The Art of Crafting a Compelling Business Pitch: Key Components and Best Practices

Business News

In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, a well-crafted business pitch is essential for securing investments and driving growth. One often overlooked but crucial element of a successful pitch is the budget outline. This financial roadmap is vital for demonstrating the viability and sustainability of a venture from a financial standpoint.
A budget outline serves several critical purposes. First, it provides revenue projections, which are detailed estimates of the income the business expects to generate over a specific period. These projections are typically broken down by product or service lines and help potential investors gauge the potential return on their investment.

Another key component is the expense breakdown, often presented in the form of a profit and loss (P&L) statement. This statement summarizes the revenue, costs, and expenses incurred during a specific period, calculating the net profit or loss and indicating whether the business is financially healthy.
The break-even analysis is also a critical part of the budget outline. It identifies the point at which the business’s total revenue equals its total expenses, helping to determine how much revenue is needed to cover costs and start generating profit.

Capital requirements are another essential aspect, outlining the amount of funding needed to start and sustain the business. This includes initial startup costs and ongoing working capital needs, providing investors with a clear understanding of how their capital will be utilized.
Return on investment (ROI) projections are also vital, as they estimate the potential return that investors can expect from their investment. This demonstrates the entrepreneur’s commitment to providing a lucrative opportunity for investors.

Finally, a budget outline should include contingency plans for unexpected financial challenges. These plans show that the entrepreneur is prepared for the uncertainties of business and can adapt to changing circumstances.
Incorporating a timeline that aligns the budget with the business’s milestones and goals can provide a clear picture of when certain financial targets will be achieved. This comprehensive approach ensures a convincing and efficient presentation of the business plan).

Appalachian Prison Book Project December event will send books, holiday greetings to inmates

Arts & Culture, Books

MORGANTOWN – The Appalachian Prison Book Project will hold its third annual fundraiser/holiday-cheer event, Sponsor an Incarcerated Reader, this December.

The APBP – its offices are on the second floor of the Aull Center, next to the Morgantown Public Library – was founded in 2004 and has sent out more than 70,000 books to inmates about 200 participating federal, state and local facilities in West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and Tennessee, said APBP digital communications coordinator Lydia Welker.

Sponsor an Incarcerated Reader, “is just a small part of that but it’s pretty exciting,” she said.

Each book sent to an inmate includes what they call a half-sheet that includes an explanation of the book. Book donors can write a message on the half-sheet.

But people who donate funds online don’t get to do that, Welker said. “So this is an opportunity to include a message of hope or cheer or holiday joy with every donation.”

Donations for this event will be accepted Dec. 3-7. Those messages will be printed out. And at the Dec. 14 wrapping party at First Presbyterian Church across the street, volunteers will hand write each message on a half-sheet on the donor’s behalf to include with the books they wrap up and send out.

Donations are $10 and their goal is to raise $2,500 for this event to send out 250 books, she said.

Inmates’ privacy is protected and donors don’t know who will receive a book they sponsor, she said, but they can attach their name to their message if they wish.

APBP gets about 200 book requests per week from inmates, Welker said. The inmate may specify a genre, an author, maybe even a title. “We have wall to wall shelves full of books that people have donated to us.” The volunteers – the staff is all volunteers – read the letters and try to find the best match and mail it.

For this holiday-cheer event, they will choose a random selection of recent letters and include the holiday wishes with them.

“People can get involved by donating to the fundraiser or coming to the wrapping party if they’re in Morgantown,” she said.

Inmates will often send APBP some comments on what receiving a book means to them. Here are a few recent comments from inmates in West Virginia facilities.

“I was rather unenergetic this afternoon. The preparations for my creative writing class were going well, but I needed a boost; your extraordinary gift of the book ‘The Writer’s Way’ by Sara Maitland arrived and my day is brighter, the class will be stronger, and your legacy of helpfulness endures.”

“Thank you so much for all you have done for me. Because of your book program sending me ‘Michie’s West Virginia Code Annotated,’ I was able to litigate an amended sentence order from life without parole to eligibility for parole after serving 15 years. In other words, you helped save my life.”

