For Migrants To The U.S., A Deadly Journey

September 2nd, 2010

Hernando Maquin, a 24 year old father, is the most recent in a pattern of migrant murders plaguing Central America.

  • The Mexican government declared war on the country’s powerful drug cartels in 2006, but the war is far from over. Drug gangs have branched out into human trafficking – profitable for traffickers and extremely dangerous for humans.
  • People – mostly men – from countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras have long risked their lives to travel to America for work. They typically leave impoverished families at home, who depend on their financial support while they are away. That’s assuming they survive the trip to the U.S. and find work without being deported.
  • Illegal migrants are particularly vulnerable, as they must navigate an underworld of traffickers with no police or government protection. Maquin left his pregnant wife in Guatemala to find work in America along with two in-laws. His body was found along with the bodies of 71 other Central and South American migrants in an empty ranch in Tamaulipas, Mexico – about 90 miles from the U.S. border.

Facts & Figures

  • Since 2006, 28,000 people have been killed in Mexico’s drug war.
  • Migrants can pay “coyotes,” as traffickers are called, up to $10,000 to be smuggled into the U.S.
  • There are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in America.

Best Quote

“We were praying for them. We were worried about floods, and by the fact they had no money and no food. But we never thought this would happen.” A relative of Maquin, kept anonymous for protection

More Men Wearing Makeup

September 2nd, 2010

In the old days, men used wax and powder to perfect their complexions. But today’s man is going for something a little more understated…

  • Despite a social norm that categorizes makeup as “for women only,” men are becoming more comfortable shopping for concealers, tinted moisturizers, and specialized cleansers and lotions.
  • Instead of playing up their features to enhance beauty the way women do, men are mostly interested in hiding dark under-eye circles and evening out their complexions.
  • There are many new cosmetics companies specifically targeting men, though some customers are confident enough to shop at Sephora or other woman-centric beauty shops. The term “makeup” still has an effeminate stigma, so retailers and customers tend to refer to men’s beauty products as “cosmetics.”

Facts & Figures

  • In 1997, Americans spent $2.4 billion on men’s grooming products; in 2009, that number rose to $4.8 billion.
  • In skin care alone, sales rose from $40.9 million to $217 million in the same period.
  • 4Voo sells “Confidence Corrector” for $34, and “Lash and Brow Styling Glaze” for $23. KenMen sells “guy-liner” for $22, and tinted lip balm for $25.

Best Quote

“There is a little bit of that stealth makeup thing going on, where you’re not slapping foundation onto your face but as part of your other routines — it sort of creeps in.” – Jason Chen, Grooming Editor at GQ

Mass Layoffs Fund Raises For Sketchy CEOs

September 2nd, 2010

Tough love, or “tough luck – bwahahahaha”?

  • A study by the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington think tank, shows that in the 50 companies that laid off the most workers around 2009, CEOs tended to make more money than CEOs of other companies.
  • The companies analyzed were diverse in terms of their health in the wake of the recession. Some were doing fine while others were struggling. But all showed the same trend toward higher CEO pay.
  • Most of these companies were actually laying off workers during a time of increased profit. Layoffs are usually a short-term solution that companies use to increase profits and stay afloat.

Facts & Figures

  • CEOs of high-layoff companies were paid an average of 42% more than their peers – about $12 million
  • Of the 50 companies studied, average CEO pay rose by 7% in 2009
  • Average pay for CEOs in the Fortune 500 decreased 11% in the same period

Best Quote

“We are trying to encourage people to think long-term, that there are all kinds of costs to mass layoffs, in terms of morale problems with remaining workers, in terms of when you may have to rehire and train workers if conditions improve. It was more a way to boost their profits in the short terms and line the pockets of their CEOs.” – Sarah Anderson, study author and Global Economy Project Director at Institute for Policy Studies

‘The Official Preppy Handbook’ Updated For Today’s Prep

August 30th, 2010

“True Prep” is a lifestyle guide updated for the modern prepster.

