All of this is well and good, but you should really look at the forest, not the trees. In this case, a couple of guys took and idea for some pretty neat sensors that notify users via common communication channels (email, twitter etc) when something occurs, like water in the bilges of our sailboat. They figured other people would be interested too, and took their idea to Kickstarter where “people” proved their concept in spades. Purdue-related entrepreneurs should definitely consider Kickstarter for initial funding! Hank

On November 10^th of this year the FBI raided Chad’s pharmacy, took boxes of paperwork, and shut him down.  We can only speculate on what might have been the reason, but the outlook for Chad’s seemingly successful ten-year-old business doesn’t look good.  The fate of Chad, his family and his employees have all been affected by some bad business decisions.  What could Chad have done to avoid this mess?

http://www.jconline.com/article/20111111/NEWS/111110310/U-S-attorney-mum-visit-pharmacy

Just a decade ago Chad was an optimistic entrepreneur, happy with his life choices and excited about his new venture:  from ncpanet.org ( http://www.ncpanet.org/pdf/junior_partnership_transfer.pdf)

CHAD SHEDRON
From Residency To Ownership

When he was finishing pharmacy school at Butler University, Chad Shedron figured he would be buying his first independent pharmacy when he was 35 or 36. But there he was, 27-years-old in June 2001 signing a financing agreement with a local bank in West Lafayette, Indiana, and wondering if he’d done the right thing. “I’ve probably enjoyed it more than I thought I would,” he says, “even with the hours you have to put in. Sales are up 30 percent. We just had a great first year. I honestly don’t have too much to complain about.  I knew this is what I wanted to do when I did my residency,” he recalls. “It really turned the corner for me. Ownership was what I wanted to get into.”
Chad’s desperation, only ten years later, led him to make some bad choices.  When one owns a business, it’s hard to let it go, even when you know you’re sure to fail.  Desperate entrepreneurs sometimes make bad decisions.  I wish the best for Chad and his family, no matter what path his desperation may have led.  His entrepreneurial instincts betrayed him.    Beth Carroll (See video below for local news coverage of the closing.)

 Watch the sketchbook presentation below. Hank

 PS: The oil industry in the Corpus Christi area is begging for workers! See article here:

BTW, it is an embedded PowerPoint presentation. You might ask “how did Hank do that?” I converted the HubSpot-supplied PPT using iSpring Free, then cut the object code out of the iSpring code to embed the resultant SWF (flash) file, which I separately uploaded to our Thinkbeta.com server. Lots easier than it sounds. Hank

 Sand washed, stone washed, sand blasted, acid washed, dark wash, boot cut, baggy, skinny, bell bottom, boyfriend, straight leg, relaxed fit, frayed, ripped, torn, patched, painted, cut off, cargo pocket, pajama, stretch, high waisted, low rise, hip hugger… 

The history of Blue Jeans according to Wiki:  The word “jeans” comes from the French phrase bleu de Gênes, literally the blue of Genoa. Jeans fabric, or denim, originated in the French town of Nîmes, from which ‘denim’ (de Nîmes) gets its name.   Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi’s, Lee, and Wrangler. “Blue jeans” are particularly identified with American culture.

Since our parents and grandparents first fell in love with jeans over 60 years ago, the styles have frequently changed, but as a product in the United States, the five pocket denim jean has been one of the most durable consumer goods.  Most of us have a favorite pair.  We are always on the lookout for that perfect fit.  Some think that jeans are appropriate attire for nearly any occasion; weddings, funerals…  Those who are able to wear them to work think of it as a privilege. When not in jeans, most of us can’t wait to change into them.   According to Cottoninc.com, 96% of us own an average of 7 pairs of jeans, accounting for 6% of all apparel items in our wardrobes.  It’s a 5.2 billion dollar industry.  Sales of premium quality denim jeans ($100 or more per pair) rose 16% for women and 21% for men in 2008 and continue to rise even in this economy.  The denim jean is probably our favorite clothing article, the thing we pull on when we want to feel our best.  Why do we love jeans so much? Beth

So what’s this have to do with entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs? According to an article in the Corpus Christi newspaper Caller Times (front page 11/13/11) in  2010 alone 12,600 jobs with $512 million in payroll resulted. All kinds of opportunity is knocking for those willing to take modest risks and start businesses related to and/or supportive of the requirements of extracting this new source of oil, from trucking sand (used in the process) to inventing new devices to more efficiently extract black gold from the ground. There is also a large pull of other services, such as housing, auto repair and sales (Ford’s sale of fleet trucks has more than doubled on an annual basis).

For entrepreneurs, you have to be able to find the hot spots, be there with a product or service that meets the demand, and in many cases be ready to move physically on a moments notice. Our Sunday paper is full of jobs, from IT-related, health care, to working behind a shovel. People just need to get off their collective asses. Hank