商务英语文章阅读商务英语文章阅读网

[商务英语文章阅读]商务英语文章阅读网商务英语文章阅读1HowToMakeaBillionDollarsLikeInstagramInstagramwasjustpurchasedbyFacebookfor$1billion.Sowefoundsomeothertried-and-trueformulasformakingobsceneamountsoffastcash. Nowthatthey’vesoldInstagram(aka,PictureTwitter)toFacebookfor$1billion,foundersMikeKriegerandKevinSystromareprobablysittingbyapool,high-fivingeachotherwithwiththeseveredhandsofathousandserfs.Whiletheymadetheirfortuneinanunprecedentedlyshorttime —Instagramwas551daysoldwhenFacebookboughtit—they’renottheonlypeoplewho’veunexpectedlystruckitrichwiththeir.Soifyouwanttomakeafastfortune,takealessonfromtheseexamples.*****LE*****N’SKONY2012FilmaC+documentaryurgingtotakesocialactionbydonatingmoney.PromotetheprojectwithanA+marketingcampaign.Donotstripnakedandpubliclyloseyoursh!tafterwards(optional).Payday:About$4millionSPANXCutthelegsoffofpantyhose.Sellwhat’sleft.Payday:$1billionBAYOU*****AIRESPurchase80acresofLouisianaswampland.Avoidhungrygatorsuntiloilcompaniesdiscovermassivenaturalgasdepositsundertheground.Payday:$57.6millionTHEBLAIRWITCH*****Filmafewofyourfriendsrunningaroundthewoodsatnight,screaming.Payday:$140millionPETROCKSFindabunchofrocks.Turnaroundandsellthem.Payday:$15millionin6months*****TYBuyabunchofoff-brandcereal.Turnaroundandsellitatrestaurantsthatserveonlycereal.Payday:Enoughtoopenrestaurantsinseveralcities12-YEAR-OLD*****ENEUR**********BuyabunchofBeanieBabies.Turnaroundandsellthematamarkup.Payday:$3-4millionamonth*****Buyabunchofswimminggoggles.Turnaroundandsellthematamark-upas“swimminggoggles—fordogs.”Payday:$5millionamonth商务英语文章阅读2HowAmazoncanbeafriendtosmallbusinessesI’vebeentestingouttheKindleFiretabletforthelastseveralweeks.At$199,it’satremendousvalue.It’snoiPad—IjustupgradedtothenewiPadaswell—butitprovidesasolidbase-leveltabletandreader.Icanthinkofalotofusesforit:ane-bookreader,avideoconsumptiondevice,andadedicatedSonoscontroller.ButthemostexcitinguseIcanseeforitwouldbeforAmazontoturnintoadevicethathelpssmall,localretailers.Amazoncouldleverageitsmassivescaleinsearchesforonlinecommercetohelpdrivebusinesstolocalbusinesses,whilesimultaneouslygeneratingrevenueandcementingitselfastheplacetogotoshoponline.Here’showIseeitworking:MerchantswouldusetheKindleFiretoloadtheirinventoryontoAmazon.Inadditiontothestandardoptionsconsumershaveforstandarddelivery,second-dayshippingwithPrime,orovernightshipping,Amazonwouldoffertheoptiontobuylocally.Whenanitemisselectedtobuylocally,themerchantwouldbealertedviatheKindleFireandcouldconfirmtheorder.Oncetheorderisconfirmed,Amazoncollectspaymentfromthebuyerandthemerchantsetstheproductaside.(Largermerchantswithsufficientinventorycouldconfigureittoauto-confirmorders.)TheconsumerstopsbytopickuptheitemandshowsID.Amazonkeepsapercentageoftherevenue.Amazonalreadydoesthisforsomemerchantswhosellthroughthemail;Ifrequentlybuyitemsfromthird-partysellersthroughAmazon’ssite.ThekeyisthattheKindleFireisasimple,inexpensivedevicethatintegrateswellwithAmazonservices.Addintheoptiontogeneraterevenuewithit,anditcanbeanimportantstepinincreasingtheconnectednessofsmallbusinesses.TheBuyLocalservicecouldbeaugmentedwithlocaldeliveryfromacompanylikePostmates.