An Entrepreneurs Words Podcast

There have been some interesting developments in recent times on the subject of capitalism. An angry anti-capitalism movement is in full bloom in the U.S. and around the world. And what do the anti-capitalists want? They are pursuing a moneyless society or some other economic system such as socialism or communism.

The legendary Sir Richard Branson was 16 when he launched his first business venture in 1967 - a magazine called Student. He followed this with a business selling records through the mail. Thus was born Virgin Records and ultimately a multitude of companies under the Virgin Brand.

Suppose you are an entrepreneur who is seeking start-up funding for a terrific idea you have. You do your homework and put together a solid business plan. Market research shows a lot of upside. Then you pitch your idea to a group of investors and hear the following observations . . .

What two words in the English language couldn't be further apart in their meaning, but are often intertwined for entrepreneurs? The first word by itself is part of the everyday life an entrepreneur - and every other person in the world as well. This word is relatively innocuous. But when connected with the second word it's like adding the primer to dynamite.

We know from our history lessons that in medieval days, members of noble families often lived in castles. These fortresses were imposing in appearance and have stood for centuries - a testament to their design and construction. Deep wide ditches were dug around many castles and filled with water.

We live in an age of acronyms. I guess they are a form of shorthand. LOL, YOLO, DIY, IMHO, SMH, MTFBWY, FUTAB and ROTFL. If you guessed them all correctly you are in the mainstream of cool.

You walk into a meeting and there are several people in the room. Two people are scowling, another has his face in his hands, and one person has his body turned away from the others with his arms crossed. It's not hard to surmise that there are some unhappy folks in our midst.

What and when do you celebrate? An odd question you think? He's the backdrop. Humans and their organizations like to celebrate. It's positive, it's fun and it's great for morale. Unfortunately entrepreneurs don't do enough of it.

A friend of mine has a company he started several years ago and he's on an unbelievable roll. If he's not there already it won't be long before his top line revenues exceed nine figures. When I first met him his business was grossing nearly $10 million. Not only has he seen a gigantic increase in his sales, but his profitability is off the charts. I fully expect to read about him in Forbes one of these days. How has he done it?

Robin goes to work every day at the consumer products company where she has been employed for the past two years. She faithfully performs her roles and accountabilities and has received relatively high marks from her supervisor. In fact, she has never taken a sick day and is proud of the fact that she's never missed a day of work other than scheduled holidays and vacations. But recently, Robin has begun to feel more like she's on a hamster wheel.