Posts in Business

Motivation For Success: The 7 Deadly Sins Patent Style

If you ask me, the 7 deadly sins are not very deadly at all. Like pretty much everything in life, excess is bad and moderation is just fine. The 7 deadly sins in moderation and channeled properly are what leads successful people in the innovation space to be successful.

The Business of Blogging: A Tutorial for Would-be Bloggers

The likely success of any e-Business (and that includes the business of blogging) is evaluated by the amount of traffic a website will generate. Generally speaking, there are two important components of traffic: (1) the number of visitors that can be expected to be attracted to a site; and (2) the number of users that can be expected to return to the site over time.

Mac vs. PC: A Simplistic Yet Effective Marketing Strategy

Apple is capitalizing on what would appear to some as Microsoft “crying wolf” syndrome and putting into question whether the new operating system can be trusted because its issues have not been effectively resolved by any of the previously released PC Operating Systems thus far. These ads are brilliant!

What Inventors Can Learn from Skateboard Icon Tony Hawk

What do high-end jeans have to do with skateboarding? Nothing. Do you think it is a coincidence that Hawk failed at this business? I do not believe it is coincidence, and I really don’t believe in coincidences for the most part. Yes, coincidences do happen, but repeated coincidences cease to be explainable as coincidence and cross the threshold into causative. Time and time again I see people enter businesses they do not know, they have not taken time to learn and the outcome, at least in my experience, is universally uniform — ending in failure. I can say this not only through observation, but also through experience. Perhaps my greatest business failures have come in areas where I didn’t thoroughly know the industry. Tangential knowledge, hard work and dedication can cover up lack of specific knowledge and allow you to convince yourself you can do it, and what happens is you just convince yourself to stay the course longer than you should and lose more than you should. Sticking to what you know doesn’t guarantee success, but it does make it more likely.

Bilski Arguments Complete at the US Supreme Court

At 2pm ET on November 9, 2009, Chief Justice John Roberts gaveled the session to a close announcing that the case had now been submitted. The arguments were good, and the Court was most assuredly hot, peppering both sides with question after question seeking to probe the issues. It is clear that the Supreme Court did their homework and spent no time gravitating to the weak points of the parties.

Choosing The Right Corporate Structure For Your Business

In recent years the Limited Liability Company, which is typically referred to simply as an LLC, has become the darling of entrepreneurs and small businesses around the country. But the LLC is not always the best choice. Sometimes a Subchapter S corporation or another structure is preferable. This article helps you choose the right structure for your new business. Determine…

The Making of a Good Patent Related Press Release

One of the most frustrating things I encounter when blogging is finding a really great story courtesy of a press release and then realizing that the press release provides so little useful information that it is impossible to write anything other than a puff piece, which I simply will not do.  From time to time I have even written to…

Innovation Starts with Math and Science Education

When it comes to talking with their kids, parents say the topics of math and science are harder to discuss than drug abuse, according to a survey of 561 adults who have children ages 5 to 18. The survey was conducted online between Sept. 23 and 28, 2009 by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates on behalf of Intel Corporation, and…

Comparative Advertising: BK vs. McDonalds and Wendy’s

Today I was searching the Internet for some interesting news to write about and I stumbled upon a press release from Burger King regarding its a ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger now being available for only $1. In some markets the ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger has been available for $1 for the past 18 months, but now it is being added…

Why All Small Businesses Need Software Patents

The reason giant companies hate patent trolls is because they are not capable of being counter-sued. There is no deterrent effect because patent trolls do not make, use or sell anything, they just sue. So giant companies are targets in the same way that smaller companies without patents are targets of big companies with patents. No one should aspire to be a target. A simple truth is that a small business without patents might as well dress themselves up as a buck during hunting season complete with a bulls-eye pre-drawn. So here is the case for every business to get patents, particularly software patents. Ignore it if you like, but you do so at your own peril.

President Obama Gives Reaganesque Innovation Speech

Let me set the record straight from the start. I do not agree with President Obama on much, and I voted for and supported John McCain dating all the way back to his first run for President. Having said this, it is impossible to ignore the fact that so far President Obama and his Administration is saying all the right…

Music and Fantasy Football Make the NFL Brand Great

This post may not be as off-topic as you think simply by reading the title.  Yes, I will be licking my wounds as a result of an opening day fantasy football loss, but what is really prompting this article is a discussion this morning on ESPN radio with host Eric Kuselias, who incidentally was managing partner of Goldblatt, Kuselias &…

Why a Global Patent System is a Bad Idea

A little over a week ago, in a blog post written by Microsoft’s Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez started what will certainly become one of the most profound debates the patent and innovation industry has seen in a very long time, and perhaps the most profound debate that has occurred since Thomas Jefferson and James Madison argued whether the fledgling…

China: Choose Right Supplier at Right Time in Right Place

In Ancient China, the appropriate time, the right place and the union of people are three key factors in rule of the world and in a war. Today, the three factors, time, place and people also play key roles to success. This article will give you an overall perspective on how to choose a supplier in China in respect of…

Domino’s Video Offers Food for Thought for Businesses

This past spring, a series of prank videos from a couple bored Domino’s employees captured the worldwide attention of the public and the media. Before they were removed from YouTube, they reportedly garnered a million views. In these videos, an employee put cheese up his nose, and farted and sneezed on sandwich fixings he was handling, while the narrator described…