Tag: startup

Franchise or Start-Up?

Scott Asai1 Comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

The franchise industry turns over billions of dollars a year. Buying into a franchise can offer a new business owner some support and stability, but it can be more expensive to do this rather than launch a business of your own. As a start-up, you will be able to control your own business, and reap some huge rewards for your hard work. Whichever route you go down, there’s a lot of research that needs to be done to find out what opportunity there is and whether it’s a worthwhile investment. The right option will depend on your business style, business acumen and the type of person you are.

Franchise Vs Start-Up

If you decide to buy into a franchise, it’s likely to be a bigger investment than starting up on your own. This is because the franchise will share an initial fee for you get started with them. The advantage is that a franchise has a lower risk of failure, and the franchise might help you secure the funds to get started. You will need to keep paying royalties to keep your franchise, but you will keep getting support too for things like advertisement costs and the reassurance of a known brand. 

When you start a business on your own, you need a business plan to get any investment. If you can’t secure a big investment, you can get started using loans or credit cards. Whatever you need to do to get started and keep your business afloat in the early days, you will need to make sure that you also have a long-term plan in place, so your business can continue to grow and doesn’t falter in the early stages. 

Support

One of the big advantages of buying into a franchise is the strong support network that comes with it. Some big franchise, such as Auto Repair Franchises, give their new starters a few weeks of training, with time spent in a classroom learning the brand and time spent in existing franchise sites learning more about the business. The other advantage is that you also have operational processes and links with suppliers already in place through the franchise. You will be looked after from the beginning. The downside of buying into a franchise is that you won’t have the freedom to try anything new or build partnerships on your own. 

If you decide to start your own business, you will be able to make all your own decisions at every stage of the journey. This will take hard work and a lot of knowledge, but if you have a great idea for a business, you will probably want to shape it yourself and watch it grow. By what support is available to start-up businesses? Good business is good for the economy, so look into government schemes that offer funding, advice, and support. There are lots of websites, forums, and books out there that can offer lots of valuable advice that can guide you through the process of starting your own business.

Top 7 Companies That Use Amazon Web Services

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Amazon Web Services has grown into one of the biggest cloud-computing platforms in the world. Here’s how some of the most influential companies are using it.

Whether you work for a new start-up or an established corporation, chances are your company stores its data in some type of secure platform. While many corporations store their data on-site, a growing number of companies are switching to cloud-based platforms. And for good reason. Cloud storage offers flexible pricing, ample storage space, and reliable security. By storing their data off-site on a secure cloud platform, companies can also redirect their focus on innovating their products and services rather than worrying about maintaining their in-house infrastructure.

Are you thinking about using Amazon Web Services for your company? AWS is one of the most powerful cloud storage platforms on the market. Some of the most influential companies in the world use Amazon Web Services to store and manage their vast amounts of data. Let’s take a look at Amazon Web Services in action by assessing how its top clients are using it.

How the World’s Biggest Companies Leverage Amazon Web Services

From entertainment companies like Netflix to B2B service providers like WeTransfer, some of the top companies use AWS.

1. Twitter

Twitter is a leading social media platform used by millions of people around the world. On the business side, PR managers and reporters often use Twitter to break news stories or make announcements on behalf of their clients.

Last year, Twitter announced that it would be using Amazon Web Services to help manage its extensive content database. It planned to use AWS’s global cloud infrastructure to help support the millions of tweets sent out by users everyday. By working with Amazon Web Services, Twitter anticipated an uptick in product performance, growth in new areas, and significant savings.

2. Netflix

With over 193 million paid memberships, Netflix continues to come out on top in the streaming wars. Subscribers enjoy some of the best in TV, film, and unscripted content the entertainment industry has to offer.

In order to manage the sheer volume of content it offers, Netflix needs a powerful storage solution. That’s why the company relies on AWS for all of its computing and storage needs. For instance, Netfliix uses Amazon Kinesis to help process the billions of traffic flows that pass by each day. By leveraging this service, Netflix can provide fast and efficient customer support for its users.

