Philip Fischer, entrepreneur devoted to family, Michigan and sports

Philip Fischer was a Michigan lawyer, entrepreneur and investor, but nothing mattered more than being a family man.

Married for more than 60 years, friends and family say he was rarely seen without his wife and their three daughters.

He took his girls all over, to sporting, educational and cultural events. At home, he created a hangout for the neighborhood kids at their house. He served as a softball coach, bus supervisor and driving instructor. When his daughters went away to camp, he wrote them a letter every day.

“He made it his mission in his life to do everything for his daughters and his wife, who was the love of his life,” said Daniel Syme, rabbi emeritus at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills. “He was a ‘girl dad.’ He is the only person I know who embodied that … He was a very special guy.”

Mr. Fischer died Monday, May 23, 2022, at his home in Boca Raton, Florida, after complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. He was 86.

From his unwavering devotion to family to helping out civic groups, Mr. Fischer was known for his connections.

“He was a people person,” said his daughter, Andrea Fischer Newman. “He really enjoyed people and he enjoyed helping people.”

Mr. Fischer spent years owning businesses across the state, including department stores, his family said. He also was president of the Philip B. Fischer Co. Inc., a real-estate and financial-consulting firm based in Birmingham. 

Mr. Fischer’s stature led to participation in groups such as the Detroit Regional Chamber. Gov. John Engler appointed him to the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority, Newman said.

He also served on the boards of Temple Beth El and the Michigan Cancer Foundation.

His involvement dovetailed with a commitment to improving the region, she said.

“He was a cheerleader,” she said. “He always wanted to make things better and make people happy.”

Born in New York in 1935, Mr. Fischer met his wife of 64 years, Myrna, when they were undergraduates at Adelphi University on Long Island. After completing their degrees, they married in New York City in 1957.

Mr. Fischer attended George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., and started his career as a lawyer, relatives said. 

Divco-Wayne, a school bus maker who employed him, sent him to Michigan in 1966 to restructure the company, Newman said.

The family first moved to Troy, then in 1972, to Bloomfield Hills and became members of Temple Beth El.

It was at the temple that the Fischers met Sylvia and Larry Lee. The couples and their families spent time together celebrating holidays, going to University of Michigan football games and gatherings at the Fischer house, including on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, to break a day of fasting, according to Sylvia Lee.

“Phil was so gracious,” said Lee, 83. “He was smart. He was cool. He wanted to make you feel good and welcome. You had his attention. You talked to him and felt like he was concentrating on you, not looking around the room.”

She said Mr. Fischer and her husband, a doctor who died three years ago, had a special bond. They talked at least once a day. 

“He was very loyal friend,” said Lee. “He was a really nice man, a very affable guy.”

The men didn’t talk about their work, but often spent time on the phone talking about the stock market, sports or temple activities.

“I don’t even know what they talked about,” said Lee. “Not so much politics because, believe it or not, we’re real liberals, and I don’t think they were that much.”

She noted that politics were not as divisive as they are now. And even in spite of their political differences, Lee said the men shared similar values.

“They got along beautifully,” she said.

The state, and Metro Detroit in particular, captured Mr. Fischer’s interest, and he quickly became a devotee of its sports teams.

For years he relished having UM season football tickets and insisted his entire family spend Thanksgiving at the Detroit Lions game.

“If it wasn’t the Detroit Lions, it wasn’t Thanksgiving,” said Newman, who went on to become a UM regent and Delta Airlines senior vice president.

Besides devotion to baseball, hockey and other sports, Mr. Fischer loved tending to his daughters, whether early morning car pools for swim meets or coaching softball and more.

Later in life, he was active at Temple Beth El and a Michigan group involved with supporting cancer patients, relatives said.

“He enjoyed being involved and giving back to the community,” Newman said.

Besides his daughter, other survivors include his wife, Myrna Fischer; another daughter, Jill Fischer Rachesky; six grandchildren; and a great-grandson, Benjamin Seidman.

He was predeceased by a daughter, Loren Beth Fischer.

Funeral services were held Tuesday at Beth El Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. He was interred wearing his favorite UM sweats.

Memorials may be made the Philip B. and Myrna R. Fischer Fund for Alzheimer’s Research at the University of Michigan. Checks may be made to the UM and sent to the Michigan Medicine Office of Development, 777 E. Eisenhower Pkwy, Ste 650, Ann Arbor, MI 48108. Donations can also be arranged by calling (734) 764-6777 or going to https://victors.us/philipbfischer.

https://ift.tt/Dr8VHBK
https://ift.tt/kDa0Syw

Ex-Cevo staff form project management, UX consultancy Digi6 – Services

Lisa Applegarth, Joanne Spencer (Digi6)

Two former employees of Melbourne software developer and consultant Cevo have formed a new business called Digi6.

Cevo consultants Joanne Spencer and Lisa Applegarth will lead the new project management, user experience and change management consultancy as Melbourne and Sydney leads, respectively.

Digi6 aims to support organisations undergoing digital transformation work, enabling teams to change behaviour by improving the user experience and implementing effective change management practices. Its offerings include project delivery management, business analysis, organisational change and adoption, experience design, product management, and information architecture.

The company said it would be underpinned by the delivery processes of its two technical sister businesses, Cevo and Arinco.

“As the digital focus of customers continues to accelerate, digital innovation is imperative to transform traditional, slow evolving organisations into agile, tech-enabled businesses,” Digi6 Victorian general manager Joanne Spencer said.

“With experienced project management and delivery services, and experience design capabilities, Digi6 was born to disrupt the status quo.”

Spencer added that Digi6’s design process goes beyond just visual design and instead uncovers insights about the company’s customers’ organisation, the enabling technology and end-users.

That information is then elevated to simplify, humanise and build products to deliver real value to end-users, known as a people-first approach to digital innovation,” she said. “Our vision is to help our customers achieve their digital potential in a modern, tech-enabled world.”

NSW general manager Lisa Applegarth said, “Today, digital transformation and innovation is as much about people as it is about technology.”

“It’s important that businesses not only keep up with the ever changing needs of their customers, but recognise the importance of change management within the organisation itself. We are on a mission to make a tangible difference by empowering and uplifting the teams we work with, and by partnering with our customers to help them raise the bar within their own organisation.”

The company also aims to provide a diverse and inclusive environment for employees, while growing the Melbourne and Sydney operations.

Applegarth said, “Our future is our people. Collectively we are our greatest strength and our most valued asset.”

“We are committed to attracting, developing and retaining a diverse group of talented individuals who provide experienced project and design capabilities to drive an empathic, people-first approach to digital innovation.”

Cevo’s roots are in Sydney, where the company operated before being acquired by Kloud in 2015. When Telstra acquired Kloud the following year, Cevo broke off as an independent business in Melbourne. Arinco was founded in 2019 by a number of former Kloud execs.

https://ift.tt/Dr8VHBK
https://ift.tt/UQIvrlk

At innovation webinar, Jobberman spotlights future of Nigeria’s creative sector | The Guardian Nigeria News

Leading career platform, Jobberman, hosted a webinar in celebration of the World Creativity and Innovation month to educate and connect like-minded young Nigerians in music and art.

By putting a spotlight on outstanding creative individuals and providing nuanced conversations about their specific skills, Jobberman hopes to continue to steer interest in the sector.

