The Venture Edge

Are you one of those people who claims they have no time?  Today most of us are carrying mobile devices that deliver a constant stream of information 24/7, whether we want it or not. Look around you—chances are you’ll see more than one person with a cell phone to their ear or worse yet looking like an escapee from a psychiatric institute talking to themselves through Bluetooth.  Problem is, entrepreneurs of the world, if you don’t shut off the noise once in a while, you’re going to miss a great opportunity. Don’t suffer from information overload. 

I spent some time at Comic-Con again this year. The spirit of entrepreneurship is clearly still in full swing, despite the current economic situation. There are all kinds of new products, a waiting list for vendor space, a huge artist area where you can get your own art created in real time, and much much more. Check out the video for some scenes of entrepreneurship in action at Comic-Con 2010. 

 Don't ask for investor money unless you're in business in a serious way. If you're going to ask investors  to risk their hard-earned money, you'd better be worth the risk. 

If there's one thing I love about the Internet and blogs, its the immediacy of the information. Something happens somewhere in the world, and five minutes later you can not only find 10 or 20 articles reporting the facts, but even more bloggers reporting their own take on what happened -- often with insider information. Apple's iPhone 4 antenna problems are now widely known, as is the company's response, which was first to deny that there was a problem, then to pooh-pooh it, and then to hold a press conference last week in which Steve Jobs (who took a break from his Hawaiian vacation) admitted that there was indeed a problem and that Apple would provide "bumpers" to iPhone 4 owners for no charge to fix it.  

Kim and David Chauvin are no strangers to tough times.  Their shrimp-trawling business in Louisiana has survived four major hurricanes in five years, but the two had amassed enough savings to carry them through the floods that Katrina and Rita brought in 2005.  But 2008 brought Gustav and Ike (not to mention the financial crash)  and that meant that this family business had to apply for a disaster loan from the SBA. just to survive.  Now they're struggling with the losses brought on by the gulf oil spill, and the problem is, they already have a $170,000 loan from the SBA  they're paying back so they can't go after another emergency loan.  Instead, they've signed a contract with BP to work on the cleanup. 

As you may know, I am on the board of SPORTS for Exceptional Athletes, a San Diego-based sports program serving athletes with developmental disabilities ages 5 through adult. Tonight was the night of our big annual fundraiser -- A Taste 4 SPORTS. During the course of the event, I was reminded that it's good for businesses to give back to their communities. People want to work for companies that do good things, and people want to buy from companies that support causes that they themselves care deeply about. The resulting impact to the bottom line is direct and positive 

Given the frequency with which entrepreneurs are discussed in the media,, it's not surprising that stereotypes have developed around them. Not all of these stereotypes are flattering, however,  and mostare simply false. I want to dispel three myths surrounding entrepreneurs so that you can begin your entrepreneurial journey based on facts.

As I have already mentioned here more times than I can keep track of, we're still in the throes of nasty economic downturn -- certainly the worst we've seen in many, many years. And despite everyone's hope for a rosier future, the near-term picture is still pretty bleak. According to government statistics, private payrolls rose by only 33,000 in May and 83,000 in June – not enough to sustain a recovery, and average wages and hours worked have both declined slightly. On top of all that, credit is still tight -- especially for small businesses. 

 I just finished reading a recent edition of Leader to Leader put out by the Leader to Leader Institute and publisher Jossey-Bass (my blog-mate Peter is an Associate Editor for the journal). This time they included a special edition celebrating the life of management sage Peter Drucker on what would have been his 100th birthday (he passed away in 2005).  Often referred to as the greatest management thinker of the last century, he understood as far back as the 1950s that there is no business without a customer. 

I would like to start by saying that I agree 100 percent with my blog-mate Kathy Allen's last post: It's the private sector, st...d! This so-called economic stimulus plan has become just another boondoggle -- welfare for an ever-growing list of special interests with cozy Congressional relationships. As soon as this river of cash runs out (which it apparently now has), then of course the result will be economic contraction. It's no coincidence that the economic term "double-dip inflation" is suddenly gaining increased attention in the press.