Exemplar would like to thanks Bradley Clark, who wrote a concise and persuasive blog about law firms and trade in Texas. Unbeknown to us, the Texas ethical rules prohibit law firms from having wholly "trade names," and mandate that law firm names ONLY contain the last names of lawyers from the firm.
Pardon our french but... what. the. hell. How is that ethical rule protecting these firms' clients? Are client really going to be confused as to whether their lawyers practice law? We've never had a customer come up to us and say "Gee, we didn't realize Exemplar Law Partners, LLC, was a law firm - shouldn't it only contain last names? It would alleviate the confusion for me." Though colloquially our firm has been shortened to the snappy "Exemplar," customer appreciate this small gesture of creativity and individuality. The Texas ethical rule referred to in Mr. Clark's blog is simply archaic, and deprives Texas lawyers of a simple way to be innovative in the industry. C'mon people - let's get out of these little ruts so we can really move forward to the real issues facing the legal industry today.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Microfinancing: the Virtuous Cycle?
We are pleased to present another entry from a member of our team and legal intern, EZ.
BY: EZ
Microfinancing is MACRO- everyone is talking about it- and seems to be benefiting from it - but how can you get in on it? An increasingly large group of private organizations provide entrepreneurs, who are often ignored by financial institutions, with microloans and other basic financial services such as savings accounts, insurance policies, and monetary remittances. More importantly, microfinance offers hope to entrepreneurs in less fortunate areas who might otherwise consider illegal means of finance, like predatory moneylenders, who oftentimes charge an annualized interest rate of 1000% for a monthly loan.
Microfinance is not a new concept. Modern microfinance has been around since the 1970s, but, as Marguerite Robinson explains in “The Microfinance Revolution,” has only recently developed into an industry. The attraction of socially responsible investments (SRIs) and the ability to make an enduring economic and social impact is a primary motivator for this growth. The Internet has also shed light on the difficulties of starting new businesses in less fortunate areas, such as third world countries. It has also allowed would-be philanthropists the opportunity to join peer-to-peer (P2P) sites, such as KIVA and Microplace, and place soft loans of $25 or less with a credit-worthy but struggling entrepreneur. Lastly, technological advances have increased the efficiencies of delivery while simultaneously reducing the costs of funding giving the philanthropists more bang for their buck.
Alas, not all is well in Camelot. Shockingly, most small scale philanthropists willingly give microloans not knowing that the P2P’s local field partners (LFP), were charging exorbitant interest rates of up to 70% as well! This is due to the high administrative costs of delivering funds to remote clients in distant regions. Yet some microlenders have learned to reduce their costs significantly and develop more efficient models (which are less susceptible to waste), like Bangladesh’s Association for Social Advancement or ASA (Hope in Bengali), which has become self sufficient and is no longer accepting funds. Some have even received ratings from the American Institute of Philanthropy, such as Grameen America and FINCA (see http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html#peace).
So what can you do to help and, more importantly, avoid doing more harm than good?
1) Perform your due diligence and check the LFP profiles on your P2P site
2) Compare the LFP’s average interest rate against both the P2P’s benchmark and the local money lender rates. For example, KIVA offers LFP info at http://www.kiva.org/about/partners/
3) Be selective in where you allocate your microfund investment. This will encourage positive competition that should support the more efficient partners, which, in turn, should induce the laggards to improve their business models and pass on the benefits to those who truly need it. Deutsche Bank recently reported that the industry has 1 billion micro-borrowers who need $250 billion whereas the industry currently has an estimated loan volume of about $25 billion. Hence, demand far outstrips supply by 10x.
Remember, for many out there, you are the instrument of HOPE! So try to make the most of your social investment by simultaneously improving on the efficiencies of a most virtuous cycle.
To learn more check out these links:
MFG
Wikipedia
Microcredit
Muhammad Yunus
JAK
JAK
Association for Social Advancement
ASA.org
Bank Rakyat Indonesia
FINCA
Needs and Services
Microplace
KIVA
DB Research
Microscholarship
(An innovative offshoot of the micro-industry)
Happy lending!
