Posts by Early To Rise
Capitalism 101
“The cement in our whole democracy today is the worker who makes $15 an hour. He’s the guy who will buy a house and a car and a refrigerator. He’s the oil in the engine.” – Lee Iacocca (Iacocca: An Autobiography, 1984) I ate breakfast this morning at a greasy spoon in Baltimore. At the…
Read MoreWhat’s More Important: Invention Or Imitation?
“We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over a new one; it is established, and it is understood.” – Charles Caleb Colton (Lacon, 1825) If you are lucky enough to work in a creative business with smart people, you…
Read MoreHow Much Of Your Profits Should Go Into Your Pocket — And How Much Should Go Back Into Your Business
Sooner or later, you will run into the sticky problem of executive compensation: How much should a CEO/owner get paid? You might have to face this question if/when your business gets going. And you might face it if you invest in a business. Fortune Small Business magazine did a story on this subject a while…
Read MoreRate The People In Your Business Life
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” – Bill Cosby Your success has a lot to do with people: the partners, employees, consultants, and vendors you choose to help you build your dream. If you are careful in choosing the individuals who populate your business…
Read MoreHow To Get Unstuck When A Big Job Stymies You
I hope you have considered what we talked about Monday the enormous impact price has in any market, in any business situation even in any personal situation. And I hope you figured out your life goals yesterday. Today we are going to talk about something just as important a morning routine that can guarantee…
Read MoreInvesting In Real Estate, Lesson 6: Investing In A Local Limited Partnership
If you tell a financial planner you’d like to invest part-time in real estate, he’ll suggest either REITS (real estate investment trusts) or limited partnerships. REITS are like stocks. You have no control over them, you have little chance to interact with management, and your knowledge of the business and its prospects is likely to…
Read MoreInvesting In Real Estate, Lesson 4
“Little and often make much.” – Confucius Yesterday, we talked about buying and selling fixer-uppers in bad neighborhoods. But you don’t HAVE TO start at the bottom. If you have more money to invest, you can do all of the above in a better neighborhood. In fact, if you can, I’d advise it. Buying Properties…
Read MoreBuying and Selling Local Rental Properties
“If you fall, pick something up while you’re down there.” – New England proverb Yesterday, I told you a story that highlighted just about every mistake you want to avoid when buying real estate for rental purposes. Today, let’s talk about what you should do. It seems to me that there are two big secrets…
Read MoreWhy Do New Managers Fail?
According to a report I read somewhere, four out of 10 new managers fail in their first year. The primary reason, the report said, is that they are not able to build a good support system. That corresponds to my own experience. When you take over a new job, you will encounter some enthusiastic support…
Read MoreHow To Turn Your Esoteric Knowledge Into Big Bucks
One of the most interesting things about Bruce Pandolfini — apart from the fact that he was the expert commentator on the world’s most famous chess match (the 1972 Fischer-Spassky match on PBS) and that he was the inspiration for the movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer” (as the teacher, not the kid) — is that…
Read MorePop Quiz!
Today we’re going to take a break from the big things and spend 15 minutes — don’t tell me you don’t have the time — reviewing some of the fun things that we’ve learned in the past few months. Part I. Show Off Your New Language Skills. What Do the Following “Words to the Wise”…
Read MoreLiving Rich: Fake It Till You Make It, Your Handy Wine-Grape Glossary
We’re midway through a long holiday weekend — and you don’t want to do any work today, do you? Instead, let’s take a few minutes to round off your growing knowledge of wines. Here’s a quick-reference chart of the 10 most important wine-grape varieties. If you learn these, you will be “fluent” in most wine…
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