questions?

Please feel free to leave comments, email me and or visit Unthink.Me for information and services we offer J

 

Humberto Valle | Marketer & Entrepreneur

Unthink Me, Chief Creative

 

For better marketing think Media Cycling

I have been trying to decipher online marketing for a long time and although in theory everything that I now know works, in reality, every business need is different when it comes to social advertising. The truth is that online advertising isn’t easy, unless you have thousands and in some cases millions of dollars in advertising budget.  So the question is really about how do you, a small business, leverage the free accounts and services you have available to you and use them successfully to earn customers?

Below is a list of profiles (assets) you might already have that are free to use and how maybe combining them can give you some leverage regardless of what campaign goal you might have. Is all about getting more exposure and more likes or followers, but your true bottom line is to get more welcoming recipients of your information.

 

Niche Apps

Facebook is huge in terms of daily users yet not every social website or app needs such a large amount of profiles to be successful and beneficial to you.  Websites or Apps like Instagram, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Studio, Tumbler and even Fiverr can do a lot for your business.  Find the closest related to your niche market and increase awareness to your brand or services in a non-pitchy way. You do this by simply taking the native use of the platform in mind, Instagram for example is king with foodies while Studio is more of scenery and or motivational quotes layered over simple background images… the goal with either is to simply put out content with your signature on it building awareness. Websites like OppenUp, allow you to add to your team by hiring in a creative way and engaging your market with something as simple as hiring. If you can do motivational quotes or relate to food or clothing accessories on Instagram, well then you’re better off!

Also, always consider your website and or app as a social media tool, if your site or app is not driving more customers you have no purpose for it.

 

More popular sites

As I mentioned, Facebook is this generation’s Myspace (in technology each decade is a full generation) but you also have social gains like LinkedIn, Google (not specifically +) and Twitter.   Just like with smaller ones, is all about knowing who uses the platform, what times, and what they are looking for. Always remember that they are not there for you, you have to convince them though that you are there for them.

In order to simplify your efforts and improve your ROI, you need to combine these assets into one ad campaign with multiple legs and in essence bombarding your audience with the same message in every platform at once.

Create a campaign with one goal in mind such as information, spreading word about a coupon code, holiday sales, event, season, service, how to, blog or product introduction with a simple message that can be used in all platforms because your fan in one site will most likely be your follower as well in another.

 

Example of Media Cycling

I will use me writing this blog entry as an example. Now considering the social media tools I currently use: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Studio, OppenUp and Blogger I can promote this blog entry through them by cycling the posts through them.

Most picture apps will generate a duplicate edited version of a picture which if used right can drive readers to my blog post, so I will always try to put a picture in my entries. Having a picture allows me to post this on blogger with a caption on it using this post’s title, then on Instagram I can post it or I can take a picture of my lunch and comment how I’m eating this delicious meal while writing a blog on combining social media efforts and add a link to the post in the picture comment on Instagram or Studio.  While I’m posting the original blog entry, Blogger allows me to instantly share with my Google+ friends so I can easily share a link and a description directly targeting those who I think would read it or know someone who would benefit from it. Pinterest allows you to target a specific website link as long as it has a picture to pin onto a board. I will pin the picture in this blog entry onto a niche board such as “internet things” or “marketing tips”  or even something as simple as a board titled “useful” or since it has to do with pictures I can pin it onto “photography”.  OppenUp is a hiring platform that uses social networking and video used by creative people in traditional job sectors so I might be able to link the website’s followers in twitter with a “Special Report: For better marketing think "Media Cycling" add a link and a few hashtags like #oppenup #creative & #marketing. My Facebook profile has a good number of dedicated fans, small list but amazing people so I know that if I post something they like I encourage them to read versus liking the post because is about giving them information not me gaining likes. In Facebook what I will most likely do is post a picture of something funny and mentioned a by the way, I just wrote another blog entry with a link…and that’s it. If I can make my Facebook friends laugh a bit I’m happy.

Does this help? Do you have any questions?

Please feel free to leave comments, email me and or visit Unthink.Me for information and services we offer J

 

Humberto Valle | Marketer & Entrepreneur

Unthink Me, Chief Creative

 

Letter from a CEO

To my team;

The one thing that successful companies have in common is that they have the ability to see when the time is right to reinvent themselves and be agile enough to do so. HP did it, Apple did it, and although I am not comparing our humble startup as those in the books with Apple I have to assume that the reasons that pushed the to pivot apply to any size company and apply to us.  I think is time we pivot our company from our grassroots and change the trajectory of whats to come.

