Business, consumer and economic tidbits from DNT reporter Candace Renalls. Click here to view previous posts or additional resources.
Is there an entrepreneur gene?
There's supposedly a fearless gene, gene that the biggest thrill-seekers have. They're the ones who think nothing of jumping out of airplanes, skiing off mountains or rafting down treacherous rivers.
I've often wondered if there's a similar gene for entrepreneurs. What makes some people willing and able to take the plunge in business, especially when so many businesses fail? Where does that come from? Is it learned? Is it in the blood?
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Today's business story on Arlene Coco Buscombe of Duluth, a former chef who has started several food-related businesses (her latest is a scone business) didn't get into that.
But I did ask her about it.
Her love of food and cooking was inspired by her mother, a skilled cook.
"My mother was a fantastic cook," Buscombe said. "The cookbook I put out was a compilation of her recipes. I grew up in Baton Rouge. We also had gardens. I learned early about harvesting and gardening. My job was to pick it for dinner. Mother would harvest and freeze, and we learned and got to do this."
That explains how she started on a culinary path. But what about her willingness and adeptness starting business after business?
The answer is also found in her family culture.
Her father had a commercial refrigeration business. Her brother became a boat manufacturer, even inventing a boat that he patented.
"We never had a job, never worked for anyone else, not for long anyway," Buscombe said with a laugh. "My father had a business. We all share a very intense interest in our lines of work."
