Sequim Balloon Festival

Dear Sequim visitors,

Guess what?! Now we don't only have a Sequim Irrigation Festival in May and a Sequim Lavender Festival in July, our newest attraction is Sequim Balloon Festival in September for three days over Labor Day weekend. Actually, balloons already took off each morning from a field next to Sequim Airport. They were flying passengers early in the morning, when winds have not picked up yet, for a fee of $250/person for a sightseeing over Sequim.

We decided this morning at 6am to get ourselves some glimpses of the hot air balloons + photos at Sequim Airport. Alas an early fog made it in from Sequim Bay. When we returned at 7:15am to Sequim Airport, to our surprise the fog had lifted, lots of visitors and 7 air balloons and their teams had gathered for a spectacular exciting event: the filling and taking off of the balloons.

Tomorrow Saturday September 1 will be the first day of the official Sequim Balloon Festival. The Festival site will be a field, next to Purple Haze Lavender Farm, off W.Sequim Bay Road. There will be a dozen balloons, including the Little Bee Balloon team - we hope to still be able to post of photo of those - an evening Night Glow, a Hare and Hound balloon race on Monday morning, a classic car show, live music, arts & craft booths, street dances, beer & wine garden and so much more. For tickets & more details visit Sequim Balloon Festival.

Now let's enjoy Sequim Ballon Festival photos:

Sequim Airport

Road to Airport at 7am Friday morning

Keoki watches the first balloons getting filled with hot air

Exciting to watch the balloons getting filled

More air balloons getting ready

REMAX balloon is the first to take off

Biggest basket carries about 10 passengers

There they are up in the air enjoying their ride over Sequim town

Balloons with famous Sequim 'Blue Hole' as a backdrop

All the balloons are ready to go - the Sequim Balloon Festival has started

Tags: New Sequim event, Sequim Balloon Festival

BLOG COMMENT - Buyers and Airlines

The Bald airline facts about business travel. 1/ In the main companies will not mandate travel i.e. they will not say ‘you must use this airline’. They will ask you to but very rarely will they mandate it. It is not in global company nature to do so. 2/ It is practically unheard of for corporations to insist (and follow through) on their travellers using their loyalty miles for business purposes. This has a bearing on fact no 1. 3/ If a corporation is told by a national airline that they no longer have a deal then at least half of their travellers will still fly on that airline. 4/ Buyers may bluster and dictate to airlines but they seem unable to do so in their own business. Procurement is very low in the political pecking chain of any corporation. Internally people may endorse procurement tacitly but not authoratively. 5/ Whilst this situation remains it will be very difficult and perhaps foolhardy to direct connect with just one major airline. I wonder how long it will take before somebody calls the buyers bluff.

Chapter 1: The purpose of Business Activity

The economics problem: needs and wants.

Basically, all humans have needs and wants. Needs are things we can't live without, while wants are simply our desires that we can live without. We all have unlimited wants, which is true, since all of us want a new PC, a car, new graphics card, etc. that we actually do not need to live. Businesses produce goods and services to satisfy needs and wants.

Although we have unlimited wants, there are not enough resources for everyone. Resources can be split into 4 factors of production, which are:

- Land: All natural resources used to make a product or service.

- Labour: The effort of workers required to make a product or service.

- Capital: Finance, machinery and equipment required to make a product or service.

- Enterprise: Skill and risk-taking ability of the entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs are people who combine these factors of production to make a product.

With these discussed, lets move on to the economic problem. The economic problem results from limited resources and unlimited wants. This situation causes scarcity, when there are not enough goods to satisfy the wants for everybody. Because of this, we will have to choose which wants we will satisfy (that will be of more benefit to us) and which we will not when buying things. For any choice, you will have to would have obtained if you didn't spend that money. For example, you would have got a book if you didn't buy the pen, or you would have a burger if you didn't buy the chips. Basically, item that you didn't buy is the opportunity cost. Make sure that the opportunity cost isn't higher than what you bought!

"Opportunity cost: the next best alternative given up by choosing another item."

Here is a diagram showing the whole economic problem:

Division of labour/Specialisation

Because there are limited resources, we need to use them the most efficient way possible. Therefore, we now use production methods that are as fast as possible and as efficient (costs less, earns more) as possible. The main production method that we are using nowadays is known as specialization, or division of labour.

"Division of Labour/Specialisation is when the production process is split up into different tasks and each specialized worker/ machine performs one of these tasks."

