The Entrepreneurial Artist

by Dean Zatkowsky

In the April 12, 2009, issue of The Boston Globe, James Reed wrote that "a growing number of musicians are looking to fans, not record labels, to help fund their albums and tours."

I was already aware of this trend, because two of my favorite artists are in the vanguard. Fans funded Jill Sobule's new record, "California Years," while Amy Correia is currently soliciting support for a record she'll be recording this summer. Correia is using blogs, Facebook, Myspace, and email to communicate directly with her fans.

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Categories: Creativity | Entrepreneurialism | Leadership | Optimism

7 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 6:53 PM

How to Almost Enjoy Tax Day

Author and traveling storyteller Donald Davis recalls the shock of receiving his first paycheck at his first job and finding the amount considerably smaller than he expected. He was furious, and told his father - a banker -how badly the government was treating him. His father took the teenager over to the local library reference section and pulled down a copy of the most recent federal budget. 

"Spend a little time going through this," advised his father, "and find something that you like. Then, pretend that's what YOUR tax dollars pay for."  Donald read through the massive document grudgingly, until he came to the allocation for national parks. For many decades since, Donald Davis has taken some solace on April 15 by reflecting on the real estate he owns all over the continent!

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Categories: Philanthropy | Economics | Environment | Optimism

9 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 6:25 AM

Three Quotations to Consider and Discuss

By Dean Zatkowsky

1. "The business of America is business," said President Calvin Coolidge, justifying his administration's laissez faire policies. Then he handed the White House keys to Herbert Hoover in 1929 and slipped out of sight as the economy collapsed. And yet, one still hears Coolidge's words repeated as gospel. Do you believe that business is the business of America?

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Categories: Entrepreneurialism | Economics | Ethics | Investing | Optimism

7 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 9:39 AM

Bubble to Bubble

By Lance Helfert

Satirical newspaper The Onion ran this headline in July 2008: "Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble to Invest In." The joke works because it's true, and because investment bubbles of the last fifty years were so frequent, so frenzied, and so well documented. The history of economics - and progress - has been a history of bubble and bust economic cycles.

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Categories: Finance | Economics | Investing | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 8:28 AM

Take Ownership

by Dean Zatkowsky, co-author of Two Billion Dollars in Nickels

Recently I addressed a Rotary Club luncheon, and began my presentation by inviting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to join me at the podium.

After a few seconds of silence, I said,  "Oh, they're not here yet? Well, maybe we shouldn't wait for those guys. Maybe we should figure out how to save the economy by running our businesses better..."

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Categories: Entrepreneurialism | Economics | Competitive Advantage | Optimism

14 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 10:15 AM

NEW BOOK!

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Categories: Corporate Culture | Creativity | Customer Service | Education | Nutrition | Management Skills | Disabilities | Entrepreneurialism | Finance | Economics | Ethics | Competitive Advantage | Optimism

2 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 9:13 AM

Fear Itself

Today, we see what Franklin Delano Roosevelt was talking about when he said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Unemployment headlines are so big; you'd think ink companies are the only ones making any money. Politicians warn of dire consequences if their policies are not adopted immediately. Corporate CEOs meet at luxurious resorts to compare tales of economic woe. According to columnist Daniel Gross, who covered the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, "The overwhelming consensus was things are really bad and getting worse."

I disrespectfully disagree with that consensus. CEOs, press, and government officials benefit from harping on economic horrors. It sells papers, pushes bills through congress, and provides cover for past management mistakes. The rest of us benefit from taking care of business, and that should be our focus.

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Categories: Entrepreneurialism | Leadership | Economics | Competitive Advantage | Optimism

1 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 10:04 AM