Sales Kids With Grit – Web 2.0 Paper Routes
By John Greathouse | October 13, 2009
What do Warren Buffet, Martin Luther King, John Wayne, Walt Disney, Harry Truman and Wayne Gretzky all have in common? In addition to all of them reaching the pinnacle of their chosen professions, they also all started their careers performing the same job.
All of these extremely successful individuals were paperboys*.
At its peak circulation in 1969, the weekly newspaper Grit had a circulation in excess of 1.5 million. Each paper was delivered by a child and all of the money was likewise collected by children and sent to Grit’s main office by snail mail. Despite its inherent inefficiencies, Grit was able to sustain a profitable business reliant largely on youthful labor for over 80-years. Surely a savvy, modern-day entrepreneur can utilize online tools to leverage young peoples’ collective energy and fervor.
Topics: Entrepreneur, The Fringe | 2 Comments »
Fast Follower III – First Mover Disadvantage
By John Greathouse | September 29, 2009
This is part III of a three part series. Click here for Part I and Part II
John Fitch was first. He spent the majority of his adult life fruitlessly attempting to capitalize on the novelty and uniqueness of his invention. Unable to raise funds from wealthy individuals, he solicited $300 from a hodgepodge of small businessmen, including tavern owners, grocers and physicians.
In a matter of months, he developed technology that was superior to that created by the world’s leading scientist over the prior 15-years, despite his lack of a formal education.
He debuted his technology in Philadelphia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It exceeded his expectations and thrilled those who witnessed it, including a number of prominent Founding Fathers. However, he was still unable to secure adequate funding to commercialize his technology.
Fitch spent the next three years traveling the country repairing clocks as a means of surviving, all the while saving money for the eventual launch his venture. In 1790, he began offering a service that eventually transformed world commerce and generated trillions of dollars of wealth. Unfortunately for Fitch, his adVenture folded 18-months after it began.
In 1798, at the age of 55, a frustrated, destitute Fitch scrimped together enough money to purchase a handful of opium pills, which he used to end his life. His suicide note was prophetic:
“The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention, but no one will believe that poor John Fitch can do anything worthy of attention.”
Topics: Entrepreneur, Launching Venture, Strategic Planning, The Fringe | 2 Comments »
Small Ideas, Big Benefits
By John Greathouse | September 22, 2009
This is a reposting of a ‘classic’ popular post.
When viewed from The Fringe, the world is like a cash booth from a bad 1950’s TV game show. Just like in the game show booth, in the real world, you can count on various exogenous factors to generate some proverbial wind that will swirl the cash around and force you to work a bit for the money. However, in the end, all you really need to do is reach out and grab the cash. When you position yourself on The Fringe, you will quickly see that money making opportunities are all around you.
One way to grab some cash and learn valuable entrepreneurial skills along the way is to launch mini-ventures or Venturettes. Such ideas require little-to-no capital, usually last for a relatively short duration and are of nominal size.
If you just ask yourself, “then why bother?” – read on friend, read on.
Topics: Classic Post | 4 Comments »
Bank Robber or ATM Operator?
By John Greathouse | September 15, 2009
This is a reposting of a ‘classic’ popular post.
A Fortune 500 CEO once told me that I was a Bank Robber. Initially, I was offended. However, once he explained what he meant, I was flattered.
Topics: Classic Post | No Comments »
Bro Factor – Intimate Relationships Which Provide Your Startup With An Unfair Advantage
By John Greathouse | September 8, 2009
This is a reposting of a ‘classic’ popular post.
Bro – abbreviation of “Brother”, meaning friend or dude. A term of endearment used to denote a familiarity beyond a casual friendship.
In the world of Big Dumb Companies (“BDC”), there is little likelihood you will establish a professional relationship with someone outside of your company that goes beyond a casual friendship. At large companies, such behavior is often discouraged and in many organizations, it is even considered unprofessional. However, in the world of startups, relationships that go beyond a casual acquaintance can provide your adVenture with a significant competitive advantage.
Topics: Classic Post | No Comments »
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