Update/Context: I have published this message several times during election cycles when politicians make campaign promises about providing free college for everyone. It is a misguided notion to use taxpayer money for free college or to pay off student debt., a cousin to free college that began to appear in 2023.

I get a little nervous when I hear politicians, policy makers and educators talking about making college free for everyone.  Free college is a bad idea and here are some reasons why.  By the way, these principles apply not only to government programs but also to many parents who are killing themselves trying to provide a totally free ride so Junior can attend college with no “skin in the game” of his or her own.   

People Don't Value Free 

People don’t value things they receive for free.  Many times, it’s because the free things are really of little value.  This gives people the impression that free things don’t have much value so that even things of value are not appreciated.  Giving things away does little to build the recipients' ability to be self-reliant, or build their self-efficacy, a form of self-confidence that leads to better life-long decisions.  “Habitat for Humanity” is a program that helps people have affordable housing, affordable but not free.  The reason the program is successful is that everyone has to contribute to the house being built for them in some way.  This “sweat equity” is what makes people value the program and the homes they receive from the volunteers who help make them possible.  A college education should be affordable, but not free. 

Not Everyone Needs College 

Another reason free college is a bad idea is that not everyone needs college.  Don’t misunderstand, everyone needs to be educated, and everyone needs to be committed to life-long learning, but there are lots of ways to become educated besides going to college.  After decades of a societal message that everyone should go to college, many of us now realize this is not the case.  There are plenty of examples of people that have made huge differences in the lives of others, indeed, the world, without a formal college education. 

Stop Saying No College is Inferior 

Some politicians and other members of society are finally starting to realize that college is not for everyone. Their message is not right, however. If you begin to listen, you’ll hear this societal message loud and clear, “You don’t have to go to college, you can go to technical school and settle for a job working for someone else your whole life.” No doubt there are plenty of technical jobs that pay double what the new college graduate will make, but why are we telling these young people they can’t do any better than working for someone else? We have to have people willing to start new companies in the trades and technical areas and people without college will be just as apt to make a success of a new business than those with college.  

Higher Education Needs Change 

Finally, with more than fifty percent of college graduates unemployed or under employed, we need to re-engineer higher education before we make it free and infuse even more unemployable graduates into the marketplace. The college degree needs to include training and knowledge about how to be agile and adaptive to a changing world.   As the world changes and career paths come and go, we need our educated people to be able to change course and thrive rather than hit the unemployment line while waiting for the next job in a career that is no longer of value to the marketplace. 

College Should Be Attainable, But Not Free 

Scholarships and financial aid should be available for those willing to work in exchange.  There’s nothing wrong with the idea of students working their way through college.  Students having their own “skin in the game” will take their education more seriously and will tend to make sure how and what they learn will serve them well in a future world of continual change and disruption. 

It’s the Mindset, not the Degree, That Will Change the World 

We should be instilling a growth mindset in all youth, college or not, employee or entrepreneur. We need to instill a curiosity about the world and how to make it better. From the great book “Creative Confidence by David and Tom Kelley, “When you open your mind to the possibility that your capabilities are unlimited and unknown, you already have your running shoes on and are ready to race forward.” 

Update/Context: There are still humans, therefore there are still problems to solve, just as in this article last published in January, 2019. Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will add the disruption in the work place already being affected by automation in 2019. References have been changed to a couple of new concepts on the drawing board, "Life Skills Academy" and "Applied Entrepreneurial Mindset." You can see more information at correllcoaching.com.

Today’s vast bodies of knowledge, available at our fingertips, along with stunning new technologies give us greater-than-ever potential to solve our problems; personal, commercial and societal. Humans aren’t perfect and as long as humans are in the mix, things won’t work right, things will break, products and services will be lack-luster.  No matter what happens with new technology and greater knowledge, there will always be problems.  We need people that are better at recognizing problems as opportunities and finding creative solutions for them. 

Whether we know it or not, we’re all in the business of solving problems.  In our work lives, whether we’re working for others of working for our customers, we’re supposed to be solving problems.  In our personal and student lives, there are problems too.  Better problem-solving skills make us better in our professional lives and happier in our personal lives.  As we become better problem solvers, we become better decision makers, realizing that the successful outcome of our lives depends on our choices, not our circumstances.  The psychologists call this special kind of self-confidence “self-efficacy” and increased self-efficacy is the primary objective of Life Skills Academy and our Applied Entrepreneurial Mindset Training Program. 

