The global financial crisis is one thing, but discontentment about personal banking has been growing for a while. Service fees, late fees, transaction fees, confusing terms of service, and general unhelpfullness of bank employees is something we all experience once in a while. Banks are supposed to help us manage money, but they’re clearly not.

The good news is, some alternatives are coming. We already know Mint, the personal budgeting application, which features useful planning tools and the ability to track expenses. Here comes Simple, an online banking service. Simple registers your expenses, categorizes them, and takes into account your future automatized payments (e.g. rent) as well as saving goals when displaying your balance. That way, you know exactly how much you can spend, and whether you can afford that $4 latte or $20 concert ticket. Its iPhone app also simplifies transactions; you can cash a check, reimburse a friend, split a restaurant bill, etc., without fees.

Simple partners with local and community banks, and offers personlized customer service – you get to talk to someone right away instead of navigating the automated voice system, and even speak with the same representative when you call back next time.

And it looks great (I mean, the app’s font is Gotham!)

Simple is so far only available by invitation, and to U.S. customers. But there’s no doubt the potential is huge. It’s good to know someone’s got our back…

More info here and here.

Photo credit: Fasctodesign.com.

To each financial crisis its own population exodus.

While tough economical times led millions of Italians, Irish, Greeks and others to emigrate massively to North America in the first half of the 20th century, Europe saw the trend turn around during times of prosperity with the arrival of families coming mainly from Africa and the Middle East. While this latest trend still exist, a new phenomenon should not be ignored – young Europeans are escaping bleak work prospects and living conditions to venture abroad. But this latest migration wave is slightly different from previous ones. This time, college-educated workers are the ones who choose to leave.

In Spain, where the unemployment rate is about 45% for young workers, many of those who do manage to find employment have to make do with a low salary (they’re called “mileuristas” because of their 1000 Euros monthly wage.) Those who decide to move abroad in order to finally get hired look at Europe first: Germany and the UK mainly, where the economy is still relatively healthy. But some go further. Dubaï, Brazil, the U.S. are some of the examples I found during my research. As a result, it is estimated that Spain will lose about 500,000 of its residents over the next decade, and there are already more people who leave the country than who enter it. Although these numbers don’t compare to the immigration waves of the 60′s (1.5 million Spaniards left for greener pastures,) they are not insignificant either.

Greece has obviously been affected as well. Young and not-so-young graduates leave the country in search for a better work situation. Some leave Athens to move back with their families in the countryside. In Greece, maybe more than in any other place, the future looks sombre, at best blurry.

But what originally prompted me to write this article is the case of Portugal. Its smaller population and location at the edge of the Iberian peninsula often make it fly under the radar. But the country is also going through a rough patch – its economy is expected to shrink by 2.8% next year, and unemployment will reach 13.4%. In return, the Portuguese exodus has been quite significant. 70,000 people are leaving each year, according to the country’s Emigration Observatory. A majority is choosing to move to former colonies such as Brazil… and Angola, where 100,000 Portuguese are already established. Yes, Angola, which should experience a 12% growth of its economy next year, thanks mostly to a booming oil industry. Salaries are higher there for the college-educated, and work conditions better than in Portugal. This 2010 article paints a surprisingly positive portrait of life in this African country for newcomers: “These privileged émigrés live high off the hog: luxury villas, chauffeured cars, personal escorts, nights out on the town…” Even though locals might not enjoy the same benefits – poverty is still rampant (life expectancy is around 40 years old,) cost of living is high, and corruption is widespread.

Life in Brazil is far from being perfect too: corruption, violence and poverty are still part of the daily life of Brazilians. But a booming economy and confidence in a prosperous future have already led about 213,000 Portuguese to chos to move there, and more are on their way.

These are just a few examples of the brain drain Europe is currently experiencing. Being a French immigrant in Canada, I know very well that young French workers feel disillusioned about their future in their home country, and that thousands of them leave each year to the French-speaking province of Quebec. The U.K. is also one of the top providers of immigrants to Canada, and the U.S. have been attracting underpaid European university professors for quite a while now. Europe is losing its brains… in more than one way.

Photo credits: “Indignados” protest in Madrid, Spain. By Flickr user acampadabcnfoto Fotomovimiento15M’s, held under a Creative Commons license.

I just stumbled upon this great film featuring Charles Eisenstein, author of Sacred Economics, in which he summarizes the motivation and organization behind Occupy Wall Street. It’s not about fighting the 1% he says. There’s no opponent. We’re all in this together. I found the following words particularly touching:

The loss of community, the loss of connection, the loss of intimacy, the loss of meaning. Everybody wants to live of life of meaning.