[Editor“snote:Thisfuturistic,cool,visionarystuffisexactlywhatwe“retalkingaboutattheVentureBeatMobileSummitonApril2-3,whereoneofthemainthemesfocusesonmobilecommerce.]Amazonhasbeenworkingtoexpanditsreachintothelocalmarket.Itsdailydealsproduct, AmazonLocal, is launching a subscriber-acquisitionpromotiontomorrow,selling$10Amazongiftcardsfor$5.AlthoughithaslaggedwellbehindindustryleadersGrouponandLivingSocial,thisisasignthatitmaybegettingseriousaboutthedealsspace.(AmazonsourcesmanyofitsdealsfromLivingSocial.)BeyondlocalretailthereareanumberofothercompellingservicesAmazoncouldoffertomakeKindleFireamust-haveforsmallbusinesses:DealredemptiontrackingforAmazonLocal.SocialmediamanagementtoolsforTwitterandFacebookaccounts.SchedulingtoolssimilartoGrouponScheduler.Amazonandlocalbusinesseshavehadatumultuousrelationship,withsomeblamingAmazonforthedemiseoflocalindependentbookstores.Butthesedays,evenprestigiousindependentbookstoressuchasPortlandbehemothPowell’sBooksaresellingthroughAmazon.Same-dayfulfillmentplaystothestrengthsoflocalretailersandprovidesconsumersaservicethatAmazoncan’toffertoday.商务英语文章阅读36BiggestReasonsWhyYourSmallBusinessisStagnatingThesedayseveryonewantstobeanentrepreneur,sowaytoomanypeoplerushintotheworldofsmallbusinessheadfirst,withouttakingintoconsiderationthemanyvariablesthatcanmakeyouorbreakyou.Someevenluckoutandareabletoquicklylearnfromtheirmistakesonthefly,butmostfailwithinthefirstyear.Thisiswhyyouseeafewpeopleattheotherendofthespectrum–fairlyambitious,yetcarefulandcalculated.Thecarefulapproachcanbeagoodone,butitiseasytogetboggeddowninvarioustechnicalitiesandhaveyourbusinessstagnate.Ifyouareinterestedinpromotinggrowthandexpandingyourbusiness,thenyoushouldtrytoaddressthecommonissuessmallbusinessface,whicharediscussedinmoredetailbellow.1.Youdon’tengageyourcustomers“Engagingthecustomers”iskindofabroadterm,solet’slookatsomeofthedifferentaspectsitcovers:GoodcustomerserviceRewardingloyaltyInspiringtrustSocialmediainteractionAskingforfeedbackIfyouwanttolearnmoreaboutwhatthecustomerswant,thengoandaskthem.Grantedittakesabitofwork,butdevelopingagreatrelationshipwiththecustomersandbuildingaloyalfollowinghasmanybenefits.Thisextendstoonlineshoppingaswell.WhetheryouareopeningonlineshoporwanttostartsellingyourgoodsonAmazon,thereisarightwaytodothings.Itinvolvescreatingagreatshoppingexperienceforthecustomers.Thismeansthattheycanfindwhattheyarelookingforeffectively,haveaccesstointerestingoffersiftheybuymultipleproducts,cangetincontactwithyouandsortoutanyproblems,andtheyneedtobeabletofinishthewholeprocessquickly.2.YoutrytodotoeverythingyourselfIt’sonethingtobeveryhandsonandnotwanttodelegatesimpletasks,butonceyoustartdoing4-6differentthingsitkeepsyouawayfromthereallyimportantstuff.Let’ssayyouareagreatcookandhaveopenedyourownrestaurant.Youneedtobefocusedonkeepingthequalityofthefoodandtheserviceuptostandard,andonmakingtherightadjustments.Ifyousuddenlystartmoppingthefloors,actingasheadchef,doingyourownaccounting,promotingtherestaurantonsocialmediaandpostingtwoarticlesadayonyourwebsite’sblog,chancesareyouaregoingtoburnout,andthewillbeinapoorstate.Youdon’thavetohireanarmyofpeople,butbesuretodelegatetheheavygruntworkandfocusonmakingbusinessdecisionsandmanagingyouremployees.3.Youdon’tutilizemoderntechnologytoitsfullpotentialWe’vealreadytouchedontheimportanceofsocialmediainteractions,butsmallbusinesscanbegreatlyimprovedthroughtheliberaluseofonlinetechnologies.Withfastandadaptableapproachestosoftwaredevelopment,i.e.focusingonagilemethodology,itispossiblegetexactlywhatyouneedinarelativelyshorttime,througheffectivecommunicationwiththedevelopersandon-the-flytweaks.Agoodwebsiteallowscompaniestoreachoutandmarketthemselvestoaninternationalaudience,whiletherightcustomsoftwarehelpsthemsignificantlyimprovetheirefficiency,cutdownoncosts,and.Forretailersandrestaurants,switchingtoamoremodernPOSsystemcanmakeahugedifference,whilemanydifferentsmallbusinesscansavetimeandmoneyinthelongrunusingapplicationsspecificallytailoredtotheirneeds.4.Youdon’tsetyourselfapartfromeveryoneelseAbusinesscandoquitewell,andstayafloatforyearsmakingamodestprofitevenifitdoesn’thaveanyspecialfeaturesthatmakethemparticularlyuniqueorappealing.However,youneverwanttogetintothe“let’sjustgetby”mindset,asitwillallbutensurethatyourbusinessnevergrowspastthoseinitialstages.Unlessyouaredealingwithaverylimitednichemarket,youwillhavetodealwitharelativelysaturatedmarket,soanydefiningfeaturethathelpsyoustandoutandmakespeoplerememberyouisgoingtobeakeycomponentinsparkinggrowth.5.YoufocusongrowthattheexpenseofeverythingelseTherewillcomeatimewhereyouhaveenoughofademandforyourproductsandtowarrantexpansion,andanefficiencythatallowsforthisexpansiontohappen.However,itneedstobedonestrategically.Alotofentrepreneursmakethemistakeofjumpingattheopportunitytoexpandtheirbusinessatthefirstchancetheyget,andfocusingalltheirenergyonthatgoal.Thiscanleadtoadropinqualityofserviceasyoustartspreadingyourresourcesthin.Itisimportanttoscaleyourgrowthbasedonwhatyoucanrealisticallyhandlewithoutsacrificingproductivityorquality.6.Youcan’thandletheextraworkloadeffectivelyThisisadirectextensionofthelastpoint.Alotofpeoplebelievethatoncetheirbusinessstartsgrowingthingswillmagicallyfallintoplaceandthattheywillbeabletositbackandletthiswell-oiledmoney-makingmachineoftheirskeepgrowingexponentially.Unfortunately,thisisnotthecase.Asyourbusinessgrowssodoyourobligationsandcomplications.It’seasytounderestimatethelevelofworkthatgoesintoit,andfacethesoberingtruth–youarenotpreparedtotakeontheextraworkload.Thisiswherethingscanreallyfallapart,forcingbusinessestoworkhardjusttostayafloat,letaloneturnaprofit.Evenifyoumakethefirstbigstepsandstartgrowingyourbusiness,youcanstillhitawallifyouhaven’tplanedthingsoutright.It’ssimilartohowHollywoodmoviesoftengowellovertheinitialbudgetastheproductiondragson,andmanyofthemendupasscrappedprojectsasaresult.Berealisticabouthowmuchaprojectwillcostandhowmuchtimeandeffortitwilltaketoseeitthrough.Ifyouareoverconfidentanddon’tanticipatelittlesetbacksandhiddencosts,youmayverywellcutyourselfshortandkeepstagnating.