Entrepreneurial Genius

As some of you knew and others probably guessed, my sporadic blogging this past week was due to travel.  Usually I have time to find a Wifi connection, hook up my laptop and post something, but that wasn't the case a couple of days.  Sometimes I have been known to prepare an entry or, two ahead of time and then post them via my smartphone.  Nope, not this week.  Maybe I just needed a little break.

I did run across a Texan this week who was unfamiliar with Buc-ee's.  I was a bit surprised until I reflected on the fact that the phenomenon of these convenience stores on steroids hasn't yet reached the northwest part of the state.  We stopped at the one in the above image on the way back home.  It is one of the newer ones and not the largest, but it has 48 gas pumps -- each of which can accommodate a car on either side.  That means 96 automobiles could theoretically be pumping simultaneously.  You think that's crazy?  I've seen it and with cars backed up in line to move to the pumps.

One of the draws of these retail wonders is their restrooms.  They are designed to handle as many people as the fuel pumps but, I have seen folks lined up in order to have a turn at the facilities.  In fact, a friend posted a photo to Facebook over this past weekend that showed a line stretching about 100 feet or, more at one of the facilities in the central part of the state.

When you think of the saying, "Everything's bigger in Texas," you are probably tripping over the inspiration for these mega-successful stores.  They are springing up along the crowded Interstate highways of the state and each one seems to be bigger than the last.  I never fail to be amazed at the number of people who have stopped to utilize their "money-trapping" facilities that  offer everything from souvenirs to barbecue sandwiches.  Their fuel prices are reasonable and their restroom facilities attract travelers like bees to pollen.

A couple of years ago I was traveling with some visitors that included individuals from New York, Maryland and England.  I took them to a Buc-ee's.  They talked about it the rest of the trip.  I have to admit, I definitely admire the entrepreneurial genius that took the idea of the convenience store to the level of superstore.

Gardening Lessons for Budding Entrepreneurs

Spring seems to be knocking on the door here in the Texas Panhandle.  The high temps all week have been in the 60's.  I'm getting in the gardening mood!  That's not a good thing though because I expect to be traveling much of the time through the Spring and Summer and won't be here to tend a garden if I planted one.

I tend to be fairly traditional in my gardening -- when I do plant one.  My gardens in the past have been fairly simple.  I like to plant tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, green beans, black-eyed peas, squash and okra.  Rarely do I add anything else to the mix -- UNLESS one of the kids wanted to plant something else.  In the past we have added pumpkins for a roadside pumpkin stand that was going to make tons of money but yielded only experience.  We also planted ornamental corn one year.  Similar source of experience.

If they were young and still at home and wanted to do something similar, we would plant some more "experiential" crops for them to tend.  It is the seeds of entrepreneurship that were the most important part of that experience.  Teaching them how to risk their capital, provide their labor, and approach the marketplace in the hopes of profit was the real benefit of planting those pumpkins and ornamental corn.

As a society, we have for the most part failed future generations in the area of teaching them about free enterprise.  It is obvious in the trends we see in our government today.  They believe that a great and benevolent government is the source of their livlihood.  They don't understand that it is not the government that creates the wealth, it is private business.  It is individuals who wake up every morning and risk their capital, their labor, their time, their future -- in the hopes of turning that small seed into a bountiful harvest.  It is time that we return to teaching our children those concepts.

I see hope in some areas.  There are many in the Millenial Generation who see the failure of our government.  They are looking for a better way.  I pray that the pendelum will swing back to a time of personal initiative and self-reliance rather than a collective dependence on Big Brother.

Life is good.

Fuel for the Future

The price of fuel keeps going up.
It's hard on us who drive
SUV's and pickup trucks;
Anything with four-wheel drive.
But I'm a firm believer in
A free market economy
So, I really can't complain too much
About the impact on me.
I know that most of you
Blame the oil companies
But, remember what happened
With the last price freeze?
Carter was the President,
The economy was a mess,
And where the world was headed
Was anybody's guess.
When the freeze was lifted
The pent-up market energy
Sent interest through the ceiling
Which recessed the economy.
So, I think it would be best
For supply and demand to work
Until some wily entrepreneur
Will look up with a smirk
And say, "By Jove, I've got it,
A new alternative
To replace the gas-powered engine
Is now done, I do believe!"
It will someday happen
If Congress stays out of it
But if they don't we'll power it
With all of their bulls_ _ t!

Here's Your Sign

The stock market went a little crazy this past week. It seems to be fueled purely by emotion. People play the market like they would play a slot machine. It is a tremendous tool for bringing capital and entrepreneurship together. Investment should be made based on the merits of the idea, the skill of the management team, the value of the business, or the worthiness of the idea. It shouldn't be a get-rich-quick scheme. But, that's what it has become. It is one more symptom of the moral degradation of our society.