Start a Business

Focus On What You Know Uniquely

Cowgirl Enterprises shows how Donna Baase put her life experience into a 2 ounce bottle.     More...

Do What You Know

The Souto Brothers were smart to learn about the coffee business from their father.  The  knowledge and experience they gained even as children helped them achieve success.   Home...

Build On Your Past Experience

The most efficient way to find the next opportunity for a new business or for growing your current business is to look inside yourself and your industry.

Start Small

You can start a business on a wing and a prayer and if you start small enough you can shield yourself  from major disappointment or financial loss.

Lay the Groundwork

Starting and growing a business is not for the weak or the uninformed.  To prepare, Ron Altoon and Jim Porter did their homework before they opened their architectural firm.  This is Ron Altoon.  More

Think Hard About Your Future

Hattie points out that Paul and Vicki are excellent thinkers.  Both have MBAs in marketing and in that pursuit they learned to use logic to process information.

Quit Your Job

If things aren't ducky at work, maybe it's time to seek your bliss in a different pond.

Build On Your Experience

Co-founder Ashley Postlewaite says that you should pick your partner like you would pick a spouse. With the divorce rate being what it is, Ashley's advice may need some explaining.  More...

Create A Win-Win

Nicole Miller's designs and Bud Konheim's sales skills helped  build a profitable division of a conglomerate which they "bought out"  to create their own business. Be sure to study the transcript.

Form A Partnership

Host Hattie Bryant says a partnership is a strategy to consider if you need to complement your own skills with something you lack. More... About informal partnerships

Take A Flying Leap

Ebby Halliday exemplifies the successful payoff for a calculated--and self-financed--risk.    

Let Your Childhood Inform You

Anne has a "feel for the cloth." Many say she started the "little yellow ducky" fad.  A craftsman, George Kartsotis, says that Anne's ideas have been key to his success.

Invent An Industry

Turn Stress Into Strength

Janet and David Milly suggest that working together is not for married couples who do not already have a strong marriage.

Tap A Trend

Teresa Zubizarreta turned a profound understanding of the Hispanic culture into an advertising powerhouse helping other companies reach this growing market.   More...

Take Time To Understand Yourself

Teresa Zubizaretta capitalized on the fact that she was a woman in an industry that had been historically dominated by men.  She knew being a woman and a Hispanic were assets.     More...

Establish A Board Of Directors

Chris Fortune believes that you get better faster when you are surrounded by experience.  Chris'  Dad and other veteran executives serve on the board at Saris.  View all the videos of this episode.

Avoid Bankruptcy

Sara Fortune, Chris' wife, runs human resources and serves on the leadership team.  She and Chris agreed that while bankruptcy was a legal option for them early on, it would not be good for their souls or for their talented employees.  More...

Spend On Good Design

Marketing consultant, John Wargo, says  that exquisite design in your marketing material will generate a high level of interest.

On Becoming Economically Independent

Michael Novak explains why he believes that capitalism, not socialism, is the only proven path from poverty to prosperity.    Homepage

Learn the basics of the American Revolution.

Novak explains that Americans tend to be doers rather than deep thinkers and prolific writers. With a preference for action, American business owners are misunderstood since they rarely stop to explain themselves or spend time with elites who write business books.  Home

Give Up Titles And Trappings

Ron Bowman develops and owns real estate. He enjoys living in several multi-million dollar homes and running his company via the telephone and a fast web connection. He never did that well in school and he's never held a title of any kind. He's not an elite, he's a proud business owner who is very much in charge of his own life.     Homepage

Make A Quantum Leap

NoUVIR teaches that truly new ideas are hard to come by.  Meet co-founder Jack Miller.   More..

Attract A Courageous Team

Bob Simpson and his partner were thrown out of a company they had worked to grow.  They took what they had learned and today they are worth millions. More...

Choose A Powerful Name

Frank Jao worked with his banker to come up with the name of his company.   More...

Make People More Important Than Cash

Founder Pam McNair  learned early that people are more important than cash.   More...

Be Bold

Oregon Log owner Mike Neary shares the mystique of log home living from his first 20-by-20 cabin at the base of Mt. Hood to his present day masterpieces.   More...

Prepare To Succeed

Remigius Shatas, founder of Avocent, was ready to start a business because he had done his homework and he shifted his thinking from an employee mentality to a problem-solving mentality.   More...

Fund The Dreams Of Others

Most people tend to ask, "Why should I fund the dreams of others?"  People like  Remigius Shatas ask,  "Why not?"  For him,  it extends his life-long work.  Meet  Remigius as he shares his wisdom.

Give Bankers Hard Assets

Reed Pigman's banker enjoys visiting the place he helped launch.

Change An Industry

Kim Blickenstaff, Chairman / CEO,  has been hugely successful in spite of all  experts who told him it would be impossible -- that they had "a stupid idea."   More...

Do What You Know

Ken Buechler and his two partners, Gunars Valkirs and Kim Blickenstaff,  worked together before they launched Biosite.  They respected each others talents.

