Here are the Top 6 Traits:

• Ability to Collaborate
• Being Self Fulfilled
• Future-Focused
• Curious
• Tech Savvy
• Action Oriented

Read the full article HERE.

I recently read a very interesting article from BoatU.S. Magazine called “The Boating Myth That Won’t Die”.  With the economy still stagnating every state is revenue hungry and looking for uncollected taxes. Cruising boaters crossing state borders may find themselves in troubled waters if they linger too long in one area. The article was about a family who sailed their vessel on the eastern seaboard from Florida to Maryland. Along the way making stops in a few counties in North Carolina, when they arrived at their new home in Maryland they found mail from the state of North Carolina concluding they had personal property in North Carolina and therefore were subject to taxes in North Carolina.

I found the information below to be interesting in that typically clients will register their boat here in Delaware and cruise around the world docking in numerous parts of the world. Below is an excerpt:

A common misconception in recreational boating circles is that federal documentation of a privately owned boat by the USCG exempts the vessel from state registration, and thus taxation. This is NOT the case. In fact, most states require vessels kept in their waters for prescribed length of time, most commonly 60 to 90 days, to register and obtain a state sticker to indicate that the owner has paid the required taxes.” 

So the message to take from all this is make sure that if you’re cruising your vessel from place to place and are registered in another state beware of the length of time that you are stationed in each location as you could be subject to taxes.

1. Environmental Consulting – Going green is no fad – it is a very real and growing industry and is valued at $17.8 billion and is expected to grow by 9 percent per year for the next 5 years.  Every business sector can expect to be affected by the green wave.  Expertise will be in demand for air, soil and water quality management.
2. Translation and Interpretation Services – The old adage that “talk is cheap” does not apply to the new global economy and basically any service that can bridge the communication gap is very valuable.  This segment grew at 18 percent last year and is a $2.7 billion industry.  Budding segments within this industry would include healthcare, website translation and multi-language marketing materials.
3. Home Health Care – Even with the current legislation – this segment is expected to expand by an average of 4.9 percent for the next 4 years.  Out of hospital care and less expensive alternatives are very appealing to the growing elderly population in America.  Physical therapy fields and non-medical home-care hiring are expected to be the leading segments.
4. Mobile App Design – It all started with the iPhone and now with the iPad and all the web-enabled devices available – the market for mobile apps has never been greater.  Demand will be high for programmers, developers and designers.  According to the Dow Jones Venture Source – in the past three years – location based apps have received $656 million.
5. Ferryboats and Inland Water Transportation – Yes – believe it or not – the old fashioned ferryboat is making a comeback.  Sparked by a rise in urban highway congestion – privately run ferry services as well as tourist excursions are on the increase.  A high concentration of success has been found in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes.  As part of the 2009 Economic Recovery Act – the production of ferryboats and terminals is expanding.  This industry grew about 17 percent last year.  One new Coast Guard certified ferryboat that carries 150 passengers costs about $6 million.

While no new business venture is a sure thing – these trends certainly deserve some attention and those who are able to offer complimentary services to these industries are targeting a very real and successful goal.   Whatever industry you serve – we at Harvard Business Services, Inc. are happy to serve you!

In the years since student Michael Dell scrounged up $1000 and turned his room into an assembly line, many more students are following his lead. Faced with a bleak job market, enterprising students see advantages in starting their own company; costs are coming down and pressures on nimble, low-cost upstarts aren’t as great. Growth is often a result of the internet, where snazzy websites don’t betray a home-based operation. Entrepreneurs can be more profitable with less need for capital or office space. Taking a risk often isn’t the leap of faith it used to be. According to the Challenger, Gray and Christmas’ job market index, 8.9 % of job seekers started their own businesses in the second quarter of 2009, way up from the record low of 2.7% in the last quarter of 2008.

Young entrepreneurs may be in the spotlight, but baby boomers are becoming business owners faster than any other group. New businesses started from 2007 to 2008 by 55- to 64-year olds grew 16 percent, faster than any other group, according to Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit group that studies U.S. business start-ups. They predict a sustained boom, not in spite of the aging workforce, but because of it! This group has built-in advantages including accumulated business knowledge and funds, as well as a network of people to tap as customers, suppliers and financial advisors. Many find that starting a business around lifelong interests or past passions is very rewarding as well as profitable.

With this trend, the next decade will see the growth of small businesses continue, and the social and economic impacts of small business increase.

To read articles on this topic, click HERE and HERE.

Everyone is a hero in some way, but some are recognized more readily. To our credit, we recognize many of those who are in service daily to make our world better; soldiers fight, teachers educate, and police and firemen protect. Those who excel in sports, the arts, and politics gain great respect and popularity. Seldom do we think to recognize those in the world of small business, entrepreneurs who fight heroic battles to grow a company and keep the economy strong. People in business, large and small, are unsung heroes who are often ignored when hailing heroes.

Joseph Campbell, a world mythology expert, contends that the progress of the making of a hero involves three stages, and successful entrepreneurs travel through all of them:

• departure from the known to promote a better purpose or idea
• taking a risk and having the courage to persevere
• coming back with a better way or product

Thinking, “I can do this, and maybe in a better way,” the risk-taker is an optimist who then sacrifices comfort and security to promote his idea, which then becomes greater than himself. At this stage great resilience is often necessary as there can be opposition to challenging the status quo, and the risk of failure is always there. Finally, the successful trail-blazer returns to make a difference and begin dealing with future challenges, often becoming the unsung hero who puts people to work, and continues to make decisions daily that affect workers and the world around them.

Not all who venture out succeed, however, and a great percent of new businesses fail. But, according to Candace Allen and Dwight Le, “over three-quarters of all new jobs each year come from firms no more than four years old. Though large, well-established corporations are more visible, one finds the most entrepreneurial action and risk-taking activity in small business ventures.”

Though it is easy to dismiss the positive role of entrepreneurs in our society, we should celebrate those who realize their potential to effect a positive change in the world!

To read more on this topic go to:
www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/the-entrepreneur-on-the-heroic-journey