Now Im a pretty high-tech kind of guy. I pride myself on having all the latest and greatest techno gadgets for my personal and business life; including multiple laptop computers, the most modern cellular phone, and a Global Positioning System in my car to always tell me where I aint. I know, its supposed to tell me where I am, but my brain doesnt work that way.

When I was a kid my family often participated in that grand tradition called, “The Sunday Drive.” You remember those long Sunday drives in the car with your family to nowhere? Sure, it was better than sitting at home because we only had three TV channels to watch and cartoons were only shown for a few hours on Saturday morning, but when you got back home didn’t you always feel that you hadn’t really gone anywhere. If you leave your house and don’t stop until you reach your house, what’s the point? I always hated those Sunday drives.

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 stereotypically 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.

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 stereotypically 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.