Diddy. Warren Buffett. Jay-Z. Bill Gates. You don’t normally think of rap artists like Diddy and Jay-Z in the same league as legendary entrepreneurs like Buffett and Gates, but you should.
After all, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter may be famous for being a rapper, but he also is part owner of the New Jersey Nets, started The 40/40 Club — a restaurant and lounge with locations across the globe — and owns Roc-A-Fella Records and clothing company Rocawear, among other ventures. Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, is worth a whole lot more than two bits. Some business and rap observers estimate he may be worth close to $1 billion, not because of his music hits, which are substantive, but because in 2004, he invested in Glaceau, the company that produces and distributes Vitaminwater and Smartwater. It was just purchased for $4.1 billion by Coca-Cola, and some have speculated that 50’s 10 percent stake in the company will translate to $401 million. Suddenly, it becomes clear: Gates who?
And it’s not just big-name rappers capitalizing on the power of branding. Lesser-known hip hop artists are building their own diversified empires, as well. So just what can entrepreneurs learn from the rap game?
Category Designers | 0 Comments »EBay Inc. is cutting the fees U.S. sellers on its site pay for fixed-price items, in one of the company’s boldest moves this year to boost merchandise for sale, lure new buyers and take on competitors.
Total sellers’ fees will decrease in most cases under eBay’s plan to improve the balance between buyers and sellers on the world’s largest online auction site, and thereby reduce customer defections to rivals such as Amazon.com Inc.
“I’d say this is the most fundamental change we’ve made, ever, to the marketplace,” Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay marketplace operations, told Reuters. “It’s a huge shift from where we’ve been.”
Category eBay | 0 Comments »Bakers Footwear Group is a national, mall-based, specialty retailer of distinctive footwear and accessories for young women. They have retained its listing on Nasdaq following an investigation by the stock exchange.
The women’s footwear retailer had been informed by Nasdaq that its listing was at risk in June this year, because it had not maintained the minimum market value of publicly held shares of US$5m or more for the previous 30 days.
