The Idea is . . . Advice on Risk

We use the idea of a journey - you set sail, there a few days of great weather, but storms blow up, which drive you off course, delay your arrival, and threaten to sink the ship. Now the storms differ- some are hurricanes, some are tsunamis, some are perfect storms. Each ship is different - some are oil tankers, some are freighters, some sail, some cruise... How do you handle your storms?

Peers Help with Advice to Secure the Business

Facing down a howling gale can be lonely and stressful. It helps if there is someone to man the pumps, take in sail, or recommend ways to rig a sea anchor. This site acts as a lighthouse, warning of reefs and shoals, lighting the way when the stars are obscured by thunderstorms and guiding you to a safe harbour.

Information for Bootstrap Entrepreneurs

When you are not facing a capsize, when the seas are not running over the deck, when the crew is not mutinying, when engine trouble is not a matter of life and death - you are probably in harbour.

In the Harbour you reduce the risks of a voyage, and enhance rewards.

Here you meet with your peers, learn where the pirates are roaming, what cargoes are profitable, how to deal with the exciseman, and exchange stories. We do not however, sing sea chanties...

A Virtual Coffee House, Shirtsleeves is the Dress Code

Historically, what we call business was characterized as an “adventure in trade” - it is still called that today, as for instance in the tax code. The concept came from British merchantmen who met in the ports of Bristol, Liverpool and others, to arrange cargoes, syndicate their voyages (insurance), discuss crews, exchange information on weather and navigation, and complain about government policy. They met at coffee houses, such as the original Lloyd’s (of London) Coffee House. We do the same thing today.

 So, What’s Needed