This is usually the last story I teach for Entrepreneurship: A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. “Not very long,” answered the Mexican. “But then, why didn’t you stay out longer [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Entrepreneurship'
Killing your own cash cows
October 9th, 2009 · Comments Off · consulting, Entrepreneurship
I’ve been reading through some of my past writings, and came across my December 12th, 2007 post entitled “Kill Your Own Cash Cows.” All companies seek growth. Below is a plan of attack for identifying new venture opportunities within the framework of your current business. The key is to start with problems of your customers, [...]
Ways to deal with small business stress
October 8th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Jay Goltz wrote a great piece today in the New York Times. He owns five small businesses in Chicago, and writes some great words of wisdom on how to reduce stress. Here’s and excerpt, and a link to the original article. 1. First, identify the real problem. Entrepreneurs often say they just need more sales [...]
Tags: Entrepreneurship
Alemar Cheese gets big city praise – I’m so proud
October 7th, 2009 · Comments Off · Entrepreneurship, ideas, new venture
My friend Keith Adams started a small, organic artisan cheese company this year. I remember the day he broke the news to my wife and I that he wanted to make cheese. It was over a glass of wine, in my kitchen, about a year ago. My first reaction? Well, as a guy who has [...]
12 Facts about Entrepreneurs – Surprising?
October 5th, 2009 · 1 Comment · consulting, Entrepreneurship
Dharmesh Shah’s blog – onstartups.com has great insights into the entrepreneurial experience. Recently, he posted 12 facts about entrepreneurs: 1. The average and median age of company founders when they started their current companies was 40. 2. 95.1 percent of respondents themselves had earned bachelor’s degrees, and 47 percent had more advanced degrees. 3. Less than [...]
Tags: Entrepreneurship
Learning to ask Better Questions of your employees – From Harvard Business School
October 4th, 2009 · Comments Off · Entrepreneurship, ideas, new venture, organic growth
Whether starting a new small 2-person company from scratch, or growing a 200-employee firm in a new direction, starting from these types of questions is the right way to empower everyone involved.