  • The author of 1980′s shockingly successful “The Official Preppy Handbook” has just published a new edition for the next generation: “True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World.”
  • This new take on the original talks issues like divorce, second marriages, and dealing with the fallout from youthful partying.
  • Lisa Birnbach, author of both editions, is not-quite-ironic in her assessment of what is and isn’t preppy. There’s a preppy hall of fame (starring Stephen Colbert, oddly), an assessment of the preppiest schools, and, apparently, a serious devotion to preppy shopping.

Facts & Figures

  • When it came out in 1980, “The Official Preppy Handbook” was on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year
  • Today the original edition can sell for $100 or even $1,000

Best Quote

“Every single one of us — no matter the age or the gender or sexual preference — owns a blue blazer.” – True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World

Gas Guzzlers About To Get An ‘F’

August 30th, 2010

A new letter grading system could turbocharge green vehicles sales!

  • The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department have proposed new rules that would require car dealerships to display a letter grade on each of their vehicles, illustrating how well (or poorly) the vehicle does on fuel efficiency and harmful emissions.
  • Electric cars and hybrids would be the ‘A’ students, while Hummers and the like are most likely to end up in detention.
  • Right now, dealers are only required to display a vehicle’s miles per gallon and estimated yearly fuel costs. The industry is obviously not happy with the proposal, saying it would amount to a government endorsement of certain cars and not others. Still, major auto manufacturers have been preparing for this kind of change by producing more hybrid and electric cars.

Facts & Figures

  • Grades will range from A – D
  • A small car like the Toyota Yaris would likely be graded B+ while many SUVs and pickup trucks would probably score C or worse
  • Sales of SUVs and crossovers have gone up by 21% this year

Best Quote

“We think a new label is absolutely needed to help consumers make the right decision for their wallets and the environment.” – Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation at the EPA

Well That Didn’t Work; Japan Tries Something Else

August 30th, 2010

Japan’s been in an economic bind for years, but now they’re faced with an increasingly expensive currency as well. What’s a prime minister to do?

  • With the yen at a 15-year high and deflation ironically still going strong, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has proposed a stimulus plan designed to dig his country out of its economic hole. An expensive yen means it’s more expensive for foreign nations to purchase Japan’s exported goods.
  • Part of the plan involves lending more money to the banks at a very low rate. The idea is to keep the yen’s value low and to encourage more consumer lending – similar to recent U.S. stimulus efforts.
  • Some experts say Kan’s proposal doesn’t go far enough to address the country’s seriously messed up financial situation, and some are even saying this is a purely political move designed to make Kan look good.

Facts & Figures

  • Japan’s main interest rate is currently 0.1%
  • Part of the Japanese stimulus package includes a 900 billion yen government injection (just under $11 billion) into the economy
  • Stimulus money will be used to subsidize green appliances and homes, fund career counseling and internships, and keep domestic companies from outsourcing.

Best Quote

“There seems to be a sense of fatalism. The B.O.J. continues to play the same old game of making incremental, but ultimately meaningless, policy changes in response to political pressure. The government talks of the need for fiscal reconstruction, but then tries to construct an economic stimulus package with tiny fiscal measures and minor, uncoordinated structural reforms.” – Richard Jerram, Economist for Japan at Macquarie, a global investment bank

Public School Advocate Wendy Nadel on Following Your Passion

August 30th, 2010

wendy-nadel.jpg Wendy Nadel is the Executive Director of Yonkers Partners in Education, a non-profit dedicated to supporting access to and success in education for all Yonkers students and their families. She’s not new at working for the greater good; 25 years ago Wendy founded Volunteer Emory while she was a student at Emory University. She’s worked for the March of Dimes, run her own non-profit consulting firm, performed research on child poverty for Save the Children, and currently serves as a member of the Emory University Alumni Board and the Volunteer Center of the United Way. Sounds like she knows a thing or two about following your heart…

TILE: How did you end up where you are today?
Wendy: I became passionate about serving the world when I was in college and made the decision as a sophomore that I wanted to spend my career in the not-for-profit sector. Twenty-eight years later, I’m still here!