The creative month, tagged, “Learn from the Maestros” had in attendance music promoter and West Africa Regional Head of Empire Record, Bolaji Kareem, award-winning sound and mixing engineer/producer, Kent Edunjobi, digital artists Anthony Azekwoh and Segun Samson. It explored music and the world of creative art in the Metaverse and Non-fungible Tokens (NFT) era, demonstrating advanced knowledge of trends in Art that creators like Anthony Azekwoh have leveraged to maximise profits.

According to reports, Nigeria is Africa’s largest adopter of NFTs and is expected to have the biggest growth in NFT adoption from 13.7 per cent to 35.3 per cent – an increase of 22 percentage points, implying that digital art may easily become the new financial sanctuary for artists seeking commercial success and digital fame.

Panellist Anthony Azekwoh, a 22-year old Nigerian self-taught digital artist, who only adopted art six years ago, went viral when his artwork “The Red Man” was sold as an NFT online. He shared his story and encouraged artists to stick with what works for them.

“When you’re drawing, you’re trying to eliminate the noise between your head and your hand, the more you do it, the easier it becomes and that’s the main goal for an artist – presenting exactly what you envisioned. There’s no one way to make money as an artist, galleries work for some people while NFTs is the way for others, just pick what works for you and stick to it,” he concluded.

Speaking on the creative week, Jobberman’s Head of Marketing, Oge Agu, said: “As an equal-opportunity platform, Jobberman exists to solve the challenges in the labour market. We recognise the value the creative sector brings to the economy and the many job opportunities it has.”

“We also understand how digitalisation has changed the myriad ways in which creatives can express themselves, as well as their income potential. Despite the paucity of data to determine the true influence of the creative industry on job creation or other macroeconomic indicators, we are keen to help even more individuals explore these opportunities by encouraging more creators to learn and experiment with these methods.”

A 2021 report by Jobberman on the creative sector showed that the creative sector is the second largest employer of labour in Nigeria with more than four million people in employment and can potentially create 2.7 million more jobs. However, there is a significant skills gap, which prevents young people from harnessing the opportunities that the creative industry presents. To bridge the skills gap, these interest areas can be tapped by providing training opportunities for both soft and hard skills in areas where they are in demand. This will be dependent on multiple factors including an enabling environment as well as investments in skills and necessary infrastructure.

Further data from the report revealed that Nigeria’s creative sector is one of the leading sectors across the continent. Driven by young people from film to music and fashion, it has become a hub for exporting Nigeria’s culture across the continent and the world.

https://ift.tt/Dr8VHBK
https://ift.tt/aeoBhuN

Border Security Technology Caucus holds 1st meeting, gets briefing on collecting, monitoring migration data

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The bipartisan Border Security Technology Caucus met for the first time on Tuesday and listened to a presentation on how law enforcement agencies can use data to address security needs at the border.

The caucus’s mission is to inform Congress of available technologies to improve and strengthen border security.

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat from McAllen, co-founded the caucus with U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, whose district stretches from San Antonio to El Paso and includes 800 miles of U.S.-Mexico border, the most of all border districts. The other founding members include Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, and Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tennessee.

Gonzalez, in early April, told Border Report he believes there are emerging technologies that can help law enforcement personnel better patrol and monitor the southern border with Mexico.

Border Patrol adds artificial intelligence cameras to security arsenal

“Now is the time to implement smart and effective methods to further secure our borders,” Gonzalez said Tuesday. “There is nothing partisan about keeping our men and women in blue and green safe, and there is nothing partisan about securing our border in a cost-efficient and technologically advanced way. I look forward to our continued work that will come from this bi-partisan caucus and the real change we can bring to our border communities.”

Undocumented immigrants wait to be processed at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on June 17, 2021 in Roma, Texas. They had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum in the United States. Thermographic cameras create color as well as black and white images based on radiant heat energy, not light, making it possible to see people and objects in total darkness. The technology is used for surveillance by the military and law enforcement, including the U.S. Border Patrol, as well as for commercial purposes in construction, medical and other fields. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, Orbital Insight, a Palo Alto, California-based geospatial analytics company, delivered a presentation on how the data can help law enforcement agencies better monitor and collect data on migration across our borders.

According to its website, Orbital Insight analyzes satellite, drone, balloon and other unmanned-aerial-vehicle images, including cellphone geolocation data, to study a range of human activity, and provides business and strategic insights from the data.

‘Robot dogs’ to help agents patrol Southwest border

When former President Donald Trump spoke about building a wall, Gonzales insisted on a wall with cutting-edge technology with Aerostats and cameras and sensors to assist the boots on the ground, Gonzales told Border Report.

“We have the resources. We have the people. We have the technology, and I think we should use the very best technology on our southern border, and I think that is what ultimately will bring security to our region,” Gonzalez said.

In announcing the creation of the Border Security Technology Caucus, the four congressmen said border security is a bipartisan priority that requires bipartisan cooperation.

Visit BorderReport.com for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

“The Border Security Technology Caucus will bring together a coalition of lawmakers from across the political spectrum to ensure the United States is on the cutting-edge of technological advancements. With the formation of this caucus, we will provide insight and congressional cooperation that will protect the American people, Customs and Border Patrol agents, and our national security,” they said. “We look forward to paving the way for legislation that will improve the enforcement of America’’ immigration laws and bring our border security strategy into the 21st century.”

https://ift.tt/Dr8VHBK
https://ift.tt/BjEK2rc

Jacksonville City Council President Samuel Newby Pivotal in Securing Necessary Funding for Small Bu

Jacksonville, Fla. – June 1, 2022 – LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) Jacksonville has awarded a majority of the $1 million grant it received from the City of Jacksonville to multiple small businesses from Jacksonville’s most under-resourced communities. The $1 million grant, which was secured by Jacksonville City Council President Samuel Newby, supported LISC Jacksonville’s Small Business Equity Fund, an equity investment fund the organization created to empower these small businesses, help them grow, and seed wealth building in challenged neighborhoods.

 

Councilman Newby will present a $1 million check to LISC Jacksonville on Tuesday, June 1 at 1:30 p.m. at Spencer’s Florist, a grant recipient from LISC Jacksonville, located at 5412 Norwood Avenue.

 

A majority of the funds have been allocated to more than 20 local small businesses, yet funds remain, and small business owners are encouraged to apply for the remaining dollars and also be in the pipeline for future funding opportunities from LISC Jacksonville.

 

“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, providing necessary employment and wealth-building opportunities, yet access to growth-enabling capital is a perennial issue facing small businesses in our city’s most challenged neighborhoods,” said Dr. Irvin “PeDro” Cohen, executive director of LISC Jacksonville. “We are so grateful for the City of Jacksonville and particularly City Council President Samuel Newby for championing these funds for our city’s entrepreneurs, as these valuable dollars will help under-resourced small businesses unlock their potential to grow, scale, create and retain more jobs, and fuel wealth creation.”

 

While providing direct support to small businesses, the additional purpose of LISC Jacksonville’s Small Business Equity Fund is to establish and prove the efficacy of this investment equity fund model to enable larger, follow-on funding in the future.

 

“LISC Jacksonville has been a leader in helping small businesses, particularly those owned and operated by minorities or located in under-resourced neighborhoods, realize greater potential and a brighter future,” said City Council President Samuel Newby. “LISC helps entrepreneurs’ dreams become reality, yet

 

–more–

 

more importantly, they help fuel an ecosystem of small business investment and uplift our local economy, helping make it more sustainable for the future. I am committed to our small businesses and am proud to have helped play a role in bringing these necessary funds to them.”

