Dee Adams’ Online Class: Biz and Aptitude Quiz

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Common Inspiration
The three inventions listed have one major thing in common.
Can you figure out what it is?

  1. Chicken & Waffles
  2. Levi Strauss Blue Jeans
  3. The Point Reyes Blue Cheese Company

Dyslexia & Ability
True or false?

People with the disability dyslexia
gravitate to the performing arts industry and tend to avoid business start-ups.

Travel Agents & the Nursing Profession
These vocations share the same important aptitude necessary for success in
the travel industry or nursing profession. What is it?

Superman’s Worth
True or False?

The teenage creators of Superman were paid, in today’s dollars, about $15,000
for their idea for the comic book superhero.

Gender May Determine Research Strategy for Aspiring entrepreneurs 
True or False?

True or False?
According to research, since students spend 85 percent of their
waking hours outside of the classroom much of their learning
takes place in the real world.

References
New York Daily News
Chichen * Waffel Drama
http://tinyurl.com/munt73z

Levi Strauss & Co.
http://www.levistrauss.com/about/heritage

Point Reyes Blue Cheese
http://pointreyescheese.com/

Answers

Common Inspiration
All created to solve a problem. Levi Strauss invented jeans that would
allow prospectors to store heavy gold ore in their pockets without the fabric tearing
Chicken and waffles were the answer for meals demanded at an odd hour.
and environmental issues triggered the idea for the Point Reyes Blue Cheese product.
The dairy had to decrease their herd, which meant they needed an idea that would produce enough income to compensate for a smaller herd.

Dyslexia & Ability
False. in fact, people with dyslexia have a very high rate of entrepreneurship, according to Ben Foss, former CEO of Intel
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/disability-advocate-ben-foss/

Travel Agents & the Nursing Profession
Graphoria: High-level ability to handle paper work skillfully,
reports the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation
http://www.jocrf.org/

Superman’s Worth
False. When last I checked, according to the bureau of labor statistics, the creators of Superman, who received the whopping sum of $130, which translates in today’s prices to  $1,639. 38.

Gender May Determine Research Strategy for Aspiring entrepreneurs
True. Boys favor questioning business owners while girls tend to read more
for their instruction, according to the Kauffman Foundation
http://www.kauffman.org/

True or False?
True




Trading Gold Nuggets For Chocolate

Rethinking Dreams of Wealth
Etienne Guittard traveled to the United States during the California gold rush of the 1800’s to seek his fortune in gold. He brought French chocolate to trade for mining supplies, but after three years of searching the foothills, Guittard had nothing to show for his labor.

Ironically, Guittard had unwittingly engaged in market research during his barter deals for mining equipment, and that strategy would eventually provide inspiration for his business empire.

American shopkeepers who had traded for his chocolates previously encouraged him to produce his artisan confections commercially. And he eventually listened, focusing his business as a wholesale supplier for many companies like Vermont Country Store and
Williams-Sonoma.

Today, 145 years later, the company is still based in San Francisco.

Lesson: When a dreams does not appear to be working out as planned, re-examine and be prepared to change the plan of action in order to achieve the original end goal and an.

References
Vermont Country Store
http://tinyurl.com/mpmnpey

Guittard.com
http://www.guittard.com/our-company




Entrepreneurship Education

Ofen Unavailable or Lacking Substance

A few years ago, I participated in a business start-up and financial planning workshop.administered by a nonprofit organization, now out of business, and sponsored by a financial institution that most people around the country would know immediately.

To prove business knowledge I was required to review a CD and other educational materials then complete a written test. The section about money matters and personal finance was hilarious… and disturbing.  One of the questions about money management stood out.  The corresponding  multiple-choice answers listed the option of burying the funds under a rock.

Really?

Needless to say I decided not to participate in the program for other reasons but I wondered about the mindset of the person who designed the learning materials.

My experience was not unusual. Consider the following:

College Survey Results
“In a 2011 survey, 88 percent of young people said that entrepreneurship education is vitally important, given the new economy — and yet 74 percent of college students had no access to entrepreneurship resources on campus. And when resources were available, most students felt they were woefully inadequate,” writes Cathy Ashmore Ph.D., executive director for the Consortium of Entrepreneurship Education.

