The Brickyard – Great Ideas Can Win... Even in Shitty Markets

If your best friend asked for money to start a retailer in late 2009, you would flick him in the eye. Than you would laugh at him. That is the environment we are in, yet the reatil index $XRT is humming right along like it’s 2006.

How dumb is it to have an indoor batting cage in industrial San Diego when it is 70 degrees and sunny everyday. I found out yesterday that it’s insanely smart.

My son Max loves baseball. He is getting good pretty fast. It is really fun to watch. His team went to practice at a batting cage last week and he could not stop raving about it, so I took him yesterday and got blown away.

I mean how simple is an indoor batting cage that has great equipment, working candy vending machines and baseball fanatics running the joint. After 20 minutes and $20 (it seems very high but you could not get a spot on a Tuesday), I was asking about franchise opportunities.

We need a lot more creative and simple ideas like The Brickyard to fix commercial real estate and get people to spend money, but while you are busy hiding out and laughing at investors, great ideas are hatching and good businesses are being launched.

That is the America I am hoping to see more of.

Pep talk over.