Successful entrepreneurs—the ones that have identified problems, found creative solutions and offer those solutions to customers—have this special kind of problem-solving ability and outlook on life.  We could all benefit from looking at the world and the problems of the world the way entrepreneurs do.  Studying entrepreneurs has been a challenge.  Ask them to explain how they think, they can’t, let alone write it down.  Most know they think differently, but often don’t realize they have a better way of looking at things.  Indeed, many have felt isolated as their differences in thinking have not fit in with society’s thinking. 

We found a method a few years ago that makes studying successful entrepreneurs not only possible, but interesting, inspiring and fun.  Best of all, it doesn’t require reading any long, dull text books or writing research papers.  “Entrepreneurial Mindset”, a class different than any other, is generally offered a couple of times each year. 

At the same time, we recognize that employers are looking for people with critical thinking and problem-solving skills that go far beyond just knowing how to do one kind of work. The most competitive companies and organizations need to be staffed by entrepreneurial thinkers, using innovative and design thinking to help solve the problems of these organizations and those they serve. As technologies come and go, we believe workforce training should involve introductory training in a variety of technologies and disciplines all centered around entrepreneurial thinking. Our Applied Entrepreneurial Mindset program provides a buffet of technology introductions coupled with Entrepreneurial Mindset. All the training includes healthy doses of experiential, project-based learning. We are working to offer our participants a digital portfolio. This can include images, still and video, of projects and collaborations. An prospective employer can look into the insights of job applicants as they show off their projects in the digital portfolios, demonstrating how they overcame project-related challenges and the knowledge gained by solving the problems in completing the projects. 

This kind of learning, using entrepreneurial mindset and design thinking to solve problems in an experiential, project-based learning environment will unleash hidden talents and abilities of many people who have not done well with the traditional teaching methods we’ve used in the United States for the last 100 years. We like to say about Applied Entrepreneurial Mindset, “Work force training for the rest of us.” 

To remain competitive in a global economy, heading for massive disruption as new technologies and automation take over the factory floor, companies and organizations will need everyone to be engaged in solving the problems that will continue to come up in spite of or because of this disruption. 

Update/Context: First published March 17, 2018 at a time when, to most people, "Economic Development" meant recruiting big employers to come to a town and provide jobs. The US Economic Development Administration (EDA), with a mission to provide jobs in communities, recognized that supporting entrepreneurship and small business start-ups could also provide jobs. 

Expansion Building Coming Soon 

We blinked before New Year's Day and now we are already into the second twelfth of 2018. While we race into the New Year, we inch steadily toward the ground breaking of the new Fab Lab ICC expansion building. We use the term expansion building to indicate it's not a building we'll move into, but rather expand into. So, in addition to the nearly 8,000 square feet we occupy now, we'll be adding an additional 6,400 square feet. The new building will house a paint booth, a few welding stations, a business incubator and a new studio into which we will move our wide-format printing, still image and video studio and our electronics work stations. We're expecting to put the project out for bid during the first part of February, 2018 with completion by August 1. 

At $700,000 the project is not huge as far as building projects go, but it is the first new building on the ICC campus in about 20 years. It's quite remarkable that the concept and related funding for this project has come about in just two short years. Interesting to note is the fact that the project did not come about with a primary purpose of serving academic programs. This project is a part of our development of a new tool in rural economic development; assisting entrepreneurs and small business owners in starting and building their businesses to collectively make substantial contributions to area employment and, indeed, rural area economies.  

Economic Development is Changing 

There's a continuing nationwide debate about the effectiveness of the traditional model of economic development that involves luring big companies to come in and build large facilities that will employee many people. In the northeast, they call this "chasing smoke stacks," a reference to the businesses that used to characterize the industry base in the northeast. The challenge is the concessions and abatements necessary to get the "smoke stack." Many times, when the benefits of the concessions and abatements are exhausted, the smoke stack leaves after engaging in a new auction to see who will pay the most to attract it to a new area. 