Leave The Nest

Gunars Valkirs and his two partners, Ken Buechler and  Kim Blickenstaff,  were bored by big business and its lack of courage and insight.  More....

Raise Money The Old Way

At the beginning stages of Biosite, the need for rapid testing was laughed at by the big boys in the diagnostic industry. This fact would have made getting a bank loan impossible.

Be Willing to Start Small

Founder Shiv Krishnan started his company knowing that he was selling brain power.     More...

Do What You Know

Wing Lee was taught how to cook by his parents who own a Chinese restaurant.    More...

Focus on One Idea at a Time

Ahmad Chebbani's accounting business was strong before he launched other companies.   More...

Make The Old New

FastSign founder Gary Salomon said that temporary sign business is a niche that big companies weren't interested in so he jumped in with a technology solution.

Solve A Problem

Meal worms are happy in their shipping box and arrive live to their destination.

Take Control of Your Life

Lorraine Miller is a successful business owner because she was willing to leave a bad boss. Now rather than dreading going to work, she looks forward to being the first person in every day.

Take a Calculated Risk

Monica Morgan listened to the marketplace.  Though she enjoyed taking pictures,  she discovered that people would pay her for photos more often than they would pay her for journalism.   More...

Be Open to New Technologies

Nigel Skeffington fell in love with a new technology that fit his past experience. More...

Stay True To Yourself

Nigel Skeffington left a great job when his boss wouldn't agree to act on new ideas. More...

Start Simply

The dot bomb period proved to us all that too much money at the start-up provides a false sense of security.  By starting at home and living on savings, Nigel and Rosemary Skeffington built a strong foundation. More...

Be Brave Enough To Be First

Time Technology built its business on the Lotus platform for collaboration.  It won plenty of  customers with first-to-market positioning. More...

Win A Big Customer

Nigel Skeffington turned former customers and contacts into new business.

Start Young

Carol Schroeder always dreamed of having her own shop, and at the age of 21, she bought the building on Monroe Street and started selling furniture. More...

Use Money to Borrow Money

The Schroeders were able to get a loan to buy this building by using their own cash as collateral.

Be Willing To Start Small

Albert Black had no money but he was willing to work long hours.  More...

Be Grateful. Be Happy. Get Inspired.

We hear people all the time echoing Sohrab's comment, "I didn't start the business because of money. I started because I loved what I was doing." And after 20 years, he still jumps out of bed excited to go to work that morning.

Avoid 50-50 Partnerships

Don Gullet, Tom's partner at Tires Plus, says great partnerships are a constant balancing act of one person's skills complementing the other's.

Earn the Right to Join the Club

Eric Rose's experience shows that it takes time to get big.  More...

Find Courage to Act

Ken Duncan knew he could work for others and have a steady stream of business but his assignments would not be the ones he could get excited about.  He launched out on his own to take and sell the pictures that truly inspire him.

Do The Tedious Work To Target

Horse owners spend millions to enjoy their hobby and many look for bargains.  Scott spent years finding the names and addresses of these potential customers.  More...

Ask Vendors To Be Your Bank

Country Supply customers brag on the company's catalog and its personal service.  More...

Know Yourself

Making a business work from home takes discipline, drive, brains and more than anything, a willingness to study yourself and find the thing to do that most resonates for you personally. Greg Steckler loves designing homes, he loves logs, he loves the outdoors, and he loves working from his log home miles from others.

Reinvent Yourself

Richard Stanley and his partner Joe Wasserman tried to quit. They came separately to Great Barrington to relax, retire and, perhaps, fiddle around real estate and whatever caught their fancy. They met while attending a town meeting, and as entrepreneurs will do, they talked about their dreams for improving Great Barrington's historic business district.

Learn Bank Speak

Bring plans, collateral and a speadsheet showing how you will pay it back and you have a chance at getting a banker to make you a loan.

Offer An Alternative

There was a movie theater in Great Barrington, but it only brought in the big blockbuster films. Richard and Joe knew they personally preferred the smaller budget and foreign films. They calculated that since Great Barrington is a week-end and summer retreat from both New York City and Boston, there would be plenty of people like them.

Start Simple

Founder Marty Edelston used his savings and started with one product.  More...

Knock On Doors (forget the beach!)

Nothing happens until something's sold.  Period.  Business is about creating and maintaining customers and that means plenty of people have to give you money for the product or service you offer. Ken wasn't afraid to sell his photos by going from door to door.     More...

Capitalize on What You Know

Tranh Quoc Lam spoke no English when he arrived in Hawaii from Vietnam.  He had no money. All he knew was how to bake bread.  Today he is the owner of Ba-Le Bakery and has well over 200 employees!  H was named Small Business Person of the Year from the state of Hawaii.   More...

Put All Of Your Skin In The Game

We mean put all of your money and all of your heart into your idea because you set the tone for future investors. No one will invest in your idea if you have not already done so. Next you have to use the cash to provide the tools needed to achieve perfection. More...