Is not about being able to find a job, is not about the technology behind our company and is definitely not about how can we better market than the evil Monster.com or algorithms that crawl the web! is about providing the people who most need an escape from the oppression of what those older than us have laid for us to use and giving the people the ability to do what they love even if it is for somebody else.

Video I continue to believe is the closest we will get for a while to directly bringing two people together and bridging the distance between them. Moving forward we need to embrace that there is no sex in our product, finding a job is not hobby and there is definitely no way we are capitalizing from those in dire need of income. But we have to make a living and if we continue the way we are we might be out of business sooner than later because we there is no way we can compete with such monsters in their own game. We need to reinvent what OppenUp stands for and connect with that our users think and believe.

Because is not about the computer, or the video, or even the ability to leverage each other for jobs openly, but it is all about being different. Our product is easily understood and valued dearly by those who take risks and step up to challenges and are willing to work hard for what they want. Our product is for those that resemble the die hards of Apple, they thought different and do things differently.
I believe Apple made the world a better place with the life patterns that they so forcefully engraved in our lives with their chaotic business operations, the rise of Pixar, the universal remote control and even the fact that I am writing this on my Mac. I believe that OppenUp can truly make the world a better place by giving people that opportunity to escape their harsh realities and go for what they want to do by simply pouring their hearts out to those who have the power to invite them over and join their efforts.  OppenUp is for the creatives and the rebels. For the different.


###
Humberto Valle, CEO
www.OppenUp.com

Pay attention to mobile!

Is almost time to re-evaluate your marketing strategies for the 2014 year. Let's make sure you start by noticing (if you haven't yet) that mobile is where you out to be.  Market trends have shown a steady rise of mobile advertising and mobile based businesses. 

Everybody and their mothers use their cellphones for almost everything. All the time!  But there is a lot of noise online so ensuring that your mobile website or ad doesn't scare away potential customers you must focus on simplicity and ease of use.  Small screens means the real estate for advertising becomes more valuable and critical for your business. Don't waste your money and your customers patience with mediocre efforts or pushy sales tactics. 

Ask yourself: 

Do I have a responsive website? 

Is my content relevant to the media platform I'm using? 

Do I have pictures? Are they relevant? 

Does my consumer enjoy reading? visuals? 

Would they want a prize or freebie?

Have I personally used the platform? or experienced the process myself?

Think about mobile access the primary information point between you and your market with desktop browsing being an alternative often ignored. User experience is key for small businesses because consumers are often referred to your local shoppe by another local customer or Google you on the go looking for somewhere quick to find whatever you offer, and if you have a crappy website they'll go back to their map and check out the next one.

Stay healthy :)
Diana Valle, Unthink.me

Business Consultation

Special Report: 5 tips to land your dream job fast.

Before launching OppenUp, a passion of ours was helping people get hired but we never focused on skillsets or making the perfect resume. The reason why most job seekers can’t land a job is because they can’t make it past the application and into an interview. I’m sure you have heard “I have gotten every job I have interviewed for” but out of how many applications? After how long? Well is all about exposure and making true connections with those making the hiring decision, here are some simple rules that will help you land your dream job.

1.       Stop using traditional job sites like Jobing.com and Monster.com. Sites like these don’t care about you getting a job but only about advertising them, instead use websites like LinkedIn, Twitter, About.me and Freelancing sites like Elance.com and Odesk.com

Example: Use LinkedIn or Twitter to get in front of decision makers for companies you would be great at. Introduce yourself and engage with them through genuine responses to their posts or tweets, wait for responses and then provide yet another genuine response.. Then thank them publicly for their quick response or valuable feedback. Then go for the JOB by asking about any positions that might not yet be posted publicly…

2.       Stop using your resume. Resumes are very formal and dry! Try exposing your personality and skills that might be a bit quirky for a resume but noteworthy to a certain employer. Think about it this way, once you get hired you won’t behave the way you do in an interview and a resume is just that, a very formal and awkward situation that everyone hates. Upload videos to sites like OppenUp.com and Youtube.com for a searchable video resume/marketing tool for yourself. Video instantly allows us to connect with someone, and because people hire people video is the closest to getting to an interview from the get go.

