Although exit planning is important for all entrepreneurs (every good thing eventually must end), too many entrepreneurs view their business like a publicly traded stock. Jeremy Wright offers an example that is so common among many entrepreneurs: get in, get out, move on. Not only is this often financially unwise for the entrepreneur, the impact extends well beyond personal finances. Free enterprise involves a social contract that requires some level of responsibility by entrepreneurs to their communities. The quickest road to increased regulation of business is to ignore the role of stewardship that all entrepreneurs have in our economic system. And quick exits that focus only on short term financial gains move regulation and government scrutiny into the fast lane.
Business Formation hits record level in Tennessee
HobbsOnline offers more evidence for our current entrepreneurial recovery. He reports on data showing that the formation of LLC’s (one of the most popular type of business entity for new ventures these days) hit an all time record in 2003 in Tennessee. This is not some statistic that has been steadily going up year after year. After peaking in 1998, the formation of LLC’s in Tennessee plunged as a result of the Clinton recession in 1999 and did not really begin a robust recovery until 2002 under the current entrepreneurial economic recovery. We must be very careful not to become as myopic in our interpretation of the current economic conditions as most in Washington and Wall Street seem to be. This is a main street recovery, and is creating true economic empowerment for many new entrants into our free enterprise system.
Entrepreneurial recovery update
HobbsOnline has a link to another piece supporting the real story of this entrepreneurial recovery. This one is in the New York Times. There is hope….
More on “to brand, or not to brand”
Entrepreneur.com continues the discussion of whether branding is a strategy that makes sense for entrepreneurial ventures. The article offers some pros and cons of branding that are worth consideration.
Treat the cause, not the symptom
An old adage in business is to make sure that you are dealing with the cause of the problem and not just its symptom. This article at INC.com applies this wisdom to entrepreneurial ventures. The author offers some great examples that should help any entrepreneur think hard about how she deals with problem solving in her business. Management by treating symptoms can become disastrous during periods of rapid growth. For example, cash shortages are a constant struggle for many growing companies, but many entrepreneurs simply try to find short term ways to raise more money, speed up receivables, or slow down payables. The root cause may be much deeper. It could be a pricing problem, inventory control problem, staffing problem at the root cause. Don?t just treat the symptom. Dig deep to find the root cause. Are you simply putting out fires?
Are the feds finally getting it?
The Miami Herald ran an interview this week with Treasury Secretary John Snow (thanks to RM Cornwall for the heads up on this fascinating article). In this interview, Snow gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, someone in the federal government actually is beginning to understand that our hope for the future lies in the entrepreneurial economy that has emerged over the past twenty years. This economic transformation has created the first entrepreneurial recovery we have experienced in modern American history.
New feature: reverb “off the wall”
I have had the pleasure to work with a group of staff, faculty and students to plan a new program here at Belmont to enhance the study of entrepreneurship. The university has generously provided us with three prime retail spaces in our new Curb Center building. One space will open this Friday. It will house Boulevard Art and Design, which is a cooperative program with our Art Department. It will feature a retail art gallery and a graphic design business. The second business, opening around March 1st, will be reverb media. reverb will feature new and used CD’s and DVD’s, with a focus on music produced and/or performed by Belmont students and alumni (which includes Trisha Yearwood and Brad Paisley, just to name two). The students launding this business have decided to chronicle their story for you in my blog site. Click on the “Continue reading…” below to see their first installment.
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
BusinessPundit (Go Wildcat’s, indeed) has a great discussion on the role of strategic decision making and entrepreneurship. He hits it right on the head when he says that for the entrepreneur, strategy and execution must be linked together as one. That has been my experience as well.
What is “Bankable”?
The most confusing and frustrating relationships for many entrepreneurs are those with bankers. It can seem like banker speak a completely different language to many entrepreneurs. In fact, it is not so much like a language difference as it is a difference in culture. To understand bankers, entrepreneurs must learn about the norms, customs, and values that are part of this banking culture.
Visit Carnival of the Capitalists
Carnival of the Capitalists is up for this week. Visit it here.