Josh Anstey’s Blog

Yes you heard me. Business is booming in the Web 2.0 world. What does this mean? Don’t miss the train, get on board. There is so much opportunity out there waiting to be utilised. Go out and get it!

Have you got an idea? Do you want to invent something? Is there anything that you think could be reinvented? Would you like to offer the world a new product or service?

Now is the time. Don’t sit back and relax. Take action!

The web offers you an infinite amount of ways to succeed, achieve something, and take your entrepreneurial sprit to the next level. Remember, you can only learn from the experience. So rather than not knowing, give it a go and take that chance because you never know where it will lead you.

If you would like to read an article about it, click here to read the iTnews article, ‘Business is booming thanks to Web 2.0’

It is sure to inspire you and give you that motivation.

If you would like to discuss business ideas with me, are looking for a business partner, need someone to bounce your thoughts and plans off, or would like some consulting and entrepreneurial advice, contact me! It would be great to help you.

Related articles:

What is Web 2.0
Web 2.0 Galore
Diary of a start-up #1
Diary of a start-up #2 – take advantage of your age
The art of the elevator pitch
Internet breaks barriers making US less relevant
Are entrepreneurs scared of failure?

The iPhone has been named the invention of the year by Time magazine.

It has sold 1.4 million units since its release on June 29, and is looking to continue its strong growth and success.

There has been a huge amount of hype about the iPhone both before and after its release. It really shows how incredible and quickly technology is developing and gives us a taste of the future. And what a great future it looks to be. The Time Magazine article about the iPhone really presents a strong positive case about this amazing product that has won invention of the year.

It seems that Apple just can’t go wrong. I wonder what they are going to bring out next.

If you want to read more, see Time Magazine’s ‘Inventions of the Year’ article.

Got an iPhone? Tell us what you think about it.

Related articles of interest:
Mobile Phone Opportunity
There are two kinds of companies: brave and dead
Tools for Marketers 2.0
Web 2.0 Galore
Advertising Collection
Online advertising made simple

Keep informed and up to date. Subscribe to Josh Anstey’s blog.

Marc Andreessen, the entrepreneur and founder of Opsware and Netscape has said that businesses are not early adopters anymore and their IT departments are ‘stuck in the mud’. It seems that these days, whilst there is such an entrepreneurial boom, especially with Web 2.0, businesses are not welcoming these ideas and start-ups and entrepreneurs are experiencing barriers and closed doors.

I was reading this in an article ‘Evaluating tech startups: The risks and rewards’ from iTnews and it had some interesting information.

InformationWeek did research of 150 senior business technology executives and got some interesting results. 74% described their IT cultures as moderate and conservative only 26% called themselves aggressive. These stats are interesting but also worry to entrepreneurs and start-ups out there.

To those companies that fall into the 74% - step outside your comfort zone. You don’t necessarily have to be aggressive, but rather entrepreneurial, take a chance, give it a go, and help nurture and motivate the young entrepreneurial talent that is a click away.

As entrepreneurs, what can we do?
Look at this as a challenge! Don’t be afraid of it, but rather welcome these statistics and use them as motivation. Be prepared, and know that with determination and persistence you can succeed!

Some related articles:
There are two kinds of companies: brave and dead
Mobile Phone Opportunity
Business Cards for Beginners
Springwise – your daily entrepreneurial ideas

Remember to subscribe to my blog

What a great exciting month October has been for blog.joshanstey.com!!! We kicked off the month with ‘Networking with Business Cards’ which is really useful in getting a better idea of how to use your business card to your benefit.

‘UPOD – Pronounced “You Pod” – Under Promise, Over Deliver’ gave entrepreneurs some business insight and ideas for future projects and developments. This is quite an interesting theory.

We are in the middle of what has been coined ‘Web 2.0’ and what better way to explore this than to post ‘Web 2.0 Galore’. A few great Web 2.0 sites and web 2.0 logos are on show here.

The benefits of mobile phones were seen in the article ‘Mobile Phone Opportunity’. This is definitely some food for thought for all you entrepreneurs out there.

‘Advertising Collection’ was a list of advertising websites that are a great resource for advertisers. You can never have too many resources, so this list is guaranteed to give you some very useful information.

Who would have thought there were rugby entrepreneurs? The 2007 Rugby World Cup provided some interesting ideas and insights into the mind of the entrepreneur. I explain this with my post, ‘The Rugby Entrepreneur’.

A quick view of how those that inspire us are living in ‘How to live like a billionaire’. There are some images of where the wealth these guys have created has taken them.

I found an interesting site that made online advertising really simple. Check out my article ‘Online advertising made simple’ to find out more.