Follow Your Heart, Your Mind, Your Soul and Your Strengths

Host Hattie Bryant says that Thomas Keller's guiding philosophy would be laughed at by Wall Street. More...

Go Where the Guys Are

Hattie introduces us to  women who are turning their sweat equity into cash and success in the business world.

Build On Your Education

A classic family business, three generations of compassionate people are involved at every level of the operations. They left Cuba with nothing when Castro took over and today their pharmacies are the most productive in the USA.  More...

Do What You Know

Like so many owners, Marc Katz started with no money but with deep knowledge and experience in the industry he chose.

Gain Knowledge to Increase Flexibility

Keep Overhead Low

Don Dzekciorius kept his overhead low by using a gas station phone booth as his office.  More...

Do What You Love

Joan and Bill Keller started trekking some of the world's most remote places in the early 70s. They are explorers and adventurers who have tales to tell about places most people have never heard of before they become customers of Joan and Bill's shop, Le Travel Store.     More...

Start Small

Joan Keller says that she and her husband did what most of us do; they started their business with what they could scrape together.

Test the Waters

Somehow David fell in love with watches.   Lucky for him that he found the right product from a vendor that was looking for the right American distribution system.   More...

Listen to Customers

Founder Judi Jacobsen said her paintings sold so quickly she couldn't keep up with production which led her to the idea of printing her art on cards.     More...

Spot A Niche

Maragret Quenemoen started a company to make affordable clothing for extreme mountain, rock and ice climbers.  Her  first product line included sizes for petite women.

Recruit Family

If you can't afford to pay big salaries at the startup, hire family members who can be paid in IOUs.  Paula is the founder's twin sister who is also an extreme athlete who speaks and writes Mandarin.

Clear Your Name First

The founder of Jagged Edge Mountain Gear suffered for not doing due diligence  before she settled on a name for the company.

Leverage Your Relationships

You can build a business without spending a dime on advertising.

Borrow from Family

Before she succeeded, Leonor Ferrer overcame lack of money, a bad partner and being the first Hispanic woman broker at the San Diego border.

Make the Cash Flow

In 1948 Angelo DeLucia started selling an old family recipe.

Keep Open to Opportunity

Rick Presant says his Dad started All Brand because he had to drive too far for parts.

Find Your Talent First

Linda Benjamin knew as a little girl that she would be in business.

Ask for Advice

A mentor suggested that Linda go to law school.

Find Partners You Respect

When Allen Davis and  Linda Benjamin started the firm, they had known each other and they knew that they had complimentary legal specialties.

Build On Networking

Linda Benjamin says that when you meet new people work at remembering whom you met and some details about the person.

Turn Lemons into Lemonade

When Roland Rodriguez and his colleague were left out of leadership due to a merger, they quit and started their own firm that has become extremely successful. More videos about starting a business...

Work Long, Hard Hours for Years

One college course in wine tasting and Bob Orenstein was in love for life. His hobby became his business when he quit his job running the tax department at American Airlines to become an entrepreneur.

Convince Your Family to Invest

Starting can be shocking. In the beginning you will need both financial and psychological support from your family.  The founder and his wife invented a safe way to put wine glasses through the dishwasher.

Find Cash to Launch

Grace Tsujikawa-Boyd founded Pyro Media in her basement in 1969.   More...

Do What You Love

The founder has been picking and cooking up Oregon berries since he was tall enough to stir a pot in his Mom's kitchen.  More...

Reinvent Your Life

Gary Walls' poor health forced him out of teaching so surprisingly he became an entrepreneur who built a strong company.

Leave a Bad Boss

Cheryl Womack had the courage to leave a bad boss and then she went on to build a multi-million dollar operation.

Live on a Shoestring

Keeping overhead low during the startup is often the only way a founder can build a strong foundation.

Do What Excites You

Craig Caryl was an extreme sports athlete before he started making films his friends.

Learn from Your Childhood

Bill Tobin says he knew early in life that he wanted to work for himself.  Like most of us, he got his first business loan from his Mom.

Face Down the Establishment

Bill Tobin explains how hard it was to break into an established industry with a fresh idea.

Keep Your Job

Bill Tobin points out that starting and running a business is harder than it looks.

Know Your Tolerance for Risk

The size a business grows to is related to the amount and type of risk the founder is willing to take.

Volunteer to Learn

Bill Malleris learned most of what he needed to know to build a profitable residential community by working on a cause for no pay.

Make Your Work Your Life

Jim is proud of his business and of his life and there is nearly no place else he would rather be than with his employees taking care of his customers.
More videos about starting a business...

Follow your dreams

From an episode of Small Business Today, we discover a high-end women's dress shop which is named after the founder, Yvonne La Fleur. Yvonne has us consider six key ideas (right column). Each key idea has a key question. Cursor over the question and click. Sometimes it opens up more answers!