“I stayed up and read the book all night. I really did enjoy the book and I thank you again. I love reading. I have one more request, for a Scrabble dictionary that would stop a lot of fighting here, when they are playing the game.”

“As a inmate doing time I pass my time by reading because it keeps me out of trouble and it opens my mind to new things. When I get into a good book I am transported away from this place to the places in the books. I read about 2 to 3 books a week.”

For information about APBP and how to donate, go to https://appalachianprisonbookproject.org.

Mallorca – “A neo-tourism in which residents are second or third-class people”

Travel

Jaume Garau is a former member of the Balearic Parliament and was a founding member of the ARCA heritage association in 2009. Vice-president of the Palma XXI citizens association that is critical of Mallorca’s tourism model, he is an executive member of the Forum for Civil Society, which comprises associations such as Palma XXI as well as environmentalists, unions and business in the form of the Pimem federation for small to medium-sized business associations.
In the spring the forum presented its vision of the future of tourism in Mallorca. This more or less coincided with the Balearic Government’s announcement of its social and political pact for sustainability. Both developments were at a time in early spring when scenes of road congestion appeared to mark a genuine shift in attitude on behalf of the Partido Popular, the party of the government and of the Council of Mallorca. For the first time, the PP began to admit the potential need for tourism limits.

The pact was to offer “spaces for dialogue”. The forum, via its component elements, became involved in what promised to be a process for reaching consensus as to the way forward in tackling the negative consequences of overtourism. On Monday (November 25) the forum will decide whether or not to continue being part of the pact.
“It’s very difficult to reach a consensus, which is what was theoretically intended,” says Jaume Garau. “The number of people and issues to be discussed and the little time we have makes it really cumbersome and very unproductive. There’s very little debate. We all say the same things we’re used to saying all the time. There’s no creativity.
“It’s all supposed to be supervised by a committee of experts. This either doesn’t exist or is being kept secret. Emails are being sent but you don’t know what people are saying or what proposals are being made in order to be able to debate them. There are too many groups and issues that make it a very cumbersome methodology. It’s not just the forum saying this; there are a lot of people who are burned out.

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“We proposed that this committee should be made up of qualified people from the private and public sectors and from civil society who could present new ideas. But this has not been done. The debate is not well focused and we told the government this months ago. What has never happened, for example, is for the hoteliers to speak directly with the citizens or their representatives. This said, we have had our own meetings with the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, with Riu Hotels, with TUI. And we have noticed an interest on their part in having civil society participate in the debate on the tourism model.”
The hoteliers therefore consider the forum a valid “interlocutor” in the debate, but Garau insists that the government doesn’t place the forum on the same level as the hoteliers or tour operators.
“There has only ever really been dialogue between hoteliers and political parties – not with civil society. But tourism has changed so much over the past ten years. There are the large cruise ships, which have caused a disaster in the Bay of Palma; indiscriminate and illegal holiday rentals have grown, which do a great deal of harm to everyone. And there has also been an impossible growth in tourism in general. Yet hoteliers have changed their perception. They know that they cannot pilot a tourism that goes against residents. There is a European awareness of this problem. Wherever you go, they talk about this conflict between tourism and residents.
“Several phenomena came together. First, there was huge youth discontent in Spain that was reflected in the 15-M movement. People couldn’t see a future and the housing problem was already at the centre of this. Then came the so-called collaborative networks, which are nothing other than a business model of large corporations such as Airbnb that have allowed someone in Palma to rent a flat for a week to someone from Germany. The size of cruise ships has doubled. All of this has combined to create highly critical public awareness of tourism. Everything is linked to a kind of neo-tourism that is part of a savage international business controlled by large corporations and in which residents become second or third-class people.”
Garau accepts that holiday lets cannot be singled out as being the sole culprits. However, he points to the huge increase in holiday-let places (beds) in Mallorca over the past ten years – from 10,000 to 100,000. “The illegal offer must be done away with, just like obsolete hotels, which must be transformed into public housing for rent.”