 

To be eligible, small businesses with under $2 million in annual revenue must meet a variety of criteria. Mainly, they must be located in or serve historically under-resourced neighborhoods – the very communities in which LISC Jacksonville operates – and have been in continuous operation for more than two years in Duval County. Applicants must also submit a business growth plan outlining plans for expansion and job creation and provide realistic and promising ideas for leveraging the investment funds. Additional eligibility requirements and application instructions are available on LISC Jacksonville’s website.

 

LISC Jacksonville is on target to invest and facilitate more than $20 million dollars in investments into the Jacksonville economic ecosystem during 2022.

 

For more information about LISC Jacksonville, visit www.lisc.org/Jacksonville.

 

 

About LISC Jacksonville

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) helps residents transform distressed neighborhoods into healthy, sustainable communities that are good places to live, work and play. Since 1999, LISC Jacksonville has invested nearly $500 million in urban core neighborhoods, including developing affordable housing as well as retail and community space, and helped create more than 3,000 jobs. For more information about LISC Jacksonville, visit www.lisc.org/Jacksonville.

 

https://ift.tt/Dr8VHBK
https://ift.tt/T4GXB17

Man Shares 100kg Weight Loss Story In Health Food Pitch On Shark Tank

One man has taken the secret that led him on a 100kg weight loss journey and turned it into a pitch on Shark Tank Malta.

On the show, Baheddin ‘Baha’ Alturjman shared a photo of his younger self, referring to the boy as ‘an old friend’, who changed only after being introduced to his ‘second friend’ – oats.

“My life was completely different to what it is today. Since then though, I’ve lost 100kg with the help of oats. I discovered them in 2016 and they completely changed my life.”

At the time, Baha’s ‘old friend’ was “always the biggest person in his family and in school,” and had suffered his fair share of bullying because of his weight struggles.

But so profound was the change, that he now wants to take that oaty goodness and change the lives of others, which was why he conjured ‘Oated’.

Just like that, foods like pizzas, waffles, and pancakes were stripped of their guilt trip. Some would argue that they could even have been turned into health foods.

“I always associated healthy eating with boring foods, things with no flavour. I always thought being healthy was about suffering and restriction.”

“But now, I turned my favourite breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals into meals that could help me achieve my health and fitness goals.”

Baha presented the sharks with a slice of a Margherita which had been ‘Oated’, and they were all quite keen to lick the plate clean.

Though after Baha asked for an €80,000 investment for a 5% stake in his business, all five Sharks were reluctant to give him a deal out of a lack of a running business model. This, despite the temptation to support him considering the potential in the market.

“I love the pizza,” Christabelle said. “But if you had to do just that, I don’t think the valuation is on point. But I would invest in something if I knew that you can scale it.”

“I’m very interested in getting into the frozen food market. But I think that the idea still needs to be developed. You need to come back with numbers.”

“I don’t see a business here. I see an empty plate, so that’s good news. But I don’t see a business, just a concept,” said Mark Weingard, who congratulated him both on the idea as well as the concept.

Baha’s idea did not get the support we yearned for from the Sharks. But there is no question that his success story and the idea behind his pitch were commendable at the very least.

With Malta crowned as the most obese country in Europe, one could only hope it’s not the last we see of Baha and his creation.

What’s your take on oaty pizzas?

READ NEXT: ‘Raġel Kbir’: Austin Borg Dies, The Man Who Gave Up Electricity To Feed His 80 Dogs And Cats

https://ift.tt/nJosS3q
https://ift.tt/GAcKiWf

Wisconsin Entrepreneur’s Conference kicks off Wednesday

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) — Ever dreamed about being your own boss? Millions started their own businesses during the pandemic and an event starting Wednesday could help people get their ideas off the ground.

For the first time in three years, the Wisconsin Entrepreneur’s Conference will be in person at the Italian Conference Center in downtown Milwaukee.

Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, which hosts the conference, says this is a great opportunity for people no matter where they are in the process of starting a business.

“There’s going to be great advice on how to start a company, how to find financing, and learning from others,” Still said.

Still says the conference will feature speakers who built successful businesses from scratch, like Greg Piefer, who raised more than $360 million from investors in the last three years for Janesville’s SHINE Technologies.

Finalists in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest will make their final pitches, with winners announced during the Thursday session.

A full agenda, plus information on registering for the conference can be found here.

https://ift.tt/nJosS3q
https://ift.tt/Mm5fuSl

GR TECHNOLOGY, INC LAUNCHES A QUOTING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO HELP TERMAX EFFICIENTLY MANAGE PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESSES FROM “OPPORTUNITY TO AWARD”

The new solution provides Termax Company with faster response on engineered products from Request for Information (RFI) to Quotes to Prototype, delivering visibility and real-time workflows and validations to increase efficiency, organization, and accountability.

LOS ANGELES, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — GR Technology, Inc. (GRT) and Termax Company today announced the launch of the GR8T Project Central App and Quote Express App, a user-friendly and fully integrated Sales Quoting & Project Management system that integrates with Plex through APIs.

The GR8T Project Central App and Quote Express App enables manufacturers such as Termax Company with a true linear approach through contract award to create customer opportunities, forecast quoting, and initiate projects to manage new business company wide.

“GR8T Project Central and Quote Express App has allowed us to seamlessly integrate opportunities into awards into product launches while efficiently managing and communicating within our organization.,” said Chad J. Rickwood, VP of Technical Sales & Marketing at Termax Company.

“In today’s manufacturing environment, agility and velocity are critical for manufacturers to manage thousands of customer requirements and products while gaining more reliability, accuracy, and more efficiently calculate costs associated with jobs,” said Balasubramani Ganesh, Chief Executive Officer at GR Technology, Inc. “We are glad that GR8T Project Central and Quote Express APP is able to facilitate just that for Termax Company.”

To learn more, visit the GR8T Platform webpage.

About GR Technology, Inc.

GR Technology, Inc. dba DKM Inc., based in Los Angeles with locations in Pittsburgh (PA), Florida, and Bangalore (India), is the leading provider of comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) services for mid-sized manufacturers worldwide. Learn more at www.grtechnologyinc.com.

About Termax Company

Termax Company is a dynamic manufacturing and engineering company specializing in metal and plastic fastener solutions. While they primarily service the automotive industry, their products and services are used by many organizations that require quality engineered clips and fasteners. Learn more at www.termax.com.

Contact:

Jennifer Chen
(213) 688-1010
jchen@grtechnologyinc.com 

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gr-technology-inc-launches-a-quoting–project-management-system-to-help-termax-efficiently-manage-pre-production-processes-from-opportunity-to-award-301553102.html

SOURCE GR Technology Inc

https://ift.tt/bVeWPj4
https://ift.tt/5UCpDhO

A new federal program goes local to accelerate regional innovation

One of the most compelling developments of the Biden presidency has been the emergence of significant programs and policies targeted at helping places (and their residents) thrive, rather than people more generally. Proposed across numerous realms, “place-based” programs such as the Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge are encouraging bottom-up problem-solving in more and more places, even though the Senate blockage of the Build Back Better Act stymied multiple proposals last winter.

