Inventor’s Skill Set
Avoiding the Major Pitfalls of Tinkering Many people are attracted to tinkering and possibly inventing the next million-dollar idea, but besides a strong desire to tinker, one needs the proper skill set, yet many people don’t have all the aptitudes. Watch product testing segments on America’s Test Kitchen, and from time to time you’ll see […]
Tinkering
History and Modern Trends for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Tinkering means figuring out solutions to problems in different ways whether it’s a physical thing or an idea, says author Alec Foege of The Tinkerers, The Amateurs, The DIY’ers, And Inventors Make America Great. Foegs talks about several topics, including the phenomenon of tinkering, the history behind successful […]
Culture, Money, and Business Practices
Quiz This True or False? The Bahamas has a paternalistic culture that values American individualism and a casual laid-back style. It’s a Caribbean culture that would be a good fit for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking a partnership agreement in the Bahamian business community. If you traveled to the Caribbean, the island of St. Kitts, and *handed […]
The Lobster Chronicles
Linda Greenlaw Living on a small New England Island, Greenlaw became captain of her own lobster boat and later a bestselling author. She appeared on C-Span more than a decade ago. Her inside account about issues such as, the environment and government regulations and how the topics challenge self-employed people is still relevant. References C-Span […]
Music Industry Pitfalls
Database Catalogs Legal Conflicts As I mentioned in an earlier post about the startling 60 Minutes segment on Rodriguez, nothing was mentioned about who took the musician’s royalties. Apparently, that information is still a well-kept secret. However, the bootstrap documentary about the musical icon recently won an Oscar. Musicians are notoriously bad at business issues. […]
Government Programs for Career-Changers Considering Self-Employment
White House Resources If you wrote to the White House asking about current resources and programs available to aspiring entrepreneurs, you might get a response that would include the following information: The Small Business Jobs Act http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-jobs-act-2010 Business Startup America http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/business/startup-America New government site on small business information and services within a single platform http://business.usa.gov/ […]
Native American Cartoonist Ricardo Cate’
Artist and humorist Ricardo Cate’ grew up on a reservation in New Mexico. Today he uses his talent and subtle biting wit to offer a cartoon series titled Without Reservations. Cate’s work reflects political and cultural insights using his heritage as a point of view. The artist recounts what inspired his style as a cartoonist. Learn […]
Q&A Historical African American Entrepreneurs
Good Information Sources Q. With the close of Black history month, can you recommend a book that documents historical minority entrepreneurs, besides those repeatedly mentioned every year? A. For a good book on the subject, check out Entrepreneurship and Self-Help Among Black Americans by Professor John Sibley. A lot of people know little about many, many, many other […]
James Durbin Entrepreneurship Speaker Series
Sweet Revenge Different business leaders share their experiences about entrepreneurship throughout the school year at Holy Names University. In March, Marlo Scott of Sweet Revenge will discuss her self-employment path and passion for cupcakes, travel and beer after one layoff too many… Series free to the public. James Durbin Speaker Series https://www.hnu.edu/about/public-events/james-durbin-entrepreneurship-speaker-series Views: […]
Little-Known History of African American Entrepreneurs
Myths and Facts – How Much Do You Know? True or False? 1. The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, one of the largest and most successful Black companies in the 19th century, was co-founded in 1898 by an African American barber with little formal education. True or False? 2. By 1889, African-Americans had established a wide […]