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business

Cancer Patient Grows Her Business Despite Sickness

Claudia “Sunny” Hayes is a young entrepreneurpursuing her dream when she got diagnosed with breast cancer at 25. She was 23when she first launched her own eyelash business. Just two years after, and inthe middle of her thriving career, a fatal sickness came into her life. Insteadof letting cancer ruin all ‘she’s worked for, Sunny Hayes ‘didn’t let theillness affect her light and positivity. She didn’t let cancer take her will tomake her entrepreneurial visions come true.

Rage Hair Salon in Chicago is where you can find Claudia“Sunny” Hayes running the successful business she calls, Eye SlayMinks. Sunny’s eyelash business started in 2016. Two years after the launch,she received a diagnosis of stage II invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer.

“It all happened so fast […] it ‘didn’t dawn on me—whatI was about to go through—until I started chemotherapy,” Sunny said in aninterview with cancerwellness.com. She said she knew there was something wrongwhen she felt a lump in her chest. Partner of Sunny’s mom, who is a two-timebreast cancer survivor, advised her to get her chest checked.

Before launching her eyelash business, Sunny already has aloyal social media following due to her bright smile and positive personality.Her following helped in the launching of her business. Apart from eyelashextensions, Eye Slay Minks also offers training classes to help aspiringentrepreneurs kick start their business in the beauty industry.

“That first, like eight weeks [of treatment] was crazy, like I was rethinking my whole entire business,” Sunny said in the interview. Instead of letting her sickness stop her from achieving her goals, Sunny didn’t let cancer hold her back.

Cancer Patient Continues to Thrive and Grow Her Business

Sunny added, “I’m knowing my clients were still verysupportive, but it was fluctuating—like they think ‘I’m sick, so they ‘don’twant to bother me, but ‘it’s like, can you come when ‘I’m not sick?”

Though suffering from regular chemotherapy sessions, Sunnypoured her pain through outstanding work ethic and fiery passion forentrepreneurship. As she changed medications and began having a routine ofchemotherapy sessions, Sunny slowly got back the control of her life. Clientswere seen coming back to her salon, and she started setting her sights higher.

“My business is going to go as far as I want it togo,” according to Sunny in the interview. “It’s going to go so muchfarther than just doing lashes. Right now, ‘I’m still in the beginning of mycareer, you know? ‘I’m getting up there, but in due time this is going to gofar.”

Sunny sees to grow her business into makeup application andhair extensions. She’s sure that when her therapies are over, and when thedoctor confirmed her NED, she can then devote all her time and energy to herbusiness.

“I’m going to be able to do what I want to do as far as expanding my business. Right now, ‘it’s really hard to make a lot of moves when ‘you’ve got to go to the doctor every weekend, knocked out tired for twelve hours,” Sunny said. “‘I’m just really ready for all of this to be over.”

Sunny worked an unsatisfying retail job before she startedEye Slay Minks. “I was waking up every day, hating going to work,”Sunny recalls. But then, “I went and got my lashes done, and ‘that’s whatstarted it.”

She quickly found a class online and began her training toget a certification in providing eyelash extensions.

“I took the class, and I quit my job the sameday,” Sunny told cancerwellness.com. She felt happy being the boss of herown and having all the control to make her business work.

“A self-investment is the best investment,” Sunnyadded.

Sunny offered a piece of advice to all people who dream ofstarting their business: “Set goals […] When you write your goals downwhen you can see what you want, ‘it’s easier to manifest them.”

According to Sunny, hard work and being able to focus are the primary keys of her success. Sunny said, “entrepreneurship ‘isn’t easy. Goals, and consistency, and just focusing on getting the job done, ‘that’s like 100 percent success guaranteed.”

When you love what you do, nothing is difficult. Sunny saidin the interview, “I meet new people every day, and ‘I’m totally a peopleperson […] ‘I’m running into women all day long and […] they love their lashes.[They say], ”Oh, my God; I look like a totally different person,” [and] ‘it’slike, I did that.”

