5 Exceptional Lessons from Avalon December 18, 2007

Jackie Victor and her partner had no business experience and weren’t bakers, but they formed the right relationship with the earth, the community, and their employees and have now been successful for over 10 years. Though, they have learned several lessons along the way. They learned to do your homework, start small, have [...]

Canine To Five November 21, 2007

Liz Blondy says starting Canine To Five was the best thing that she has ever done. She didn’t enjoy working for someone else and she didn’t feel that she had enough self discipline to work from home. She began visiting doggy day cares, researching the industry, volunteering, and she even researched everything to [...]

The Purrfect Entrepreneur November 18, 2007

Entrepreneurs view the unmet needs of consumers as opportunities, not problems. And that is the reason why Robert Mazur has been awarded an immense amount of recognition and grants recently. Mazur noticed that his grandmother was having difficulty opening her medication bottles, so he began searching for a solution. And that is [...]

No Need To Re-Invent The Wheel October 18, 2007

Lisa Toenniges is a classic example of how you don’t have to recreate the wheel. Toenniges is the CEO of Innovative Learning Group, a company that provides custom training to large companies. Toenniges took an existing company that had just sunk, and helped it to resurface. She brought to the table [...]

Shopping Made Easier October 13, 2007

Have you ever wished that you could shop through a virtual aisle at Target? Have you daydreamed about having a device that could follow your every glance and a handle that you could push forward for a video to simulate your progress down the aisle? Well you must wait no longer. Kimberly-Clark [...]

“Wealth Phenomenon” October 12, 2007

Dan Gilbert was in class last week and brought up an interesting subject. We had a long discussion about the “wealth phenomenon” as he calls it. So how is wealth created? Dan actually used a great example.
Pretend James has $10,000 and Antonella has no money, but paints a picture. If [...]

Do The Right Thing: Money or Ethics? October 12, 2007

The Chairman and CEO of Countrywide Financial, Angelo Mozilo, is currently being investigated for insider trading. He has cashed in $138 million in stock options and switched his trading plans multiple times as the mortgage company tumbled. He began a stock sale plan in October 2006 in a manner designed to protect [...]

Hangin’ by a String September 26, 2007

I’ve heard it from Dan Gilbert, Magic Johnson, Dave Bing, and many more: Customer service is a must. Everyone says how important it is, but Mike Himes can vouch that customer service is the only thing that has kept his business from going under.
Between the very steep discounts from big box stores and [...]

“Budda Bing!” September 21, 2007

               
Dave Bing, a former Detroit Piston, was named one of NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all time.  But his career didn’t stop there.  He went on to become a successful businessman and the founder of the Bing Group (http://www.binggroup.com/).  The Detroit area manufacturing company supplies automotive parts to suppliers.  The Bing Group is a [...]

John Ferchill September 16, 2007

                                          
John Ferchill, CEO of The Ferchill Group, shared some of his wisdom with us last week. People that know John Ferchill say he’s tough, delivers on his word, and gets things done. He built his entire company on loyalty and is very proud of that fact.
Ferchill has had a phenomenal success at finding niches. [...]