The Entrepreneurial Blog

Those who can't teach now must do. And a most important talk about the Principle. That top rung is not always as strong as some might think. Be very careful.

(AI can’t spell)

They say those who don’t do - teach—much truth to this.

Then again, those who can’t teach or do often make a career in Machevallian politics and administration - especially in government and academia and those who rise to positions with high business card titles often have little more than 45 seconds of charm and the ability to smile and manipulate. As far as developing and executing meaningful corporate change and vision? That’s not their strength, but they prefer to focus on the optics of apparent change and vision rather than the genuine article.

As to the worst of them, the ranked political climbers with no other abilities, look close, and you might see a slime trail of toxicity trailing behind. As many as 12% show traces of psychopathy1. You might know one or two. Let me know. Avoiding them, or exasperation with such times, is often at the intrinsic root of entrepreneurship.

The Peter Principle states that if you perform well in your job, you will likely be promoted to the next level of your organization's hierarchy. You will continue to rise the ladder until you reach the point where you can no longer perform well. The top rung is not as stable as they perceive.

I think I am dealing with many people sitting on the top rung of that latter of the Peter Principle. The idea is that that rung isn’t as strong as they think.

I work with more than a few top rung dwellers; they don’t see the cracks running up the vertical supporting post of the ladder, and the top rung itself can’t take their ego weight, and it will soon cave.

Just wait. The weight will come after a significant wait, but it will come.

But this blog is about my entrepreneurial attempts. I am turning a corner from my court battles. I gave them my paperwork, but it is in their hands. I now refer to it as subject X and don’t bring it up.

Each week, I will share my progress. Why am I doing this? If you read my blog, you will learn about my ongoing trial and threats of termination. I am still teaching at another university that I won’t mention. The same group that I am fighting tooth and nail (and everyone predicts I will be sacked) tried the same thing - to get me sacked - at my other university, but this university believed in free speech and stuck up for me - God bless them.

I would rather do this entrepreneurship than teach at a school where admin didn’t care about learning; 75% of faculty did the minimum, and students were there because their parents forced them and they didn’t want to be there.

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I have taught courses on entrepreneurship, and I have tremendous respect for entrepreneurs. Right now, I have a landscaping team, Regalport Ltd, in Toronto, working on my yard as well as RainCoud Irrigation, and both of them are small startups, young guys, honest, on time, problem solvers; they are the true heart of our country, not teachers like me.

The odds are against me; the pace will be slow, and I will not be cashing in my retirement income to fund operations. I want to be captain of my ship and not have to bow before people who have not earned such respect. God controls all things, and I will be second in command.

I have tried a few entrepreneurial ventures and written business plans for successful Indigenous businesses in Fort Mac. My former TA, Shane Vitaly, showed me his business plan, and he did very well. (Vitaly Designs) I’d love to say I helped him, but I think I offered him little value other than “Go for it!”

My first idea was selling tutoring services during my MBA, yep, posters on boards with tear-off strips - old school. It paid my rent and did okay, but it died after that.

1. My real first has become a bit of a class joke at the school management. www.nikasrawdogfood.com. That had a good run; I was delivering and going to shows, but Covid killed it and was underfunded. At times, I was teaching 13 university courses and made many mistakes. I discovered I had, thanks to Shane (see above), no competitive advantage, and now we do; it is HPP processed, all-natural, and the processing removes any risk of foodborne pathogens. There is only one in Canada. We might make HPP dryfreezed, too.

   I feed it to my dogs, and it is healthy; I’ve done a lot of research on it—only human-grade products, five-part meat, one-part organ meat, bone meal, fruit, and vegetables.

   The plan is to develop it as a home-based business and branch into small retail stores.

(Dead but not giving up, on a shelf( was called Ensign Score. It was testing software for employers that rated (their Ensign Score) employees on basic numeracy, current events and writing skills. Their score reflected knowledge and time played in, and wrong answers scored negative. I created an enormous database, but unfortunately, when a non-technical person like me hires someone to write a database and website - even if I see a portfolio - it is hard to access the quality. It cost me a fortune and never worked; I still like the idea but can’t avoid paying $30k to clean it up, and those who quoted me their websites look like crap.)

2. My second project is this Substack. Right now, I make very little, about $550 per month. I am working on marketing, looking at sponsors, and planning to use IG-type contexts to increase readership. We will also offer merch. I believe that Substack could be so much better. See below:

My third project is a start-streetwear brand called TÖBÜ, and I started it with a German friend. The position is quirky, German awkward, quality, and Euro cool. A company that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I will soon release a survey on her for this brand; if you are interested, please fill it out. I will cover a Substack mug in a random draw if I get 20 pollsters. TOBU will include high 400 gsm original hoodies (Spanish) and lighter domestic ones, tees with images - see survey shortly, bracelets/necklaces all $60 - $100, sweatpants, ball caps and bucket hats, that’s it on Shopify.

My fourth project, which I have wasted the most, is a dating app (hold on your cynicism). This divides searchers into Hunters and Farmers. I have researched it, and the issue is that business motivations fight personal motivations. I will form profiles through quizzing and results; it will restrict likes and matches and have a social side to comment on (in a hearted way. I had an Amsterdam designer who worked hard but didn’t get where it needed to be; it’s a long shot, but the concept (much more than you read is solid) It is for farmers, serious people who want a relationship, and not people always looking for better-looking arm candy.

Each Monday, I will discuss the status of each project; only Substack and Nikas are making a little money right now. Wish me luck. I might say there will be no change in some weeks, but I will show the developments.