From the Eye of the Potato: When you are starting a business, use the resources at hand.

I taught engineering at Iowa State University for eight years. While I was there, a friend of my called me and asked if I would like to share the cost of raising some chickens. He said that he had to buy 100 chicks but that he only needed half that many. I would pay for half the feed and when it was time to process them, I could drive up to his place about 50 miles away and give him a hand.

Well, I knew a few things about processing chickens. A good friend of mine used to work in a processing plant. He had showed me how the chickens were killed and processed where he worked by demonstrating with one of his chickens.

There was a minor confrontation during his demo because the nosey neighbor lady was watching out her window. She said what he was doing was cruel and inhumane, hanging the chicken from a wire and slitting it's throat.

He told her that it was the professional way, and no more objectionable than the way she dispatched the birds with an axe. She kept screaming at us while he dropped the chicken in scalding water to expedite the moving of the feathers. This was a process I knew that my "chicken partner" could avoid, but I didn't want to bring this up too early.

Well, the early summer passed and I got a call that the chickens were ready to process. I said, "You know, Bob, if there's a processing plant in your town we can have those chickens processed for about 10 or 15 cents each. If there is a processing plant, they probably rent freezer lockers. You can have them hold my chickens until I get up there.

Bob called me back a couple of days later. He told me that he had taken the chickens for processing and that mine were in the locker.

I said, "Well, great! I'll be up to get them."

Bob said, "I'll be coming down your way to a church conference in a couple of weeks. I'll just bring them down with me."

I told him that would be fine, but that we were headed up to Minnesota for vacation. I said, "I've got a freezer in my garage. Would you mind just putting them in there for me?"

He told me that would be no problem. Bob told me how much my share of the cost was, and also to have a good vacation!

I sent him a check and took off for Minnesota. When we got home, I could hardly wait to look into that freezer. We opened the lid and there were 37 of fastest, most beautiful chickens I'd ever seen. And they were good eatin' too!

Well, Bob was a kind, unpretentious man. I've never had a better business partner.

I never saw the chickens before they ended up in my freezer.

I never lifted a finger during the processing and transport phases.

I just put up my money and the chickens were delivered. I guess I could have had them shipped to Indiana and I never would have seen them.

I didn't realize that I was on the verge of the new way to do business.

I was before my time. But my business today is exactly the same. I never create the product, I never see the product, I never see the customer.

I do a little work, however. I take the order information off the Internet and fax it to my good partner in New York.

That's it!

Some call that a virtual business.

Home Business Tips: If you are running an Internet business, automate every function that you can.

A Tippy from Flippy: Now, is all that work necessary?

Keeping Up with the Jones': Don't try to keep up with the Jones'. Make them your partner.

Fiddle Dee & Fiddle Dum: Busy work don't do you no good. Business growing things do.

Can't Ya' Get Goin'?: You can if you can find a partner that will show you the ropes.

All Things Come: "All things come to those that waiteth if they work like hell while they waiteth." I don't know who first said this. Do you?

Life Success Quotation: Searching for opportunities doesn't always bring success. Catching the unexpected one as it flys by does.

Business Success Quotation: Climb up a mountain and look down on your operations. What stands out? What is too dim to see? Polish the first. Fertilize the second.