The school reports of the Wright brothers were not promising: Wilbur was ‘dreamy’ and Orville was an interminable mischief-maker.

But were these qualities key to their success?

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From US News and World Report: It's a great time to buy a business.

So says Dan Steppe, a serial entrepreneur who now directs the University of Houston's Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the Bauer College of Business. For the last six or seven years, private equity firms have been buying mid-market companies (those valued between $10 million and $30 million) and flipping them, adding debt to these businesses each time they roll over. Now, many of those companies are having trouble repaying their debt and they're selling pieces of their businesses to stay afloat. Investors looking for larger deals should look to these so-called "distressed businesses" for bargains, Steppe says.

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BusinessesForSale.com Buy a business from 60,847 opportunities.

By Daniel Taylor, MD of Metro Design Consultants: I know as well as any other entrepreneur that when you are trying to get your business off the ground, the focus is on winning clients, negotiating with suppliers and meeting deadlines.

For the first few years you need to be a jack of all trades, keeping track of finances, sending out invoices, interviewing and hiring staff, meeting clients and managing IT.

At this stage, creating an office space that works for your company is a task that generally gets relegated to the bottom of the pile.

But when your business has grown sufficiently to make your current office space feel like a matchbox, it’s time to relocate, and it’s a good idea to give this process your full attention for a while.

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From MANAGEsmarter: Conventional wisdom suggests an overworked employee is one who's probably polishing his resume… and, well, that's quite likely the case.

But according to a new survey, overtaxed workers may not be the ones most at risk of becoming disgruntled in your organization.

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We're not ones to do advertorial on BOB, but I thought this was something worth mentioning.

I got a press release about Nectar Business, which is teaming up with the Carphone Warehouse. Apparently, this means that Nectar Business Card holders will be able to get "the best deals on landline, broadband and mobile phone packages, as well as additional services such as website design hosting and security software."

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Millions of US small businesses — especially in the retail, business-services and housing industries — could be vulnerable if a recession strikes on top of the housing slump and credit crunch, reports USA Today.

Businesses are already feeling the economic crunch and have been cutting back and are trying to be more efficient.

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Web Solutions franchise opportunity Busby has created an Entrepreneurial Scholarship Program - offering a potential franchisee the chance to start up for free.

As a franchisor as well as a web solutions provider, Busby is very passionate about providing individuals with the opportunity to operate their own business and in doing so, assisting them to unlock their true potential.

However for many the goal of owning their own business is unreachable for varying reasons. Busby recognises this and has decided to provide an opportunity to individuals through the creation of ESP, an Entrepreneur Scholarship Program, which gives one person each year the opportunity of a free Busby Web Solutions franchise.

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Equalling  current  US  productivity levels would result in UK GDP improvements  large  enough to offer an extra £13,000 per annum to the  average  UK  household*,  according  to new research released today in Grant Thornton's UK Workplace Productivity Report.

But  despite the potential for such a significant economic impact, the   research  also  found  that  while  almost  all  medium  and large-sized  businesses  will  be  using  some  measure  to  gauge workplace  productivity  by  the end of 2008, including a sizeable proportion introducing measures this year for the first time, most are  still  failing to capture meaningful information or use it to drive improvements.

The  research  canvassed the decision makers behind 200 medium and large-sized UK businesses, and found two thirds (66%) of companies reported  using  workplace  productivity  measurement  to  improve performance,  with  another  quarter  (26%) intending to introduce these measures for the first time in the coming year.

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From Businessweek: Redeeming features prevent the strong characteristics that got you where you are from going into overdrive.

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Research from global management consultancy Hay Group today reveals how European mergers and acquisitions are failing as crucial leadership decisions suffer excessive delays.

• M&A disrupt company operations for over two years 
• Average merger takes 19 months to achieve integration
• Just 1 deal in 10 delivers on strategic objectives

Hay Group’s report, Dangerous Liaisons: M&A – The Integration Game, reveals that merging organizations fail to appoint a new management team for an average of 74 days, according to senior managers with experience of M&As.

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From Nashville Business Journal: Maintaining a highly-motivated, productive workforce is something every small business wants, but it can be an elusive goal.

That's probably a reason why one of the first classes taught in the MBA program at University of Phoenix in Nashville deals with managing employees well and learning how to get good performance from them.

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From MSNBC: Major retailers' cautious ordering of goods is expected to salvage what could have been dismal fourth-quarter profits, but the 2008 outlook looks more sobering.

While stores can manage how much merchandise they order, they can't direct consumer spending — which is on the skids.

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The Wall Street Journal takes a look at some high perfoming franchises and reveals that the industry is no longer dominated by the fast food sector.

"The big performers are a diverse bunch -- including a dance studio, senior-care facility, a veterinary hospital and a moving company. In fact, there are now more than 230 lines of businesses that do franchising, according to FRANdata, an Arlington, Va., independent research firm that helped analyze franchise data from the past three years and compile the list."

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If you buy a franchise resale – where the owner of a franchise has decides to put it up for sale – then you can reap the benefits that come with both buying a business and running a franchise.

As we’ve said elsewhere on these pages, when you run a franchise you get to run your own business but with the brand power, marketing muscle and technical and administrative support of an established franchisor. But if you’re buying an established venture, then not only do you have the readymade brand and off-the-shelf-systems, but the whole business is up and running, ready to go. You don’t have to wait around for the selection of a site, the signing of the lease, the decoration of the store, the instalment of equipment, and so on.

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1. A higher percentage of people in Thailand, Peru and Columbia are involved in entrepreneurial activity than citizens of Russia, Belgium or France.

2. Asian immigrants and people of Asian descent in western countries are more likely to start a business than any other ethnic group.

3. 50% of all start-ups fail within their first year.

4. Entrepreneurs are statistically more likely to be dyslexic than the average person.

5. One in five entrepreneurs left school with no qualifications.

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More than 10 million Brits dream of leaving their job and starting their own business, according to new research.

Over a third (35%) of workers have recently thought about setting up on their own, with one in five of those planning to make the leap into self employment in the next year.

The average worker even spends three days of each year day-dreaming about their future business from their desk.

But while 15% dream of becoming their own boss because they aren't happy in their current job, 37% admits the main reason is simply to earn more money than they do at the moment.

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From Businessweek: What sounds like a customer-service gimmick is helping the co-founder of a personal finance website build trust.

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From Marketing Profs: Are we in a recession?

Maybe, maybe not.

However, let's assume that the US economy will be in a recession and that as marketers we need to work within that reality. Here are some tips for what you should do.

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Industrious, efficient, organised.

These are three qualities that characterise the German stereotype and which are conducive to success in business.

A simplistic caricature admittedly, but after decades of partition these traits were evident when a unified Germany underwent the wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) and emerged as the world’s third largest economy with a workforce renowned for its skill, innovation and productivity, as well as products synonymous with quality and durability.

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From Entrepreneur.com on MSNBC: There's nothing more painful for a new business owner than seeing a shopper walk in the door and walk out empty-handed.

The sale goes up in smoke as does the potential for turning that shopper into a repeat customer. It's like having all the bases loaded in a ballgame and then having an inning-ending out. You're in position, but you don't score.

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