Small Business Boomers

The April ruling by the Supreme Court in the KSR v Teleflex case has a major impact on the small business community.  You need to be familiar.  Many businesses and individuals have filed for and gotten patents recently which to the common observer seemed “obvious.”  Whole businesses have been built on defending these patents.  Often times the strategy was simply to shake another outfit down for the nuisance fee or just enough money to avoid the expense of a court fight.
Just because you see how some previously patented processes or items might fit together in a slightly different way doesn’t mean …read more

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Starting a business, even a small one, is energy intensive.  The enthusiasm and commitment of the entrepreneurs can be exhilarating.  Those things can go a long way toward helping people over the difficult times each business will encounter.  But, they don’t last forever.
Where can you find the extra energy and motivation to handle the demands of business leadership?

Maintain your physical health.
Make sure your immediate family does the same.
Exercise regularly.
Eate properly.
Don’t hold a grudge.

What was that last one?  Don’t hold a grudge.  It’s an important concept.  Things like anger and seeking revenge for perceived wrongs will suck the energy right out …read more

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In The Devil Wears Prada Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly, a character with real commitment. She is committed to her industry, her company and the highest level of excellence. Most managers I’ve talked to about that character give me some song and dance about how mean she is. She is not a nasty person. She is a demanding person. She does not cut any slack, but she is not unfair or evil.
There is some new fashion in business management circles about everyone has to be nice to everyone else. No one should be a …read more

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WARNING!!  WARNING!! Danger Will Robinson!  Danger!
If a person, previously unknown to you, came up to you on a busy street in a city that you were new to and tried to sell you a bridge, would you buy it?  I hope not.
If you googled or yahooed or aoled something on the Internet and read it would you believe it?  I hope not.
Fact, as a source of information the Internet is one step above rumor.  Tabloids in the supermarket have more supported facts in them than the average response to an individual search query.
Oh, you’re saying that I had a problem with my pc …read more

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I’m out in Boston visiting my wife’s extended family.  I haven’t seen most of these people in more than 25 years.  I’ve heard about from time to time as I’m sure they’ve heard about me, but we never spent much time together.  Everybody out here is part of my mother-in-laws family from there I could go on for hours, but I won’t.
What gratifies me is how much people have changed for the better.  The ones who were solid all those years ago have remained great people.  The ones who weren’t so good are much better.
One final thing, several of my …read more

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Please excuse the odd formatting.  I’m working through a hotel connection and it’s giving me a few problems.
Yesterday I flew out to Boston on my hometown airline, Midwest Express.  What a treat.  This is an airline that provides first rate service.  I’m talking wide seats; plenty of leg-room; 2 hot, fresh-baked, chocolate chip cookies; clean plane; friendly staff.  The plane was nearly full so I know they made money on my flight. 
Unfortunately AirTrans wants to take over Midwest Express and turn it into a crappy discount carrier.More unfortunately the major stockholders want to take the AirTrans offer.  It’s about the …read more

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My maternal grandfather used to drive everybody nuts.  He would hire people to do work for him, like a plumber, and then argue with them about the work they were doing.  If you hire an expert to do some work for you supposedly you are doing it because you do not have the where with all to do the job yourself.  Or, maybe you don’t have the time.  In any case don’t argue with them.  Either let them do their work or fire them.
I’ve hired a new and very successful financial adviser.  It is very painful to follow his advice, …read more

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I passed a funeral home yesterday with a banner out front.  It read “Newly Remodeled – Stop In for a Visit.”  As it happens this establishment was recently purchased by the local pioneer in less expensive and pre-planned funerals.  It happens to be a woman who started these innovations when she was single and in her twenties.  She came from a family in the funeral business, but her innovations caught the local morticians flatfooted.  She’s done a nice job with her business.  Today, she’s married (to another mortician) and they have two children at last count. 
You could work up an …read more

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Nothing happens until somebody sells something.  Rule 1 in all of commerce.  Sales people are often portrayed in a negative light, but if you haven’t got many widely successful sales people your business is in big trouble.  How do sales people become wildly successful?  They offer products and services that meet the significant needs of a major client base over a long period of time.
There is a fallacy that I’ve heard over the years when discussing the statement above.  It comes in the form of “needs development” talk.  Ignorant managers say things like “make the customer want it.”  In a …read more

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Two businesses are somewhat at logger heads over implementation of a service over the Net.  It’s a decent service supported by a transaction based website.  The problem is that one company wants this to be the lead product for the second company.  The second company sees the value of the web based service, but sees it only as a small part of their total business.  The second company uses the web service, but they have reservations about the viability of the first company.  Both are small companies.  If key people in either company die, both are in trouble.
None of the …read more

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