Earlier this year I was convinced by my loving wife and adoring kids that if I truly loved them I would have a swimming pool installed in our back yard. The experience did introduce me to an interesting class of entrepreneurs collectively called, contractors. I dont mean to generalize, but the contractors Ive been dealing with are a stereotypical bunch who drive really big pickup trucks and wear worn work boots and dirty jeans and torn t-shirts and sport three-day whiskers and go by names like Buddy, Bubba, Junior, Earl, and of course Tiny, who was the largest guy on the crew.

In my last column I told you about the skewed parenting skills of my father, who, without ever realizing it, was quite the entrepreneurial genius. Though he never dabbled in business and it certainly didnt occur to me at the time, many of the lessons I learned from him about life can be put to practical use in your business today.

In my last column I told you about the skewed parenting skills of my father, who, without ever realizing it, was quite the entrepreneurial genius. Though he never dabbled in business and it certainly didnt occur to me at the time, many of the lessons I learned from him about life can be put to practical use in your business today.

Ive never been much of a fisherman. Sitting in a small boat for hours watching a red and white bobber float atop the water holds about as much interest for me as watching paint dry. My old man, on the other hand, would have rather fished than breathe. In fact, his favorite Bible quote was: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and hell sit in the boat and drink beer with you for life. Needless to say, my old man wasnt much of a Bible scholar, but he was one heck of a fisherman.

I've been expanding my entrepreneurial horizons lately by meeting entrepreneurs in businesses I'd never been exposed to before. I learned that there are many kinds of entrepreneurs and each dances to his own drummer. Some do it the right way while others do it however they dang well please. I have found that their attitude determines the quality of work they do and most likely how long they will stay in business.

I've been expanding my entrepreneurial horizons lately by meeting entrepreneurs in businesses I'd never been exposed to before. I learned that there are many kinds of entrepreneurs and each dances to his own drummer. Some do it the right way while others do it however they dang well please. I have found that their attitude determines the quality of work they do and most likely how long they will stay in business.

If your business doesnt stand out in todays hyper-competitive market place theres a good chance that you wont be in business very long. There are countless others vying for the same slice of the pie that you are. There are dozens of competitors just up the road doing all they can to get the attention of your customers and take money out of your pockets. Its called marketing, and some are probably doing a better job of it than you are and some probably worse. What can you do to position your business as the one customers notice? The secret to effective marketing is: think creatively.

This is the column that probably gets me kicked out of the entrepreneurial chapter of the Priory of Scion. I look silly in those long robes anyway, so here goes. A thousand apologies to my entrepreneurial brothers and sisters, but. I think the more important question is: do businesses fail or does the entrepreneur in charge of them fail? I have to be honest and tell you that I think most business failures must be laid at the feet of the person in charge.

I had the honor of speaking this week at a women's business association luncheon on the topic of entrepreneurship. When I mentioned to my wife the day before that I was speaking to a group of women entrepreneurs she asked, "Why on earth would they ask you to speak?"

Im often asked: what is the best way to fund a new business? This question is usually followed by So, do you ever invest in new businesses? The answers, respectively, are 1. there is no best way to fund a new business; and 2. I do invest in new businesses, but darn it I cant today because I left my checkbook in my other suit.