Now comes another impressive embrace of place-based policy—this one from the nation’s top driver of scientific progress and innovation, the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Last month, the NSF’s new, impact-oriented Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships announced that it would be providing select U.S. regions with up to $160 million over 10 years to strengthen their local innovation scenes, with a focus on regions that have not fully participated in the tech boom of the last few decades.

Branded the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, the new initiative represents an especially serious effort to deploy place-based problem-solving against a major national challenge—in this case, lagging tech-oriented economic development and inclusive talent development in scores of locations that have been underserved for years.

What’s striking is the program’s urgency about improving the results of federal investment in innovation and entrepreneurship by leveraging the commercial synergies of local tech ecosystems more intentionally. Instead of just awarding millions of dollars in grants to support basic research in cloistered Research 1 universities, the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program seeks to produce “measurable societal impacts” and “tangible outcomes” by stimulating the latent innovation power of promising but underperforming local regions. That is, the NSF seeks to maximize the nation’s innovation by accelerating the rise of regional ecosystems in new places.

The program is noteworthy for the way it targets one of the key virtues of place-based strategies: the ability of bottom-up local trust and information flows to maximize and optimize the connection of relevant actors and activities.

In that vein, the program bets on the power of place-based problem-solving by challenging regions to advance a specific game plan to better align loosely connected actors and activities into a cohesive network of partners. Likewise, the NSF’s announcement stresses the importance for prospective regions to develop plans for enhancing that cohesion by cultivating a “culture of innovation” consisting of trust, diversity, risk-taking, and knowledge sharing. In other words, the NSF is betting on a growing body of literature—such as from Andrés Rodríguez-Pose and Marco Di Cataldo, Arnault Morisson, and Roberto Ezcurra—that sees place as a forum for improving the collaboration and governance that are crucial for improving innovation and inclusive growth.

In this regard, the NSF is pushing in the same important direction as the Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge as well as its $500 million Good Jobs Challenge, which is aimed at strengthening local skills training systems in particular places, with an emphasis on underserved communities.

Together, these programs represent an important recognition that tackling broad systemic problems—such as the nation’s stark economic divides—with smart action targeted on distinct places can deliver superior results. And the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program stands out as the latest in a series of compelling new federal initiatives that are testing the promise of place-based policy to address hard problems more robustly. By going local, the NSF is enlisting U.S. regions in working to grow the U.S. economy and train a diverse workforce for future high-wage jobs.

https://ift.tt/nJosS3q
https://ift.tt/Dw5uNlg

Twelve female entrepreneurs equipped to have successful businesses

Pinelands Creative Workshop recently concluded its 12-week training programme Personal and Economic Empowerment for Women (PEEW) which was held at its Marcus Garvey Institute, located at Wildey, St Michael.

Chief Executive Officer of Pinelands Creative Workshop Sophia Greaves-Broome said the workshop would have given the twelve participants rigorous training in myriad disciplines ranging from Business Development to Digital Transformation.

“These ladies were a part of an intense programme which began with the Think Tank where they discussed their various business ideas to ensure that they had realistic and attainable initiatives that they can be further developed and ones that really speak to their sustainable livelihoods especially coming out of a post COVID environment.

“The twelve participants were taken through not only the business components but also they were treated to a personal development session guided by guest lecture on mental health Renee Harding, who explained some of the challenges that they would face as women and explained strategies that they could put in place in order to prevent some of those challenges from hampering their business. They were treated to real and practical conversations that resonated with the participants.

“Dr. Lynette Holder from the Small Business Association not only shared about the organisation and its services but took the time to explain to them the role their small businesses play in the economy. Ondene Thomas, Attorney-at-Law, also gave significant insight into the legal obligations required by business as well the importance of the right mindset to really make their businesses work,” she said.

Greaves-Broome added that each week the participants grew from strength to strength as they went through the myriad classes aimed to equip them with the tools to become successful female entrepreneurs.

“Our goal here at Pinelands Creative Workshop is to ensure that the ladies in this programme can become sustainable, therefore we had our Financial Officer Shelly Durant-Forde come in and teach them QuickBooks and Roberta Trotman from Virtual Solutions who taught them digital marketing and how to effectively use social media to market their business online. At the end of this programme our aim was that the women who came would be able to have sustainable livelihoods especially after they would have persevered through the challenges that arose with the onset of COVID-19,” she said.

Natalia Morgan was a participant in the Personal and Economic Empowerment for Women and is the owner of Kiros Variety 246. She said that she enjoyed the QuickBooks sessions with Shelly Durant-Forde.

Natalia Morgan

“One of the courses that I enjoyed was QuickBooks. I was always interested in QuickBooks, but I never had the opportunity to go and join a class with QuickBooks. It was a bit liberating to know that I could do QuickBooks and now I am able to use that in my business.

“One of the other things was the Think Tank session with Rodney Grant as a lot of the times we go into business and we think that we are just coming to sell and retail but the session also explored many different areas of the business such as marketing, social demographics, who am I targeting, who am I trying to reach, all of these are things I have learned and will be applying to my business,” she said.

Ruth Marshall who was a participant in PEEW and is the owner of Accents – Home Accessories and More said that for many years she wanted to start her own business but had some hesitations but after she attended the Think Tank session with Rodney Grant her entire perspective changed.

Ruth Marshall

“For a while, there were things I wanted to do, like start my own business, but I always looked at it as a side business. But when I attended the Think Tank session with Rodney Grant and he took us through the myriad of possibilities that we can have with our business, it gave me courage and a clear perspective of how to make it happen,” she said.

Marilyn Garnes who was also a participant in PEEW and owner of Tasha’s Precious Memories said that she did not essentially see her business as a business but after attending the programme she has seen an improvement in her business acumen.

Marilyn Garnes

“Like Ruth, I started doing stuff and I did not see it as a business. After the session with Mr. Grant I learned that I was doing some stuff wrong in my business and received strategies that I could implement to improve my business.

“I also enjoyed the session we had with Attorney-at-Law Mrs. Ondene Kirton who taught us the legal aspects of being a small business as well as the session with Dr. Lynette Holder from the Small Business Association who taught us all of the benefits we could receive by becoming members of the Small Business Association,” she said.

Greaves-Broome said that they are hopeful that they would have another cohort of the programme, but they are asking sponsors to come on board to be a part of this initiative which gives women the tools to be enterprising in their respective communities.

“We would like to do this programme again because of the demand. These women who are here with us this morning
are the ambassadors for the programme and they have other friends who would like to have the same experience as them. They had gone through the programme and had their headshots taken and social medias established.

“This programme at this time was funded by Caribbean Policy Development Centre through the initiative Strengthening Civil Society’s Capacity to Alleviate the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Communities in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean but we are hoping that by the sharing of this programme on our official pages @peewbarbados on Instagram and Personal and Economic Enfranchisement for Women on Facebook as well as what we are doing here on Mornin Barbados that it can be duplicated in other areas across the island as women are in need of a programme such as this.

This program is beyond business. These are the small but critical steps in the creation of sustainable livelihoods, resilient families and by extension, speaks to building self-reliance and the creation of vibrant communities,” she said. (Write Right PR Services)

Read our ePaper. Fast. Factual. Free.

Sign up and stay up to date with Barbados’ FREE latest news.

https://ift.tt/Q4LJDat
https://ift.tt/eVsQ93W

CIOB publishes new edition of Code of Practice for Project Management

One of CIOB’s most popular guides, the Code of Practice for Project Management for the Built Environment, has now been updated and a sixth edition published.

