Licensing Can Work for Small Businesses Too

Normally the subject of licensing would not appear in a Bootstrapping context because there usually is an up-front cash payment and a guarantee associated with securing a license. These two factors can be substantial with a high visibility license, such as Mickey Mouse, NFL football, Nike, Armani, etc. However, I bring it up here for […] Read more »

Universities – How They Can Help Your Business

Professors at schools prefer to assign real life problems to their students. At most graduate business schools, they assign students singly or in teams to analyze a real company in their city. The other subject areas like engineering, graphic design, advertising, etc., are also looking for real life assignments for their students. If you have a product that needs to be engineered, you can approach the professor teaching that subject to ask if students can be assigned to your project. Read more »

The Game of Monopoly: A World War 2 Hero

In all my years in the toy industry, I never knew about the following story and the role of Monopoly in helping Prisoners of War escape in World War 2. It is a fantastic tale and exemplifies Entrepreneurial thinking at its best. Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, not a particular type of person. In this case there was Need: Find a way to help captured airmen escape. Knowledge: The key Knowledge factor was discovering that the International Red Cross Care Packages for POW’s could include games and pastimes. The Opportunity : To supply the POW’s with special Monopoly sets as set forth in this story which I’ve verified is true from multiple sources. Read more »

There Is No Entrepreneur Gene

The use of the words Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurism keep growing as more and more people strive to be entrepreneurs with their job creating ability. This was not always the case. Not so long ago, Entrepreneurs were described in such unflattering terms as shiftless, unfocused, shady, money-hungry, sharks, quick-buck artists, unreliable, shoot from-the-hip operators, and so on. There are many words and titles that have different meanings to different people. This can unwittingly hinder good communications and create misunderstandings. So, let’s define Entrepreneurship so we can all be on the same page. Read more »

Rebounding from Setbacks-A Wow! Video

My definition of Entrepreneurship is “The recognition and pursuit of opportunity without regard to the resources you currently control, with confidence that you can succeed, with the flexibility to change course as necessary, and with the will to Rebound from Setbacks.” (This definition is primarily from Professor Howard Stevenson of Harvard Business School with some […] Read more »