Re: [spiers] Tell me how come?
> Anyway, I am curious why people start businesses, rather than why not.
> I'm sure there are all the obvious reasons (hate job, need money). Am I
> the only wacky one that derives the above kind of satisfaction from the
> activity? Since you are in a polling mood, perhaps you could find this
> out, as well.
>
> Regards, Paul
Hi, John,
Sorry I did not respond earlier to your request for reasons on why people
don't start businesses. As someone who has been a small business trainer,
and is a certified (NxLevel) business plan instructor, I felt the issue was
so big, and my outlook perhaps a bit jaded, that I opted not to play. But,
since you are still interested in hearing from the other 792 of us, I will
submit a few thoughts.
First of all, I completely do NOT understand why everyone does not start a
business. I am glad they don't... leaves more opportunity for me. However,
since I don't understand why they don't, I may not be the best person to
suggest the reasons why not. I have been a 'serial' entrepreneur (not
'cereal' entrepreneur like William Kellogg;-) since grade school in the
60's, when I trapped pocket gophers which were damaging alfalfa fields in
southern Idaho. The local irrigation district paid 25 cents per tail as a
bounty to reduce their numbers, as the loss of water to their burrowing
tunnels was very costly. I made a few dollars a week with a trap line before
and after school, and had more discretionary income than a lot of farm kids
(and we were mostly farm kids in southern Idaho schools back then). Over the
years, when I was guilted into day jobs by parents who valued security (and
died poor) or a spouse and family obligations, I still always looked for
small business opportunities on the side, e.g. starting a real estate guide,
selling at craft shows, organizing BBQs, or running a weekend mobile country
DJ business.
Since I am a classic entrepreneurial personality I really do not understand
why, John. One of the great mysteries of life for me is that most people
claim to want the independent lifestyle of the entrepreneur, but so few
jump.
But to try and answer the question, I guess first I would say that while
anyone CAN start a business, natural entrepreneurs are people who see
opportunity, and do not fit into the slow pace of improvement found in a
"job". We feel constrained by the limits set by the dweebs most often
promoted into supervision and management. Natural entrepreneurs leave
employment for self-employment because the phrase "It's hard to soar with
eagles when you are surrounded by turkeys" is their subconscious mantra. We
see opportunities to do things better and faster and with more effectiveness
and using fewer (or re-applied) resources, while the most popular word in a
typical supervisor's vocabulary is NO! To someone who lives under the curse
of a brain that seeks constant improvement, always better ways to do things,
the reality of management for the sake of control is horrifying. (While my
negative profile of a typical management person is not necessarily true, it
often FEELS true, to a natural entrepreneur.)
I guess the corollary then, is that people who don't start businesses often
work well in the typical organizational system, or at least more comfortably
than they would if they started a business.
Peter Drucker, perhaps the most recognized management guru of all time, had
a wonderful discussion in one of his books on management vs. leadership. The
role of management, he said (if memory serves me) is to create order. The
goal of leadership is to create positive change. Both are necessary, but
also are in natural conflict. True entrepreneurs are often great leaders,
and mediocre to seriously bad managers. However, American business,
according to Drucker, is seriously overmanaged and under-led. Hence the
typical organizational environment does not fit, at least in the long term,
for someone with a leadership compulsion. Also, Drucker discusses the
difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency, the backbone of
management and corporations, is to "do things right" or by the book.
Effectiveness, often a rare commodity -- and rarer as size of the business
grows -- is to "do the right things". These two concepts are also in
potential conflict, but again, the entrepreneur is the rebel who sees an
opportunity and wants to do the right thing, but not be slowed down by doing
things "right" (a term often mis-used by people in management to become
"doing things the way we've always done them" or to just "avoid doing
something wrong", instead of DOING something right.) The 'effective leader'
and the 'efficient manager' are two VERY different personalities, and the
world of organizations - which is dominated by the second type -- leaves
little room for the first personality to grow. Those individuals often leave
(except among the very best companies) and start businesses of their own.
Usually happier whether successful or not, they most commonly reach success
via a training period of failures as they learn the nuances and complexities
of business, and that a business is simply a system of integrated
sub-systems. The successful business creator is a system designer.
Statistically, a person is much more likely to start a business if one or
both parents are entrepreneurs. If both parents worked day jobs till they
died, the children are much less likely to branch outside the safety and
security of a regular paycheck. Much of the reason is what is discussed
around the dinner table. If your parents were talking at meals about the
nuances (marketing, taxes, hiring, firing) of a logging business, or a
baking business, or an export company, this is what programmed your young
minds. If the discussions were resumes, bad managers, best companies to work
for, attending college to get a good job, then the programming was
different. Brian Tracy, a motivational speaker, says on one of his audio
programs that the reason we have fifth and sixth generation welfare families
in this country is because the thoughts of the kids are directed from birth,
on how to milk the government and qualify for food stamps, NOT how to be
productive. It takes work to break the cycle, due to the relative
information void on alternative choices. In the 1800s, most of the populace
were small business owners (or their spouse and kids), whether farmer,
shipper, shop keeper, or whatever. The industrial revolution of the early
two-thirds of the 20th century was when we lost the table talk about
entrepreneurship, and led to the big lie of corporate social responsibility
taking care of you for the rest of your life, if you give them 40 years of
sweat. But those carrots and promises, which mostly did not materialize,
destroyed the entrepreneurial lineage normally passed from generation to
generation. The dot com boom has re-awakened entrepreneurship among younger
people, but as we saw in 2000, the loss of mentors in the parental
generation led to a financially devastating learning curve. Dot coms are
coming back now, older, wiser, and built on more sound entrepreneurial and
management principles.
One of my observations is that a large percent of successful entrepreneurs
(not counting those who grew up in a family business, learned the trade, and
continued the business) are information junkies. They read, take classes,
etc almost compulsively. Their ability to assimilate, aggregate, synthesize,
and apply information to whatever endeavor, including entrepreneurial, that
they wish to take on, is one of their key strengths, and a major factor in
their success. I am amazed when people tell me they would LOVE to start a
business, but have absolutely no idea what kind of business to start. An
individual with this problem is probably entrepreneurially terminal and
spends more time in front of the boob tube than books. Someone who truly
wants to start a business will have hundreds of ideas (or at least a handful
of good ones) and multiple variations on each idea. (The REAL problem is
choosing WHICH idea to run with!) At the very least the future entrepreneur
will own significant knowledge and feel powerful commitment to one industry
which they love. Get a few natural entrepreneurs together, and the number of
ideas (mostly good ideas) that come out of a one hour session are limited
only by how fast a person can speak. Until a person starts focusing on
opportunities and problems, and compulsively visualizes ways to solve the
problem or meet the opportunity, that person cannot have a potentially
profitable business idea and probably cannot be a serious or successful
entrepreneur.
Here are a few thoughts based mostly on observation (again, because I do not
understand the un-entrepreneur) on why people do not start a business.
A) Parental programming. Most people have non-entrepreneurial parents, and
because of the state and rate of small business failures, even having a
business owner parent does not necessarily translate to an interest in
self-employment for their kids. Most parents, who are well-meaning and often
(even largely) incompetent about helping their offspring with career
choices, want each kid to be financially secure, and their solution is
suggest the child go to work and get a job, learn a trade, and move up the
ladder (with or without a college education first.) Most of us are guilted
into life choice programming, some good some bad, as a result of parental
instruction and mantras. The biggest psychological battle I ever faced was
getting PAST the 20 years of programming my parents gave me about getting a
job to create security. Failures, unhappiness, and sheer will allowed me to
become who I really am as a conscious choice - an incurable entrepreneur.
B) Educational programming: K through 12 is not about risk of any kind, much
less entrepreneurship. Besides the devastating effect on human creativity we
get from attending our conformity-driven US educational system, our total
exposure to starting a business during formative years between toddler and
the right to vote, is limited to a) walking into a store and asking for club
donations, b) one or two elective classes, or c) a day of "shadowing" an
employee at a local business. Career counseling in K-12 is about
interviewing, attending a job fair, filling out a resume, etc so you can
find someone who will pay you wages while you learn a job. Not sure of the
exact figures, but I've read that for most K-12 teachers in the US ... their
only full-time job has been teaching. Just a note here... I am not saying
today's teachers are not effective at educating. I am not bashing teachers,
I am bashing the system. I think teachers do a better job of cramming more
irrelevant information down the craniums of confused and apathetic young
people than ever before in the history of US education. But it's like the
argument of efficiency over effectiveness. Are we doing things right (the
way we've always done them?) or are we doing the right things? Many years
ago, when my kids were still in K-12, I was involved in donating time at the
state and local level to a new, national program called "School to Work",
designed to better prepare students for the "real" world. One problem was
that a kid had to choose by their sophomore year what "track" or box they
had to be put into -- this decision guided all their electives and much
required coursework over their last three years of high school. (Better get
it right!) Administrators and teachers involved in the program had little
appreciation or understanding (or ability to provide enough information) for
kids to make a clear choice. (Never mind that most people really don't know
what they want till they approach 30, and that 20 years after someone gets a
college degree, 3/4 are working in a field not directly related to their
degree). However, one part of the School2Work program I liked was a
sub-program called "School Based Enterprises." We heard and read stories
about schools that were doing things including: organizing wood furniture
sales from the wood shop class, running food franchises in the cafeteria and
child care cooperatives after school, etc. I think many of the stories may
have been legit. However, I went to a presentation from a school near where
I live that claimed to be running 12 small school-based enterprises ranging
from log furniture to screen-printed t-shirts. Near the end of the
presentation, the lead teacher on the project proudly stated, that if there
were any "profits" made from an enterprise, that the students were never
allowed to keep them, the funds went back into the program. She was adamant
that kids would not be receiving PROFITS! (She pronounced the word as if it
was evil, or dirty, and wanted everyone to be sure no student was pocketing
money from their efforts while learning about entrepreneurship!) I bailed on
my participation. I had already seen the resistance to change in my local
school district. While there are many incentives for self-employment,
financial benefit is certainly one, and a critical one that CANNOT be
removed from the mix, if entrepreneurship is to be supported, nurtured,
explained, and ingrained. But when the blind and ignorant (rhetorically
speaking) are leading the confused, not much good can come of the
interaction.
