Recent Quotes about Everyday Entrepreneur

“Fred Dawkins sure can tell a story. I really enjoyed his previous one: Everyday Entrepreneur. Again with Family Entrepreneur, he gives us a great story and a pleasant read. He provides wisdom, comfort and learning about entrepreneurship from a family enterprise point of view. I kept thinking of those I know in that situation that would have benefited from reading it earlier in their life. If you are part of a family enterprise, here’s a chance to learn from Fred, an accomplished family entrepreneur, and make your life much more effective and rewarding.”

Brendan Calder Entrepreneur in Residence and Adjunct Professor GettingItDone
Rotman School of Management U of Toronto.

After reading Family Entrepreneur: “In the age of Twitter, it warms the heart that ‘smallbizpreneurs’ still rule the roost and family business remains the proven formula”

Peter C. Newman – Legendary Canadian journalist and author

Author Fred Dawkins has penned another winner with Family Entrepreneur. The third party narrative style of storytelling allows for a variety of opinions to be put forward while maintaining an entertaining read. Chalked full of real life scenarios and challenges that face every business, the Family Entrepreneur will engage all entrepreneurs from every generation, whether in a family business or not.

David Wojcik Host and Executive Producer BiZ TV Canada

“Working in the Financial Services industry for fifty plus years, twenty seven as an Independent Financial advisor, I dealt with high net worth clients & many successful family businesses. The first book in this series was very good but I believe that this second one ought to become the bible for every entrepreneur & budding entrepreneur as it is full of very valuable, helpful & vital advice & is very cleverly written. It is a book that should be read over & over & dipped into whenever there is a query or problem”

Frank Weisinger – Past National President of the Life Insurance Association (UK)

“Recently I was in the process of selling my historically significant commercial building. During the negotiations with realtors and prospective buyers, poring over lists, namely needs, wants, and conditions, I was overwhelmed and sought a diversion. In Fred Dawkins book, “Everyday Entrepreneur” I quickly became immersed in the text. His counsel on the key elements in negotiations in Chapter 18, Planning and Control, awakened in me an appreciation for what was most important for me as well as for the buyer, and the need for flexibility to reach an agreement. I accepted that it truly was a process that had to evolve, and because of his advice I felt empowered and confident to negotiate the sale.”

Elaine Tucker, Independent Business Owner

Fred’s book is thought provoking, highly entertaining while being truly insightful. Readers are challenged on their own beliefs and characteristics regarding entrepreneurship, mentors, career, and family. At times, I was laughing and other times intrigued by the business concepts subtlety being offered. It is full of rich ideas on how to develop and maintain an entrepreneurial mindset and how to build a business the right way, avoiding the issues that have caused others to stumble. As a serial entrepreneur and business coach I highly recommend Fred’s “Family Entrepreneur” for those in business or thinking about starting one.

Bill Simmel CEO& Founder Phoenix ONE Sales, Marketing, Management + Communications Inc.

In his second book Family Entrepreneur Fred Dawkins uses the same intimate discussion format that made his first book, Everyday Entrepreneur so informative and such a great text for seminars. Fred’s experiences as a successful family entrepreneur form the bases of real life discussion for concepts such as funding through leadership and the pitfalls and opportunities of personal issues, entitlement, rewards and succession that have special significance in a family setting. Best expressed in his own words “Entrepreneurship is a life philosophy grounded in opportunity, fueled by determination and focused on results.” Whether a beginner, well into an entrepreneurial venture, or a professor of business, this book is a must. It’s great stuff.

Dr. Freeman McEwen Dean Emeritus, University of Guelph

Reading Fred Dawkins book ‘Family Entrepreneur, Easier Said than Done’ is like having an experienced business coach who’s already walked down the same road you’re traveling, right there with you. While reading this book you’re bound to sigh with relief as he examines all the mildly crazy things we do as family entrepreneurs (we are not alone!). You’ll raise your eyebrows, smack yourself on the forehead and underline text reflecting his simple solutions and powerful observations and you’ll feel a surge of motivation as you put them into play immediately. So accurate are his examples of family business dynamics that you’ll feel such a familiarity with Dawkins’ writing you’ll swear he’s been reading your email. Written in a storybook format that’s enjoyably easy to read, you’ll want to take this book along with you on your next vacation. I have a hunch it’s going to be a book I return to and recommend on a very regular basis.

Sherri J Griffin 20 Year Training & Development Professional

“This book is an exceptional read that paints the bigger picture of entrepreneurship through easy but important dialogue. I recommend anyone interested in starting a business or entrepreneurship in general read this and take notes.”

