Mental Model: Economies of Scale If you ever took an economics course, you are familiar with the concept of economies of scale. In its simplest form, economies of scale is a phenomenon whereby the efficiency of a large scale producer allows it to spread out the high cost basis of its capital expenditures over a…
DetailsI happened to go into the kitchen for something in the middle of working from home tonight when I had an idea … an icing-based filling consisting of mandarin oranges, cinnamon, and vanilla. I threw open the cabinets and began formulating the base. We were so successful with the lemon zest icing for the honey…
DetailsToday’s mail bag focuses on strategy, decision trees, and reverse engineering problems. Dear Mr.Kennon, I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time and i find it very useful in terms of business and finance knowledge. I’m looking to start a business.I’ve read one of your mail bag responses, the one about taking a small…
DetailsThere is a painting from 1750 by artist Thomas Gainsborough called Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. The original hangs in the National Gallery in London, England, where it has been held in collection for more than 50 years. The painting depicts a man, Mr. Robert Andrews, and his wife, Frances Mary Carter. The two were promised…
DetailsLast night, I was working late and watching the most recent episode of House, M.D. on Hulu Plus. There is a scene where an Amy Grant song plays and one of the doctors goes, “Amy Grant? Really?”. That response mirrored the response of some music critics when she burst onto the music scene decades ago,…
DetailsThere is an old latin phrase, panem et circenses, made famous by Juvenal of Ancient Rome. “Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and…
DetailsThis mail bag question has to do with marriage and figuring out the answer to the oft-posed question, “When is the best age to get married?” … Dear Mr. Kennon, Your writing has helped me so much since I first found it. My question isn’t exactly related to money or investing but I want to…
DetailsA few nights ago, I saw a bee hive cake pan mold on Pinterest one of my family members posted that looked awesome. I finally found it here, and bought it. The recipe for the honey lemon cake comes with the cake pan so I won’t post it but we didn’t use the icing recipes,…
DetailsSomething has been bothering me. I haven’t really gotten into it on the blog, but the case studies I’m doing on the furniture industry make me very uncomfortable. For the past couple of decades, there has been a drastic increase in the percentage of consumer furniture and goods manufactured using a material known as MDF.…
DetailsWith the death of Whitney Houston a few days ago, I was doing a case study of her life and the lessons that can be learned from her successes and failures (update: I have written a case study on Dolly Parton’s business success, which you can read here). One of the big ones has little…
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