School for Startups Minutes
The short vignettes are taken from School for Startups Radio. We release a quick thought to motivate or educate you about a different facet of entrepreneurship every day.
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SFS Minute 1144:Sleep
08/17/2026
SFS Minute 1144:Sleep
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. We have been talking this week about what successful entrepreneurs do differently from everyone else. The question is, can you learn from this and emulate these people and become more like them? I believe strongly that you can. You can slowly, over time, adjust your personality to become more like this. Start with copying from others. Look for an idea to copy, and then your journey has begun. I have one more thing to point out about successful entrepreneurs. I'll do that right after this. Rest and sleep. Successful entrepreneurs plan in their sleep time, plan in their vacation time, and they take it religiously because they understand how important rest is to success. If you don't have downtime, eventually you will crash.
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SFS Minute 1143: Boring
08/17/2026
SFS Minute 1143: Boring
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. This week, we are talking about what successful entrepreneurs do differently from all of the rest of us. I've already suggested this week that they are much more willing to steal good ideas from other people and improve on them. Of course, it's not stealing copyrights, trademarks, or patents, but it's borrowing their idea and making it better. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. 93% of new business ideas come from existing business ideas. In other words, that's the way good entrepreneurs do it. I have another interesting thing to suggest about this group right after this. The media loves to point to the flashy tech entrepreneurs, but in fact, most of the rich do boring things that add up slowly over time. In the paving business or the pantyhose business, things like that - slow, boring, consistent earners over time.
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SFS Minute 1142: Borrow
08/17/2026
SFS Minute 1142: Borrow
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. Every week, a new topic, and the topic this week is how successful entrepreneurs are different from everybody else. I've already suggested that they obsess over systems and not goals and that they embrace rejection because they learn from it. I have another thing to suggest they do differently right after this. Successful serial entrepreneurs do one thing more differently than anyone else, and that is borrowing things. That's right Great entrepreneurs see business ideas all around them. They figure out how to make them a little bit better and steal the original idea. Of course, they don't steal any copyrights, trademarks, or patents, but great entrepreneurs are always looking for ideas to copy and improve. Picasso said, "Good artists copy; great artists steal."
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SFS Minute 1141: Embrace Rejection
08/17/2026
SFS Minute 1141: Embrace Rejection
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. This week, we are talking about how successful entrepreneurs are different from everyone else. I've already suggested that they rely on systems to an extreme degree. It allows for much more predictable results. That's in their personal life: systems for success, systems for sleep, all of those sorts of things, and in their business life. They have systems that automate the business. So when they're not there, they still make money. Today, I'm going to go over another thing that they do dramatically differently right after this. Entrepreneurs embrace rejection because they learn from it. Each data point is a new way to improve and try better next time, and to persevere and fight on. Remember what Thomas Edison said about the light bulb. He had to have 1,000 rejections before one yes.
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SFS Minute 1140: Systems
08/17/2026
SFS Minute 1140: Systems
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. I think we could all agree that successful entrepreneurs do something differently. There's just something different about their mind, their actions, their beliefs that allows them to be so very successful. This week, we're going to go through five of those things and discuss things that entrepreneurs, successful entrepreneurs, do differently. I'll give you my first one right after this. You may think that successful entrepreneurs love goals. They do, but they're more obsessed with systems. Both systems in their life and systems in their business. In their life, they design daily rituals that make results inevitable. And in their business, they love the systems that automate things that make it possible for the business to run without them there all of the time. Successful entrepreneurs love systems.
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SFS Minute 1049: Opportunity
08/10/2026
SFS Minute 1049: Opportunity
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. This week, I've been trying to present a happy message that counters what we see in the world today. It is very scary right now, with our 401(k)s going up and down. The stock market is crazy. The price of oil, inflation. We all know the problems that we are facing. But I've tried to share the message that good things are happening as well. For example, AI is going to give you an opportunity to level up. Learn it now, and your salary will go up quite a bit because of that. So many positive things. I want to share another one with you in just a second. All of the news media make more money when there is bad news. In fact, bad news is the business model. So we have to remember that people who win are the ones that see opportunity out there when other people see fear.
