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Wow, the last few weeks have been awesome and crazy.  The launch of the new company is going WELL above my initial expectations.  We are extremely busy with good work.  For this I am thankful, but it has made it extremely difficult for me to find time to post here at TAM.  You all know [...]

My work involves meeting all kinds of people who are at various stages of their business career. 
Many conversations lately have seemed to be more coaching than consultation based. 
I’m seeing a lot of fear in Michigan.  The worst part of fear is that 98% of it is just simply not real.  It is a bunch of [...]

I was at a board meeting yesterday for my University’s Center for Entrepreneurship.  We discussed at length the real possibility that Michigan is going to see 17% or more unemployment rate over the next 12 months. 
The thought is that there are going to literally be hundreds of thousands of people looking for work, OR HAVING [...]

So I turn on the local news station tonight, and the first this I hear is something like this…”Jackson, MI makes it to #1 on Forbes list…but it is not for something they want to be recognized for.”
Jackson, MI is the hometown that I LOVE!  It was a hit to hear that Forbes.com has ranked [...]

Photo Credit: http://www.eightsolid.com
In June of 2003 I opened my first franchised pizza store here in Michigan. I went into partnership with my best friend from college. We had worked for 18 months planning our business, finding the perfect location, learning about the pizza business (him a lot more than me, as he went through [...]

As I’ve shared in the past, my wife and I built our dream home about 3 and a half years ago…right at the height of the housing bubble here in Michigan (and across the US for that matter).  Hind sight is always 20/20, but it sickens my some days to think of how many beautiful [...]

In June 2007  I started an Energy Drink business.  There is this amazing stuff make in Europe called XL Energy Drink.  At the time I was a Red Bull fanatic, but when I tasted XL, I WAS HOOKED.  It tasted very similar to the leading brand, but was smoother and didn’t have that bitter aftertaste [...]

I know for a fact that there are a TON of you out there asking yourself this question right now…Should I buy a franchise?  So many folks are losing their jobs and getting laid off, it generally causes most all of us to consider “going it on our own!” 
Being your own boss is great, but [...]

 Over the past 5 years I’ve had the opportunity to buy, operate, and sell five franchised restaurants.  The restaurant businesses, and specifically franchised restaurants, have provided significant additional cash flow for my family (on top of my earnings as a financial advisor 2002-2006, and VP @ Private Equity firm 2007-present).
 
I think the key is to realize that 9 [...]

So I got my wisdom teeth out today.  Easy as pie my friends.  I had heard SO MANY horror stories that my nerves were going crazy this morning.  I’m feeling great though, so as I relax and recover I thought this would be the perfect time to try to dispense some Wisdom.  
First of all I [...]