The Dinner Table Was My First Business School

Growing up, we talked about business at the dinner table.

A lot.

Some families talked about sports. Some talked about politics.

We talked about businesses.

My parents were both entrepreneurial, so there was always something to talk about.

An idea. A customer. A problem. A deal. Something somebody was doing well. Something somebody should try. A building that would be perfect for something.

I loved it.

And I didn't know it was unusual.

Looking back, I think that's where I learned to see opportunities.

Nobody sat me down and taught me entrepreneurship. There weren't worksheets or business plans.

It was more like learning a sport.

You watched. You listened. You talked about it. You tried things.

And after doing that long enough, you started seeing things differently.

A vacant building wasn't just a vacant building.

A complaint might point to a business idea.

Something being done poorly made you wonder if there was a better way.

An existing business made you wonder what else it could do.

I went to college and learned a lot of valuable things. But I'm not sure this particular kind of thinking is something I ever learned in a classroom.

Maybe entrepreneurship isn't just something you do.

It can also be something you practice.

You can get better at noticing things. Asking questions. Connecting seemingly unrelated ideas. Looking at what already exists and imagining what else it could become.

For me, that started around the dinner table.

I guess I've been practicing ever since.

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I help owners develop what's next.