Lakeshore Garden Space

RYAN WALLACE, ADVISOR

“People were meant to create.” I came across this statement in a book recently and it really stood out to me as I began to analyze what this statement truly means. Some people create relationships and friendships, politicians create confusion, artists create beauty, others create chaos, and we entrepreneurs create ideas that become businesses. Creating something is no easy task regardless of what it is you are attempting to create. Friendships take time and effort and politicians have a long road until they can truly figure out what they stand for. The question we need to ask is why do we need creation from people and where does it come from?

The mere idea of creating something excites me. I remember when I received my driver’s license, not just my permit allowing me to drive with mom and dad; but my singular license. As I hopped into my red Dodge Stealth and took off, I knew the world would never be the same. I wasn’t just excited to be “on my own,” but there was a sense of something new being born inside of me. I had the freedom to do much more than I ever had before, and with this new found freedom, I did exactly that. Between trips with friends, going to the mall, dating girls, and giving money to the state and insurance companies for fines, I was creating. Read the rest of this entry »

Web link contributed by Aaron Schaap

I’ve got a bunch of tips on how to do this for business. Among them:

Buy Macintosh computers, save money on an IT department uy second monitors for everyone, they will save at least 30 minutes a day, which is 100 hours a year… which is at least $2,000 a year…. which is $6,000 over three years. A second monitor cost $300-500 depending on which one you get. That means you’re getting 10-20x return on your investment… and you’ve got a happy team member.

Buy everyone lunch four days a week and establish a no-meetings policy. Going out for food or ording in takes at least 20-60 minutes more than walking up to the buffet and eating. If you do meetings over lunch you also save that time. So, 30 minutes a day across say four days a week is two hours a week… which is 100 hours a year. You get the idea.

Buy cheap tables and expensive chairs. Tables are a complete rip off. We buy stainless steel restaurant tables that are $100 and $600 Areon chairs. Total cost per workstation? $700. Compare that to buying a $500-$1,500 cube/designer workstation. The chair is the only thing that matters… invest in it.

Don’t buy a phone system. No one will use it. No one at Mahalo has a desk phone except the admin folks. Everyone else is on IRC, chat, and their cell phone. Everyone has a cell phone, folks would rather get calls on it, and 99% of communication is NOT on the phone. Savings? At least $500 a year per person… 50 people over three years? $75-100k Read the rest of this entry »

JOE LAMPEN, ADVISOR

After doing some thinking about where West Michigan is as a community, and where we may be headed, I came to the following realization: A strong West Michigan presence in the Global Economy will have less to do about what the global marketplace is supplying us, and more to do with what we’re supplying the global marketplace.

This may not sound that different from any other ‘global economy’ comment, but it seems to me that this really challenges the perception of how most people think the global economy effects them. The part of the global economy that gets reported in the news, talked about around the water cooler, and despised on ‘black Friday’s’ is the part that “takes our jobs” away from hard working Americans and outsources them to lower wage countries. But we shouldn’t be focusing on job retention. Instead, we should be focusing on job creation through new revenue opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

RYAN WALLACE, ADVISOR

“I have a list going of 9 businesses that I currently want to start,” and my wife’s jaw dropped to the floor. I then proceed to explain to my wife over the next ½ hour how I could still be a good husband, a good father, and own 9 businesses at the same time. “You’re kidding, right?” she says, the funny part was I had already convinced myself and believed it to be true. I love my wife, and try as she may, she will never understand what goes on in my head because I’m an entrepreneur.

My name is Ryan, and I’m an Entrepreneur.” There should be meetings for people like us. I’m not talking about networking meetings or chamber meetings, but a community help meeting much like AA. Everyone would stand up and say their names and admit that they have a problem. Our problems would vary from person to person and we could really relate to one another. At the end we could all recite steps to ensure that we stay focused on our current tasks lists (steps), and that we are on track to be successful husbands, fathers, and business people. It would be an amazing experience because many people of the same mind and ideals have gathered in one place for many common goals.

Let me now tell you why this Euphoria will never exist. Think of 3 entrepreneurs that you know. Can you picture them Read the rest of this entry »

 AMANDA CHOCKO, LAKESHORE ADVANTAGE

In an excerpt from the Richard Florida book “Who is in Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision in Your Life”, the author argues that Tom Friedman’s (The World is Flat) theory that in the global economy “you can innovate without having to emigrate” is false. Florida professes that “Geographic concentration encourages innovation because ideas flow more quickly when innovators, implementers, and financial backers are in constant contact. This happens because density brings such powerful productivity advantages, economies of scale, and knowledge spillovers”. Living in clusters with like-minded individuals is what is going to spur innovation.

I found this concept very encouraging because this is precisely the environment we are creating in the Lakeshore Business Garden. We have such an eclectic array of talent, expertise and most importantly, generousity. The combination of creativity, experience, openess, and giving is truly magical. I love watching how individuals comes together to team up on jobs, refer work to each other, bounce ideas, and offer their talents without hesitation. We are also blessed to have a great group of Business Advisors who are passionate about entrepreneurship and are equally generous with their time and expertise. When we all work together, the synergy, ideas and innovation that emerge can not be duplicated by sitting in front of a computer with a modem. I look forward to all of the innovation that is going to be spurred from our creative cluster right here at Lakeshore Advantage.