via facebook.com
My friend Ani from FB on her quest to the Medicine revolution. Check this out! Very interesting
7/18/2010
Gen Y Profile | Articles
Gen Y Profile
Posted by valeri on July 18, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The Hillz, working in pajamas, wall posts, Obama, avatars, and an aversion to vowels are just a few of Gen Y’s favorite things. At the beginning of the new millennium, there was a lot of hubbub about this new generation: the up and comers with tremendous amount of spending influence, a completely new world-view and what Gen X might call, the new kids on the block.
With Boomers retiring at the rate of one every ten minutes (nearly 64 million by the end of the decade) and Gen X moving onward and upwards, Gen Y were the young, fresh faces. They dressed differently (customizable kicks) , didn’t like the 9-5 way of thinking and couldn’t give you eye-contact because they were busy texting about you to their friend in Bangladesh, which they will then post on their virtual wall. Gen Y is quickly transforming the workplace and marketplace in a very big, customizable way.
They’ve been called Echo Boomers, Millennials, the Net Generation, Generation Y, but because brevity is of great importance, let’s go with Gen Y. (Though a Wikipedia search for Millennials will re-direct to the Generation Y page, there is a difference-albeit subtle. A Millennial is between the ages of 8 and 27, making their birth years between 1982 and 2001.)
To understand the mindset of Gen Y, you have to understand the environment into which they were born. Gen Y came of age during a time that saw unprecedented economic growth (late 1990s)-shaping their expectations of themselves and the world around them. Though the birth years vary, the accepted range is from 1980-1999. The math makes them between 10 and 29 and nearly 25% of the U.S. population.
They are more tech-savvy, family-centric, flexible, non-conforming and attention-getting than their parents and are greatly changing the way we do business. In the upcoming days, we are going to post a series of articles that discuss the many facets (marketing, workplace, mentality, trends) that make Gen Y powerful buyers, thinkers and movers and shakers.
Sparxoo is a business blog that inspires breakthrough by tomorrow’s leaders. We are a strategy consulting firm with a pulse on marketing, branding, and development. See our talented team of experts and our parent company dCap Advisors.
Filed under 819 · Tagged with Profile
Is the Future of Religion Belonging or Believing (or Neither One)? | Psychology Today
In my book, Between a Church and a Hard Place, I describe the debate among sociologists about the secularization of American society. Some point to the decline in churchgoing and church affiliation as evidence of the same waning power and significance of religious institutions in the world that has been emptying pews across Western Europe since the 1960s. Others argue that organized faith is alive and well in the United States and that young Americans will gravitate back to it, as they always have, when they marry and start their families, which they are doing later in life than their parents and grandparents did.
Disillusioned with the faiths of their youth, my parents were among the minority of Americans in the 1970s who chose to raise their children without any religion. It wasn't until they were well into middle age that they returned to church after a 30-year absence. Is it possible that the Millennials will outgrow their disinterest in Sunday services and denominational labels and engage with communities of faith bigger numbers as they age, too? That seems inevitable. But it seems equally likely that they will change the very nature of what it means to be religious in America. We are already seeing this with the rise of house churches, neo-monastic communities, workplace ministries, "video venues" and Internet-based worship.
None of these trends represent good news for the traditional pillars of organized religion that depend on people belonging in large numbers. But they're worth watching to see whether they preserve or even expand the prevalence of belief even as our knowledge and values change, which ultimately would be a more interesting shift. A family friend I interviewed for my book told me that "there seemed to be as many religions as there are people in the world," which struck me as having an element of truth. I still find it difficult to imagine all of them dying out in my lifetime or my children's.
Have a comment? Start the discussion here!Tags: atheism, atheist, baby boomers, belief in god, blush, church, church affiliation, daily prayer, decline and fall, devotion, elders, faith, man upstairs, millenials, newsweek, parenting, parents and grandparents, pew forum, pews, religion, religious institutions, religious lives, secularization, sociologists, survey data, wes, young adults
Cultural Entrepreneurship « Greening Vancouver
<img title="Credit: Hardo, www.flickr.com” class=”size-medium wp-image-4032″ src=”http://isis.sauder.ubc.ca/files/2010/06/NkMip-Desert-Cultural-Centre-230×172.... height=”172″ alt=”" width=”230″ style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” />Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, Osoyoos, B.C., Canada
Many First Nations Bands of British Columbia are still largely dependent on government subsidies, which are arguably failing to meet the needs of these communities. A lack of autonomy is perpetuated by a reserve system that was never meant to be permanent. Enter Cultural Entrepreneurship: First Nations communities taking control of their traditional lands to end government dependency and strengthen community through economic self-sufficiency while still preserving and deepening traditional values. It’s a mouthful. But First Nations entrepreneurs are already making it happen.