Sunny connects with others fighting against cancer throughsocial media. “So many people send me messages, and girls they send mepictures with [their] bald head, and ‘I’m like, ”Girl, you fine,” shelaughs.

Sunny added, “I’m just here to encourage the nextperson because now that is me; I feel like staying focused is the best thingyou can do.”

A cancer diagnosis ‘could’ve caused Sunny to give up,destroy all her plans – but it ‘didn’t. Sunny have hopes high that she will getthrough the other side and come out fresh with a new perspective on having ahealthy, happy, and successful life.

“I try not to let it affect my attitude, my day, mypositivity,” Sunny said.

Sunny Hayes, says ‘she’s proud of her takeaway: “Ithink ‘I’m much stronger than I was before getting diagnosed.”

She added, “I thought that when they first told me

these months will be the worst times in my life. ‘I’ll be depressed and […] scared. I ‘didn’t know what to expect, but ‘I’m way stronger than I thought I was.”

[about the cancer]

September 27, 2019 0 comment

Business

Entrepreneurship & the Importance of Knowing the Risks

written by Feras Antoon

Wehave read a lot of inspiring entrepreneurship stories like how some self-madefounders or college dropouts who started their endeavors on garages and morerags-to-riches success stories. Nowadays, business owners are deemed as ourheroes who save our economic growth as well as the innovation in ourcommunities.

Let us now know some risks of entrepreneurship that every inspiring business owners should keep track of.

1. The reality of starting a business is notglamorous

Entrepreneurship is an unwarrantable line of work, as a matter of fact, only 50% of all businesses reach their 5th birthdays. If ever they stay longer in the industry, these business owners often lack health insurance making them on high risk of poverty in retirement. According to the Treasury Department, there is only 8% contributing to a retirement plan in a year. On the other hand, people with lots of acquired assets, spouses with stable jobs or wealthy families are the best ones to start their own business. Because if all else fails, they are sure to have something to fall back on.

2. Entrepreneurship is not for older workers

For people 50 years and older who’ve moved back into the labor force through entrepreneurship, most of the time their non-pension wealth fails. Opposite to what the common belief is, business owners earn less compared to their spouses who work for someone else. For retirees, the risks accompanying entrepreneurship increase with age.

3. Safety net programs are significant

Safety net programs or what we usually knew as the retirement savings and health insurance are essential to every person as it gives us healthier and happier lives. However, business owners are mostly the ones whose later lives are at risk. We should be aware of the costs and the benefits of being an entrepreneur especially if you are approaching the age of retirement. Thus it is vital that we make the key safety net programs accessible for people of all ages.

Check out this video with famed entrepreneur, Richard Branson, that goes into more detail:

July 26, 2019 0 comment

Business

Lara Shaheen – From Syrian Refugee to Entrepreneur

written by Feras Antoon

Lara Shaheen is a 34-year-old femaleSyrian refugee who ran away from Damascus after President’s Bashar al-Assad’sregime detained her brothers, though they were released after three months, theexperience has driven them to Amman, Jordan. Along with her are her mother,father, and 17-year-old younger sister while her brothers escaped to Germany.After that nightmare, Shaheen’s parents developed some health problems, andthat made her the sole provider for her family considering that her brothersare away from them.

Lara said, “I’m the lonely girl who mustwork to make money for my family.”

While on Jordan, she volunteered with Hemma- a local organization that provides help to Syrian refugees that live outside camps. The Syrian conflict now is in its sixth year, and it seems like banishment is becoming undying for refugees. Additionally, the majority of Syrian refugees cannot work legally in Jordan. Though they can apply for work permits, the process of getting them is very complicated and expensive.

Lara Shaheen - Jasmine Business Initiative

On the other hand, the government carriedout some measures that would benefit Syrian refugees. It includes a temporarywaiver of application fees and a grace period of up to 90 days for the informalsector employers to get permits for Syrian refugees.

UNCHR said, “This could see up to 78,000Syrians able to work legally in Jordan in the short term, and thousands more inthe coming years.”