Pros:

• Specialized workers are good at one task and increases efficiency and output.
• Less time is wasted switching jobs by the individual.
• Machinery also helps all jobs and can be operated 24/7.

Cons

• Boredom from doing the same job lowers efficiency.
• No flexibility because workers can only do one job and cannot do others well if needed.
• If one worker is absent and no-one can replace him, the production process stops.

Why is business activity needed? (summary)

- Provides goods and services from limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants.

- Scarcity results from limited resources and unlimited wants.

- Choice is necessary for scarce resources. This leads to opportunity costs.

- Specialisation is required to make the most out of resources.

Business activity:

1. Combine factors of production to create goods and services.
2. Goods and services satisfy peoples wants.
3. Employs people and pays them wages so they can consume other products.

Business Objectives:

All businesses have aims or objectives to achieve. Their aims can vary depending on their type of business or these can change depending on situations. The most common objectives are:

1. Profit: Profit is what keeps a company going and is the main aim of most businesses. Normally a business will try to obtain a satisfactory level of profits so they do not have to work long hours or pay too much tax.
2. Increase added value: Value added is the difference between the price and material costs of a product. E.g. If the price when selling a pen is $3 and it costs $1 in material, the value added would be $2. However, this does not take into account overheads and taxes. Added value could be increased by working on products so that they become more expensive finished products. One easy example of this is a mobile phone with a camera would sell for much more than one without it. Of course, you will need to pay for the extra camera but as long as prices rise more than costs, you get more profit.
3. Growth: Growth can only be achieved when customers are satisfied with a business. When businesses grow they create more jobs and make them more secure when a business is larger. The status and salary of managers are increased. Growth also means that a business is able to spread risks by moving to other markets, or it is gaining a larger market share. Bigger businesses also gain cost advantages, called economies of scale.
4. Survival: If a business do not survive, its owners lose everything. Therefore, businesses need to focus on this objective the most when they are: starting up, competing with other businesses, or in an economic recession.
5. Service to the community: This is the primary goal for most government owned businesses. They plan to produce essential products to everybody who need them.

These business objectives can conflict because different people in a business want different things at different times.

Stakeholders:

Stakeholders are a person or a group which has interest in a business for various reasons and will be directly affected by its decisions. Stakeholders also have different objectives and these also conflict over time.

There are two 6 types of stakeholders, and these types can be classified into two groups with similar interests.

Group 1: Profit/Money

• Owners:

1. Profit, return on capital.
2. Growth, increase in value of business.

• Workers

1. High salaries.
2. Job security.
3. Job satisfaction.

• Managers

1. High salaries.
2. Job security.
3. Growth of business so they get more power, status, and salary.

Group 2: Value

• Customers

1. Safe products.
2. High quality.
3. Value for money.
4. Reliability of service and maintenance.

• Government

1. Employment.
2. Taxes.
3. National output/GDP increase.

• Community

1. Employment.
2. Security.
3. Business does not pollute the environment.
4. Safe products that are socially responsible.

So... That's the first chapter guys. I realised that doing summaries in this format takes so much time, so the next chapter I will do it more in note form, making this less of a study guide but a revision guide or summary. Chapter two coming out soon!

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Chapter 2: Types of business activity

Levels of economic activity

In order for products to be made and sold to the people, it must undergo 3 different production processes. Each process is done by a different business sector and they are:

• Primary sector: The natural resources extraction sector. E.g. farming, forestry, mining... (earns the least money)
• Secondary sector: The manufacturing sector. E.g. construction, car manufacturing, baking... (earns a medium amount of money)
• Tertiary sector: The service sector. E.g banks, transport, insurance... (earns the most money)

Importance of a sector in a country:

• no. of workers employed.
• value of output and sales.

Industrialisation: a country is moving from the primary sector to the secondary sector.

De-industrialisation: a country is moving from the secondary sector to the tertiary sector.

In both cases, these processes both earn the country more revenue.

Types of economiess

Free market economy:

All businesses are owned by the private sector. No government intervention.

Pros:

• Consumers have a lot of choice
• High motivation for workers
• Competition keeps prices low
• Incentive for other businesses to set up and make profits

Cons:

• Not all products will be available for everybody, especially the poor
• No government intervention means uncontrollable economic booms or recessions
• Monopolies could be set up limiting consumer choice and exploiting them

Command/Planned economy:

All businesses are owned by the public sector. Total government intervention. Fixed wages for everyone. Private property is not allowed.

