entrepreneur Archives - Chris Carosa

The Side Hustle Juggle: How A Fair Game Taught Me The Secret To A Happy Life (Part II)

By Chris Carosa on May 13, 2025

Dawn’s glow broke at 5:30 am, heralding my latest side hustle juggle. As the sun peeked above the horizon, the whine of the laser printers wound down. The parlor-converted-into-a-newsroom fell silent, but the hot, inky tang of the freshly printed pages lingered. The pages themselves sat neatly arranged on the brightly lit layout table. Hours earlier, my co-publisher scoffed, ‘Chris, it’s impossible,’ and left for bed. Her husband stayed to help finish a job that couldn’t be finished.

The paper was done. The deadline achieved. The fumes of adrenaline pumped through my veins. Juggling a newspaper, a job, and grad school, sleepless for twenty-four hours, most people would have flopped into bed at this point. I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

Everything was working just as the system promised. An outside observer would not have Continue Reading “The Side Hustle Juggle: How A Fair Game Taught Me The Secret To A Happy Life (Part II)”

Posted in Business Tips, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, AI, Al Ries, artificial intelligence, carny, Custody First, entrepreneur, InDesign, Jack Trout, Lifetime Dream Process, marketing, Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, Pagemaker, parallel entrepreneur, Pre-Cana, side hustle, Simon School, start-up, technology

The Side Hustle Juggle: How A Fair Game Taught Me The Secret To A Happy Life (Part I)

By Chris Carosa on May 6, 2025

“Guess your weight! Guess your age!” the carny’s side hustle pitch barked with enthusiasm. The hint of a playful southern drawl made it all the more alluring.

To this day, I love watching people play the “Guess Your Weight” game. There are several variations on this theme. The barker can guess your weight, or your age, or your birth month. With all those combinations, it’s got to be a surefire winner, right? And just look at those huge Continue Reading “The Side Hustle Juggle: How A Fair Game Taught Me The Secret To A Happy Life (Part I)”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged baseball card, Butera, carnival, carny, Carosa, dealer, entrepreneur, erie county fair, game, grandpa, Guess Your Weight, Hak Aaron, Leon Tec, Lifetime Dream Process, market research, Pete Rose, Pizza Stand, political polling, Roberto Clemente, Salvator's Pizza, Salvator's Pizzeria, side hustle, Student Polling Services, Targets

Should You Slap A Simple Single Or Swing For The Fences?

By Chris Carosa on October 1, 2024

Photo by Ulrik on Freeimages.com

This could easily become a column on successful investing, but it’s not. It does, however, reflect a Noble Prize-winning concept that has propelled successful investors for more than half a century. It’s simple. I’ll explain it quickly.

Every investment option possesses two critical factors: risk and return. Scholars credit economist Harry Markowitz as the first to identify the correlation of risk and return. In his 1952 paper “Portfolio Selection,” Markowitz, the father of “Modern Portfolio Theory,” says low-risk investments can yield low returns and high-risk investments must yield high returns. The “can” and “must” refer to the price you should reasonably pay for the investment.

But this column isn’t about successful investing, it’s about life. Specifically, your life. More precisely, the choices you face in your life. Understanding the dichotomy between “low-Continue Reading “Should You Slap A Simple Single Or Swing For The Fences?”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Confirmation bias, Dave Kingman, entrepreneur, fear of failure, FOMO, Harry Markowitz, instant gratification, Modern Portfolio Theory, Portfolio Selection, recency, return, risk, Risk-Return Tradeoff, Rod Carew

Why It’s Important You Have A High Need For Achievement

By Chris Carosa on November 29, 2022

If you had the choice, would you rather stand on the winner’s podium or watch as someone else stands on that platform?

Be honest, now. When you enter a competition, do you just say you’re there simply for the experience or, deep down, do you imagine yourself finishing first?

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to achieve. It’s quite natural and it’s often seen at a young age.

“Since I was a kid, I was always obsessed with achieving better results,” says Alessio Lorusso, CEO & Founder of Roboze, in Bari, Italy and Houston. “I was never satisfied with something if I thought it could be improved or reinvented completely to deliver the best results.”

This is a familiar story. Many business owners had their first taste of entrepreneurship before graduating high school.

“I’ve been an entrepreneur since my early teenage years, probably before I even knew Continue Reading “Why It’s Important You Have A High Need For Achievement”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Achievement, Alessio Lorusso, Atkinson, Barclay Keith, Brian Robben, business, Christopher Collins, Dana Humphrey, drive, Edwin Locke, egotistic passion, energy, entrepreneur, George Haymaker, goal, Gulseren Sekreter, Hamdi Serin, Jerome Kagan, Jerry Burger, Kathy Thomas, Kelly McDonald, Lester Sontag, participation trophy, Paul Hanges, Paul Polizzotto, Sabriya Dobbins, self-worth theory, stamina, start-up, Tarundeep Kaur

Why It’s Important For You To Strongly Desire Autonomy

By Chris Carosa on November 15, 2022

How do you picture an entrepreneur? In a recent survey by Cox Business, small business owners listed their top three entrepreneurial idols as Steve Jobs, Ben Franklin and Walt Disney. But another part of that survey may be more revealing.

Roughly two-thirds of the respondents said the desire to be their own boss motivated their entrepreneurial pursuits. This sense of autonomy has come to embody the rugged individualist persona often associated with the entrepreneurial spirit.

