Archive for Israpreneur
Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Israpreneur
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Today marks the one year anniversary to the very first post on this blog! When I first launched this blog the goal was to become a sort of forum where english speaking entrepreneurs can come together and give advice and help each other out because of the current economic situation. If you read the very first post you will see that I was hoping to have a lot of participation and to have many people writing articles and to share their wealth of knowledge. What actually ended up happenning is that 99% of the posts are written by me and just a tiny fraction by Dov Gordon and others.
The Good news is is that in just a year we have seen some nice growth in terms of subscribers to the blog as well as monthly readers and this continues to grow.
The fact that we don’t have more people writing articles for this blog is mainly my fault since I haven’t been actively going after other writers, but in the next 12 months I would love to see this blog grow from just me abnd Dov to 6-8 writers. So if you have something you feel would add to our readers then please send me an email at editor@israpreneur.com and I would love to post it! And who knows, maybe you will become a weekly writer for us.
Happy Chanukah and Happy Anniversary!
Nachum Kligman
Video: Israel: Leader of Business Innovation (NBC)
Posted by: | CommentsThe Video Speaks For Itself 
Be Proud!
Shana Tova to all our Israpreneur readers
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Shana Tova to all our readers! This year, for the first time, and with the sincere pushing of my wife, I will be going to Uman for Rosh HaShana. So I will be off line for a few days, but on behalf of Israpreneur, I wanted to wish everyone a very happy New Year and from a business standpoint may this year e a year full of blessings and success for everyone!
Video: Great Israeli invention for a cross between a bicycle and a stroller
Posted by: | CommentsCheck out this cool invention, perfect for Mothers. A cross between a bicyle and a stroller. Created by a company in Israel with offices in both Israel and the Netherlands. Watch the video below and check them out here.
Before you start your business, know what your business model is
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Now here is a crazy thought! How about knowing how your going to make money before starting a business? Crazy right? I mean what does making money have to do with business?
And that is why the majority of start-ups become finish-downs.
I know, I know. Just build it for the sake of building it and see what happens. That’s great if you don’t need the money and have a lot of time on your hands, but if you are going to start a business you best know how you are going to make money.
Now before we go into some of the different ways to make money I think it is first important to see that you have multiple ways of making money. If you are going to be putting blood, sweat & tears into something make sure you have many avenues of success while still maintaining focus on your core business. Note: When you launch your company you don’t need to launch every revenue stream, just make sure you have a few as you grow.
The easiest example of this is a Restaurant. A retaurant can have the following revenue streams:
- The basic: People coming in and eating in
- Take Out
- In house catering/parties
- Catering in other locations
- Selling Packaged food through other locations
- Selling a specific product commercially (ie: Our Special Bar-B-Q Sauce)
- Party Planning Service
- Gift Baskets
- Frozen Pizzas
See what I mean? Now mostly I would like to focus on internet businesses since I think it is pretty obvious what your business model is when you are running a retail outlet of any kind, but online we have been brought up with the idea that it is a numbers game and as long as you have a lot of “eye balls” you can figure out the rest later. Now that is a great thought and if you became an internet sensation like Twitter, then that’s great, but for the 99.9999% of the rest of internet start-ups you really need to have a clear business model in order to raise funds and of course to succeed.
Now the problem I have with the “eye balls” theory is that the main business model that people are shooting for is an advertising model and that is a very dangerous place to be for many reasons; the fist being that if advertising revenue dollars were to suddenly drop, so will your revenue. I know of many companies that have gone under in the current recession specifically because the ad revenue dropped by more than 50%. If your going to build a business, build it on a need, something that people want and not something that you are going to annoy them with. That’s just my opinion.
A recent article on Mashable titled “5 Business Models for Social Media Startups” points out some of the main ways to earn money online and can even be used for non social media startups. Let me know what you think!
http://mashable.com/2009/07/14/social-media-business-models/
Looking at a piece of paper through the eyes of an Entrepreneur
Posted by: | CommentsWatch the video below. Do you see just a piece of paper or of a vision coming to life. Everything begins with a blank slate, a paper napkin, or just a piece of paper.
Origami In the Pursuit of Perfection from MABONA ORIGAMI on Vimeo.
The biggest problem with businesses in Israel is the lack of passion
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- Image by The Falafel via Flickr
Passion = Success
Have you ever gone into a store in Israel and the cashier or person running the store is on his/her cellphone? What happens when you walk in? Usually absolutely nothing. And if you have the nerve to ask a question to the worker they give you this look like why are you interuppting them when they are on the phone.
If you want to be successful in anything in life it helps to be passionate. In fact, if you look at those whom are most successful you will see they are very passionate about their business. If you see someone rise to the top in his/her company, chances are they are passionate about their jobs.
If two people are up for a promotion, but only one can get it, who do you think will be chosen with everything being equal except one person is more passionate about the job then the other.
If you are planning a wedding, it helps and make the wedding a success if you are planning it. The same thing about school. Who do you think ends up getting the better grades? Of course the students that are passionate about learning. The same is true in perhaps everything in life. If your passionate about your marriage you will have a better marriage.
That’s why when starting a business the number one thing you should look at is if your passionate about the idea. If you are, the chances of your success just trippled.
