October 4th, 2008 by Daniel Priestley

Many small businesses have attempted to run an online campaign for their business with mixed results.
 
In all my life I have never seen a more flawless online campaign than that of David Plouffe leading up to the presidential elections.

David Plouffe is the campaign manager for Barack Obama and frankly he has harnessed the power of the internet better than any business or organisation I have witnessed.

Beginning with Barack’s home page where you will find a box on the bottom right hand corner called “Obama Everywhere”.

Here you will find ways that you can link to the Senator on 16 major web sites.

You can join his club on Facebook, you can watch his video’s on Youtube, You can Digg him, Flicker him, Twitter with him and connect with him on the social network that matters most to you.

Never before have people had so many ways to feel completely connected to a politician in a real and relevant way.

Sure enough, he is a charismatic man however don’t miss the powerful ways he has demonstrated to use the internet to develop and maintain connection to the marketplace.

So…
Are you on facebook and myspace?
Do you have a video on YouTube?
Do you blog on relevant sites?

If not, you might just be missing out on being elected as the president of your industry.

PS: Just so you can see how well run this campaign has been here are the stats….

USA Alexa Ranking
McCain      594
Obama      174

Youtube Stats
Videos Uploaded: 1442
Subscribers: 94,727
Channel Views: 16,733,657

Videos uploaded: 300
Subscribers: 23,115
Channel Views: 1,634,271

Facebook
Barack Obama 1,997,276 supporters
John McCain 555,715 supporters

July 31st, 2008 by Daniel Priestley

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4PuJmDEJ384

How old were you when you first “Googled”?

Chances are you were an adult. You didn’t Twitter at school, email friends links to YouTube videos or write on their FaceBook walls to arrange a weekend get together.

If you did grow up doing all of those things and you stumble upon entrepreneurship you are going to be a very different breed of business owner.

For these people, ecommerce is more natural than walking into a store … finding a freelance web designer in India is easy … and scaling your business to 10,000 customers a month is probably not being ambitious enough.

Apple, Microsoft, Virgin and Dell are just four examples of student businesses that hit the big-time and led the trends over the past three decades. If you want to know what is coming in the next 30 years, keep your eyes on the businesses forming around your local campus.

June 16th, 2008 by Daniel Priestley

At age 22, photographer and filmmaker, Rob Steward set off to make a documentary about something he was passionate on, Sharks.

Five years later he had sunk all of his money into the film, been arrested on attempted murder, chased by the mafia and had come close to death several times (none from sharks).

What he stumbled upon was one of the greatest environmental crimes of our time and an issue that no one would champion. The mass decimation of shark populations is linked to the high price of shark fin soup in Asia. It is big business and over 100 million sharks are finned alive each year for it.

Rob’s film was released in 2007 and won 26 awards and found distribution all over the world. His story was picked up by the media and his message has caused waves of change.

Rob’s courage to follow his passion has paid big dividends. His message has been heard, his film making career is powering and he has won well-earned admiration all over the world. Be sure to see “Sharkwater“.

May 16th, 2008 by Daniel Priestley

1. Meet-up with friends you haven’t seen for months
2. Excercise your body
3. Read a book, listen to music, listen to personal development programs,
4. Cook a meal
5. Learn a new skill (Dancing, Kung-fu, Painting)
6. Volunteer your time at a charity
7. Make the news!

April 11th, 2008 by

March 15th, 2008 by

In the month of March 1845, Stephen Perry walked into the patents office to register his ground breaking new technology.

It was called the “Rubber Band” and this british inventor had just created one of the world most universally understood products ever made. In doing so he created his legacy as a successful inventor.

With the right vision, strategy and team his little idea took off and found its way into stationery cupboards all over the world.

Do you have a little idea that could go big… it just might be the key to your legacy.

Band together with inspiring entrepreneurs who stretch you on April 14-16 at “Your Life Your Legacy” – The Entrepreneurs Event of the Year…www.triumphantevents.co.uk/?unlock=87-zdg47bs9v87gtn9pkbmhtwsx

February 8th, 2008 by

eBay’s roots date back to 1995 when (co-)founder Pierre Omidyar and his fiancé were talking about the difficulty she was having trying to contact other people who collect Pez candy dispensers. Omidyar realized the Internet would be the perfect vehicle to create a trading community, but on-line auctions were still more a concept than a business when Skoll and Omidyar quit their jobs a year later to work on the project full-time.

As founding President of eBay, Jeff Skoll has had a track record of launching businesses that result in positive social change. At eBay, he developed the business plan that the company still follows today, creating entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals around the world. In 1998 he inspired the company to take an active role in philanthropy, pioneering creation of the eBay Foundation through the allocation of pre-IPO shares. This innovation sparked similar initiatives by other young companies in high-technology hubs across the United States.

In 1999 Jeff created the Skoll Foundation, which takes an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy by investing in, connecting and celebrating the world’s most promising social entrepreneurs in order to effect lasting, positive social change worldwide. Through its Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, the foundation provides financing and complementary services to leading social entrepreneurs whose innovations are poised for growth and replication.