TILE: How does what you do affect the world at large? Why should I care about what you do?
Wendy: My organization, Yonkers Partners in Education, provides opportunities to low-income, inner city students that even the playing field so that they can achieve their dreams. Many kids who live in poverty don’t realize that there is a wide world out there for them, and we help them to navigate the road to a better life.

TILE: What is your favorite thing about working with a nonprofit?
Wendy: Our work makes a difference and helps to transform lives. Doesn’t get much better then that!

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Wendy: Stick with a dream, even if it’s not totally clear how to achieve it. Often kids think they need to have it all figured out in college. I never had anything figured out but let my passion guide my career and it worked out beautifully.

TILE: How did you get into the work you are doing today?
Wendy: The great part about the last question is that one thing led to another. Through work I was doing for Save the Children Federation, I became passionate about education as a way out of poverty. I was approached by a head-hunter when this position became available and went for it and got the job.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

Time to enter the real world? Blair Brandt will help you find a place.

August 26th, 2010

blair-brandt.jpg Blair Brandt is the founder and CEO of The Next Step Realty. And at just 22, he’s responsible for managing all the different components of the business: he recruits and manages brokers and Next Step staff, develops relationships with clients, oversees PR and marketing, business operations, legal and financial matters, tax, web design and programming, investment and return on that investments for investors… pretty much everything. Blair spends most of his day meeting with people to seek collaboration, advice, cross-marketing opportunities, and so on. But he found the time to answer some of our questions, so check it out:

TILE: How did you come up with the idea for a service like this?
Blair: For the past four years, I worked as an assistant at a real estate firm while in Florida. There I noticed one crucial factor in the marketplace: the power of referrals and the importance of having good leads for a realtor.

Especially in bad times, having personal networks that could deliver you with quality clients was the way to continued success. SO, if we were going to set up a leads service, we needed to find a niche that we could specialize in and that could be ours.

We realized our niche when my friends from college started to call me asking if I knew brokers in the cities they were moving to for new jobs. So, while I was helping a few of my friends get matched up with the right brokers, my friend and future business partner Belton Baker picked up on what I was doing and said – listen, let’s market this to everyone we know, and everyone they know. We immediately saw the demand for an improved, streamlined housing transition from college to the real world.

TILE: What was your first apartment search like?
Blair: Our first apartment search actually went pretty well. We spent months recruiting the best real estate brokers for the job in major cities, and we really did some extensive interviewing and personal networking to make sure we were dealing with the right people. Once we started to get our clients, which happened more in a wave of hundreds than in any one single first search, the brokers were very well prepared to service the clients. Most of their clients were young professionals anyway and this is what they specialized in, but they hadn’t directly marketed their services to colleges – that became our business.

TILE: Why is your logo a giraffe? NextStep-logo-only.jpg
Blair: My philosophy from the time I started this company with Belton is that the transition from college to the real world is one of the most intense psychological and logistical bridges young people must cross. Of course, life offers countless challenges after graduation, but the change in lifestyle from student to adult is a rapid one for recent graduates. Graduates are often embarking on their first job and career, and in the meantime making all the other adjustments required in moving to a new city. We decided if we could help recent graduates by solving one of the problems – housing – we could develop our own niche market in the process. The giraffe  is symbolic and metaphorical because it represents the nature of our clients during this transition. Giraffes take some of the largest steps of any animal and they reach high. Our clients are similarly reaching high in their new beginning and taking a very large step into the real world and their first home.

TILE: What advice would you give your teenage self?
Blair: Dream big.

TILE: Can you tell us a secret about the real estate business?
Blair: It’s about specialized service, having an expertise in a particular process or niche, and building relationships with expanding networks of people. Most of what we do is personal networking. We started this business with a list of 500 students at college campuses to help spread the word, and the domino effect is beyond what we ever expected. First friends, then friends of friends, then friends of friends of friends, and before you know it, you are dealing directly with the public. If you can specialize in a certain real estate niche, associate yourself with that niche, and then use networks to create momentum, you can get something off the ground fast.