There have been waves of positive stories throughout British Columbia. Chief Clarence Louie transformed the bankrupt Osoyoos First Nation Band of 1984 into the prosperous portfolio of nine enterprises that it holds today. The Osoyoos Spirit Ridge Resort and Nk’Mip Cellars Winery leverage the Osoyoos culture to offer an authentic aboriginal experience to travellers and set them apart from the competition. Further to the coast in Whistler, B.C., the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, showcasing the Lil’wat and Squamish cultures, has been popular since opening its doors in June 2008. The centre capitalizes on the concentrated flow of foreign and domestic tourism through Whistler and those wishing to include Aboriginal culture as a portion of their vacation experience. The centre, run jointly by the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations, also provides Aboriginal Tourism training to develop leadership and employment skills among the band members.
The Aboriginal youth population in Canada is growing at more than twice the rate of the whole population. Entrepreneurial ventures run by First Nations band members will create jobs for this expanding generation of youth, who may otherwise have limited opportunity on reserves. And having access to opportunities available for these up-and-coming bright minds will be important. Aboriginal Tourism BC (AtBC) seeks to help some of these aspiring young people through their Entrepreneurship Program. The entity provides business plan development help to various First Nations that apply. In the future, AtBC seeks to also provide capital to put those plans in motion. The Opening Doors to Youth program through BCIT also ran an entrepreneurship program, where BCIT students led a group at Mount Currie High School in Lillooet to manage businesses including Lil’wat Cinema, a T-shirt company called MC Wear, and a drop-in soccer night.
The result of cultural entrepreneurship could be autonomy and self-sufficiency with the retention of cultural values. It’s a nice formula. But not all of the communities in British Columbia have seen the same success as the Osoyoos, the Squamish and the Lil’Wat bands. The various resources available to facilitate the process will be important.
The varied story of Aboriginal cultural in British Columbia is a compelling one, and creating businesses that share this story while also achieving economic independence and creating opportunities for youth shows promise for First Nations development throughout the province.
National Association of Entrepreneurs | Is Entrepreneurship Worth It?
Prerna Gupta left the corporate world to take a chance on herself. Here is an excerpt of her story:
As chief executive of my own start-up, I now spend my days building consumer products from the ground up, creating grass-roots marketing campaigns, pitching my ideas to investors and dreaming about the next big thing. How many people bought my product? Who saw my video? What can I do to reach more people tomorrow? These are the questions I ask myself each day.
There is a certain thrill to seeing one’s own creation in the hands and minds of thousands, sometimes even millions, of people around the world. Entrepreneurship is intoxicating.
Exciting as it may be, however, the entrepreneurial life is far from easy. Stress is a regular part of the day. Money is tight. There are frequent emotional highs and lows, and the desire to succeed can become all-consuming. Underlying all of this is the knowledge that failure is the most likely outcome.
Yet, no matter how tough things get, I wake up every morning with renewed hope and excitement for what lies ahead. The fact that I am working on my passion gives meaning to even the most mundane tasks.
My future is perhaps more uncertain than it ever has been. I may end up wealthy, or I may earn barely enough to support myself. But the realization that I face a high likelihood of failure is not enough to send me back to the corporate cubicle.
Maybe I value my time more than my net worth. Maybe my fear of boredom outweighs my fear of failure. Or, maybe I have an irrational belief that I will succeed against all odds. Whatever it is, I find the risk of entrepreneurship to be not only worthwhile but also necessary for fulfillment. Work is no longer work. It is life, and a good one.
via thenae.org
International scholarships
: New York University Reynolds Graduate Fellowship
Each year, the NYU Reynolds Programme in Social Entrepreneurship awards up to ten Graduate Fellowships in Social Entrepreneurship to students. It is open to new students accepted for the Fall semester enrollment to any full-time, two-year masters programme (with the exception of some executive programmes), or students who are currently enrolled in the schools of law, medicine, dentistry or some three-year Tisch School of the Arts programmes and will have two years of study remaining beginning September. Successful applicants will receive up to $25,000 for each of the two years of study, and participate in an intensive two-year curricular and co-curricular component designed to help them to be the next generation of social entrepreneurial leaders.