Entrepreneurship Can Help Large Numbers Even in Tiny Markets 

Entrepreneurship and small business ownership has the greatest potential to help the largest number of people, world-wide, even in areas too tiny to effectively bid on the smoke stacks. One-hundred small business owners are the equivalent of a company coming to an area, bringing 100 jobs; only the small businesses generally don't receive abatements and financial concessions. Some of the 100 businesses will grow to need employees and thus we have a tool to grow from within. We offer access to Fab Lab ICC and our services through memberships available to anyone in our "community" without geographic or other limitations and this includes many entrepreneurs and small business owners working to start and grow their busiensses. 

We Need More Start-Ups 

New business start-ups across America are down and we need to do something to inspire a new generation of problem-solving entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses. We need to change the mindset from one that thinks new businesses require massive planning and funding to a mindset realizing that 98% of new businesses have always started small—with $10,000 or less in start-up funding—validating their markets early and then growing, some to become large employers. 

Expansion Building Funding 

This is the reason the United States Economic Development Administration is funding 50% of the Fab Lab ICC building expansion. They see the need to have more business start-ups and they believe the Fab Lab can be a catalyst toward that end. The Independence Community College board of trustees will provide $250,000 toward the matching funds required for the other 50% of project cost. The remaining $100,000 has come from individuals and a couple of non-tax based organizations. 

New Model for Work Force Training 

In addition to our efforts to grow small businesses, we will provide a new brand of work force training, called Fab Force, that will emphasize entrepreneurial thinking, a variety of technical knowledge skills and experiential project-based learning. Eventually this kind of learning will be a big attraction to traditional students looking for an exceptional and affordable experience during their first two years after high school. 

We believe the combination of the Fab Lab maker space and entrepreneurial mindset can be an economic driver in rural communities all over the United States and world, even those too small to afford the cost of attracting large employers. 

Update/Context: First published in 2017 and revisited in 2020, this article continues to be highly relevant as the national conversation around minimum wage intensifies. Since then, some states have gone beyond the $15 minimum wage, with one recently implementing a $20 minimum for certain restaurants and food establishments. This has had significant consequences: some businesses have been forced to close, while others have raised prices dramatically, with a simple hamburger now costing over $20. As we look ahead, the rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is adding a new layer of complexity to this issue. While higher wages aim to support workers, they may also accelerate the shift toward job automation, creating a difficult balance between fair pay and long-term economic sustainability.

Mandatory $15 Minimum Wage and Unintended Consequences 

Some states have already mandated it.  It sounds good, at first, but the mandatory $15 minimum wage may have some unintended consequences, many of them, well, not so good. 

Automation and robotics are coming to the workplace and they are coming fast.  Entire warehouses are served by robotic carts retrieving merchandise to be sent to customers.  Fully ambulatory robots are programmed to do some of the mundane tasks on the assembly line; mundane tasks currently being performed by minimum wage earners.  The cost of such a robot is about $22,000 and it will last five to eight years.  That’s a bit more than the current minimum wage for one year, but less than the $15.00 mandatory minimum wage.  A current commercial offers a franchise opportunity where the main feature is a robot that will serve your yogurt creation.  (This is a terrible business model.  In a year or two, robots will be serving all kinds of items in all kinds of restaurants.  Robots will become more common.) 

In spite of what any politician says about “bringing jobs back to America”, the minimum wage jobs will not be coming back.  There are too many people in the world willing to work for much less money than the current minimum wage, let alone a new $15 minimum wage. 

All this does not bode well for those earning the minimum wage at current levels.  States raising the bar to $15 incents businesses in those states to do more automation and offshoring of low-level jobs, thus reducing their employment levels. 

We can expect higher unemployment among those in the minimum wage sector; especially youth in the urban areas that need “starter” jobs to learn and enhance skills.  Is that really what we hope to achieve with this clamoring to a higher minimum wage? 

Minimum Wage Jobs Are Starter Jobs 

Minimum wage jobs are supposed to be “starter” jobs.  People take them to get “started” and then aspire to excel in the way they do those jobs so they can begin to move up the ladder into higher paying positions.  The minimum wage was never supposed to be a fully “living” wage. 

Somehow, in our society, we’ve raised a generation or two of people that have the idea they should be able to take a “starter” job and have a comfortable life without aspiring to grow and improve their skills and wage level in the workplace. 

Our schools and training programs can help by not only providing technical knowledge and skills, but also providing the aspiration for life-long learning and self-improvement so our citizens won’t expect a minimum wage job, no matter what the hourly rate, to give them a comfortable life. 