C) Professional Entrepreneurial Development. The "first stop shop" for
potential entrepreneurs thinking of starting a business, is from a US Small
Business Administration (SBA) supported program called "Small Business
Development Centers", located on college campuses in most states. While
these offer MANY great resources, and access to retired entrepreneurs
(SCORE) as mentors, you can be a "business counselor" by... drum roll...
having a good interview and getting the JOB! While many of these business
counselors are former business owners or managers, most are not, and some
have never even worked in the for-profit sector. Entrepreneurship may be the
only field in the US where you do not need any experience as one to be a
consultant in the field, at least according to the government practices
paying lip service to entrepreneurial development. Added to the problem, is
that most economic development organizations are driven by practices such as
recruiting businesses from out of the area, to create jobs locally, in a
zero sum game (one community wins, all the others lose, by the exact same
amount) -- they prefer outside recruitment over nurturing home-grown
entrepreneurship by people with a vested interest in the community. It 's
what I call "testosterone" economic development (I'm gonna go out and bag me
a company!) and leads to "yo-yo" economies, as the bigger companies come in,
take the lucrative financial incentives to plop down a few jobs, then move
on to the next incentive-laden location, when the goody is gone from the
first "deal."
The other problem entrepreneurial development efforts face, is that they
base economic development on supply, instead of markets. If they are in a
forested area, where all the sawmills are now gone, they study their
tremendous woody "resource" and do a study on what businesses could be
started with those trees. If they are in a clay mining area, they study what
can be made from the clay. If they are in a scenic area, they study what
recreational and tourist businesses could be formed. Basically, the mantra
is, if you have a big supply of crap, there must be an economic use for it.
And there is, of course, and if it were an entrepreneur doing the looking,
something positive might happen. But what cannot work is "supply based
economics". If there is one thing I have learned in three decades working
with entrepreneurs, is that NOBODY likes to start a business using someone
else's idea. Economic development professionals and programs do what is
easy, not what is effective. In terms of economic development (or successful
businesses), the ONLY underlying economic development resource is an
entrepreneur with a passion, not a supply of used tires, dead trees, or cow
manure. Agencies should quit making recruitment their primary focus, and
spend more time getting out of the way of entrepreneurs.
I see a similar "supply vs. market" problem on this list. "I HAVE A PRODUCT"
or "I HAVE AN IDEA FOR A PRODUCT!"... how do I produce it and where do I go
to market it? John brings them right back to reality..." DOES THE MARKET
WANT THIS PRODUCT? WHO WILL BUY IT? AND UNTIL THEY DO BUY IT, YOU DON"T
REALLY HAVE A PROFITABLE PRODUCT OR IDEA!" Right on, John! On this list, is
there a market for the product? In the world of economic development, is
there an entrepreneur who wants to develop that resource?
D) FEAR: As a result of all the misdirected or directly negative
programming, the potential entrepreneur fights an uphill INTERNAL battle,
which is much larger than the actual external efforts needed to start a
business. Just like finally riding a bike without falling over, or the first
love making experience... the experience changes you, and makes it easier to
do it again. You have more confidence. But that fear of the unknown is huge.
The best way to learn to start a business is to do it. You can spend
$100,000 on a college education to get a piece of paper you might never
apply to your life's work... or you can lose $100,000 in three failed
businesses (if that is what it takes) to learn the ropes and finally create
that million dollar business. But this fear of failure holds a lot of us
back. I think many successful entrepreneurs had to change their context
around failure. Just like learning to walk or making love, you are not very
good (except in your own mind) the first time, so you get up and fall down a
lot. But with practice, you finally figure it out enough to operate
successfully, even if you never quit learning or getting better. As Brian
Tracy says, if you want to increase your success rate... increase your
failure rate! Until I was willing to accept that failure might be an
outcome, and be OK with that, I was not willing to take enough risks to
succeed. Now its easy, because I have failed and succeeded many times. The
true entrepreneur learns to take highly calculated risks, not risk for the
sake of risk. My next entrepreneurial goal is moving past lifestyle
businesses to become a significant employer, and if possible, grow enough to
go public. That is my mountain. The idea of 100 employees or more, scares
the bajeebies out of me.
E) TIRE KICKING: Many times I have heard someone say they are starting a
business, "but if I find a good job, I am quitting". This is not
entrepreneurship, this is someone in between jobs. Good grief. Commitment is
tough, and really tough when risking financial resources and trusting others
on their end of the deal. I once contracted to help get a woodworking
cooperative up and running. We opened a retail store, and had 120 consignees
within six months. They all wanted a successful business. After working with
that situation for a year, I noticed that maybe one in ten woodworkers
actually approached it as a business. The other 90% were tire kickers who
just wanted an outlet for their wood creations, and wanted someone else to
do the hard work of marketing/selling/bookkeeping, etc which is a
substantial part of self-employment. The differences between making a chair,
and making a business which sells a chair, include two things: A)
Marketing/sales, B) Money (a system where efforts are traded for cash with
enough excess after costs to make living/profit). Most people just want to
do the technical work. That is a far cry from building a business. An
accountant is not an accounting firm. A person who makes maple bars is not a
bakery business.
F) UNSUPPORTIVE SPOUSES. I once worked with a close friend to develop a
regional sporting good store. He was going to rely on his wife's wages to
put beans on the table, while we built the business. When she heard what he
was going to do, she said "If you are going to work for yourself, then I am
going to do what I want too! I am going to quit my job, and you can support
me" (and their child) from the business income. This created enough personal
and financial projection problems, that he backed out. If your spouse does
not understand the financial curve of a business, and will support you
through it, you cannot (or at least should not) start a business.
F) BAAAA! Frankly, most people are sheep. They want the freedom and
potential financial benefits of self-employment, but they don't want to
change their lifestyle, or quit watching TV six nights a week. Going with
what is familiar, and seeing the backsides of the same people every day
going in the front door of the employer is comforting.
For me, the changes are worth it. While I probably work double the hours I
would ever work for someone else, it does not feel like work. I have hardly
worked a day since I became self-employed full time, although I put in a
horrendous number of hours. The best part is... I can choose my hours. When
my kids were younger, if I wanted to see a school activity in the middle of
the day, I went. If I wanted to go fishing or hunting, I went. One
observation is that for folks who work for wages, the weekends and 5 PM have
significance. For me, every day and every hour has the same potential
choices and riches, and its all pretty much the same. I realize that some of
the folks I like to spend time with are fettered by these time constraints,
but that is just a scheduling issue.
Malcolm
Friday, March 17, 2006
Tell me how come?
Loan for commercial real estate
Re: [spiers] Loan for commercial real estate
Is there an import opportunity for loans? Can an
American approach a bank in India or Japan and get a
commercial loan? Can foriegn banks loan to Americans,
or are there laws keeping foriegn banks out?
Anthony
--- ALBERT SUNG
> Hi,
>
> I am currently purchasing a retail building and
> discover that commercial loan is very expensive:
> with
> 25% down, the interest rate on a 25-YEAR mortgage is
> a
> whopping 9.5% versus residential loan of 6-7%!!
>
> Are anybody out there kind enough to tell me any
> good
> commercial loan lender who can give a better rate?
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> Albert Sung
Loan for commercial real estate
RE: [spiers] Loan for commercial real estate
Go to your local state Small Business Administration website and check it
out. there may be people you can contact from there that can inform you
about alternatives. They have specialists in loans. I work with the Kean
University SBA directly but can work with any of the organizations in New
Jersey such as the Rutger's University SBA. You may even be elligible for
grants. Bob Crawford, Owner www.vsqigifts.com
PS I enrolled in the online International Trade course at Kean.
-----Original Message-----
From: spiers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spiers@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
ALBERT SUNG
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:59 PM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spiers] Loan for commercial real estate
Hi,
I am currently purchasing a retail building and
discover that commercial loan is very expensive: with
25% down, the interest rate on a 25-YEAR mortgage is a
whopping 9.5% versus residential loan of 6-7%!!
Are anybody out there kind enough to tell me any good
commercial loan lender who can give a better rate?
Thank you.
Albert Sung
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Loan for commercial real estate
Hi,
I am currently purchasing a retail building and
discover that commercial loan is very expensive: with
25% down, the interest rate on a 25-YEAR mortgage is a
whopping 9.5% versus residential loan of 6-7%!!
Are anybody out there kind enough to tell me any good
commercial loan lender who can give a better rate?
Thank you.
Albert Sung
U.S. Imported $4.6 Billion in Goods From Argentina in 2005
Re: [spiers] U.S. Imported $4.6 Billion in Goods From Argentina in 2005
Thanks for the suggestion. I think I will try that.