3.       Develop your brand. Those who fail getting hired fast is because they can’t stand out from the crowd. People remember quirkiness, skills and humor.  Hiring managers are people and they remember key words for the positions they are looking to fill, so pick a short sentence or keyword to follow your name, nickname, or user profile in sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and OppenUp.com – Depending on the job you are after titles might be more effective than others, try calling yourself an expert, author or professional… (Tip: Thanks to social media, now everyone is an author).

4.       Send a basket of goodies.

Anything that helps get your name truly remembered is worth doing, a small basket for example is often does the trick and can be filled with a cool pen, a note pad, chocolate, Red Bull, or gourmet coffee or other goodies that might help the hiring manager or HR person make it through the day. Have a copy of your resume neatly rolled and part of the basket as well as your contact information, a sticky note works wonders! Do your homework for a bigger impression on them.

5.       Make new friends. If you know the company you wish for is big on employee referrals, take your efforts to social media and follow or like individuals who already work there. You can also join groups in Facebook as some companies have meetups and social groups there. Once you find them simply ask how the company culture is and briefly share your expertise and experiences and ask what it takes to be referred by someone there for a current job opening. Most people will offer to refer you if you made a good impression but if the person doesn’t then look for another employee. This is often the most effective, especially for companies big on company  culture.

Using resumes and sending out emails is no longer effective and people even renting billboards; if you want to compete with other candidates you must get out there as well but this tips will help you stand out and land a great job.
Please send me an email at Humberto@OppenUp.com with questions and as always I love getting updates once you get hired!

Humberto Valle, CEO

www.OppenUp.com

Contact Now

Over your head?

Are you over your head? Starting a business is hard and only a few try it. Be proud of what you are doing because you're one of the few to go after their dreams.

There is not one right way of doing things, be creative and have fun.

Happy Entrepreneurship

www.unthink.me

Business Consultation

Introduction to the new Public Relations

I have recently read several blog posts, on sites that I don't see worth mentioning, that speak about how Public Relations (PR) is not marketing and how everything you thought you know about marketing is now obsolete. Most of these articles being published are coming from people who call themselves "Gurus" but have no real application, and so their message about how you should forget about PR, press releases, billboards, blogs and should invest in API's and pay per clicks. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. 

Public Relations is the new Marketing and actually shifts the entire industry into a sort of Reputation Management paradigm.

If you want to have a successful business you should avoid API's, pay per clicks and even paid for leads for email generation because depending on these tactics means that you must continue to grow your budget for this purposes as you grow versus having an organic growth that allows for more profits regardless of your sales increase; here are some new rules for the new Marketing + Public Relations Era = Reputation Management. 

Marketing is not about advertising anymore.

A new generation of multibillion dollar brands like Facebook, Twitter, AirBnb, Evernote, and countless others - they have figured out how to spend very little on marketing with a higher success rate than most companies who hire public relation experts and advertising campaigns. They engage their consumers with almost free services out there available to them and available to you!  Here are some new rules that will save you money and generate more sales online and offline: 

1. Website - KISS IT (Keep It Simple Stupid) Your website should not be crowded. 

2. Blogs are your new best friends- commit to sharing your companies growth stories, customer success stories, how your brand mitigated a catastrophe, your recipes or product hack ideas, suggestions on how to save money, scavenger hunts, etc. 

ENGAGE YOUR CLIENTS. 

3. Customers are now Clients. Treat them each time like they are your neighbors and you expect to see them every single day- make the best impression you can. 

4. Look for strategic partnerships with other legitimate websites that are relevant to your clients and provide a "backlink" in your website, have them do the same. 

(backlinks help Google determine who is more relevant and legitimate than others" 

5. Take a survey with questions that will help you find out who is your typical customers and write a short story about them - where they come from, what he/she likes, if they go to school what do they study, who their friends might be- based on this one persona story develop the content for your website, ads, and even the way your store, packaging and brand looks. 

Always aim for the highest customer service you can deliver.

If you can target the specific persona of your clients, you will be able to tap into his/her interests outside of when they are not in your website or store such as hobbies, what their friends might like, what he/she might gift for a birthday, how often they might buy something, etc.. ultimately helping you target your words towards him/her to buy more often and little by little all your customers can be a off-form of the same persona you sell to. 

