your money ezine
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July 8, 2009TRANSCRIPT
Your Money eZine www.yourmoneyezine.com
“What’s black and white and complete-ly over?” American TV host Jon Stewart’s barb referring to the state of the newspaper industry in that country might not match the present condition in Jamaica but the woes of the newspaper business in the US might be a harbinger of the challenges ahead. In 2009 at least 12 major newspapers in the US including The Seattle Post will cease print operations and move their output completely to the Internet if they cannot find willing buyers. Willing buyers are unlikely as even Warren Buffett, who has long had a penchant for the newspaper business has declared that “we wouldn’t buy one at any price”
So what happened? Well, the internet with its light-ning quick responses to everything global and its tendency to break down geographical constraints happened. Internet news sources are dynamic, wide-
spread and are able to attract readers of far greater diversity than any paper in the world. Newspapers are part of our culture, but with thousands of jobs lost in the US, falling advertising revenue and a general loss of stock capitalization, newspapers may find them-selves heading the same direction as typewriters and portable CD players.
American company Amazon revolutionized the way people in the world bought books and they are at-tempting another coup with the capabilities pre-sented by their e-reader device known as the Kindle. The Kindle was originally only used to view e-books bought on Amazon’s website but the latest version al-lows users to get digital versions of newspapers “de-livered” to their device without the risk of a paper boy breaking a window in the process. One does get the feeling that the Kindle has the potential to do to print what the IPod did to compact discs, and by selling over 500000 units within the first year, the Kindle has actually done better than the IPod did in its first year.
It may be argued that internet usage and penetration in the United States is far greater than in the Caribbe-an, thus the digital invasion of our printed word might be a while in coming. Statistics from www.internet-worldstats.com show the US having a 73.1% inter-net penetration and the Caribbean only 22%. Jamaica, how-ever, has a 53.5% penetration as of 2008 growing by 21.6% since 2000. Jamaicans are very traditional about their newspapers but with a little more than half of the country accessing the internet daily, the possibility certainly exists that a shift is bound to occur if not sooner, than later.
One of the main arguments over what caused US newspapers to be so easily preyed upon by their on-line competitors was their unwillingness to be innova-tive. Newspaper websites at first provided little more than mirror images of their printed product which makes for a good read before 10 in the morning. The two major Jamaican newspapers don’t seem to be bucking this trend and while they enjoy the lion’s share of advertising revenue now, the ever increas-ing digitalization of our population might start posing some rather tough questions.
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Are the days of print media coming to and end?
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The KINDLE being displayed onthe cover of NEWSWEEK in the US
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“IT IS NoT oNLy WhAT WE Do, bUT ALSo WhAT WE Do NoT Do, for WhIch WE ArE AccoUNTAbLE.” - MoLIErE
The road to successful entrepreneurship can some-times seem rocky and even downright treacherous, as there are many pitfalls that are outside of our control. Lack of low-cost financing, high production costs, and aggressive competitors are just a few of the ob-stacles we face.
Although a challenging economy and competitive pressures can be major problems, many times our own attitudes and practices will negatively affect the viability of our businesses.
WhAT ArE yoUr STANDArDS?One self-defeating problem that plagues many small entrepreneurs is a lack of accountability. The Human Resources and Skills Development Canada website
defines accountability as an “obligation to demonstrate and take responsibility for performance in light of agreed expecta-tions.”
Simply put, when you open your doors for business, you have entered into a contract with your customers to provide your product or service at
conventional delivery standards. If you fall short of their expecta-tions, you can’t expect that they will continue to be your clients.
If you’re a business owner, take an introspective look at yourself and truthfully answer the following ques-tions: Are you nonchalant about sticking to promised deadlines? Are you slow to return calls to clients and creditors? Are you inconsid-erate of your customers’ time? Are you reluctant to admit when your company is at fault?
I f you have responded positively to one or more of the above, then beware. Your inability to deliver as promised, lack of consid-eration for time, or generally
undependable nature are some of the issues that can destroy your business. Many times, your customers won’t even bother to tell you when you have disap-pointed them, they will simply just stop coming.
yoUr WorD IS yoUr boNDTo make accountability your hallmark, your word must become your bond. In order to offer guarantees to your customers, you must have complete faith in your ability to carry out whatever you promise to do. Therefore, you have to carefully consider what you’re committing to, before issuing any verbal or written agreements.
Sometimes in order to get that big contract or sale, business owners will undertake projects that they know that they are not qualified to do, or cannot complete in the desired time. If you realise that it’s physically impossible to get the job done, it is better for you to decline the business than jeopardize your integrity.
Despite our best efforts, sometimes as entrepreneurs we will fall short of our preferred standards. If we have let down our clients, we must quickly take responsibil-ity, admit our shortcomings, and offer to make restitu-tions where possible.
Best-selling author Stephen R. Covey said it perfectly when he declared “The key to growth is to learn to make promises and to keep them.”
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Accountabilityby: Cherryl Hanson Simpson
( (Cherryl is a financial consultant and coach, and founder of Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services. See more of her work at www.financiallysmartonline.com. Email Cherryl at advice@finan-ciallysmartonline. com. Please add this address to your email address book in order to ensure you receive a response.