E.Z. the Lender
BY: EZ
Microfinancing is MACRO- everyone is talking about it- and seems to be benefiting from it - but how can you get in on it? An increasingly large group of private organizations provide entrepreneurs, who are often ignored by financial institutions, with microloans and other basic financial services such as savings accounts, insurance policies, and monetary remittances. More importantly, microfinance offers hope to entrepreneurs in less fortunate areas who might otherwise consider illegal means of finance, like predatory moneylenders, who oftentimes charge an annualized interest rate of 1000% for a monthly loan.
Microfinance is not a new concept. Modern microfinance has been around since the 1970s, but, as Marguerite Robinson explains in “The Microfinance Revolution,” has only recently developed into an industry. The attraction of socially responsible investments (SRIs) and the ability to make an enduring economic and social impact is a primary motivator for this growth. The Internet has also shed light on the difficulties of starting new businesses in less fortunate areas, such as third world countries. It has also allowed would-be philanthropists the opportunity to join peer-to-peer (P2P) sites, such as KIVA and Microplace, and place soft loans of $25 or less with a credit-worthy but struggling entrepreneur. Lastly, technological advances have increased the efficiencies of delivery while simultaneously reducing the costs of funding giving the philanthropists more bang for their buck.
Alas, not all is well in Camelot. Shockingly, most small scale philanthropists willingly give microloans not knowing that the P2P’s local field partners (LFP), were charging exorbitant interest rates of up to 70% as well! This is due to the high administrative costs of delivering funds to remote clients in distant regions. Yet some microlenders have learned to reduce their costs significantly and develop more efficient models (which are less susceptible to waste), like Bangladesh’s Association for Social Advancement or ASA (Hope in Bengali), which has become self sufficient and is no longer accepting funds. Some have even received ratings from the American Institute of Philanthropy, such as Grameen America and FINCA (see http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html#peace).
So what can you do to help and, more importantly, avoid doing more harm than good?
1) Perform your due diligence and check the LFP profiles on your P2P site
2) Compare the LFP’s average interest rate against both the P2P’s benchmark and the local money lender rates. For example, KIVA offers LFP info at http://www.kiva.org/about/partners/
3) Be selective in where you allocate your microfund investment. This will encourage positive competition that should support the more efficient partners, which, in turn, should induce the laggards to improve their business models and pass on the benefits to those who truly need it. Deutsche Bank recently reported that the industry has 1 billion micro-borrowers who need $250 billion whereas the industry currently has an estimated loan volume of about $25 billion. Hence, demand far outstrips supply by 10x.
Remember, for many out there, you are the instrument of HOPE! So try to make the most of your social investment by simultaneously improving on the efficiencies of a most virtuous cycle.
To learn more check out these links:
MFG
Wikipedia
Microcredit
Muhammad Yunus
JAK
JAK
Association for Social Advancement
ASA.org
Bank Rakyat Indonesia
FINCA
Needs and Services
Microplace
KIVA
DB Research
Microscholarship
(An innovative offshoot of the micro-industry)
Happy lending!
E.Z. the Lender
Friday, June 26, 2009
So what if negative advertising is effective?
The topic of marketing and advertising is usually a sore spot for entrepreneurs. However, the question no longer is "should" I market my business; it's an absolute necessity. Today, in a world full of advertising noise, the question is "how" do I market my business. One of Exemplar's fabulous legal interns, Ms. Anna Bielejec, has written a cheeky and innovative blog on negative advertising and its effectiveness. I would like to share her point of view with our readers. Enjoy!
By: Anna Bielejec
Consumer susceptibility to the sensational finger-pointing and mud-slinging of negative advertising is on the rise and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Actually, there is. While curbing our general attraction to negative advertisements is not something we, as consumers, might actually be capable of doing, we can curb the opinions that we later form from them. Sure. Negative ads can be rude, crass, mean, dirty, spiteful, and absurd. They can also be harmless and entertaining. Apple’s famous “Hi, I’m a Mac” hipster dude, and his balding “I’m a PC” nerd co-star, is a subtle yet effective way at conveying to consumers the message that Mac computers are better than PCs. Could Mac have made a friendlier commercial? Maybe, but who cares about that? They are recognizable, memorable, and oh so witty (sort of).
