David Chan » health care

Small Business Opportunities Powering America

DavidChan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:13:11 +0000

Small business opportunities are really shaping the new American economy. Small businesses have always been a driving force in America, but it seems to be even more so today. Perhaps I’m more keenly aware of small businesses, since I’ve owned and operated a number of them over the last 20 years. But, I sense a sea change in both sentiment and desire.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are now roughly 28 million small businesses in the US. A small business is defined as a company that has less than 500 employees. Of these small businesses, the bulk of them, about 22 million, are identified as single person businesses with no employees. And, the total gross receipts are staggering … $992 Billion in 2007.

I believe small business opportunities are growing because of several factors: the state of the economic recession, obvious unemployment issues and the fact that there are many more resources available to the small business than ever before. Much of this is driven by the ubiquity and availability of downright cheap technology.

For example, when I bought my first computer, many “generations ago” …, it cost me $6,000. Forget about Internet connectivity, think dial up (barely), and 16 KB, not GB, of RAM. These are dinosaur terms to emphasize a point. Today, a Dell Net Book can be had for $184 after rebate, Internet connection for 20 bucks a month, and a phone service with unlimited calling for as little as $19 / year.

How can you beat this type of setup when it comes to building small business opportunities, especially out of your home? My company is the epitome of a small virtual business. We are 10 people small and we all work out of our homes. The technology that we’ve implemented allows us to be linked together through a virtual PBX system, project management software, instant messaging, online meetings and much more.

Many of the tools that we use are free, some are unbelievably cheap. For example, a virtual PBX with unlimited minutes for $49.99 a month! This system gives us 10 extensions, so that our clients only need to call one 800 number to access any one of our team members. In the “old days” this would have cost us thousands of dollars and would have needed to be installed in a physical location. There’s nothing to install or download here, baby!

So, what are the top 10 online small business opportunities fueling my imagination? If you can wrap your arms around the term virtual, the ideas are limitless. My top 10:

Virtual Assistants – So much work, so little time. Virtual Assistants “free up your day,” as one of my colleagues in the business likes to say.
Internet Marketing – Think Google search and you’ll know what I mean. Companies are moving their marketing dollars in DROVES to the Internet. Print, Radio and TV are dying breeds.
Answering Services – You can’t always be in two places at the same time. Set up your own Virtual PBX, cultivate some clients and answer their calls for them.
Online Researcher – The Internet is a wealth of information. But, you still need time to sift through the dirt to find the gold. Turn your curious nature into a saleable asset.
Internet Broker – This business is as old as eBay. People want to buy and others want to sell. But, some are technology “challenged.” They just don’t know how to sell anything, let alone on eBay.
Stock Up! – The Internet’s appetite for online “stock” content is voracious. Think 300 million websites. They all need some type of photo, video or graphic. And, there are plenty of sites to sell your passion.
Creative Services – If you’re a photographer, videographer, graphic artist, hobbyist or professional, move your attention to Internet. Linked with #6, the need for QUALITY work is exploding.
Freelance Writing – Coupled with the explosive nature of the Internet, blogging is as hot as it gets. No, not about your kids’ latest soccer game, but serious ghost writing for individuals and companies.
Expense Reduction Manager – Everybody’s looking for a deal these days. And, they’re everywhere. Some people just don’t know where to look.
And, my all time favorite – Personal Shopper – I threw this one in for fun. “Back in the day”, people paid good money for others to shop for them.

Let’s just hope that legislation on AFFORDABLE health care, doesn’t rain on our parade!

Barack Obama Racism and Our Country’s Future

DavidChan — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:58:35 +0000

The issue of Barack Obama racism hits a nerve that threatens to derail the most basic tenets of why our forefathers came to this country. Lest we all forget, we are all immigrants to the United States, except for the indigenous Native Americans. How can we preach leadership and democracy to other countries, when we have such bigotry and disrespect for our own leaders and regular citizens?

As an American-born Chinese, I grew up during a time when people used to describe us as “Chinks” or “Slanty-eyes.” I got angry at these derogatory remarks until I realized that maybe these people just didn’t know any better. Perhaps they came from a part of the country where there wasn’t very much cultural diversity. Or, maybe, they were just afraid of other cultures that they knew little about.

But, guess what? I grew up in this country. I’m pretty much as American pie as everyone else who has lived here for any length of time. I just happen to also know how to order Chinese food, as well as Italian, Hungarian, Thai and, yes, steak and potatoes.

