Russ: Good morning, this is The BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com and this is that show about the business makers, the ones that make it happen.

John: And not only make it happen, they actually create wealth, create jobs, create innovation, all the good things you wanna have going on in your economy and country. The entrepreneurs are responsible for most of it.

Russ: Absolutely.

John: Yeah.

Russ: Alright now, before we get into today's show, I wanna tell you about a cool communications platform that we're using here at The BusinessMakers and it's PDQ Meetings. It's a high-quality, multi-person, meeting platform that offers us the ability to sit down wherever we are across the globe and look face-to-face and talk to each other in a very effective manner. It is extremely productive and it saves time and money. That's PDQ meetings and you can check it out at PDQmeetings.net or call 888-PDQ-9434. And here's what we have on the show today. First up for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, we are going to roll back several weeks when the Rice Alliance held their Nanotechnology and Sustainable Energy Venture Forum and I had the opportunity to visit with Matthew Nordan of Venrock, one of countried earliest and most successful venture capital firms which started back in the 1930's by the Rockefeller family. And then for our featured guest segment, from my recent UK trip, I sit down with Dr. Matthew Aylet, co-founder and CTO of Cereproc, the speech synthesis company that is receiving major exposure these days, because they are the company that is building a speech synthesis system for the famous movie critic Rodger Ebert using Rodger Ebert's recorded voice. But first... That's right. It's time for the BusinessMakers School of Business and this is not your business as usual school.

John: No, it's a very business as unusual.

Russ: There you go.

John: Alright.

Russ: And we kick it off each Saturday morning with the quote of the day.

John: Quote of the day.

Russ: And I suggest everyone pay attention, this is a cool one from Thomas Jefferson.

John: Well don't we always pay attention?

Russ: I think so, but I really want extra attention for this quote.

John: Extra attention, okay.

Russ: It's by Thomas Jefferson. "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

John: That's right. That's the nanny state. He says the more we get involved in that, the less productive everybody is and the country starts going a little south on ya.

Russ: There you go.

John: Alright.

Russ: Alright. That brings us to this week in business history. So what happened during this week in April which I think also includes that period of time where most people pay income taxes this week.

John: That's right. Yeah, they do.

Russ: Yeah, so we'll ignore that from the history lesson I assume, unless you have a little piece on it, but -

John: Ah, well you just never know what's gonna come up.

Russ: Alright.

John: Okay, this week in business history in 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.

Russ: Goodness gracious, that sort of changed the direction of the country.

John: Yes it did, because President Abraham Lincoln at the end of the Civil War he knew that in order to build up the South which had to be done -

Russ: Right.

John: - he had to be a little more charitable.

Russ: Right.

John: Okay, this week in business history in 1878 Harley Procter, later Procter in Procter & Gamble, introduces Ivory Soap - 1878.

Russ: Goodness gracious.

John: Ninety-nine one-hundredths percent pure.

Russ: Just how pure Ivory Soap is.

John: So pure it floats.

Russ: Yeah. (Laughter)

John: Alright, this week in business history George C. Blickensderfer patents the portable typewriter.

Russ: Okay, so we already had the typewriter, but he said, "Wait, we need a portable one."

John: Right, but the fact is, I think most typewriters were portable anyway.

Russ: He probably made it a little smaller and put a handle on it.

John: Yeah, he just puts a handle on something. You know, that's one of my rules of life by the way.

Russ: Yeah, just put a handle on it and patent it. (Laughter)

John: No, no, no. I never buy anything with a handle on it.

Russ: You don't?

John: 'Cause that means work.

Russ: Alright. (Laughter)

John: Okay.

Russ: Alright. That's good advice.

John: Good advice to you out there folks.

Russ: You bet.

John: Okay, this week in business history in 1902 J. C. Penney opens the first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. It's Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Russ: Wow. So they're what, 108 years old right now.

John: That's right.

Russ: Cool.

John: This week in business history in 1912 Leonardo DiCaprio really rues the day he got on that ship and fell in love with Kate Winslet because the Titanic sinks.

Russ: Leonardo DiCaprio just kind of drowned out there, right?

John: Well you know, he could have been saved, you know. Here's Kate Winslet on that little raft and you can't tell me there wasn't room for one more on there.