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on the night of June 12, 2009, analog broad-casts in the continental United States bid millions of television viewers farewell and made way for the offerings of digital trans-missions that no analog signal could com-pete with. On this night the United States became the largest country and the first outside of Europe to complete its Digital Switchover, which is the process by which all analog broadcasts are converted to and replaced by digital transmission. The analog sunset cost the US government over two billion dollars to educate the public about the switchover and also implemented a coupon based program to subsidize the cost of digital converters that would allow users who could not afford a new television to view new digital content.
The Digital Switchover is a move that is being im-plemented in many countries over the world and it is merely a matter of time before Jamaica and the Caribbean will join the ranks of those already digi-tized. Digital broadcasts take up less of the spectrum it uses and therefore allows more of the spectrum to be used for wireless broadband, better emergency services and other innovations that will enhance the capabilities of communications in countries around the world. The economic implications have not gone unnoticed as the United States managed to raise a whopping 19.6 billion through a spectrum auction made possible by all the space freed up by the Digital Switchover.
To ascertain the progress that Jamaica has made with plans for our Digital Switchover Your Money spoke with Executive Director of the Broadcasting Commis-sion of Jamaica, Mr. Cordell Green.
Mr. Green made it clear that although Jamaica has not yet set a schedule for the transition, the process was inevitable seeing the trend of other countries in the world and Jamaica’s healthy appreciation for all things tech-savvy. “Jamaica is first world in terms of our appetite for communication standards” states Mr. Green,” plus major markets such as the US and the UK have already switched or are in the process and this affects us in terms of the sales of consumer items from the US and the television content which we re-ceive from them”.
According to Mr. Green, a steering committee has been set up already which will be responsible for all things pertaining to the switchover, first of which is a feasibility study of the broadcast landscape of the country. When asked who might have the most to ben-efit from the transition, Mr. Green made it clear that a feasibility study was in the pipeline to ascertain the complete benefits of the operation, the main benefi-ciaries and the costs associated with the move. “Mobile com-panies in Jamaica are always interested in providing new ser-vices to Jamaicans and I have no doubt that they will eager to take advantage of the new opportunities.
When asked about the opportunities for opportunistic entrepre-neurs in the new era of digital transmission Mr. Green stated firmly, “In the new market, Content will be KING, we’re going to have to create content that people will be demanding on multiple platforms, gaming, interactivity, entertainment, and WE have to be the ones to supply that need.”
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When will Jamaica be ready for digital switchover?
Cordell Green, Executive Director of the Jamaica Broadcasting Commission gives details
Cordell Green, Executive Director of the Jamaica Broadcasting Commission
Your Money eZine www.yourmoneyezine.com
Question: It’s clear that the global financial meltdown has largely been caused by institutions and individuals making poor investment decisions. How can investors avoid costly errors?
Answer: Every day, average investors make simple errors in judgment that can have a negative effect on their investment plans. Here are ten top mis-takes to avoid when investing:
1. Not setting investment objectives. Be clear about the reason you are investing, and if your goals are short-term, medium-term or long-term.
2. Not creating a plan to achieve your goals. Get expert advice to create an action plan that will tell you how much you need to invest, over what period, to achieve your goals. An advisor will also help you to choose investments that match your objectives.
3. Leaving all the decisions up to experts. Getting professional advice is important, but don’t leave all the decisions completely up to the advisors. It’s im-portant to learn how the investments work, so that you can make informed choices.
4. Following tips and informal advice. Some people jump into an investment just because their friends rec-ommended it, or they heard a hot tip about it. Inves-tors who act on rumours are easily swayed by ‘too-good-to-be-true’ schemes. Always do your homework to be clear about the risks and returns.
5. Not considering your risk comfort level. All in-vestments come with some degree of risk, so you should only invest what you can afford to lose. If you can’t sleep after you’ve made an investment, it’s too risky for you.
6. Putting all your money in one investment. It’s best to diversify into different types of investments. If all your money is placed in only one investment option, you could lose big if it doesn’t perform as expected.
7. Forgetting about the investing costs. Investors often neglect to consider how the costs of investing will affect their returns. Some expenses include stock exchange fees, mutual fund charges, and real estate transfer and upkeep costs.
8. Borrowing too much to invest. Some people try to increase their returns by borrowing funds to invest. Remember that debt comes with monthly repayment obligations that might not be covered y your invest-ment returns.
9. Letting greed take control. When an investment is performing exceptionally well, investors can lose reason and forget that it won’t increase forever. For example, when the stock market is booming, people often make wild bids on stocks that aren’t worth the price. Always keep a clear head and fight the desire to get greedy.
10. Not being committed to your goals. You must persist in carrying out your action plan until your in-vesting objective is met. To keep motivated, make pe-riodic visits to your financial advisor and make any necessary adjustments in your action plan until you achieve success.
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10 Smart Steps to: Avoid Investing Mistakes
Provided by: Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services
Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services is Ja-maica’s number one source for prac-tical, down-to-earth and independent answers for all questions relating to personal finance. Get more money smart advice at www.financiallysmar-tonline.com. Email [email protected] with comments or questions.
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Your Money eZine www.yourmoneyezine.com
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eZines Limited
Managing DirectorTyrone Wilson
your Money reportersAndre’ Burnett
Ryan BlakeKenartur Mitchell Jr.Latoya Hutchinson
columnistCherryl Hanson Simpson
Financially S.M.A.R.T Services
Design and Layout Omar Phinn
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