On Mar 15, 2006, at 10:18 AM, John Spiers wrote:
> Why not pound the payment first, since all depends on that? Walk
> into the stores you expect
> to sell your items, you would be pleased to see carrying your
> items, and show them what you
> have. Make no attempt to get any orders, just say "I am thinking
> about importing and selling
> such items to stores such as yours. Would you be buying this kind
> of product from me if I
> started an import company. They will say either yes or no. either
> way, you then know what
> to do. Right now the website and all the other work is pure
> specualtion, and may be of no
> use to you in business.
>
> Go into those stores not trying to sell, but to get info, so people
> are more open...go into the
> stores on say a tuesday morning when things are slow so you are not
> such an imposition ...
> (some argue go on saturday afternoon when they are working a mile a
> minute and they give
> you quick sharp and useful answers...)
>
> John
> On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:47:31 -0800, Edite
>
>> On we go!
>>
>> I am working with suppliers in Argentina to set up my Import company
>> here in the US. I hope I am not too late. I have the products
>> (samples) and suppliers, and I am working on the website catalog
>> which is a lot. I hope to be ready before the Summer to start
>> pounding the pavement.
>>
>> Any ideas, questions, references, suggestions...? All welcome. As my
>> experience is with design advertising and marketing here in the US,
>> but I have "nada" experience in sales. I do speak the language, I
>> grew up in Buenos Aires, and I have connections there. Anybody
>> interested to lend anything, I'll be all ears. My niche is
>> furnishings, rugs, and accessories made of genuine materials. The
>> environment and the local artisans are a big one in my company's
>> philosophy.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Edite
>>
>>
>> On Mar 13, 2006, at 11:41 AM, John Spiers wrote:
>>
>>> Hot off the press from US Census...
>>>
>>> The United States imported goods from Argentina totaling $4.6
>>> billion in
>>> value in 2005. Petroleum products were a big portion of these
>>> imports:
>>> over $1.0 billion was for crude oil; $276 million was for fuel
>>> oil; $768
>>> million was for other petroleum products; and $124 million was for
>>> liquefied petroleum gases.
>>>
>>> On the export side, the U.S. sent $4.1 billion in goods to
>>> Argentina.
>>> Organic chemicals ($408 million) and computer accessories ($348
>>> million)
>>> led the way. You can access information on imports and exports by
>>> end-use
>>> codes for all of our trading partners by coming to the Census
>>> Bureau web
>>> site and clicking on "Foreign Trade." Then click on "End-Use" and
>>> then on
>>> the country of interest. The tables show 2001-2005 data.
>>>
>>> http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/
>>>
>>> John
>>>
>>>
>>> Compete on Design!
>>>
>>> www.johnspiers.com
Re: 1 of those quiet people
Thanks for the inspiration!
John
On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:15:07 GMT, "gdvega@juno.com"
>
> John
> I took your class 2 yrs ago. Since then I have been reading all the e-mail and
responses on
your website and by reading them is just like going to class. You learn more
every day. I'm in
the age group that has seen many summers (70). I was in business for myself as a
owner/
operator hauling furniture all over the country for 21 years. Believe me it was
not easy as that
ment handling all the bills, taxes, expenses, and whatever else was out there.
But it
supported my lifestyle and my family. Now I am unable to pass the physical. But
time has not
stopped for me by a long shot. By taking your class, it has given me an
encentive to start
something else. By reading the e-mail, some people have a dificult time making
that jump
from working for some one else to working for yourself. It has to be planned.
Bills have to be
pd, family to raise, etc. It can be incorperated into your work schedule to
begin with, maybe
working out of your garage or whatever and then go from there. You will have the
satifaction
that at least you tried. As for me, I went into the avaition field making parts
for light aircraft.
Not making any money as of yet, but I am having fun. And I incorperated it into
my present
job. (Night Watchman).
> P. S. In the future as I learned in class, find out if there is a market for
them, if there is,
have someone else build the parts and I sell.
> Thanks for the time.
> Ed V.
>
>
> Trucker
Tell me how come?
Re: [spiers] Tell me how come?
> Anyway, I am curious why people start businesses, rather than why not.
> I'm sure there are all the obvious reasons (hate job, need money). Am I
> the only wacky one that derives the above kind of satisfaction from the
> activity? Since you are in a polling mood, perhaps you could find this
> out, as well.
of course, people start businesses for all the reasons you mentioned, but the
narrower question
of, HOW people start businesses that thrive at supporting a given lifestyle, I
hope I have shed
some light on, and that is the process of experiencing some dissatisfaction in a
field one loves,
and doing something about it. And you all know the steps necessary to do
something about it.
I think the "derives the above kind of satisfaction from the activity" is the
WHY the biz keep
going and thrive, so nothing wacky about it.
sounds to me you are on the right track.
John
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
IBM and patents
Folks,
Y'all know IBM sold their PC biz last year, getting out of microcomputiong
hardware...
Also last year IBM, usa's #1 patent holder, announced royalty free use of
patents...
http://xml.coverpages.org/ni2005-01-13-a.html
this trend started actually in 2002
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-886526.html
Now they are actually opening their doors and letting people inside...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20060314/bs_nf/42091
As far as I can tell the strategy is to get in front of "open source"
movement...
Necessarily, without patent monopoly protection, IBM will have to rely on
superior marketing
to maintain profits and leadership in the market, just as J&J does with Tylenol,
america's #1
medicine, an example contradictng all argument for patent protection.
The IBM thing is very good news if it leads to the regime of intellectual
property rights
atrophying, and a concomitant skill in marketing emerge in usa and in usa
selling to the
world.
John
idea database
Re: [spiers] idea database
Jesse,
A most excellent heads-up! I love both those sites, even the springwise one
better... their article
on small loans "auctioning' shows microloans system is coming to the first
world.
I love an art history class to stimulatte my mind into design ideas... these
websites are like a
ongoing art history class... right now ideas right now.
Of course, we still have to come up with our own, but sites like this may cause
the spurs to dig
deeper...
all economic activity starts with dissatisfaction...
John
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 11:36:10 -0800, Jesse Milden
> I found an interesting site that profiles trends in business and
> products.
> It's full of opportunities and suggestions for new products and
> services.
> Seems like a perfect resource for this list. It's affiliated with
> www.trendwatching.com - which may also be of interest to you.
>
> http://www.springwise.com
>
> Jesse Milden
>
>
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com
idea database
I found an interesting site that profiles trends in business and
products.
It's full of opportunities and suggestions for new products and
services.
Seems like a perfect resource for this list. It's affiliated with
www.trendwatching.com - which may also be of interest to you.
http://www.springwise.com
Jesse Milden
U.S. Imported $4.6 Billion in Goods From Argentina in 2005
Re: [spiers] U.S. Imported $4.6 Billion in Goods From Argentina in 2005
Why not pound the payment first, since all depends on that? Walk into the
stores you expect
to sell your items, you would be pleased to see carrying your items, and show
them what you
have. Make no attempt to get any orders, just say "I am thinking about
importing and selling
such items to stores such as yours. Would you be buying this kind of product
from me if I
started an import company. They will say either yes or no. either way, you
then know what
to do. Right now the website and all the other work is pure specualtion, and
may be of no
use to you in business.
Go into those stores not trying to sell, but to get info, so people are more
open...go into the
stores on say a tuesday morning when things are slow so you are not such an
imposition ...
(some argue go on saturday afternoon when they are working a mile a minute and
they give
you quick sharp and useful answers...)
John
On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:47:31 -0800, Edite
> On we go!
>
> I am working with suppliers in Argentina to set up my Import company
> here in the US. I hope I am not too late. I have the products
> (samples) and suppliers, and I am working on the website catalog
> which is a lot. I hope to be ready before the Summer to start
> pounding the pavement.
>
> Any ideas, questions, references, suggestions...? All welcome. As my
> experience is with design advertising and marketing here in the US,
> but I have "nada" experience in sales. I do speak the language, I
> grew up in Buenos Aires, and I have connections there. Anybody
> interested to lend anything, I'll be all ears. My niche is
> furnishings, rugs, and accessories made of genuine materials. The
> environment and the local artisans are a big one in my company's
> philosophy.
>
> Thanks!
> Edite
>
>
> On Mar 13, 2006, at 11:41 AM, John Spiers wrote:
>
> > Hot off the press from US Census...
> >
> > The United States imported goods from Argentina totaling $4.6
> > billion in
> > value in 2005. Petroleum products were a big portion of these
> > imports:
> > over $1.0 billion was for crude oil; $276 million was for fuel
> > oil; $768
> > million was for other petroleum products; and $124 million was for
> > liquefied petroleum gases.
> >
> > On the export side, the U.S. sent $4.1 billion in goods to Argentina.
> > Organic chemicals ($408 million) and computer accessories ($348
> > million)
> > led the way. You can access information on imports and exports by
> > end-use
> > codes for all of our trading partners by coming to the Census
> > Bureau web
> > site and clicking on "Foreign Trade." Then click on "End-Use" and
> > then on
> > the country of interest. The tables show 2001-2005 data.
> >
> > http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/
> >
> > John
> >
> >
> > Compete on Design!
> >
> > www.johnspiers.com
Manufacturing question
Re: [spiers] Manufacturing question
Anthony,
I'd say you are getting the cart before the horse... first things first...where
are the customers
who said "it is a good idea and does not exist...' First step is to go and try
to BUY your idea at
the retailers you'd expect to sell your product...don't spend a penny until you
are sure there
are buyers... then you can worry about the patents, etc...
