Lewis Schiff

An Entrepreneur's Ode to Andy Rooney

TV Essayist and 60 Minutes fixture for 33 years, Andy Rooney, died this week after appearing in "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" over 1,000 times.

 

TV Essayist and 60 Minutes fixture for 33 years, Andy Rooney, died this week after appearing in "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" over 1,000 times.

Here is an entrepreneur's ode to Andy trademark segment "You Ever Wonder Why...?". 

Tick...tick...tick...tick

2:00 … You ever wonder what people who become dot-com entrepreneurs would do if they were born 50 years ago?

I would guess that if they thought about this every morning when they woke up, most entrepreneurs would rise from bed grateful that they live at this time, in this place. After all, what would our dot-com whiz kids do with all their energy, their skills and their creativity if they couldn't pour it into their their start-ups? Get jobs???

1:15 … You ever wonder why entrepreneurs are fidgety when they eat at a restaurant? 

While most of us are perusing the wine list, you can count on entrepreneurs to busy themselves by counting the chairs, number of turns of each table, average ticket price in order to calculate the gross revenue of the place. We are choosing between the sauvignon blanc and the chardonnay while the entrepreneur analyzes the economic merits of linens vs. napkins. 

0:45 … You ever wonder why our mothers were so afraid when we told them we wanted to be entrepreneurs?

They wanted us to work at IBM or General Motors. But who started IBM? An entrepreneur! They wanted us to become accountants or lawyers. But who do accountants and lawyers work for? That's a bit more complicated. 

0:15 … You ever wonder what the world would be like without entrepreneurs?

Horror!

I'm Lewis Schiff, in for Andy Rooney, R.I.P. 

 

 

 

Lewis Schiff is the chairman and executive director of Inc. Business Owners Council, and the author of the book, The Middle-Class Millionaire. He can be reached by email, on twitter or by phone: (800)536-0046. @lewisschiff