Scientific analysis of the psychology behind negative advertising has provided insight into why it is so effective. Psychiatry professor at UCLA Dr. Marco Iacoboni conducted an experiment utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques to monitor the brain activity of President Bush and Sen. John Kerry supporters during the 2004 presidential campaign. During the test, when subjects were shown images of the candidate they opposed, far more brain activity was detected than when they were shown an image of the candidate they supported. As such, this experiment underscored our subconscious favoritism for negative stimuli.
I like to think of the brain as a nightlight in an outlet at the end of a dark spooky hallway. It lights up the moment things go dark. During the day, the hallway isn’t spooky and the nightlight is off, because when it’s light outside the hallway is boring and familiar and nothing about it catches your eye. There aren’t any giant spiders and the crooked baseboards are just as dusty as they were the day before. This comfort and familiarity ends abruptly the moment nighttime appears, though. When daylight retreats and darkness falls, in steps the unknown, the controversial, the spooky. You know. The point at which your hand-held spider-dar breaks and you realize your makeshift Proton Pack is missing. This is when the nightlight lights up! Such is the case when it comes to our brains and advertising: they’re plugged in, but they’re only truly riled up when the hallway spiders come out. Thus, like a nightlight, our brains light up, right on cue, with every publicity scandal, political debacle, and every other negative bit of press that our metaphorical hallway spiders could be ascribed to, night after night, week after week.
All this talk of spiders tells us several key things. First, it tells us that our brains respond favorably to the emotion that savvy advertisers evoke in us and that these responses occur automatically and subconsciously. Second, in the face of such automatic responses, it also tells us that there is absolutely nothing we as consumers can do to thwart the brain’s inevitable hunger to experience this emotion. So, if there’s nothing we can do to change our internal programming for negative advertisements, what can we do? The answer is simple. We, as the consumers of the world, can exercise our brains with, wait for it, rational thought. This novel idea requires us to consciously analyze information and issues for ourselves, however emotional it may be, before we make any ultimate decisions in response to what was initially presented. Simple? Maybe not. Crucial? Absolutely. Spider-proof? I’ll let you decide.
By: Anna Bielejec
Consumer susceptibility to the sensational finger-pointing and mud-slinging of negative advertising is on the rise and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Actually, there is. While curbing our general attraction to negative advertisements is not something we, as consumers, might actually be capable of doing, we can curb the opinions that we later form from them. Sure. Negative ads can be rude, crass, mean, dirty, spiteful, and absurd. They can also be harmless and entertaining. Apple’s famous “Hi, I’m a Mac” hipster dude, and his balding “I’m a PC” nerd co-star, is a subtle yet effective way at conveying to consumers the message that Mac computers are better than PCs. Could Mac have made a friendlier commercial? Maybe, but who cares about that? They are recognizable, memorable, and oh so witty (sort of).
Scientific analysis of the psychology behind negative advertising has provided insight into why it is so effective. Psychiatry professor at UCLA Dr. Marco Iacoboni conducted an experiment utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques to monitor the brain activity of President Bush and Sen. John Kerry supporters during the 2004 presidential campaign. During the test, when subjects were shown images of the candidate they opposed, far more brain activity was detected than when they were shown an image of the candidate they supported. As such, this experiment underscored our subconscious favoritism for negative stimuli.
I like to think of the brain as a nightlight in an outlet at the end of a dark spooky hallway. It lights up the moment things go dark. During the day, the hallway isn’t spooky and the nightlight is off, because when it’s light outside the hallway is boring and familiar and nothing about it catches your eye. There aren’t any giant spiders and the crooked baseboards are just as dusty as they were the day before. This comfort and familiarity ends abruptly the moment nighttime appears, though. When daylight retreats and darkness falls, in steps the unknown, the controversial, the spooky. You know. The point at which your hand-held spider-dar breaks and you realize your makeshift Proton Pack is missing. This is when the nightlight lights up! Such is the case when it comes to our brains and advertising: they’re plugged in, but they’re only truly riled up when the hallway spiders come out. Thus, like a nightlight, our brains light up, right on cue, with every publicity scandal, political debacle, and every other negative bit of press that our metaphorical hallway spiders could be ascribed to, night after night, week after week.
