To want to own a restaurant can be a strange and terrible affliction. What causes such a destructive urge in so many otherwise sensible people? Why would anyone who has worked hard, saved money and often been successful in other fields want to pump his hard-earned cash down a hole […]
The Entrepreneur
28 posts
Some people confuse asking for a sale with asking for a favor. And because they think they don’t deserve the favor, or don’t want to feel in someone else’s debt, they don’t ask. That’s just stupid. If you sell something valuable at a fair price to someone who can use […]
Your staff is well-aware that you are imperfect. So are your customers. So stop trying to perpetuate the idea that you don’t make mistakes. Nobody thinks that about you. And stop trying to be perfect. You’re not going to pull it off. Instead, figure out how good you need to […]
The first purpose of a small business is to serve the entrepreneur who created it and who owns it. The business may have other purposes: to serve customers and even to serve the community. But before these, the business must serve the entrepreneur. How does a business serve its owner? […]
I’ve just discovered a surprisingly good book for aspiring entrepreneurs. In Kick Start Your Dream Business: Getting It Started and Keeping You Going, business consultant and teacher Romanus Wolter documents the process he uses to help previously untrained entrepreneurs clarify and deploy their ideas for anything from publishing businesses to […]
Your skills and your talents are not the same. Skills may come naturally or they may be acquired with work. Talents may come naturally to the surface or they may need to be cultivated and set loose. Your needs are not the same as your passions. There may be some […]
Tests and Measures Some people are born knowing what they want to do, and even how to do it. The rest of us aren’t so lucky. …What do you want? The majority of us go through life, often very successfully, without ever asking, much less answering, this most basic question. […]