3. Capital One

Capital One is one of the leading financial corporations in the United States. The company services customers across the country in auto loans, banking, savings accounts, and credit card services. By partnering with AWS, Capital One is able to provide a top-tier customer experience while AWS ensures the infrastructure behind the company’s operations remains stable.

4. General Electric

General Electric is a multinational conglomerate with divisions in aviation, power, renewable energy, digital services, and additive manufacturing. Back in 2017, the conglomerate named AWS its preferred cloud provider.

Several years prior to this announcement, General Electric had already begun to move thousands of its core applications to Amazon Web Services. At the time of the announcement, General Electric was still moving applications from its various business divisions to AWS. Several of these applications use AWS’s analytics and machine learning services in addition to its cloud storage properties.

This move toward AWS has since allowed General Electric’s IT teams to cut down time spent running its data centers and refocus their efforts back to innovating General Electric’s product offerings.

5. Kaplan

If you ever took the SAT or ACT, chances are you purchased a Kaplan book to help you prepare. This for-profit corporation specializes in test preparation for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, MCAT, GMAT, and LSAT. Kaplan uses AWS’s Elast Container Service, Elastic Compute Cloud, and CloudFormation. Together, these services allowed Kaplan to cut costs, improve operational efficiency, and roll out new features at a faster pace.

6. Pfizer

Pfizer is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. This well-known company makes drugs like Advil and Viagra.

Pfizer’s top data scientists teamed up with Amazon Web Services for their clinical trial that tested the efficacy of the company’s digital biomarkers. For the trial, Pfizer needed to process wearable sensor data from various participants. In order to help Pfizer process this sensor data, an Amazon Web Services Solutions Architect created an infrastructure that was scalable, flexible, secure, and reproducible.

7. Glossier

Glossier is a global makeup and skincare company that emerged from a popular beauty blog by founder Emily Weiss. One of the things that differentiates Glossier from its competitors is its focus on the providing the ultimate customer service experience.

Glossier fans love engaging with the brand on its blog and social media accounts. They also have the opportunity to interact with associates in-person when they purchase a product online before picking it up at the store. That’s why Glossier relies on Amazon Web Services for data security. With so much customer information in their hands, they needed a data solution that they could trust.

Final Thoughts

The sheer number of companies that rely on Amazon Web Services is a testament to how reliable and effective it is. Whether you are in the healthcare industry or specialize in B2B services, you can benefit from using Amazon Web Services.

Does your company use cloud platforms to store data? Let us know in the comments!

My First Startup – Educational Comic Book For Kids

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Move over Shark Tank: Comic book teaches kids entrepreneurship

We live in the age of innovation, of companies started by young entrepreneurs – from Apple to SpaceX. Every year, the founders get younger and younger. Yet, entrepreneurial education has not kept up. Children have spending money before they learn about financial literacy. They are given “perfect career” tests before they’re even aware that working for someone else’s dream is not the only way – that every one of us can create real value pursuing own dreams.

In comes a comic book, My First Startup, that lets children (especially 8-12 y.o.) learn entrepreneurship on their own terms, in a fun and non-patronizing way. Without telling them what they must do, My First Startup helps kids develop problem solving skills, creative thinking, time-management, work-life balance (it’s never too early for that one), mathematical and analytical skills, and so much more.

Created by a Brooklyn-based custom comic book company, Your Comic Story, My First Startup helps parents teach kids an alternative to the 9-5 career, as well as a reasonable response to “buy me more presents” (Want that new game console – earn the money for it.) Ultimately, it’s helping parents raise kids who feel empowered and comfortable in the world where running your own business is as welcomed and rewarding as having a traditional job.

My First Startup was just launched through Kickstarter to let the people decide if teaching entrepreneurial thinking to children is important. To make the comic book especially useful to budding entrepreneurs, its creators brought in some key business service providers, including Shopify, Instapage, Jukebox Printing, SendInBlue and Shippo.

Learn more about the Kickstarter project and pledge your support here.