Posted by beyond438 on Dec 15, 2010 in Entrepreneurship, Relocate biz from SA to US, South Africa | 0 comments
Not too long ago, about fifty years, Atlanta was the size of Little Rock, Ark. About a hundred years before that, it was burned to the ground. Atlanta has proven it can grow (adding 1.1 million residents in the last decade alone). Now, it’s building toward a sort of tech hub in the southeast, against a backdrop that includes the busiest international airport in the world; a healthy cluster of corporate giants in Coca-Cola, UPS, Delta and The Home Depot, among others; and a spur of entrepreneurial activity that put Atlanta in the top ten on this year’s Kauffman Entrepreneurial Index, which tracks new business creation.But in a place where half the population isn’t from there, identity is a work-in-progress—the
New York Times called Atlanta “corporate stronghold, a Southern belle and a hip-hop capital”—all at once. Add to that: home to Internet security expertise and a key drug in HIV treatment. Alan Taetle, general partner at venture capital firm Noro-Moseley Partners, spoke with
Fast Company about what makes Atlanta’s startup scene unique.
Read more here.
Posted by beyond438 on Oct 28, 2010 in Apple, Business, Technology | 2 comments
OK, I’m bias. I’m so excited about this that I’m giving away 2 $10 iTunes vouchers. See below.I spent most of my professional career calculating margins on consulting rates, including doing conversions between different currencies, calculating hourly, daily and monthly rates. Well, now I have a handy little iPhone App, called Consulting Rate Calculator that can do all this for me and more. Here is a screen shot:
Consulting Rate Calculator
: A 2-buck version that you can find
here, and a and a free or lite version that you can find
here. Here is the description from the App Store: Consulting Rate Calculator enables you to quickly and easily calculate your hourly, daily, weekly and monthly rates and profit. The app offers an intuitive and simple interface with the ability to view, edit, save and email your rate sheets. Switch currencies with ease or updating any charge out rate or cost rate cell in the sheet to assist in determining the optimal rate structure for your next project.Key Features:>> Hourly, daily, weekly and monthly values all editable and visible in a single sheet.>> Multiple currencies with selectable base and comparable currencies (Limited currencies available in lite version).>> Exchange rates updated in realtime.>> Save rate sheets for later viewing/editing (Full version only).>> E-mail rate sheets in CSV format (Full version only).>> Configurable hours per day, week and month.Usage Examples:1. A consulting manager can save his/her team’s rates for quick lookup. Quickly lookup a consultant’s rate structure when getting a call at the airport for a specific position.2. The manager of a multinational consulting firm can enter the charge out rate in GBP and the cost rate in USD to review the profit of a US-based consultant working in the UK.The guys at
Cobi Interactive in Cape Town, South Africa did an awesome job with these apps. They develop mobile apps for almost any mobile device, including: iPhone, iPad, Android, Nokia, Blackberry, Samsung Galaxy Tab, etc. Post a comment and I’ll put you in touch with them.
Give-away
I have 2 iTunes $10 vouchers to give away. Here’s how it will work. Download the app, write a review on the AppStore and re-post that review in the comments below (including your email address as the contributor) and I will pick 2 random posts** and email you the $10 iTunes voucher.
iTunes $10 giftcard
**Small print: I need at least 20 reviews to make the math work. I’m sure you’ll understand.
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Posted by beyond438 on Sep 27, 2010 in Carel's Conversations | 0 comments
Green Card
I know many South Africans in the US that won their
green cards (or permanent residence cards) by entering the
US Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program or the Green Card Lottery.The official place to find information regarding the lottery is at the
US. Dept of State website. Do yourself a favor and don’t use ANY other website! There are literary hundreds of sites that offer to do this for you for a fee, sometimes a substantial fee.The lottery opens Oct 5, 2010, 12pm EDT and ends November 3, 2010, 12pm EST.
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Posted by beyond438 on Sep 23, 2010 in Business, Relocate biz from SA to US, South Africa | 0 comments
In a recent post I gave you some business words that have a different meaning in America. Below is a table with some common everyday words with different meanings. You can find many more in this blog: US2UK.
| South African term | American equivalent | Explanation |
| Petrol | Gas | You fill up at a gas station. |
| Robot | Traffic light | Turn left at the second traffic light. |
| Road | Pavement | In the US it is dangerous to walk on the pavement (in the road). |
| Pavement | Side walk | US equivalent is side walk |
| Crash | Car wreck | The wreck on the 75 caused a traffic jam. |
| Manual | Stick shift | Stick shift car. |
| License plate | Tag | You have to renew your car's tag every year. |
| Boot | Trunk | I need to get something out of my car's trunk. |
| Chips | Fries | Hamburger and fries. Chips are called crisps. |
| Cooldrink | Soda | My also be called pop in some US states. |
Do you know of any other words or funny stories?
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Posted by beyond438 on Aug 23, 2010 in Business, Relocate biz from SA to US, South Africa | 0 comments
Many South African businesspeople make the following common mistakes regarding US business English. I always enjoy seeing the reaction of Americans when a South African brags about their company’s turnover!
| South African term | American equivalent | Explanation |
| Turnover | Revenue or Sales | Turnover in the US refers to employee attrition (not a good thing :-)). |
| Surname | Last name | Family name |
| Name | First name | In the US most people have a middle name. So first name to distinguish from middle name. |
| Loan | Note | A note is a loan agreement. |
| CA or Accountant | CPA | Certified Public Accountant. |
| Managing Director (MD) | CEO or President | Better to refer to yourself as CEO if you are an MD in SA. |
| Director | Board Member | A director is usually a mid-level manager in the US. |
| Share Scheme | Share Plan | In the US a scheme usually refers to something unsavory (even illegal). |
| Retrench | RIF (reduction in force) or Lay off | Lay offs are very common in the US as most states are work-at-wil states. |
| Diary (Schedule) | Calendar | In the US a diary is a ladies' journal. You would typically say: "can we put something on the calendar". |
| Post | Mail | In the US: "I'll put the check in the mail". |
Can you add to this list?
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