These words might sound overly theoretical or philosophical to some, but in recent years I’ve become more aware of the tangible effects of the lack of connection we all feel in our lives. When I went to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside during the Olympics, the social workers and community leaders who had to deal first-hand with the effects of addiction had this to say: the treatment of addiction is not all. What matters is the cause, and the cause of addiction can be found directly in the lack of sense of belonging, of community, of connection that is prevalent in western societies. The Downtown Eastside shows the darkest side of this sens of disconnect, but we all experience it at some kind of level. We should pay attention to signs such as widespread addiction issues, instead of treating them as collateral damage. And look for meaning, humanity, and connection in our lives.

Occupy Love has a website: http://occupylove.org/ where you can watch more videos about the OWS movement.

Jobs was an odd character, a sort of charismatic leader who had devoted followers, led religious-like presentations to launch new products, cultivated a powerful and impeccable brand image, and nurtured secrecy. His rigid leadership, combined to an innate sense of innovation, led him to helm one of the most powerful and successful companies ever.

The aspects of Steve Jobs’s work I wish to celebrate, because I think they are relevant to Defiant Imagination’s mission, are his incredible perseverance in trusting what I think was his gut feeling and believing in his ideas, his belief that excellent design was an essential part of the product’s usability and his insistence in delivering good design to the masses. I think Jobs ultimately respected his customers and believed they deserved no less than the best. I don’t agree with all of Apple’s positions, but this is not the point. I’ve been a user of Apple products for many years and I just wished to celebrate Steve Jobs for being responsible for the tools I use to work and entertain myself everyday.

I found this interesting infographics today (click to enlarge):

For example, during America’s mini-booms of the ’80s and ’90s, “more than 80 percent of total increase in Americans’ income went to the top 1 percent.” While productivity increased by 20 per cent, “virtually none of the increase translated into wage growth at middle and lower incomes.”

Another interesting fact: while America is still widely considered as a land of opportunity, where merit and hard work are rewarded by promotion and higher wages, studies show that social mobility is in fact higher in countries such as Canada, Australia and the Nordic countries. Income disparity is even decreasing in Latin America, while the U.S. are following the reverse trend.

Income inequality is a major issue that needs to be addressed and that raises the question of whether democracy always leads to economic prosperity. Why is America the richest country in the world, yet still can’t get rid of an aggressive and spreading poverty? I’m looking forward to reading the subsequent articles.

The articles are available online here or in pdf here.

Read a Q&A with Romer on the New York Times’ Freakonomics blog.

Visit the project’s website.

Watch Romer’s TED talk:

The situation of dependence of third-world countries on foreign aid has been going on for far too long to remain healthy, and it has been leading to abuse in many cases (the example of the mosquito net, used several times by Moyo, is a good one. Mosquito nets manufactured by rich countries are then sent to poor ones out of good will, even though poor countries would gain more from manufacturing the nets themselves thanks to foreign investment.)

Reading Moyo’s essay has brought me to think about altruism and the act of giving. One thing I’ve learned from my trips to developing countries is that I had much more to learn and receive from the local population than the opposite. The reasons that motivated my trips had to do with a feeling of collective guilt that we try to address through aid. I do not wish to be in that position ever again, since I’ve come to think that it does more harm than good. What I’d now like to concentrate on, as far as international cooperation is concerned, is to foster mutual understanding and learning.

As for giving, I believe that many issues still need to be taken care of around me, even if I live in one of the richest parts of the world. I’ve thereby come up with a list of innovative ways to make good use of your money. Rule n°1: know where your money is going.

• Don’t focus on the material stuff only Journalism might be going through what might be its biggest crisis ever, but there will always be a need for reporting. Spot.Us gets readers directly involved in the editing process by allowing them to choose and fund the stories that they think are worth writing about. The website started out in the Bay Area and is now providing the same services for Los Angeles. If it works, this model could be brought to many other communities.

• Be picky With the growing success of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, we’re going to start seeing more and more online platforms that will facilitate the making of ideas and projects. Kickstarter acts as a fundraising platform for creatives who have a specific project in mind. For example, artists, photographers, filmmakers or writers can get help for their next book, film, or endeavour. Projects only receive fuding when the target amount has been reached, although this amount can go beyond expectations. In return, donors get involved in the creative process by staying updated and receiving little perks. A relationship can therefore be initiated between donors and receivers. Firstgiving is based on the same principles, but concentrates on charitable initiatives. Individuals can create a personal profile and raise money for the nonprofit of their choice. These platforms allow for donors to choose which project, among hundreds, suits them best.
  

• Be original If you have a lot (and I mean, a lot) of spare change you’re willing to give away for a good cause, the Globe and Mail can show you how . Their weekly column Giving Back, published each Saturday, features original ways of donating or raising cash. A soccer camp for kids with cancer, a community association, a specific research area, a student in need of a scholarship are example of recipients. Donations can amount to several thousand dollars.

• Invest in entrepreneurship I don’t want to rule out financial aid to developing countries entirely, as there are several kinds of initiatives I believe in. Microcredit is one of them, even though its efficiency is still subject to debate. Kiva acts as an intermediary between lenders and entrepreneurs in need of a boost for their business. Because you’re lending the money and expect to receive interests in return, receivers can keep a sense of pride that is lost in the traditional aid process.

