"BUSINESS SECRETS OF HOMER SIMPSON" > Page 1, 2, 3
| Homer isn't the only business guru in Springfield. Mr. Burns has this advice for entrepreneurs, "I'll keep it short and sweet! Family, religion, friendship. These are the 3 demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business ..." |
Finance
When Homer gets a free trampoline in "Bart's Inner Child" he dreams of starting his own amusement park Homerland. He starts to cash in by charging admission to use the trampoline, but then encounters a common problem--he does not have any liability insurance and so is forced to give up his business.
Its always important to know your bottom line and watch your cash flow. In "Bart Gets an Elephant," the boy gets the idea to charge kids to let them ride his elephant. Homer immediately recognizes the potential for a winning business. "Look at this Marge, $58 and all of it profit. I'm the smartest businessman in the world." Great, until Marge points out that the elephant's food bill for the day was $300. Homer immediately ups the price for a ride from $2 to $500, and all his customers leave, demonstrating that price sensitivity of the market also is an important factor. Suggestion noted.
Planning
Homer demonstrates a couple of good business fundamentals in his sugar selling venture in "Lisa's Rival". When Homer finds a pile of sugar, he tries to sell it door-to-door directly to the consumer for $1 a pound, even though it only costs 35 cents in the store. How can he charge so much more? First, there is the convenience and exclusivity factor of home delivery. Second, since Homer's sugar fell off a truck it has special prizes such as nails and broken glass in it. When, amazingly, that venture does not work, Homer demonstrates that it is possible to package products in different ways to different markets. He comes up with another way to turn the sugar into profit. It attracts bees and the beekeepers offer him $2000 to have their bees back. Hee hee!
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