Especially entrepreneurs, who often charge ahead with a brilliant idea only to be blind to a brick wall obstructing their path to success, need to be aware of blindspots.  To see clearly, it helps to map the most usual blindspots and to beware.  Recognizing and Overcoming Blindspots

The raisin growers in California establish quotas on how much of their crop can be taken to market.  While some elements of entrepreneurship are the same the world over, paying attention to the way things are done locally is a crucial consideration in doing business in another country. How Many Raisins to Sell?

Japan ranks 114th among 185 countries for ease entrepreneurs have in starting businesses.

“We want to transform Japanese corporations and Japanese society, because after Sony and Honda, no big companies have been born except retailers,” said Idei.  “The concept of patient risk money doesn’t exist.”

Idei discusses everything from the difficulty Japanese entrepreneurs have in finding investors to Nikolai Kondratiev’s obscure theories on technology cycles. He also said he had no regrets about his much-criticized stewardship of one of Japan’s most iconic companies.  Former Head of Sony Helps Young Japanese Entrepreneurs

• The Fed is sending a message that the unwinding of its extraordinary accommodation will be done with great care and patience, and will take time – a long time.
• In delaying a taper, not only did the Fed show markets it has little tolerance for any tightening of financial conditions, it also strengthened its forward guidance considerably.
• The Fed’s decision to delay a taper will likely relieve some of the upward pressure on longer-term interest rates.  Report

While each country has its own history and style of dealing with women entrepreneurs, some issues are universal: access to capital, open door policies, government support among them.  Julie R. Weeks, head of Womenable, works with American Express to prepare studies of the progress women have made.  Her work is indispensable for entrepreneurs.  Women Owned Businesses

As the battle is waged in Washington over Health Care in the US, a country which pays more money for health than any other country in the world, and life expectancy is lower than many less economically privileged countries, the status of small businesses and their obligations and responsibilities for their employees is tenuous.  What makes sense?  Small Business and Health Insurance