HOPSON POTTER BUSINESS

The conclusions in Jeff Jarvis’ new book ‘What Would Google Do?’ about the fastest growing business in history, is that today are all entrepreneur.

As Americans work to restore our economy, the entrepreneurialism of the California Wine Industry exemplifies ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ Stephen Covey’s 15-million copy bestseller.

For in an 8,000-year old industry, competing with 73-other wine producing nations, relative upstart California gained its #4 rank in global production even after the Golden State’s wine industry had to start anew at the 1933 end of Prohibition.

Business is about people, and the California wine industry is made of people who exemplify Covey’s Effective Habits. Here they are synthesized:

Habit 1: Proactive: Proactive people take initiative and responsibility. Reactive people tend to blame circumstances.

As Tony Robbins says, “It’s resourcefulness, not resources.”

Habit 2:Begin with the End in Mind: They set long-term goals based on their own vision for their life, using visualization as an important tool.

Habit 3: Put First Things First: They prioritize work aimed at long-term goals, delegate tasks as possible, and focus on quality results.

Habit 4: Synergize: They think win/win, and find mutually beneficial solutions to satisfy the needs of all involved.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. They try to empathetically understand other people and their situations, and listen to improve communications.

Habit 6: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” They apply effective problem solving, collaborative decision-making. Value differences; build on strengths, leverage innovation.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: They use balanced self-renewal to
regain “production capability” and sharpen mind, body, spirit.

The California Wine Industry As Entrepreneurial Model:

- California produces more than 90% of all wine made in the U.S., and accounts for 95% of U.S.

wine exports. With our entrepreneurial spirit Californian’s love to grow things, and to make magic happen.

- California wines have been around since Spanish missionaries planted the first vines in San Diego nearly 250 years. Since the end of Prohibition, California has revolutionalized wine quality with art, science and innovation.

- California’s statewide Sustainable Winegrowing Program establishes strong environmental standards and practices throughout the entire winemaking process. California vintners and wine grape growers provide models for other viniculture and agricultural producers in America and around the world.

- California’s diverse growing regions, soils, climates, winemaking styles and people, plus 107 American Viticulture Areas, offers tremendous wine culture and choice. Our wine industry has been imprinted by Spanish missionaries, by German, Swiss, French and Italian immigrants, with important ventures with winemakers and modern entrepreneurs and researchers from around the world.

- California wines, chefs and culinary arts have created a nationwide focus on fresh seasonal cooking and dining. Californians care deeply about the freshness and quality of what we eat, grow, produce and offer.

- The California wine industry generates 875,000 jobs nationwide, with wages totaling $ 25.2 billion. The overall economic impact of the wine industry is $ 45.4 billion to our state, and $ 125.3 billion to the U.S. economy.

- California is the most visited state in the U.S. for food and wine- related activities, with 19.7 million tourists flocking to the state’s wine regions each year.

- Women are 52% of the U.S. economy, and purchase nearly 60% of U.S. wines consumed. They play a role in California viticulture, winemaking, sales, marketing, hospitality and distribution.

- Although less than 1% of California land is vineyards, California wine is the number one finished agricultural product in retail value in the U.S. Vineyards maintain our agricultural heritage, open space and scenic landscapes.

- California has created a national mainstream wine culture supported with industry magazines, websites, blogs; and has helped inspire winemaking in all U.S. states.

- Family owned enterprise accounts for 90% of all U.S. business; 50% of America’s GDP, and 75% of new jobs. The majority of California’s 4,600 wine grape growers and 2,700 wineries are also family-owned and operated, many are multi-generational, with their family name, quality, and reputations on the label.

The Core of America and the California Wine Industry: Heroic Family Operations:

Family winery operations, like most family owned farms, are often heroic operations dedicated to a philosophy. When we support family owned business, we sustain the core structure of America. The Tamayo Family Vineyards located in the agri-viticulture area of Contra Costa County just one hour east of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, is an example of the best about American wineries. A simple philosophy drives all that they do:

“‘A famous person once said, “Find a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ Perhaps no better phrase sums up what we feel about making wine at Tamayo Family Vineyards. Our story, like so many others in winemaking, really began as a dream…we once thought how wonderful it would be to actually grow grapes and bring them to the table as wine. Our grapes, our wine….we took a once romantic notion and nurtured it into the passion that has become Tamayo Family Vineyards…our winemaker echoes the desire to coax the best from earth and vineyard; and quality elements like French Chateaux barrels, superior American Oak aging…all fit in perfect unison to reflect our winemaking style…our appellation…the wines…[and]… their pure and honest heritage and birthplace. “