Douglas Lusted CEO Linkett, The Next 36, First Cohort The Creative Destruction Lab at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Velocity Venture Fund Winner University of Waterloo

Utilizing his exemplary storytelling skills, Fred Dawkins has written an excellent book about entrepreneurship in a family setting environment and the the many challenges that it places on the entrepreneur and the family, as well. As indicated in his subtitle, it is easier said than done. The book clearly articulates a number of the issues involved in running a business so that the primary owner can prosper yet not conflict with family values, expectations, including physical, as well as financial and emotional needs. He cleverly exposes how frequently family members butt heads during the running of a family business and how difficult it can be to resolve differences among family members. If you’re a small business or entrepreneur working with your family in your business, I would highly recommend that you read Family Entrepreneur. It will provide you with valuable insights on how you might be better able to deal with the challenges in running a “family” business.

Jeff Sheehan- author of HIRED! Paths to Employment in the Social Media Era

Family Entrepreneur: Easier Said than Done by serial entrepreneur Fred Dawkins tells real-life stories that reveal the good, the bad and the ho-hum of family businesses. In an engaging, easy-to-read format, Dawkins shows you how to find your own solutions to questions about business controls, succession, dispute resolution, gender stereotypes, or decision-making.

Traditional family businesses are being disrupted as baby boomers retire. What are the new models to keep a business competitive and family ties strong? In Family Entrepreneur, memorable maxims guide the conversation and bring the reader into the conversation. A sister who functions as the COO of her brothers’ company but doesn’t get the credit or financial rewards. A brother who runs a business but can’t make critical decisions because their father left one-half of his company to each sibling. A brother who started his own very successful business and is being pressured by his parents to take his brother and sister into his own business. A mother who started her own fashion company and is now being overrun by her daughters.

Dawkins speaks to all entrepreneurs and ‘want-to-be’ entrepreneurs – those who start a business to provide for their families, to fulfill their dreams, to profit from their innovations, to be their own boss. Hear how they make their decisions – should they stay in the company? sell it? start a new business? In my own field of veterinary medicine, these situations are a recurring theme.

Focusing on family business and family dynamics, the Family Entrepreneur will give you the courage to tackle your own situation. Family relationships are complicated in the best of circumstances and running a company means constantly adapting to changing environments. Dawkins provides sage advice for anyone in a family business, emphasizing how important it is to face the issues head on as rationally as you can and not to allow emotion to dominate the conversation.

Dawkins celebrates the family business as the original business incubator and encourages would-be entrepreneurs to take the leap (after careful looking at all the options!). The valuable insights will guide you no matter where you are on the entrepreneurial timetable.

Dr. Elizabeth A. Stone | Dean, Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) | University of Guelph

In the fast paced age of corporations and global multi-billion dollar industries – Family Entrepreneur is a riveting road map for all readers, regardless of their desire to become an entrepreneur, or to simply learn key tools which will drive creativity, leadership and success in business and life.
Who said you can’t teach entrepreneurship? Effective and cleverly narrated through the eyes of a young female entrepreneur, Family Entrepreneur showcases the challenges, rewards and opportunities within life and family business from varying timelines. It’s easy to find one’s self and relate to the characters throughout the book. It reads like a novel, but is a sneaky and fun way of teaching the tools of the trade of family entrepreneurship – or for that matter – entrepreneurship in general.
Maryam Latifpoor-Keparoutis, Senior Development Manager, College of Physical & Engineering Science (CPES), University of Guelph

I am a serial entrepreneur who believes that the free enterprise system is the best alternative for creating upward mobility, a growing middle class, the most efficient allocation of resources and the least costly production of goods and services to the benefit of society as a whole. But free enterprise is based on the principal of a free and open market. Theoretically the ease of communication today should create more opportunity and much greater competition. Free enterprise does not thrive in a monopoly or oligopoly both of which limit competition but in many cases that is what we now have. As a result the middle class in the west is in serious danger of backsliding into the poor class from which it came over the past hundred plus years.

Branding and Brand power are the main tools that are limiting competion, allowing capital to seize a much larger portion of the pie at the expense of labour creating the status of superrich and the growing disparity in the distribution of wealth. These are serious dangers because market control interferes with free enterprise and skews the results. Yes it is still possible to create a new brand but increasingly large organizations block the market and take advantage by acquiring up and coming companies and only then allowing them full market penetration.

On an individual basis it is now critical to become an entrepreneur allowing for self-determination and upward mobility that is in decline for employees. The most important skill anyone can learn today is the ability to create and manage your career. The problem is much bigger for society. We have created a society in the west with very high expectations and a philosophy of entitlement. A large percentage of the population will not put forward the effort and level of determination required to succeed as an entrepreneur – not without first experiencing serious pain and a major economic correction. We are vulnerable but collectively we remain in a state of denial.

