By Tom Peters I had several press interviews yesterday for a forthcoming event in South Africa. The conversation invariably turned to entrepreneurship. I was repeatedly asked what the “secrets” were to starting a successful business—any business, not some Silicon Valley or Cambridge software or biotech hottie.I’m sure I’d been asked the same thing before, but…
Rural small businesses face a big workforce challenge. We are dealing, right now, with issues that will hit big city businesses soon. Over at Small Business Trends, Anita Campbell has a report on the coming shortages in the labor market. My Small Biz take on this? We must grow and train our own people. The…
From Ze Frank: on life i don’t think stairs actually exist. as soon as you step on one its a floor. stairs are just small, kind-of-boring floors that you have to stand on to get where you want to go. So why did I post this? To get you to think differently about everyday things….
Interns can help your business with new ideas, youthful enthusiasm, future employees, and public exposure, not to mention the cheap or free labor. Look to local, regional, and statewide colleges, universities, vo-techs, and community colleges for potential talent. Most offer credit to students for internships, and many have trouble finding enough places to send students!…
All the best ideas are borrowed (or stolen). So have you taken any field trips lately? Similar businesses may be the most obvious targets, but also add dis-similar businesses in your region to your list. Take a good hard look at businesses you visit frequently, scrutinize their ideas. Steal shamelessly! Compare your work to others’….
If you have a business website, or just are planning one, read this article. Print it out. Apply it to your site! No, really, print it out and compare your site to each and every point. This year’s list of top problems clearly proves the need to get back to Web design basics. There’s much…
Nebraska borrowed this idea from North Dakota. So you can borrow it, too. a Marketplace for Entrepreneurs. The Marketplace idea is patterned after a North Dakota event that’s been attracting 7,000 people for the past 17 years. The Marketplace is based on the belief that small towns must look within for economic development, not count…
Ed Morrison is so on the ball. Here’s an item from his latest round-up of economic development news. The undersecretary for rural development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a clear focus for rural development: renewable energy, broadband access and location. Read more. To these three, most knowledgeable observers would add entrepreneurship: growing a…
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