Russ: Good morning. This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at theBusinessMakers.com. This is that show about those that most positively affect our lives.
John: These are the doers. These are the people who come up with the ideas, that have the passion, the energy, the stamina to see it through and also the brains to get it to market.
Russ: You bet. Here's what we've got lined up for you this morning. Okay first up for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, we are going to do another one of our cool pieces where we've excerpted advice from entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. First up Will Rosellini, the former pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and now the co-founder and CEO of MicroTransponder. And then Chris Baggott, founder of Compendium Blogware and then we are going to finish up with Steve McKee, co-founder and marketing communications firm McKee Wallwork Cleveland. And then for our featured guest, I am going to be talking with Joe Schurman, six time Microsoft most valuable professional and founder and CEO of Evangelyze Communications. But first... That's right. It's time for the BusinessMakers School of Business. This is where John and I go out and work all week long putting together what we think is real world curriculum.
John: But the problem is you don't get the whole thing here. You gotta go online to BusinessMakers.com to get the full course load.
Russ: You bet.
John: But what you're getting now is kind of a synopsis of what the real thing's all about.
Russ: And we kick off the School of Business each Saturday morning with a quote of the day.
John: Quote of the day.
Russ: This morning our quote is contributed by Peter Drucker.
John: Oh yeah; right.
Russ: You bet.
John: Good guy.
Russ: You bet. The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it and exploits it as an opportunity. That's it.
John: That's it.
Russ: That's the formula.
John: That's back when change was an admirable term.
Russ: Right. That brings us to this week in business history. What happened during this July week in business history?
John: We're going back to the year 1040.
Russ: Whoa.
John: Yeah; back in business history in 1040 Lady Godiva -
Russ: Yeah.
John: Rides naked on a horseback.
Russ: Yeah.
John: I think the horse is also naked. To force her husband, the Earl of Mercia to make better chocolate. No; no, actually to lower the taxes.
Russ: To lower the taxes.
John: The tax protestors.
Russ: And Lady Godiva, is she related at all to Lady Gaga?
John: The difference between Lady Godiva and Lady Gaga is the fact that Lady Godiva could not make You Tube videos.
Russ: But Lady Gaga could.
John: Lady Gaga can and that's the big difference. I think they were probably very similar, very free spirited women.
Russ: If they would have had You Tube back in 1040 we would have probably got to see this, right?
John: I know. This week in business history 1776, Declaration of Independence was put together. It wasn't all signed. You see that painting of all these guys getting ready - they had to transport the document around a little bit to get everybody's signature on it. But July 4th, Fourth of July. We know what that means.
Russ: You bet.
John: This week in business history in 1819 Elias Howell, invented the sewing machine, was born.
Russ: In 1819.
John: In 1819 and where would we be without the sewing machine.
Russ: No kiddin'.
John: Did your mother ever have a sewing machine?
Russ: Oh absolutely.
John: Did she sew stuff for ya'?
Russ: Yes, she did.
John: What did she -
Russ: She'd make shirts for me.
John: Shirts?
Russ: Which are not easy to make.
John: I know. I know. I know. I bet they were nice shirts, too.
Russ: They were.
John: You're still wearing one right now.
Russ: That's right. Still to this day.
John: I tell ya' sewing really took shape in my eye when it was featured in a movie called The Three Amigos. Did you see that movie?
Russ: No, I didn't.
John: Okay; sewing plays a big part in that.
Russ: Does it? Alright.
John: This week in business history in 1884 the Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States.
Russ: Wow.
John: In Paris.
Russ: Wow.
John: Okay?
Russ: Okay.
John: We know what that means. Give me your tired, your poor, your humble and make sure you become legalized in the process.
Russ: That's right.
John: This week in business history in 1889 the Wall Street Journal begins publishing.
Russ: Well goodness.
John: Long history there and it's changed hands finally. Rupert Murdock and some of you might disagree with me. I think it's a more interesting newspaper since he took over -
Russ: Yeah; and they're doing well, too, huh?
John: Yeah; they're doing well. Last year the top 25 daily newspapers, they were the only one to increase their circulation. Okay. This week in business history in 1923 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic's formed.
Russ: Wow.
John: Beginning a wave of repression and socialism.
Russ: Didn't work out very well, did it?
