My nomination for the viral ad campaign of the year (if there is such a thing) is Office Max for their “Elf yourself” campaign. Here is the Center for Entrepreneurship staff here at Belmont University being “elfed.”
(Be patient — can take a minute or two to upload — worth the wait!)
Study Links Dyslexia to Entrepreneurship
Some interesting findings were reported in the New York Times from a recent study of entrepreneurs:
It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought.
The report, compiled by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School in London, found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs she had surveyed — 35 percent — identified themselves as dyslexic. The study also concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to delegate authority, to excel in oral communication and problem solving and were twice as likely to own two or more businesses.
(Thanks to Jennie Bowman for passing this along).
More on Passion in Business
Sam Davidson has a nice follow-up piece to my post the other day on passion at his blog site CoolPeopleCare. He offers a thoughtful four step process that takes you from dreams to passion, from passion to plans, from plans to action, and from action back to dreams.
Holiday Reading Ideas
If you ever want to get a lot of free books, start writing a blog. I have gotten a mountain of books to review on my desk this fall. Here are a few that might be worth a read over the Holidays:
How to Talk to Customers, by Berenbuam and Larkin.
Learning how to think like and talk to your customers is probably the essential skill for most start-ups. A good book to help with those selling skills.
First, Best, or Different by John Bradley Jackson.
I nice set of short lessons on effective niche marketing.
My Start-up Life, by Ben Casnocha.
See the start-up process from the eyes of a “very” young entrepreneur. A good read for entrepreneurs — young and old.
Fired Up or Burned Out, by Michael Lee Stallard and Fire Them Up! by Carmine Gallo.
Need to give your team a shot in the arm? Both of these books offer some good advice on what works to communicate vision and passion in business.
For the social entrepreneurs out there I suggest New Day Revolution by Sam Davidson and Stephen Moseley.
I have had the pleasure to get to know Sam. These guys are among the new pioneers of for-profit social enterprises. A great read!
Product Idea to Product Success by Matthew Yubas.
The author outlines the process of going from an idea to a marketed product.
Simple Solutions by Tom Schmitt and Arnold Perl.
A fresh approach to leadership is the focus of this book.
PEAK, by Chip Conley.
Conley takes us back to Psychology 101 to show the lessons we can learn from Maslow on how to lead a great company.
Clear and to the Point, by Stephen Kosslyn.
Keeping with that same theme, Kosslyn uses psychological principles to help us finally get PowerPoint presentations right.
When You Mean Business, by Ray Capp.
Capp offers some simple, but powerful lessons we can learn from successful businesses.
And finally a recommendation from my father. Richistan, by Robert Frank.
Join Wall Street Journal columnist Robert Frank in his journey through the world of America’s new rich. Some fascinating stories!
There. I am caught up on my reading and have cleaned off at least one stack from my desk…. Happy reading!!
Is Passion for Your Business Enough?
I have had several conversations over the past couple of weeks about the role of passion in new entrepreneurial ventures. Indeed, a good business model is never enough to carry you through the adversity and tough times that entrepreneurs almost always will face in their new ventures. And the career literature is full of the term passion these days. Experts encourage people to seek a career path that “ignites their passion” and helps give their life meaning.
I agree that passion is an important element in choosing the right venture to pursue. For those regular visitors to this site, this part of the “me” part of assessing opportunities that I often write about.
But I have some concern that many are taking the importance of passion and meaning too far — to an almost unhealthy extreme. If unchecked, seeking meaning for your life from your business can lead to the kind of workaholism that many had hoped to avoid with an entrepreneurial career.
All of this discussion reminds me of a post I wrote a while back that might be worth another look….
What do farmers do? They farm. What do designers do? They design. What do managers do? They manage. What do entrepreneurs do? Well, they…..
Those who start and build businesses engage in a career that has no simple verb to describe what we do. Entrepreneur is a noun. Entrepreneurship is a noun. Entrepreneurism, a newer form of the term, is a noun. Entrepreneurial is an adjective. But, as you remember from 8th grade, adjectives simply describe nouns.
Entrepreneur comes from an Old French word (a fact that I still find hard to accept) entreprendre, which means to undertake. So it started as a verb, but now is a noun. As a side note, I am glad we did not take the literal translation of the French term to refer to those who start businesses. Otherwise all of us who are entrepreneurs would be known as undertakers instead.
So why is Professor Cornwall going into a long, and rather seemingly trivial diatribe? Am I finally becoming the doddering old academic we see mumbling to himself, shuffling across campus?
I assure you there is a point to all of this.
I have been watching the crusty old journalist (another profession that is not a verb), Dan Rather, go ungraciously and rather defiantly off into the sunset of his life. His career as a journalist is clearly behind him, but he won’t give it up. And then it came to me. His understanding of who he is is defined only by what he does for a living. He defines who he is as a person by the career he has pursued. Without his career he has very little else. Without it he is lost as he has nothing else in his life that has any real meaning.
We have seen others fail at retirement. Lee Iacocca could not stay retired as a corporate executive (noun). Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan could not stay retired as athletes (noun). For all of them, what they did for their work defined who they were as people.
Careers can do this to us. If we are not careful, they can consume all that we are. And what gets lost? Our families, our friendships, and even our souls.
If we are to become all that we were put on this Earth to do, we have to temper the temptation to become consumed by our work. We need to resist becoming the noun of what we do for a living.