Update/Context: Joanne Smith and I made two of these trips to Washington in 2018 and 2019. Many politicians and policymakers continue to believe that entrepreneurship is predominantly about large, venture capital-funded startups. In reality, most new businesses begin on a smaller scale, often with less than $10,000 in startup funding. It is crucial to continue emphasizing how small businesses truly start.

For the second time in just over a year, local entrepreneur Joanne Smith (Fab Creative Services) and I recently returned from an entrepreneurial policy advocacy trip to Washington, DC sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (EMKF) in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Our relationship with EMKF goes back to October 2013 when I met Kauffman’s then head of entrepreneurship, Thom Ruhe, by chance in a hotel restaurant in Orlando, Florida. The conversations with him that night led to Kauffman supporting the initial creation of Fab Lab ICC with a $50,000 matching grant that we matched with private donations. 

EMKF is no small concern. With assets of around $2 billion, it is one of the world’s largest organizations dedicated to furthering entrepreneurship around the globe. Ewing Marion Kauffman came back from the Navy in World War II and got a sales job with a pharmaceutical company. He was really good with people and at building relationships. So good that within a couple of years, he made more money from his sales commissions than did the president of the company. So, the president didn’t like that and instead of congratulating him on helping make the company successful, the president cut his territory in half. Mr. Kauffman still made more than the president and he tried to cut his territory again. With $5,000, Ewing Marion Kauffman started Marion Laboratories and most of his customers followed him to the new venture. He used his middle name in an attempt to make it appear to be more than just a one-man show. When the company merged in 1989 with Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals to form Marion Merrell Dow the deal made more than 300 millionaires.  

Kauffman established the EMKF in the mid-1960s. He wanted his foundation to be innovative – to fundamentally change people's lives, making entrepreneurship and training available to people all over the globe. 

Even though Ruhe left the Foundation in 2014, our relationship with EMKF continues to grow. Two years ago, we applied for a grant in what was called the Kauffman Inclusion initiative. Our purpose was to lower barriers to women and making entrepreneurship and small business ownership more readily available. We’re in the middle of our 2-year “Women 4 Women” (W4W) program with Independence entrepreneur Joanne Smith as the manager of the initiative. 

In a highly competitive process, our W4W application was selected as one of 21grantees out of more than 700 applications from around the United States. We later found out that we were also from one of the smallest communities. Chattanooga, Tennessee was the next smallest and they others ranged all the way up to Baltimore, Los Angles and New York. 

In addition to working directly to help entrepreneurs and small business owners, EMKF is interested in educating and advocating for entrepreneurship among the legislators and policy makers in the US government and around the country. For the second year they have sponsored entrepreneurship advocates (that would be me) and their representative entrepreneurs (Joanne Smith) to go to Washington DC to meet with legislators and policy makers to demonstrate the importance of entrepreneurship and small business ownership to these elected officials who determine our policies. 

It’s an important message. Erroneously, our society and media lead us to believe that businesses are created by flamboyant entrepreneurs with a lot of money and big venture capital to invest in their start-ups. Also, that in order to be a successful entrepreneur you have to know venture capitalists and have business and MBA degrees from the big universities, if Harvard, so much so the better. The fact is that ninety-eight percent of businesses are started by ordinary people with less than $10,000 to spent on start-up. 

Through W4W and Growth Accelerator, we are working to support this kind of start-up and growth activity with the entrepreneurial mindset training and business coaching we offer at Fab Lab ICC. We act like our future depends on it because it does. The key to economic growth in the future not only in the United States, but all over the world, is entrepreneurial activity by ordinary individuals learning to do extraordinary things. 

Update/Context: When this article was first published, the question of whether to pursue a patent was already complex. Today, as the pace of innovation accelerates and patent costs continue to rise, it's even more important to carefully consider if a patent is truly the best course of action. While patents can protect ideas, they are not always necessary, wise, or cost-effective, especially for small businesses or individual inventors. It depends on the individual situation and there are other strategies that may be more suitable than the patent

The quote, "everything that can be invented has been invented", is generally attributed to Charles H. Duell, commissioner of US patent office in 1899 although the quote’s origin is unclear.  One researcher found the quote in an 1899 issue of a comedy magazine, “Punch” in an article about the oncoming new century.  According to a publication called “Government Technology” in August of 2011, the 8-millionth patent was issue; indeed, everything has not been invented. 