Happy Selling
Humberto Valle, Strategist
www.unthink.me

STOP HIRING SEO SERVICES AND IMPROVE PAGE RANKING

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a method used to make any website easily and organically findable through Google. ( I refer to only Google because I love their products and because other search sites wish they were Google, so if they ever catch up this would apply to them anyway.) SEO is something every business owner must consider Whether you own a brick and mortar store or an internet business you must play by the rules because you can actually be punished by trying to trick the system, Google’s complex algorithm.

STOP HIRING SEO SERVICES

You have seen them, there are many who sell you promises of becoming the top search result for a price and many of you write them blank checks for it to then eventually realize is only a short lived result. I  have encountered many “SEO experts” and website owners who claimed to have cracked Google’s algorithm and a few honest experts who will assure that you will not be able to sustain long term high ranking with SEO services.

INSTEAD your goal should be the same as Google’s:  How do I make sure that a website, my website, is considered legitimate by search engines and by those searching?

Imagine a website being the same as your brick and mortar store… When picking a location you consider things like foot traffic, accessibility, nearby businesses and competitors as well as the demographics of the community…A website is the exact same thing just on digital format and the same way you build exposure and community of customers for a brick and mortar store is the same as for a website, focus on community engagement.  

Improve your SEO (page ranking) in Google by doing things like:

      1.  Creating multiple YouTube videos for your business, and describe them with what you would expect a search to type as title (maximum of 3 minutes)

      2.  Brevity- in marketing this is key. 140 characters in Twitter is too long, aim for 110. Put your business in Google maps with specific descriptions. Same goes for Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ (always sign off with a link to your site in each post)

      3. Add full length descriptions to images used in your site. Visits to any website often result from the “images” results rather than text results, but they are ranked the same.

      4. Create blogs only if you are willing and able to commit.

      5. Engage with your readers and thank them for their engagement and or lessons learned from them.

      6.  Constantly update your website with key words and relevant  information.

      7. Have relationships with other business, particularly websites that are also legitimate and have a link to your site in theirs as well as from yours to them.

      8.  Don’t jam too many keywords in your website’s content, instead sprinkle key words throughout your different platforms.

      9. Be creative for mundane efforts, when hiring use sites like OppenUp.com rather than Monster.com.

      10. Use Facebook not as social marketing platform but as a free, public and easily found micro-blog page used only for customer complaints. (this sounds weird but it works, make your problem solving and ordinary business troubles public as marketing for  your company culture)

Maintain a highly effective website that generates you sales by committing to relevance and community engagement, not get SEO rich quick schemes.

Happy Marketing 

Humberto Valle (www.unthink.me)

customer vs. client - is there a difference?

I attended a lunch presentation last week covering the first steps of building the content and path for your business plan. I loved it, I think it had great material but there was one thing that a lot of the audience members kept bringing up and I didn’t see the presenter react to it at all or correct those asking about attaining customers as a business and consultants asking for clients. What’s the difference?

Well there used to be a marginal difference a many years ago when a front store would simply consider a buyer a customer and that was the relationship you could always expect.. You buy something and as soon as you exchange valuables the transaction is over, whether you knew the customer personally or not they were your customers. Clients where reserved to more professional on-going services where transactions were not as simple as a simple one time exchange.

 

That changed since the creation of the world wide web.

 

Ever since the creation of instant messaging, global online data consumption successful businesses have adopted the concept of building client relationships for their stores and services.

A client is someone who has done their research on you and your products and services, someone who has asked for referrals, scoped the place, checked out the quality of what you do, and has somehow been exposed to your brand, someone who deserves your honesty and engagement. A client is someone who has ongoing buying relationship from you. Does this describe a customer? Yes it does. The difference is social media. A customer who uses social media for referrals, validation and build their confidence that they made the right choice in buying from you rather than someone else, they are your ongoing clients and without them you have no business.

 

When you start seeing your customers as clients your business will definitely benefit in form of increased sales and overall satisfaction.

Darwin is wrong

Life is not about finding yourself is about reclaiming who you are meant to be. #unthink 

-Humberto Valle #unthink

www.unthink.me

Unthink Hiring Services

Company culture is extremely important yet not many companies acknowledge it or know such a phrase even exists! 


