Entrepreneurship - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Costume Shops Struggle with Low Seasonal Sales

October 6, 2020

October is usually the month that Halloween store owners look forward to all year round. Adult customers often spend well over $100 on costumes and accessories as they prepare for parties or haunted pub crawls. But with many of these social events now canceled due to the pandemic, Halloween stores are struggling to make up this essential source of revenue. At Lorenzo Caltagirone’s Virginia costume shop, for instance, sales are down 80 percent. “I’ve never been this worried before,” said Continue reading →

Health, Marketing, Product Distribution, Entrepreneurship, Halloween, Seasonal, Supply & Demand, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

[VIDEO] How Private Companies Are Bypassing the IPO Process

October 2, 2020

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In the last few months, companies like the space tourism agency Virgin Galactic and the data-mining firm Palantir have debuted on the stock exchange without launching IPOs. This video looks at the pros and cons of the SPAC process that allows businesses to go public through so-called “blank check” companies.

Questions:

What are the advantages of taking a company public through a SPAC rather than a traditional IPO?
What are the potential drawbacks of SPACs compared to IPOs?

SEC, Stock Exchange, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Regulation, IPO

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Winter Could Bring an End to Outdoor Dining in 2020

September 29, 2020

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According to the National Restaurant Association, during the pandemic more than 100,000 restaurants have closed either indefinitely or permanently and millions of jobs have been lost. Experts expect that the nation’s eateries will lose more than $240 million this year and warn that the worst could be yet to come. Along with takeout and curbside business, many restaurants have relied on outdoor dining to drive sales as many customers remain wary about eating inside. With winter on the horizon, however, Continue reading →

Supply & Demand, Coronavirus, Operations Management, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Health, Product Distribution

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Movie Studios Hold Back Major Releases as Theaters Stay Empty

September 22, 2020

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On August 27th, Warner Bros. began gradually releasing the movie Tenet in theaters that had been closed for months due to the pandemic. After more than two weeks on American screens, though, the $200 million film has only earned $29.5 million domestically. As a result, Hollywood studios may hold back on releasing major titles until audiences are ready to return. “You can’t do it. The economics won’t allow you to do it,” said one studio executive. “We can’t give [theaters] Continue reading →

60 Percent of Closed Businesses Will Not Reopen

September 17, 2020

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According to data collected and analyzed by Yelp, nearly 163,700 businesses have closed since the start of the pandemic in March. This marks an increase of 23 percent from July when Yelp last released statistics about closures. To make matters worse, about 98,000 of those businesses will remain closed permanently.

More than 32,000 of those shuttered businesses are restaurants, 61 percent of which have closed for good. Yelp claims that restaurants like pizzerias, delis, food trucks, and bakeries Continue reading →

Health, Restaurants, Food & Drink, Coronavirus, Ethics, Entrepreneurship

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship

Italy’s Renaissance-Era Wine Windows Return to Use

August 18, 2020

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced countless companies around the world to come up with new ways to sell products or else risk going out of business. For instance, many bars and restaurants have made the switch to carry-out service and installed take-out windows to easily access waiting customers. For some lucky Italian entrepreneurs, though, their businesses come with built-in to-go kiosks constructed more than 500 years ago.

Known as “buchette del vino,” or “little wine holes” in English, these Continue reading →

Operations Management, Promotions, Global, Italy, Entrepreneurship, Health, Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Managers Start Scheduling Meetings in Video Game Worlds

August 11, 2020

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For many Americans who have been working from home for six months, each day can seem like the same procession of Zoom meetings and email exchanges. As a result, some professionals have had trouble scheduling meetings with new clients who don’t want to add another video chat to their already packed calendars. For example, a Brooklyn-based ad executive named Lewis Smithingham tried for weeks to set up a meeting with an investment analyst only to receive a string of postponements Continue reading →

Entrepreneurship, Networking, Organizational Culture, Entertainment, Video Games, Telecommuting, Management, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Nearly 73,000 Businesses Have Closed Permanently

July 30, 2020

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According to data from Yelp, more than 55 percent of the 132,500 businesses listed on the site that closed during the pandemic will remain shuttered permanently. Although government relief bought some companies time, businesses that are now closed will likely remain that way for the long term. Restaurants account for the greatest share of permanent and temporary closures, followed closely by retailers and then beauty salons and spas.

“Businesses are needing to decide, ‘Do I renew my lease on Continue reading →

Regulation, Economics, Health, Ethics, Layoffs, Entrepreneurship, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Approximately 140,000 Businesses Listed on Yelp Remain Closed

July 7, 2020

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Over the last few weeks, restaurants and retailers across the country have gradually reopened with limited capacity, plexiglass barriers, and other anti-Covid restrictions. According to a recent study of the review site Yelp, however, approximately 140,000 listed businesses that closed in March remained shut down in June. What’s more, 41 percent of those companies have closed for good. Retailers accounted for the highest number of closures at 27,000. Coronavirus lockdown measures also majorly hurt restaurants, with 53 percent of closed Continue reading →

Promotions, Health, Product Distribution, Ethics, Restaurants, Entrepreneurship, Food & Drink, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

[VIDEO] How Airbnb Fell From Successful Startup to Crisis Mode

May 27, 2020

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A couple of weeks ago, we looked at how Airbnb hosts are struggling after the travel industry came to a standstill due to widespread stay-at-home orders. This video explains in greater detail why the once successful startup was so vulnerable to an economic downturn and what that means for both Airbnb and its hosts in the long term.

Questions:

What factors made Airbnb so successful for nearly a decade?
Do you think Airbnb will be able to recover from this Continue reading →