Being awarded a patent after coming up with a new idea or invention and navigating through a long and expensive process is often viewed at the “gold standard” of the legitimacy of the idea or invention.  For many new inventors, the goal of patenting the idea or invention has been at the top of the list.  The thinking is that the patent will both validate the idea and protect the inventor from the theft or copying of the idea.  While there are no clear-cut guidelines pertaining to when or even if to patent a new idea or invention, the patent should almost never be at the top of the list.  

Contrary to many beliefs, from a practical standpoint, the patent does not offer the iron-clad protection against theft and copying for several reasons.  First, while the cost of getting the patent--$15,000 to $60,000—is very high, the cost of litigation to stop a patent infringement could be ten times that amount.  Second, many times clever copiers can create a product that performs the same function, with just enough design changes to avoid infringement.  

At the same time, government employees at the patent office deeming the new idea worthy of a patent, does not always translate to market validation; that anyone wants to buy the new product.  A local banker tells a story of an out-of-state inventor that spent his life savings and mortgaged his house to develop and patent a more accurate rain gage—it leaned into the wind to catch more of the drops.  He had paid for scientific data proving his device was more accurate.  The only problem was that no one cared enough to be willing to buy it. 

I know of at least one and maybe two inventors that have put their projects on the shelf because they don’t have the money to apply for a patent.  It’s too bad that they may never know whether their product would add value for anyone in the marketplace or not.  Maybe it would be better to develop what we call a minimum viable product that would be functional enough to test market to see if anyone wants it even at a small risk of someone “stealing” the idea. 

A good patent attorney is more of a patent counselor, not just taking money to mechanically apply for the patent on your behalf, but helping  you  decide when and if to patent at all.  We have a relationship with just such an attorney.  We also know a patent counselor who helps people apply for their own patents at a fraction of the cost of using an attorney.

Update/Context: The idea of an interdependent entrepreneurial ecosystem cam be compared to a biological ecosystem as I did back in June of 2022. Today, some of us prefer to use the term entrepreneurial community to represent an interdependent community of entrepreneurial thinkers.

A few years ago, I saw something new coming onto the market. A sealed glass-globe ecosystem of small plants and organisms. The cost was about $2,000. The idea was that if you have the right mix of animals, plants and organisms, life is sustained inside the sealed globe. The only outside ingredient necessary is indirect light to provide for photosynthesis in the plants. The Internet defines ecosystem as “a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.” Generally, a popular definition today is “a complex network or interconnected system.”

I don’t see this particular ecosystem on the market today, however, I do see several varieties of aquatic ecosystems. Typically, they seem to consist of a sealed glass dome containing miniature shrimp, algae, and micro-organisms. The waste that is produced by each organism is used by the others. It’s balanced so there’s no excess waste and the life cycle can go on without intervention.

Early efforts at aiding entrepreneurs and small business start-ups were somewhat “controlled.” I can remember meetings where there was talk about some committee determining what kinds of businesses this community or that community needed. I’ve come to realize that it’s small business owners with the Entrepreneurial Mindset and the marketplace that should determine what’s needed, not some economic development committee. We’ve learned again and again that markets need to be free. A controlled market whether the controller is a government, or a local committee doesn’t work. It’s the entrepreneur, always empathetically looking for problems and the related solutions that make for a strong economy.

We saw the development and growth of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in our area before the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is behind us, we’re seeing the growth return. Some would argue that the ecosystem is what helped us through the challenges of the pandemic. We are talking about an ecosystem of entrepreneurs independently working with each other in a complex interconnected network. The ecosystem builds on itself. Other than a supportive environment, the ecosystem needs less and less help from outside forces. We do what we can to help entrepreneurs enter the ecosystem. Once in the ecosystem, they start to grow. They consult with each other and start doing business with each other. We try to be there to continue to help by seeing that they get what they need. Some stay in touch. Some disappear from our radar screens and grow on their own. Sometimes when we see them in social settings, we find out they’ve expanded and maybe even started something else on their own without our help.