The updates are important reflections on how the practice and processes in construction have changed, and the increasing pressures on the industry, with the Code of Practice (CoP) having undergone a significant re-structuring since the 5th edition.

In this new edition, CIOB is aiming to equip construction and project managers with insight into a whole life-cycle approach, where assets can be delivered not only to meet the expected quality, cost and time targets, but where other broader, but equally important, notions of value can be incorporated.

The CoP, in what has been described as a “bold revision” of the previous edition, acknowledges the many challenges in our industry today, and sets the scene in the new version with a set of strategic drivers and some guiding principles:

---

---

• Strategic drivers: sustainability, quality, competence and skills, the golden thread of information, delivering ‘value’, the voice of the end-user, driving economic recovery
• Guiding principles: health and safety, EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion), ethics, sustainability, whole-life perspective, project management as a strategic enabler, building information, and leadership.

Dr Gina Al-Talal FCIOB, CIOB’s head of technical and standards development, said: “I am pleased to see this publication undergoing a total revamp at a time when it’s needed more than ever, given the extraordinary pressures on the industry around the world. I have no doubt that this edition will prove an invaluable reference to built environment professionals at all levels. It was not an easy task and my gratitude goes to the construction professionals and academics who contributed so much time and effort into helping us deliver this updated resource.”

The eight themes woven into each chapter help to ensure they are embedded throughout all decision-making processes at every stage of the project: quality, sustainability, value, productivity, leadership, collaboration, knowledge and risk.

Written with built environment practitioners, as well researchers and academics, the new CoP has an easy-to-follow chronological structure, with processes described first in the chapters and guidance notes supporting each section.

---

---

The Code of Practice for Project Management for the Built Environment starts at £52.99, with a 20% discount for CIOB members. It is available now as an eBook from Wiley, publishers of the CoP, and hard copies will be available in June 2022.

Any CIOB members wishing to use the discounted rate can pick up the code from the members portal or can contact lis@ciob.org.uk for more information.

---

https://ift.tt/xDUSFCw
https://ift.tt/a0S9MAK

Legal Project Management 101 for the Law Firms | AXDRAFT (an Onit company)

Project management has been an essential tool of the corporate industry for a long time. It is also a must-have for any law firm that strives to win the competition. As client expectations grow, in-house counsels are pushed to develop business intelligence and grip to provide legal services more predictably and consistently.

What Is Legal Project Management?

Let’s be frank: the legal profession is not the most flexible or adaptable when it comes to change. For decades, lawyers have billed their clients per hour. Now, they are being pushed out of their comfort zones to be creative, cost-efficient, and proactive players.

Legal project management (LPM) was born over the last decade as a response to market needs. During this time, project management principles have been introduced into the legal field. However, it could take another 10 years to implement these methods adequately.

For decades, lawyers have billed their clients per hour. Now, they are being pushed out of their comfort zones to be creative, cost-efficient, and proactive players.

Throughout its development, legal project management has been left unrevealed. Very few law firms settled this approach and contributed to the LPM discipline in its early days. The effective law firm project management method as we see now is a result of years of testing and experimenting.

So what is legal project management really about? Simply put, LPM implies managing the process and delivery of legal services according to the existing methodology. This methodology combines the how-tos from related fields, such as software development and construction, with adjustment to the legal industry’s specifics.

The specifics of legal projects

Essentially, a legal project is anything a lawyer does. Each case, matter, dispute, deal, and agreement is a separate project. Being a structured work aspect that undergoes managed stages, a legal project leads to measured and anticipated results.

Every project can be broken down into tasks along with defining key deliverables, benchmarks, assumptions, and budget limitations. That’s when legal project management comes into play. LPM uses contract management software to plan a detailed work scope in a specific document while clarifying project goals and expectations.

Contract management’s place in LPM frameworks

Contract management has a native project management basis: the stages of the contract lifecycle correspond with the stages in project management. Each contract represents a separate task, and each partnership embodies a separate project.

Research conducted by The International Institute of Legal Project Management shows how current LPM practices grasp not only PM methods but also technological integration. 

The Importance of Legal Project Management

For sure, many successful law firms have been intuitively using the LPM approach before it was ‘invented.’ Today, client expectations for legal services are skyrocketing: they demand a more proactive, disciplined, and systematic way of managing legal contracts. At this point, LPM starts with understanding the client’s expectations, objectives, and success factors for a specific case.

Legal project management starts with understanding the client’s expectations, objectives, and success factors for a specific case.

Legal project management is beneficial for law firms, as well as for their clients. The key advantages of applying LPM practices include:

· Meeting client’s expectations concerning legal work

· Saving client’s costs

· Managing legal teams more effectively, including evaluating and assigning the workload according to strategic goals

· Supporting communication between all parties involved

· Improving service delivery

· Ensuring transparency on a company level

· Receiving consistent results with minimum investment

· Leveraging communication and revealing problems before they become critical

At its core, legal project management is about better communication inside legal teams and with their clients. Like any project management, LPM defines the project parameters upfront, estimates project time and cost, and evaluates the result from both the law firm’s and client’s perspective.

What Is the Difference Between Legal Project Management and Regular PM?

For the most part, the difference between legal project management and regular project management lies in the specifics of a lawyer’s work, including applicable methods and regulations.

These 5 phases make up the approach and represent the typical steps in project management:

1. Conceptualizing and initiating the project

At this starting point, we define the project on a deeper level. By studying business cases, we understand the project’s purpose and requirements and clarify business needs.

2. Project planning

Here, we focus on building a roadmap for team members. Typically, it includes setting goals and creating a detailed plan with baselines and performance measures, as well as distributing roles and responsibilities.

3. Launching the project

This phase encompasses the greatest amount of work and goes along with the project monitoring phase. During this phase, the team completes the following tasks:

· assigns resources

· sets up tracking systems

· assigns project tasks

· evaluates progress

· modifies project plans and schedules

4. Project monitoring

In this phase, we evaluate progress and performance to ensure everything aligns with the project plan. Project managers use some or all of these key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine if the project is on track:

· project objectives

· quality deliverables

· cost and effort

· performance issues

5. Completing the project

Once the project is closed, the PM holds a ‘post mortem’ meeting to evaluate what went well and what didn’t, fixates it in a document, and prepares a final project report.

For legal project management, the project steps are very similar. Some of the legal teams have already integrated Kanban boards into their work processes. However, the legal project’s lifecycle has some internal differences born from specifics of the legal field – for example, different project timeframes. That’s why some PM practices, including sprints, acceptance criteria, or post mortem actions, don’t work for legal firms. Additionally, legal work is often interrelated with external teams and companies, requiring more flexibility in project planning.

The bottom line is LPM and PM share similar ideas but vary in some management methods and tools. Legal project management is focused on anticipating the risks and has a great demand for reliable estimates, greater cost control, and upgraded communication.

Why It’s Hard to Imagine Legal Work without LPM in 2022?

Legal project management is shifting its standard approach to legal subjects with university departments, legal boards, technology providers, and law firms all introducing LPM practices.

As clients expect more, the industry bar is rising. LPM brings many benefits for legal clients, including fewer surprises, reduced time and budget, and greater control and efficiency. LPM lays out a structure that enables better risk management and helps assess problems early on due to regular checkups.

LPM brings many benefits for legal clients, including fewer surprises, reduced time and budget, and greater control and efficiency.