John: Well it really wasn't social. It was out and out communism. Take from those who have it and give it to those who don't and -
Russ: Kinda' like Robin Hood.
John: And master plan, the economy. A bunch of apparatchiks they were called. They'd sit around a table and develop these five-year plans and it was just ridiculous.
Russ: They always thought it would -
John: I'm glad that's not going on here.
Russ: They really thought it was gonna work out for the better.
John: Well they did, yeah. It kept not working out right.
Russ: They thought it would eliminate crime even ya' know. It's like why would anybody have to steal if -
John: That's right.
Russ: If we all own everything.
John: I know. Yeah; it's -
Russ: It didn't work though.
John: I know. This week in business history in 1925 USSR, that's what we were talking about, is official news agency TAS formed.
Russ: So two years later they said we need some news here -
John: Yeah; we need a propaganda arm so they formed TAS. I don't think you got very even handed information from that news agency.
Russ: No, I don't think you did.
John: But a few years later in 1937 Spam, the luncheon meat was introduced by Hormel Foods Corporation. So not all this news is negative.
Russ: That's right. That would have been here in the United States.
John: Where would we be without Spam. Then that word has been contaminated and somewhat destroyed because Spam now when people think of Spam they think of unwanted e-mails.
Russ: That's right. That's right.
John: This week in business history in 1955 Bill Haley and the Comets rock around the clock.
[Music: "Rock Around the Clock"]
John: That's another great rock and roll song. We were talking about Elvis last week. Now we got Bill Haley and the Comets.
Russ: That's huge.
John: I ask you, where does it all end.
Russ: I don't know.
John: It just keeps gettin' better.
Russ: It does.
John: Speaking of getting better, in 1962 this week in business history, Telstar was launched at 4:30 a.m. It was the world's first active communications satellite capable of receiving and transmitting data. It only weighed 171 pounds.
Russ: I remember. I had a little bit difficulty understanding now how does a satellite way up there help us with communications.
John: I know.
Russ: We're bouncin' these sound bytes off -
John: Bouncin' stuff off of it. This week in business history in 1964 the Beach Boys I Get Around reaches number one.
[Music: "I Get Around"]
John: I liked the Beach Boys. They were good.
Russ: I like that song, too.
John: Oh, it was a great song. They had a lot of good number one songs.
Russ: Yes, they did.
John: The Rolling Stones in 1965 this week in business history score their first number one, I Can't Get No Satisfaction.
[Music: "I Can't Get No Satisfaction"]
Russ: Man.
John: That's kind of an anthem. There's a lot of songs that you hear 'em you think automatically the Rolling Stones. I think that's probably one of the first ones where that happened.
Russ: Oh, absolutely.
John: In 1967, the hits just keep on comin'. Light My Fire hits number one, the Doors.
[Music: "Light My Fire"]
Russ: This is the week for hits.
John: It's a week for hits.
Russ: I Get Around, I Can't Get No Satisfaction and Light My Fire all happened this week.
John: I know. Hey, what are you gonna do.
Russ: Yeah; that's right.
John: This week in business history in 1976 Air France passengers, plane gets hijacked. There's bunch of Israeli's on the plane. They go to some ten horn dictator country in -
Russ: Idi Amin.
John: Yeah; in Africa and they think the Israeli's are gonna roll over and what do they? They send a bunch of commandos down there and rescue the passengers.
Russ: They only lost one person and it was the top guy and I think it was Nitin Yata's brother.
John: Oh really.
Russ: Yeah. It was incredible.
John: Yeah; what a story. This week in business history in 1996 Dolly, the cloned sheep was born.
Russ: Oh, how special.
John: I know. Special. Cloning, it's amazing what they can do with all that. However, it's like giving a loaded pistol to a little kid ya' know 'cause -
Russ: No tellin' what we're gonna end up with.
John: Yeah; we're just on the doorstep of that kind of technology; designer children, designer this, designer that. Sooner or later you'll be able to take a famous athlete and replicate the person.
Russ: Yeah; that's right. That wraps up this morning's history lesson.
John: Hey, that's all I got.
Russ: Alright.
John: Alright.
Russ: Good deal though.
John: Okay; thank you.
Russ: And that brings us to the jargon challenge round.
John: Ah, my favorite thing 'cause I don't know what the word is and it really stimulates my thought process.
