Welcome, Spring!

Bright yellow jasmine makes even a grey day sunny.
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Today was cold and grey and rainy and windswept.  Yet….

A Note From Home...

Next time you're having one of those days when you need a note from home, here it is, ready and waiting.  Use in good health! ;-)

Happy Easter to All Our Java Pals!

From darkness, Light.  From despair, Hope.  Do the Happy Dance, because we have a new beginning!

With both its somber rituals and its light-hearted frivolities, Easter refreshes me and reminds me again of my "life raft" scripture:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Rejoice!

In Pursuit of Defining Yourself...

Senorita La Tinta, a/k/a Miss Inky, taking her photo opp

I was not looking for anything remotely like Ken Robert's essay when I stumbled across it in one of those blessed web serendipity moments.  La, la, la, la-lah, I was skipping along the 'net path, gathering posies, en route to some somber research for a client.

For we RPISH* entrepreneurs and contrarian thinkers wrestling the challenges inherent to re-structuring ourselves and our work, the scant few minutes it will take to read "We’re So Ashamed of Changing (This Is Why We’re Crazy)" at Ken Robert's blog, Mildly Creative, will be minutes well spent In Pursuit of Defining Yourself.

While you're there, check out KR's self-description, too.  If Ken's blog is food for thought, his About page is the whipped cream and cherry on top.  Read and ponder, Unicorns, read and ponder!

Appearing Soon at a Theatre Near You

In a day or two, in consideration of that whole re-structuring topic, we will return with some ponders.  Stay tuned!


*RPISH = Round Peg In A Square Hole

See you on the patio!

Bring Down Your Wall!

Building the Berlin Wall, August 1961

Don't you hate it when you read an article, blogpost, or book you know you shoulda-coulda written (but didn't)?  Yeh, this is one of those times for me.  I hope you'll permit me a short ramble, fellow entrepreneurs.

Today, I came across a nifty CNET article by Dennis O'Reilly, How to Use Powerpoint Effectively.  I started kicking myself.

Get Javanated Friday - Free Screensavers for Bizfolk

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It's Friday -- Get Javanated!


Friday:  ramp-up to the weekend, exit ramp from the week past, day to assess what's done and ruminate over the untidy leftovers, tinker-&-tweak day for entrepreneurs and bizfolk.  One part reflection to two parts reassessment, plus a dash of recovery.  Add ice, shake, strain, and shoot.

The Accidental Entrepreneur: Thoughts on Risk, Success, & Failure

Shout out to...

..the rockin' Plan Fund crew:  new-ish Exec Director Jeremy Gregg, Neil Small, Senior Loan Manager, Marisol Montoya, Office Manager, and the rest of the gang.  Plan Fund is a jaw-droppingly amazing MFI (a nonprofit micro-funding institute) built loosely around the Grameen model.  Their motto, "Capitalizing on Character" sums up their ambitions and accomplishments well.

Unlike the venerable and stodgy fleet at the Small Business Administration, with its Small Business Development Centers (SBA spin-offs) and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), Plan Fund works with a special breed of entrepreneurs some sources refer to as Accidental Entrepreneurs, others call them "under-served."

The Feds are like a fleet of ancient battleships creaking along with the best of intentions, not very fast and they don't easily navigate a sudden change in market direction or technology:  they aren't built to meet the intense, multidimensional needs of any entrepreneurs but those whose future success is fairly obvious, easily attainable, headed for mega-growth, and can be more-or-less traditionally financed.

Plan Fund, however, is a speedy and nimble PT boat, armed with micro-loans based on