A M B E R ❤: Business

Entries Tagged as 'Business'

5 Business Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

05.05.13

1) To Sell is Human- Daniel H. Pink 2) Velocity- Ajaz Ahmed & Stefan Olander 3) What They Teach You at Harvard Business School- Philip Delves Broughton 4) Coming up Roses- Cath Kidston 5) Buyology- Martin Linstrom

Its 2am and Sheryl Sandberg is keeping me company via her book Lean In ( Watch her TED talk below) which has garnered equal parts praise and critique for her opinion on women in the workplace. Personally I find her and her work truly inspiring- I barley got through more than 5 consecutive pages without coming up with a solution to a problem or a new idea. “Fortune does favor the bold and you’ll never know what you’re capable of if you don’t try.” She mentions, but fortune also favours the well prepared!

I managed to clock up over 10 invaluable work experiences and internships before I started running MYFLASHTRASH.COM full time a couple of years ago, and I continue to have a voracious appetite to learn from others no matter what line of work they are in. These 5 books above, have each guided, influenced and inspired my business decisions and attitude towards enterprise greatly, so why not sit down, and delve into one I promise it will be worth your time.

WATCH: Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders

#Success: How She Did It- Amber Atherton Company Magazine

02.05.13

From Made in Chelsea truths, to entrepreneur tips…

READ THE INTERVIEW IN FULL OVER @ COMPANYMAGAZINE.CO.UK

The Business Behind Ben and Jerry’s

28.04.13

Ice cream is one of the most talked about things by women on social media, and with over 6 million fans on Facebook, Ben & Jerry’s is positioned as the third most popular ice cream brand in the UK ( after Cornetto & Magnum). From Cookie Dough to Chunky Monkey, we’ve all got a favourite B&J flavour, and it was earlier this week when I found myself having a cosy night in with a mini tub of Chocolate Fudge Brownie that I wanted to find out more about this charming ice cream monopoly!

Founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield back in 1978, B & J is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever, (which also counts Cornetto and Magnum in its stable.) Last year the UK ice cream category posted 9% growth according to a Euro Monitor report, but how did B&J come to be a dominant player in the market? And what lessons can entrepreuners learn from their journey?

1) FIND THE GAP

Ben and Jerry had no idea what they wanted to do with their lives, after pin pointing a passion for food, they chose to learn how to make and manufacture ice cream after finding bagel catering equipment was too expensive. They then went around every college campus in the US to find one that didn’t have an ice cream parlour: South Burlington, Vermont.

2) PIVOT

Whilst B&J had fun running their one Vermont store, they were barely breaking even- it was only when Ben decided to carton up ice cream for local grocery stores and restaurants did the business really begin to scale. Diversifying their revenue streams led to recognition outside of just 1 state.

3) LEVERAGE LOCAL LOYALTY

From putting on events in winter to drive ice cream sales, to free ice cream for all locals after their first year in business. B&J knew the value of customer loyalty from day 1. Thus when they were ready to scale they shunned VC money and went for a localised stock offering, selling each share at $10.5 with a minimum buy of 12 shares.

4) IF THERE’S SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT BUSINESS DO IT DIFFERENTLY

Ben and Jerry were heavily involved in political activism and supporting local community. From working with ex-convicts to brining children’s basic needs to the top of the national agenda, B & J believed from the outset that business should not just make a profit but profit man kind. Their value led proposition led the way for corporate social responsibility.

Can I quote you on that?

11.04.13

We are a generation obsessed with phrases , 10% of all pins on Pinterest are Quotes “Pinterest is designed to be a visual experience,” said Barry Schnitt, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based company, adding, “We were surprised by the popularity of these quotes.” Blogger, Bonnie Tsang, like many users, leverages the visual experience by layering quotes on top of images, A recent pin that reads “Don’t Hate What You Don’t Understand!” with an image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, was re-pinned more than 1,600 times.

Twitter is another popular place for the quote hungry, with hundreds of accounts dedicated to motivational quotes, infact my #amberattitudes tweets are among my most favourited and RT’d tweets. But where do the really die hard quote fans go? WeHeartIt . Favourited by designer Mary Katrantzou, this huge pre-teen social playground is massively under utilised by retailers , at one point, WeHeartIt Founded in 2008 by Brazil native Fabio Giolito,was nearly five times the size of Pinterest.

Ashish Gupta is the man behind quote and sequin tastic Ashish! The tongue in cheek, playful London fashion label that’s known for its craftsmanship and quality just as much as its pop-culture influenced branding. I wore Ashish last night to the wonderful Liberatum dinner in honor of John Hurt ( see below- my real dad?! #couldnotresist) and it got a lot of attention, but moreover it sparked an interesting debate about our appetite for quotes in all forms and what they mean to our culture. Whilst slogans enjoy a continued fashion revival, see Susie Bubble’s recent post revealing Kenzo have sold 20,000 of those Tiger sweatshirts with ongoing waiting lists at stores, designers including Markus Lupfer and Zoe Karssen enjoy growing commercial success with their witty phrase tees and sweaters.

Markus Lupfer ‘CHILL’ Tee Sweater £298

Ashish himself remarks, “I find Tumblr very inspiring, it’s like an ever-evolving giant scrapbook of ideas from millions of people all over the world. It’s just an incredibly good source for visual research.” taking the trend to display these quotes rendered in beautiful typography and transferring them to tees and sweaters is proving to be a lucrative concept. Whilst cats, one of, if not THE most popular thing on the internet, is seeping its way into fashion- I noticed Topshop have cats on their carrier bags now- will popular hashtags transfer over to be branded over clothes next? #JustSayin either way as Ashish’s Tee says, Je Suis Fatigue. Time for bed.

O bed! O bed! delicious bed! That heaven upon earth to the weary head. ~Thomas Hood, Miss Kilmansegg – Her Dream

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