With that proactive clear vision, Tamayo Family Vineyards has won many Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Best of Class Awards, and Wine Enthusiast’s Affirmation that it’s “Wine so good you’ll want to drink the whole bottle.” For more information: http://tamayofamilyvineyards.com/tamayo/index.jsp

During these challenging times, no matter what business you’re in, understand you’re in a heroic enterprise, and take heart from all the above examples. We’re all in this together. Cheers!

*[Adopted in part from California Wine Industry Reports]

Most working men and women over the age of 50 start thinking about retirement, and many start planning for it. They do their due diligence on investment strategies, position themselves well in their companies, review their estate planning, and so on. While each individual step in retirement planning in amongst itself is sound advice, the main question to ask during this transitional phase in their lives is, “What is the goal?”

I would ask anyone planning to retire, including those already in retirement, what they plan to gain from it. Is it relaxation? Is it more golf? Is it more travel? Is it time to spend with family and friends? Is it a move to reduce stress? How about all of the above?

A lot of times, especially in this current economy, the decision to retire was made for people by their employers. Many are forced to take early retirement as their companies scale back their work force to cut costs.

And since their high salary demands make it harder to find gainful employment elsewhere, many choose to retire, or at least take a break until the economy bounces back.

Whatever the reason, it is common wisdom that the longer away from highly technical or executive work, the harder it is to perform that work at the same level. Not only is practice diminished, but the fields themselves are ever evolving, requiring added education to return to that type of work. At this point, a year or two into retirement, most people do not see the benefit of spending time and retirement money on education for a job that may not be waiting for them.

Worst part of all this is the toll retirement takes on self-esteem. After just a few years of retirement, as the thrill of travel and daily golf fade, the feeling of inadequate self worth sets in.

And for a former executive, military officer, or technical supervisor who spent decades leading and mentoring hundreds of people to give their best, the feeling that they can no longer contribute to society can be devastating. Couple this with the fact that children tend to communicate less with their parents after they retire, and retirement becomes much less desirable. In fact, it is precisely the feeling of accomplishment and worth to others that keeps a lot of people working well into their 80s, and not the money.

What if there was a way to keep all the benefits of retirement while maintaining a strong and positive feeling of self worth? What if you can still travel, play golf, visit friends and family, and do all the things you always dreamed of doing once you retire, while still being able to lead, mentor, and coach others to success?

Well, there is a way, a proven way, and it is not retirement.

Retirement is not the goal, entrepreneurialism is. The thrill of starting a home based business is rejuvenating. The prospect of being a source of leadership to many entrepreneurs is exciting. The benefits of return on investment when properly developed and managed is astounding. A person planning to retire has not lost value to society. On the contrary, leaving a company, whether by choice or not, is the best thing anyone over 50 can do. The goal in life, especially in America, is to transition from the “wage” system into the “profit” system. The profit system, or business ownership, is the only system where true wealth is generated, and true happiness is achieved.

But don’t go running off and blowing $ 500,000 on a brick and mortar franchise! There are legitimate businesses that are based on the internet that have absolutely nothing to do with multi-level marketing, pyramid schemes, or affiliate programs selling lotions, potions, and pills. Do your due diligence as you normally would for anything important (like the decision to retire), and you will soon find a business online that you can run from home for just a few hours per week that leverages your current skills and allows you to become a leader and mentor to hundreds if not thousands of people.

Remember, never “try out” a business online. Create a list of questions and make sure they are all answered to your satisfaction. Then when you join a business opportunity, work it like a business, and not a hobby. You understand this principle better than most, but it does not hurt to reiterate it here. Look for a business that does not require internet savvy up front, and provides an incredible amount of training. Make sure you fully understand the compensation package and that it lines up with your personal requirements. Be sure that you join an online business model that allows you to personally brand yourself as a leader so people are driven to you as a mentor and not the business as a product.

Retirement is not the goal. Retirement limits your potential to positively impact the lives of others. Owning a simple yet fully principled internet business where you are the centerpiece is the key to getting all the benefits of retirement, with the added advantages of residual income and a source of true happiness for you and your family.