Russ: Well it does.
John: Last week I didn't do very well.
Russ: That's right.
John: I always take a good stab at it.
Russ: There ya' go. Right. This morning's word is sexomnia.
John: Sexomnia. Well gees, this is a family show.
Russ: I know, but that's okay. It's a real word.
John: Somnia. Somnia's when you can't get any sleep.
Russ: That's right.
John: So sex is when you can't get any sex.
Russ: So what's the combined definition?
John: You can't get any sex.
Russ: No; no; no. It's a sleep disorder in which a person engages in sexual behavior while asleep.
John: Oh yeah.
Russ: What do you think of that?
John: Wow.
Russ: I think it has something to do with some of these new sleeping pills. Ya' know, Ambien and all of 'em, Lunesta that kind of -
John: You can get arrested for that.
Russ: Yes, you can.
John: I know.
Russ: Yeah. And that brings us to dumb business moments.
John: The airlines have been taking it on the chin for a long time.
Russ: Yeah; they have.
John: Here's another shot. British Airways, there's a first class passenger sleeping. It's a long flight. He wakes up and he finds the corpse of a woman next door to him, next to him on the seat right - ya' know how tight those seats are.
Russ: Yeah.
John: The woman's dead and she was strapped in. Turns out it was like a nine hour non-stop flight from New Delhi to London.
Russ: So he goes to sleep and there was a vacant seat there -
John: Yeah; right. He wakes up and there's somebody dead -
Russ: - dead woman.
John: Right; yeah. Probably scared the heck out of him, but British Airways made no offer to compensate him or even apologize to him, even though he's a gold level flyer who logs about 200,000 miles a year with these guys. After hearing his complaint British Airways had no plan in place for his type of situation. Actually there's an airline called Singapore Airlines to handle this kind of situation. They introduced a corpse cupboard.
Russ: Corpse cupboard.
John: Yeah; right. A little cupboard. They throw the corpse in there.
Russ: That's good.
John: In their aircraft when there's no empty row of seats available -
Russ: It sounds like they've had a lot of experience with people dying on a flight; yeah.
John: Finally annoyed customer service so much over this they just told him to get over it.
Russ: That's British Airways?
John: British Airways, yes.
Russ: Wow; cool.
John: So next time you see those commercials look hard for the dead person in the cabin.
Russ: Alright. Before we wrap up this morning's School of Business it's time for the very popular PK of Texas entrepreneur's playbook.
John: And here's my favorite accountant.
Russ: You bet.
John: The guy knows everything. A one, and a two and a -
Russ: A one, and a two and a --
Greg: This is Greg Price with PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook.
As a student of history, I have learned that many things in our lives move in cycles. Business is no different. So my question to you today is: What is the best time to gain the maximum financial opportunity for your business? And when is the point of the greatest financial risk to your business?
Do you know the answer?
Well if you said that today's business cycle (at the low point of the valley) is the time for the maximum financial opportunity you would be correct. And at the highest point (the top of the bell curve) of the business cycle is the point of maximum financial risk.
So how did I arrive at that conclusion? Well let's check some statistics from the Kauffman Foundation
- "In the past 30 years, literally all net job creation in this country has taken place in firms less than five years old....."
- "...600,000 new firms are formed every year in America...about one per minute"
- "Half of today's Fortune 500 companies were founded in a recession or bear market...entrepreneurs are not easily discouraged."
- "Despite recession, US entrepreneurial activity rises in 2009 to highest rate in 14 years...558,000 businesses were created each month...exceeding start ups in the peak 1999-2000 technology boom"
If you ever had any doubt about what economic activity generates the American economy, you should no longer have any doubt. It's the small business enterprise with owner/entrepreneurs that make our country go. And as a student of history, that's the way it's been since the 18th century. Entrepreneurs in the colonies made this country the success it is today. The American experiment as it is sometimes referred to is about entrepreneurs and their commitment to our ideals and freedoms we have today.
I want to wish everyone a wonderful 4th of July holiday and celebrate the success of American entrepreneurs.
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 and that wraps up this mornings School of Business. Stay tuned in for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, where we are going to feature advice from Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs, from three former guests on the BusinessMakers Show. And then our featured guest where I talk with Joe Schurman, Joe Schurman, founder and CEO of Evangelyze Communications. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com.