To see Blair talking in real life, check out his recent interview on Bloomberg TV: http://bit.ly/dlIxYM

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

Shopping and Giving for a Better World

August 26th, 2010

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. – Gandhi

At TILE, we hope to connect the dots between your spending, growing and giving. For starters, here are some resources we’ve come across recently that relate to shopping and social responsibility. Click on Ask TILE to let us know if there are others we should now about!

socialvest.png
http://socialvest.us/

This new site, still in Beta, just came onto my radar. Very cool idea – each time you buy something in a store OR online with one of the hundreds of retailers SocialVest has partnered with, that store gives anywhere from .5 to 10 percent of the purchase price to (here’s the cool part) whatever nonprofit you choose! “Everyday Shopping. Extraordinary Change” is their motto, and fundamentally this model is unique because it empowers YOU the consumer. Check it out!

goodness500.png
http://goodness500.org/

We’re all familiar with the Fortune 500, but how about the Goodness 500? This listing educates consumers about corporate social responsibility by making information easy and accessible. “Our approach is more MTV than WSJ.” What I like about their approach is how easy it is to compare different companies… for example, I was  interested to learn that Washington Mutual gives 1% of their profits to charities, while U.S. Bancorp gives only 0.3%. Check out the site to learn more about the social responsibility ranking of the most profitable companies.

madeinnations.png
http://www.madeinnations.com

This impressively comprehensive database shows you where everyday products like the iPhone (Shenzhen, China) or your Nike Airs (Indonesia) are made. There is more and more discussion about today’s level of outsourcing – many people want to know which companies manufacture locally, both to support local economies and JOBS as well as to reduce the carbon footprint of products whenever possible. I also really like their C02 caclulator!

The Wall Street Journal actually just ran an interesting story on this topic – “How Green Is My Sneaker?” Evidently a group of about 100 retailers are developing a software tool to help measure the environmental impact of their products all the way from the raw materials to the garbage dump. Eventually the goal is for the consumer to be able to compare how green their garment actually is. Companies such as Nike, Timberland, Levi Strauss, and Patagonia are all participating in this new Eco Index. You can read the article here: http://bit.ly/9adWRQ

Bernie Ferrari on Being Strategic

August 26th, 2010

bernie-ferrari.jpg Bernard T. Ferrari is the Chairman & Founder of the Ferrari Consultancy, but before he became a professional strategy consultant, he’d been around the block more than once. Before establishing his consulting firm, he served for almost 20 years as a Director at McKinsey & Company. And before THAT, he was a surgeon and chief operating officer at a clinic in New Orleans. He’s racked up a B.A., an M.D., a J.D., and an M.B.A. during the course of his education, which we think makes him “Bernard T. Ferrari, M.D., J.D., M.B.A.” Bernie is a trustee of the Juilliard School and the University of Rochester, he’s a philanthropist, and he’s also a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Not a bad man to ask for advice.

TILE: What exactly is a strategy consultant?
Bernie: A strategy consultant works closely with a company’s senior management to help address how, when, and where to compete. Strategy consultants are essentially professional problem-solvers brought into an organization to provide independent thinking and an outside perspective on business challenges.

TILE: How old were you when you got involved in philanthropy?
Bernie: I was in my 30s. At that time I was in medicine and most of my philanthropic work was associated with that profession. I donated mostly to research being conducted on major medical problems and diseases. Then later I started to broaden my philanthropic interests.

TILE: Do you have a personal mission or giving plan?
Bernie: My personal mission when it comes to philanthropy is to provide outstanding education to the most talented students in our country.  I am interested in helping to build an extraordinary educational system that takes very talented individuals and makes them even more impactful members of our society.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give your teenage self?
Bernie: Avoid cynicism. To lead a happy and productive life, you must stay optimistic and channel your personal passions to address society’s challenges through your career or your philanthropy or both.

TILE: What’s your advice to someone who knows nothing about business but who wants to learn the ropes?
Bernie: I have three pieces of advice. First, read as much about business as you possibly can, particularly in the news and the business press. Second, hang around business people and people who talk about business, as those individuals can sometimes be your best learning resources. And finally, go to business school, either as an undergraduate or as a post-grad, so you can learn the fundamentals and get plugged into the business community.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

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