The Freestyle Entrepreneur

It was one of those seemingly innocuous events that should have been long ago forgotten. Instead, it is so etched in my memory that I have even given it a name: The Gus Schael Syndrome. When I was growing up in the 1950s, Lawler, Iowa was a bustling little village. One of our local entrepreneurs, Gus Schael, owned [...]

My sons Tom and Greg, unlike their father, were talented high school athletes. Both did especially well playing basketball at a small parochial school with a rich tradition in the sport.  Unfortunately, in my high school days a generation earlier, I saw action only if the game was well in hand. Once my boys asked about my skills on the court, “Were [...]

I would like to be able to blame my buddy, George Timlin, who had a knack for getting me into trouble when we were kids. A year older than me, he always had creative ideas on endeavors that were fun but all too often led to a bad ending. But truth be told, however, this one [...]

The evening started out in a very uneventful manner as my wife, Renee, and I decided to try out a steak joint in West Des Moines that had been given rave reviews. We were in a good mood on a Friday night anticipating a nice meal and good conversation. Shortly after we sat down a young man walked [...]

We enjoyed many excellent speakers at a professional association meeting that I recently attended in Baltimore. One related a story about an insurance agent who sold a $14,000,000 case because he didn’t rush to judgment. A successful businessman who attended his church came up to him at a social event and asked him to do a favor, “A guy just [...]

  My brother-in-law, Bob, is a terrific guy who hated this particular ‘company policy’ at the airline where he was employed.But let’s go back to the beginning. Bob began working for Ozark Airlines which was absorbed by TWA (Trans World Airlines) and eventually merged into American Airlines. He spent thirty years with them and has a plethora of wonderful stories about [...]

I admire those of you who are naturally inquisitive. Many people whom I know would love to be professional students if time, finances and circumstances allowed.  In general, that has not been true of me.   I graduated from Mason City (Iowa) Community College with exactly enough hours to earn an Associates of Arts Degree. After transferring to the University [...]

I don’t know his full name but did notice ‘Ben C.’ on his name tag. Ben C. is seventy-five years old if he’s a day and could not have been enjoying life more if he tried. It was a recent Saturday afternoon and I had just begun my shopping at a local grocery store. He [...]

  I’ll admit it; I am prejudiced on the subject of men and women in sales. We’ve got to continually show the love to our agents/producers/sales reps!All too often I have heard corporate home office people complain about, ”All we have to do for them and the too generous commissions they receive.” I want to shout from the [...]

Today’s essay is directed mostly at the small-business owner who has employees, but its message is relevant to each and every one of us—employees or not. I heard almost identical stories twice within a few months from two managers who have never met and for whom I have the utmost respect. The first was from my friend and manager, [...]

jettison   tr.v., -soned, -son·ing, -sons. 1. To cast overboard or off: a ship jettisoning wastes; a pilot jettisoning aircraft fuel. 2. Informal. To discard (something) as unwanted or burdensome: jettisoned the whole marketing plan.I had not heard the word before space travel became the norm in the 1960s. It occurs when the capsule comes to a point [...]

It’s a puzzle to me when I observe sales people who do not treat their existing customers like pure gold. Surveys prove over and over that it is much easier to get the next sale from someone who has already purchased your product or service than from a prospect who has yet to do so. My wife and [...]

The visiting consultants had the room arranged as seminar attendees walked into the training session. I heard a nervous buzz as the students observed video taping equipment plugged in and ready to go. You could hear a collective sigh of relief when one of the two trainers said, “Oh, don’t worry about the camera. That isn’t for you. I am [...]

It’s not nice to be envious but sometimes I just can’t help myself. Some people are ‘naturals’ at keeping their work space in order with a place for everything and everything in its place. Their filing systems, real and electronic, are impeccable. Seldom will you find a piece of paper out of place on their desks. I am NOT that person. [...]

In previous TFE pieces, I have expressed great appreciation for my mentor, Bob Jamieson. When I became of full-time life insurance agent with MONY in 1977 at the age of thirty-three, I took full advantage of his guidance and coaching. His combined work ethic, integrity and creativity served as a tremendous model for me over my next twenty years in [...]

Like most men, I don’t like carrying change in my pocket–especially pennies. Therefore, I throw the annoying little buggers in a drawer and deal with them when a pile has accumulated. When that occurs, I often count out a handful and go down to my favorite deli near my office and purchase a banana (currently @ 74-cents per). In the [...]

Several months ago I heard a fascinating story on WHO radio in Des Moines. The host was chatting with a couple of his colleagues about an incident he witnessed at the Iowa State Fair several years ago. “Enough time has passed that I can probably safely share this story,” he began. “It was a typical sweltering August day in Iowa when television celebrity, [...]

My personal coach, Mary Duwe, and I were having a telephone session when she mentioned a danger that people who are not prepared for retirement face. “All too often,” Mary stated, “men and women who answer an alarm clock and head out to work each morning for years fail to give ample thought to how [...]