For the Reynolds Graduate Fellowship Application, there are no requirements for undergraduate or other school GPAs, test scores or other quantitative measurements. The applicant must, however, adhere to the requirements for the particular NYU school to which the person is applying.
Contact website: www.nyu.edu/reynolds/grad/
NHBR > Internships sought for entrepreneurship class
NHBR Article
Internships sought for entrepreneurship class
Thursday, July 15, 2010
--> -->
-->
The University of New Hampshire is hoping that Granite State businesses can use an extra pair of hands this fall in exchange for offering students some experience.
UNH’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics is looking for entrepreneurial ventures at various stages of business development that are willing to host interns as part of its Entrepreneurship Internship course.
The course, which starts Aug. 30, is taught by Jeffrey Sohl, professor and director of UNH’s Center for Venture Research. The Entrepreneurship Internship class aims to give students significant experience working at start-up and high-growth ventures as well as gaining insight from mentors at their host companies.
Students will work eight to 10 hours per week in addition to lectures, team projects and working with nonprofits.
While the internships are not paid, UNH is asking hosting companies for a fee ranging from $500 to $750 to participate in the program to offset interns’ travel expenses and administrative costs associated with the program. The fee is due at end of the semester in December.
Warren Daniel, regional director of the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center, a partner in the program, said students in the class are "are of high caliber."
He added that participating businesses "get a product that is professionally done and fills the needs of the business. The areas of assistance provided include marketing, financial analysis, access to capital, feasibility studies and expansion plans."
For more information, contact Laura Hill, educational program coordinator, 603-862-3341 or laura.hill@unh.edu. – CINDY KIBBE/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW
%]
-->
Reader Comments
Search the NHBR Business Directory
Banking / Finance
View our featured, enhanced business directory listings, by NH region: Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Monadnock Region Great North Woods Seacoast Lakes Region White Mountains Merrimack Valley Popular Searches
Most used search categories General Contractors in Concord Insurance in Concord Health Clubs in Concord White Mountains Hospitals in Concord Landscapers in Concord Hotels & Motels in Concord
via nhbr.com
Creating a business can be child’s play
A child’s drawing is just a drawing, unless you add in a good business plan and a bit of marketing. Then it becomes not only a way to make money but also to build self-confidence and develop an entrepreneurial drive that could last a lifetime.
Where some people see cute lemonade stands or painted rocks, Linda Samuels, founder of Billionaire Babies, sees opportunities to teach kids fundamental lessons about running a business that could change their lives.
Samuels was a science teacher for 30 years before returning to school to get an MBA. It changed her perspective and got her thinking about how many potential businesses there are. In an “aha moment” she was inspired to pass on the insight using the skills from her first career.
“Teaching entrepreneurship is totally doable,” she explained. “You have to break it down and give them the tools.”
Billionaire Babies is a combination of individual consulting, meeting with small groups and offering seminars for young people who want to start businesses. There is also a do-it-yourself packet of material for sale via the Internet.
Helping kids come up with an idea for a business is easy. The challenge is getting them to curb their enthusiasm long enough to plot out the business.
The most important thing is to let the children drive the process, Samuels said.
“I ask them what they would want to do if no one was telling them what to do,” she said.
It ranges from making individually decorated gift bags to selling cello music CDs.
The next step is making a real business plan complete with profit and loss estimates. Then it’s time for action. It may be tempting for parents to fund the endeavor, but Samuels recommends loaning the start-up funds rather than donating them to give kids a true sense of how the world works.
Samuels starts them young with a target audience ranges from 3 to 23. Some kids make money, some don’t. It is not so much about getting rich at this stage but rather learning the concepts of running a business.
“I think it is the long-term solution to our economic crisis,” Samuels said. “We have to teach young people how to deal with their money.”
Samuels is taking pages from her own book, creating the business as she teaches others to do it. The entrepreneur training is an add-on to her more traditional tutoring practice, which focuses on helping kids get up to speed on their math and science skills or prep for college entrance exams.
She’s also hunting for investors to support a game she designed to teach entrepreneurship. The prototypes sold well, but it’s time to take it to the next level, she said.
The hardest thing about building the business has been convincing parents, she said. It is not something that is typically on their radar screen unless they themselves are entrepreneurs. She has, however, seen parents decide to launch their own companies after watching their children do it.
Entrepreneurship is hard work, but sometimes it is child’s play.
Let's talk about Love/ Captain Corelli'w mandolin - Soul Hang Out
Let's talk about love. One of the most beautiful descriptions of what love is. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)