Survey states:

  • California
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Michigan
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania

There are many reasons for the lack of adequate entrepreneurial education, such as political agenda, science, math, technology or class bias.

Regardless of the reason, other issues interfere with entrepreneurship education. For instance, jargon-filled concepts such as capitalism and free market enterprise, or aspirations to be like super entrepreneurs Bezos and Zuckerberg. Issues that create unrealistic goals and keep many aspiring entrepreneurs from understanding the real-world concepts they should know about self-employment even if owning a business is not a goal.

References

Slide Show
Youth Entrepreneurship Study
Slide 39 Stats
http://tinyurl.com/mx9gzpa

Why We are so Bad
At Teaching Entrepreneurship
Cathy Ashmore, 2012
Time.com
http://tinyurl.com/bpr76mk
Summary: Many students never learned real-world
entrepreneurship skills in school. The article discusses
some of the reasons why despite tremendous interest in the subject.

Entrepreneurship Education is
Hot But too Many Get it Wrong
Businessweek.com
http://tinyurl.com/k9tcr2y

Transforming Teens into
Tomorrow’s Tech Titans
PBS.org
http://tinyurl.com/jwwklrd

The Start-Ups We Don’t Need,
Scott Shane
January 7, 2009
American.com
http://tinyurl.com/9dp9qu




Reality & Documentary TV For Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Takeaway Lessons
A recent UnderCover Boss marathon featured several lessons for budding entrepreneurs. For instance, Fat Burger’s CEO landed in federal prison because of an obscure law that neither he nor his lawyers knew he had violated.

Lesson: Investigating little-known or long-forgotten laws for the industry you’re thinking about entering may avoid unpleasant surprises and you’ll know more than the competition knows.

Philly Pretzels Factory
The CEO of Philly Pretzels Factory has a university degree in finance.
But it was his job as a child that provided his niche in the business world as an adult.
Dan Dizio had been selling pretzels on street corners since age 11.

Lesson: Childhood experience, training, and specialized knowledge is often an unbeatable combination.

Boston Market
The brand manager went undercover but had to step out of character and fire a worker after he confided  how much he hated the customers he felt forced to wait on day after day.

Lesson: Boston Market is not the first or last company with an employee who absolutely “hates people. One major insight is that some people are hardwired to work solo and independently. the ex employee’s negative and inappropriate comments indicate a stressful reaction t working in the wrong environment.

Documentary TV
Lesson:
Painful experiences or career dissatisfaction can play a major role in fueling ideas for creative endeavors. The PBS program Superheroes illustrates the point during the profile of the two teenage creators of Superman.

Immigrants in the 1930’s Depression era, Jerry Siegel and Joe Siegel were bullied as teenagers and Siegel’s father, after a robbery, suffered a fatal heart attack. And these experiences helped shape the idea for their comic book hero.

The Fantastic Four comic strip was a new direction not only in content but also in how the work was produced: As a collaboration.

Inspired by a writer who was fed up with the other material he was producing day after day for the comic book company, so he decided to create characters based on what he wanted to do. The public responded favorably and creative collaboration in the industry became a new way to work in that industry.

References
Fat Burger
Undercover Boss

CBS.com
http://tinyurl.com/kgpg4sn

Philly Pretzel Factory
UnderCover Boss
http://www.cbs.com/shows/undercover_boss/bios/108897/

Boston Market
Undercover Boss
CBS.com
http://tinyurl.com/pgrlroo

PBS.org
Superheroes
http://www.pbs.org/superheroes

Fantastic Four
Wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four




Q & A Niche Humor

Q. What’s the funniest story you have come across?

A. Oh, there are a couple of them. The one that makes me laugh easily is an incident involving wildlife expert Jim Fowler.

I was watching CNN one afternoon several years ago and happened to glance down at the bottom of the television screen and as the news anchor read her copy, several other unrelated stories scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

One story read that Jim Fowler had gone to the airport carrying two flamingos in cages and as he attempted to go through the airport, but Fowler and the flamingos got wedged in a turnstile…

The copy not only conjured up a funny picture but I didn’t expect to see that story along with breaking news from around the world.