My ‘Diary of a Start-up’ series started. This was very exciting, and gave a few tips and tricks from some of my experiences. Keep your eye out for more of these by subscribing to my blog.

‘Second Life Virtual Career Fair’was really interesting and amazing to see where the web has taken us.

No entrepreneur can go without it. It is so important to the success of a business. ‘The art of an elevator pitch’ explains all you need to know and how to master it!

If it’s Web 2.0 why can’t we have Marketing 2.0? ‘Tools for Marketers 2.0’ gives some tips and sites for being a 2.0 marketer.

My post ‘Internet breaks barriers, making US less relevant’ is topical, in the news, and gives every entrepreneur opportunity!

I was lucky enough to attend an ‘ACS Young IT Talk’ and this provided some interesting ideas and posts including ‘A straight line career path doesn’t exist’ and ‘Short term pay, long term gain’. These are really interesting and there is a lot to learn from them.

‘Are entrepreneurs scared of failure?’ was an interesting post that was thought provoking and is a must read.

Finally, we rounded the month up with ‘Marketing and Networking YOU!’ As an entrepreneur, you have to read this article so that you can make the most out of marketing and networking yourself to benefit your business.

What an exciting and developing month October has been. November is shaping up to be even better, with lots more information, tips and tricks for all you entrepreneurs out there. If there is an area or topic of interest that you would like me to blog about, send me a message here.

Remember to subscribe to my blog RSS feed to keep up to date with all the latest updates on blog.joshanstey.com

Welcome to part two of my thoughts from the ACS talk I attended earlier this week by Stephen Kowal.

As the title says, ‘Short term pay, long term gain’. What does this mean? Sometimes in order to achieve your goal and reach a point that you are focused on you need to make some sacrifices (more like ‘changes’) now. Sacrifices is a bad word to describe this as I would rather look at it as making ‘strategic changes’ now, in the short term. This may be a decrease in salary, a demotion, or working in an area that you may not have a real interest in, but these ‘strategic changes’ will help lead you in the right direction. These strategic changes may help you get that promotion, start a business you have been meaning to get up and running, or take yourself to a level you only dreamed of.

As entrepreneurs, we should understand this notion of ‘short term pay, long term gain’ better than anyone else. We are the ones that are able to take the risk, make that strategic change (or sacrifice for those that prefer the word), and know that in the long run, down the track, what we are doing now is for the greater good.

Passion
Take the risk, give it a goal, and be passionate about your goal. Don’t let ego or anything else get in the way. Remember to plan for the short term and the long term so that your goals and dreams are realities.

Another important thing Stephen mentioned was that over specialisation can be a killer depending on your goal. I found this interesting and I think that as entrepreneurs, whilst we want to be involved in every aspect of the business, there comes a time when we need to give ourselves a reality check and make sure we are not ‘over specialising’ in any area.

‘Your goal can and probably will change many times’
This is something to embrace, welcome and make the most of as entrepreneurs. Don’t fight it off but rather make the most of the exciting entrepreneurial journey.

Balance
In business, balance is important. So remember to have professional goals, personal goals and social goals. This will ensure that you are a better you, that you have balance, and that you continue to enjoy what you do. Working towards these goals will benefit you in all areas of your life. As entrepreneurs, often we tend to focus too much on our business, our idea and what we are trying to create and we forget there is life outside of the business. Always remember that you have 3 areas of goals; professional, personal and social.

It was mentioned that there are three important factors to success. These are:

• Personality
• Passion
• Drive

Remember that, and use it to your advantage.

Finally, here is a quote from the talk, and is something that will motivate every entrepreneur. Keep this in mind and your goals are only a short distance away.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal”

Remember to subscribe to my blog so that you don’t miss future posts.

Click here to read my previous blog posts about the talk, ‘A straight line career path doesn’t exist’ and ‘ACS Young IT Talk’.

Motivated? Check out my post on, ‘There are two kinds of companies: brave and dead’. It is a must read!!!

Last night I attended a talk organised by the ACS featuring Stephen Kowal, CIO and Director of Business Excellence of CSC and employer of 87 000. Overall the talk was brilliant with lots of really useful information, ideas, motivation and inspiration. It has given me a fortune of food for thought and ideas to pass along on my blog.

Stephen talked about IT careers, what employers look for, and how best to achieve your goals and position yourself in a way that will enable you to reach great heights. The talk was really great from so many aspects, and had lots of information and ideas that can be implemented for entrepreneurs.

‘A straight line career path doesn’t exist’

As entrepreneurs, it is important to take this fact on board with you. In the modern world, a straight line career path doesn’t exist, and it is vital that you allow yourself to explore different avenues and options so that you are not narrowed into one avenue. Don’t feel pressured about following what was the traditional path, but rather embrace the fact that the straight line career path doesn’t exist, and utilize the opportunities that it presents.

