The last two weeks has been really inspiring.

I have been speaking about Social Media, been networking with some of Sweden’s most inspiring networkers and visited two castles.

Young Entrepreneurs of Sweden 2011 (photo: Cecilia Lyche)

First me and Victoria Ahlén held a seminar on New Business through Social Media for entrepreneurs and innovators in Uddevalla last Wednesday. The seminar was arranged by ALMI Företagspartner Väst and Entreprenörsriket and it was the third seminar with the same theme. The attendants integrated with us in a very good way and I look forward to the last seminar of this serie in Gothenburg the 11th of May 2011. Do you want to attend, please sign up in the form below.

Last weekend I attended the yearly conference of Young Entrepreneurs of Sweden with a lot of inpiring seminars and workshops (special thanks to Johannes Hansen, Olle Bjerkås and Gustaf Josefsson), great food and great networking at Entreprenörskyrkan as well as at Häringe Slott (the first castle). Thank you all 77 entrepreneurs that attended the weekend and of course a special thanks to the organizers Gustav Nisser, Petra Jonsson, Jesper Lejfjord, Jesper Lindmarker.

After being in the South of Sweden this week working with business development for ScanCord, I went with my wife Zuleyma to my uncle in Helsingborg where we just got back from a visit to Sofiero Slott (the second castle).

Last weekend was full of energy, inspiration and a lot of opportunities. This weekend is more focused on resting and recharging the batteries.

I look forward to next week as I know we will reach a new level with our new venture… stay tuned!

Please register for the Social Media seminar in Gothenburg the 11th of May 2011:
[contact-form-7]

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Kiva.org lender - Doña Florinda Agustina

In the time of Christmas, I believe that gifts to friends or family is a nice gesture, but the real unselfish giving is to the ones that really needs it. These persons are probably not in your circle of friends.

I do support kiva.org personally and also via my company The Rynge Group and I do have a sponsor child in Mauritius through the Swedish branch of Save The Children. I am also a big fan of the Swedish Startup Ecoera and their Platform for Biochar Carbon Capture, which can make a huge impact on the CO2 footprint while improving the soil productivity.

No matter what religion you have, if you believe in Christmas or not, a gift to someone in need is a very good step towards creating a better world.

Another way is doing a good deed every day, as Deb does and writes about in her blog Good Deed A Day or as Brandon did and wrote about in One Good Deed Per Day.

Save The Children - Haiti

Every single one of us can change the world, one step at a time. Everyone of us must take action now towards creating a better world. Each action is the responsibility of you as a single individual, but it is all the acts together that makes it possible for us to change the world.

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I have read about changing your maiden name will dilute your personal brand, and that taking another name will give you less salary. That might be so if you do not work with your brand in a focused way, but if you do it can strenghten your brand.

This summer I got married to my wonderful wife, Zuleyma, and for me it has meant nothing but positive effects on my brand.

A stable family situation

With marriage one is looked upon as being more settled in life, having more responsibility at home and less tendency to change jobs often. Studies in Sweden shows that couples that are married have a higher income than unmarried couples in the same age group.

I have seen this when dealing with clients as well, they seem to feel more comfortable after I got married.

Connecting competence

To have your spouse’s competence spill over on your brand takes place even when you are just a couple, but when your last name is the same and people see you as a more united entity, this effect will be even greater. Don’t be afraid of using this to your advantage, it could even be included in your resume or the cover letter to emphasis your strengths, ex. “I have a great passion for marketing and trademark strategies, which always is a topic for discussion with my wife who is a lawyer specializing in trademark and intellectual property law…”

If it is a match for the position you are looking for, don’t be afraid to spice up your own skills with the competence of your spouse.

So what about the last name?

At least here in Sweden you are allowed to keep your own last name when getting married, however a name change is not always for the worse. In Latin American countries the bride will keep both the fathers name as well as the spouses name (eg. Zuleyma Montenegro de Rynge), which in my opinion is a great way for keeping your brand and adding additional value to it.

If that is not a possibility, you will probably run into problems with vanity URLs and Search Engine Optimization and people not knowing who you are anymore. You still have your connections that is easy to inform of the change, it might take some time for them to associate you with the new name, so make sure that you can still be found while searching for your maiden name. If you are i control of the search results for your name, this normally is not a huge problem, and might even be a possibiltiy for you to create an even stronger brand since the new combination doesn’t have any history.

Well, marriage is one thing, but if you do not live happily ever after, that might dilute your brand. But that’s another blog post.

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Today The Rynge Group got a new mascot!

I would like to send a big thank you to Che Lam at LittleThingies that is the creator and designer of the mascot.

Please help us come up with a name! If your suggestion is the one we chose, we will send you a sibbling that Che will design for you. Please add your suggestions in the comments below.

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I årets upplaga av MyMission var jag (Ola Rynge) med och tävlade med en ny typ av kundvårdssystem, cSocialClub:

“cSocialClub är en plattform för kundvårdsprogram med fokus på affärsnytta där företagens kunder enkelt kan mäta och belöna sina kunders varumärkesstärkande och säljande engagemang i sociala medier.”

