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Business Tips from the Editor - February 2026

BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR

February 2026

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

         “Hobby or a Business"

Over my career advising businesses, I have seen many businesses that started out as the owner’s hobby and grew to become very successful. I have also seen many businesses that started out as the owner’s hobby and never grew to become more than a one-person entity that barely provides the owner a wage. Why the difference?

The owners that turned a hobby business into a successful business treated the business like a business and not just a hobby. They identified their business’s weaknesses and hired individuals who had capabilities the owners lacked, like accounting, operational skills, quality control proficiencies, marketing abilities, leadership competencies, etc., and they empowered these individuals to run their departments or business units like a business within the business and thus created a true win-win situation for everyone.

In the hobby business that never really grows, the owners try to do everything themselves because they feel no one can do any particular job the way they would do it, or, they have difficulty giving up control. One person simply can’t do it all, and thus, nothing gets done well enough for the business to break out of its shell and grow. Further, overall costs are rarely identified, and thus, product pricing simply does not cover all the expenses, with an end result being very narrow profitability margins.

I am not saying one approach is better than the other. It really depends on what the hobby business owner personally wants to make the business be and what that owner’s personal goals are. I do recommend figuring that out up front. It takes capital to start any business, and using retirement funds, home equity, credit card debt and or family and friends’ savings to get started can be dicey. If the business is not successful, then the original purpose for those funds are in jeopardy, and relationships can end or become very strained. 

If you are considering turning your hobby into a business, but you have not figured out the actions needed to be taken and you need help, assistance, guidance, direction, or a path forward for your hobby business, we encourage you to visit our Website at www.silverfox.org  There you can learn more about the great programs and community outreach endeavors, selecting a Silver Fox Advisor whom you can engage, or perhaps becoming a member yourself.

Silver Fox Advisors History Corner

Silver Fox Advisor's History Corner

The Silver Fox Advisor organization is celebrating its 40^th Anniversary this year, and over the course of the 2026 calendar year we will be sharing with you some of our history and memories in our Monthly Newsletter. Each month we will feature a brief write—up on some of the more historical highpoints of the past 40 years in this “Silver Fox Advisors’ History Corner”. We hope you find this information of interest, and you will probably know or have heard of some of the individual Silver Fox Advisors who made the organization what it is today.

When any entity has been in existence for 40 years one can look back over that 40-year period and see a deviation or straying from the original purpose or mission, but that is not the case with the Silver Fox Advisors. For nearly forty years the Silver Fox Advisors and its members have focused on the organization’s original Mission – “To serve Greater Houston Area business owners, helping them establish, grow and prosper their businesses by sharing our collective wisdom through robust service offerings.”

There is no way of knowing how many businesses the Silver Fox Advisors have assisted or saved over the past 40 years. Often a simple word of encouragement or a meaningful phrase spoken by one of our members at one of our CEO Roundtables or Lunch & Learn events has been used to change a business’ direction or create a new product or service for a business. One of our Silver Fox Advisors had a saying he frequently used, “A problem shared is cut in half.” Sometimes businesses face problems or challenges, and if the owner shares the problem, he or she can feel that that problem has been cut in half so that big mountain doesn’t look that hard to climb.

The Silver Fox Advisors also has a Vision – “Be the premier organization in the Greater Houston area to assist business owners in their success”. It goes without saying that if something has been around for forty years, it must be doing something that someone wants and finds of value. “Houston, we have a Vision”!!!!

Silver Fox Advisors are proven business leaders who advise, coach, consult, and mentor business leaders, CEO Roundtables, and entrepreneurship programs.

Silver Fox Advisors have been sharing their knowledge, experience, skills, and wisdom since 1986. For more information, visit: www.silverfox.org