While working with Hemma, Lara Shaheen noticed that lots of Syrian women were weaving, sewing and making handy crafts. She took pictures of them and started selling them on Facebook. She then splits the profits with the women. With the help of her Jordanian friend, Shaheen developed the project into a small business, though she doesn’t have a work permit. She called it Syrian Jasmine, and then she rent a small office space in Amman town center.

Syrian Jasmine sells baby clothes,handmade soaps, toys, jewelry, creams and more that were all made by Syrians.She now has 5 women that work for her full time at the office and also buysmerchandise from other Syrian women. Many of the women that Shaheen works withsays this is their first job.

She said, “In Syria, many men don’t allowtheir women to work, but here, it’s different because they know they need tomake money.”

Lara Shaheen’s and her employees’ story is far from the norm in Jordan. Because of the administrative barriers to working, women refugees face a high risk of assault and abuse like rape. According to reports, women refugees from Syria feels isolated and unsafe and even too scared to leave the house.

The lack of job opportunities and high risk of violence, a lot of Syrian families, sees marriage as the only way to keep their daughters safe which can also support them economically with the use of dowry exchange. Save the Children reported in 2014 that among Syrian refugees in Jordan, one in every four marriages is a girl under 18 years old to a much older man.

July 12, 2019 0 comment

Business

Business Schools and What they Won’t Teach You

written by Feras Antoon

Enrolling to a business school will let you learn a lot ofcritical skills like broader worldview, better time management, strategicthinking, self-discipline and a lot more. Not to mention the academic theoriesalong with the ways of applying them to real-world issues. But the truth is,you cannot learn everything that you need to be a successful entrepreneurinside the walls of a business school regardless of how your great yourprofessor is or how comprehensive your curriculum is. You need to learn variouslessons first hand to start and successfully grow your business.

Below are important lessons that business schools won’t teachyou, but you can figure out through taking the risk on entrepreneurship:

1. Be a good leader

You don’t need to have MBAs to be called a great leader. All youhave to do is be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. You need to have theability to convey positivity and motivating people around you.

2. There’s no formulato success

The path to business success is not an easy way. There is nosuch thing as a formula that you can follow to be a successful entrepreneur. Noone can teach you the best way to achieving your dream. You have to do it onyour own; you have to follow your path.

3. Build goodrelationships

Good relationships are one among the many ingredients in cooking a successful business. You should learn how to form bonds and network with people. Learning this skill will eventually bring you to the right places and meet the right people.

4. Be an effective communicator

Some people are gifted communicators, but some need to work hardto improve their communication skills. Communication is the main ingredient inhaving good relationships and being an effective communicator is vital to ateam’s efficiency and morale.

5. Know that everyinteraction is a negotiation

Business schools teach a lot of negotiation strategies; however,doing it in real life is a bit different. Always bear in mind that whenever youinteract with someone in business you are already negotiating something.

6. Establishing thebusiness

Forming a business is what business schools will teach you; however, these business classes don’t cover everything. Finding your capital, the people that will invest in your business concepts and making that significant first sale is all up to you.

7. Good manners andright conduct

Good manners are taught to us first by our parents, but businessprofessors seldom forget to teach the importance of etiquette and commoncourtesies when talking with customers. Saying thank you, delivering onpromises, being on time and simply using customer’s name will make a hugedifference to your business.

8. Employing the finestpeople

Hiring an excellent team is always a struggle for everyentrepreneur. However, deciding who is the best person that will fit comes downto nuances that can’t be hidden.

9. Always learn fromyour mistakes

Failure is inevitable in the business world. You have to keep in mind that you must have that skill to pick up yourself when you fall. Your experience is your best teacher.

10. Marketing online

The digital world is changing the ways to market a business.Every business should keep up with the digital marketing trends. You have tofind your way to stay in the loop.

11. Relate to yourclients

The most important step of relating to customers is often missedto teach by business schools. That vital connection will be achieved if youwill really listen to your customers.

12. EQ is as import asIQ

According to the World Economic Forum’s top 10 skills thatemployees possess, EQ or emotional quotient ranked sixth. EQ is a person’sability to understand, perceive and manage their own emotions or feelings.

