The Profit Prophet

We all talk about the value of having experience in our lives to be either more successful or happy. Throughout the ages, smart people have stated this fact in pithy quotes, and I have listed the top twenty here.   “When a man with money meets a man with experience, the man with the experience gets the money, and the man with the money gets the experience.” --William S. Knudsen “In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” --Harold Geneen “Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.” --Albert Einstein “Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing.” --Oscar Wilde “Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment.” --Rita Mae Brown “You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.” --Albert Camus “Everyone in your life gives you something. The bad ones give you experience, the worst ones a lesson; the good ones give you memories, the best on...

When most people think of start ups they think of a couple of young kids working in a garage or basement (or now Starbucks), eking out a living until they are purchased for billions of dollars, but this is more fiction than reality. As published in Time's March 14th, 2013 issue, according to research by Vivek Wadhwa, an academic and tech entrepreneur, and the Kauffman Foundation, the average age of successful start-up founders of start-ups and other high-growth industries was 40. And high-growth start-ups are almost twice as likely to be launched by people over 55 as by people 20 to 30. How can that be?  Well firstly, most startups take founders with multiple skill sets and know-how. Yes, dreaming is important, but execution is paramount to success. As an example of this, I thought I would share a story about an old dog and if you can draw the conclusion about age. A wealthy old lady decides to go on a safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles along ...

As any good marketer knows, understanding your potential client is critical to maximizing your profits and your advertising spends. Below is a good example of how women think as they grow older. A group of 15-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Dairy Queen next to the Ocean View restaurant because they had only $6.00 among them and Jimmy Johnson, the cute boy in Social Studies, lived on that street. 10 years later, the group of 25-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the beer was cheap, the restaurant offered free snacks, the band was good, there was no cover and there were lots of cute guys. 10 years later, the group of 35-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the cosmos were good, it was right near the gym and, if they went late enough, there wou...

A teenage granddaughter comes downstairs for her date with a see-through blouse on and no bra. Her grandmother just pitched a fit, telling her not to dare go out like that! The teenager tells her "Loosen up Grams. These are modern times. You gotta let your rose buds show!" and out she goes. The next day the teenager comes down stairs, and the grandmother is sitting there with no top on. The teenager wants to die. She explains to her grandmother that she has friends coming over and that it is just not appropriate... The grandmother says, "Loosen up, Sweetie. If you can show off your rose buds, then I can display my hanging baskets." Happy Gardening.