Funny thing, this very question came up this morning in my online class, with
nick DannySato
starting off with the question, and our back and forth, which covers the topic,
and I replay
below from the transcripts. Pay special attention to the comment of nick
Anramir at the very
end.
To wit:
DannySato: why do you want to have the designer own the copyrights?
DannySato: why not me owning the design rights?
JSpiers: becasue I believe from practice intellectual property rights to be a
scam, and of no
value...indeed, counterproductive...
JSpiers: I do believe i need a contract with a designer, and the contract is
necessary and
sufficient for all of our rights
DannySato: so, designer can provide same design to my competitors, right?
JSpiers: all i want is the customers, and the relationship with the
customers..
JSpiers: as a practical matter, about the time people are ready to steal my
ideas is about the
time i do not care about the idea andy more, given the laws of diminishing
returns...
JSpiers: if someone else wants to take my idea and lower the price and offer
it to a wider
group of people, then fine by me...
JSpiers: I could not effect the lower price that the other could...
DannySato: For example in pottery, how long does it take for others to copy
your design?
JSpiers: the customers their lower priced design reaches were never my
customers anyway...
JSpiers: why should I care to have intellectual property rights..
JSpiers: on the other hand, should i have IP, then if there is a beef, i get
sued.
DannySato: I am clear now.
JSpiers: If I merely have a design agreement with a designer who has the
copyright, then the
designer, under agancy law, is the one who has to deal with the IP infringement
case, out of
the designers own money.
DannySato: By avoiding lawsuits, we save time, money and headache!
JSpiers: in pottery, it takes what, 24 hours?, to copy someone else design...
JSpiers: and we focus on what we like to do, living our lives...
JSpiers: we lose nothing eschewing IP
DannySato: 24 hours to copy + production + distribution = maybe one year??
JSpiers: the question isn't how long does it take to copy pottery, but 'in
the time it takes to
get knocked off, is there any loss to me?
JSpiers: well,there is the rub, they can knock you off in 24 hours, but to
whom do they
sell...?
JSpiers: the item is new as long as no one has seen it before...
JSpiers: knock off artists are greedy and stupid, so they knock off only the
most obvious
winners,
JSpiers: that you are doing well, relatively, is something that does not
appear for quite a
while....
JSpiers: I think the error here is the assumption that what you have to sell
will be a fantastic
winner, and that everyone will perceive it is a fantastic winner as soon as they
see it.
JSpiers: that never happens in real life.
JSpiers: Nobody ever knows what will sell.
JSpiers: nobody ever knows how things wil work out...
JSpiers: look at all markets, they are all structured on the basis of "nobody
knows'
DannySato: unless i put it on the market, right?
JSpiers: the promotion, the trade shows, the distribution channels, all are
structured,
respond to, assume, nobody knows anything.
JSpiers: if you cover the suppliers minimum production run with orders from
USA, all
anyone knows is you cover the suppliers minimum production run with orders from
USA...
nothing more nothing less... there is absolutely nothing you can extrapolate
from that fact..
JSpiers: for tomorrow all will change, again.
JSpiers: when you go back to get reorders, they will say change the color
speed style
material size flavor..something...
JSpiers: making "you cover the suppliers minimum production run with orders
from USA"
information from yesterday utterly irrelevant today... and we work on frequency,
meaning,
repeat as necessary, based on todays information...
JSpiers: make sense?
DannySato: yep
anramir: thanks again John, you are agreat teacher believe me!
anramir: see you next week
JSpiers: anaramir...thank you
JSpiers: spread that around..
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 04:22:30 -0000, "mgranich"
> Spiers group et al,
>
> I have an idea for a latching device based on an autolocking carabiner
> used for sport climbing and produced in the USA for the French company
> Petzl Charlet. I think I can improve the design of the locking
> mechanism and redesign the whole carabiner so it can be used in many
> different applications. I need the latching device as part of another
> product I'm thinking about importing. My passion is not latches, but
> since I have to design one, I might as well try to make money from it.
>
> I know the Petzl carbiner is manufactured in Utah by Thompson
> Manufacturing. The Petzl locking mechanism is marked "Patented", but
> I'm not worried because my design is different enough not to cause
> problems.
>
> I would like to have some prototypes made just to make sure the design
> will work, although I'm not sure how to have that done. My questions
> are:
>
> Should I approach Thompson Manufacturing with the new design and ask
> them to produce it? I'm afraid if I do, they'll say "Thanks for the
> improvement tips sucker" and I will get nothing. I can't help but
> feel I would be giving the design away.
>
> OR, Should I just search for an overseas manufacturer to produce it?
> Maybe I should patent it then approach Thompson...?
>
> I'm new to the whole process of inovating and importing a product.
> Any tips will be much appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Anthony
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com
Manufacturing question
Re: [spiers] Manufacturing question
Anthony, I wouldn't reccomend that you approach Thompson at all. It's best that
you approach a professional company who specializes in inventor to overseas
manufacturer product development, such as American Ingenuity. I know this
company personally and they have the intelligence and know how as well as
overseas contacts to get your product on the shelves. They specialize in
prototype manufacturing.
http://www.american-ingenuity.com
Ask for Nate and tell them Alan from Modernculture sent you.
Alan Willoughby
mgranich
I have an idea for a latching device based on an autolocking carabiner
used for sport climbing and produced in the USA for the French company
Petzl Charlet. I think I can improve the design of the locking
mechanism and redesign the whole carabiner so it can be used in many
different applications. I need the latching device as part of another
product I'm thinking about importing. My passion is not latches, but
since I have to design one, I might as well try to make money from it.
I know the Petzl carbiner is manufactured in Utah by Thompson
Manufacturing. The Petzl locking mechanism is marked "Patented", but
I'm not worried because my design is different enough not to cause
problems.
I would like to have some prototypes made just to make sure the design
will work, although I'm not sure how to have that done. My questions
are:
Should I approach Thompson Manufacturing with the new design and ask
them to produce it? I'm afraid if I do, they'll say "Thanks for the
improvement tips sucker" and I will get nothing. I can't help but
feel I would be giving the design away.
OR, Should I just search for an overseas manufacturer to produce it?
Maybe I should patent it then approach Thompson...?
I'm new to the whole process of inovating and importing a product.
Any tips will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Anthony
Compete on Design!
www.johnspiers.com
Tell me how come?
Re: [spiers] Tell me how come?
John,
Sounds like you live in a pretty swell neighborhood, not sure when you
have an opportunity to mix with the masses :) Maybe I'll bump into you
in my kayak, sometime.
Your comments about lifestyle resonate with me. As you may remember, I
am following your lead and am working towards building a business. My
original motivation was to switch career and/or build a new income
stream, and try something new, and follow a long-time passion that I
previously had no "tools" with which to realize it. All good
motivation, but I did not have the tools until I met you.
Since working towards these goals, though, I'm finding another
attraction. The colloquial term I believe is being "a player". It is
an ineffable quality of spirit, being part of something both new (cause
I am creating new products) and bigger than myself (cause I am
harnessing the efforts of designers, vendors, and salespeople). It hit
me when I met my designer face to face for the first time after
conversing for months by phone/email. Everyone does it because they are
willing, no money has changed hands, and yet we still strive together,
towards my own personal vision. It's a heady feeling. I hope to make
the money change hands, soon, but that will be up to the customers. If
they decide they don't want my products, then I can honestly say that
it's at least been a fun ride so far.
The leverage opportunities you discuss, resulting from exposure to other
entrepreneurs, is another dimension that I haven't really experienced.
Perhaps it's because I'm still working all this part time. Need to
widen my circle of biz acquaintances, and it's difficult when I spend
most of my day working in someone elses business.
Anyway, I am curious why people start businesses, rather than why not.
I'm sure there are all the obvious reasons (hate job, need money). Am I
the only wacky one that derives the above kind of satisfaction from the
activity? Since you are in a polling mood, perhaps you could find this
out, as well.
Regards, Paul
On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:01, John Spiers wrote:
> Folks,
>
> I received one special request for reply to my "survey," and the
> questyions were good so I
> saved it for a time when I could do the questions justice... here
> goes...
>
>> Hello John,
>> I'm one of your quiet folks who is reading the threads now and
>> again. I took your course
> at San Francisco State University about 2-3 years ago. ...
>>
>> The reason why I took your course to begin with was because I
>> wasn't certain what type of
> business I should get into. I was exploring for ideas. I was at a
> point in my life where I
> wanted change....I didn't want to work for anyone else but myself. I
> wanted to earn income
> without relying and depending on an employer. I didn't want to feel
> vulnerable when layoffs
> were announced. I wanted to take charge of my financial future.
>
> ***First comment: we take a job to pay for a lifestyle. We show up
> for work, support the
> owner's lifestyle, take a paycheck, and then go home and buy with that
> money as much of our
> desired lifestyle as possible. We seem to run out of money before we
> run out of month, we
> work the credit cards, get trapped.