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SFS Minute 1048: Speed
08/10/2026
SFS Minute 1048: Speed
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. This week, we are looking at the world from a little bit further away. Instead of getting up close and personal in the microanalysis, we're doing a macro 40,000-foot analysis, trying to show you that the world is actually getting better. Despite all of the bad things we see, despite the wars and inflation and the stock market going up and down, good things are happening. I'll give you an example right after this. One of the big advantages that we have as small business owners, or just as individuals, is that we have more speed. Big companies are slow. They have committees and approvals and layers of management, whereas us entrepreneurs can progress with one decision. Click open. We can move that fast. And that's why we entrepreneurs have an incredible speed advantage in today's world. Use it. Think about it.
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SFS Minute 1047: Gate Keepers Gone
08/10/2026
SFS Minute 1047: Gate Keepers Gone
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. I am arguing this week that the world is better than we all think and feel, and that there's never been more opportunity. There are great things happening at the macro level. And I know it's hard to accept because the micro level of the war, the taxes, the inflation, my job being cut, all of that is so scary. But I'll tell you, at the macro level, good things are happening. And I'll tell you one of those right after this. So here's the good news. The gatekeepers are gone. You do not need to ask for permission anymore. If you want to do a podcast, write a book, create a movie, get a job, all of those can be done without asking anyone's permission. So the lesson is very profound. Start today. Success today starts the minute you raise your hand and start doing it yourself. The gatekeepers aren't gonna stop you.
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SFS Minute 1046: AI will create jobs
08/10/2026
SFS Minute 1046: AI will create jobs
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. These are scary times right now. We have elections coming up, and the other guys are already stealing it. We have a war going on that I don't think any of us really want. The market's going up and down like an NCAA basketball, and my team is not winning, and it's a scary time. And then they throw AI at us. I want to share another way to look at it right after this. So let me tell you what's going to happen with AI. Every major technology shift has not eliminated work. It does, though, shift who gets paid the most. The people who learn the tool early now become the new winners. AI is not replacing entrepreneurs. It is replacing entrepreneurs who refuse to adapt. The question is not whether AI will take your job. The question is whether you will be able to use it before the competitor does.
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SFS Minute 1045: Systems Work
08/10/2026
SFS Minute 1045: Systems Work
This week, I want to talk about some things that will make you happy and feel a little more content. You know, every day right now, it feels like the world is falling apart. We have wars, elections, markets going up and down. Your 401(k) is like a basketball. You turn on the news, and you only hear bad stuff. There's something that they don't tell you, though. And this week, I'm going to focus on that. I'll be right back with my first example. What they don't tell us is that most of the systems actually work. Our life is more stable than ever before. Supply chains are better. Medicine is better. Information is better and instant, but the machine keeps working. Crisis gets attention. Stability does not. If you build your business or your life based on headlines, you will fail and panic. If you build your life and business on a long-term trend, you will win. The opportunity has never been greater.
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SFS Minute 1044: Web
08/03/2026
SFS Minute 1044: Web
This week, I have been giving away free business ideas, businesses that you can start with absolutely zero money. Not a cent of money is needed to get started. Zero creativity. All you need is the passion to get going and to have a little business of your own. Every day, I've shared a unique idea. Go to schoolforstartupsradio.com and click on Minutes if you need to find one that you missed. I'll share today's idea right after this. Start a web design business. Build websites using an app called WordPress. It is so easy to learn. You can learn it in under two hours by watching YouTube videos, and then you can charge thousands of dollars for amazing websites. Some of the best websites in the world are built using WordPress, and you can learn it in under two hours.
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SFS Minute 1043: Palets
08/03/2026
SFS Minute 1043: Palets
This week, I am giving away business ideas, ideas that you could start with absolutely no money in the next week and use to make $50,000 in the next year. That is the model. Some of the ideas are a little bit crazy. Today's idea will be a little bit crazy to you. But I know a guy who makes $100,000 a year working one day a week doing this business. I mean, it's crazy, but don't you want to hear what it is? My friend goes around to shipping and receiving centers, places like Costco's distribution warehouse, and picks up all of the old wooden pallets they have. Some places pay him to take them away. Then he goes and sells those pallets, which he got for free, at a huge profit. Brilliant.