Work hard at being a spouse. Work hard at being a parent. Work hard at worshiping God. Work hard at being a friend. Work hard at being a good citizen in your community. And yes, work hard at your vocation. None of these alone can fulfill our humanness.
One of the risks of using nouns to describe what we do in our work is that it can reinforce the tendency we all have to get carried away with our work. I loved starting a growing businesses (most of the time, at least). I love teaching and writing. It is indeed a blessing to love what one does for a living and joy the hard work that goes along with it. But, with every virtue there is a vice looming in the background. Although hard work is a good thing, it can be taken to excess and become a vice if it keeps us from all the other things we should be doing with our lives.
American society does not make this any easier. I am reminded of the lyric from a jazz record from the 1980s that said, “Everything in moderation, and moderation is the first to go.” We have become a culture of excess.
This is particularly true for the entrepreneur. We seem to create folk heroes out of entrepreneurs who expend Herculean efforts to achieve success in their businesses. And while this is good to a point, if entrepreneurial success comes at the expense of our marriage, our families, our faith, and our friendships, it is a hollow victory. If all we have at the end of our lives is our wealth, if that is all we leave behind, that is not a life well lived. As the old saying goes, “you never see a hearse with a luggage rack.”
So here is what I am going to commit to: I will help to find us a verb to describe what entrepreneurs do. It has to be catchy, like the term entrepreneurship, so that people will actually use it. And if they do, maybe that will be one small step toward no longer defining those who start businesses only in terms of that activity. We can be, and should be, so much more.
Making the Pitch
One of the most daunting challenges for entrepreneurs is when they have to make a pitch for their business. It might directed to a potential investor, a banker, that first customer — or in some cases to their spouse! This pitch has taken on the nickname of the elevator pitch, as you often have only a very short time to get your message across (imagine a short ride in an elevator with the investor before he or she has to get off on their floor).
Suite101.com has a nice summary of what it takes to make an effective pitch under pressure.
Inspiring Story
Feeling like you were dealt a bad hand in life? Read the inspiring story from BBC News about one boy who decided to not let his disability get in his way in life.
A 12-year-old boy has started his own business after becoming fed up with suggestions that his dyslexia might affect his chances of a good job.
Tom Sweet, from Lampeter, Ceredigion, set up a market stall importing foreign herbs and spices earlier this month.
(Thanks to Ben Cunningham for passing this along).
Like Trying to Milk a Fish
Social entrepreneur Sam Davidson has a thoughtful reflection at his blog about what it is like being an early-stage entrepreneur.
Those who know me know that I never planned on being an entrepreneur, but that I enjoy every single minute of it. There’s risk, there’s reward, there’s freedom, there’s excitement, there’s disappointment, there’s opportunity – and that’s just Monday before lunch. And so when people ask me what it’s like to start my own company and be a social entrepreneur, I tell them:
It’s like trying to milk a fish.
Join in on this Month’s Ideablob Voting
There are eight ideas vying for this month’s $10K prize at ideablob. Today is the last day to vote!
Kemper Barkhurst, Albuquerque, NM
Kemper is a 26-year-old multimedia designer and developer. His idea, Urban Harvesting, is to collect and distribute local foods to local markets, thereby eliminating wasted fruit that local homeowners cannot collect, store or distribute.
Nicole Brooks, Riverview, FL
21-year-old, Nicole is a single mom and student. Her idea is PeekYourBoo.com, a secure system that allows parents to log in and watch their children while they are at daycare.
Susan di Rende, Los Angeles, CA
Susan is an independent filmmaker. Her idea is to expand and grow the Broad Humor Film Festival, which celebrates comedies written and directed by women.
Sherrie Gossett, Fairfax Station, VA
Sherrie is the managing editor of a new politics and culture magazine. Her idea is to develop news webcasts that allow the audience to become active participants.
Collin LaHay, St. Louis Park, MN
Collin is an 18-year-old student, internet marketer and entrepreneur. His idea is to develop rssHugger.com, which helps bloggers promote their blogs and helps visitors discover new blogs about subjects they are interested in.
Geoffrey Ravenhill, Islesford, ME and Palos Verdes, CA
Geoffrey is a 30-year-old marine biologist and co-founder of a non-profit organization for kids. His idea is to develop an online community where people can post their dreams, develop a game plan for accomplishing them, and receive feedback from other dreamers.
Marci Schankweiler, North Wales, PA
Marci, 39, is the founder of a non-profit organization that provides excursions for young adult cancer patients. Her idea is to purchase a home near Orlando, FL that can be used by cancer patients and bring joy to families in turmoil.
Vaughan Woodruff, Bozeman, MT
Vaughan is a 32-year-old educator. His idea is to develop PLACE, a non-profit organization that will assist American Indians in gaining power over their lands.
Successful Career Entrepreneur Style
We stress the importance of engineering personal goals and aspirations into entrepreneurs’ business models. This includes both financial goals (income and wealth) and personal non-financial goals.
A profile of an entrepreneur at Career Journal shows how one entrepreneur found the balance she was seeking between work and family.
In a culture obsessed with profit and growth, how do you curb the growth of a successful start-up to preserve time with your spouse and new baby?
For Brenda Thompson, who started the business of her dreams only months before having her first baby, the answer is to ignore the siren song of expansion and keep the business small. Her story shows how taking the long view can pay off.
The interview with Thompson is worth a careful reflection by any start-up entrepreneur. She is honest about the upside and the downside of the career path she has chosen.
(Thanks to John Russell for passing this along).