Pros:

• Eliminates any waste from competition between businesses (e.g. advertising the same product)
• Employment for everybody
• All needs are met (although no luxury goods)

Cons:

• Little motivation for workers
• The government might produce things people don't want to buy
• Low incentive for firms (no profit) leads to low efficiency

Mixed economy:

Businesses belong to both the private and public sector. Government controls part of the economy.

Industries under government ownership:

• health
• education
• defence
• public transport
• water & electricity

Privatisation

Privatisation involves the government selling national businesses to the private sector to increase output and efficiency.

Pros:

• New incentive (profit) encourages the business to be more efficient
• Competition lowers prices
• Individuals have more capital than the government
• Business decisions are for efficiency, not government popularity
• Privatisation raises money for the government

Cons:

• Essential businesses making losses will be closed
• Workers could be made redundant for the sake of profit
• Businesses could become monopolies, leading to higher price

Comparing the size of businesses

Businesses vary in size, and there are some ways to measure them. For some people, this information could be very useful:

• Investors - how safe it is to invest in businesses
• Government - tax
• Competitors - compare their firm with other firms
• Workers - job security, how many people they will be working with
• Banks - can they get a loan back from a business.

Ways of measuring the size of a business:

• Number of employees. Does not work on capital intensive firms that use machinery.
• Value of output. Does not take into account people employed. Does not take into account sales revenue.
• Value of sales. Does not take into account people employed.
• Capital employed. Does not work on labour intensive firms. High capital but low output means low effiency.

You cannot measure a businesses size by its profit, because profit depends on too many factors not just the size of the firm.

Business Growth

All owners want their businesses to expand. They reap these benefits:

• Higher profits
• More status, power and salary for managers
• Low average costs (economies of scale)
• Higher market share

Types of expansion:

• Internal Growth: Organic growth. Growth paid for by owners capital or retained profits.
• External Growth: Growth by taking over or merging with another business.

Types of Mergers (and main benefits):

- Horizontal Merger: merging with a business in the same business sector.

• Reduces no. of competitors in industry
• Economies of scale
• Increase market share

- Vertical merger:

Forward vertical merger:

• Assured outlet for products
• Profit made by retailer is absorbed by manufacturer
• Prevent retailer from selling products of other businesses
• Market research on customers transfered directly to the manufacturer

Backward vertical merger:

• Constant supply of raw materials
• Profit from primary sector business is absorbed by manufacturer
• Prevent supplier from supplying other businesses
• Controlled cost of raw materials

Conglomerate merger:

• Spreads risks
• Transfer of new ideas from one section of the business to another

Why some businesses stay small:

There are some reasons why some businesses stay small. They are:

• Type of industry the business is in: Industries offering personal service or specialized products. They cannot grow bigger because they will lose the personal service demanded by customers. E.g. hairdressers, cleaning, convenience store, etc.
• Market size: If the size of the market a business is selling to is too small, the business cannot expand. E.g. luxury cars (Lamborghini), expensive fashion clothing, etc.
• Owners objectives: Owners might want to keep a personal touch with staff and customers. They do not want the increased stress and worry of running a bigger business.

Thats the end of chapter two! Chapter 3 coming soon!

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option screw drivers to suite the need

when market was @ 5445spot today, 5400pe was @ 19
when the market slipped t0 5395 (50points), 5400pe rose from 19 to 33 (14points)

when the market was @ 5405spot, 5300ce was @ 121
when the market was @ 5415spot, 5300ce was @ 135
(14points)

14points in both
but total movement in the first was 50points
and in the later 15points.

same result, different effort.

in the first case, i was less sure of the move,
so i bought cheaper slow moving option.

in the second case, i was more sure of the move,
so i bought costlier fast moving "overdrive gear" option.

that's the beauty of options!

flexibility......
different screw drivers as per the need!!!

how many lots?

Dear all,

This is to emphasize that when I buy cheaper at-the-money or out-of-money options I don't buy more lots than I would have bought had I bought costlier in-the-money options.

I buy cheaper options when I expect comparative uncertainty or volatility, or when the situation is less clear.

By buying cheaper options I put lesser money at risk.

I buy a lot of cheap option lots only when I want to gamble big time with controlled risk, like I did when I bought 5100 pe lots for less than 9rs on expiry day on 26 July which rose to 61rs.

just because i was ready to deploy larger amount in costlier options doesn't mean that i buy more lots of cheaper options just to deploy all that amount.

Best wishes

Chapter 3: Forms of business organisation

Almost every country consists of two business sectors, the private sector and the public sector. Private sector businesses are operated and run by individuals, while public sector businesses are operated by the government. The types of businesses present in a sector can vary, so lets take a look at them.