Below is an article from Entrepreneur about turning your passion into a business. It is a must read and sure to inspire.
The Puzzle Model: Piecing together as a business model
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- Image via Wikipedia
Just read another great post by Seth Godin called “How to be a Packager“. In it Seth starts out by talking about putting a book together and being the one that manages the flow. Everything from putting the authors together to designing the cover to selling the book. Kind of like a wedding planner for books.
“A book packager is like a movie producer, but for books. You invent an idea, find the content and the authors, find the publisher and manage the process. Book packagers make almanacs, illustrated books, series books for kids and the goofy one-off books you find at the cash register. I did everything from a line of almanacs to a book on spot and stain removal. It was terrific fun, and in a good year, a fine business. Along the way, I worked with just about every major publisher and created more than a hundred books. I packaged (with various levels of success) video games, college professors, Julia Robert’s astrologer, an award-winning children’s novelist, the Weekly World News, Kinko’s and (almost) Craftsmen Tools.”
He then goes on to talk about using this model but for other ventures. The truth is this is not a new model and as I said on top it’s sort of like being a wedding planner. There are many industries and businesses that are built on being what Seth call a “Packager”.
Now while Seth is talking about taking perhaps existing products and or content and packaging them together, I would like to spend a couple of minutes talking about “Packages” that save time and the value they bring.
This is probably best noticed with consultants. Consultants have the experience and the knowledge to direct and guide you to the solution you are looking for. While it is possible to find the information on your own, a consultant can save you tens or even hundreds of hours. You just need to ask yourself how much is your time worth.
Another similar deal is a web design firm. Where as I am a big advocate of using FREE website designers, this is mostly for informational type of websites, easy E-commerce sites or for when you are just getting started. But if you are looking for a more advanced type of website, a web design firm will create a whole package for you including hosting, paypal integration, blog software, forms, design, etc.
The point is even though you can do something yourself with enough time, is it really something you should do? Again, it depends on how much you value your time.
Another thing to think about is how can you create a new business by saving time for people whose time is valuable. Think out of the box. The same with being a packager. What can you package together that will bring value and save time for those that need what ever it is your selling? There is plenty of opportunity out there and the article by Seth Godin is a good way to inspire you and get you started.
Is the Apple iPhone 3GS coming to Israel?
Posted by: | CommentsSo normally I hat those annoying pop-ups from internet explorer that my pop-up blocker doesn’t block, but this one caught my eye since it features the new Apple iPhone with some tantalizing news; that the new iPhone is coming to Israel from Pelephone.
Now if this is true it means two things.
1. That the cell phone game will change in Israel with a lot of people switching over to Pelephone.
2. I am for sure going to get into a fight with my wife in the near future
But how do we know if it is legit? I do have a few questions, but first I did a little research. The domain name being used is GI-Israel.info. Why use a .info name and who is the owner? Plus I’m sure the .com would be available. So first I found out who the owner of the domain was and this is what I found:
Created On:07-Aug-2006 06:33:55 UTC
Last Updated On:23-Jul-2008 09:41:23 UTC
Expiration Date:07-Aug-2009 06:33:55 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com (R159-LRMS)
Status:OK
Registrant ID:DI_3654993
Registrant Name:Karin Oshri
Registrant Organization:Grey Interactive
Registrant Street1:154 Menachem Begin Rd.
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Tel Aviv
Registrant State/Province:Ha Merkaz
Registrant Postal Code:64921
Registrant Country:IL
Registrant Phone:+972.3608111
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:giisrael@nethost.co.il
So the next thing I did was check if it was the same company that owned the .com and it was. As you can see it is owned by Grey Interactive. I assume they use the .info domain for pop-up advertising or possible other forms of SPAM or ticking off potential customers, but they seem to be a legit business and are the Israel office of Global Grey Interactive.
So then I decided to go to Pelephones website and there it was on their home page!
So now I started to get excited, perhaps it’s true and the new iPhone will be coming to Israel soon. But I still had a few questions.
1. What does coming soon mean? A month? A year?
2. If it is a legit campaign then why use pop-ups or frankly any advertising for that matter? With Social Media they could get the word out with-out spending a shekel.
My best guess is that they Pelephone does not actually have a deal in place with Apple yet and they are doing this for 1 of 2 reasons.
1. They want their competitors to think they have a deal with Apple
or
2. They want to be able to go to Apple witha large list of “potential” clients and show Apple why they should work with them.
My guess is #2 since if they could get a list together of 250,000 people with there name, address, phone and TZ it could be enough to make Apple take a second look.
I filled out the form… just in case.
Update: Seems like Orange also has the same Ad! Check it out on their home page as well! Great news since I am already under contract with Orange!
Please post updates in the comment areas if you hear any more news.
What is the statute of limitations on calling a product “New”?
Posted by: | CommentsWhat is the statute of limitations on calling a product “new” in Israel? In our last post on this subject about 5 months ago we talked about a package of tissues. This time we are talking about a “bowl of soup” which has become a staple of start-up offices everywhere. Problem is, as you can see in the pic below, they are still marketing this product as Chadash when it has been around in the very same packaging for the last 2-3 years! Come on guys! Change the marketing message. Do you think anyone buys this product because it says it’s new? The only thing that it makes us think is that it must be old!
