The world’s richest man has some advice for budding entrepreneurs: Never forget about the customer, and feel comfortable with getting things wrong. The founder and CEO of Amazon.com Inc. Jeff Bezos was speaking during a keynote at the company’s re:MARS conference in Las Vegas on June 6 when he was asked to share tips for anyone looking to start a business. “The most important thing is to be customer obsessed,” Bezos told the audience. “Figure out how to absolutely delight them.” Amazon has won over customers by historically offering the lowest price on a product, even if that means losing money. The company now also has 100 million paid subscribers to its Prime membership offering. Bezos also said that entrepreneurs need to prepare for failure, hinting that bold moves need to be made to get ahead. “You’ve gotta accept that your business is going to be in many ways an experiment, and it might fail,” … [Read more...] about Tips on how to succeed in business from Jeff Bezos
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Curb your overspending with these 4 tips
Do you feel like your income is just enough, and there's nothing left over for savings? Or perhaps you have the good intention to save money, but before you know it's the end of the month and you've spent more money than you thought you would. This happens to many people, so how can you take control of your spending? Here are four tips that can help you be more mindful of how you spend your money and break your overspending habit. START TRACKING YOUR SPENDING Are you really overspending, and what are you overspending on? To answer these questions, we recommend you start tracking your expenses. You may think it's a tedious exercise, but with so many budget tracking apps available, it's really as easy as taking a few seconds after you've made a payment to input the expense in your chosen app. This can be an easy habit to develop as we're usually on our phones anyway, and some people even use contactless payment systems via smartphones. Just add on that extra step of using a budget … [Read more...] about Curb your overspending with these 4 tips
Consumers want to be rewarded for shared data
More than 70 per cent of consumers also would share that data for benefits including more-rapid loan approvals, discounts on gym memberships and personalised offers based on based on current location, according the report, which is based on Accenture’s global Financial Services Consumer Study. At the same time, however, people believe that privacy is paramount, with 83 per cent of respondents saying they are very cautious about the privacy of their personal data. Data security breaches were the biggest concern for consumers in Thailand, tied with increasing costs, when asked what would make them leave their bank or insurer. The survey was done online in May and June last year, drawing on of 47,000 consumers in 28 markets. Respondents were required to have a bank account and an insurance policy and covered multiple generations and income levels. Nontawat Poomchusri, country managing director and financial services practice lead for Accenture in Thailand, said … [Read more...] about Consumers want to be rewarded for shared data
News Preparing a speech?: 5 tips from a world public speaking champion
CEBU -- It took 10 years of hard work to bring Sri Lankan Dananjaya Hettiarachchi onto the stage of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center during the 2014 Toastmasters International Convention. There, he won the Toastmasters International Championship of Public Speaking with his speech, “I See Something,” the first Asian to do so in the 90-year history of the competition. The uploaded video of “I See Something” is one of the most watched speeches on YouTube with 3.8 million views. Watch more in iWant or TFC.tv Hettiarachchi, a native of Sri Lanka, travels the world sharing his story and what he has learned from his journey to the pinnacle of public speaking. He was in the Philippines as the keynote and educational speaker at the recently concluded Toastmasters International District 75 Convention held in Mandaue City in Cebu. “The Philippines is wonderful. For me, I've got to know the Philippines through the people. I've probably seen some of the … [Read more...] about News Preparing a speech?: 5 tips from a world public speaking champion
News China’s vast fleet is tipping the balance in the Pacific
TAIPEI - A generation ago, from mid-1995 into early 1996, China lobbed missiles in the waters around Taiwan as the self-governing island prepared to hold its first fully democratic presidential election. Washington forcefully intervened to support its ally, sending two aircraft carrier battle groups to patrol nearby. The carriers, then as now the spearhead of American power, intimidated Beijing. The vote went ahead. The missiles stopped. How China is replacing America as Asia's military titan Today, with tension again running high, Washington still backs Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping on January 2 renewed Beijing's longstanding threat to use force if necessary to restore mainland control over the island. But the United States is now sending much more muted signals of support. On Sunday, American ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait. This was the seventh passage of U.S. warships through the narrow, strategically sensitive waterway since July. Each time, though, just two U.S. … [Read more...] about News China’s vast fleet is tipping the balance in the Pacific