Key success factors

• Foundation Skills – it is important to have the basic foundations of what you are doing. There is such a wide variety of ways to attain this and learn these skills. So do what you can to get the foundation and basics in so that you can build on them and succeed at what you are doing.
• Attitude - do every job passionately regardless of what you think or desire. Skill, knowledge and ability are important, but there is nothing that can compare to that of attitude. A positive attitude not only makes what you do enjoyable, but it puts you in a league of your own and lets you stand above the crowd. Be positive about your ventures, your businesses, and where you are heading. Having the right attitude is what overcomes obstacles and achieves success!
• Know your business, learn your industry – know what you do and have the knowledge to develop your business, who and what you are. Make sure you have a good understanding of what your business is, and where you come from. This will benefit you in moving forward. Continually learn your industry. This is not a once off process, but an ever evolving and continually changing activity. So keep informed about your industry. Knowledge is power!
• Personal growth and learning – you are what drives your success and don’t forget that. You are the one that makes and creates your opportunities. Remember to always work on your personal growth and learning so that it can assist you in your endeavours and your success.
• Communication, communication and communication – this is everything that you are and where you are going. If you can’t tell someone who you are, and communicate where you are going, then there will always be that invisible barrier. Make sure you can smoothly and effectively communicate with someone, whether it is in pitching an idea, networking, socialising and discussing business. Communication is another vital key to success. It will make you or break you. You can get some tips from my post on ‘The art of the elevator pitch’.
• Everybody is a customer; every position is a leadership position – as an entrepreneur, it is important to recognise that anyone, anything and everything is an opportunity, a customer, or a potential business partner. Keep this in mind and you will never be caught off guard, and you will make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. Remember that regardless of what your role is, from coffee boy, to CEO, to Entrepreneur, every position is a leadership position. No matter what you do, there is room for leadership and an opportunity for your to showcase your skills, and lead.

I hope you enjoyed the summary of this amazing talk, and my comments and additions to the bullet points. This is a starting point for all of this. I will follow this up with a second post to discuss the other half of the talk that covered your ‘Goals’, so keep your eyes out for that one. Hope you were able to take something away from this and implement it straight away. I would love to know your thoughts.

Remember to subscribe to my blog so that you don’t miss a thing!

Click here to read my previous post about this ACS event, “ACS Young IT Talk”, or if you would like some tips for events like these, read my post on “Networking with business cards”.

I am a member of the Australian Computer Society, and tonight I am attending a talk by Stephen Kowal, the CIO for CSC. This talk is part of the NSW Young IT Career Pathways initiative and is set to be a great one.

Look out for my post tomorrow, where I will recap on what we heard, and I will explain the benefits to entrepreneurs, and networkers.

Wondering how to network at events such as these? Keen for some tips? Read my post: “Networking with Business Cards” to find out how.

Yes, that’s right, you are reading correctly. As Entrepreneurs, and specifically Internet Entrepreneurs, there is often the misconception, that to make an online venture work, and to succeed in this web world of Web 2.0, you need to be in Silicon Valley, USA or somewhere else in the country.

Last week, Mary Meeker, managing Director of Morgan Stanley’s Global Technology Research Team, said that the US was becoming less relevant in this web world.

Meeker’s presentation shows that the fastest growth was outside the US.

• Germany is winning the E-Commerce market
• China is winning the online gaming market
• South Korea is winning in broadband
• Japan in winning mobile payments
• United Kingdom is winning in online advertising
• Brazil and South Korea are winning social networking
• Philippines are winning in micro-transactions via SMS

So for all internet entrepreneurs out there, don’t be de-motivated or disheartened if you are not in the US. You can still succeed. If your country is in this list, there are great opportunities is some markets, and if your country isn’t in this list, challenge yourself to create a technology that will put it there.

If you want to read the original article, click here.

The popular online world Second Life is hosting a Virtual Career Fair.

Check it out. It’s amazing how Web 2.0 has been extended and what it has evolved into.

Click here to read the article about it

Technorati Profile

Mobile Phones - We can’t go without them, and we expect so much from them. This provides endless opportunity for Entrepreneurs that have an interest in the mobile phone market, or even for those that don’t have an interest, yet have an idea, or can see an opportunity.

Here is an interesting article from Business 2.0 on CNNMoney.com. It provides some great food for thought for all entrepreneurs seeking an idea of endless opportunities, high potential, and even higher demand. Click here to read the article about mobile phones and the tween and teen market, and their hunger for more features and capabilities.

Any ideas of what’s next?