askJZ: Not So Silly Now
Jun 16, 2010Thanks for your questions! Remember, get your questions about advertising, business, the economy and more answered every Wednesday by posting comments to blog posts or on Twitter @JZspeaks via #askjz.
I noticed from your recent post you have an eighth grade girl graduating, congratulations!
While reading Business Week, I saw a story about the Silly Bandz founder and thought of you, seeking your sage retail advice. My granddaughter, a bit younger than your graduate, goes crazy for the “bandz.” My question, and that of most (including Silly Bandz owner) is how does an entrepreneur manage such explosive retail growth effectively and build a sustainable brand?
Unfortunately, trends that are this explosive are often difficult to sustain. However, it’s not impossible. The diversification and brand extensions discussed in this Bloomberg Business Week article are great places to start.
Partnering with larger companies and working to license the brand, not just the product, are also wise moves, as are building solid relationships for the inevitable downturn ahead when my daughter and your granddaughter have all the bandz they could ever want. Building a solid infrastructure while everything is humming and money is flowing should help weather future slowdowns, and of course, save some money for contingencies while it’s available.
Thanks again for your questions. Keep them coming. You can reach me here or on Twitter @JZspeaks via #askjz.
LINK:
Bloomberg Business Week – The Man Behind the Bandz
Shouldn’t it be the awakening for those with “the too big to fail” mentality?
Waking up to the BP’s Oil spill news everyday is one of those things that make you go like, can’t hold this anymore. Every time one of their executives comes out to say a thing, what comes out of their mouths makes it clear they are just pretending to be in charge. If we put aside the money they have to pay to try to compensate the victims, there is no sign of urgency or real concern from them as far as emotional support needed for poor folks having to pick up the pieces of this disaster.
There was Enron, then Wall Street and the banks, now BP. In all of it we learned with no surprise that no corporation or no one person for that matter can make their own laws that will genuinely benefit the people in the long run.
It all went down like the big elephant going about its life and all the sudden comes across the bee also going about its life, and here goes the panic. Except, when it turns out something is going terribly wrong in corporation cases, the only excuse to try to get away is “we are all human and we make mistakes.” This is simply not nearly good enough.
I was taught that everything bad you do will come back and hunt you down sooner or later, and I grew up to believe in it. Now I believe this is not only for individuals, but corporations too, no matter how big you are.
Great article – you should wear a J and Z silly band!
Hi, I’m very interested in Linux but Im a Super Newbie and I’m having trouble deciding on the right distribution for me (Havent you heard this a million times?) anyway here is my problem, I need a distribution that can switch between reading and writing in English and Japanese (Japanese Language Support) with out restarting the operating system.
Monica:
This is a very specific question, and I am by no means a Linux expert. If I were you, I would visit http://www.linux.org/docs/ to get additional information and technical support directly from the experts at Linux.
Good luck!