Schools and courses in entrepreneurship are popping up all over the country. Each school has a slightly different approach to teaching this relatively new class study. Some schools have a few specific courses, while others have full curriculums devoted to entrepreneurship.
This results in a wide variety of approaches about how to teach entrepreneurship. Some schools stress the structure and function of building… Read More
How to Teach Entrepreneurship – It’s the Wild West!
Take the Time to Explain the Reasons – Part 1
Training without explaining is like trying to program a computer. The computer will only do what it’s been programmed to do. It will not know why it’s doing it and its approach to the job will be limited to what it’s been directed to do. That approach to training staff has become more and more popular, because it’s easier to explain what you want done than why you want it done. Some say anything more is just too much… Read More
Happy Birthday Barefoot!
Twenty-seven years ago, Barefoot Wines were bottled for the first time. But how the wine found its way to the bottling line was a fluke in itself. A farmer wasn’t getting paid for several years for his grapes and his friends went to bat for him to see how much they could collect. It wasn’t easy. The winery owing for the grapes had no money and was in bankruptcy. It was controlled by the secured creditors (other farmers who… Read More
Cause Marketing or Worthy Cause Marketing?
The nation’s #1 wine brand was built without relying on commercial advertising. Instead, while building the Barefoot Wine brand, we used what we termed, “Worthy Cause Marketing.”
Every business faces the same problems. How do you get the word out about your product or services? How do you do this in an efficient, targeted manner? How do you gain a loyal following? Customer acquisition and retention can cost millions,… Read More
Mayans Under Investigation! World Doesn’t End!
According to some interpreters of the Mayan calendar, the world was supposed to end December 21st 2012. We wonder if they were somehow disappointed when they woke up the next morning and discovered that their plans fell through.
Seems like every ten years there’s a new doomsday scenario grabbing the headlines and pandering to our natural survival instincts. Whether it’s a calendar, comet, or polar shift, the planet… Read More
Corporate Structure Can Turn Information into Currency – Part 2
Johnny Carson used the expression, “I did not know that” and brought the house down. It was his way of stating his lack of knowledge about any surprising event. The audience was also surprised and couldn’t help but laugh.
It’s no laughing matter when your staff finds out that they are out of a job because your company lost a major buyer or couldn’t solve a critical problem. But if they don’t understand the challenges,… Read More
7 Keys to Advice Management
We have always recommended seeking the advice of experts, but your approach will make it either affordable and effective, or expensive and unproductive. Most advisors work by the hour, so be careful you don’t run up the bill unnecessarily. Make sure you are paying for their expert advice and not for listening to your vague ideas. We call it “Advice Management” and it is made up of essential rules to follow if you… Read More
The Advantages of Being a Small Start-Up – Part 3
By focusing on your customer, and not your big time competitors, your small start-up has the opportunity to address the market with creative and relevant products.… Read More
In this series we have examined some of the powerful advantages of being small, undercapitalized and able to turn on a dime.
These days, with lawyers running the big corporations either in fact or in fear, more and more truly game changing concepts are coming
The Advantages of Being a Small Start-Up – Part 2
This is the second installment in a four-part series designed to encourage small start-ups by recognizing some of their inherent advantages.
Small start-ups face a myriad of challenges. They are undercapitalized, unproven and have no market traction. They are up against the status quo that will use its established power and influence in the marketplace to suppress any new challengers. Buyers are reticent to take… Read More
The Advantages of Being a Small Start-Up – Part 1
Today we need new products, new services, and new ideas to invent our way back to prosperity. Small start-up producers have always been the backbone of the economy, not just because they provide the most new jobs, but because they improve the very quality of our lives by bringing more good ideas to the market. This is the first in a four part series on why small start-ups have an advantage over big companies.
“Build a better… Read More
