Marc Sparks is an entrepreneur who has been involved in more than sixty start-ups since the Seventies. He is also the founder, owner, and CEO of Timber Creek Capital, a private equity firm. The following is an excerpt from his upcoming book, titled They Can’t Eat You.

Having sat in tens of thousands of meetings, I am somewhat of an expert as to how to conduct productive meetings and eliminate large wastes of time. Here are a few tried–and-true tips for conducting a quality meeting.

Marc Sparks is an entrepreneur who has been involved in more than sixty start-ups since the Seventies. He is also the founder, owner, and CEO of Timber Creek Capital, a private equity firm.

Society’s never-ending pursuit of automation never ceases to amaze me. Now don’t get me wrong; as a serial entrepreneur, I’m all for streamlining business processes and increasing efficiencies whenever and wherever possible. Frankly, however, this insatiable quest to “make life easier” is creating a world of complacency … and in my observation, complacency can be catastrophic.

Marc Sparks, a serial entrepreneur and owner of Timber Creek Capital, says he’s not one to say “never say never.” In fact, “never” has a secure place in his vocabulary, when used in the right context. For instance, Marc says you should never postpone joy. Why? Because you aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. Read more about the things Marc Sparks says are on his list of “never statements.”

Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr. Together they helped lead the Green Bay Packers to five NFL titles in the 1960s and both are now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. None of that might have happened had Lombardi, the teacher, not listened to Starr, the pupil, about the importance of criticizing in private. The same holds true for today’s entrepreneur. Read full article at www.TimberCreekCapital.com.

Let’s start with an introduction. I’m Marc Sparks, and I am a serial entrepreneur. (And no, this isn’t some 12-step program, though there are those who would say I would definitely benefit from one, if such a group existed for entrepreneurs).  I’ve been a principal in more than sixty start-ups since 1978. My passion is building companies. It’s what I do best. I’m a born builder who loves to create magical and wonderful businesses from scratch. I’ve had some great successes over the years and some colossal losses, too. My life has been one event-filled outrageously wild ride!

This blog will be, too. My blogs will be about inspiring experiences in entrepreneurship, business successes and failures (what not to do is sometimes more important than what to do), world travel, food, health/exercise, faith and tenacity … all peppered with an outrageous sense of urgency.