Would you to become an inventor and own patents worth millions ? Yoshiro Nakamatsu, who bills himself as the Thomas Edison of Japan, hopes to open a school that will teach people how to create new products. Yoshiro Nakamatsu is the president of Tokyo’s Hi-Tech Innovation Institute and claims to have 3,042 patents over his inventing career. Nakamatsu’s net worth from royalties from his inventions is estimated at $75 million.

At the age of 5, with encouragement from his grandfather, Nakamatsu invented a stabilizer to make planes fly better. He was granted his first patent at age 14. Since then, he has licensed 16 patents to IBM, including one for his 1952 invention of the floppy disk for personal computers. Some of Nakamatsu’s other inventions and what he claims they do include the following:

Read more…

The financial  vice-president of Perini Corporation received a disturbing call from one of the company’s banks. The bank reported that Perini’s bank account was substantially overdrawn. Perini, a large construction company based near Boston, had never overdrawn any of its bank accounts in over twenty-five years. Shortly thereafter, another of Perini’s banks called and reported that its Perini account was also overdrawn. A review of the recent bank statements, which had been lying around unreconciled for two weeks, revealed canceled checks of more than $1.1 million that had not been recorded.

Perini kept its unused checks in an unlocked room. Perini also kept its supply of coffee cups in the same room, where every clerk and secretary had access ti them. A quick review revealed two missing boxes of checks.

Read more…

As a young man just out of the Army, Sam Walton wanted to into retailing and operate his own business. With $5,000 of his own money and a loan of $20,000 form his father-in-law, he opened his first store in Newport, Arkansas, on September 1, 1945. This first store was a Bend Franklin variety store. Within five years, this store was the No. 1 Ben Franklin Store - for sales and profit - not only in Arkansas, but in six-state region. Unfortunately, Sam forgot to include a renewal clause in the lease for his store building. his landlord decided not to renew Sam’s lease, but instead offered to buy the business, including fixture and inventory. The landlord wanted to purchase the profitable store for his to own and operate. Without any other suitable location in town, Sam had to sell.

Read more…

A Greek restaurant owner in Canada had his own system of accounting. He kept his account payable in a cigar box on the left-hand side of his cash register, his daily cash returns in the cash register, and his receipts for paid bills in another cigar box on the right. A truly “manual” system.

When his youngest son  graduated as an accountant, he was appalled by his father’s primitive methods. “I don”t know how you can run a business that way,” he said “How do you know what your profits are ?”

Read more…

What are characteristics of entrepreneurs who successfully start and manage a new business ?

It goes without saying that an entrepreneur must have a thorough technical knowledge of the business. For example, a successful computer consultant must have a thorough knowledge of computers. Entrepreneurs must also have basic management skills, such as the ability to organize and interact with others.

Terms that are often used to describe entrepreneurs and examples of some well-known entrepreneurs and their companies are listed below.

Read more…