The thing that irks me the most, though, about the Barack Obama racism is that there are some well-heeled people stirring up the pot who should know better. One famous talk show host recently suggested that Mr. Obama is somehow causing racism throughout the country. He tried to label it “Obama’s America.”

How can any intelligent person possibly link an un-related school bus beating with Barack Obama racism? The only logical conclusion that most people have come to is that this talk show host is looking to create controversy for his own financial gain. After all, controversy does seem to sell and it certainly seems to be the tactic of today’s hyper-tensioned country.

I’m not sure when America lost its “innocence.” But, I can remember the days when Camelot died … when JFK, Bobby Kennedy and, yes, even Ronald Reagan passed through our lives. While there was controversy during their times, at least there was general civility and respect amongst their colleagues and civilians.

Who would ever have thought that a “jackass” would stand up in front of congress and call the President of the United States a liar? This is not kindergarten folks! What kind of example are we passing on to our children, let alone to the leaders of the “free world?”

The Barack Obama racism issue is not a Red State vs. Blue State issue. It is an all state issue. At a time of unprecedented unemployment, health care inequity and education disparity, how can we allow our country to digress into this shameless act of self-destruction?

Ex-President Carter may or not be right that some people do not believe that an African AMERICAN could possibly be capable of leading our great nation. But, if a person with a Political Science degree from Columbia University and a Magna Cum Laude law degree from Harvard can’t lead this country, who can? The talk show host with NO degree?

What the Obama Health Care Plan Means To You

DavidChan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:53:56 +0000

There’s a lot of information and mis-information swirling around the Obama Health Care Plan. You should really take some time to understand the components of the plan in order to decide whether the plan is of substantive value or not. As a small business owner in the technology business development sector, I believe we all owe it to ourselves to understand some important issues.

It’s true that our health care system has some serious problems. For example, when my elderly father was recently admitted to the hospital for 5 days, the cost was a whopping $64,000. How many uninsured or under-insured people could afford that? Or, my colleague who recently lost his job had to pay $2,000 a month just to cover his family of 4. How is that possible when the single wage earner is making ZERO income?

On the flip side of the coin, employers are struggling under the weight of the economic downturn. Is it possible that they can continue to subsidize the cost of health care insurance when they have increased over 110 percent?

THIS is why the Obama health care plan is so important. NOT necessarily because there is any one RIGHT answer … there never is. But, the reality of doing nothing means we move the burden of health care reform to our children and our children’s children. Why? Because there are so many families going into bankruptcy for example just because they can’t afford health care. And, still more are straining the system by just going to the emergency room and NOT practicing preventative care.

The Obama health care plan / reform is really focused on a few key issues. One of the main tenets of Mr. Obama’s plan is preventative care. For example, ensuring people get the right cancer screening and nutritional education. This is one of my hot buttons, in fact. Instead of treating the problem, let’s get right down to preventing it in the first place. I have yet to visit a doctor who gave me a plan for eating right, exercising more and to get regular screening, for example. It’s usually, “let’s see what’s wrong with you.”

The second important piece of President Obama’s plan is to increase spending in technology WHERE and WHEN it makes sense. For example, I believe that it’s absurd that medical records are not easily transferrable between doctors, let alone medical institutions. We live in the 21st century. Technology, integration, data exchange and collaboration has never been easier. The Obama health care plan is to invest in these solutions so that the one doctor who sees you today will know what your doctor prescribed for you ten years ago or even as recent as last year. What an improvement that would be to ensuring nothing was missed!

Transparency related to quality and costs is of utmost importance. If we learned anything about debacle of the last couple of years on Wall Street, we learned that too many hidden agendas and costs are buried in order to protect the fraudulent and excesses. As I mentioned in the 2nd paragraph, $64,000 for a 5 day stay in the hospital. And, the food is terrible! No steaks here. Where does all this money go? How much does an X-ray really cost?

One of the components of the Obama health care plan that I really like is competition in the insurance area. There is a serious flaw in any system when a few companies make the bulk of the money. Sounds a lot like AT&T in the old days or Comcast today. Without competition, there is no way to ensure that the rates charged are competitive and worse, whether the quality of care is at its highest! Just think about the ramifications of that one statement. When was the last time you saw your premiums and deductibles go down, while waiting lines and quality of care have gone up?

This sure sounds like Enron all over again.

Whether you believe in the Obama health care plan or not, the solution is NOT inaction. The health care system here in America is broken. Until someone comes up with a better plan, we need to move in a direction that gets us some positive step forward.