In 2004 Jeff founded Participant Productions, a global media company that produces entertainment to inspire and compel social change. Participant’s 2005 films, including Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana and North Country, collectively garnered 11 Academy Award nominations. One of its 2006 releases, An Inconvenient Truth, has been at the forefront in driving an unprecedented grassroots commitment to address climate change and has received two Academy Awards.

In April 2005 Jeff partnered with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Kamran Elahian to launch The Gandhi Project, which dubbed the epic film Gandhi into Arabic in order to screen it throughout the Palestinian territories. Working with nongovernmental organization partners, The Gandhi Project promotes nonviolent resistance and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi through screenings combined with discussion. Plans are under way to expand the project throughout the Arab world.

Today Skoll serves as Chairman of Participant Productions and the Skoll Foundation and resides in California. In 2006 he was named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 People of the Year.

February 3rd, 2008 by Daniel Priestley

In 1904, 43 year-old engineer Henry Royce sat with a 27 year-old, pioneering car dealer, Charles Rolls to discuss the idea of selling his cars in Britain. In 1906, the pair formed their new company Rolls Royce Limited. In their first year of business, they won several awards for quality engineering.

Charles Royce was as passionate about airplanes as he was automobiles, forming the Royal Aero Club in 1903 and becoming the 2nd person to be certified by it. He broke several records in hot air balloons and aero-planes before disaster struck in 1910. Rolls was piloting a Write Flyer when the tail snapped off and he was the first Briton to die in a plane crash at just 33 years old.

Henry Rolls assumed custodianship of his partners legacy for excellence in automotive and aeronautic engineering and began manufacturing plane engines as well as cars in 1914. This proved to be a stroke of genius when war broke and Rolls Royce was able to finance its growth by making engines for planes during the war.

The company swelled and in 1931 bought out its rival, Bentley, during the great depression.

Today the Rolls Royce brand has the “Super Luxury Car” category almost entirely tied up, it works with Airbus and Boeing to provide state-of-the-art engines for their flying fleet and it’s brand is one of the most well known and respected in the world.

Charles Rolls will never know the strength and importance of his legacy however by following his passion boldly he has become an immortalized figure in Briton’s history.

January 5th, 2008 by Daniel Priestley

Judy Cramer created the stage show Mama Mia after meeting Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, of ABBA while she was working in production in the London Theatre scene.

Originally pitching the idea as a movie screen play she had a breakthrough in 1995 when she realised that it would be better to create a stage show.

By 1997 she had invested over £20,000, 2 years of her time and had sold her flat to finance the growing costs of her obsession. With virtually no encouragement from her friends she persisted on.

Finally in late 1997 Judy successfully secured the rights to the ABBA songs, persuaded Polygram to finance half the £3M set up costs and advance her £300,000 to begin the show.

With the support of Polygram, Bjorn and Benny she went on to get a Swedish Bank to finance the rest of the money she needed to open the show.

In April 1999, four years after she was struck with the idea, Mama Mia opened to sell-out crowds and the show was an instant success. It has since grossed more than $2 billion at the box office, opened in more than 170 cities all over the world, been seen by 30 million people.

Craymer’s has a 50% share in her company “Littlestar”, that has monthly turnover of £16M+. All the creative team involved in the show have become millionaires, and Craymer earns an estimated £4m a year from the show, amassing a personal fortune of tens of millions of pounds.

Not to rest on her laurels, Judy Craymer recently announced that her Stage Show will finally become the movie she originally envisaged over a decade ago. With Universal Pictures behind it, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan Staring in it and a $65M Budget it is sure to be the feel good “chick-flick” of the summer. 

November 29th, 2007 by Daniel Priestley

“I look out in my yard and see cars worth over $400,000… It wasn’t because of my success in music it was because of my success in business” – 50 Cent

Curtis Jackson was discovered in 2003 by fellow rapper “Eminem” who helped him to get a recording contract with producer “Dr Dre”. Once he had established his brand as “50 Cent” he wasted no time in partnering with businesses in several industries to help boost their sales.

Fifty makes his money by lending his brand to new businesses. He teamed up with Marc Ecko to form the clothing brand “G-Unit”, he worked with Sony to create a game that features his voice and likeness.

By leveraging his brand he has made far more money than many other more successful recording artists. Forbes Magazine says that Curtis Jackson, AKA 50 Cent, made over $40 Million last year. He also reportedly made over $410 Million from the sale of his stake in “Vitamin Water” when Coke purchased the business for $4.1Billion.

50 Cent has turned his star profile into an entrepreneurial empire that crosses over into many products and industries. By focusing on the power of his brand he is well on the way to becoming the first “Hip-Hop Billionaire”.

How are you building your brand, leveraging on your brand and protecting your brand. Whether you like his music or not, we can all learn a lot from 50 Cent.