The Thanksgiving Address of the Haudenosaunee Confederation
Today we have gathered and when we look up the faces around us we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and with all living things. So now let us bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People. Now our minds are one. That’s the first stanza of the Thanksgiving Address of the Haudenosaunee Confederation (the Iroquois), or more accurately the Words That Come Before All Else. Here’s a link to one version of the rest of the address. I’ll be reading it aloud on Thanksgiving Day. From the same neighborhood, here’s a story this week by Nina Roberts, about a couple in upstate New York who are quiet revolutionaries in the farming space. For less than the price of McDonald’s, members of the community get all of their meals, organic, fresh and local. And here’s a story about a free small business tool to help your company get to net zero. On behalf of Times of E, I want to give thanks this year: • For readers – entrepreneurs, influencers, and early-stage investors. My idea in launching Times of E, supported by my relationships with other media and throughout the investing and social change worlds, was to create a community and media outlet to look at business through the lens of impact, individuals and communities. Fifty years from now, we’ll be an alternative to the Wall Street Journal. We’re on our way. This year, more than 500,000 people have read our stories and been part of what we’re up to. •  Thanks to the Times of E team, which hung tough through a global pandemic that hit three weeks after we launched on Feb. 12, 2020: Elaine Pofeldt, Adam Schaffer, Shirly Piperno and Wujixian V. Rock. • For our funders and early sponsors, most especially the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation, YPO, MIT Legatum Center and Abigail Disney. We’re happy to have YouNoodle along as sponsor of our first event! • For my co-author of The New Builders, Seth Levine, who helps in many ways. • For our angel investor, Adrian Spratt. You can read his writing here. Enjoy the day everybody!

Times of Entrepreneurship Stories of the Week

Man kneeling among plants in a greenhouse
Reinventing the Business Model for Food Production, This Farm Offers An Organic Diet For A Single Low Price That’s Cheaper Than McDonald’s An unconventional CSA farm lets members, who pay $85 a week, take all the meat, vegetables, dairy, grains and eggs they need for a week of eating.  Read the Story »
 
 
A North Carolina Entrepreneur Became An Ally to Local Gangs. Now He Employs 65 Active Members. Serial entrepreneur George Taylor was shaken when he learned of a teenager killed in his town of Wilmington. So he decided to take an unconventional route to becoming part of the solution to rising tensions between gang members. Read the Story »
 
woman constrained
 
Women Tell Researchers: Companies Should Stop Celebrating ‘Toxic Rockstars’ Most women of color are seeing little benefit from companies’ promises of embracing DE&I. One possible reason: Employers lack avenues for those in marginalized groups to speak up about the effects of abrasive colleagues who get a free pass for bad behavior because they’re talented.  Read the Story »
 
group of people
As People Search for Ethical Outdoor Clothing, Dimpora Is Finding A Niche Coming out of one of Europe’s top schools, the brand makes membranes for waterproof clothes. Read the Story »
 

You may have missed:

 
Small Businesses Up in Arms As Banks Increase Fees and Tighten Credit  Entrepreneurs turn to credit unions and community banks, but financial giants still control much of the market. Read it here. Problem Solved: A Free Small Business Tool to Help Your Company Get to Net Zero Emissions  EU-based Normative is using funding from Google to offer a deal: Pledge to reduce emissions and get free access. Read it here. To Get More Capital to Communities of Color, White Men in Finance Need to Cede Power Georgetown professor: State Street’s diversity goals should be lauded, not scapegoated. Read it here. GEM Report uncovers possible ambition gap in women entrepreneurs More men are driven by the desire to create wealth, a sweeping global study finds.  Read it here. Mastercard Report: 20% of the World’s Businesses Closed for Good During the Pandemic Companies with an online presence or location in a residential marketplace fared best. Read it here.

Living the dream

  Best Practices: If your life these days is one long supply chain problem, you may find some inspiration in the entrepreneurial spirit of Ty Warner, the Beanie Babies billionaire. He’s chartered 150 flights to airlift Beanie Babies out of China so he can distribute them to retailers across America from his suburban Chicago warehouse. That’s costly, but it beats the alternative: “Christmas is not cancelled,” Warner said in a press release.   Buzzworthy: Masters of Scale: Surprising Truths from the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurswritten by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, offers a close look at the entrepreneurial mindset of the founders of company like Nike. We might take issue with the phrase “most successful,” but what, if anything, separates the entrepreneurs that have grown big businesses?

Rathskeller

The 4.5 hour workweek: A productivity hack Want to beat burnout on your team? Take a cue from Primary, a 60-person children’s clothing retailer that is giving its team Fridays off without a cut in pay. Its CEO says its voluntary attrition rate has dipped by 7% this year, with workers showing up recharged on Mondays. Wanderlust : a restaurant or activity from our Top Ecosystems list If you’re looking for a way to sneak in some outdoor activity while you’re in Portland, Ore., for business, plan a detour to the Portland Japanese Garden–often described as one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan. The garden is open Wednesdays through Mondays. Make sure to book online. And make time for tea at the Umami Café.  Made in the USA Nearly half of Americans plan to shop on Small Business Saturday this year, with an average spend of $305, according to a new poll. Shopping small is a great way to discover local, American-made products while making sure your local retail strips don’t end up with more vacancies after the holidays.  

Upcoming Opportunities

To list an opportunity in our newsletter, check out our rates here. We cover the emerging economy of diverse founders: Link: https://bit.ly/TimesofEOpportunities 1. Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Michigan Applicants interested in the position, which offers a salary expected to be in the $210,000 to $240,000 range, should send a cover letter and resume. The Center is known as a national leader in innovation at both the undergraduate and graduate level and entrepreneurship education.  Deadline: Posting will run until December 1, 2021 Location: Ann Arbor, Mich. Link: https://careers.umich.edu/job_detail/207030/executive-director-center-entrepreneurship   2. Neur Tours : Adventure Travel For “High-Achiever” Entrepreneurs Neur Tours will be holding its inaugural “mastermind adventure” for successful entrepreneurs, a cycling & kayaking journey from Orlando to Key West.  Come unplug from the 24/7 noise, share ideas with fellow successful business owners and set your business up for success in 2022. Deadline: February 4th – 12th, 2022 Location: Orlando, FL to Key West, FL  Link: https://neurtours.com/south-florida-bike-kayak-february-2022/

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This story and others on New Builders Dispatch are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.

A business journalist for 20 years, am the founder of Times of Entrepreneurship and the co-author of The New Builders.