All this talk of spiders tells us several key things. First, it tells us that our brains respond favorably to the emotion that savvy advertisers evoke in us and that these responses occur automatically and subconsciously. Second, in the face of such automatic responses, it also tells us that there is absolutely nothing we as consumers can do to thwart the brain’s inevitable hunger to experience this emotion. So, if there’s nothing we can do to change our internal programming for negative advertisements, what can we do? The answer is simple. We, as the consumers of the world, can exercise our brains with, wait for it, rational thought. This novel idea requires us to consciously analyze information and issues for ourselves, however emotional it may be, before we make any ultimate decisions in response to what was initially presented. Simple? Maybe not. Crucial? Absolutely. Spider-proof? I’ll let you decide.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Exemplar In The News! (Again!)
By: Shannon Jamieson, Esq.
Good morning, fellow Entrepreneurs! In October, our CEO Chris Marston will be traveling to San Diego for a 2-day conference - "Inside the Law Firm of the Future." The event is largely an off-shoot of the popular book "The Firm of the Future," written in part by Ron Baker (who will also be in attendance at the conference).
Whether you're in professional services or you use them, this is a conferecne you don't want to ignore. It will be the way customers will demand to consume professional services in the future, so it is vital that we all become educated (and excited!) about the coming change.
To read more about the event, visit www.insidethefirmofthefuture.com
Good morning, fellow Entrepreneurs! In October, our CEO Chris Marston will be traveling to San Diego for a 2-day conference - "Inside the Law Firm of the Future." The event is largely an off-shoot of the popular book "The Firm of the Future," written in part by Ron Baker (who will also be in attendance at the conference).
Whether you're in professional services or you use them, this is a conferecne you don't want to ignore. It will be the way customers will demand to consume professional services in the future, so it is vital that we all become educated (and excited!) about the coming change.
To read more about the event, visit www.insidethefirmofthefuture.com
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Niches for Entrepreneurship are all Around... the House!
By: Shannon Jamieson
If I hear the phrase "in this down economy" one more time, I swear to God I'm going to throw an old-school temper tantrum. Yes, it's happening and yes, we have to deal with it. Many people are turning to entrepreneurship to make ends meet, and seeing opportunities where they otherwise wouldn't have. Take this student, for example, who was helping his folks around the house while job hunting. His time at home lead to a new business - cleaning out dryer ducts, of all things! However, Chris King's business idea is the perfect example of true grass-roots entrepreneurship - find a need in the market that isn't being met and meet it. No one was thinking to clean out their ducts, but doing so saves both time and money for homeowners by shortening dryer time (and thus saving electricity cost and energy depletion).
Simple concept, right? Maybe, but if it were, we would all own our own businesses. Ideas for great businesses, and viable models, can sometimes be difficult to spot; especially if you're exploring the concept of entrepreneurship for the first time. However, as King demonstrates, it's not impossible. If you're contemplating starting your own business, here are a few simple tips to keep in mind:
1) Be Observant during every day activities. The most successful businesses are built around making basic tasks or every day life easier. You needn't reinvent the wheel to be successful in entrepreneurship; you simply need to tweak it. Look around yourself during otherwise mundane activities and locations - the grocery store, post office, or even the subway during your morning commute. What are people struggling with or complaining about? Perhaps they have a need you can fill.
2) What grinds your gears? Entrepreneurship doesn't always have to be based in altruism, so be selfish for once. What ticks you off during the day? Your squeaky bathroom door? The kitty litter on the floor near the litter box? The constantly cluttered coffee table?(Both personal pet peeves of mine in my own life.) How can you address this situation in way that would resonate with other people? I'm not saying that these particular ideas haven't been addressed in the market - maybe they have. (However, I still haven't found a suitable solution for containing kitty litter in small spaces..) But I'll bet if you look hard enough at the things that grind your gears, you'll think of a creative way to solve that issue.
