I was quoted in the Chicago Tribune today, taking about Piggybacking about a product for Uggs boots:

“Piggybacking on an existing hit is a great way to break into retail and gain distribution quickly, which otherwise can be expensive and time consuming, experts said.

“They are adding on to a market that is already there,” said Barry Moltz, an entrepreneur and author of the business book “Bounce!” due out in January.

“A lot of retailers will want [the Boot Bop pins] if they sell Uggs,” because they will likely bring higher sales, he said.”

CNN Money writes last week about where the tax and regulatory climate is best for for small business. They quote Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s latest ranking which puts, drum roll please: South Dakota at the very top. It does not tax personal income or capital gains, corporate income or  capital gains. Fuel is cheap. A little far away from those of us that like the city life, but hey, you can’t have everything.

Now number 2, Nevada has all the advantages taxwise of South Dakota but sales and gas taxes are among the highest in the nation. Water can be scarce and whatever else comes with gambling. But heck, the entertainment here is alot better than South Dakota.

Where does your state rank? Illinois is not in the top ten!

I pondered this question in my upcoming book, Bounce!. There are alot of famous success college drop outs like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs. Lesser known ones I learned about at a site called, College-Startup.com (I love their tag line- Get Rich in Your Dorm Room). Interesting and suprising to me were Simon Cowell, Barry Diller, Walt Disney, Rachel Ray, Ty Warner and Frank Lloyd Wright. Any surprises for you?

I went to college because my parents told me that if “I wanted to get a good job, I should get a good education“…guess they were right, but no one said anything about skipping college and becoming an entrepreneur. In the late 70’s, starting your own thing was certainly frowned upon.

But going to college, does have its benefits. You can learn social skills (or is that partying skills?), working in a team, and how to prioritize tasks.

What did you learn at college that helped you in business?