13. Learn humility

Being humble keeps you grounded, even as you achieve higher goals and it keeps you more focused on others but doesn’t mean you think less of yourself. Humility will help you keep track of your flaws, and thus you will be more open to criticism and feedback.

14. Figure out thingson your own

Unexpected problems or issues come around now and then inbusiness. When this happens, you have to figure out things on your own.Independence is very important in entrepreneurship.

15. Think out of thebox

Being creative gives you big advantages. However, being creativeis a process, and it takes practice and persistence. As an entrepreneur, youmust continue to make an effort on being openly minded towards the industry youare in.

16. Taking risks

Business schools will never teach you to feel comfortable takingrisks. Assessing opportunity versus possible failure is most of the time apersonal decision wherein you have to consider a lot of factors that mightaffect your business. Having an MBA won’t guarantee you on things to do whenyou take a risk.

17. Office politics isalways a part of a business

It is a must to pay attention to the internal works of your business. You need to know how to deal with people, treat one another, handle each other and most importantly is how to communicate because this might make work fun or more challenging.

18. Learn how to beatbig competitors

You don’t need to have a big business to outmaneuver giantcompetitors. To do this, you have to know your strengths and advantages, andit’s up to you to look for ways on what to offer to your customers that thoselarge businesses don’t have.

19. How to handleconflicts

You can’t avoid conflicts, both in life and in business. Youneed to fully accept it and know the ways to deal it in managing a business,and it is essential to learn how to forgive, find solutions and smooth overhurt feelings.

20. Learn how to trustyour intuition

Intuition is the product when your body processes the dataaround you. You can’t explain why you are aware of something; you sense it. Alot of successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs would prioritize his intuitionthan customer feedbacks and others advise.

21. Goal setting

Goal setting is crucial when it comes to holding yourself accountable. This is also a way to make sure that everybody on your team is on the same track.

22. Creating conceptsthat will disrupt

Many entrepreneurs dream of disrupting their industry, but onlya few brave ones do this because it’s unusual to create ideas that will causecomprehensive change. Learning about how to deal with disruption and defining asolution to a problem may seem easy but breaking the status quo has never beeneasy.

23. Learn when to seekhelp

It is impossible for you to do all the details of your business.You definitely need to ask help and delegate work when you need it the most.

24. Establish realistictimelines

To be an effective entrepreneur, you have to establishdeliverables, parameters, and realistic timelines. The road to success startsat creating realistic expectations and following through.

25. Experience is thebest teacher

There’s no great teacher than the real-life experiences. Real life is filled with winning and losing, and the only way to navigate this harsh world is to go out there and to experience it first-hand.

June 28, 2019 0 comment

Business

Shark Tank Shares the Best Advice to Make Your Business Famous

written by Feras Antoon

The award-winning reality-based TV show Shark Tank has had a remarkable impact on the business world and now influences a lot of inspiring entrepreneurs.

Recently, they have celebrated their 10th season, and on that private event, some of the Sharks and the guest Sharks shared their best advice on how to make a business famous.

Be creative on your product

Lori Greiner said, “It’s a mix, right? Of smart marketing and ingenious product. For example, Scrub Daddy was a technology. So, taking that one sponge, which was revolutionary, changed the whole sponge arena. We now have, to date, 20 different SKUs, and we have 30,000 new retail locations and 170 million in sales. That’s what takes it from one idea to a global brand.”

2. Use the power of social media

Author, TV celebrity and founder of Skinnygirl brand, Bethenny Frankel said, “Social networking is so important. Also being a little bit disruptive now … and you have to be creative. You have to be creative. The President was the most disruptive candidate that there’s probably ever been in history. He got people’s attention, and young entrepreneurs need to get people’s attention in some way. So be a little disruptive.”With social media, anyone can put their business in front of a broad audience considering the 2 billion people using the same social media platform. This is very achievable especially if they can create unique content that can go viral.