Reference
http://www.wildkingdom.com/about




Earning Extra Cash Renting Out a Room

The Air BnB Industry
If you caught the segment on Charlie Rose recently about the growing trend and lucrative business of renting out extra space in private residences to tourists, be aware that the idea will not work for everyone. Not everyone can rent out his or her dwelling for extra cash.

For instance, in San Francisco, the hotel industry is on the warpath and property owners are cracking down on tenants who sublet in violation of their lease agreement.

According to one San Francisco zoning official, one tenant had to move after receiving $5,000 during the America’s Cup  activities to use his $800 a month apartment.
Now, I’m not sure where an apartment in San Francisco rents for $800 monthly, but the property owner was definitely not happy and the tenant had to go packing.

The Charlie Rose segment didn’t mention  the impact of the wrath of major hotels who may who lose big bucks to interlopers, zoning issues in some parts of the U.S. and how whether you own or rent and have signed a lease with no a sublet clause may throw a monkey wrench into the plans of some looking to earn extra cash in this manner.

Lesson: Look for the hidden angles in featured stories, talk shows, new stories don’t cover them all, and therein may lurk unpleasant surprises.

References

Airbnb.com
http://tinyurl.com/kmedlty

Charlie Rose
Interview with Airbnb founders
About 10 Minutes
http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60276514




Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s

Writing and Selling a Cookbook

Cover for 'The Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 2'

Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s recently featured Miss Robbie and her son Tim meeting with
a New York agent to consider signing on to write a  signature cookbook.

The cookbook concept is based on Miss Robbie’s experience as an entertainer when she toured the country as a member of Ike Turner’s band during an era when people of color  were routinely denied service in restaurants in the South.
During that time, Miss. Robbie prepared food for band members using hot plates in hotel rooms. And she collected countless numbers of recipes during her travels.

The project would combine elements of celebrity, history, and culinary traditions.
It’s a solid idea, but I couldn’t help wondering whether Miss Robbie or Tim considered the pros and cons of self-publishing in order to retain control over the project.
Especially since their restaurants will give them a built in platform.

Miss Robbie clearly wanted to do a small cookbook with about 30 recipes but the agent said that number was too small, 100 recipes with various side dishes would be the right size for a cookbook. And the authors will be expected to do a lot of publicity for the book even with  a literary agent  and publisher on board.

Writing a cookbook is a lot more complicated than many people realize.
And it’s a highly competitive field.

Without any background research, simply watching Tim and Miss Robbie’s meeting a literary agent may give some aspiring cookbook writers the false impression that finding a literary agent and signing a six or seven figure cookbook deal is easier than it seems.

Most cookbook deals don’t have TV cameras documenting the proceeding. It will be interesting to see how the project unfolds.

References

Wikipedia
Welcome to Sweetie Pies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Sweetie_Pie’s

Will Write for Food:The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs,
Reviews, Memoir, and More,
by Dianne Jacob.
http://tinyurl.com/o6rea8v

Dianne Jacob.com
Blog post: Agent couldn’t sell her memoir so cookbook
author publishes it anyway
http://tinyurl.com/n9h2s8y

Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual volume 2
http://www.smashwords.com/b/6072

1001 Ways to Market Your Books
http://tinyurl.com/ofa2r28




Aptitude Lesson

Bob Newhart & Comedic Talent
One of the takeaway lessons from the recent PBS Tavis Smiley interview is that
even the field of comedy has different aptitude requirements

During the Tavis Smiley appearance, you will discover
Bob Newhart, veteran comedian and author of an iconic a record-breaking comedy album has a talent well-known joke tellers in his field cannot match: namely the ability to tell a story.

Newhart may well be an auditory learner. A look at his history points to a high level of rhythm discrimination and a skilled grasp of marketing and the written word. Before hitting the big-time in Hollywood, Newhart was also a copyrighter.

References

Tavis Smiley PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/bob-newhart/

“The surprisingly subversive album
that changed stand-up comedy forever”
http://tinyurl.com/c68gc45

Museum TV Archives
Bob Newhart
http://tinyurl.com/ph7tv47