3) Lend a Hand. Now more than ever, Americans are BUSY. Forget this down economy crap - we have places to go and people to see. Each task we have to engage in as part of the journey just slows us down! This is the American mentality. As an entrepreneur, what can you do to alleviate this? Go old school. Walk a neighbor's dog. Mow a lawn. Cook some meals for someone elderly that lives alone. There's a reason these ideas are still around - people require these services! Not everyone, but in your neighborhood there may be enough of a need (here's where the nitty-gritty research piece comes in) to sustain a small business.
Are these tips revolutionary? Probably not. But they are tried and true, and I'm putting them out there to get your mental gears turning (or grinding, whatever) and think about how you can get off your butt and pursue entrepreneurship. For entrepreneurs, the time is ALWAYS now.
If I hear the phrase "in this down economy" one more time, I swear to God I'm going to throw an old-school temper tantrum. Yes, it's happening and yes, we have to deal with it. Many people are turning to entrepreneurship to make ends meet, and seeing opportunities where they otherwise wouldn't have. Take this student, for example, who was helping his folks around the house while job hunting. His time at home lead to a new business - cleaning out dryer ducts, of all things! However, Chris King's business idea is the perfect example of true grass-roots entrepreneurship - find a need in the market that isn't being met and meet it. No one was thinking to clean out their ducts, but doing so saves both time and money for homeowners by shortening dryer time (and thus saving electricity cost and energy depletion).
Simple concept, right? Maybe, but if it were, we would all own our own businesses. Ideas for great businesses, and viable models, can sometimes be difficult to spot; especially if you're exploring the concept of entrepreneurship for the first time. However, as King demonstrates, it's not impossible. If you're contemplating starting your own business, here are a few simple tips to keep in mind:
1) Be Observant during every day activities. The most successful businesses are built around making basic tasks or every day life easier. You needn't reinvent the wheel to be successful in entrepreneurship; you simply need to tweak it. Look around yourself during otherwise mundane activities and locations - the grocery store, post office, or even the subway during your morning commute. What are people struggling with or complaining about? Perhaps they have a need you can fill.
2) What grinds your gears? Entrepreneurship doesn't always have to be based in altruism, so be selfish for once. What ticks you off during the day? Your squeaky bathroom door? The kitty litter on the floor near the litter box? The constantly cluttered coffee table?(Both personal pet peeves of mine in my own life.) How can you address this situation in way that would resonate with other people? I'm not saying that these particular ideas haven't been addressed in the market - maybe they have. (However, I still haven't found a suitable solution for containing kitty litter in small spaces..) But I'll bet if you look hard enough at the things that grind your gears, you'll think of a creative way to solve that issue.
3) Lend a Hand. Now more than ever, Americans are BUSY. Forget this down economy crap - we have places to go and people to see. Each task we have to engage in as part of the journey just slows us down! This is the American mentality. As an entrepreneur, what can you do to alleviate this? Go old school. Walk a neighbor's dog. Mow a lawn. Cook some meals for someone elderly that lives alone. There's a reason these ideas are still around - people require these services! Not everyone, but in your neighborhood there may be enough of a need (here's where the nitty-gritty research piece comes in) to sustain a small business.
Are these tips revolutionary? Probably not. But they are tried and true, and I'm putting them out there to get your mental gears turning (or grinding, whatever) and think about how you can get off your butt and pursue entrepreneurship. For entrepreneurs, the time is ALWAYS now.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Beef Up Your Business Plan!
Great article today in the WSJ that we wanted to share:
"Why Business Plans Don't Deliver"
It gives some great tips of business plan pitfalls and how to avoid them. At Revolve, we review lots of business plans and come across these exact same issues often. Think of it as free advice from the WSJ! Enjoy!
"Why Business Plans Don't Deliver"
It gives some great tips of business plan pitfalls and how to avoid them. At Revolve, we review lots of business plans and come across these exact same issues often. Think of it as free advice from the WSJ! Enjoy!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Need Inspiration For Your Friday?
Then read this nice interview with entrepreneur Howard Lindzon, courtesy of www.seekingalpha.com. He happens to have made his living in stock and finance, but I believe his message resonates for all entrepreneurs. He's also very honest, and has some interest points of view about social media; namely, facebook v. twitter. Enjoy!
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