Tyvärr blev idén inte nominerad i den tuffa konkurrensen av 350 andra affärsidéer inom upplevelseindustrin. Vi vill skicka ett stort grattis till följande som blivit nominerade i de olika kategorierna:

Affärsidé

Badanka Kvack – Johan Van Leer
Vera Snook – Marie Bergwall
Bymby.se – Linda Eriksson
Bloggboken – Juliana Fritzhand
Freenet – Ararat Pogosean

Nytänk

Fyrform – Christal Knappe
Unbreakella – Karin Stammarnäs
UNICO Topfloor – Maritza Molin
Human Watch – Henrik Paulsson
Food Square – Sabiqah Bahrom

Wildcard

Multiper viewgadget – Hamed Ordibehesht
Blind Screen – Robert Nordman
ÅretRuntsommarcafe – Linda Gustafsson
Ultimate Gaming – Ulf Fors
Hard Money – Antonio Poté

Kulturbidrag

Combined Art – Karl Winroth
“Art to go” – Elisabeth Bilander
Undefined – Ulrika Arvidsson
Fabulera Mera! – Karin Ahlin
Stadsgungor – Malin Wallin

Prisutdelningen äger rum på Brewhouse den 26 maj klockan 18.00

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Ett stort, härligt hav av nätverkande sorlande människor med passion för att skapa nya affärer och att byta visitkort med varandra, det var inledningen på Industri- och Handelskammardagen 2010 på Svenska Mässan i måndags.

Temat för kvällen var för förändring. Eftermiddagen inleddes med att framtidsspanaren Mats Lindgren från Kairos Future, öppnade upp ögonen inför en ny uppstickare i öst; Kina med sina 1,3 miljarder invånare. Han berättade om vilka skillnader som svenskar och kinser bloggar om och vilka olika affärskulturer som råder hos svenskar resp kineser.

På grund av nya kommunikationsväger såsom sociala medier och kinesernas kostnadseffektiva produktion med likvärdig kvalité kan bli en viktig faktor att hålla bra koll på inför framtiden.

Kvällens huvudtalare var Chris Anderson, chefredaktör på Wired Magazine talade om den nya ekonomin och att framtidens konsumenter handlar och integrerar på andra sätt än tidigare. Många relationer blir globala och upprätthålls via olika former av sociala medier, var därför noga med att lägga upp just din och ditt företagsstrategi i sociala medier.

Avslutningsvis fick Jan Åke Jonsson, Saab Automobile motta årets utmärkelse för avgörande intsatser för det västsvenska näringslivet och deltog därefter med Victor Muller, Spyker Cars i ett unikt samtal om Saabaffären.

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Det väcks många tankar när ordet “affärsidé” kommer på tal; Vad ska man skriva? Hur lång ska den vara? Vilka ska jag skriva den för? Räcker det om jag har min affärsidé i huvudet?

Ola Rynge med tillsammans med Thomas Byström från Propulsion fick förmånen att hålla ett föredrag om just detta spännande ämne i torsdags i förra veckan på Lindholmen Science Park. Allt var välorganiserat från ALMI Mentor Eget Företag som var arrangör för eftermiddagen. Publiken bestod av adapter i form av små- och nyföretagare samt deras mentorer inom programmet.

Presentationen kan du se här
Det viktigaste i arbetet med en affärsidé är att den ska vara kort och kommunicerbar för alla dina kunder, anställda och leverantörer. Som hjälpmedel ska du kunna helst svara på följande fyra frågor i din skrivna affärsidé:

VAD är det som jag och mitt företag är unika på?

HUR ska vi kunna underlätta och hjälpa våra kunder?

VEM är mina kunder?

VARFÖR är mitt företag bäst på det som vi gör?

Varför den ska vara nedskriven är för att alla ska kunna ta del av den och för att du måste vara mer konkret med vad du och ditt företag faktiskt erbjuder för produkter och vad som gör er unika.

Vi som var på plats fick även lyssna på ett föredrag av Camilla Rahm och Bengt Peterson från KPMG.

De pratade om de olika företagsformerna som finns, enskild firma/bolag, handelsbolag, systerbolagsformen kommanditbolag och aktiebolag. Vi fick lära oss att fr.o.m. 1 april i år startades flera aktiebolag med den nya kapitalinsatsen som är på 50 000 kr istället för som det var tidigare på 100 000 Sek. Det är viktigt att välja rätt bolagsform och att man noga tänker igenom vilka för- och nackdelar de olika formerna har.

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Rynge Media Monitor looks into social and traditional media on the Internet, based on specific key words and phrases defined by the user. Let’s say that I as an user adds “The Rynge Group” and “Ola Rynge” as specific key phrases. Then the Rynge Media Monitor looks into different sources for new content generated during the last two days, and then it keeps looking for new content until I remove the key phrases.

The results are then presented as an RSS feed, which is a standardize format for presenting frequently updated works. These feeds can be read through the most common e-mail programs (eg. Outlook, Thunderbird) or other specific RSS readers. We recommend the use of Google Reader which is free, but requires the user to sign up for a Google account. The advantage of Google Reader is that it is has a lot of functionality to share, delegate, sort and act upon the news results.