The importance of building a community

If you don’t have any knowledge on how to start building your community, you can use the power of someone else. You can seek help from influencers who already have their community wherein they will introduce your product. As a matter of fact, Shark Tank is the world’s largest influencer platform in the business industry.

Create a gimmick to get noticed by the media

Getting featured in the television or other media platforms is one way that would differentiate your business from other competitors, and reaching a larger audience is one significant advantage. Be innovative and be willing to pull off some educated risks with regards to getting noticed by the media.

Shark Tank Business Tips

Stay focused and know your strengths

Billionaire Mark Cuban shared his insights, “Knowing your unique advantages, play to that, and your strengths. And focus. You know, what happens is very often people start with an idea, get a little bit of traction, then it gets hard. And when it gets hard, they start looking for other things to do as opposed to playing to their strengths. Because businesses aren’t supposed to be easy. You know, if they were easy everybody would already be rich, and we’d all be sitting on a beach somewhere. And so, when it gets tough, you gotta dig in and work hard. I’d say the final thing I’d add is that sales cures all. There’s never been a business that succeeded without sales. So, if you focus on selling … if you’re able to sell … and that’s something that is one of your core competencies, then you’ll be okay.”

Shark Tank Business Tips

May 17, 2019 0 comment

Business

Employee to Entrepreneur: 10 Essential Steps to Adhere to Before Transitioning

written by Feras Antoon

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t only mean to be your own boss. Being an entrepreneur also means being a manager, a visionary and a technician at the same time. There are necessary steps that you can follow if you want to leave employment and be an entrepreneur. Adhere to these steps, and you will see great results in no time.

Establish a solid business plan

A business plan is an important piece for the success of your business, and it’s either to give direction or to attract investors.

Figure out the startup cost

After building a business plan, the question of how much money is needed to venture will come next. According to experts, the key to this step is to look at your business expenses as individual components, and from there you can already calculate your starting cost.

Entrepreneurship

Create realistic spending plans

Creating your business’ spending plan for the first time could be so intimidating, enough to scare some people away from being an entrepreneur. It isn’t that difficult, if you really want to be a successful business owner, you have to create and maintain a proper business budget.

Pay business debts

Having debts to scale up your business is pretty standard for every entrepreneur; however, having looming debt can take away the joy of being an entrepreneur. The best way to deal with it is to pick the best debt reduction plan and commit to it.

Entrepreneurship

Establish an emergency fund

An emergency fund is the cash that you put aside for a rainy day. Many businesses that lack emergency funds often find themselves in a whole host of trouble especially when it comes to unexpected expenses.

Assess your retirement accounts as an entrepreneur

If you’re a young entrepreneur, you may not envision yourself retiring. After all, you were just starting your venture. However, planning your retirement ahead of time is very critical unless if you want to strike it rich and then got nothing to show off when you reach 65.

Entrepreneurship

Care for what you are building

You need to protect your business from copycats and of course your competitors. Remember that your business is your castle; therefore you have to create a moat around it. Market your product well because a well-known brand is incredibly powerful.

Open separate business accounts

According to tax and business attorney Barbara Weltman, opening a business bank account for your new enterprise doesn’t only serve to legitimize your business idea and make your real business. She said that having separate business accounts is a vital consideration for your taxes.

Build a team of professionals

Hiring not just the best but also the right employees is important to the success of your endeavor. As a manager. You have to understand that your employees come from different backgrounds; therefore they have different ideas and personalities. If you can make your employees channel their individual strengths in a way that can benefit your business, then you’re on the right track.

Entrepreneurship

Seek a tax professional

As a new entrepreneur, you may have a lot of questions about your business’ taxes. With regards to this, you need to seek the help of a tax professional and financial planner that can go through some tax implications on your behalf. Your financial planner can offer you a lot of tax planning tips for new entrepreneurs.

May 1, 2019 0 comment

Business

John Chambers to Support WVU’s Startup Engine Houses

written by Feras Antoon

Silicon Valley Visionary John Chambers has recently announced a gift of talent, treasure and time to support start-up engine houses at the College of Business and Economics. This agreement will absolutely give West Virginia University substantial intellectual and financial resources. The college is said to be renamed as the John Chambers College of Business and Economics.

