In this expert video interview I talk about entrepreneurship and innovation with Eythor Ivar Jonsson.

Eythor is Doctor of Business Administration from Henley Management College. He has a MSc. & Cand.oecon degrees from the University of Iceland. Eythor is also the author of the first Icelandic entrepreneurship book. He is the director of innovation, and entrepreneurship education in Copenhagen Business School graduating MBAs.

And Eythor is also the Director of Klak – Innovation Centre here in Iceland. In addition Eythor is also extremely creative and multi-talented – having published a CD with his own music among other things!

I got the good luck of having Eythor as my teacher in Klak – the Business Accellerator course.

The hottest issue in Iceland right now is Icesave and the bill that president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson turned over to the people.

A lot of misconception has been floating around in the press lately, so here are a few points to consider:

1. A tiny group of icelandic bankers caused a lot of trouble.
2. The law could jeopardize ownership of national resources and therefor our indepenance.
3. Landsbanki was privately owned and operated. Same goes for the depositors insurance fund.
4. The “dept” of 3.9 billion Euro is staggering considering the population. 10.000 Eoru pr living person.
5. Both the Dutch and the British Government have refused to take the matter to court.
6. The interest rate is higher than the Versala aggreement (after WWI).
7. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson did not veto the low, only forwarding it for the people to decide.
8. The banks operated under European regulations. The regulations are now considered faulty.

Listen to the interview on BBC’s Newsnight:

Further reading:

Iceland has the right to refuse debt servitude

We’re all Icelanders now

Iceland bank collapse repayment in doubt – listen to prime minister Steingrímur J. Sigfússon

When legends die words can be hard to find. I just want to remind all what Michael Jackson has given us:

I Want You Back – Jackson 5

ABC – Jackson 5

I’ll Be There – Jackson 5

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’

Billie Jean

Beat It

Thriller

We Are The World

Man In The Mirror

Scream

Thank You Michael

SBI! is NOT absolutely essential to build your own long- lasting, growing e-business, but it does give you THE greatest chance of success, by far. Still, it may not be for you. Consider the following…

1. If your goal is just to have a blog, or if it’s just to socialize, you don’t need SBI!. You have a nice hobby.
2. If you prefer to play games and “fool” Google with the latest Search Engine tricks (like creating fake link networks), SBI!’s not for you, but understand that no engine tricks have ever LASTED. None. They all get beaten, followed by much gnashing of teeth and wailing by those who thought they were going to fool the engines forever.
3. If you’re already very successful, congratulations! You have figured it all out. You’re doing it all right, with a solid process, all the right tools, etc.
   You don’t need SBI!. Recognize, though, that you are the 1 in a 1000 exception. And if you’re blogging, you’re the 1 in 2,000 exception…

   Blog or build?

   Most people really would do much better with SBI!.

4. If you’re suspicious that SBI! must be “too good to be true,” that natural feeling comes from all the “Get Rich Quick” and fraudulent game-playing schemers out there. But ask yourself if you have ever seen as much proof of success, and if the SBI! forums could be such THE most positive, help-and-be-helped force in e-business.
5. If you’re very tech-oriented, you may feel that SBI! is a toy for newbies (kind of like techs used to think about the Macintosh computer because it was easy to use). If you’re not open to changing the way you work in order to succeed (and I have no doubt you WOULD succeed if you were willing to adjust your habits), then SBI! is not right for you.
6. If, despite the process/all-the-tools/constant-updating, you believe that $299 is too expensive and you’d prefer to try cheap hosting and figure-it-all-out-on-your-own (info and tools and updating), then go for it. You will end up spending more on tools here and there, on countless pitches you’ll face along the way. And in the end, the vast majority who take this route fail…People need the process and tools and constant updating, all simplified into a do-able step-by-step. It takes some longer to discover that. And that’s fine. When you do realize it, you’ll be ready for the 7th and final “if”…
7. If you fit into one or more of the above scenarios and have yet to build a an e-business that will spin off increasing income on a long-term basis, simply give SBI! a try.

Yup. Don’t decide “for sure” now. Just try it…

The Guarantee turns it into a risk-free trial. You may indeed find out that SBI! is not for you. Just refund. See the guarantee towards the bottom of the Order Page…

Order Site Build It!

They absolutely honor that guarantee. More than that, if you feel SBI! is NOT for you, they WANT to refund you. Why?

It’s part of how they build that amazingly positive, productive and successful community of people who make their forums what it is today. So if you’re not right for it, then it’s not right for you. Part ways happy.

Somehow, though, I think you’re going to love it, like the vast majority of SBIers do. Don’t put it off. Just do it.

Ken Evoy
SiteSell.com

How does an entrepreneur get others to follow an idea?

Well – he starts a “movement”…

In this video the entrepreneur is at first one and lonely dancing a wild dance. Soon another joins in. When the third person comes along the result is an EXPLOSION – everybody rushes in to take part.

These three first guys play the key roles. The first one by being patient and persisting even though it can be awkward. The second by showing support. The third one is obviously in the role of a qualifier – getting others to see the dance as a group behavior that would be fund to take part in.

The video also shows how ideas turn viral and how viruses become infectious (not the biological – but the social).

Lesson: Keep on dancing!

Is the school a creative place?

Ideas about creativity from top lecturer Sir Ken Robinson.