>
> On the other hand, being self-employed, the work IS the lifestyle. The
> calls we make, the
> people we meet, the creative work product all serves us and our
> lifestyle. We keep what net
> profit is natural in whatever industry we enter, the net profit
> remaining after we pay for the
> goods (landed cost) and pay for business overhead, is ours. Part of
> that overhead is even
> paychecks to ourselve. But that business overhead,
> under the advice of a Certified Public Accountant (who defends your
> interests against the
> people in the government who want your money to pursue their private
> interests) that
> business overhead is spent pursuing your lifestyle. Indirectly what
> was paid for through your
> paycheck, part of your house, part of your car, part of you telephone,
> now becomes business
> expense. Those dinners with retailers, suppliers, designers, etc, are
> new expenses, but they
> are your lifestyle.
>
> AS they say in the rag trade, sell to the swells, live with the
> masses. Sell to the masses, live
> with the swells. There is something to this, but in unexpected ways.
> People who serve the
> swells (with new upscale products, our category) tend to live with the
> masses because we are
> busy doing what we do. WE don't really notice where we live. Next,
> there is something in
> being self-employed which slightly changes your outlook, and gives a
> somewhat better
> perspective. You see more, and rubbing shoulders with other
> self-employed people, you are
> having the better parts pointed out all the time.
>
> You might not get rich in the business, but who cares since you are
> living what you would do
> if you were rich. But there is more. They tell me my house is worth
> over $2 million (I know,
> today, big deal, so is yours...) No way I would ever pay that much for
> a house, but I did want
> to live in a particular area of greater Seattle. I moved into that
> district, rented, heard the
> smart people say liquidate the stocks in March 2000, and then sat on
> the money. I watched
> the housing market, low-balled here and there, spotted a house I
> wanted, and waited. The
> housing market reacted in a delayed time frame after the dot.com bust,
> and I picked up the
> house for nothing, before it hit the MLS. After my offer was in, so
> many people got in line
> that realtors stopped taking offers. When the seller, who built the
> house, learned we were
> not going to tear it down, he took our offer, with all of our
> deductions and conditions. And
> since then the prices have gone nuts, more than tripling what we paid.
> No matter to me
> though, I am here to stay. The next time I move there will be a tag on
> my toe.
>
> So here we go again, I am the poorest person in the neighborhood. I
> have a kayak on the
> dock, my neighbors all have yachts, except one, whom they all envy for
> he has a seaplane on
> his dock. On the other hand, I probably have the lowest loan to value
> ratio in the
> neighborhood, in any event, the payments are less than renting, and I
> can handle them no
> matter what. I've always done well in port cities.
>
> But none of this has to do with any particular cleverness on my part.
> The money to do so
> comes from the work, what to do comes from all the others in the field
> you are working with,
> you are working at a better level with people who are working at a
> better level. There is
> leverage there, exponential.
>
>>
>> The reasons why I didn't start a business are the following:
>>
>> 1. I am still trying to discover what my passion is. To tell you
>> the truth, I haven't given
> much thought and time into it because of the demands of my career. I
> enjoy what I do
> (scientist) and love the idea that I am contributing to society by
> developing medicine for
> illnesses, but something is missing...I couldn't quite pinpoint it.
>
> *** Medicine is probably one of the top three fields that is distorted
> by malinvestment theu
> subsidies and
> regulation. The theory is, without a third party payer medicine will
> become too expensive
> and limited. Now that some 80% of medicine is paid for by third
> parties, it is getting too
> expensive and limited. In those medical procedures where there is
> nearly no third party
> payer, such as cosmetic surgery and lasik eye care, the prices are
> falling fast, the quality is
> improving, and options widening. As usual. For the government to get
> out of all medicine
> would be the genesis of a renaissance in medicine in USA. That will
> not happen. In the
> meantime, the distortions create openings you can drive a truck
> through.***
>
>> 2. I am feeling comfortable. I don't want to lose my steady
>> stream of income.
>
> *** Naturement, because it pays for your lifestyle, such as it is.***
>
>> 3. I don't want to "start over" like a newbee in the job market
>> when I have a mortgage to
> pay. I would like to continue to earn higher income each year.
>
> ***Yes, I anticipated this with my earlier comments, but at our level,
> we rather start at the top
> in esteem, if not pay.***
>
>> 4. I am not business savvy. I am a quiet person who continues to
>> strive in improving my
> communication skills.
>> 5. I don't believe I can be aggressive to survive in business. I
>> am a very mellow person
> who is usually passive/assertive.
>> 6. I do not believe I have the personality to involve myself in a
>> cut-throat business
> environment.
>
> ***4, 5 and 6 are facets of the same thing. You cannot know these
> concerns to be true
> before you have started a business. Jane Goodall has NEVER studied
> Chimpanzees in the
> wild. She has studied Chimpanzees who hang out with Jane Goodall. She
> finds them kind,
> creative, generous near-people. Give me a week with those chimpanzees,
> and they'll be
> leaving banana peels all over the place, getting drunk and fighting
> over the clicker. You have
> no idea how you will behave self-employed.
>
> Self-employed is not about sharp dealing, it is about new product.
> Bacteriophages to eat
> anthrax like acidophilus eats dysentery (I am guessing here, you take
> my point) is a
> discussion, not a confrontation. You are talking about
> bacteriophages,and no one cares
> about you. When some small thing is yours, your baby so to speak, you
> may be surprised
> how easy it is to say "no, it will be this way instead." In a very
> mellow, but unshakable way.
>
> Your bacteriophages are something they want to know more about, and
> will work with you,
> just like someone with a new hat, to see where it goes. It's your
> idea, they need new,
> everyone works together.
>
> I think it is a mistake to anticipate what the world will look like
> self-employed, especially if
> you anticipate it is a unwelcoming, mean place.
>
> It all starts with, what needs to be fixed in a field you love.
>
> John
>
>
>>
>> If possible, I would like to receive your thoughts/comments
>> regarding my reasons.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Anne
>>
>> John Spiers
>> Folks,
>>
>> As an avocation I work on why people start businesses, how that
>> works...
>>
>> I assume most people are on a continuum from "still thinking about
>> it" to "it is working very
>> well" and somewhere in between. Everyone on this list, some 800
>> people, either read the
>> book or took the class, or both.
>>
>> Something I've never asked is why people do NOT start businesses...
>> what I'd like to know
> is
>> "if not, why not..." and if you tried, what was the problem that
>> stymied your efforts...?
>>
>> What replies I receive will be used as material for a reply from me
>> on the topic.
>>
>> I'd like as many answers as possible, so even you quiet people on the
>> list would be very
>> welcome by me... don't worry, I won't put your replies on the list...
>> visions of 800 emails
>> coming in may terrify you... I won't allow the replies to post...
>> I'll just read them myself...
> and
>> then reply once with a summary and thoughts.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>> Compete on Design!
>>
>> www.johnspiers.com
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Re: [spiers] How Come People Don�t Start?
Re: [spiers] How Come People Don�t Start?
Hi John,
Maybe you can setup a survey with one of those free online survey sites
so we can answer some multiple choice and also free text questions.
You'll probably get a lot more responses if there are multiple choice
questions and you can also find out some of our demographics.
I admit I was one of the people that didn't reply. Part of the reason
was my initial feeling that I'd spend a lot of time in front of the
computer writing a looooong email response. So, I just put it off.
But, I think a survey would kickstart the feedback (at least for people
like me), and at least you'll get more responses (even if it's just in
the multiple choice sections). Then you can share the results with the
group. I think it would be nice if we all got a feel of how many of us
are in the same boat (or maybe more important, at a different stage)
like: living in certain general region, occupation, still analyzing or
really doing an import business, etc.
There are at least a few free survey sites, although the only one that
comes to mind is the surveymonkey.com site. They also have a page
listing their competitors, which might include some of the free ones.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/Pricing.asp
Or maybe someone else can remind me one of the other ones.
Thanks,
Victor
--- John Spiers
> How Come People Don�t Start?
>
> References:
> In-Reply-To:
> X-Mailer: Web Mail - http://www.cybercon.com
> X-IPAddress: 24.16.46.42
> X-Sender: john@johnspiers.com
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
>
> Folks,
>
> Out of some 800 people on this list, about 8 replied to my request
> for info on �how come
> people do not start businesses. This of course causes me to wonder
> just how big this list is.
> About a year ago I was able to cleaqr out any dead emails, etc, thru
> yahoo technology, and we
> went from about 1100 to 700, all clean live active emails. We�ve
> added about 100 since then.
> I keep no demographics, so I truly have no idea who I am talking to,
> except everyone either
> read the book or took the class or both.
>
> On to the reasons:
>
> #1. Busy doing what one is doing... so no time to take on more.
>
> #2. Haven�t figured out the thing yet... waiting to come across
> right idea.
>
> Then there were assorted reasons..
>
> ***
>
> You convinced me int�l trade was not for me. (well I like that!)
>
> Problems with the process, timing, etc...
>
> Cannot take any risks....
>
> paralysis by analysis...
>
> I love the deal, not the product...I seek out bargains... (so my
> arguments are irrlevent to his
> program.)
>
> Lack of confidence...
>
> ***
>
> So I am not sure I have learned much with the question, since I am
> not surprised that the
> common thread is people are busy doing what they are doing. 25 years
> ago I took a course
> on building a log cabin, and left convinced I�d build one
eventually,
> I left knowing I could.
> Still haven�t gotten around to it yet.
>
> Although that log cabin class was an inspiration for my classes, in
> the way that I try to
> structure the class so everyone leaves knowing they could start a
> business.
>
>
> Not every business idea is viable, hence my emphasis on testing the
> idea with custoemrs first.
