Great old school video below of Steve Jobs rocking a solid beard and dishing some sound advice.
Jobs discusses how he called Bill Hewlett (co-founder of HP) at age 12, landing a summer job.
The Power of Asking: Steve Jobs
December 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Entrepreneur’s Favorite Books
November 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you are looking for books this Black Friday to buy for yourself or friends, take a look at this article from the Wall Street Journal.
Wall Street Journal Article located HERE
It lists the specific books which successful business men and CEOs used to help improve their entreprise, and the aspects of the book’s particular significance.
I have listed some of my favorite books HERE.
Baking Billions: Ron Shaich Interview
January 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
There is an excellent recent Wall Street Journal article interviewing Ron Shaich, co-founder of Au Bon Pain and Panera Bread Co.
Despite the whole carb conscious world, the chain with the word “Bread” in it is doing pretty well. Panera Bread has revenue of $1.3 Billion, and Business Week also listed it in its list of Hot Growth Companies.
In the interview, Ron discusses the ways he financed his first store, and most importantly how he specifically noticed opportunity various times.
Shaich’s advice to entrepreneurs:
“It’s not about starting a business. It’s about solving problems. That’s what being an entrepreneur is. Find a problem that there’s a better way to solve. Get a vision of how it could work better, and stick with it.”
Ron Shaich Interview located HERE.
Similar to my earlier post on franchises, Panera can be franchised (yet at a hefty sum) for anyone fitting the criteria of “Net worth of $7.5 million / Liquid assets of $3 million”
Fastest Growing Companies of 2009 by Fortune and CNBC
December 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
To anyone who has not already seen it, this is a fantastic episode below hosted by CNBC and Fortune Magazine. Interviews are conducted with CEO’s from some of the fastest growing companies of 2009.
It is a top ten list, David Letterman style. A wide spectrum of businesses is covered including fashion, food, oil and asset management.
Companies profiled, and CEO’s interviewed are with:
-Black Rock (3 trillion under management, bigger than the Federal Reserve)
-Personal favorite Chipotle! (1.3 billion in sales from burritos)
-UGG Boots (hear how they kept the integrity of the brand)
-Oil giant Arena Resources (very detailed description of their business, and all the domestic oil we actually have! )
Most interesting is to hear about McDonald’s blooming partnership with Chipotle which was cut fast, after an apparent exploitation of the franchise. Also note Chipotle CEO Steve Ells started the business with an 85k loan from his father, and states attention to detail as one reason for his success.
Also make sure to check out the interview with Black Rock president Robert S. Kapito, towards the end of the program.
Not surprisingly a tech company was the #1 fastest growing company. But you will just have to watch the video to see who it is. A hint: it is a Canadian company.