From the point of law firms, project management helps deal with traditional problems, such as working overtime, long hours, exhaustion from excessive workload, failure to meet deadlines, budget constraints, and contractual obligations. This results in greater profitability and enhancement of client-firm relationships.

With financial resources being more scarce since the global crisis in 2020, LPM helps accommodate available resources efficiently while dealing with unpredictable roadblocks. By using legal-centered technology, such as contract management software, managers establish a more stable and controllable legal work process.

Skills Required for Legal Project Managers

Since LPM is still somewhat new for the legal industry, companies tend to compete for experienced candidates. Law firms either hire expert legal project managers or consider candidates with a consultancy background. In any case, commercial awareness is one of the highly important skills for this line of work.

Let’s take a look at the other skills needed for an LPM role:

Project management skills

Having expertise in a spectrum of project management methods is the most basic requirement for legal project managers.

Communication skills

Communication skills are crucial for every PM role in any business field. It’s even more essential in law firm project management as LMPs shape the relationship between a firm and a client.

Budget planning expertise

To outline the importance of this skill, we’ll just say that 37% of projects fail due to inaccurate cost estimates. Budgeting expertise is one of the most significant factors that can either make or break a project. Needless to say, the economic crisis turned this skill into a life or death situation for each company in the legal sector.

Tech savviness

It’s hard to imagine any PM without strong IT skills. From planning the work scope and task assignment to time tracking and retrospective review, a typical LPM workflow requires using software. LPMs should also be familiar with legal practice management systems and tools like contract management software to make legal work more effective and easy.

Flexibility and adaptability

Considering legal project management is a young sector in the legal industry, the LPM methodology is still evolving. That’s why legal project managers need to be adaptable and open to changing plans as the circumstances require.

Strategic approach

When it comes to legal project management as a service, LPMs stand in the avant-garde of developing law firm business culture and quality standards. To be effective, managers should apply strategic thinking, set realistic goals, and work hard to achieve them over time.

Whether an LPM has a legal background or comes from another field, they should carry out every aspect of the legal project and foresee possible issues common with legal work.

Getting Started with Legal Project Management

Resources are quite limited when it comes to learning the basics of legal project management. Although there are several ways legal experts can master LPM skills:

1. Take one or several specialized course

These courses and training programs break down regular PM principles applied to the legal field:

· Legal Project Management online course by IE law school

· IILPM-accredited Legal Project Management online and on-site training

· Certified Legal Project Management training by the IILPM itself

· Publications on the Legal Business World

As legal-focused qualifications roll out more widely, they will become a desirable feature on a candidate’s CV as well.

2. Study traditional project management guides and methodology

Learn more about SCRUM, AGILE, and Kanban methodologies. Taking a closer look at IT project management might be helpful, as it is more diverse and flexible than other industries’ frameworks.

3. Practice and build up what works for you

Yes, there are guidelines. No, they might not work for your company processes exactly as written in the manuals. That’s okay because you will always need to adjust them to satisfy your company’s needs. Don’t be afraid to test new approaches and design your own based on existing knowledge but unique enough to meet your strategic goals.

Conclusion

LPM isn’t just here to stay, it’s going to change and advance the entire legal business model. Law firms and legal departments are adopting new business roles, including legal project managers, legal operation heads, LPM office directors, and legal ops managers. By establishing an LPM system, legal practices can emerge to meet the demands of the modern world.

This is the first article in our series dedicated to legal project management. Stay in touch for our next update!

FAQ

Why is legal project management important?

Legal project management improves workflow and in-house and client communication. It helps you save costs, manage legal teams more effectively, improve service delivery, and solve problems early. Today, legal project management is an essential tool for meeting clients’ expectations and tailoring case-specific strategies.

What is the purpose of legal project management?

The key purpose of legal project management is to tailor the skills, tools, and resources of general project management to the specific needs of law firms, and use these tools to enhance the company’s workflow and communication. Legal project managers use risk management, resource allocation, and budgeting techniques to assist lawyers in managing legal matters. LPM streamlines daily routines, helps coordinate the teamwork, and lets you identify and handle any issues at an early stage.

What are the stages of legal project management?

Legal project management has five key stages. At the first stage, you study various business cases and crystalize the project’s purpose. The second stage is project planning and building a roadmap with specific goals and performance indicators. At the third stage, you launch the project: assign resources, set up tracking systems, evaluate progress, and modify plans. The fourth stage covers project monitoring and tracking KPIs. At the final stage, you complete the project and assess how it went.

 

View original text here.

https://ift.tt/nJosS3q
https://ift.tt/rL1Eozw

Nigeria will lag behind without innovation, technology — Microbiologists

A postdoctoral research fellow at the Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and  Immunology, University of British Columbia, Canada, Dr Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi, has said Nigeria will continue to lag behind without the inclusion of innovation, science, and technology in its system.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, Igbalajobi said over the years, the education sector in Nigeria had been underfunded, adding basic infrastructures needed for students to carry out innovative research were not available to access in most institutions in Nigeria.

Igbalajobi who runs Scholarship Cafe, an educational platform dedicated to bringing mentoring, real-time scholarship and funding opportunities closer to underrepresented groups, said ‘‘Until we all come to the reality that no system can survive without innovation, science, and technology, we will continue to lag behind. “There is an urgent need to completely overhaul most of the curriculum in our institutions and citadel of learning.  “Secondly, an introduction and periodic training and evaluation of academic staff on teaching pedagogy as being practised in developed countries would foster change in the system. Thirdly, the government must be sincere in its commitment to funding the education sector. “There is a need to engage industries and relevant authorities to attract grants for sustainable research. This must be matched with a robust monitoring system to ensure the funds are spent judiciously. ’’

He explained that Scholarship Café would become a global platform which everyone could explore for free and access information needed for career growth and development.

Igbalajobi said, ‘‘In the last two years, we have contributed to mentoring over 30,000 highly qualified prospective undergraduate and graduate students and applicants for postdoctoral positions via virtual seminars and webinars, review of application packages such as curriculum vitae, statement of purpose resulting in more than 10,000 successful applications worth $300m.’’

Copyright PUNCH.

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]

https://ift.tt/nJosS3q
https://ift.tt/yrROzXl

2023 Science, Technology Budget a Mixed Bag

Budget Matters: 2023 Science, Technology Budget a Mixed Bag

iStock illustration

The fiscal year 2023 Defense Department budget proposal is a big win for research, development, test and evaluation — particularly the science and technology portion of the funding — according to senior officials. However, a closer analysis of the request and the impact of inflation indicates the proposal is less than the fiscal year 2022 enacted budget.

The 2023 budget proposal includes $130 billion for RDT&E, a 16 percent increase above the 2022 proposed defense budget. The portion for science and technology — budget activity codes 6.1 through 6.3 — includes $16.5 billion, a 12 percent increase, said Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu during a National Defense Industry Association-hosted webinar April 20.

Shyu’s office would receive $1.6 billion in science-and-technology funding, a 21 percent increase. “So, it’s a huge jump,” said Shyu.
Basic research for the entire Defense Department is nearly $2.4 billion, a 4 percent increase, and Shyu’s office would receive $244 million, a 23 percent increase, under the proposed 2023 budget.

In terms of investment priorities, funding for Shyu’s office aligns with the 14 “critical technology areas” she outlined in a Feb 1 memo.