Private Sector

Sole Traders

Sole traders are the most common form of business in the world, and take up as much as 90% of all businesses in a country. The business is owned and run by one person only. Even though he can employ people, he is still the sole proprietor of the business. These businesses are so common since there are so little legal requirements to set up:

• The owner must register with and send annual accounts to the government Tax Office.
• They must register their business names with the Registrar of Business Names.
• They must obey all basic laws for trading and commerce.

There are advantages and disadvantages to everything, and here are ones for sold traders:

Pros:

• There are so few legal formalities are required to operate the business.
• The owner is his own boss, and has total control over the business.
• The owner gets 100% of profits.
• Motivation because he gets all the profits.
• The owner has freedom to change working hours or whom to employ, etc.
• He has personal contact with customers.
• He does not have to share information with anyone but the tax office, thus he enjoys complete secrecy.

Cons:

• Nobody to discuss problems with.
• Unlimited liability.
• Limited finance/capital, business will remain small.
• The owner normally spends long hours working.
• Some parts of the business can be inefficient because of lack of specialists.
• Does not benefit from economies of scale.
• No continuity, no legal identity.

Sole traders are recommended for people who:

• Are setting up a new business.
• Do not require a lot of capital for their business.
• Require direct contact for customer service.

Partnership

A partnership is a group consisting of 2 to 20 people who run and own a business together. They require a Deed of Partnership or Partnership Agreement, which is a document that states that all partners agree to work with each other, and issues such as who put the most capital into the business or who is entitled to the most profit. Other legal regulations are similar to that of a sole trader.

Pros:

• More capital than a sole trader.
• Responsibilities are split.
• Any losses are shared between partners.

Cons:

• Unlimited liability.
• No continuity, no legal identity.
• Partners can disagree on decisions, slowing down decision making.
• If one partner is inefficient or dishonest, everybody loses.
• Limited capital, there is a limit of 20 people for any partnership.

Recommended to people who:

• Want to make a bigger business but does not want legal complications.
• Professionals, such as doctors or lawyers, cannot form a company, and can only form a partnership.
• Family, when they want a simple means of getting everybody into a business (Warning: Nepotism is usually not recommended).

Note: In some countries including the UK there can be Limited Partnerships. This business has limited liability but shares cannot be bought or sold. It is abbreviated as LLP.

Private Limited Companies

Private Limited Companies have separate legal identities to their owners, and thus their owners have limited liability. The company has continuity, and can sell shares to friends or family, although with the consent of all shareholders. This business can now make legal contracts. Abbreviated as Ltd (UK), or Proprietary Limited, (Pty) Ltd.

Pros:

• The sale of shares make raising finance a lot easier.
• Shareholders have limited liability, therefore it is safer for people to invest but creditors must be cautious because if the business fails they will not get their money back.
• Original owners are still able to keep control of the business by restricting share distribution.

Cons:

• Owners need to deal with many legal formalities before forming a private limited company:

o The Articles of Association: This contains the rules on how the company will be managed. It states the rights and duties of directors, the rules on the election of directors and holding an official meeting, as well as the issuing of shares.

o The Memorandum of Association: This contains very important information about the company and directors. The official name and addresses of the registered offices of the company must be stated. The objectives of the company must be given and also the amount of share capital the owners intend to raise. The number of shares to be bought b each of the directors must also be made clear.

o Certificate of Incorporation: the document issued by the Registrar of Companies that will allow the Company to start trading.

• Shares cannot be freely sold without the consent of all shareholders.
• The accounts of the company are less secret than that of sole traders and partnerships. Public information must be provided to the Registrar of Companies.
• Capital is still limited as the company cannot sell shares to the public.

Public Limited Companies

Public limited companies are similar to private limited companies, but they are able to sell shares to the public. A private limited company can be converted into a public limited company by:

1. A statement in the Memorandum of Association must be made so that it says this company is a public limited company.
2. All accounts must be made public.
3. The company has to apply for a listing in the Stock Exchange.

A prospectus must be issued to advertise to customers to buy shares, and it has to state how the capital raised from shares will be spent.

Pros:

• Limited liability.
• Continuity.
• Potential to raise limitless capital.
• No restrictions on transfer of shares.
• High status will attract investors and customers.

Cons:

• Many legal formalities required to form the business.
• Many rules and regulations to protect shareholders, including the publishing of annual accounts.
• Selling shares is expensive, because of the commission paid to banks to aid in selling shares and costs of printing the prospectus.
• Difficult to control since it is so large.
• Owners lose control, when the original owners hold less than 51% of shares.