John Chambers is the former CEO and Chairman of Cisco System Inc. He is also the founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, as well as a native Charleston and not to mention a two-time West Virginia University alumnus.

Chambers said, “I’ve always believed in the power of education, but we need to reinvent our schools for a new, digital era. I’m betting on the Mountaineers and believe my home state can become a startup state if the university, business, and public sectors come together to support transformative innovation.”

John Chambers & WVU Donation

He also mentioned that these start-up engine houses would definitely help West Virginia’s investment, innovation, and business development.

WVU’s start-up engine is an accelerator program that is created to fascinate, select and speed-up those start-up businesses that are dedicated to the industries and sectors acknowledged on the West Virginia Forward report. This is designed to help sharpen their ideas, improve mentor relationships, and find seed capital and of course to partner with existing businesses that are already successful in the same industry.

The program’s primary goal is to help upkeep West Virginia’s economy diversification along with pushing the state to move towards the innovation economy.

In front of a hundred people gathered at the Erickson Alumni Center, with various community and state leaders including two U.S Senators, the WVU President, Mr. Gordon Gee said, “This is a momentous occasion for West Virginia University and the state of West Virginia.”

John Chambers & WVU Donation

He added, “John is a proven leader who is comfortable dreaming big and taking risks. Those are the same attributes that define who we are as a university. We have the incredible opportunity to make effective change by becoming a start-up University. I am grateful to John for his commitment, his partnership, and his friendship.”

April 5, 2019 0 comment

Business

Google Employees Protests Against Project Dragonfly

written by Feras Antoon

Over 30 Google employees have joined together to protest the company’s plan to establish a search engine that meets the terms of China’s censorship system. Before the petition made its way to the public for the first time, the employee-led repercussion objecting to the project has been already stirring up for several months.

Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, confirmed the existence of the project code-named Dragonfly. Pichai said that the huge corporation could help Chinese internet users search more information on the internet such as health treatments or how to steer away from scams. This is even though China has long blocked search queries because it was considered politically sensitive material.

However, project Dragonfly has drawn a lot of critics that question Google’s corporate ethics and standards and have also lifted up some concerns about the consequences of tech companies that cooperate with oppressive or dictatorial governments.

The petition says, “Our opposition to Dragonfly is not about China: we object to technologies that aid the powerful in oppressing the vulnerable, wherever they may be.”

“The Chinese government certainly isn’t alone in its readiness to stifle freedom of expression and to use surveillance to repress dissent. Dragonfly in China would establish a dangerous precedent at a volatile political moment, one that would make it harder for Google to deny other countries similar concessions.”

“Many of us accepted employment with the company’s values in mind, including its previous position on Chinese censorship and surveillance, and an understanding that Google was a company willing to place its values above its profits.”

“After a year of disappointments including Project Maven, Dragonfly, and Google’s support for abusers, we no longer believe this is the case.”

A spokesperson from the search engine states that the company’s work on search tool has been explanatory and that launching a product from the project Dragonfly is not close to reality as of now.

Two among the original signers of the public letter belongs to a core group of organizers that is directly linked with the international walkout of the company’s employees. Many noticed that in the past year, the tech industry specifically the Google employees have shown an extraordinary level of labor organizing. This includes employees protesting about workplace issues along with diversity and divisive company business contracts.

After the massive walkouts of employees, Google made some changes particularly to its misconduct and sexual harassment policies.

March 29, 2019 0 comment

Business

Merry Christmas!

written by Feras Antoon

Here’s wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah/Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and most importantly, all the best in 2019!

Success to all entrepreneurs in your current and future business ventures. Onwards and upwards!

Health & Happiness,

-Feras Antoon

December 21, 2018 0 comment

Business

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee for a £3.9B Deal

written by Feras Antoon

One of the world’s largest coffee chain, Costa is now under the beverage giant, Coca-cola, for £3.9B. Owner Whitbread deliberated on developing the chain as a separate firm but concluded that selling Costa would be more profitable.