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SFS Minute 1042: Nextdoor
08/03/2026
SFS Minute 1042: Nextdoor
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. I have seen data that says more people want to be entrepreneurs than want to be rock stars. That's right, it's cooler to be an entrepreneur than a rock star, but the hard part is coming up with an idea and the money. This week, today, I will give you an idea that you can start absolutely free this week and use to make money. Go on a website called Nextdoor, join the site, and start looking for jobs in your neighborhood. You will be amazed at how many people around you need help. They need help taking out the trash in their garage, fixing a broken door, or painting a deck. All of these jobs, which almost anyone could do, are sitting there, begging for someone to come and do them. Make some money. Go on Nextdoor.
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SFS Minute 1041: Cleaning
08/03/2026
SFS Minute 1041: Cleaning
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. Every week, we try to produce a quick minute of content that's going to make your day a little bit better, make you a little bit better as a person, or provide you with a new business opportunity. This week, I'm giving away free business ideas that you can start with absolutely no money. I'll give you an idea that's going to make you money right after this. Start a commercial cleaning business. It requires the broom that you already own and maybe a mop, and then a client. Go and call churches, parking lots, supermarkets, or anywhere that has a lot of customers and say, “I will clean your parking lot, your outside, and your inside. I will clean your building every night,” and then offer them a price. If you make enough calls, you will get a customer. All you have to do is spend some time building the business.
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SFS Minute 1040: Sharing Economy
08/03/2026
SFS Minute 1040: Sharing Economy
Welcome to the School for Startups Minute with Jim Beach. Every week, these segments are devoted to trying to give you some tips to make you a better person, a happier person, and help you fulfill your dreams. Many of you are dreaming of starting a business but see it as a complete impossibility, probably because you don't have any money or maybe even a good idea. This week, I'm going to give you five business ideas that you can start with zero money in the next week, get up and running, and make money. I'll give you those ideas right after this. Idea number one: be a part of the sharing economy. Share your boat, your RV, an extra room in your house, your swimming pool, your basketball court, your tennis court, or whatever. By sharing and allowing other people to rent those on apps such as Airbnb and Swimply, as well as a lot of other great apps like those, you can make a lot of money.
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SFS Minute 1039: Fleeting
07/27/2026
SFS Minute 1039: Fleeting
This week I have been enjoying talking about summer. I guess you have figured out that summer is my favorite season, and I just absolutely love it. This week, I have shared five reasons why I think it is just so great. I will share that fifth and final reason right after this. One of the reasons I love summer is that it is fleeting. It never lasts as long as we think it will. Remember back in June? We felt like summer would be endless. We had time to go to the beach and take a road trip and maybe go to Disney and celebrate at the lake. We had a ton of time, and then all of a sudden, it's August. Now they've changed school so that it starts so early. Summer is really only two months, and guess what? It feels like it's already over, despite the heat.
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SFS Minute 1038: Experiences
07/27/2026
SFS Minute 1038: Experiences
Summer is special, and that's what I'm talking about this week—an ode to summer. I've shared some of the reasons I think summer is special and unique, and I will share another one right after this. We spend a lot of our lives buying things: clothes, furniture, cars, houses, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. But over time, they go away. In the summer, we also spend our money on experiences, things that we remember forever. That family road trip, or a week at the lake, or sitting in your grandfather's lap and watching fireworks. All of these things, your first kiss, all of these things that happen in the summer give us lifelong memories that make us smile forever. And that's one of the reasons I love summer so very, very much.
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SFS Minute 1037: Relationships
07/27/2026
SFS Minute 1037: Relationships
This week is an ode to summertime. I've been talking this week about why summer is so special to me, and I think we need to just acknowledge it and take a little time off from talking about business and entrepreneurship to talk about summer, how special it is, and how lucky we are to have it. I will give you one of my reasons right after this. One of the reasons I love summer is that it reminds us that relationships matter the most. Think about some of your favorite memories. I bet some of them, a lot of them, involve summertime family cookouts, beach vacations, camping trips, baseball games, sitting around a fire pit, and telling ghost stories until midnight. These are great times, great conversations, and great memories, and they happen because summertime allows you to go and do those things.
