by Xavier Flores | Jun 17, 2021 | Business
He occupies the largest office in the building, the corner office, beautifully decorated, the furniture is of precious Tropical woods. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer great views of the city. At the private lobby, someone is always waiting for the next set of instructions. Brand-new car. Business dinners with drinks and exotic dishes; events that extend into the late hours of the night. Sunday brunch. Designer clothes. Wristwatch, very expensive…
That idea is sold to us through movies, television, social networks. Many entrepreneurs make this vision their main objective when starting their company. They want fame, glamour, a jet-setting lifestyle.
When inquiring about how to get to that privileged position, those same entrepreneurs have a very wrong idea of how to achieve it. The illusion of the “Head Honcho”, to the likes of Sam “Ace” Rothstein in the movie “Casino” or Gordon Gecko in “Wall Street”, does not resemble the reality of what is a true (and good) corporate boss, a Head Honcho.
Being the Head Honcho, the boss responsible for the company, is very different. At least it should be.
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by Jace | Jun 16, 2021 | Business, PropTech
On May 5, Airbnb announced that it would lay off about 25% of its workforce, that is 1,900 people, in response to the current drop in demand due to the crisis. It also announced that it would stop non-core business initiatives such as Transportation, Airbnb Studios, Hotels and Lux. These changes occur despite the significant US$2 billion capital injection that it had received just a few weeks earlier. But this is not the end of Airbnb; on the contrary, they will be with us for a long time.
The economic recovery in the State will be for everyone, so everyone must participate.
Vacation rental units are not a new phenomenon. However, Airbnb disrupted the market through its technology platform. This is an attractive source of income as Airbnb, HomeAway, and their peers shift the responsibility for real estate investment to individuals, rather than relying on larger developers or operators. With this shift, these companies spurred a new wave of development and ownership structures that seek to profit from unattended lodging demand.
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by Xavier Flores | Jun 15, 2021 | Business
The houses of the three little pigs were the same size, only made differently. When tested, only the brick house, with its solid construction, survived. It was not by chance or accident. The little pig who made his house out of straw was not really thinking about the house, but about doing whatever with what he saw first so he could quickly go play around. The second little pig, the one with the sticks house, had a stronger desire to imitate the one who was playing than to have a solid house, so he finished anyway he could and went to play, too. The last one was the only one who really knew why he wanted a house, and with that in mind he set about building it. He was the only one who understood that a worthwhile house needs to be planned, well grounded, and that it would take time to build.
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by Xavier Flores | Jun 14, 2021 | Strategy
Payroll is generally one of the most important components of a company’s operating expenses. In service sectors, such as hotels and restaurants, payroll is generally the largest component. It is natural that, in times of scarcity, companies seek a reduction in temporary costs to survive. Sometimes these adjustments become permanent, generating greater profits for owners and investors.
This economic halt we are experiencing today is serving as an excuse for many companies to make cuts and adjustments. Since March, massive layoffs have been reported across the country in excess of 346,000. In Quintana Roo, official figures reach almost 64,000 people, being the entity with the most registered layoffs.
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by Xavier Flores | Jun 10, 2021 | Entrepreneur MBA
Crises make evident the need to have solid business models with pinpointed solutions as the foundation of a startup. Much is being written these days about how crises periods offer great opportunities. However, following previous traumatic periods such as the dot.com burst and the ‘08-’09 financial crash the companies who survived, and later thrived, were laser-focused on their value proposition. For each one that we know about for having succeeded, many, many more did not make it. Think about Airbnb; but how many remember Housetrip or Wimdu?
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by Jace | Apr 24, 2020 | Business Development, Entrepreneur MBA, Entrepreneurship, Statups
In 2002, Joan Magretta published a fascinating article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) titled “Why Business Models Matter.”
For years prior, the talk of “business models” was considered sheer poppycock by people in the tech world, but 2002 was right when the internet bubble burst. Investors were keen to stay away from anything and everything that had to do with tech. It was time to discuss business models.
Magretta made an excellent observation; it was that “good business models begin with the insight into human motivations” – basically a foundational element of what we today call human-centered design.
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