Russ: And she just didn't make it. (Laughter)

John: She just let him drift away, frozen to death.

Russ: (Laughter) How sad.

John: Very sad. She wins the academy award. He's at the bottom and sleeps with the fishes.

Russ: (Laughter) Okay.

John: Okay, this week (Laughter) - she kept the jewelry too, you know.

Russ: That's right. (Laughter) She did.

John: Alright, this week in business history in 1924, this is amazing, Rand McNally publishes his first road atlas.

Russ: Wow, get with it man.

John: Yeah, I know and what an idea. Hey, you know we got a lot of cars that'd be coming off that assembly line, let's make a book of maps to give people so they never get lost.

Russ: And there weren't that many roads and so it wasn't that much work.

John: This week in business history in 1927 Babe Ruth hits the first of his 60 home runs -

Russ: Wow.

John: Off of Howard Ehmke.

Russ: Wow, and forever that was the record, you know.

John: Well the 1927 Yankees if I'm not mistaken is regarded as the greatest baseball team of all time. Their team batting average was higher, the pitchers are - I mean there was just you know -

Russ: Good team. Alright, cool.

John: This week in business history in 1937 cartoon characters Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd - Elmer J. Fudd by the way - and Petunia Pig debut.

Russ: Wow!

John: Of those cartoon characters, who's your favorite one?

Russ: Well I kind of liked Elmer Fudd.

John: Yeah, well I liked Daffy Duck.

Russ: Did you?

John: This week in business history in 1946 one of my favorite singers I gotta hand it to you, is Al Green. It's the birthday of Al Green, American singer and pastor. I did not know he was a pastor.

Russ: Man, and he is a singer. So this would mean he's 64 years old now. Happy birthday Al Green.

[Music: "Use Me Up"]

John: Okay, this week in business history in 1951, this was a pretty crucial part of American History here. President Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur.

Russ: Yeah, he was pretty popular too wasn't he?

John: For a while, Douglas MacArthur was very popular because of his exploits in World War II. You know, his campaign from Australia to Tokyo, he suffered less casualties than were incurred in the Battle of the Ball.

Russ: Wow.

John: That's not what got him removed. He had a difference of opinion on the strategy in the Korean War.

Russ: Ah.

John: In 1954, this week in business history Bill Haley and the Comets record Rock Around the Clock.

[Music: "Rock Around the Clock"]

John: That was a great tune.

Russ: Well a lot of people thought that was really the first rock and roll song.

John: This week in business history in 1961 Bob Dylan's first appearance at Folk City down there in Grenache Village in New York City.

Russ: Wow.

[Music: "Positively Fourth Street Blues"]

John: This week in business history in 1961 Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first person to orbit the earth with the, you know, Soviet Union.

Russ: Right.

John: Quite an achievement back then.

Russ: Yeah, you bet.

John: Okay, this week in business history in 1968 President Lyndon Johnson signs the 1968 Civil Rights Act.

Russ: Which was huge.

John: That Civil Rights Act wouldn't have passed without a lot of Republican support.

Russ: Oh yeah, and there was lots of it.

John: Actually a lot more Republicans voted for it than you might think.

Russ: Oh yeah, absolutely.

John: Okay, this week in business history in 1970 Apollo 13 launched to the moon with Tom Hanks and two days later announces Houston -

Russ: Tom Hanks? (Laughter)

John: Well yeah, he was the guy that went up there isn't he?

Russ: (Laughter) Yeah, that's right.

John: Okay. Kevin Bacon.

Russ: Yeah, you're right he did. (Laughter) Who is the third guy?

John: Yeah, the guy at command central was Ronnie Howard.

Russ: That's right. (Laughter)

John: Alright, and two days after their launch they announce that, "Houston, we've got a problem," as an oxygen tank explodes in route to the moon. Yeah, these guys are brought back safely.

Russ: But Apollo 13 to me was one of the coolest success stories that -

John: Yeah, they brought these guys back safely. Alright, this week in business history Linda Ronstadt, one of the most interesting female entertainers I think, she had a song, a big hit that was released this week in business history -

Russ: In 1975.

John: In 1975 entitled When Will I be Loved which was formally written and performed by the Everly Brothers.

[Music: "When Will I Be Loved"]

John: This week in business history in 1976 the Apple One is created.