The politicians speak all the time about tourism quality over quantity; they’ve been speaking in these terms since at least the turn of the millennium. On this, Garau says he is not against luxury tourism. “But we shouldn’t fantasise about its possibilities either. There are not that many people who pay 500 or 1,000 euros per night. Those who do, travel all over the world, so they rarely become loyal to a specific destination. If they come, that’s fine, but they are not a strategic target. The target is a responsible tourist who respects the environment and knows not to waste water or electricity. An ecologist tourist – which is the least you can ask today.”

Ranveer Singh Visits Golden Temple With Aditya Dhar As They Kickstart Next Schedule Of Untitled Film

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Ahead of commencing the next schedule of their highly anticipated project, actor Ranveer Singh and director Aditya Dhar visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar to seek blessings. Taking to his Instagram handle, Ranveer shared pictures from his recent visit to the Golden Temple with Aditya. He wrote in the caption, “Jaako raakhe sayiyaan maar sake na koi..” Aditya Dhar, who is best known for directing and writing military action film ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ and Ranveer are working together for this next film. Dhar also posted pictures on his Instagram handle with the caption, “Blessed “. The film is produced by Jyoti Deshpande from Jio Studios along with Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar under their banner B62 Studios. This follows their recent super hit collaboration ‘Article 370’.

The movie features a star-studded cast, including Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, and Arjun Rampal.
Meanwhile, Ranveer was recently seen in Rohit Shetty’s latest action-packed film ‘Singham Again’ that has stormed the box office. Featuring an ensemble cast of stars, including Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Arjun Kapoor, the film has garnered significant attention for its star power.Ranveer reprised his role from ‘Simmba’ in the movie.Ranveer will also be starring in Farhan Akhtar’s upcoming ‘Don 3’.

Tamil Nadu StCb achieves business mix of Rs 33,000cr

Business News

Tamil Nadu State Cooperative Bank performed well in the financial year 2023-24, achieving a business mix exceeding Rs 33,000 crore and earning a net profit of Rs 121.29 crore.During the year, the bank’s deposits decreased by around Rs 950 crore, from Rs 12,486 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 11,517 crore as of March 31, 2024. However, advances increased significantly, from Rs 17,386 crore to Rs 22,073 crore in 2023-24.The bank’s total business grew from Rs 29,873 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 33,591 crore as of March 31, 2024.As of March 31, 2024, the bank’s share capital stood at Rs 631.19 crore, which includes Rs 20.26 crore contributed by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Additionally, the bank’s total reserves amounted to Rs 1,279.74 crore.The Board of Directors has proposed a 7% dividend for shareholders for the financial year 2023-24. The bank sanctioned a total credit limit of Rs 14,679.75 crore to Central Cooperative Banks (CCBs), including Rs 4,290 crore from NABARD, without requiring a government guarantee.In its agricultural initiatives, the bank disbursed Rs 491.15 crore in crop loans to 12,923 Joint Liability Groups. Additionally, Rs 366 crore was sanctioned under the Special Jewel Loan Scheme to support weaker Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACCS).Under the “PACCS as MSC” scheme for Post-Harvest Management, the bank financed Rs 157.75 crore to 2,720 PACCS, availing Rs 236.09 crore as refinance from NABARD.At the PACCS level, deposits increased from Rs 10,692.66 crore to Rs 11,151.48 crore, while deposits in CCBs grew from Rs 39,574.52 crore to Rs 41,074.90 crore after audit.During the financial year 2023-24, the bank extended refinance of Rs 210.50 crore to 10 District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) under the National Rural Livelihood Mission at a concessional rate.Under the Special Jewel Loan Scheme for weaker PACCS, the bank sanctioned Rs 366 crore to 732 PACCS through their respective DCCBs, with an outstanding balance of Rs 149.70 crore as of March 31, 2024.It is worth recalling that the Tamil Nadu State Cooperative Bank (StCb) recently received the State-Level Best Performing Bank Award 2023-24 from Tamil Nadu’s Deputy Chief Minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin. The award was received by the bank’s Administrator and Managing Director, P. Loganathan.

