Small Business for Real
If you want to see small business at its finest—check out this video.
(email subscribers, view on my blog)
Notice the passions this business owner has—he loves his business, he loves his customers, he supports other small businesses, he tries to stay away from unhealthy products, he rejects unhealthy packaging, he is passionate about the environment (and points out the hypocrisy of governmental environmental rules)…and on and on. This entrepreneur could be the poster boy for small business.
How well do you fit this standard?
Don’t Miss This!
During the month of August, PBS stations around the nation will be featuring the “Playing for Change” feature film, Peace Through Music.
We are honored to finally share this film with you, as it embodies four years of traveling the world and discovering the power of the human spirit. —-Mark Johnson
Here is a brief movie trailer of this film (email—view on blog).
For a schedule of when the film will be aired on a PBS station in your area, click here.
Playing For Change: Peace Through Music is a story of hope, struggle, perseverance and joy. Directors Mark Johnson and Jonathan Walls, along with the Playing For Change team, traveled the globe with a single minded passion to connect the world through music. Their ambitious journey took them from post-apartheid South Africa, through the ancient sites of the Middle East, to the remote beauty of the Himalayas and beyond. Using innovative mobile technology, they filmed and recorded more than 100 musicians, largely outdoors in parks, plazas and promenades, in doorways, on cobblestone streets and amid hilly pueblos. Each captured performance creates a new mix in which essentially the artists are all performing together, albeit hundreds or thousands of miles apart. Playing For Change: Peace Through Music is the story of this unparalleled international musical collaboration and its remarkable power of redemption. (From the Playing For Change web site.)
Old Guys Rule
Considering that we live in a youth oriented society, I always enjoy reading about an older person successfully pursuing their chosen profession. For example: I recently read about David Pelham, the Science Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. David is 90 years old, and refuses to slow down. He says he learns something new with every article he writes.
Pelham’s passion for pursuing a news story hasn’t slowed down one bit. He spent two weeks in the Ethiopian desert following fossil hunters around. He does say of this trip, “That was when I was younger…three years ago.”
Hats off to the David Pelhams of the world. I think we could use a little “wisdom-of-the-elders” right about now.
Person of the Week
Earlier tonight ABC Evening News with Charlie Gibson presented their “Person of the Week.” Here they featured one of my favorite entrepreneurs, Mark Johnson, with some of the Playing for Change folks. If you have read some of my earlier posts, you know that I have held Mark up as an example of the qualities that entrepreneurs should strive for. To see what I mean, take a look at an interview with Mark on the Bill Moyers Journal.
(email subscribers—view on my blog)
Obsession, passion, perseverance, capabilities—these are the necessary traits of a successful entrepreneur. We can all take a lesson from Mark Johnson.
Do Big Events Pay Off?
Does your town, or city, sponsor any big events? There is a small town in South Dakota that puts on an annual motorcycle rally that brings in enormous revenues. The event is held the first weekend of August and this year is their 69th event. The town is called Sturgis, and here are some interesting statistics:
• Population of South Dakota – 804,194
• Population of Sturgis – 6,442
• Number of event attendees – between 4 and 500,000
• Number of city licenses issued to vendors – 1,192
• Gross Sales for the 7-day event – $16.4 million
• Pounds of ice delivered to area – 6.7 million
• Tons of garbage hauled – 543
Obviously, this is a pretty big deal for this small town, but they have been doing it for 69 years and they have it pretty well figured out by now. Many of the local businesses make a good portion of their annual income and profit during this one week. How does your town/city stack up?
Oh yeah, they also issued 66 marriage licenses last year.
The Spirit of America
Mark Johnson is one of my favorite young entrepreneurs, because he exhibits the perseverance to follow his dream—and be successful. It’s the end of the week, so I thought I would post one of his latest videos, featuring two of the Playing For Change performers; Grandpa Elliott, and Louis Mhlanga, performing at Dodger Stadium. Even though he is blind, Grandpa Elliott obviously loves his country. This should give us all something to think about.
Mark Johnson’s dream is to bring peace to the world through music, and he is following his dream and persevering in spite of the challenges. He has carried this dream for 10 years, and worked steadily on it for the past 4 years—and he shows no signs of slowing down.
How strong is your dream?
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