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SFS Minute 1036: Kid’s
07/27/2026
SFS Minute 1036: Kid’s
This week is an ode to summertime. I want to take a little time off from talking about business and entrepreneurship here and talk a little about summer and how awesome it is. It deserves special recognition. This week, I am sharing my reasons why, and I'll share one of them right after this. One of the reasons I love summer is that it gives kids some time off, and some of the time they have during the summer is the most important time in their entire development. Being outdoors, waiting for the streetlights to come on, playing with the early fireflies, and playing kickball in the street—those are some of the most important developmental experiences a kid can have, and that happens during the summer. Being around your neighborhood and being with all of the other kids—it's a special thing about summertime.
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SFS Minute 1035: Slow Down
07/27/2026
SFS Minute 1035: Slow Down
Summer is special. This week, I want to talk about some of the reasons I think summer is awesome and maybe a little bit better than the other seasons. I'll give you my first reason why I love summer right after this. One of the reasons I love summer is that it reminds us to slow down a little bit. You know, we have such busy lives, and we're always running, trying to get another thing done. But maybe it's the heat of summer. Maybe it's the fireflies or the fact that you can walk your dog and not freeze to death. Summer is a little bit slower, and I think that's good for us. It allows our brains time to think, time to relax, and time to have some time off, and that's very valuable for us entrepreneurs and businesspeople. We want our brains to have that time to relax because that's when we have our most creative moments. Enjoy the slower pace.
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SFS Minute 1034: Body
07/19/2026
SFS Minute 1034: Body
I was blown away the first time I heard about neuroplasticity—the idea that, no matter how old we are, our brain can continue to be better, to be sharper. I'll give you one way to do that right after this. You will not get the benefits of neuroplasticity unless you take care of the basics: exercise, eight hours of sleep, and lots of water. I take vitamins and supplements, and there are amazing Strauss Naturals products for whatever your body needs. The most important thing is that you need to build a foundation for the rest of your life so that the other things we talked about this week will actually happen. Go to schoolforstartups.com/minutes to hear all of the ways that you can continue to get smarter, no matter how old you are.
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SFS Minute 1033: Views
07/19/2026
SFS Minute 1033: Views
All this week, we are talking about neuroplasticity, the idea that our brains are malleable, changeable, and that they can actually continue to grow, not get bigger. I will tell you one way that you can get smarter, no matter how old you are, right after this. One of the best ways to continue to get smarter is to always challenge your views, your perceptions. Our brains work overtime trying to convince us that we are always right. Talking to other people, learning their ideas, and having polite disagreements are some of the very best ways to create new connections, new synapses in our brain. That is actually making us smarter. Neuroplasticity can happen when you challenge your views and talk to people you disagree with.
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SFS Minute 1032: Ages
07/19/2026
SFS Minute 1032: Ages
All this week, we are talking about how you can continue to get smarter, no matter how old you are. It's called neuroplasticity—the idea that our brains are still changing, no matter what our age is, and if we do things right, we can create new connections, new synapses in our brain, and actually get smarter. I'll give you one way to do that right after this. It's time to get lean, healthy, and save America. One great way to continue to get smarter, no matter how old you are, is to spend time with people of different generations, particularly much younger people. If you can talk to someone 30 or 40 years younger than you, I promise you will be blown away by the way they think. I have two kids in their 20s, and every time I talk to them, my brain gets smarter because I'm exposed to their crazy ideas.
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SFS Minute 1031: New People
07/19/2026
SFS Minute 1031: New People
All this week, we are talking about neuroplasticity—the idea that our brains are malleable, changeable, and that they can actually continue to grow, not get bigger. I will tell you one way that you can get smarter, no matter how old you are, right after this. One great way to make your brain smarter is to grow new synapses, new connections by literally making new connections, interact with more people, learn what they are thinking about, what they're interested in, and be exposed to all new ideas. Go to more events, hang out at a bar more, join a group or a club, take a class, join the Masons, do anything where you can go and meet new people, be exposed to new ideas, expand your knowledge base, and continue to be smarter.
