August 2008 - Posts
The $100 bottles of Bollinger champagne are selling well this week at Corridor 44, a champagne bar in downtown Denver, the city hosting this year's Democratic National Convention. But general manager Brian Siffermann says he hasn’t sold any bottles of Dom Perignon. Bottles of the Dom go for $325.
“It seems the Democrats don't have the expense accounts that Republicans have,” jokes Siffermann.
He isn't complaining though. Business at the bar is up about one third since the convention started last Monday.
CONTINUED >>
Ever since Barack Obama announced Joe Biden would be his running mate, almost all of the news stories about the U.S. Senator from Delaware have mentioned the personal tragedy he experienced early on in his political career.
In 1972, shortly after he was first elected to the Senate, Biden lost his wife and infant daughter in a horrific car crash that also seriously injured his two young sons.
That's the sort of tragedy that would likely derail anyone's career ambitions, but somehow Biden persevered.
I've always wondered why some people allow tragedy to destroy them, and others don't.
When I interviewed entrepreneurs and CEOs for my book I devoted a whole chapter to how successful men and women in business overcome adversities.
How did they do it?
CONTINUED >>
My eight-year-old daughter Circe and her neighborhood buddy Taylor decided to launch their own business venture recently.
I had nothing to do with this, I swear.
The firm is called "TC Patches," and the idea is Circe and Taylor will sell patches they cut out of old jeans and then design with butterflies, flowers, etc.
You all remember patches, right? People used to buy them to mend holes in their pants.
And there's the problem with their business model. People used to buy patches to mend clothing. Today, with our disposable society, consumers are more apt to throw away a pair of $20 jeans they got from TJ Maxx, or some other discount store, and buy a new pair.
But should I share this little piece of entrepreneurial reality with Circe and Taylor?
CONTINUED >>
I'm not big on employers forcing employees to do anything other than their jobs. But forcing workers to be better stewards of their finances -- why not?
Spiratex, a Michigan-based plastics maker, forces its 127 employees to get one-on-one financial planning help with an advisor whether they like it or not.
The company mandates up to an hour of money education as a way to help its workers become more knowledgeable about the firm's 401(k) plan, and also learn about debt management, college savings, and other personal finance topics.
Why did this small firm decide to make the sessions mandatory?
CONTINUED >>
OK, I'm going to admit to doing something really dumb recently.
I went into my Verizon Online account to add an additional e-mail address, and I accidentally removed my main work e-mail address.
I realized the mistake pretty quickly and rushed to fix it. But when I tried to put my old e-mail address back a message popped up to say the username wasn't available.
I took a deep breath.
CONTINUED >>
At a time when banks are reining in loans to small businesses, it's not surprising that there has been an explosion of contests promising seed money for budding entrepreneurs.
There's an endless stream of entrepreneur contests available out there run by an array of organizations, some fly by night, others established financial institutions or universities.
There's also a popular reality show in the United Kingdom called "The Dragons' Den" where individuals with ideas for businesses come before a group of highly critical, rich people who have money to invest in a concept they find interesting. A host of would-be entrepreneurs appear on the show looking for funds.
You guys have to see it -- it's addictive.
CONTINUED >>
I have a serious piece of advice for all you business owners out there who have a Web site and insist on including unprofessional headshots of yourselves -- take them down now!
Many of you have figured out how to upload photos to your Web site, and that’s a good thing. Lots of sites have been too text heavy, so it’s nice to see more entrepreneurs using photos and graphics online.
But just because you fancy yourself as a bit more tech savvy these days, it doesn’t mean you or your spouse or your nephew should be shooting the photos you include on your company site.
It’s time to hire a professional for that.
CONTINUED >>
Recently, a colleague from New York told me about her new strategy for being more productive -- cut back on face-to-face meetings.
With e-mail, phone calls and even Twitter available to us, who needs real human contact?
Her strategy made sense. She had more time to do her work because she wasn’t out gallivanting around Manhattan meeting friends and business associates.
Long lunches, she found, were one of the worst time sinks.
CONTINUED >>
