BusinessMakers Articles

The Overtime Show Business Scavenger Hunt!

Author: Katie Laird, Esther Steinfeld | Date: July 29, 2010

2010 Rice Business Plan Competition Elevator Pitches

Author: | Date: April 24, 2010

Listen to all 43 Elevator Pitches from the 2010 Rice Business Plan Competition. 

An Unnecessary Distraction?

Author: Karen Stearns | Date: April 21, 2010

Our world and our economy are in turmoil. Is this really the best time to bring together college students for a young entrepreneurs contest? Well, actually... 

Is Your Ego Overshadowing the Growth of Your Business?

Author: Esther Steinfield | Date: October 14, 2009

Every manager wants to have engaged, committed employees, but how do you get there? Employee empowerment is a term used to describe ways that non-managerial employees can make autonomous decisions. Find out why the traditional view of empowerment is all wrong. 

The Perfect Companions when Working at Home

Author: John Whiteside | Date: October 08, 2009

If you are having trouble with adjusting to the less than social interactions of a work at home job, as compared to the traditional office jobs, some times the simplest solution might be right in your lap. John Whiteside explains how you can more the social interaction from the "water cooler" right into your own home. 

10 Ways To Make More Money Than You Spend

Author: Gaurav Khandelwal | Date: October 03, 2009

Gaurav Khandelwal CEO of ChaiONE started his business at 24. Here he talks about recognizing opportunities and some of the basics of bootstrapping your business. 

He’s a “Weird Cat”

Author: Karen Stearns | Date: May 14, 2009

That’s what Jason Pontin laughingly calls himself. Pontin, editor and publisher of M.I.T.’s Technology Review magazine, was Russ Capper’s featured guest on The Businessmakers Show this past weekend. Obviously, he has a sense of humor, but he’s also brilliant and he is brutally honest. 

Why Downsizing is a Good Thing

Author: Don Minnick | Date: April 24, 2009

In the boom years of the mid-20th century American organizations grew with the assumption that bigger was better. The United States became home to some of the largest corporations in the world. At the time, these companies faced little or no competition from foreign firms or even from smaller American companies. There were ready markets for any goods or services that could be produced. 

Thoughts From The Rice Alliance Business Plan Competition

Author: Karen Stearns | Date: April 19, 2009

The Rice competition is the largest intercollegiate business plan competition in the world, this year hosting 42 teams of collegiate competitors who each have developed a product worthy of prize money—more than $800,000—to finance future development and/or research. Any one of these products could change the world. Think I’m exaggerating? 

2 Survival Instincts That Protect Your Job in Tough Times

Author: Don Minnick | Date: April 14, 2009

When asked who the go to people are managers will usually rattle off two or three employees who they depend on the most. In tough times companies build their organizations around these people. Find out what makes them different and how you can take advantage of those characteristics.