> On the other hand, when I hear of insurmountable problems on what
> seems a good idea, I
> wonder if it is just a lack of passion for that particular idea, and
> if the person ought to be
> pursuing something more fascinating to the person.
>
> As to not upsetting the apple cart, avoiding risks, well, it seems to
> me just as it is easier to
> find a job when you are employed....I think it is easier to start a
> biz when you are employed.
> Maybe the problem is people think in terms of having to replace one
> with the other, when
> starting out one�s ambitions, or circumstances may only allow say a
> couple fo $5000
> importations in a year, very slowly building something good.
>
> There may be another use to all of this, and that is somethiing
> called cultural capital. I see
> USA fast losing its knowledge of how to start businesses. After 70
> years under the Soviets, it
> is gone in Russia, as an extreme case. Just as information gained in
> say a college geometry
> course may come in handy only once or twice in most graduates�
lives,
> say saving some
> homeowner time and grief as he figures out spaces in a home
> remodel... so having small biz
> fundamentals preserved may come in handy at a time and place, or even
> if only to caution
> some young person about to embark on a business. Cultural capital.
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com
Iran Invasion?
Re: [spiers] Iran Invasion?
I suspect this is nonsense. I checked out that blog. The entry was
provided by Charles H. Featherstone. As a D.C. based journalist, he
should know that the Iranian Embassy is on Wisconsin, not
Massachusetts Ave. If he didn't know, he could certainly have
checked just by driving by. No wonder people are so uninformed about
current events. They don't bother to check facts before posting
anything that appears in their inbox that they are inclined to agree with.
At 01:53 PM 3/13/2006, you wrote:
>Folks,
>
>This just came in at a blog I read...
>
>***Yesterday, I just happened to walk by the Iranian embassy on Mass
>Ave. -- that I've never
>noticed before -- its overgrown and a tree had fallen in front of
>it. Seeing the Islamic mosaics
>that cover the front -- actually it looks like an Islamic fortress
>of solitude with a huge
>mosque in back -- I just walked around the building (there were no
>gates, no private
>property signs, no No Trespassing). Soon I was confronted by a US
>Dept. of State guy who
>was overseeing the tree removal, and what appeared to be
>refurbishment. They were getting
>the drive-way all spic and span after no one had bothered to touch
>it in 30 years. The guy
>told me, this was private property. I asked what embassy this was,
>"it's the embassy of Iran." I
>was curious because there was no moniker or identification anywhere,
>i said. "Well, we
>haven't had diplomatic relations for 30 years," he said. I told him
>thanks for the history
>lesson, and asked why he was here. "Please vacate the premises," was
>his response.
>
>They [the State Dept] did the same thing at the Iraqi embassy a
>month before the invasion...
>I'm not saying an invasion is imminent, but its just weird that
>they're there -- makes the
>imagination run...***
>
>Do we have anyone in DC who might nose around the Iranian Embassy
>compound... provide a
>report?
>
>John
>
>
>
>
>Compete on Design!
>
>www.johnspiers.com
>
Re: [spiers] How Come People Don't Start?
Hi to all, first time respondant!
I started my very small import business shortly after taking John's class as
well as several other how to start your own business classes. I took the
classes after being laid off from the electronics industry (finance).
I import dance costumes from Egypt. The dance has been a part of my life for
over 30 years. I certainly like the product I sell, and that's important.
Elaine Arneson
Manufacturing question
Spiers group et al,
I have an idea for a latching device based on an autolocking carabiner
used for sport climbing and produced in the USA for the French company
Petzl Charlet. I think I can improve the design of the locking
mechanism and redesign the whole carabiner so it can be used in many
different applications. I need the latching device as part of another
product I'm thinking about importing. My passion is not latches, but
since I have to design one, I might as well try to make money from it.
I know the Petzl carbiner is manufactured in Utah by Thompson
Manufacturing. The Petzl locking mechanism is marked "Patented", but
I'm not worried because my design is different enough not to cause
problems.
I would like to have some prototypes made just to make sure the design
will work, although I'm not sure how to have that done. My questions
are:
Should I approach Thompson Manufacturing with the new design and ask
them to produce it? I'm afraid if I do, they'll say "Thanks for the
improvement tips sucker" and I will get nothing. I can't help but
feel I would be giving the design away.
OR, Should I just search for an overseas manufacturer to produce it?
Maybe I should patent it then approach Thompson...?
I'm new to the whole process of inovating and importing a product.
Any tips will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Anthony
Business insurance
Hi John,
Question for you-- I manufacture a line of baby clothing, and am doing a
trade show in May (JPMA for Juvenile products in Orlando FL) that requires
general
liablity insurance for the show... so this got me thinking should I have
business insurance? I am worried that if something happens to a baby wearing one
of my rompers then I could get sued..... ?? All my products are safe and "not
intended for sleepwear". Any insurance companies you'd recommend?
Thanks for your input! -- Mary Morrison
Monday, March 13, 2006
Iran Invasion?
Folks,
This just came in at a blog I read...
***Yesterday, I just happened to walk by the Iranian embassy on Mass Ave. --
that I've never
noticed before -- its overgrown and a tree had fallen in front of it. Seeing the
Islamic mosaics
that cover the front -- actually it looks like an Islamic fortress of solitude
with a huge
mosque in back -- I just walked around the building (there were no gates, no
private
property signs, no No Trespassing). Soon I was confronted by a US Dept. of State
guy who
was overseeing the tree removal, and what appeared to be refurbishment. They
were getting
the drive-way all spic and span after no one had bothered to touch it in 30
years. The guy
told me, this was private property. I asked what embassy this was, "it's the
embassy of Iran." I
was curious because there was no moniker or identification anywhere, i said.
"Well, we
haven't had diplomatic relations for 30 years," he said. I told him thanks for
the history
lesson, and asked why he was here. "Please vacate the premises," was his
response.
They [the State Dept] did the same thing at the Iraqi embassy a month before the
invasion...
I'm not saying an invasion is imminent, but its just weird that they're there --
makes the
imagination run...***
Do we have anyone in DC who might nose around the Iranian Embassy compound...
provide a
report?
John
U.S. Imported $4.6 Billion in Goods From Argentina in 2005
Re: [spiers] U.S. Imported $4.6 Billion in Goods From Argentina in 2005
On we go!
I am working with suppliers in Argentina to set up my Import company
here in the US. I hope I am not too late. I have the products
(samples) and suppliers, and I am working on the website catalog
which is a lot. I hope to be ready before the Summer to start
pounding the pavement.
Any ideas, questions, references, suggestions...? All welcome. As my
experience is with design advertising and marketing here in the US,
but I have "nada" experience in sales. I do speak the language, I
grew up in Buenos Aires, and I have connections there. Anybody
interested to lend anything, I'll be all ears. My niche is
furnishings, rugs, and accessories made of genuine materials. The
environment and the local artisans are a big one in my company's
philosophy.
Thanks!
Edite
On Mar 13, 2006, at 11:41 AM, John Spiers wrote:
> Hot off the press from US Census...
>
> The United States imported goods from Argentina totaling $4.6
> billion in
> value in 2005. Petroleum products were a big portion of these
> imports:
> over $1.0 billion was for crude oil; $276 million was for fuel
> oil; $768
> million was for other petroleum products; and $124 million was for
> liquefied petroleum gases.
>
> On the export side, the U.S. sent $4.1 billion in goods to Argentina.
> Organic chemicals ($408 million) and computer accessories ($348
> million)
> led the way. You can access information on imports and exports by
> end-use
> codes for all of our trading partners by coming to the Census
> Bureau web
> site and clicking on "Foreign Trade." Then click on "End-Use" and
> then on
> the country of interest. The tables show 2001-2005 data.
>
> http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/
>
> John
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com
Mad Cow and Beef Exports
Re: [spiers] Mad Cow and Beef Exports
Google this, you will find it is illegal to test all cows in USA, and illegal to
test cows and
announce your meat is "mad cow free" since it is unfair competition.
One US meat company tried to do just that, test all meat to meet the demands of
their
Japanese customers, and they were prosecuted by the feds... as Nixon's Ag Sec
said 'get big
or get out" meaning the federal government intends, as a stated policy, to wreck
all small
farmers. it is working...
Here is a plea from a small farmer related to all this...
Topic of the Freedom21 Conference...
Storm against NAIS
By Walter Jeffries
March 1, 2006
Wednesday, February 22nd was Washington's real birthday. In honor
of General
George Washington, who became the first President of our brand new liberated
nation, I urge
you to contact your local radio stations, as well as national radio station
personalities, to let
them know the danger that the USDA's National Animal Identification System
(NAIS) poses to
our liberties. Let them know that you want them to address the issue of why is
the
government stealing away our rights with programs like NAIS, PAWS, REAL ID and
the Patriot
Act.
Are you familiar with NAIS? Let me give you a little background.
The USDA wants to
register the GPS coordinates, name, address, phone, and other data on every
farm, home, and
other location that has even has a single animal, with a government Premise ID.
For this
privilege of mandatory registration, you will pay a fee of $10 or more, per
year. Next, they
intend to tag every single one of your animals with a RFID, or other tag. This
will be
mandatory. In addition to paying an annual fee and paying for tags for all of
your animals,
you would also be required to log, track, and report all "events," such as the
birth of an
animal, death of an animal, animals leaving, or entering your property. All
reports must be
made within 24 hours, or you could face stiff fines. Do not expect them to keep
your private
information secure. In a little "Oops," the USDA just released the social
security numbers of
350,000 farmers.
