Wednesday, December 06, 2006
RE: 18 Dxxxxxxxxxxx.
"Be wary of strong drink. It cxxxxxxxxxxxxxs... and miss."
- Robert A. Heinlein
According to Mary Crane, Forbes, it is time to quaff an unspiked eggnog
and ponder end of year tax saving tips. Her top five?
1. Defer income
2. Get out your checkbook (aka spend every penny you can before Jan 1 '07).
3. Open your heart (aka give to charity)
4. Set up a retirement plan
5. Round up your old phone bills ("Last May the IRS announced a one-off tax refund on long-distance or bundled-telephone excise taxes paid between Feb. 28, 2003, and Aug. 1, 2006. The refund shrinks your tax bill in 2006. Applicants must fill out Form 8913, Credit For Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid.")
Mary's article is worth a read for all biz owners.
More end of year small business tax tips from
About.com and
CNN.
Number 10 on CNN's list: "
Even if you get hitched at 11:59 p.m. on December 31st, the government considers you married for the whole year." Great news! 18 days left to hunt for a husband!
RE: Do You Think This is France?
Now, girls. How busy can you really be?
Sunday, December 03, 2006
RE: It's OK, Wall Street Journal. Size Doesn't Matter.
Tough times over at the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper announced today it plans to decrease story "jumps", increase the number of photographs and cut three inches off its width. Hey don't worry WSJ -- we women know you might want some reassurance right now. It happens to alot of newspapers and size doesn't matter.
RE: Innovation and Cat Chow.
Finally caught up on world news, email correspondence, and "must read" blogs over the weekend. I'd be remiss if I didn't call out an interesting post about the Fortune Innovation Forum over at Lipsticking BLOG. What's so tough about creating sustainable innovation? According to Forum speaker Andy Stefanovich, "becoming confusion tolerant." I agree and also echo the sentiments of Henry Louis Mencken: "Any man (or woman) who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood."
Lipsticking editor and fearless evangelist for women, Yvonne Divita, has also recently launched a new blog sponsored by pet food company, Purina: www.scratchingsandsniffings.com. Be sure to visit and meow or arf at your discretion.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
RE: What's Love Got to Do With It?
Interesting debate going on at Anita Campbell's Small Business Trends blog. Follow Your Bliss (do what you love)? Or Follow Bucks and Consumer Latent Need?
The debate stems from a quote from the Blue Man Group, wielded at a recent Amex OPEN Small Biz Conference. "Follow Your Bliss and you are bound to succeed," said the Blue Man Group (apparently metrosexuals and worshippers of Hero's Journey author and mythologist Joseph Campbell). I checked out the Free Dictionary definition of bliss: "extreme happiness, ecstasy, spiritual joy." And thought to myself: "bonkers and kinda bad business advice."
So (no surprise) I weighed in with my unsolicited opinion, suggesting building a business takes bucks not bliss. "You can be born rich, marry rich, and or wait for a windfall," I said factitiously, "but you ain't building an enduring business based on bliss. Bliss is a luxury."
The debate continued. Here's an excerpt from my final comment...
What I suggest is this: CHASE BUCKS AND LATENT CONSUMER NEED NOT BLISS if you want to BUILD A BOOMING BUSINESS. Loving what you do is highly over-rated. By all means choose a business model that fits your skillsets and challenges you enough to drive you during dark hours. Whatever you do is worth doing well. But doing what you love (aka "following your bliss") will blind you to the most scalable business models and profits.
Come on now...how much can you LOVE retinal ID security systems or greenwaste shredding (two high ROI business ideas)?
In the end, business success is about understanding the rules of the game, ROI, cash flow management, vision, discipline, persistence, core ideology, point of difference, (blood, sweat, tears, elbow grease) and a zillion million other things most important of which is delivering a product or service that generates sufficient consumer or customer demand....
Yes there are some exceptions. But not that many. Many of those seeming exceptions are pure post-dated topspin from P.R. flacks. Once you've made it to the top, your publicist or SVP Corporate Communications can fondly muse about how you were following your bliss from the very beginning. Makes ya look humble. Great way to seduce the masses (see R. Greene's The Art of Seduction, Appendix B) and sustain your success/wealth.
Worth a read.
You know you have your doubts. All entrepreneurs have to wonder. If bliss and love are really the answer, why do 95 percent of small businesses fail in the first 5 years? It's frustrating for all of us. We WANT to flick our BIC and sing along with England Dan...blindly believing that pursuing your bliss delivers bounty. But hey -- who am I to try to convince you otherwise? It's a hell of a lot of work, and infinitely less sultry then the soft sell of "follow your bliss."
Post Script Notes:
Matt Goldman, Blue Man Group's "facilitator and quality control," has an M.B.A.; he was an independent software producer for 7 years (during which he made and saved money so he could afford to do something a little more creative). He and Blue Man Group co-founder Mr. Chris Wink have been close friends since the age of 12, when both found themselves "outsiders" at the Fieldston School in New York (annual tuition: $28,545).
And note to Sir Joseph Campbell -- if you're listening in the afterlife -- did ya hear (typically silent) Blue Man Group recycling your lyrics? I must be stuck in Atonement of the Father (one of your 17 Hero's Journey Steps). Help! Get me out!!!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
"Many entrepreneurs I know say that they could not have done it without a supportive spouse." - Carl J. Schramm
So begins today's
TCSDaily editorial from Arnold "
Disco Dancer"
Kling, which goes on to cover controversial topics like assortive mating ("men with high earnings potential preferring to marry women with high earnings potential") and the entrepreneur's ideal spouse ("evergreen optimistic, corporate exec breadwinners").
An alternative "take" on supportive spouses, from ExtremeBartending.com: "
Someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single." Now ladies, don't go tellin' yer husband I told you that joke.
Too bad
Capital One's CEO, Richard Fairbank, is
already married. Dibs on second wife status.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area is the top-ranking "large metro area" in the nation for women looking to start a business, according to the annual "Best Metros for Women Entrepreneurs" national study conducted by AllBusiness.com, a Web site for small and mid-sized businesses. Chicago doesn't make the list.
Women biz owners placed the most importance on six community attributes: low crime rate, low property tax rates, high household income, modest real estate prices, rapid population growth and pedestrian friendly streets.
I value a 7th attribute -- good-hearted handsome men per capita (especially men who recognize this blog post's famous movie quote headline). Whatdaya expect? I'm single! ;)
Monday, November 27, 2006
RE: Hark The Herald Angels Sing!
Joy to the world! In 2007, Angels aplenty will FINALLY grace Chicago with their presence. Mark your 2007 calendars for the Summit of the Angel Capital Association, May 23 - 25, 2007 at the Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile.
The meeting is expected to attract more than 200 leading angels and angel group leaders from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the world. Event activities will focus on building return on investment and group sustainability, with sessions on co-investment among angel groups, preparing for lucrative exits, valuation, and models for long-term viability, along with the third annual Hans Severiens Award for leadership in the field of angel investing.
Hey - ain't that a photo of Guy Kawasaki, Garage Ventures? Fingers crossed, he'll dress in uniform for this occasion too. ;)
