I was recently reminded of a book entitled Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter, first published in 1997. It was all the rage at the time. It contrasted the rich dad who made money through smart investments and entrepreneurship vs. the poor dad who worked his whole life for someone else and never achieved financial security li...

It's National Farmer's Market week! You probably didn't know there was such a thing, but it makes perfect sense if you think about it. It is peak season, so now is the time to hit the farmers market or harvest the vegetables growing in your garden. Many people love growing fruit and vegetables but can't consume everything they produce. Hence the ba...

How do you ever get ready to start your business? When is the time right? What are the steps? There are several variations for this process. Each is likely to yield different results, not all favorable. There is a process you can follow, but depending on your personality and prior experience (which may be totally unrelated to owning a business), yo...

I typed "food trucks" into my search engine, producing over 286 million results. That was way more than I imagined. With numbers like that, it's safe to say that food trucks are more than a passing fad, which makes me happy because I've had some great meals from food trucks, I love the culinary variety, and the price point fits my budget! One of th...

T'is the season…for farmers markets and food trucks. There's nothing like locally-farmed produce and locally-produced goodies. Did you know that Illinois has over 370 farmers markets throughout the state? If you want to know where to go, just click on the National FarmersMarket Directory (https://nfmd.org/ for the whole country, or https://nfmd.org...

One of the latest trends in the American economy is the side hustle. Generations of working-class people have worked two jobs to make ends meet, but now side hustles are often entrepreneurial jobs done by professionals. Bankrate.com, a financial website, conducted a survey in April 2023 that found that 53 percent of Gen Zers (ages 18-26) and 50 per...

I participated in a workshop recently sponsored jointly by the WBDC and the SBDC of Aurora, and The Business of Food. In attendance were individuals considering starting a food truck business. Minerva Calatayud of the WBDC offered information about how to develop a plan for starting your business using the Lean Startup Method, which many view as le...

Have you ever considered having an intimate dinner at home cooked by a professional chef? Wouldn't that be a perfect way to celebrate an occasion like an anniversary, retirement, or engagement with the people closest to you? Or maybe you want a special meal at home with your partner without a long drive into Chicago. Enter Chef Rudy Galindo to crea...

For days, I have been reflecting on how to begin. Last month, I spoke about the benefits of assessments. I reviewed the assessments I mentioned previously, looking for the "answer." I hoped to find the ultimate list of characteristics shared by entrepreneurs. It was too confusing, so in the end, I went to my trusted book for entrepreneurs: The E-My...