Big producers, like factory farms, get to use a single batch ID for
tens of thousands
of animals,to keep their costs down. For them, NAIS is a minor bookkeeping entry
that gives
them big profits in the export markets to Japan and other countries. Small
farmers and
homesteaders, with their mixed-age flocks and herds, would be required to tag
and track
every single individual animal. NAIS is great for big corporate producers, and
hellish for small
farmers and homesteaders. The cost of NAIS in fees, tags, equipment costs, and
time will
bankrupt small farmers, and overwhelm people who raise their own food animals.
In the end,
the consumer will pay - NAIS could add almost a thousand dollars a year to the
annual food
budget for the typical family of four. By destroying small producers, NAIS will
kill the Slow
Food and the Buy Local movements, as local farmers are driven out of business.
NAIS is already mandatory in some states, starting this year,
including Texas and
Wisconsin. In other states, like Vermont, the agricultural commissioner and
state vet have
said they will tag and track every animal, right down to the back yard level.
This means
everyone, even Granny with her one laying hen, is going to have to get a $10 per
year
premise ID, a RFID tag for her chicken, and make government reports on its
movements.
Texas has implemented a $1,000 per incident per day, fine for non-compliance.
What small
farmer or homesteader can stand up to that kind of fire power?
NAIS also requires tagging and tracking of pets and guardian
animals, including
alpaca and horses. It may later likely be extended to cats and dogs, although
that has not yet
been announced. It is allowed for in the draft proposal, through extensions of
the program.
In New York state, they already have a bill in the legislature requiring that
all dogs be
internally tagged with RFID chips for tracking purposes.
USDA agents can come to your home, and kill all of your livestock,
without a warrant
or any legal appeal under NAIS. Once you are registered into the mandatory NAIS
system, you
effectively lose your rights to your own livestock. You become a serf for the
state, worse than
in Communist Russia. If you do not believe me, then please go to the USDA web
site, and
read the draft proposal for NAIS, which is already being implemented in stages,
without
public feedback or scrutiny. Check out the timeline - we all must start fighting
it now, before
it is too late. Together, we can stop this fascist move to take away our
property and
livelihoods. We can still protect our traditional rights to farm, if we act now.
Is NAIS legal? No, not under our Constitution - but that does not
stop the
government from implementing bad laws and regulations, and then enforcing them.
NAIS
specifically violates the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments and the Bill of
Rights. The USDA
has been very hush-hush about NAIS, because they know that if people really
understood
how far reaching it is, what an outrageous violation of our Constitutional
rights NAIS is, then
people would stop NAIS dead. The USDA has been asking for feedback, but only
from the
large "stakeholders" as they call them. Small farmers don't count. Homesteaders
don't matter.
Pet owners were completely ignored, because none of these groups profit from
NAIS.
How could this happen? NAIS was enabled under the Patriot Act.
Killing the Patriot
Act now, will not be enough. Individual states have already enacted NAzIS laws.
The
Republicans and Democrats are both in on creating the Patriot Act and NAIS, in
the wake of
the terrorism scare of 9/11. Using this theater of fear, large corporations
jumped at the
chance to implement NAIS.
Why would anyone want NAIS? In a word, "profits." Remember, always
follow the
money trail. Large meat exporters are required to provide trace-back
documentation for their
cattle for export to foreign markets, like Japan. Agreements with the European
Union are
asking for similar tagging and tracking. The big meat packers announced they did
not want
to deal with two streams of animals, those that were tagged and those that were
not, so they
expanded NAIS to cover all cattle. The RFID tag and equipment industry got
excited about
this tremendous market. In their greed, they wanted NAIS extended to all
livestock that might
enter the food chain. Then, it was extended to non-traditional food animals,
including horses
and guardian animals.
To justify this, they now claim that the purpose of NAIS is to
prevent disease. It is
not. They use Mad Cow (BSE) and Avian Flu (H5N1) scares to justify a program
that is about
profits. NAIS will not prevent, or stop disease. BSE is caused by cows eating
cows, and it
sometimes occurs randomly, when a protein misfolds, so traceback won't help with
BSE.
Testing at slaughter and stopping the practice of feeding cows back to cows are
the things
that will help prevent Mad Cow Disease. Avian Flu comes from wild ducks and
other wild
water fowl. NAIS will do nothing for either. Confinement rearing also will not
help with Avian
Flu - several factory chicken farms have been hit by it.
Now, there is even a push to extend chipping to pets and even
humans, both as an
implant for "medical records," and as part of the national REAL ID program, so
the
government can better track all people within the United States.
NAIS is about profits for large meat exporters. NAIS is not about
disease, and has
nothing to do with food safety for the American consumer. NAIS will hurt small
farmers,
homesteaders, and pet owners with excessive fees, invasions of privacy, threats
of enormous
fines, and onerous paperwork. It is a clear violation of our Constitutional
rights. NAIS will also
hurt consumers, even vegetarians, because animal manures are used to grow
vegetables
organically. NAIS will result in the consolidation of our food supply into the
hands of fewer
large corporations, thus making our national food chain more susceptible to
attacks by
terrorist organizations. The best way to prevent terrorist attacks is diversity,
and to spread
out the food supply. Buy Local! NAIS could even cause the national housing
bubble to
collapse, as small farmers go bankrupt and their prime developable lands get
chopped up
into subdivisions by developers. The damaging effects of NAIS could ripple
through our
fragile economy, driving us into another great depression, as people who supply
farmers are
put out of work, and they stop buying.
What is the solution? NAIS should be made strictly voluntary, and
the rights of
consumers, small farmers, livestock owners, homesteaders, and pet owners should
be
protected from future abuses. If NAIS is such a good idea, then the sellers who
would benefit
from the export markets and other venues requiring traceability will get higher
prices, so they
will voluntarily join the system. There is no need to force it down everyone's
throat, if it is
such a good idea. The very fact that the USDA is planning to make NAIS
mandatory, proves
what a bad idea it really is. Better the carrot, than the stick.
For more information about NAIS, check out the FAQ's at the top of
the left hand
sidebar, and the various additional resources in the right sidebar on the
NoNAIS.org web site.
Speak now, while you still have the right. Let your voice be heard
across the land.
Start today by contacting your local talk show radio hosts and stations.
"As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression.
In both instances,
there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And, it is in
such twilight
that we all must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become
unwitting
victims of the darkness."
Justice William O. Douglas,
U.S. Supreme Court (1939-75)
On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 04:22:42 -0000, "mgranich"
> Why doesn't the beef industry test every cow for mad cow disease, vs
> just the down cows or the cows that "look funny"? I don't eat much
> beef, but when I do, I would pay extra for "tested safe" beef. If you
> are a cattleman, why would you object to testing every cow? Cost? It
> must be costing a rancher big if he can't export beef, or his
> customers choose chicken or pork for safety reasons.
>
> I read today that the US is trying to have Japan and South Korea
> reopen thier markets for US Beef. Wouldn't testing every cow be
> reassuring to those countries and others interested in importing
> beef? In the mean time, Australia is cashing in with record beef
> exports to Japan.
>
> Anthony
>
>
>
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com
Business site
Re: [spiers] Business site
Hong Kong was a colony for so long, and entrpot for china, that it developed the
HKTDC etc,
to serve the function that a commercial attache might. So these orgs are
something of an
historical anomoly, and being relatively private-industry based, they are all
the more
effective. The are not heavy on trade leads, but very heavy on market
intelligence. I like
wortking with them best when sourcing products leads me to China/Hong Kong...
John
On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:21:56 -0800 (PST), M A Granich
:
> These two sites were mentioned in an earlier post:
> hktdc.com and tdctrade.com.
>
> Are these also people/leads with no production
> capacity?
>
> Anthony
Mad Cow and Beef Exports
Why doesn't the beef industry test every cow for mad cow disease, vs
just the down cows or the cows that "look funny"? I don't eat much
beef, but when I do, I would pay extra for "tested safe" beef. If you
are a cattleman, why would you object to testing every cow? Cost? It
must be costing a rancher big if he can't export beef, or his
customers choose chicken or pork for safety reasons.
I read today that the US is trying to have Japan and South Korea
reopen thier markets for US Beef. Wouldn't testing every cow be
reassuring to those countries and others interested in importing
beef? In the mean time, Australia is cashing in with record beef
exports to Japan.
Anthony
Business site
Re: [spiers] Business site
These two sites were mentioned in an earlier post:
hktdc.com and tdctrade.com.
Are these also people/leads with no production
capacity?
Anthony
--- John Spiers
> I have a antipathy to trade lead websites, which I
> developed way back when trade leads lists
> were compiled by US Commercial attaches world wide
> and published and republished in
> various places.
>
> They tend to be people with no production capacity
> talking to people with no customers, and
> vice versa.
>
> The first rate companies, the ones we want to do
> business with, tend to avoid the trade lead
> lists since it just brings in the wrong crowd, and
> ties up valuable managerial time on people
> who are not going to do any business anyway.
>
> On the other hand, the research means I lay out
> takes you straight to the first rate
> companies, who in turn require you do first rate
> work if you wish to proceed with the first
> rate. Of course, your new items are first rate,
> since they were designed in conjunction with
> first rate retailers.
>
> The world is a village, each market segment of each
> industry is a club where everyone knows
> everyone. Your initiation fee is to answer question
> #1, "what is new?" This is normally,
> usually something marginal. Your dues are to keep
> coming up with new.