The capitalist system which allowed the middle class to flourish in the west is broken. Rather than continuing to create opportunity it has begun to limit it. Rather than spreading the success to the developing world we are in danger of returning to a more rigid class system with the superrich having a disproportionate amount of economic power. Solutions are impossible as long as we remain in a state of denial compounded by governments which have become dysfunctional. A good start could come from consumers by becoming better informed and breaking the power of the brands. This should be happening through social media but it isn’t. Instead brand control of the market is being re-enforced by social media marketing.

I am very concerned that I have lived and worked in an era that has been optimum for the individual but is no longer sustainable. I am very concerned that my grandchildren will be denied the opportunity that my generation has enjoyed. One of the great challenges of capitalism is to moderate the influence of greed. If we don’t find a way to level the playing field it’s difficult to predict how social unrest will manifest itself in a society where expectations cannot be achieved.

Did you know that more than 350,000 Canadians live and work in Silicon Valley. That’s right more than one percent of our population and a much higher portion of our intellectual capital have left us for the world’s most prestigious and most productive ecosystem. This is both a problem and an opportunity but not one that government can solve or even try to solve. So how do we stem the tide?

It’s not a quick fix. When we are producing world class talent they are inevitably attracted to the epicentre of success, achievement but most of all opportunity. It is the opportunity that we need to focus on. The Creative Destruction Lab does that. It creates opportunity here in Canada. The leader Professor Ajay Agrawal is a dynamo. He is the living evidence that entrepreneurship can be taught, an academic with the drive and mindset that can match anyone in the business community. The stated goal of the Lab is to generate equity – specifically to create $ 1 billion in equity in the first ten years. After the first two years approximately $ 130 million has been achieved. However the real goal is to keep the best and most brilliant we produce here in Canada, helping to build our own world class ecosystem and offering a valuable example to others that “Canada’s Got Talent” and I don’t mean the variety acts we see on the American TV show.

Ventures receive the very best of mentorship. It is amazing to see how they evolve in less than one year. Watch for results – they have already started but many more will follow in the years to come

In theory as Globalization evolves resources will be allocated in the most efficient way possible ensuring that goods will be produced on the lowest cost basis to the benefit of all. In a perfect global system labour will shift around until the transition is complete and the rewards for labour will equalize around the global network. During the transition while wage rates in higher earning countries are frozen or rise slowly as wage rates in other areas catch up, those living in the higher wage countries will benefit from low cost goods during the transition. All of this takes place without impediments or barriers to free and open competition. Entrepreneurs will drive the progress by ferreting out opportunities across the global system.

In practice as we continue to embrace such a global system, the rewards to labour in the low wage countries are lagging while much of the benefit of low cost goods are not reaching the consumer. Instead the rich are becoming the super rich while the middle class is facing the reality of returning to an historical norm with relative rewards well below those achieved in the west for the past sixty years during which consumerism has flourished. In an evolving era of Big Data where the status quo is becoming a moving target while character traits such as adaptability and resilience are becoming more critical, the business behemoths of the world are getting richer by controlling markets. Much of this control stems from branding and creating the allusion that branded goods are inherently superior. At the same time effective marketing has mislead us that these behemoths are so critical that they are ‘too Big to Fail’. Branding has effectively created near monopolies effectively providing barriers to entry for aspiring entrepreneurs in the process by limiting their upside and increasing their challenges

Mammoth organizations operating on ten year plans are not appropriate for our fast paced Global economy. However control over markets allows them to achieve innovation and flexibility through outsourcing and acquisition. Oh these in themselves do create upside for entrepreneurs who can launch a startup and find an eager buyer for their initial success. However the odds against success are greater and fewer of us are likely to get there. It is certainly possible for a limited few to build new brands creating new members of the super rich club. However overall we have abandoned core economic principles such as the Law of Diminishing Returns and the Optimum Size of the firm in favour of uninformed consumerism and market control through brands owned and managed by what are effectively huge bureaucracies. Is there a tipping point ahead? Surely social media and instant communication are a threat to the dominance of brands – OR are they just additional instruments of control?

Globalization has brought large numbers into the global work force, increasing the supply of labour. Technology through robotics and mechanization is reducing the demand for labour. Together these factors create downward pressure on wage rates. Upward mobility for the individual is in decline. Capital is securing the lion’s share of the rewards. Job stability is one of the status quos that is disappearing. For all of these reasons the individual must become his or her own brand. The most important skill you can learn today is the ability to create and manage your career.

Read the full article here.