According to Chief executive, Alison Brittain, Whitbread will now prioritize its Premier Inn businesses in UK and Germany. In 1995, Whitbread bought Costa for £19m when it had only 39 outlets. Today, the chain has more than 2,400 shops in the UK, 1,400 outlets in 31 countries, and 8,237 vending machines around the world.

Brittain told BBC that Coca-Cola intended to purchase the chain because “they want the coffee product, they have no coffee in their range.”

Whitbread will use the money for the expansion of Premier Inn, to return the cash of shareholders, to pay debts and to increase the company’s pension fund.

Chief executive Brittain added that Coca-Cola’s offer is significantly higher than demerging Costa into a separate firm in the stock market. She said it was a “win-win” deal for both parties.

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee

The chief executive thought Coca-Cola plans to use Costa to make “ready to drink, cold brew coffees.”

“You could see Costa absolutely everywhere, in vending machines, hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafes – in all the places you see Coke today,” Brittain added.

James Quincey, Coca-Cola’s chief executive, believed that Costa was “a winning company that can go global.” On a conference call, Quincey admitted in front of investors that retail was a new field for the beverage giant. However, he knows that Costa already had “a strong management team.” For that, Coca-Cola plans to “make it attractive for them to stay.”

Earlier this year, Whitbread announced its plan to spin-off Costa. After being under pressure when US hedge fund, Elliott Advisors, held the largest share for Costa, Whitbread considered breaking up the business. Elliott Advisors brought up a demerger plan after it built a 6% stake in the firm.

Costa is the second to the largest coffee chain in the world, and the biggest in the UK. In China, Costa is the third leading chain when it comes to the most number of stores next to Starbucks. Consumer analysts, Kantar Worldpanel, said Costa obtains about £6.3B annual income just in the UK.

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee

Apart from Premier Inn, Whitbread also owns Brewers Fayre and Beefeater restaurants. The company used to hold famous brands such as Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, and Marriott Hotels.

The deal is expected to be complete by the first half of 2019 after the finalization of agreement among Whitbread’s shareholders and other approvals like anti-trust regulators.

For years, Whitbread never liked the idea of demerging. The company glorifies the benefits of having two leisure brands in one place when asked about the reason behind having a hotel chain and a coffee chain.

Although the benefits don’t entirely convince some shareholders, they ride along Whitbread’s plan as they see the company grow its revenue, profits, as well as their share price at a steady pace for more than ten years.

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee

However, things changed when Alison Brittain became the chief executive, and Elliott Management registered as a shareholder of the company. The aggressive US hedge fund had a history of shaking big companies, and Brittain believed that Costa and Premier are strong enough to stand on its own.

The initial plan was to spin-off Costa in the next two years, but Coca-Cola threw an irresistible offer. The deal was a milestone for Whitbread, and for Coca-Cola, it could also be a significant turning point. For the first time, the company will handle hot beverages, and it could also initiate growth, which investors are waiting for in a long time.

An equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Nicholas Hyett, told BBC that the deal is “a bitter-sweet moment for Whitbread investors.”

“On the one hand, £3.9bn is an undeniably rich valuation and likely far better than Costa could achieve as an independently listed company, valuing its earnings higher than those of the mighty Starbucks,” Lansdown added.

“On the other, Costa has long been the jewel in Whitbread’s crown, and some will be sad to see it go at any price, especially given the growth potential in China and elsewhere.”

Watch this video that covers the acquisition :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01i6jzRKBY

November 16, 2018 0 comment

Newer Posts

Older Posts

business

Be creative on your product

2. Use the power of social media

The importance of building a community

Create a gimmick to get noticed by the media

Stay focused and know your strengths

Establish a solid business plan

Figure out the startup cost

Create realistic spending plans

Pay business debts

Establish an emergency fund

Assess your retirement accounts as an entrepreneur

Care for what you are building

Open separate business accounts

Build a team of professionals

Seek a tax professional