>
> Part of your job is to track down the best place in
> the world... Alibaba cannot be the means,
> given its proposition.
>
> John
>
>
>
> On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:15:19 -0700, "Ronald Cabrera"
>
> wrote :
>
> > Has anyone had any success business using
> www.alibaba.com ? What is this
> > site about?
> >
> > Ronald Cabrera
> > Email: roncabrera@comcast.net
> > Phone Number: 786 279-3601
> > Cell Number: 305 345-1440
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Compete on Design!
> >
> > www.johnspiers.com
Re: Digest Number 476
Re: [spiers] Digest Number 476 Diesel vs Gasoline
The highest mileage, non-hybred cars are the German VW
diesels(Golf, Jetta, and Passat). The diesel 2 stroke
cycle is more efficient than the "Otto" 4 stroke
cycle. I've also read that in Europe, where gas is
3x more expensive than in the US, 40% of all new cars
sold are diesel. Big-rigs use diesel engines because
of the fuel economy, power, and reliability.
Yes, they are dirty. But I'm hopefull there is a
technological answer to that problem.
Anthony
--- Ben Sinks
> >>You can change the
> engine to a much more efficient diesel <<
>
>
> I'm not a mechanic, but I've been told that diesel
> engines do not have higher gas milage than gasonline
> engines; in fact (I've been told) they have less
> milage than gas. And, they are less invironment
> friendly as well. They are only good for heavy
> vehicles that need the power - like big-rigs or fire
> trucks.
U.S. Imported $4.6 Billion in Goods From Argentina in 2005
Hot off the press from US Census...
The United States imported goods from Argentina totaling $4.6 billion in
value in 2005. Petroleum products were a big portion of these imports:
over $1.0 billion was for crude oil; $276 million was for fuel oil; $768
million was for other petroleum products; and $124 million was for
liquefied petroleum gases.
On the export side, the U.S. sent $4.1 billion in goods to Argentina.
Organic chemicals ($408 million) and computer accessories ($348 million)
led the way. You can access information on imports and exports by end-use
codes for all of our trading partners by coming to the Census Bureau web
site and clicking on "Foreign Trade." Then click on "End-Use" and then on
the country of interest. The tables show 2001-2005 data.
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/
John
Tell me how come?
Re: [spiers] Tell me how come?
Folks,
I received one special request for reply to my "survey," and the questyions were
good so I
saved it for a time when I could do the questions justice... here goes...
> Hello John,
> I'm one of your quiet folks who is reading the threads now and again. I
took your course
at San Francisco State University about 2-3 years ago. ...
>
> The reason why I took your course to begin with was because I wasn't certain
what type of
business I should get into. I was exploring for ideas. I was at a point in my
life where I
wanted change....I didn't want to work for anyone else but myself. I wanted to
earn income
without relying and depending on an employer. I didn't want to feel vulnerable
when layoffs
were announced. I wanted to take charge of my financial future.
***First comment: we take a job to pay for a lifestyle. We show up for work,
support the
owner's lifestyle, take a paycheck, and then go home and buy with that money as
much of our
desired lifestyle as possible. We seem to run out of money before we run out of
month, we
work the credit cards, get trapped.
On the other hand, being self-employed, the work IS the lifestyle. The calls we
make, the
people we meet, the creative work product all serves us and our lifestyle. We
keep what net
profit is natural in whatever industry we enter, the net profit remaining after
we pay for the
goods (landed cost) and pay for business overhead, is ours. Part of that
overhead is even
paychecks to ourselve. But that business overhead,
under the advice of a Certified Public Accountant (who defends your interests
against the
people in the government who want your money to pursue their private interests)
that
business overhead is spent pursuing your lifestyle. Indirectly what was paid
for through your
paycheck, part of your house, part of your car, part of you telephone, now
becomes business
expense. Those dinners with retailers, suppliers, designers, etc, are new
expenses, but they
are your lifestyle.
AS they say in the rag trade, sell to the swells, live with the masses. Sell to
the masses, live
with the swells. There is something to this, but in unexpected ways. People
who serve the
swells (with new upscale products, our category) tend to live with the masses
because we are
busy doing what we do. WE don't really notice where we live. Next, there is
something in
being self-employed which slightly changes your outlook, and gives a somewhat
better
perspective. You see more, and rubbing shoulders with other self-employed
people, you are
having the better parts pointed out all the time.
You might not get rich in the business, but who cares since you are living what
you would do
if you were rich. But there is more. They tell me my house is worth over $2
million (I know,
today, big deal, so is yours...) No way I would ever pay that much for a house,
but I did want
to live in a particular area of greater Seattle. I moved into that district,
rented, heard the
smart people say liquidate the stocks in March 2000, and then sat on the money.
I watched
the housing market, low-balled here and there, spotted a house I wanted, and
waited. The
housing market reacted in a delayed time frame after the dot.com bust, and I
picked up the
house for nothing, before it hit the MLS. After my offer was in, so many people
got in line
that realtors stopped taking offers. When the seller, who built the house,
learned we were
not going to tear it down, he took our offer, with all of our deductions and
conditions. And
since then the prices have gone nuts, more than tripling what we paid. No
matter to me
though, I am here to stay. The next time I move there will be a tag on my toe.
So here we go again, I am the poorest person in the neighborhood. I have a
kayak on the
dock, my neighbors all have yachts, except one, whom they all envy for he has a
seaplane on
his dock. On the other hand, I probably have the lowest loan to value ratio in
the
neighborhood, in any event, the payments are less than renting, and I can handle
them no
matter what. I've always done well in port cities.
But none of this has to do with any particular cleverness on my part. The money
to do so
comes from the work, what to do comes from all the others in the field you are
working with,
you are working at a better level with people who are working at a better level.
There is
leverage there, exponential.
>
> The reasons why I didn't start a business are the following:
>
> 1. I am still trying to discover what my passion is. To tell you the
truth, I haven't given
much thought and time into it because of the demands of my career. I enjoy what
I do
(scientist) and love the idea that I am contributing to society by developing
medicine for
illnesses, but something is missing...I couldn't quite pinpoint it.
*** Medicine is probably one of the top three fields that is distorted by
malinvestment theu
subsidies and
regulation. The theory is, without a third party payer medicine will become too
expensive
and limited. Now that some 80% of medicine is paid for by third parties, it is
getting too
expensive and limited. In those medical procedures where there is nearly no
third party
payer, such as cosmetic surgery and lasik eye care, the prices are falling fast,
the quality is
improving, and options widening. As usual. For the government to get out of
all medicine
would be the genesis of a renaissance in medicine in USA. That will not happen.
In the
meantime, the distortions create openings you can drive a truck through.***
> 2. I am feeling comfortable. I don't want to lose my steady stream of
income.
*** Naturement, because it pays for your lifestyle, such as it is.***
> 3. I don't want to "start over" like a newbee in the job market when I have
a mortgage to
pay. I would like to continue to earn higher income each year.
***Yes, I anticipated this with my earlier comments, but at our level, we rather
start at the top
in esteem, if not pay.***
> 4. I am not business savvy. I am a quiet person who continues to strive in
improving my
communication skills.
> 5. I don't believe I can be aggressive to survive in business. I am a very
mellow person
who is usually passive/assertive.
> 6. I do not believe I have the personality to involve myself in a
cut-throat business
environment.
***4, 5 and 6 are facets of the same thing. You cannot know these concerns to
be true
before you have started a business. Jane Goodall has NEVER studied Chimpanzees
in the
wild. She has studied Chimpanzees who hang out with Jane Goodall. She finds
them kind,
creative, generous near-people. Give me a week with those chimpanzees, and
they'll be
leaving banana peels all over the place, getting drunk and fighting over the
clicker. You have
no idea how you will behave self-employed.
Self-employed is not about sharp dealing, it is about new product.
Bacteriophages to eat
anthrax like acidophilus eats dysentery (I am guessing here, you take my point)
is a
discussion, not a confrontation. You are talking about bacteriophages,and no
one cares
about you. When some small thing is yours, your baby so to speak, you may be
surprised
how easy it is to say "no, it will be this way instead." In a very mellow, but
unshakable way.
Your bacteriophages are something they want to know more about, and will work
with you,
just like someone with a new hat, to see where it goes. It's your idea, they
need new,
everyone works together.
I think it is a mistake to anticipate what the world will look like
self-employed, especially if
you anticipate it is a unwelcoming, mean place.
It all starts with, what needs to be fixed in a field you love.
John
>
> If possible, I would like to receive your thoughts/comments regarding my
reasons.
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
>
> John Spiers
> Folks,
>
> As an avocation I work on why people start businesses, how that works...
>
> I assume most people are on a continuum from "still thinking about it" to "it
is working very
> well" and somewhere in between. Everyone on this list, some 800 people,
either read the
> book or took the class, or both.
>
> Something I've never asked is why people do NOT start businesses... what I'd
like to know
is
> "if not, why not..." and if you tried, what was the problem that stymied your
efforts...?
>
> What replies I receive will be used as material for a reply from me on the
topic.
>
> I'd like as many answers as possible, so even you quiet people on the list
would be very
> welcome by me... don't worry, I won't put your replies on the list... visions
of 800 emails
> coming in may terrify you... I won't allow the replies to post... I'll just
read them myself...
and
> then reply once with a summary and thoughts.
>
> Thanks!
>
> John
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com