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Paul Newman: Entrepreneurial Icon
Tweet Share on Facebook September 30, 2008 Comment (3)While we sift through the ashes of the bailout plan and figure out where to go next, I thought I'd take a second to look at something a little more positive. Yesterday the Hartford Courant had a great retrospective on Paul Newman in one of his greatest roles—not as an actor but as an entrepreneur.
Newman's Own was about as successful as a company can get at branding its image in the public consciousness. Of course, it had some serious help from its founder—something with Newman's face on it can't help but be a bit iconic. Still, the sketches of Newman found on each product accomplished no small feat—making a legendary face even more legendary.
Newman also has the distinction of being on top of the "socially responsible consumerism" trend long before it had really taken off.
I'll leave you with one of the best moments from probably Newman's best movie.
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Bailout for Wall Street, Credit Problems on Main Street
Tweet Share on Facebook September 29, 2008 Comment (4)Last week, I mentioned that it's still far from clear just how much this financial crisis is really causing credit sources to dry up. Evidence on the state of the credit crunch after all this turmoil will slowly be filtering in, and here's one of the first tidbits. Today, the new Discover Small Business Watch poll for the month of September shows that the conventional wisdom might be right after all when it comes to small businesses.
One key finding:
Of small businesses who have attempted to get loans, 72 percent say it is harder to borrow money right now.
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YouTube: The Great Equalizer for Small Businesses
Tweet Share on Facebook September 26, 2008 Comment (77)Forbes has a great story on its website about how YouTube helped one entrepreneurial firm break into the monopolistic market for blenders. An established blender manufacturer that had enough money to dominate advertising found a young up-and-comer nipping at its heels when its videos became a hit online. The breakdown of barriers to enter and compete in markets is one reason to love YouTube. It also helps explain why we need to be wary about politicians nosing around in YouTube.
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The Bailout Plan: Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke's Bogus Journey
Tweet Share on Facebook September 24, 2008 Comment (38)Prudence is no longer a virtue.
That's the message coming from supporters of the Paulson bailout plan—including Democratic leaders like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank who want to make a few (important) modifications but keep the basic plan intact.
Warren Buffett says that the plan is akin to the U.S. response to Pearl Harbor. Don't think—just fight back.
Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke are annoyed at Congress for having the gall to actually debate the plan.
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Pet Cloning: Is It Animal Abuse?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 23, 2008 Comment (9)Pet cloning may still sound like science fiction to most people, but there are actual businesses in America offering these services. Greg Beato visited one, and I highly recommend his excellent report in Reason. He paints a much more heartwarming picture of cloning than the Humane Society would have you believe. But for a balanced view, check out its report on pet cloning as well.
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John McCain: How Badly Does He Want the Entrepreneur Vote?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 22, 2008 Comment (1)Whom should entrepreneurs vote for in November? At the Inc. 500 conference this Friday, a panel consisting of McCain's top economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, and Obama's chief economic guru, Jason Furman, was supposed to be convened to answer that question. Unfortunately, Furman had to cancel at the last minute, so we got the side of the story only from the McCain camp. Still, we got the meat of what a McCain presidency would do for entrepreneurs, according to Holtz-Eakin.
- "The notion that we must tear down the fundamental business model of Washington" is the single most important step for improving the business climate for entrepreneurs, he said.
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The Financial Crisis: A Silver Lining for Venture Capital?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 19, 2008 CommentCorrected on 09/22/2008: An earlier version of this blog post incorrectly reported the maximum company revenues as $1 million. The maximum is $100 million.
When I last wrote about venture capital, I gave the impression that the outlook was not good. The financial crisis currently rocking Wall Street obviously does not make the situation better and will probably make it harder for venture capitalists to raise money. But that's the short-run picture—in the long run, the changes in the financial sector this crisis will bring about could shift things in a beneficial way for venture capitalists. I just talked to Faysal Sohail, managing director for CMEA Ventures in San Francisco, a firm that invests in life sciences, high technology, and energy. Here are his thoughts:
Our view is that there are going to be stronger, smaller banks that are going to pop out of this chaos that would be better equipped to work with our early-stage startups and growing companies to take them public.
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John McCain Says: Let's Bail Out the Auto Industry
Tweet Share on Facebook September 18, 2008 Comment (6)Here is one of the planks of John McCain's plan "for getting the economy back on track by helping small businesses."
John McCain Will Veto Any Bill That Serves Only The Special Interests And Corporate Welfare. On his watch, there will be no more subsidies for special pleaders, no more corporate welfare and no more throwing around billions of the people's money on pet projects.
So how do you square that statement with McCain's coming out in favor of $25 billion in loans for the Detroit auto industry?
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Why I Actually Agree With Mark Cuban
Tweet Share on Facebook September 17, 2008 Comment (2)On my post from last week, Mark Cuban (and yes, I know it's really him and not some commenter calling himself "mark cuban") makes the case that the benefits of getting rid of taxes on small businesses outweigh the possible drawbacks:
It comes down to this, would you rather have small busineses worry about what to do with their 26th employee or not start the business because they cant afford to deal with all the tax burdens.
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No proposal is perfect. But creating a decision point at 25 employees is a far better scenario than stifling innovation and entrepreneurship before it can get started -
Wall Street Recession—What Does It Mean?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 16, 2008 CommentAmid the wreckage from the tumultuous markets yesterday, the blogosphere has some thoughts on what this all means for small-business owners.
Kelly Spors at Independent Street says that small and savvy companies have hidden advantages in these times.
Along similar lines, John at Business Opportunities and Ideas explores the chances for creativity that emerge when the economy seems to be in shambles.
Risky Business
Matt Bandyk, a reporter for U.S. News, explores capitalism from where it all begins, with the entrepreneur, whose risk taking and experimentation provide the roots from which the rest of the economy grows. As much courage as it takes to create one's own business, even the entrepreneur needs some help, and this blog will look at news, trends, and practical advice for starting and running a small business.
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