Ken says: “Creativity is as important as literacy”

Schools have traditionally focused on not being wrong and therefor not making mistakes and the result is that education kills creativity.

Children are naturally creative and the schools are beating that out of them. Focusing on the upper part of the body, then the head and slightly to the left side of the brain.

Coming from Iceland, its not often you get a chance to be a proud. Yesterday was a pleasant exception when Yohanna got the well deserved second place in the European Song Contest.

Yohanna (Jóhanna in Icelandic) sings from her heart and performs like she was born on stage. No fear.

Enjoy!

There has been talk about the lyrics being a description of the crisis in Iceland, so I included the text. Phrases like “Falling out of a perfect dream” and “Did I throw it away?” are certainly suspect.

You can be the judge:

Is it true?

You say you really know me
You’re not afraid to show me
What is in your eyes
So tell me ’bout the rumors
Are they only rumors?
Are they only lies?

Falling out of a perfect dream
Coming out of the blue

Is it true? (Is it true?)
Is it over?
Did I throw it away?
Was it you? (Was it you?)
Did you tell me
You would never leave me this way?

If you really knew me
You couldn’t do this to me
You would be my friend
If one of us is lying
There’s no use in trying
No need to pretend

Falling out of a perfect dream
Coming out of the blue

Is it true? (Is it true?)
Is it over?
Did I throw it away?
Was it you? (Was it you?)
Did you tell me
You would never leave me this way?

Is it true? (Is it true?)
Is it over?
Did I throw it away?
Was it you? (Was it you?)
Did you tell me
You would never leave me this way?

(Is it real? Did I dream it?)
Will I wake from this pain?
Is it true? (Is it true?)
Is it over?
Baby, did I throw it away?

Ooh… is it true?

…or the Story of Stuff.

The history of things or stuff as is develops from natural resources, production, sales, use and right until it turns into garbage or waste. The film explains in a visual way how all these things around us have their influence on society near and far and how this is all more or less hidden from the eyes of the ordinary consumer.

The Story of Stuff is a little more than 20 minutes giving a quick overview but still diving below the surface of production and consumer behavior. Here you can see the effect it has on the environment as well as the people. It could even teach you a thing or two or make you smile. Who knows – you may even see “things” differently…

Especially interesting to see how the big corporations have the politicians in their pockets – obviously something you have not just here in Iceland

What do you think?

Many small businesses have the requirement to use a fax machine on a fairly regular basis. But fax machines tend to be pricey, because they require a dedicated telephone line. Thankfully, a solution to this issue exists.

Fax over the Internet solves the issue of needing a costly dedicated telephone line. When you use a online faxing service, you receive a dedicated fax number so you do not need to have a dedicated telephone line. You just need is the ability to get on the Internet, and the fax company takes care of everything else.

RingCentral Fax is the number one Internet fax solution provider, with fax plans for a business of any size. RingCentral Fax provides you with a dedicated number for your incoming faxes, and you receive your faxes via an email attachment, or by logging onto their service.

RingCentral Fax is always available, so you don’t have to worry about missing any faxes. Since you can view and edit faxes via the Internet, RingCentral Fax requires no printer to use with it.

Receive faxes online is a super affordable way to have all of the benefits of a traditional fax machine, but not all of the aggravation and costs that comes with one. Assuming you have Internet access, you can send and receive faxes to any worldwide location.

RingCentral Fax even gives you the ability to receive a message via a cell phone if you get a new fax. Or, if you need to send one fax to more than one location, you can do this with the RingCentral broadcast fax feature. You really have no limits when you use an Internet faxing service.

Use RingCentral Fax in place of a traditional fax machine. With their 30-day free trial, there is nothing at risk for you. Get rid of that conventional fax machine that is collecting dust and go online with your fax service.

By offering tremendous call management features, a virtual phone system gives your existing phone service an increase in features. You can make use of these features to operate a more efficient operation, or to better handle customer calls. If you don’t use a virtual small business phone systems, consideration should be given to explore using one to find out the ways it can update your present phone solution.

Below are 5 call management features used by a virtual phone service:

1. Virtual auto attendant – Calls are dealt with automatically by your virtual attendant, which makes sure that calls are sent to their intended recipients. Callers have the choice of deciding who they want to be routed to, and the system takes care of the rest.

2. Screen incoming calls – A virtual phone systems for small business offers you the ability to know the caller’s information and choose if you want to take the call. Sophisticated services will give you a virtual call controller that allows you to view call information using your computer.

3. Rules for call handling – These services give you the capability to determine rules that incoming calls have to follow, which allows you to direct calls based on different criteria. You can route calls based on day of week, what time of day it is, and also based on where a call comes from.

4. Call queuing – These services give you the power to put inbound calls on hold and handle them in the order that they came in. If you have a lot of incoming calls, or have a call center, this is a very useful feature.

5. Forward calls – Your virtual hosted PBX service can forward incoming telephone calls to any telephone, regardless of its location. This lets you work at home, or receive vital phone calls when you are on vacation.

A virtual telephone service offers some very sophisticated tools to manage your calls, enabling you to efficiently handle calls. If you are fed up with the lack of features your basic telephone system allows you to have, ponder updating to a virtual service which gives you the benefits sought by business owners. The price is more than affordable and the transformation of your telephone service is something you will not believe.