The myth of the entrepreneurial personality

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description:  (MoneyWatch) I’m incredulous when I read or hear people talking about some kind of prototypical entrepreneurial profile. Many well-meaning experts, and even empirical research, would have you believe that most successful entrepreneurs fit an identifiable personal mold. But based on my own experience, and my associations with many entrepreneurs — both successful and not… Read more »

Goya knows what bean you like

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Goya says it became the U.S.’s biggest Hispanic-owned food company by catering to the tastes of varied Latin-American groups. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Sep 19, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2012/09/19/sbiz-hwgs-goya.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Summarize the entrepreneurial factors that explain the success of the firm? What are the demographic and other factors that suggest the… Read more »

PayPal cofounder Thiel’s startup advice

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description: The venture capitalist says anyone building a startup now must be able to do one thing “uniquely well.” Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Sep 14, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/09/14/t-thiel-advice-to-startups.fortune/ Questions for Discussions: What advice does Peter Thiel offer to those seeking to start up new businesses? What does he say is wrong with the… Read more »

Pitaya: The Selling of a Superfruit

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  A few months ago, Eric Helms, the 42-year-old founder and chief executive officer of Juice Generation, a chain of juice and smoothie bars in New York City, wanted to display what he calls “the next big superfruit” in his stores. Having bought exclusive import rights to a year’s supply of pitaya, a softball-sized fruit… Read more »

How Crayola crayons are made

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: For over 100 years, Crayola has mixed and molded crayons in the hopes of encouraging creativity in children. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 29, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2012/08/29/sbiz-hwgs-crayola-crayons.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Why do you think crayons and Crayola brand in particular have endured for so many generations? Describe the manufacturing process that was… Read more »

Facebook Shares Hit New Lows

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Facebook shares fell 5% to new lows Friday as two analysts from firms that underwrote its initial public offering cut their price targets on the shares, Paul Vigna reports on the News Hub. Photo: AP. Source: Moneywatch.com – video report Date: Aug 31, 2012 Link: http://on.wsj.com/R3hzXy Questions for Discussions: Summarize the explanation in this… Read more »

Obama’s small biz solar star fades

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: A small solar business, once the leading light of President Obama’s green jobs program, is now caught in an international trade dispute. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 24, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/08/23/n-obama-solar-star-not-shining.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Summarize the history of this start-up business. What are the lessons to be learned about the globalization of… Read more »

Police Chief’s $204,000 Pension Shows How Cities Crashed

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  Stockton, California, Police Chief Tom Morris was supposed to bring stability to law enforcement when he was appointed to the job four years ago. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: July 31, 2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-01/police-chief-s-204-000-pension-shows-how-cities-crashed.html Questions for Discussions: Explain the crisis facing these cities in terms of financial mismanagement of budgets and cash flow estimations? Is there… Read more »

Know Where The Money is Going Before You Ask For I

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  Squarespace founder Anthony Casalena didn’t necessarily know he wanted to start a business, but he did have a clear concept of what he wanted. “I was trying to make my personal website and I wasn’t satisfied with any of the existing services” said Casalena in interview, “I had a very clear concept of what… Read more »

Immigrants’ Role in the Small Business Economy Grows

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description: The share of U.S. small businesses owned by immigrants has expanded by 50 percent since 1990, with almost one-fifth of business owners born outside the country, according to a new report (PDF) by the Fiscal Policy Institute. Source: Businessweek.com Date: June 15, 2012 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-14/immigrants-role-in-the-small-business-economy-grows ` Questions for Discussions: What are the highlights of… Read more »