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!
Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do!
(General)
Sunday, October 26. 2008
It was my first real job, and I was new to sales. It was also a very difficult economic time for our country. Double-digit interest rates and double-digit unemployment were gripping the country and I was overjoyed just to have a job, however, I was worried about the fact that sales were few and far between, and future sales looked bleak. Somewhere between worry and panic, I heard Rev. Robert Schuler on TV talking about the tough times we were facing, and he uttered a line that has stuck with me through many challenges I have faced since then: “Tough times don’t last, tough people...
Watch This
(General)
Saturday, October 25. 2008
I was recently recognized by the Orlando Business Journal as one of the “top ten businessmen to watch” in Central Florida. This was a surprising, humbling, and proud moment for me, and I am honored to be associated with some of the folks who were among that group. I am also a little embarrassed by this kind of personal attention because my success is truly dependent on so many others who are connected to the Disney Entrepreneur Center.
First of all, our service provider organizations are filled with dozens of dedicated professionals who counsel, train, and coach hundreds...
Views From Vegas
(General)
Saturday, October 25. 2008
I just returned from a speaking engagement in Las Vegas. I spoke at a national gathering of Scuba Dive shop owners, manufacturers and tour operators. While there was real optimism about the future, there was also plenty of concern about our fragile economy in the near future. Many of the operators that I spoke with were echoing the same concerns that I hear on a daily basis in Orlando… times are likely to be tough for the next few months so it is critical that we focus on the fundamentals of running our businesses, now more than ever… reduce your expenses, look for opportunities to...
Developing Story
(General)
Saturday, October 25. 2008
Last Monday, most of the organizations at the Disney Entrepreneur Center participated in a full day of education, training and connections with other professionals within the center. It always astounds me to so see all the talent
and experience that we have in one room. It is also extremely rewarding to see these dedicated professionals spending a full day developing their own skills, and abilities to better serve the business community of Central Florida.
The Disney Entrepreneur Center is really just a single, shared facility. What makes our center so unique is the dozens...
Hold The Phone!
(General)
Sunday, October 19. 2008
A customer in front of you takes priority over a phone call!!! When you have a potential sale standing at your counter, they should always be your priority. Leave the phone to the answering machine, the UPS man can wait, because there is no task that is more important than serving the client who has come to your store, and is inquiring about purchasing your product. I marvel at the folks who find every reason imaginable to do something other than wait on a client…especially in today’s competitive economic environment. Are you losing the business right in front of you by concentrating...