On several occasions, we’ve worked with these entrepreneurs daily In the Fab Lab as they’ve used our equipment to develop their products and promotional materials. At a certain point, their business grows enough to buy their own equipment. While these are certainly success stories, we have to get used to them not coming around as often. They have to spend their time satisfying customers, and don’t visit the Lab as often as any of us would like.

We work to instill an Entrepreneurial Mindset, that is a certain independence and self-sufficiency in searching for problems to solve, in everyone we work with at the Lab. This makes our entrepreneurs somewhat “cat” like, as in herding cats. They come around for a while on a regular basis and we get used to networking with them as we help them get what they need. Then, when that’s done, they disappear, sometimes for several months before coming back again for the next help we can provide. We miss them when they’re gone, but welcome them back when we see them. All in all, that’s the way an ecosystem should be, requiring limited help and attention. There’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing these independent and self-confident people thrive in the ecosystem while providing for the needs of the marketplace.

Update/Context: This article has been repeated a couple of times, most recently in July, 2020. The concepts in the discussed book remain timeless, making it essential reading for every aspiring entrepreneur and existing small business owner. If you've read it before but it's been a while, it's time to revisit its valuable insights.

On December 17, 2017 my headline was "E Myth Revisited" Oldie But Goody. As you’ll see below this book has been around a while, yet the concepts are timeless, and many small businesses today struggle with the same challenges presented in this classic. Here’s what I said in 2017 but I could have easily said it for the first time today. 

I’ve learned that most entrepreneurial concepts are timeless, mostly, I think because they have to do with human behavior and human thinking. So, many books about essential entrepreneurial mindset skills are current, even if they’ve been around for a while. Such is the 1995 book called “E Myth Revisited” by Michael E. Gerber.  

I went to work for Independence Community College back in 2006 after then president Terry Hetrick had a vision for a nuts and bolts entrepreneurship program to help community members develop and grow their businesses. Dr. Hetrick wanted a program that was “nuts and bolts” as opposed to academic so he sought not an academic professor or MBA to run the program but, apparently, someone like me. I had owned a couple of small businesses and then worked in manufacturing about a decade in two different Boeing supplier companies. I had only one semester of accounting but learned the rest along with other management skills through ten years in the photography business in Garden City from 1976 through 1986. In the two manufacturing companies, I worked in accounting, production and inventory control, scheduling and even manufacturing planning. Nearly all the learning was on-the-job and much of it came the hard way, through experience and making mistakes. I often joke that I got this job because of all the different work experience and the fact that I couldn’t stick to one career. Now, I believe all that experience, plus the knowledge of nearly twelve years at ICC have set me up for what I’m doing today. We have Fab Lab ICC now, but the original vision of Dr. Hetrick to help community members develop and grow their businesses is still at the core of everything we do. 

I have no major regrets about the way my career stacked up; indeed, the opportunity to be involved in the creation and development of Fab Lab ICC and its potential to help people from all walks of life is an extreme privilege and honor. I have one minor regret. Until a few years ago, I always thought I was too busy to read regularly.  

I did not discover “E Myth Revisited” until a few years ago, some 15 years after it was published in 1995. Even that version was an update of the original “E Myth” in 1986. The subtitle is “Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.” Gerber, an author and business coach does a great job explaining why so many small businesses fail, often when the owners become burned out after several years of working so hard. 

He makes a point that every business needs an entrepreneur, a manager and a technician. The entrepreneur watches out for new business opportunities and is concerned about making the business so good that customers prefer it over competitors. The manager takes care of the day to day administrative details of running the business; cash flow, accounts receivable and payable, inventory and other activities not directly related to providing products and services to customers. The technician in a business is the one that is directly responsible for taking care of customers.  

The key to a business being sustainable today and, in the future, depends on the entrepreneur always looking for new business opportunities and the manager working to “systematize” the day to day operation. In very small businesses, the owner has to be all three. Many get caught up in wearing only the technician’s hat, working long hours just to satisfy customers. This can go on year after year while the entrepreneur and manager hats sit on the shelf. When this happens, sales diminish and eventually burnout takes over and the business closes. 

There are ways the small business owner can learn to wear all three hats, building a sustainable business with processes that run smoothly. I’ve recommended this book on several occasions to small business owners struggling to make more than a “wage-rate” living from their businesses. We are working hard to run Fab Lab ICC like a business and implement the “E Myth” principles even though they are approaching 25 years old. Even businesses involved in the latest technology need to incorporate these timeless principles. 

