I am a lifelong entrepreneur and I love the challenges and opportunities presented by operating a small business enterprise.
Today, I am honored to manage an amazing resource for small businesses in Orlando, Florida, called the Disney Entrepreneur Center. I love my job!
This blog is an outlet to share my thoughts, ideas, and perspectives on small business with you. Please feel free to comment, add your perspectives, or just drop in occasionally for some food for thought.
I have worked for the largest business in the world (AT&T) and the smallest (my own), but I don't have all the answers! I do have lots of opinions, questions and ideas to ponder...so I hope you come back often to enjoy the journey into the mind of a serial entrepreneur!
Chili Dogs
(General)
Sunday, March 08. 2009
I LOVE my job but there is one job that could lure me away in a heartbeat. Chili Dog taster. While I love a good garage sale, my car will NOT drive past a good hot dog cart. As evidenced by my figure, I have experience in the world of street cuisine. From Billy Boys, to the Weiner Wagon I have sampled the menu. I wear my sunglasses, and sunscreen, while I patiently wait for an umbrella table to open up while visiting the wiener-mobile at the Colonial and Summerlin gas station, but everyone knows you can’t hurry art.
Yesterday, while I was shopping the farmers market in Sanford,...
Garage Sales
(General)
Sunday, March 08. 2009
Some of you know that I can’t drive past a good garage sale. It is a fascinating microcosm of marketing, sales, customer relations, accounting systems, and best of all …negotiation that I find fascinating. When I find a good garage sale, I am like an astronomer watching a flaming comet enter the atmosphere, a mechanic hearing an a newly tuned engine hum, or a hairdresser admiring a finely coiffed head of hair. On my Saturday errands, a quick stop at the right sale provides a combination of watching the true free market at work, and the ability to unearth an elusive treasure, at the absolute best...
Where's My Bailout?
(General)
Monday, March 02. 2009
I called my mortgage company today and asked if they would lower my interest rate, or give me a month or two of no payments, as part of the stimulus package for those who actually make their payments and pay their mortgage. I was put on hold four times, spoke to Akea, Giana, and Beth and was repeatedly told that because I paid my mortgage, and was not delinquent in my payments that there was no help for me. I asked how long I had to go without paying my mortgage to get some assistance too...and was again, put on hold… I never did get an answer from Chase Mortgage...
C Is For
(General)
Sunday, March 01. 2009
Costs – Controlling and reducing your costs is the fastest way to generate cash-flow. When you reduce costs by $1, it drops immediately to the bottom line. Trying to generate that same dollar through selling may require $10 in sales. While you need both efforts to maximize income, examining your costs and reducing expenses is the place I always start.
When times are good, we tend to add expenses in areas that are nice to have, like that additional cell phone, the gourmet coffee service, or the entire list of cable channels. When economic times get tough, it is time to get...
B Is For...
(General)
Sunday, February 22. 2009
Basics... Every small business operates on some basic business principles. Each business may be unique in offerings, delivery, and culture, but the basics are the same whether you are in Orlando or Omaha. When times are tough, I always go back to the basics of business and start the process of review. Vince Lombardi used to start each season with the Green Bay Packers with a speech that started with ...."This is a football." Coach Lombardi was a stickler for the basics of football, blocking and tackling, and he became a legendary winner, by performing the on the...