Microelectronics — particularly onshoring — 5G, hypersonics, directed energy and integrated sensing and cyber top the list based on funding.
Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, chief of naval research in the Office of Naval Research stated in the webinar that one-third of the Navy’s science-and-technology priorities align with the research and engineering office’s critical technology areas, and the rest are Navy-centric. Some of the Navy’s science-and-technology priorities for its proposed $2.6 billion funding include unmanned systems, sonar buoys, electric laser systems and tools to collect and fuse live and virtual training data.

“We need tools that help us prioritize and focus on what the humans should focus on and let the machines do the things the machines can do,” said Selby. “This is one I’m doubling down on.”

The Air Force’s $3.15 billion science-and-technology budget is split with 25 percent for enduring Air Force priorities — such as munitions, engines, aircraft power, nuclear systems and low observable technologies — and 75 percent for the critical technology areas. Space Force priorities include combat power projection, information mobility and space security.

For 2023, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking $896 million for microelectronics — which is largely driven by the next phase of the agency’s Electronics Resurgence Initiative to promote onshoring — $414 million for biotechnology, $412 million for artificial intelligence, $184 million for cyber, and $90 million for hypersonics.

The Army’s $2.7 billion science-and-technology budget focuses on six longstanding modernization priorities — such as long-range precision fires, future vertical lift and soldier lethality. Within that are priority research areas, including disruptive energetics, hypersonic flight, autonomy, additive manufacturing and synthetic biology.

“There is a world beyond 2030, and so we have to really start swinging the pendulum back just a little bit and focusing on those enabling technologies … to look and mature technologies for what’s next,” said Jeffrey Singleton, director for technology in the office of the assistant secretary of the Army.

Panelists stressed efforts to expand the pool of technology partners and invest in future workforce. The research and engineering office’s budget for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs climbs to $191 million in the 2023 proposal. The officials also noted increased funding for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and for historically Black colleges and universities.

Selby argued money is important, but there are structural problems that need to be addressed to ensure programs are achieving objectives and moving technology forward. “Part of this has to do with the fact that we have got many, many people that get a say in what happens to these different pots of money … there’s no single conductor,” he said.

“So, you have multiple conductors that are trying to compete with each other … because we’re all operating under different incentives, different priorities, different budget timelines, different acquisition timelines, we have these missed opportunities left and right,” he added.

While the 2023 proposed budget represents significant increases in science-and-technology funding above the 2022 president’s budget, the 2023 proposal comes in well below the 2022 enacted budget. As it often does, Congress appropriated more than what was sought in the 2022 budget proposal.

For example, the 2023 request of $16.5 billion for science-and-technology funding is greater than the $14.7 billion requested in the 2022 president’s budget, but 13 percent less than the $18.8 billion Congress enacted in 2022. The 2023 request for basic research is 14 percent less than the nearly $2.6 billion Congress enacted in 2022.

Under the 2023 proposal, Army science-and-technology funding is nearly 37 percent below enacted 2022 funding, and Navy and Air Force funding are down 18 percent and 13 percent respectively.

DARPA — which accounts for 25 percent of Defense Department science-and-technology funding — would get a 6 percent increase from its 2022 enacted funding. That is one of the few increases in science-and-technology funding above the enacted 2022 budget.

In addition to the real dollars being less than the 2022 enacted funding, inflation will further reduce the buy of the 2023 president’s budget.

Topics: Budget, Research and Development, Science and Engineering Technology

https://ift.tt/nJosS3q
https://ift.tt/fdSr70D

SBA’s Minnesota chief: Have a plan when you apply for a government loan

Brian McDonald worked at the headquarters of the Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C., before moving to the Minneapolis district office in 2017 and being named district director in May 2020.

“Our team is very mission oriented, and it’s a great mission,” McDonald said. “Meeting with small-business owners directly and seeing the impact that they’re having, they really keep our communities livable and vibrant; they’re 50 percent of the workforce.”

In an interview, he offered a few ideas for entrepreneurs seeking SBA loans. Some excerpts:

Q: What’s your message to business owners who aren’t familiar with SBA loans?

McDonald: SBA lending programs are great programs, worth looking into as an option. The sweet spot for an SBA loan, typically, is businesses that are lacking for collateral and might not otherwise qualify for a traditional loan. There are competitive terms. The SBA sets maximum interest rates for lenders and then the interest rate that borrowers get is specific to the lender that they go to. For veteran borrowers there is an extra fee release.

Q: How does a business apply for an SBA loan?

McDonald: They would go to an SBA lender. We have a list on our Minnesota district page. Another option would be to go to “lender match” on sba.gov. One of the first questions we ask a small business is do they have a banking relationship. That’s usually a good place to start to keep things less complicated.

Q: What are some tips on applying?

McDonald: The best thing to consider would be going to one of our resource partners, a Small Business Development Center, Score or a Women’s Business Center. We have trainings that we do for small businesses. We have a calendar on our sba.gov/mn website. For borrowers to stay safe and be protected from predatory lending, some of the warning signs are: lenders imposing unfair or abusive terms through deception, interest rates that are significantly higher than competitor rates or fees that are more than 5 percent of loan value. Make sure the lender discloses annual percentage rates and full payment schedule. A lender should never ask a business to lie on their paperwork or leave signature boxes blank. Don’t get pressured into taking a loan.

Q: What’s a common misstep to avoid?

McDonald: Having an incomplete or no business plan. It’s critical to be able to tell the story to a lender, as a business owner. Having a business plan in good order is really the best tool, and investing in the relationship with the lender because commercial loans are really different from other products.

https://ift.tt/nJosS3q
https://ift.tt/C4pvr3f

Why Sidhu Moose Wala’s violent death has sent shock waves from Punjab to Brampton

The death of a renowned musician who rose to fame in Brampton has sent shock waves across Punjabi communities around the world.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was shot dead in Punjab on Sunday, police in the Indian state confirmed. He was 28.

Moose Wala’s impact on Punjabi music, culture and the community at large, in Brampton and beyond, is an underdog success story, many say.

“Brampton is where he found his success,” said journalist Jaskaran Sandhu.

Sandhu, who co-founded and runs Baaz News, an outlet focused on the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora, says Moose Wala’s story is an international one. But in Brampton, it’s a story to which many can relate.

‘A very unique voice’

Moose Wala came to Brampton in 2016 to study — as many other Punjabis have.

“This is very Brampton. You’ve come here as an international student, you found your voice, your crew, and he fulfils a long dream of becoming a popular and famous Punjabi singer,” Sandhu said.

Brampton’s Punjabi music scene is massive and growing, he says, with songs streamed by millions across the planet. Moose Wala’s uniqueness, Sandhu says, stemmed from his ability to combine classic Punjabi musical traditions with modern rap and hip hop.

But what also set Moose Wala apart from the rest were his lyrics.

“That only happened because of the kind of ecosystem that exists locally,” Sandhu said.

He would tackle several social issues facing the Punjabi community, including a song about the widespread farmers’ protests in India.

“He was a very unique voice, and the kind of outpouring, love, and condolences you’re seeing is a result of that,” Sandhu said. “I think he represented a lot of internal dialogues and struggles within the community.”

Moose Wala’s background in Brampton helped him connect with not just those born and raised in the city, but also with those who came as immigrants or students.

Sandhu says he’s heard stories of people taking a day off from work or school to mourn Moose Wala’s death, something he says is reminiscent of when Tupac Shakur was killed in 1996.

