Typically, on Out to Lunch, Aileen invites people who don’t know each other to have lunch with her, hopes they’ll have something in common, and that they’ll get along. She doesn’t have to worry about any of that today. Aileen’s lunch guests have a lot in common. And they’re friends. Charles Fenstermaker is Chief Financial Officer…

When we hear about people who are successful in business, we tend to hear different versions of a familiar story. Somebody with a singular vision relentlessly pursues an idea, till, against all odds and after all kinds of hardship, they create Wal-Mart or Apple. What you hear less often, are stories about people who have…

Some little girls grow up wanting to be a princess. Some little girls want to be a big star. And other little girls grow up wanting to be executive producer of a major live event where they get to control everything from the music to wardrobe to catering. When little girls actually do grow up, there is…

Things are changing around here. A few years ago, you never heard the words “entrepreneur” and “Acadiana” in the same sentence. Then we started to see what’s known an “entrepreneurial ecosystem” grow up here. That’s where people start up new businesses based on all kinds of outlandish ideas far removed from our usual oil and gas economy. To…

For most of human history, we’ve looked to our political leaders to bring about change. We can go all the way back to Cesar, Napoleon, Churchill, and Lincoln. Since the industrial revolution, we’ve been able to add the names of business leaders who have radically changed our world. Henry Ford. Sam Walton. Steve Jobs. Currently,…

Sometime over the past few years, the meaning of the word “business” has changed. Business used to be something that men in suits conducted in offices and on golf courses. Today, some of the most successful men in business don’t own a suit. And business is no longer a boy’s only club. Shows like Shark Tank…

There are two ways of launching a successful business these days. One is to come up with an idea. Write a business plan. Create a pitch. Hire a pitch coach to sharpen your message. Go through a business incubator, followed by a business accelerator program. Go to friends and family for financing. Then raise investment capital,…

We often hear financial news pundits talking about manufacturing. Mostly in terms of how manufacturing has all but disappeared from the United States.  Locally, you might think of manufacturing as the businesses on Highway 90, and other industrial locations, that make equipment for the oil field. But there are other forms of manufacturing that are not…

You may have heard the story about the famous bank robber, Slick Willie Sutton. In the early 1950’s, after a series of bank robberies, the police finally caught up with Slick Willie. When he was asked why he robbed banks, Mr. Sutton explained, “Because that’s where the money is.” Well, times have changed. Today, we think of…

When you have a small business in a small market, like Acadiana, you’re facing challenges today that nobody has faced before you. There is no previous generation to turn to for advice on how to compete with online retailers. Or how to market to your local customers who might live next door but are getting all…