As for me, I give a little bit each year to WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and WNYC New York Public Radio for my two favourite radio shows, This American Life and Radio Lab.

I visited the space last April during a trip to the city and had a chat with co-founder Amy Abrams.

How did you get the idea for In Good Company?

My business partner Adelaide Fives and I worked together for about three or four years in a consulting practice with women who were in career transition or women business owners who were experiencing problems. Over the years we found these women kept articulating the same challenges. They had this tremendous sense of not knowing anybody else who was doing this and when they had to see clients they didn’t have a place to meet them. We always wanted to give them a resource to solve this sense of isolation. We couldn’t find that resource so we decided to create it on our own. We thought that what these women were missing was a community of peers, and a place to work at when they needed it. A lot of good resources were getting lost because people didn’t know how to share them.
We knew we wanted to have a physical space and allow people to rent it when they needed it. That already existed, but the key component to what we wanted to do that was different was this sense of community. So we described ourselves as a community membership and a community workspace. In order to ever use our space you have to be a member of our community.

Can you tell me more about this community aspect?

By becoming a member of our organization you get to be part of our community in person and online. We have about eight events a month: lunchtime meetings where we have a specific topic that we’re discussing, panels, evening events, holiday parties and cocktail hours. Sometimes we invite successful local entrepreneurs to speak about their experience. We also have smaller affinity groups, like mother business owners, women consultants, women over 60… We also have an online component, with a membership directory and several ways for people to communicate with each other.

What would be different in a community like this from a mixed community where you have men as well?

I have to speculate on the answer because I’m not involved in a mixed community. What we find in working with women is that there seems to be some significant things that they had in common with one another. Some of them wanted more balance in their lives, whether that be family balance or  otherwise. The flexibility of our workspace seemed to really appeal to them. Sometimes they wanted to work at home, sometimes they didn’t, sometimes they wanted to work three days a week, etc.
In terms of the community, there are a lot of workers organizations that are mixed and I think that they’re great, and many of our members belong to lots of organizations. What was missing was an organization of women business owners in New York that could meet in person and offer a variety of things.

Do you think that women do business differently than men?

Yes and no. I think that if you’re smart, talented and successful it doesn’t matter what your gender is. The women in our community really love to help each other. They look to connect with other people and they have some need to not be isolated, but there’s plenty of other people who like to work by themselves, plenty of men who like to work by themselves and plenty of men who like to work around other people. I think people just self-select for this community’s offerings.

You say that your members have a lot to exchange even if their businesses are different. Can you give me some examples?

Our members tend to collaborate all the time here, if they need a resource, a web designer, a lawyer, a health insurance provider… They make a lot of introductions on behalf of one another. Sometimes they are redesigning their logo and they just want some feedback from people who aren’t related to them.
A lot of time people miss going somewhere and having people that they know they can chat with, where they can see some friendly faces. Humans are social beings. People really crave that and they don’t realize when they start their own business that it’s something that they will miss.

What are the challenges that women face that come back regularly?

Sometimes women entrepreneurs need to be more specific about the amount of money they want to make, and they need to be very clear about how to make that money. They should be very clear about what they do well, and make sure that they’re doing that the majority of the time in their business. People come here a lot of times and they’re very isolated, that is very detrimental to your business. If you’re not around other people who are doing similar things, it just makes it that much harder.
I also think you have to take yourself very seriously and have a professional identity. In some cases it’s totally acceptable to meet in a coffee shop, but in other cases people won’t take that seriously. You need to think about what your goals are in business and make sure that your decisions reflect those goals.

What about family?

For the women who have younger children, this is a perfect blend, because they can work a few days a week. A lot of women go into business for themselves at certain career junctures so that they can have more balance with their family life. Others are taking care of aging parents. Our community allows them to meet other women who are in the same boat and get support from them.

Amy Abrams

What kind of advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business?

If you want to start a business, I would be very clear about what you’re good at, and I’d be very aware of what you’re not good at. For example, let’s say you know that you’re really good at sales but you’re not a great accountant and that’s going be a part of your business. What you should do is find some type of software or keep all your bills organized and give them to someone, but you don’t have to be good at that to do you own business. I would be very clear about what your goals are; do you want to have flexibility, make a lot of money, be the biggest this…
I would also talk to a lot of people in the industry that you’re interested in. For example if you want to sell a product, do your research and make sure that it doesn’t exist or that there’s a market for it. If it’s a service, you want to know what people charge in that industry.
You also want know your peers in that industry, so even if you decide to be a financial consultant, you want to know other financial consultants. They’ll give you leads or they’ll refer people. You should also make sure that you find a community of people who are starting their own businesses so that you have support along the way.

Photo credit: Flavie Halais