What can and should you do with the incoming articles/posts?

When looking at one of the results, you are probably asking yourself what to do with it.

Step 1 – is it relevant?

Relevant or irrelevant – is it irrelevant, you might want to refine your search term. If it is relevant information, then you should define in what way it is relevant.

Step 2 – how is it relevant

You should define certain categories that are relevant to you where you can sort incoming articles. The way I have defined my categories are: Possible leads, positive feedback, negative constructive feedback, negative non-constructive feedback, product development, key opinion leader, educative.

Step 3 – act

Depending on which category I act differently:

Possible lead
For possible leads I try to identify who is the persona that I need to get in touch with to see if this can be converted to a sale. If it is a possible lead, but it is another person in my organisation or network that should contact the lead, then  I forward it to their e-mail via the E-mail function at the bottom of each post in Google Reader.  Here I can add a note as well and suggest action points.

Feedback / Product Development
Positive feedback is always encouraging, so I share positive feedback with my organisation, but I also thank the person that published the positive feedback. If appropriate I might even suggest an additional service based on the positive feedback. I am however very careful to not be over selling.

Negative constructive feedback should be answered in a polite and respectful manner, explaining why the negative thing happened,  why the product do not include the specific feature or whatever the negative feedback is aimed at. Maybe an excuse is in place if a customer has been treated bad. Negative constructive feedback is very valuable if responded to in the right manner. The client could turn from being dissatisfied to become a raving fan due to your fast and caring answer. It could also be used for product and service development.

Negative non-constructive feedback is never easy to handle. You can say that you are sorry, but that is pretty much it. Sometimes non-constructive feedback is better left alone.

Key Opinion Leader
I use key phrases to identify who are the key opinion leaders for my industry in different networks. When identified, I follow them, I learn from them and I try to connect with them. When successful, the key opinion leaders likes you and your products and will spread the word about your excellence to their followers (which probably are your potential clients).

Educative
You probably consider yourself and your organization to be experts in what you are doing. To stay up to date with the latest trends, methods and news in your industry, you can use the media monitor as well. Read the interesting news, spread the word internally and externally through your networks. Add some thoughts or comment on the content if possible and you will probably be a key opinion leader yourself in your social network.

How do you work to stay on top of things today? Please share in the comment section below.

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Jag skulle vilja tipsa om lite aktuellt inom entreprenörskaps och innovationsvärlden som kan vara av intresse för såväl idebärare som nystartade och etablerade företag i Västsverige.

Inspirationskvällar med ALMI Företagspartner Väst
24/2, 24/3 och 21/4 mellan 18.00-20.30 är det inspirationskväll ute på Eriksberg. Dessa och flera andra evenemang för entreprenörer och företagare hittar du på http://www.entreprenorskartan.se.

ALMI Företagspartner Väst lanserar en ny produkt riktad mot innovatörer
Det är ett ”Lån för fördjupad verifiering och konceptutveckling av innovativa idéer” som riktar sig till företag, främst som en fortsättning till ett fortsättningssteg till de som fått förstudiemedel. För mer information, kontakt en innovationsrådgivare på 031-779 79 27 eller besök http://www.almi.se/vast/innovation.

Produktutveckling i små företag – av varor och tjänster
Nu finns det nya pengar att söka för småföretagare i Västra Götalandsregionen för att utveckla en befintlig eller ny vara eller tjänst. Totalt 8,5 miljoner finns tillgängligt med syfte att stärka konkurrenskraft hos företagen i Västra Götalandsregionen.

Bidraget kan uppgå till max 500 000 kr. Ansökningar om bidrag behandlas löpande så länge medel finns tillgängliga. Projekten skall vara avslutade senast 15 september 2011. Se http://www.tillvaxtvgr.nu för mer information.

Stiftelsen Skapa
Stiftelsen Skapa delar ut ett pris varje år som delas ut till den eller de personer, som gjort mest förtjänstfulla insatser när det gäller nyskapande och kreativitet av produkter och tjänster som kan leda till kommersiella möjligheter i näringslivet eller offentliga organisationer. Se http://www.stiftelsenskapa.se/ för mer information.

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More and more information is being published online, on news sites, social media, blogs and discussion boards. Knowing what is being said or reported about your organization or industry is essential to establish communication with the press, your clients and other stake holders. It is also a great source of information in the decision making process.

We have been developing Rynge Media Monitor to provide a tool that is easy to set up, easy to integrate and use and that provide the essential data for your organization. News websites, social media, forums, blogs and video blogs are monitored on an hourly basis to track the issues important to you.

Do we need another media monitor tool? I think so since the ones out there are overly complex, focusing on fancy graphs, big corporations and lack the focus of business value and usability. The Rynge Media Monitor will be easy to use, we will provide cases for how to best use the tools and want to create a dialog with the users to constantly improving the quality of service and increasing the business value.

During the spring we will launch the service to the public, but if you want access already today, sign up for our private beta.

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