BossStart likes coffee. We really do. We also really like the coffee shop business model. If anything, a coffee shop is part of the community. The social, artistic, and learning atmosphere typically present in your local coffee shop is certainly unique to its market. This week we got to talk with Bob Googe of Jittery Joe’s Coffee. Jittery Joe’s is a staple in Athens, GA. Rolling Stone Magazine even dubbed the coffee shop one of [...]

The Right Time to Quitâ€Â¨ Many people ask me, “When is the best time to quit my day job and start my own business?”  You can start your business right now! If you have a true entrepreneurial spirit and you are ready to open a business, don’t wait. Start working on it before, during, and in between your 9 to 5. Become highly efficient with your time and increase your productivity. Most people use the [...]

…Bad Stress Kills Stress is powerful.  You’ve probably heard of the insane, super-strength that humans are able to exhibit during times of heightened stress.  For example, there is the age-old story of the frightened Mother who lifts a car off her trapped baby.  A simple Google search will yield dozens of these types of stories.  The fact is that stress releases certain pro-hormones into our body, which makes it possible to achieve that which we [...]

Of all the resources on this planet, TIME is clearly the most valuable of them. There are abundances of gold, silver, oil, etc., but time – well, that will eventually run out for each and every one of us. The brutal truth is: we have a limited number of days on this earth and time management should be of the utmost importance. Think for a moment about your past; those seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, [...]

Alex Tchekmeian founded AKT Enterprises in 1999. He was 13. Now, Alex is the President and CEO of a ‘boot-strapped’ company that not only bares his initials, but also caters to over 500,000 customers, clients, vendors and consumers, employs over 100 employees, and was recently ranked No. 511 among 5000 of the nation’s fastest growing private companies by Inc. magazine (which, impressively, is attributed to a 3-year sales growth of 592%). Yes. We’ll hear his [...]

Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products, we all knew that right? The stores range anywhere from the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada to even China. The headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia and the average store size is 105,500 square feet. While these are interesting facts, check out the Boss 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Home Depot. Home Depot has the most Olympic medals held in a company by its employees. Home Depot was the fastest growing retailer, faster [...]

Jared Rutledge & Waking Life Espresso are the focus in this weeks: “10 Q’s With…”; our question and answer series that’s aimed at offering insight to our readers who are interested in the ‘Adventure’ of becoming: The Boss. From their website: “Waking Life Espresso is a micro café in West Asheville, North Carolina. We serve espresso, coffee, loose-leaf tea, and a small assortment of local pastries. We hold ourselves to a world-class standard concerning coffee.” [...]

It’s important to focus on success and to keep your energy driven in an optimistic direction. There’s also value in seeking out the wisdom of others; specifically in the area of MISTAKES! Think about it – why would you make the exact same mistake someone else just made?? Kinda insane… How much time do you spend assessing the mistakes of others and keeping that information in your entrepreneurial toolbox? There’s a mound of information out [...]

Do you ever contemplate how you could make your business ‘great’? Do you think about strategies that would help you make gains on your competitors by attaining that Entrepreneurial Greatness? It’s a funny thing – most successful entrepreneurs want to do more than simply ‘make it’ - they want to be GREAT! Do you still have that fire in your belly? Or maybe you are satisfied with just getting by? Oh wait, have you bought in to [...]

Over the past decade, we have seen some drastic changes in the music industry.  Thanks to mp3′s and file sharing websites, it has never been easier to obtain a free “copy” of a recording.  Sales of recorded music have dropped more than 25% since the turn of the century.  Record stores have shut down; record labels are struggling to keep afloat.  Musicians make most of their money from live shows and merchandise.  It would seem [...]