Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Dealing with crises when they arise is all part of life. And it seems like entrepreneurs “enjoy” more than their fair share of crises. Perhaps it's because of the many tasks under their care or it's because they're creating something that will eventually be bigger than any one person can manage… whatever the reason, you can guarantee that crises will arise.

When dealing with crises, I recommend you do two things. No, not (1) cut and (2) run!

When you're faced with a crisis, pause for a moment and consider:

1. The best case scenario
2. The worst case scenario

People who do not deal with crises well imagine a worst case scenario and panic. My recommendation is to first imagine (or even write down) the best case scenario: what the resolved crisis looks like when all the parties leave happily with the outcome. It gives you something to work for.

My next recommendation is to think about the worst case scenario, but don't let it panic you. Instead, identify the things that have to go wrong in order for that to come true, and quickly brainstorm ways to ensure that those things don't occur.

Is this system perfect? No… no system is. But the next time you're faced with a crisis, you'll be able to manage it much better when you pause and consider these two things.

The season of American Inventor has wrapped up and the season of American Idol is over as well. I have to admit, I'm fairly torn. Not so much to who won or who lost, but to the process in general… and what I think it does to our entrepreneurial spirit.

For me, the concept of American Idol or American Inventor or any of the other shows in this vein weakens the concept of the American Dream.

I think the notion of having a better life is something that you need to work for… and you need to work hard and sacrifice to achieve your goal. I don't think that you can fast-track the system and avoid paying your dues (or pay them all in one season of national television).

There are many great inventions, for example, that need to reach the market but didn't make it onto American Inventor.

Or take American Idol, for example (because we don't have a history of success with American Inventor, yet). As a business, it seems like a smart idea: you create a show to generate buzz and that buzz should carry over into record sales of loyal fans who have watched the show and are pleased with the winner.

But these winners, as talented as they are, didn't “cut their teeth” in the smoky bars, nor did they waitress until they were discovered by an industry mogul. They were fast tracked.

To me, that's not the American Dream… that's winning the lottery. Nice, but not as rewarding.

In blogging my book reviews, I try to give a cross section of topics by a cross section of authors. This is my second book by Alexander Hiam… which is completely unintentional.

I was looking for a book that covered higher level business practices and picked up a few books with the acronym “MBA” in the title. What I like about this book is not so much its 24-hour format — that you can get through one lesson in one day — but rather its division into 5 critical segments of business and how it combines easy-to-read information with intelligent content (I often find it's one or the other in many books).

The book covers topics like business communication, leadership, employee motivation, organization, and financial management. As well, there are a few short bonus lessons on innovation, sexual harassment, and business etiquette. The content can be easily plugged into your business.

The only areas I felt it really lacked in were marketing and e-commerce, and I thought there was a greater emphasis on application for managers rather than entrepreneurs. Still, it was a great book with a lot of value for the small business owner.