Career Changer Chooses Winning Restaurant Concept

Old Skool Cafe
An eatery with a different twist is a feature from time to time on the PBS restaurant review program Check Please! Bay Area.!
And a recent segment featured Old Skool Cafe, not your typical supper club. Started by a former corrections officer to help youth avoid crime, the cafe is not based on a new concept.  but reportedly, stands out among others of its kind around the country.

Innovation, attention to management principles and skillful execution of the business model no doubt contributes to diners rave reviews.

References

Check Please!Bay Area!
http://tinyurl.com/lygbkdg 

Old School Cafe,org
http://www.oldskoolcafe.org/

The Bay Citizen
http://tinyurl.com/kvxtwe4




Lessons From Dale Carnegie’s Biographer

Professor Steven Watts

History Professor Steven Watts offers an insightful and revealing look at the rags to riches “perky” guru of the self-help movement in American culture.

But the presentation is not merely an educational piece about Dale Carnegie, it’s a highly skillful presentation by a book author.
And even the introduction may leave you laughing…

Reference
Booktv.org Program 15461
http://tinyurl.com/lygbkdg 




Highlights 2014 Black Writers Conference New York

Booktv.org
Publishing Industry Panel.

Business insider’s talk about challenges and the impact of the Web on aspiring writers, small independent bookstores, and other members of the industry.
And the audience Q & A provides further glimpses into interesting examples of people who venture into different forms of writing and marketing their work.

Literature Panel
Poet, activist, teacher Askia Toure
reveals a little known fact: Black militant writers of his era took interest in other cultures and writers not just their own. For instance, Japanese, Cuban, Mexican, Irish, Chilean.

Reference
http://www.booktv.org/?gclid=CI__3Ob76b0CFeMSOgod0nwAIA




Finding Your Niche Book Bonus

New Kindle Format 2 Books in One
Available fall 2014
Update:
Software and formatting issues have delayed Kindle upload until fall.

  • Finding Your Niche: Discover…  Newly revised and available free through the Kindle lending library, 241 pages, ISBN 978-0-9831539-3-1  will include
  • Lawyers Who Become Entrepreneurs

9780615197067  




When Government Regulations Halt Entrepreneurial Plans

TV Industry & FCC Ruling
Regardless of political leaning, the recent C-Span interview with TV station owner Armstrong Williams has two major takeaway lessons: Changes in federal regulations, state or local law can put an entrepreneur in any industry out of business. So always having a backup plan is key.

In this case, new Federal Trade Commission ruling rulings will likely force some smaller TV station owners out of the industry. A fascinating glimpse at the struggles involved in operating in the industry in which large sums of money to operate are necessary, but partnerships with monied business partners are now ruled as no longer allowed.

References

C-Span 3-4 Minutes
http://tinyurl.com/pezobma

Poynter.org Media News
http://tinyurl.com/n9zsg5p




Most Memorable Business Q& A

Q. What is the Most Memorable Business You Have Encountered?

A. If you mean jaw-dropping unforgettable, it would have to be a designer I learned about while editing Changing Your Work or Career. An accidental gunshot by an acquaintance at an LA party blinded him permanently.. He went through challenging times. But he embarked on a new career direction and started a successful company as head designer: a sucessful firm that specializes in building shooting galleries for carnivals. I still can’t wrap my brain around that one.




Censoring Blog Content Q & A

Q: Have you ever decided not to pursue research on a niche topic?
A. Yes. I had planned to write about the entrepreneurial film
Sunshine Cleaners but  realized quickly during the preliminary
fact gathering, that I did not want to learn the gritty details about
businesses that specialize in crime scene cleanup….

And I had decided not to update a previous post on The Black Russian,but have decided to reverse the decision by answering here.

Last week, C-Span featured Professor Koritha Mitchell’s lecture “Living with Lynching: African American Lynching Plays, Performance, and Citizenship, 1890-1930″and I remembered a puzzling issue I had encountered last year after learning about the life of the little-known 19th century African American millionaire profiled in
The Black Russian.

There had to be underlying circumstances that would explain what happened
in the end to the internationally known entrepreneur. Details supplied
by the author via email confirmed my suspicion.

But last week, I understood fully after Professor Mitchell’s lecture,
And I went back and read portions of the The Black Russian…

I will stop here and let you draw your own conclusions

1. Watch…or listen to Dr. Mitchell’s lecture.
2. Read my post about the Black Russian
3, Scan the book bio for the Black Russian and check the
description of the socioeconomic status of his parents.
4 A related underlying point can also be found in my post
titled Nathaniel Hawthorne  http://wp.me/p3Kr4S-3V

Conclusion
In addition to clarity about The Black Russian another major lesson I came away with after Professor Mitchell’s lecture is this: Apparently, even in light of horrific circumstances many human beings use their innate ability to create a way to keep living as those playwrights and dramatists did not so long ago…

Sources
Booktv.org
http://tinyurl.com/mqzwvde

Ohio State University
http://english.osu.edu/people/mitchell

The Black Russian
Amazon.com
http://tinyurl.com/oh2a48r