Roots in Punjab

But Canadians who have never heard of him might not recognize the significance of his death. Sandhu says the Punjabi community in Canada is more likely to be Sikh, and it’s a transnational community connecting Canada, the U.S., U.K. and India, and many more countries where Punjabi Sikhs have settled.

“You can’t disconnect us with what’s happening in Punjab and South Asia,” Sandhu said.

That’s part of why Moose Wala’s music resonated with so many.

“We listen to [Punjabi] music more than we listen to English music,” he said. “Even if you’re born and raised here, even if Punjabi has become your second language, you still listen to it more.”

Moose Wala has “left a huge impact on the community, widespread across the world.”  says Rupen Bhardwaj, a music video director based in Brampton.

Bhardwaj directed many of Moose Wala’s hit videos, including Legend and B-Town, a song dedicated to Brampton. In all, he and his brother shot six music videos for the acclaimed rapper, some of them in Brampton.

Rupen Bhardwaj and his brother have directed six music videos for Sidhu Moose Wala, including Legend, which was shot in Brampton just behind where Bhardwaj stands. (CBC)

When Bhardwaj learned of Moose Wala’s death, he could only think of one of his lyrics “te parallel chalda aan death de” (I walk parallel to death).

“Sidhu’s impact on Brampton is spread across the city,” Bhardwaj said.

“So many people never thought to be an artist, but they see a success story from another college student from India who came here to have a life in Canada and got so far with such acclaim,” he said.

“It’s the simple case of an underdog story,” he added.

Deepinder Singh, an international student who now calls Brampton home, said he couldn’t get over the shock of hearing the news.

“He’s like us,” Singh said. “He came here as an international student, struggled, composed his music, but now he’s not with us.”

“May God bless his soul.”

https://ift.tt/napJOPX
https://ift.tt/CGMYRr0

Using Tech to Build Supply Chain Resilience in a Changing World

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Proper supply chain management is critical to smooth business operation, agility and profitability. Beyond coordination, resilience is a key quality required for supply chain management.

Covid-19 related supply chain disruptions have affected most industries. Vast numbers of companies across the globe experienced troubles during Covid-19, impacting shipment timing, costs, efficiency and revenues. These impacts highlight the importance of building a supply chain that can weather a storm and be capable of quick recovery.

Technology is critical to this. There’s a range of great tech that can aid supply chain resilience. Let’s explore the global supply chain in today’s world and how you can build strength and resilience into yours. 

Supply chain challenges in a post-pandemic world

Managing supply chains can be tricky, given that a minor problem in one link on the chain can affect the whole network. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Covid-19 has exposed plenty of vulnerability in supply chains as companies buckled under the pressure of supply, demand and the ability-to-service shocks.

While restrictions are easing and borders are reopening across the globe, several challenges remain, including labor shortages and equipment availability. However, in the midst of all this, consumer demands continue to evolve. With the acceleration of ecommerce, customers are used to (and expect) fast delivery and seamless experiences.

Companies have been transforming their processes to build more resilient supply chains and maintain competitiveness. Many companies are regionalising their supply chains to respond to disruptions. Others have started exploring supply chain technologies to maximise operational efficiency and minimise risks.

Related: New Strategies to Cope With Your Supply Chain and Pandemic-Related Disruptions

Digital transformation to build a resilient supply chain

As businesses adapt to the new normal, they must future-proof their supply chains by reducing complexity and uncertainties. Increased digitisation and advanced technologies will play a critical role in managing supply chains moving forward. Through digital transformation, companies can achieve several benefits, including:

• Increased visibility: With the help of blockchain, advanced track-and-trace solutions and enterprise resource planning (ERP), you achieve better visibility within a supply chain. With high visibility, you get a complete view of your inventory in motion and can apply proactive risk mitigation measures where needed.
• Improved collaboration: Building close supplier relationships ultimately enhances transparency along the chain. By continuously collaborating with participants in the supply chain, you can quickly coordinate processes and respond to change. This requires technology to collect and share data at every step.
• Predictive capabilities: Data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will provide you with predictive capabilities to stay on top of supply chain risk management. For example, you can adjust inventory decisions by predicting potential disruptions.

Related: Who And What Drives the Management of your Supply Chain?

So, how can you achieve supply chain resilience — or where should you begin? If you have not yet changed your processes, now is the time to re-assess your operations. Here are some key strategies to help you make your supply chain more resilient.

Identify your vulnerabilities

First, assess your current supply chain to identify gaps and vulnerabilities. Examples of potential vulnerabilities are:

• Lack of transparency and visibility along the supply chain
• Overly manual processes, without technology 
• Reliance on specific suppliers or locations

Don’t forget to evaluate your suppliers too — they will carry risks you need to be aware of. 

Diversify your sourcing or manufacturing network

If you are heavily dependent on medium or high-risk partners, diversify your network to reduce this risk. For example, the repercussions of the U.S.-China trade war has pushed some companies to spread their manufacturing to Southeast Asian countries such Vietnam or Indonesia.

Of course, it will take time and money to diversify your network and change your logistics strategies. However, by being less reliant on a single location, you can make your supply chain more resilient.

Create inventory buffers

Another popular strategy to promote supply chain resilience is creating inventory buffers. Covid-19 has impacted shipping timing. Inventory buffers help tackle this, and avoid customers leaving you due to out of stock products. 

Technology can help with prediction of invesntory requirements. 

Related: Emerging Supply Chain Trends Entrepreneurs Need to Know About

Scale technology solutions

Investing in digital technologies is crucial to monitoring and optimising supply chain resilience. Here are some ways you can incorporate technology into your supply chain:

• Chatbots and robotic process automation (RPA) to automate repetitive tasks
• Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) for enhanced visibility and efficient data collection
• Dashboards to get access to real-time data and track essential metrics
• Predictive analytics to identify risks and take proactive measures to address them
• Data analysis to aid with predicting issues before they occur, such as identifying stock issues or individual supplier problems
• Big data to help with:
  • Quality control
  • Real time deployment
  • Weather patterns
  • Prediction and planning
  • Warehouse efficiency
  • Inventory supply and demand
• IoT and wearables in warehouses to aid with picking decisioning 

Future technologies

Successful supply chain management will continue to include emerging technologies that drive efficiency and automation. Here’s what I expect to see in the future of supply chain management:

• Distributed inventory: Distributed inventory flow forecasting (DIFF) predicts the flow of materials, helping businesses maximise order fill rate and maintain inventory levels.
• Autonomous mobile robots (AMR): While warehouse management systems continue to manage tasks such as scheduling loading/unloading, AMRs might start emerging as a method of improving picking processes.
• Driverless vehicles and drone delivery: Especially important in times of labor shortages, driverless and drone delivery options are powerful solutions. This is also great for cost management across when delivering into remote and hard-to-reach locations. 
• Blockchain: Moving across borders can create transparency issues. Invoicing, planning, shipment authorisation, contracts, volume management and more could be transformed with the use of blockchain. 
• 3D printing: Replicate and produce replacement parts, eliminating the need to hold stock in warehouses waiting for orders. An agreement with a local 3D printing business could print and deliver the part fast.

In today’s changing world, building supply chain resilience is more important than ever. Having the ability to stand up to disruptions, continue business as usual activities and continue growing will be underpinned by wise technology selection and implementation decisions. 

https://ift.tt/napJOPX
https://ift.tt/J2xYP5u