Two successful entrepreneurial visions

Carlos Slim

Carlos Slim Helú was born in Mexico City on January 28, 1940, after his family settled at Mexico City in the beginning of the 20^th century. With a remarkable skill for numbers, and although he graduated as a Civil engineer, Carlos Slim has dedicated his life to the world of finance and stock market. Owner of many important companies around the world, his major achievements came out when he became the owner of the most important cellular phone company of Mexico “Telmex.” He has built an empire of companies with an estimated value of$35 Billion. 

Among the key business principles that Slim mentioned in an interview to The New Yorker in 2009, one can find avoid investments in non-productive assets and reinvest the profits. Whenever capital is put into non-productive assets it becomes an expense. In other words, that money will not come back as an income any more. Some examples of non-productive assets could be cars and other goods that will depreciate with time. On the other hand, reinvesting the profits will permit a company to either expand or improve the quality of the products/services offered. Moreover, having clear business objectives will guide your company through the correct path by using the correct tools in the right moment, according Carlos Slim.

Dr. Steve Gedeon

Steve Gedeon is an expert on business plans’ design and review, PhD on Materials Science and Engineering, and MBA on Faculty of Management from University of Toronto. With more than 30 years of professional career, Dr. Gedeon has founded more than a dozen public, private, venture capital, and non-profit organizations. He has also delivered multiple engagement speaks about entrepreneurship, motivation, and personal leadership. 

As one of the important key components of a business plan, Dr. Gedeon highlights the specific understanding of your target market. Questions such as: What is the price and profit I am making with the product/service I want to sell/offer? and, who am I selling to?, are mandatory when it comes to prevent your business from making avoidable mistakes. Artists would not success without fans and business are not businesses without customers. The fact of correctly understanding your target audience is what will give you the capacity to create or improve a product/service according to their needs. 

Resources:

·      Burhoe, S. (2009, August 09). Steve Blank and Carlos Slim Business Models

Retrieved from http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/2012/08/steve-blank-business-models.html

·      Burhoe, S. (2012, July 2). Steven Gedeon.

Retrieved from http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/steven-gedeon.html

·      Ryerson, University. (2013). Dr. Steven Gedeon. Biography.

Retrieved from http://www.ryerson.ca/tedrogersschool/bm/faculty_staff/bios/gedeon.html

·      Wright, L. (2009, June 01). Slim's time. The New Yorker.

Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_wright

·      Academy of Achievement. (2012, April 6). Carlos Slim Helu. Biography.

Retrieved from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/sli0bio-1