An Annual Roundup of Small-Business News

This post fascinated me with it’s very well chosen news stories to sum up 2011 in the news. The roundup consists of stories with advice, what not to do, controversial issues, success stories, confessions, predictions, inspiration and how to make money:

People are happy to pay for things that work well. Never be afraid to put a price on something. If you pour your heart into something and make it great, sell it. For real money. Even if there are free options, even if the market is flooded with free. People will pay for things they love.

One take-away from this story is great advice from an Entrepreneur to his son, “Getting, keeping or making that future job starts with understanding the distribution system and your place in that process… Your knowledge has to be critical to the success or failure of the process. That would seem to call for specialization but specialists often don’t see the ball even coming. You need a broader view. ”

One of the most memorable points, which people may not like or agree with, yet well spoken from a student at Stanford University on Entrepreneurial Success:

Don’t listen to successful entrepreneurs. The folks who succeed have no way to know if their success was due to talent, skill, and planning, or merely dumb luck. If you ask them though, they’ll confidently spout reason after reason why they — and no one else – could possibly own 90 percent of the desktop PC market, or whatever they achieved. In their minds, it couldn’t have turned out any other way. The truth is, they succeeded and have no idea why. They’re just explaining it in the best way they can.

What is your take on this summary of 2011 in the news – Is there a story you feel was left out?