Russ: Well, they started the ball rolling right there man, so that was 34 years ago, boy.

John: Boy oh boy, what a string of hits they've had since then. Talk about good hits, yeah.

Russ: Doing well. You bet.

John: This week in business history in 2002 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns to office only two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military.

Russ: Yeah. That was the only attempt to take him out too.

John: And finally, last but not least, this week in business history in 2003 the human Genome Project is completed with 99 percent of the human Genome sequence to an accuracy. They you go.

Russ: Does that wrap up this morning's history lesson?

John: That's it.

Russ: Alright, and that brings us to the jargon challenge round. And this is our vocabulary lesson. I go out and find a brand new word -

John: Or make one up.

Russ: Or make one up if I can't find one.

John: If you don't find 'em, I think you make 'em up on your way in to the studio.

Russ: That's right, and I say the word and John who doesn't know the word does his best at guessing the meaning.

John: And I have to tell the audience that regardless of how phony you think this whole set up is, it's really the truth. I do not know the word or the phrase or whatever it is.

Russ: That's right. And here's this morning's word - recessionista.

John: Recessionista.

Russ: Recessionista.

John: Alright okay, "ista" is like a freedom fighter or like a guerilla fighter, or kind of a radical who is predisposed to rapid radical change, okay.

Russ: Okay.

John: And what's the first word? Recession?

Russ: Recessionista.

John: Okay right. Recessionista is someone who is causing a recession in such a way that the world seems to be spinning out of control due to their radical approach of change.

Russ: You know what, I think I'm gonna give you a win today.

John: Alright!

Russ: Alright, and that brings us to dumb moments in business. Do you have one for us this morning?

John: This is how not to take a day off from work.

Russ: Okay, how not to.

John: Well what happened, this is in Florida and in Coral Gables, they've built more hotels, there was an employee there that really, really, really needed a day off, so instead of going to his boss or just taking a vacation day or, you know, calling in sick -

Russ: Right, faking sickness.

John: - he decides to call in a bomb threat.

Russ: To give everybody a day off I guess.

John: Yeah, right. This is Thomas Hudnall, 62 years old, was arrested and charged with a false report of explosive weapons of mass destruction. Now the thing is that he made the phone call from the kitchen of the hotel.

Russ: To call in the - (Laughter)

John: 'Cause he wanted to pin it on somebody in the kitchen. But there was a surveillance camera there following him around, so he got his day off and he'll probably use, you know, a few more days 'cause he's probably gonna get - if he doesn't go to prison, at least he's been fired.

Russ: Yep. That's bad.

John: Alright. That's it.

Russ: Before we wrap up this morning's School of Business, it's time for the very popular PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook.

John: And here's Greg, and we actually have Greg sitting at the piano on the website.

Russ: Absolutely, we do.

Russ and John: A one, and a two, and a -

Greg: This is Greg Price with PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook.

With the pace of business moving faster each year, is your company doing everything to be accessible to your clients and prospects 24-7?

Mobile-ready websites are an increasingly common way to do this and are becoming a must in our world of mobile business.

There are a few things to think about when developing your mobile site:

1. Does your current web host have the capability to assist with this addition? If not, ask if it's something they will provide in the near future. You should be working with a company that you can rely on to have the latest technology tools available to you.
2. Be sure your site delivers specific information - the mobile user isn't surfing the web hoping to stumble on useful information, they are looking to retrieve specific content from your site
3. Can the mobile user quickly access the information they need? 2 to 3 clicks might not seem like a lot on a regular website, but the mobile user probably doesn't have time to click more than twice for the information they need

By moving your company into the mobile ready space, your clients and prospects will appreciate being able to access your company anytime, anywhere.

To read and comment on the PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook, visit my blog, fromgregshead.com. And be sure to check out the new mobile ready website at PKF Texas.com - PKF Texas, The Fit That's Right!

Russ: Alright that wraps up this mornings School of Business, stay tuned in for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback with Matthew Nordan of Venrock, the venture capital firm that the Rockefellers started back in the 1930's. And then for our Featured Guest, I interview Dr. Matthew Aylet, co-founder and CTO of Cereproc, the speech synthesis company that is building a speech synthesis system for the famous movie critic, Rodger Ebert using Rodger Ebert's recorded voice. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com.