Control and ownership in a public limited company:

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held every year and all shareholders are invited to attend so that they can elect their Board of Directors. Normally, Director are majority shareholders who has the power to do whatever they want. However, this is not the case for public limited companies since there can be millions of shareholders. Anyway, when directors are elected, they have to power to make important decisions. However, they must hire managers to attend to day to day decisions. Therefore:

• Shareholders own the company
• Directors and managers control the company

This is called the divorce between ownership and control.

Because shareholders invested in the company, they expect dividends. The directors could do things other than give shareholders dividends, such as trying to expand the company. However, they might loose their status in the next AGM if shareholders are not happy with what they are doing. All in all, both directors and shareholders have their own objectives.

Co-operatives

Cooperatives are a group of people who agree to work together and pool their money together to buy "bulk". Their features are:

• All members have equal rights, no matter how much capital they invested.
• All workload and decision making is equally shared, a manager maybe appointed for bigger cooperatives
• Profits are shared equally.

The most common cooperatives are:

• producer co-operatives: just like any other business, but run by workers.
• retail co-operatives: provides members with high quality goods or services for a reasonable price.

Other notable business organizations:

Close Corporations:

This type of business is present in countries such as South Africa. It is like a private limited company but it is much quicker to set up:

• Maximum limit of 10 people.
• You only need a simple founding statement which is sent to the Registrar of Companies to start the business.
• All members are managers (no divorce of ownership and control).
• A separate legal unit, has both limited liability and continuity.

Cons:

• The size limit is not suitable for a large business.
• Members may disagree just like in a partnership.

Joint ventures

Two businesses agree to start a new project together, sharing capital, risks and profits.

Pros:

• Shared costs are good for tackling expensive projects. (e.g aircraft)
• Pooled knowledge. (e.g foreign and local business)
• Risks are shared.

Cons:

• Profits have to be shared.
• Disagreements might occur.
• The two partners might run the joint venture differently.

Franchising

The franchisor is a business with a successful brand name that recruits franchisees (individual businesses) to sell for them. (e.g. McDonald, Burger King)

Pros for the franchisor:

• The franchisee has to pay to use the brand name.
• Expansion is much faster because the franchisor does not have to finance all new outlets.
• The franchisee manages outlets
• All products sold must be bought from the franchisor.

Cons for the franchisor:

• The failure of one franchise could lead to a bad reputation of the whole business.
• The franchisee keeps the profits.

Pros for the franchisee:

• The chance of failure is much reduced due to the well know brand image.
• The franchisor pays for advertising.
• All supplies can be obtained from the franchisor.
• Many business decisions will be made by the franchisor (prices, store layout, products).
• Training for staff and management is provide by the franchisor.
• Banks are more willing to lend to franchisees because of lower risks.

Cons for the franchisee:

• Less independence
• May be unable to make decisions that would suit the local area.
• Licence fee must be paid annually and a percentage of the turnover must be paid.

Public Sector

Public corporations:

A business owned by the government and run by Directors appointed by the government. These businesses usually include the water supply, electricity supply, etc. The government give the directors a set of objectives that they will have to follow:

• to keep prices low so everybody can afford the service.
• to keep people employed.
• to offer a service to the public everywhere.

These objectives are expensive to follow, and are paid for by government subsidies. However, at one point the government would realise they cannot keep doing this, so they will set different objectives:

• to reduce costs, even if it means making a few people redundant.
• to increase efficiency like a private company.
• to close loss-making services, even if this mean some consumers are no longer provided with the service.

Pros:

• Some businesses are considered too important to be owned by an individual. (electricity, water, airline)
• Other businesses, considered natural monopolies, are controlled by the government. (electricity, water)
• Reduces waste in an industry. (e.g. two railway lines in one city)
• Rescue important businesses when they are failing.
• Provide essential services to the people (e.g. the BBC)

Cons:

• Motivation might not be as high because profit is not an objective.
• Subsidies lead to inefficiency. It is also considered unfair for private businesses.
• There is normally no competition to public corporations, so there is no incentive to improve.
• Businesses could be run for government popularity.

Municipal enterprises

These businesses are run by local government authorities which might be free to the user and financed by local taxes. (e.g, street lighting, schools, local library, rubbish collection). If these businesses make a loss, usually a government subsidy is provided. However, to reduce the burden on taxpayers, many municipal enterprises are being privatised.

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