Entrepreneurship
Want to Make a Few Million While Providing a Societal Benefit?
If I didn’t have my hands full growing MEA, my top entrepreneurial idea would be to create a vetted online marketplace of modern elders and young entrepreneurs. I was fortunate enough to be tapped on the shoulder by the Millennial founders of Airbnb nearly 12 years ago, but this could have happened with matchmaking technology.
The Litmus Test for “Am I in the Right Business?”
I’ve written quite a bit about the evolution of my definition of ROI (https://bit.ly/3wPEwzz), from Return on Investment to Ripples of Impact. But, the former is easier to measure than the latter which is why impact investing has a checkered reputation in some quarters. For me, our alumni Homecoming last month brought me face-to-face with my sense of impact, but how do you measure pride, connection, and awe?
A Start-Up at 60.
Chip’s Note: I love this story from Marie helping us to realize we can create a start-up at any age.
Entrepreneurs, You Can Turn Lemons into Lemonade.
I love the art of hospitality and the science of service. No hospitality business is perfect, so the fine art of service recovery is, in my not-so-humble opinion, one of the most valuable trait any hospitality leader can exhibit.
Viva, Experiments!
“To invent, you have to experiment, and if you know in advance that it’s going to work, it’s not an experiment.” - Jeff Bezos, Amazon Annual Report, 2015
Could You Be An “Elderpreneur”?
I love being a myth-buster. And, one of our biggest myths is that younger entrepreneurs are more successful than older entrepreneurs.
Older Consumers: The Great 21st Century Market Opportunity.
Older Americans hold most of the country’s wealth, but they also are the fastest-growing age demographic when it comes to their percentage of the economy’s spending, as evidenced by this graphic below that was in this recent Wall Street Journal story (https://on.wsj.com/3GdIWkE). While the historical narrative has been that older people are more affected by economic turbulence (especially inflation), this story suggests that their finances are relatively healthy. They have less need to borrow, so they’re not as affected by higher interest rates and are less at risk of layoffs than other consumers.
One of My Biggest Entrepreneurial Lessons.
I was recently walking in Beverly Hills and passed a travel agency that's been there for decades. I shuddered as I remembered my first brush with the badass, old broads who ran this agency long ago.
Joy is Purpose’s Kissing Cousin.
“Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm.” - Helen Keller
The Value of "Noble Experiments."
"The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things." - Rainer Maria Rilke
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