The Art of Entrepreneurship
Although all entrepreneurs are business owners, not all business owners are entrepreneurs. I take the business of entrepreneurship very seriously. It requires years of practice and most of all, the understanding that every business venture is risky. The only difference between successful entrepreneurs and unsuccessful ones is the continuously learning of how to lose small and win big. In general, I prefer online business models to "test" my business ventures, because I can start fast, spend very little, and gather more accurate analytics before making large commitments than with any other model. All of which are important ingredients to success. The other ingredient I look for is the ability to automate the process once the product has matured (usually less than 6 months).
Porch Potty
Porch Potty is a pseudo-manufacturing company that invented the first automated grass litter box for dogs. The company is a virtual company (no office, no employees) that manufactures, sells, ships and supports a line of products found online and in catalogs to a world wide customer base. The company is owned by Bluekube Technologies (that is my company), and yes I was the inventor too. Porch Potty sells over $1 Million each year of product online, and is an example of an "automated business model".
DRENCHED Fitness
DRENCHED Fitness is a retail business I developed with my wife Julie. It has all the challenges of a brick and mortar company like expensive startup requirements, limited local customer base, long term commitments and employee management. This is the type of business you experiment with if you already have a few successful businesses under your belt. The strategy with this, is to develop a strong product and service package that is either repeatable for licensing, or a jumping off platform for an online product or service.