Jordan Ahli Bank Receives ‘Best Corporate Banking Services Award’ in Jordan for 2024 from International Business Magazine

Business News

Amman,
November 2024:
Acknowledging its excellence in providing tailored banking services that meet
the unique needs of clients, Jordan Ahli Bank was granted the ‘Best Corporate Banking Services
Award’ in Jordan for 2024, as part of the International Business Magazine
Awards.اضافة اعلانThe bank earned this prestigious accolade after
submitting required reports to the magazine, which conducted a study and
analysis of its performance in the Jordanian market. The evaluation assessed
how effectively the bank met the criteria for this category.On this occasion, Jordan Ahli Bank CEO/General Manager, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hussein,
expressed his pride in attaining the award, commenting, “We are thrilled
to have received this distinct award from International Business Magazine,
following the honors for ‘Best Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
Strategy and Framework in the Banking Sector’ in Jordan for 2024 and ‘Best
Customer Service Bank’ in Jordan for 2024 presented by International Finance
Magazine. Alternatively, being recognized with the ‘Best Places to Work’
certification for 2024 demonstrates our unwavering commitment to delivering
high-quality banking services that align with the aspirations of our clients
and address their diverse needs.”He added, “This award showcases our exceptional
ability to support Jordanian businesses with innovative and effective banking
solutions that drive their growth and success in a challenging business
landscape. It also reinforces our dedication to continually enhancing our
products and services to meet the needs of both local and international
markets, ensuring a distinguished banking experience for individuals and
companies alike.”International Business Magazine is an online
publishing company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, specializing in
the provision of financial news and innovative industry solutions. Founded in
2018, it operates within the financial services sector and targets a diverse
audience, including investors, executives, key stakeholders, policymakers and
government officials. The magazine is dedicated to delivering the latest
financial updates and promoting progressive solutions in the sector, positioning
itself as a leading source for business analyses and market insights.

Search Underway for French Tourist After Boat Capsizes in Surat Thani

Travel

SURAT THANI — An extensive search operation is underway for an elderly French tourist who went missing after a tourist boat capsized in Ratchaprapha Dam, Surat Thani Province.The incident occurred Saturday noon, November 23, when two groups of foreign tourists departed from Ban Chiao Lan Municipal Pier in two long-tail boats, heading to their accommodations on houseboats in the reservoir.
The vessel that capsized was heading toward Ran Nang Prai raft house, opposite the scenic Three Brothers Mountain, locally known as “Thailand’s Guilin” in the Ratchaprapha Reservoir or Cheow Lan Dam in Khao Phang Subdistrict, Ban Ta Khun District, Surat Thani Province.
Local authorities establish a search center at Ban Chiao Lan pier, Ban Ta Khun District, Surat Thani Province, on Nov. 24, 2024.
The capsized boat was carrying 12 people in total: ten French tourists (four men and six women), one tour guide, and the boat driver identified as Mr. Somchart. While the group was viewing the Three Brothers Mountain, the boat encountered strong winds and thunderstorms, causing it to capsize. Advertisement
The boat driver and guide managed to rescue nine passengers. One tourist, identified as Mr. Jean, was rushed to Surat Thani Hospital after inhaling water into his lungs, while Mr. Rene remains missing.
Emergency vehicles line up at Ban Chiao Lan pier, Ban Ta Khun District, Surat Thani Province, after a boat capsized at Ratchaprapha Dam on Nov. 23, 2024.
On Sunday, November 24, local authorities established a dedicated search center at Ban Chiao Lan pier. The operation is being jointly coordinated by Ban Ta Khun District Chief, Ban Chiao Lan Municipal Mayor Chaowalit Chuaysong, and the Head of Khao Sok National Park. Search teams, including park officials, municipal rescue workers, and members of the Kusolsattha Foundation, are utilizing underwater drones to scan the area where the boat sank.
This is the second serious incident at Ratchaprapha Dam this year. In February, a 24-year-old British tourist died after falling from a kayak in the same waters. In that case, the search team included Ivan Karadzic, a Danish diving instructor who had previously participated in the famous 2018 Wild Boars football team cave rescue. The British tourist’s body was recovered three days after he went missing.
The current search operation continues as teams work against time to locate the missing French tourist.
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Related article:
The Cave” Diver Helps Recover a British Body in Surat Resevoir