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SFS Minute 1030: New Things
07/19/2026
SFS Minute 1030: New Things
This week, I'm going to talk about neuroplasticity, brain plasticity—the idea that we can really, truly make ourselves smarter, not better educated, but smarter. Every day this week, I'll give you a new way to achieve that! It's just like a stroke victim learning to talk or walk again. I'll have my first suggestion right after this. First way to get smarter, no matter how old you are: seek new pursuits. Learn a language. Learn chess. Take music lessons. Learn how to do some art. Anything you're doing that is new creates new connections, new synapses. Is your brain actually changing? Remember, this is not crazy. This is scientifically proven. You can make yourself smarter, no matter how old you are.
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SFS Minute 1033: Curiosity
07/12/2026
SFS Minute 1033: Curiosity
This week we are talking about hidden superpowers, underrated skills that a lot of people have that aren't talked about every day, but lead to a huge part of their success. For example, they might not be a great leader and have leadership skills, but they're absolutely wonderful at something else, which makes them a huge asset to the business, society, and everyone around them. This week we are talking about those things. One of them was listing. Using listing as a superpower is one of the things that I and a lot of other introverts do. We also have great abilities to comprehend and follow up because of that. And following up is another one of the super skills. I'll introduce you to another super skill right after this. Curiosity is a super skill. Every time you ask a question, a new opportunity arises. Why do we have to drive the video back? Someone said, and from that we get Netflix. Curiosity is great.
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SFS Minute 1034: Gratitude
07/12/2026
SFS Minute 1034: Gratitude
This week we have been talking about five underrated success skills-things that we may not know that we do, but may be your secret superpower. Things like being a great listener, or showing up on time, or keeping your word, or simply being curious, as that creates amazing new opportunities. I'll have one more thing to introduce to our list right after this. Gratitude. You know it may not sound like a business skill, but if you do it right, it could be your greatest superpower. We don't get thanked enough, and we usually get thanked in really offhand, trivial ways. Imagine the superpower of having a handwritten note coming in the mailbox saying how grateful you are for their business, their friendship, whatever it could be, stand out by using gratitude, but make it sincere. Nothing's more valuable.
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SFS Minute 1032: Keep your Word
07/12/2026
SFS Minute 1032: Keep your Word
This week, we are talking about success skills that are often underrated. Sometimes we call them silent superpowers. Maybe you're not great at leadership or sales, but you're great at something else that's not as flashy. Those are the opportunities that you should pursue. Double down on what you are good at. So today, I'm going to introduce another underrated success skill. I'll do that right after this. One business skill that never goes out of style is being honest, keeping your word, and doing what you say you're going to do. It's also completely free. Your reputation isn't built during great success or crises. It's built during everyday moments: calling when you promise, delivering on time, showing up, and admitting mistakes. It is an old-fashioned skill that people notice all the time. They also notice the opposite. Be honest and do what you say.
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SFS Minute 1031: Follow Up
07/12/2026
SFS Minute 1031: Follow Up
This week we are talking about silent superpowers, things that a lot of people do that are very underrated, and so we are coming up with a list of the five most underrated success skills. We've already added listening to the list. We'll add another one today. Can you guess what it is? I'll be right back to tell you. Following up is a superpower. How many times have you sent an email or called someone and not heard from them for a month or so? So many opportunities are lost because no one followed up and did the basic grunt work. Following up isn't glamorous, and no one brags about it, but incredible things happen simply when you check in with people more than one time. Remember, it takes seven touches to get a sale. You aren't getting rejected. People are just distracted and forget about you. Follow up.
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SFS Minute 1030: Listening
07/12/2026
SFS Minute 1030: Listening
If I were to ask you what the most important business skills are, you would probably say leadership, selling, marketing, finance, and things like that. And those are all very, very true. But I think there are some other skills, some things we don't talk about, some things we underrate, that are just as important, too. This week, I want to talk about the five most underrated skill sets that you can have that will lead to success. I'll get started right after this. One of the most underrated success skills is listening. I think it's such an incredible advantage, and it's something that we introverts do naturally. It's just a huge, great thing for us to do. But everyone needs to work on their listening skills because, when a customer calls to complain, the great listener is the one who makes them happy, and great listeners are the ones who hear the opportunities. The customers will tell you, "I wish it did this."
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