The Key to Starting a Business Today
Exploring Organizational Growth
Recent studies on organizational growth have provided new perspectives on how companies expand and evolve in competitive markets. Researchers have explored various factors influencing growth including leadership practices, market adaptability, innovation, and resource management. These studies aim to identify patterns and strategies contributing to successful diversification while highlighting challenges such as maintaining efficiency, managing resources, and fostering sustainable growth.
Advanced Curriculums for Educational Studies (ACES) is an international educational organization that has taken this approach as their executives have factored in various research studies into the program to fulfill their mission of inspiring future generations of students in higher education.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, ACES employs a conventional management framework, tailored to their goal. Representatives indicate that ongoing modifications are made to ensure alignment with the organization’s mission and to deliver the highest-quality service to their students and partners.
ACES was originally a prominent course developer in business and programming, focusing on supporting the academic side of students. However, since 2021, they have had an organizational pivot to an emphasis on international competitions, events, and opportunities, better corresponding to the additional social and professional objectives of their students applying to university and beyond. By implementing this change, they hope to better prepare their students for university and careers.
During 2022, ACES began offering free and accessible virtual events featuring guest speakers from their partner institutions, including universities, educational enterprises, and other academic entities. These events provide students with live audiences, networking, and educational experiences about university applications, career pathways, and other educational areas.
In 2023, ACES launched an international community on various social media platforms, previously available only to certain qualifying members. These platforms feature educational posts about university applications, extracurriculars, interviews, job applications, various technical concepts, personal finance, and resume development. During this time, they have also developed multiple international opportunities consisting of the International Financial Investment Competition (IFIC), International Scientific Research Competition (ISRC), guest-speaker events, and certifications to help students with their applications and resumes.
Throughout 2024, ACES has focused on developing their community by increasing their social media presence. By creating informational posts, internship and scholarship opportunities, in addition to world-class events, ACES has seen a large rise in Discord members and Instagram interactions. In addition, they began offering international competitions and hackathons such as the Galaxy One Hackathon in which students worldwide have shown great interest, accumulating thousands of participants from 140+ institutions.
Therefore, a business starts with a strong foundation. This involves establishing clear goals and plans moving forward. Only after, can they begin making adjustments based on objectives, audience interest, and market circumstances to expand and create an international presence.
While ACES’s development is an example of organizational growth in recent years, it shows how an advancing business starts with something small and makes adjustments over time. By continuously adapting to the evolving needs and preferences of their audiences, companies can foster strong relationships, enhance their market presence, and achieve long-term success. This approach not only drives expansion but also ensures that the organization remains relevant and competitive in an ever-changing business environment.
About the Creator
Xue Ying
My work delves into educational opportunities and organizational growth, drawing from research in both education and business development. I hope to help students to pursue excellence and businesses to thrive in competitive environments.
The Clock That Forgot to Hurry
In the heart of an old marketplace stood a tiny watch-repair shop that almost no one noticed anymore. Bright digital billboards flashed above it. Smart stores sold devices that measured time with perfect precision. People hurried past the shop every day, glancing only at their phones, trusting machines to tell them when to run, when to stop, when to breathe. Inside that narrow shop lived an elderly watchmaker named Kareem. Kareem had repaired clocks for more than fifty years. His hands were thin, steady, and remarkably gentle. He treated every broken watch not as a machine, but as a small life that had lost its rhythm. What made his shop unusual was a sign hanging above the door: “Time repaired here. Hurry not included.” Most customers smiled at the line and ignored it. Only a few understood. Among them was a young woman named Sara. Sara worked in a fast-growing technology firm across the city. Her days were filled with deadlines, meetings, notifications, and endless planning. She measured life in tasks completed and emails answered. Success followed her closely — promotions, bonuses, praise — yet sleep avoided her, and peace had become a stranger. One evening, after a long day that refused to end, Sara noticed her wristwatch had stopped. Annoyed, she searched for the nearest repair shop and found herself standing before Kareem’s quiet door. The bell above it rang softly as she entered. Clocks covered every wall — large wooden ones, tiny silver ones, antique pocket watches, all ticking at different rhythms, like a choir that refused to sing in perfect unison. Kareem looked up and smiled. “My watch stopped,” Sara said quickly. “I need it fixed. Urgently.” Kareem nodded. “Of course. Please sit.” He examined the watch carefully, opening it with slow, deliberate movements. “You seem in a hurry,” he observed. “I always am,” Sara replied. “Time is expensive.” Kareem smiled gently. “No. Time is generous. We are the ones who are wasteful.” She frowned, uncertain whether he was joking. “Come back tomorrow,” he said. “It will be ready.” “Tomorrow?” she protested. “It’s a simple battery change.” “Not this one,” Kareem replied calmly. “This one has forgotten how to rest.” Something in his tone made her pause. The next evening, she returned. While Kareem worked, Sara noticed a large antique clock in the corner that had no hands. “How do you know the time on that one?” she asked. “I don’t,” Kareem replied. “It reminds me to look at life instead.” She laughed politely, though uneasily. Over the following weeks, her watch failed repeatedly — mysteriously, always after particularly stressful days. Each time, she returned to the tiny shop. Slowly, conversations replaced urgency. Kareem told her stories — of clocks that survived wars, of watches passed through generations, of people who came not to fix timepieces, but to escape time itself. One evening, he said, “Do you know why clocks break more often now than before?” “Because they’re cheap?” Sara guessed. “Because people force them to run faster than they were made to,” Kareem replied. The sentence followed her home. Gradually, Sara began to linger. She arrived earlier, sat longer, listened more. In the ticking chorus of the shop, her thoughts slowed. Her breathing softened. For the first time in years, she felt minutes pass without panic. One night, after a particularly quiet repair, Kareem handed her the watch and said, “This one is fixed. But you are not.” She smiled weakly. “I know.” He hesitated, then reached beneath the counter and placed a small brass pocket watch in her hand. “This was my wife’s,” he said softly. “She died young. For years, I blamed time for taking her too soon. Then I realized — time did not steal her. I simply forgot to cherish her while she was here.” Sara’s eyes filled with tears. “Keep this,” he said. “Not to count minutes. To remember them.” From that day, something changed. Sara stopped checking her phone during meals. She walked home instead of driving. She called her parents more often. She refused meetings that stole her nights. Her success did not disappear. But her life returned. Months later, she found the shop closed. The sign still hung there, but the door was locked. A neighbor told her quietly, “The watchmaker passed away last week. Peacefully. In his sleep.” Sara stood there for a long time. That night, she opened the small brass watch. Inside, engraved faintly, were the words: “The best moments are not measured. They are lived.” Years later, when Sara opened her own small café near the river, she placed that pocket watch above the counter. Beneath it, she hung a sign: “Time welcome here. Hurry left outside.” And people, without knowing why, always felt calmer when they entered
By Muhammad yaseena day ago in Education
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