“Following a process that does not make sense to me has a strong tendency to undermine Continue Reading “Why It’s Important For You To Strongly Desire Autonomy”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Ben Franklin, Brian Robben, Calloway Cook, Camille Hugh, Carter "Critt" Waugh, confidence, Cox Business, Drew Parker, education policy, Edward L. Deci, entrepreneur, freedom, Hannah Fisher, innovative, Leila Belmahi, Marco Gelederen, Margo Benge, Marko Grünhagen, Neal Taparia, Paul Polizzotto, rugged individual, self-determination, Steve Jobs, Thibaud Clement, Thomas Lange, Walt Disney

Why It’s Important You Believe You Control Your Own Destiny

By Chris Carosa on November 8, 2022

Duke Worne Productions / Duke Worne Productions, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Imagine you’re out walking your dog on a nice sunny morning. As you approach the intersection, you see a car attempt to make a lefthand turn only to be hit by an oncoming car that runs the stop sign. No one’s hurt, but the cars are totaled.

What is your first thought concerning the innocent driver making the turn?

Is it “poor guy, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time”?

Or do you think “even though he had the right of way, he should have made sure the Continue Reading “Why It’s Important You Believe You Control Your Own Destiny”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Andrew Taylor, Bernard Weiner, Brian Robben, Carl Anderson, Chane Steiner, Destiny, entrepreneur, I-E scale, internal-external scale, Julian B. Rotter, locus of control, Neal Taparia, Paul Polizzotto, Rhett Doolittle, Rizwan Girach, social learning, success, Taylor Matthews, Thibaud Clement

Why It’s Important You Exhibit Creative Tendencies

By Chris Carosa on November 1, 2022

Thanough, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Many aspiring entrepreneurs feel the creative urge represents the most important trait for success. Many great ideas, though, never become viable businesses.

Take a look at some of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time.

Did Henry Ford invent the automobile? No. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot first produced a steam-powered automobile in 1769.

Did Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak invent the microcomputer in 1979 with the introduction of the Apple ][ computer? No. The French team headed by François Gernelle within a small company, Réalisations & Etudes Electroniqes (R2E), created what they called the “Micro-ordinateur” in 1973.

Did Ray Kroc invent the fast food hamburger joint? No. Most point to White Castle’s 1921 opening of its original location in Wichita, Kansas, as the first fast food hamburger franchise. Heck, Kroc didn’t even invent McDonald’s. He bought the restaurant from founders Dick and Mac McDonald after becoming the chain’s franchising agent in 1955.

What is the importance of creative behavior?

It’s not the ability to come up with an original idea that wins the day. It’s the ability to take Continue Reading “Why It’s Important You Exhibit Creative Tendencies”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Adaptation, Apple, Apple II, automobile, Calloway Cook, Chin Beckmann, computer, creative, creativity, Dick McDonald, entrepreneur, Florian Bohn, Francois Gernelle, Henry Ford, innovation, invention, inventor, Joseph Alois Schumpeter, Julie Bee, Mack McDonald, McDonald's, Michael Boyles, microcomputer, Mollie Krengel, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, Productive Growth, Ray Kroc, risk, rugged individualist, Sari Pekkala Kerr, Stan Garber, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Tina Xu, White Castle, Wichita, William R. Kerr

Why It’s Important You Become A Calculated Risk Taker

By Chris Carosa on October 25, 2022

Ed Dunens, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When you talk to people about what it takes to be an “entrepreneur,” most people will say you need to be a risk taker.

When you talk to people about what it means to be a “risk taker,” most people will begin describing daredevils and gamblers.

In both cases, these answers are at best incomplete if not totally incorrect.

Risk taking is fundamental to sound investing. Without risk, there could be no return. It’s Continue Reading “Why It’s Important You Become A Calculated Risk Taker”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Chin Beckmann, entrepreneur, Harry Markowitz, John Burr Williams, Julie Bee, Mollie Krengel, Portfolio Theory, risk, risk taker, Risk-Return Tradeoff, Sally Caird, Theory of Investment Value, Thyme Sullivan, Vincent Zurzolo

Is Starting A Business Worth It?

By Chris Carosa on October 11, 2022

Can you feel inflation eating away at your income? Are you worried matters will only get worse as the nation dives deeper into recession? Perhaps you’re eying that favorite hobby of yours, wondering if you can tweak it a bit to bring in some much-needed revenue.

What’s holding you back?

If you’ve spent the bulk of your career working for someone else, it’s only natural to wonder if starting a business right now is worth it. You can be on the cusp of retirement or even in retirement. Sure, you enjoy helping people, but wouldn’t it be easier just to give it away for free and cut back on other expenses?

Well, no matter what your age, a healthy challenge can invigorate the soul.

“Starting a business can be an exciting responsibility to take on for many people,” says Nick Chandi, CEO, and Co-Founder of ForwardAI in Vancouver, British Columbia. “It’s also a Continue Reading “Is Starting A Business Worth It?”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Autonomy, Brandon Harris, business, entrepreneur, freedom, Joe Chatham, Lifetime Dream, Michaell Nova, money, Nick Chandi, profit, Rick Walicki, start-up, success, Ted Wolf, Tyler Muse

The Great American Maxim: Stand Alone And Win

By Chris Carosa on May 4, 2021

“The game was created to demonstrate the futility of individual effort. Let the game do its work… If a champion defeats the meaning for which the game was designed, then he must lose.”

So says Mr. Bartholomew in 1975’s classic film Rollerball. It’s an American tale. An epic retelling of the classic mantra that fills the heart of every red-blooded citizen from the very founding of our country.

Don’t believe me? Just look at some of the most popular books, films, or any other place where a character must confront personal and public obstacles in heroic fashion. The most compelling of those stories are built around a single individual.

No, it doesn’t take a village to succeed, it takes self-discipline, self-reliance, and, ultimately, Continue Reading “The Great American Maxim: Stand Alone And Win”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Batman, entrepreneur, James Caan, Jim Carrey, Jonathan E., Mr. Bartholomew, Rollerball, success, Superman, The Justice League, you