When we merged two companies, my Unthink Business Consulting with HCI Recruiting we did so with one specific goal in mind: To provide a level of fairness to both the hiring companies and those wanting work within those companies.  The reason besides personal is more than obvious, we spend the majority of our life working whether that is from home, the office or even the beach. The harsher reality??? 

The vast majority of workers spent their day breaking their 
minds and backs for someone else. 

Is that simple... Unthink Recruiting intercepts all the resumes a company gets and we evaluate them instead of their H.R. because we understand that many Human Resources teams don't specialize in understanding the value of a potential new hire they're focus is to simply maintain the current workforce, but hiring is thrown to them as an additional painful task. 

By hiring Unthink Recruiting, companies get a company culture evaluation so that H.R. knows what might work best with them as far as motivation and quality dedication but also to know who to hire. After we evaluate all the resumes and applications, we spend the time talking to them and evaluating them and only send the best possible hires.  Turning a common hire into an amazing new asset for the company. 

Some perks we have seen trend among companies we hire include: 


Increased employee retention. 
Higher quality output
Increased dependability and Collaboration

I don't have to say that these 3 products equal to a ton of savings for any business. 

Click below to

Schedule a meeting today 

AZ startup makes hiring easy.

An Avondale/Chandler, AZ startup focused on hiring for company culture, OppenUp, is aiming to change the way we find and apply to jobs.

Many recruiting firms and even technology giants such as Google understand the power and value of culture fit as a decision for hiring additional team members. Some job search platforms create algorithms to match candidates with a company as if it was that black and white.  If OppenUp’s process works as promised, it could help small companies and even those like Google make quicker hiring decisions that currently costs companies thousands of dollars per position filled.

OppenUp is built around transparency and social referral application process that helps

companies filter candidates faster with a less paper more human approach. The team of seasoned entrepreneurs operate out of Desarrollo inside InfusionSoft, a technology company that helps small businesses grow with marketing technology.

Features include:

·       Companies drive their work culture by hiring driven quirky individuals willing to step outside the box to accomplish their goals.  

·       Applicants who apply through OppenUp, don’t fill out applications and instead simply record themselves answering questions mocking an interview.

·       Applications are easily shared with departments for a quicker review process, no more 2^nd or 3^rd interviews!

·       Companies get a sneak preview of each candidate’s social network for more transparency.

·       Companies can filter applicants based on their relative proximity to the job location.

·       Applicants can share their video applications and get social validation that can be seen by employers and filter by it.

·       Hiring managers can sort through videos on the go in an entertaining yet effective new way. 

The company is currently operating under
Desarrollo incubator & InfusionSoft.com

Through customer validation the team led by the company’s co-founder and CEO, Humberto Valle, quickly found out that this type of service works best with startups and technologies companies who on average value and enforce their company culture more than other companies but works with most businesses with teams in place. 
“Our goal is to make things easier for the applicant by focusing in what makes us great, definitely not the resume” 

Valle continues, “OppenUp offers different perks to each company depending on company needs, we really tried to have an open ecosystem focused in getting people hired in a very simple way.” 

OppenUp is working with a couple of large companies right now trying to improve their technology and service for everyone. A dental franchise loves being able to recruit their front desk managers and love seeing a candidates through their video application right from the get go. “A local business uses it to promote their store while offering a store manager position, very clever!” Valle says this is more than welcomed, “We encourage our clients to get creative, I mean they can simply post a job or participate in the video action and use it to engage their communities by doing something to mundane as filling a position.”  

Humberto Valle and two other computer engineers are the only full time employees and co-founders of the young company. OppenUp is leveraging their small team by offering agile one on one services with companies and find out what they can do to make their process even better.  The team is all working for equity only until the site can sustain the paid employment of the founders completely through growth or investment.

Humberto’s background includes three professional degrees with his management experience leading to the realization that the recruiting process needed improvement to serve the economy but shift along with the new generation of work culture driven by new, younger, entrepreneurs. Part of the ‘organic’ growth as they call it is partnering with cities to offer packages to new businesses in certain cities. “Anything we can do to help people in the community, any community.”

The team making it all happen here at OppenUp. 

networking 101

I don't think there is a clear line for how to make the right business impression from a networking event, but there are a few rules we all should follow.

1. never ask for a favor in the first intro

2. always listen to full extent and offer any kind of value to the person before.

3. one good solid lead is better than 30 business cards from an event... so make relations not just connections.