Update/Context: Published in July 2021, part one delves into the origins of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program and the story behind its unique name. The program serves as the cornerstone of the Entrepreneurial Mindset class I launched in August 2012. Since then, nearly 200 people in Montgomery County, Kansas, have participated in the course. Almost all attendees report a shift in their mindset, and around 20% say the class has changed their lives. Part one highlights how the Ice House program has become a key tool for fostering entrepreneurial thinking in the region.

The Origin of Ice House Entrepreneurship - Part 1

Many people within our network of contacts here locally, around Kansas and across the country are familiar with "Ice House Entrepreneurship." We use the term frequently when we speak of "Ice House" concepts or the "Ice House" way. It must sound very strange to people that don't know the origin of the term. For many of us, the "Ice House" way represents not only the way we should be starting new businesses, but the way we should all be thinking in how we solve the problems in our career, academic and personal lives.

Most businesses start small and grow

Most new businesses do not start as have been portrayed by our society. The impression we've had all these years was that businesses are started by people with business degrees from the top business schools with detailed business plans and projections. The plan is pitched and after receiving startup capital from venture capitalists, an all-or-nothing gamble takes place. I've not seen much evidence of those kinds of start-ups in the various areas of Kansas in which I've lived.

Then, in 2011, I learned of a statistic that ninety-eight percent of the Fortune 500 businesses were started with less than $10,000 in start-up capital. Even the mighty Walmart started out as a small store owned and operated by Sam Walton. Amazon was started in a garage with a few computers and doors converted to desks by adding 4 x 4 legs. (When I did my hard time as an area manager at the now defunct Coffeyville Amazon fulfillment center, that's what we still used for desks; a door on 4 x 4 legs.)

Introduction to the "Ice House" way

This revelation came to me at a conference in Oregon in October of 2011 when I heard, for the first time, Ohio business man, Gary Schoeniger and international speaker and Pulitzer nominated author Clifton Taulbert speak of a book titled "Who Owns the Ice House?"

From gutter cleaning to construction management

Schoeniger, without a business degree and with little money, started a small business cleaning roof gutters. He recognized that homeowners had a problem; they knew their gutters needed to be cleaned, but didn't want to do the work themselves. Although he didn't like ladders either, he went door to door offering to clean gutters for a fee. One customer asked if he could fix her garage door opener. He told her he'd have to check and, in the era preceding Google, he went to the library to find a resource to help him figure out how garage door openers work.

One thing led to another as Gary tweaked his business model, always looking for new problems he could solve for his customers. A few years later, he owned and operated a multi-million dollar construction management firm.

From flunk-out to another family business

At the time Gary was a single father with a teenaged son living with him. The son had a friend named Jason whose personal life was a train wreck. Jason was about to flunk out of high school seeing no relevance in the subject matter. Again, one thing led to another and Schoeniger ended up adopting Jason. With no special training in helping a teenager with Jason's background Gary first set about finding something constructive for Jason to do after school. In his construction management business, Gary knew that most contractors don't like to clean up their sites (we all know this too) so the two went to garage sales picking up bargain tools and supplies that could be used in construction site cleanup. They designed some flyers and business cards and Jason became the proprietor of a construction site cleaning business. He became well known for his reliability and ability to use a calendar to do the work for his customers when and where needed without reminders. Jason operated the successful business until he was graduated from high school and enlisted in the Marine Corp. The business made him see the relevance in much of the subject matter in school and his grades improved greatly.

Gary Schoeniger and adopted son, Jason Campbell, both started businesses with no special education and very little money. The businesses flourished as they both learned to solve problems for their customers.

Changing how we grow entrepreneurs

Gary saw the discrepancy between what we've been led to believe is required to start a business and his own experience, along with that of son Jason. He set about to change the way we educate people in starting businesses by studying the way successful entrepreneurs and business owners think in terms of solving problems for others. There was a huge challenge in this undertaking since most successful entrepreneurs can't verbalize how they think, let alone write it down.

Next time; how it became "Ice House"

In the next column, we'll explore how Schoeniger solved this problem and how he met Clifton Taulbert and co-authored the book "Who Owns the Ice House?" with him to become the center of what we now call the "Ice House Entrepreneurship" program.