Although there may be a lot of people who say they do not mind teaching you how to make money online successfully at a low cost, many of them even do not know exactly how to do that by themselves. These days most of the so-called business opportunities we see on the Internet are well laid out, yet the real purpose of theirs is to make you spend more and more money on their products and services.

In my seven years of studying the online business world, I have yet to find anyone sincerely willing to explain how to build and maintain a legitimate online business. I have come to the realization that the majority of the people making big bucks online are ordinary people just like you and me that have learned how to create web pages and use mlm software, but the problem is that what they offer is usually worthless.

Anyone could do this to earn a few bucks, but if your an honest person this is not an option.

Now, what will you do when you finally find that legitimate opportunity that you’ve been looking for? In most cases no one will tell you how to promote their products and they forbid you to buy search marketing using the top keywords that pertain to their products. The people that run these programs don’t care if you make any sales, they know that thousands of people are going to try to market their products for them so they’ll make a few sales here and their to put a few bucks into their pockets but what most people don’t know about being an affiliate is that whether you make a sale or not you are helping these companies get rich.

Think about this, if I have 2000 affiliates all sending me 100 visitors each per day hoping to receive a commission, yes some of them will make sales but the majority of my sales are going to come from search engines.

On top of the few sales that these affiliates are making me the biggest thing that their doing for me is making my site popular and the more traffic I receive the higher the search engines rank my site, this is where my real sales come from and guess what, the search engines list my sites for free and I don’t have to share the profits from those sales with anyone.

There are all sorts of ways to earn cash online, but the problem is that there are a thousand time more people looking to use and abuse you than there are looking to truly help you, this is why it’s so hard for anyone to make any money online. This does not mean that you should give up, there are some great honest ways to earn cash online you must simply be wise and careful of the companies that you choice to associate with.

Do the genes which make up the person you are today contain the information needed to become an entrepreneur? Are we pre-coded from birth to inherit these money making traits for our parents or is it all to do with how we are brought up and educated? 

Entrepreneurs create wealth and jobs. Because of these 2 facts, they are seen as a vital part of a region or nations economy. Without entrepreneurs we would live in a very different world. Governments, Schools, Universities, and business groups are continually on the look out for ways to ignite entrepreneurship in people. But despite all of this, nobody knows exactly what it is that sparks someone to create their own business. However, many recent studies suggest that a substantial part of that ‘spark’ could be due to an individuals genetic make up.

Nicos Nicolaou (lecturer in entrepreneurship at Tanaka School of Business, Imperial College London), Scott Shane (Mixon Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, Case Western Reserve Universities Weatherhead School of Management), Janice Hunkin, Tim Spector and Lynn Cherkas (Twin research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, St Thomas Hospital in London, home of the UK Twin Registry of over 10,000 twins), all came together and collaborated in this unique study.

They compared the ‘rate’ of entrepreneurship between more than 1,250 pairs of identical (and fraternal) twins within the United Kingdom.

They concluded that almost half, around 48% of a persons propensity to become self-employed and start their own business is genetic. 

The collaboration did a study of self employment among 609 pairs of identical twins, and compared that to self employment of 657 pairs of same sex fraternal twins in the United Kingdom. Identical twins share 100% of their genetic composition with each other, while fraternal twins only share around 50% on average. They concluded that the rate at which identical twin pairs both became entrepreneurs and the rate at which both sets of fraternal twins became entrepreneurs can be attributed to genetics. “One can look at the patterns of concordance (the numbers of pairs of twins in which both members are or are not entrepreneurs) and reasonably infer that genetic factors account for the differences” says Scott Shane.

The collaboration of scientists proposed several methods in which genetic factors may influence a persons tendency to become an entrepreneur. For example, genetics may predispose a person to develop traits such as being very sociable, or an extrovert. In turn this can pave the way to this person obtaining skills such as salesmanship, which is a vital skill attributed to an entrepreneurs success.

Genes have also been shown to affect the amount, or level of education an individual might receive. Thus, people receiving a higher level of education are much more likely to become entrepreneurs, as they are more likely to be able to recognize new business opportunities where others may not.

In conclusion, their studies have shown a clear genetic predisposition towards entrepreneurship, making it possible to proceed with further studies to identify the specific genes that are involved in being an entrepreneur.