4. follow up immediately the next day to be taken seriously... don't wait a week. 

any thoughts? corrections or additions?

Happy Networking

Facebook Unthink

Humberto Valle

Unthink.me

The IPhone is now PERFECT.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

September 18, 2013 was the day that Apple reinvented its own phone. As consumers await eagerly for the release of their to be new IPhones, the drama  has been unfolding around the most talked about release from Apple in years, their all new operating system iOS7.

"If you're coming brand new to iOS 7 and have been ignoring the Internet for the past three months, you're going to be in for a visual shock," wrote Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch.

Shocking is the most accurate way to describe the update, but I have to say that the IPhone is now perfect as Apple has managed to seamlessly improve the functionality of their flagship phones while keeping the clean and simple aesthetics that has provided them with a competitive differentiation for the past decades.

As you might know you, Apple has been battling Android in and out of the court rooms for years and this dramatic change is a test on the market as they try to leverage their brand power with the functionality of Android.

I come from using Android all my adult life and just recently acquired an IPhone 5 which took me on a bitter sweet journey; I had a huge learning curve for the use of the Apple phone but immediately became aware that the simplicity it offers is remarkable. You have a smart phone without the clutter and for an entrepreneur and business person like myself this is of out most value. The now old iOS version though did lack a lot of the perks that Android provides such as lock screen controls, pull down control menu, larger keys and internet interaction.  Even after purchasing my first IPhone a few months ago, wanting to try something different, I did feel like I had made a huge mistake and preached that the Samsung Galaxy S4 was still a better purchase for most smart phone users because you did miss out on a lot of  effective and quirky features, but now I can say that Apple’s product is much,  much better.

If you have only used Apple operating systems you will have to unthink all you know about your IPhone, but the rewards will be great and will make your life a lot easier with quick engagements and added features such the pull up/down menus.  

"The IPhone is now perfect." - Humberto Valle

Hobby Lobby closing all stores!?

Hobby Lobby Founder-May Close ALL Stores

Hobby Lobby May Close.
David Sloan “The wisdom that comes from above is, first, pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity.” – James 3:17
By David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames.. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God’s word.

From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.

We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest.

We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.

But now, our government threatens to change all of that.

A new government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs.
It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one.

If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.
Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy.
Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running.
Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs.It’s not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true.
The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief.

So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court,
but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.

My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult.
The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American and no American business should have to make.

The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christianorganizations including the Catholic church.

Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on to all your contacts.
Sincerely,
David Green
CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

Global Strategy, intro

A global strategy is implemented when a company with multiple business units across the globe mandates what and how each of the units is to operate its business, having a centralized decision making location. Multi-domestic strategy differs greatly from this global strategy because it allows each independent business unit to operate a bit different than the each other for benefit of a more agile decision making and customization of the customers experience through service and products. We sometimes even see results of Multi-domestic strategies when a chain name varies slightly from location to location.  

The reasons a firm might have to expand internationally, assuming this is a brick and mortar based company is that one of emerging markets. As the global trade is facilitated there is opportunity creation and markets to stake; this is obviously assuming also if the company has conquered the majority of the local market and is not at a great risk of losing shares by focusing its efforts elsewhere.  For web based companies this is not necessary a need but an organic feature of the firm. If you have a website and conduct your business primarily through it you are technically reaching out to the global audience which means you need to ensure that you apply maybe both of the strategies to ensure that your content and product features target a wide audience regardless of where you are. This is a foundation of the economic system of a web based environment, for example I have a particular experience for startups, mostly online startups, and regardless of the name, business model and demographic reach as soon as beta testing site or actual platform is launched we usually get bombarded with emails from providers of random digital services some legitimate and some maybe not so much but often times they come from places in Europe and not necessarily the U.S. alone or even the hyper-local market. 

Rethinking Business Schools

"Schools are fostering short term thinking and promote a fake sense of ability."

Schools or management and entrepreneurship need to understand that, there needs to be a “lab” for students to truly learn, forget about white papers and promote damaging confidence by throwing students into the work force. Schools are fostering short term thinking and promote a fake sense of ability. Yes, just like doctors entrepreneurs, MBAs, any business students must learn basic knowledge to know how the global economic system works but is when those basics become the center focus of the educational program that graduates earn degrees with no real world values from a piece of paper.

Check out what creativity can get you :) education alone as it stands right now can't guarantee this but creativity and hard work can.