Sophia Perl of Wisdom

Don’t be afraid to share your business idea with others

There are two camps of people, one thinks that you should not talk about your business idea to others, another thinks that it’s okay to talk about your business idea to others.  So I tend to flip back and forth on this issue, but now I’m starting to fall into the latter camp.  Why would I think that you should not talk about your business idea?  Well, I still think it is an advantage to get a little ahead of your competition, but first to market is so overrated nowadays.  How many businesses won out because they were first to market?  I can’t think of any off the top of my head.  So then I think about if you are so worried that you will lose out because you shared your idea with others, does that make your business idea a solid idea?  Hmmm, maybe not.  This is why I am starting to switch to the other camp.  If you really have a good idea and execution plan, you should not be afraid to talk about your business idea freely with anyone.  There must be something that you bring to the table that others cannot bring.  Let’s say that you’re going to write a cook book and happen to have an uncle that works at the Food Network.  Your connections can be the killer execution.  In any case, share your idea because you want it to evolve to be the killer idea.  Good luck!

Vegas observations

Last weekend I went to Vegas and noticed a few things while staying/playing on the trip.

• - Many shopping centers - Caesar’s Palace, Venetian, Palazzio, Planet Hollywood, Wynne, and Fashion Show
  • -  The stores range from location to location which may be why there can be so many shopping centers, but I wonder how much sales actually occurs when people often lose their money at casinos
• - The guys who hand out flyers on the street have these backpack billboards and make noise by slapping the flyer on their hands when you walk by
  • - First why aren’t there litter fines for these guys, their flyers are all over the ground.  Second, I always thought no one pays attention to them, but I could see how a person could take a flyer to be nice, but then call the number for the hooker when he gets back to his hotel.  Sneaky!
• - A chat with a taxi driver revealed that Vegas is getting hit by the economy, business is slow
  • - This makes sense.  People are trying to save money, not lose it.
• - People love to drink and walk in 90 degree weather
  • - I never understood this.  Alcohol dehydrates you plus I never felt that it quenched my thirst.  One of the smaller casinos on the strip use to give out free frozen drinks, now they charge $1.
• - Most show tickets are more than $100, but you can go to Fashion Show mall and buy 1/2 priced tickets day of
  • - I just can’t believe how much the show tickets are nowadays.  I went to see the Beetle’s Love Show at Mirage and every seat was just about full.  From my perspective, no signs of an economy hit here.
• - There are 2 luxury car dealerships - Lamborghini and Ferrari
  • - I wish…

Pay people to do something

I’ve been toiling with this idea for some time now.  I like the idea of pooling funds to pay for something or someone to do something.  You can call it micro-financing, but really micro-bribing or micro-motivating via monetary means hahahaha.  I won’t go into details of what I am thinking, but something for you think about it on your own.

College football in full swing!

Not to brag or anything, but my school is currently the #1 college football company in the nation - Go USC Trojans!  Last weekend, I trekked down to LA for the anticipated college football game of the year - #1 USC vs #5 Ohio State.  As a student, I did not spend much time tailgating near the LA coliseum because most of the students stayed on campus before the game.  This time, I walked closer to the coliseum and admired all the many booths among the tailgating folks.  I saw a booth for Rock Band, Vitamin Water, Rock Star, ESPN, Carl’s Jr, and LA Times.   Why on earth are these companies here?  According to Alloy Media & Marketing’s 2006 College Explorer Study, college students yield a spending power of approximately $182 billion dollars.  That’s quite a bit of dough.  Also imagine the expected customer lifetime when you can get a college student hooked on your product at such an early age.  My advice is to consider the college market, but don’t think that you’re the first one.  It is well known that college students are a gold mine.  The big con though is that they are also very fickle.  One day they will like your product, another day they will not.  Be prepared!

Do you know the work hours of your employees?

I have this theory.  The theory is if you do not know the working hours of your employees, I question whether you know much about your employees.  I know that this is a pretty bold statement, but I semi-believe it.  Challenge me, I dare you!

Is it okay to kill a business idea? Absolutely!

A short story short. I have two friends who poured, well more like sprinkled some money into an idea. After two months of meeting about the idea, my friends started to realize that the idea evolved as much as it could and it still wasn’t the killer idea that they had hoped for. One of the reasons being that their idea involved quite a bit of manpower and competition was fierce. Eventually, they concluded to hold off on the idea and pursue a different idea. Now, was that the right thing to do? Absolutely!  At any time, don’t feel committed to moving forward with a business idea.  Ideas and businesses evolve and some just suck so bad that there is no way to help it.  Save your money and time now.  Focus on an idea that you are passionate about it.  It is more fun to have fun along the way.