Business Acquisition: Didn’t You Hear?





Small Business Cartoon: Business Acquisition: Didn't You Hear?

Halloween is right around the corner, and I thought I’d share this cartoon because it represents part of my job that I probably like the most.

Oh sure, drawing leprechauns is really fun. (Seriously, ask my wife. For me, leprechauns are never not funny.) And seeing your stuff in print is enormously gratifying. But turning an idea around in your head, holding it upside down and shaking it, taking the thing apart to see how it works, and finally coming up with a new take on an old idea, that’s the best.

We all take holidays for granted as, well, holidays. And certainly there’s lots of business to be done, but after thinking for a bit, I thought it would be interesting if the holiday itself were a business. Who runs it? How are they organized? How do they feel about competing holidays? And it was that last thought led to the above merger.

Plus it was a good excuse to draw leprechauns in October.

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Mark Anderson, professional cartoonist

About the Author: Mark Anderson’s cartoons appear in publications including The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. Anderson is the creator of the popular cartoon website, Andertoons.com, where he licenses his cartoons for presentations, newsletters and other projects. He blogs at Andertoons cartoon blog.

8 Comments ▼

Mark Anderson Mark Anderson's cartoons appear in publications including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. His business cartoons are available for licensing at his website, Andertoons.com.

8 Reactions
  1. Ha ha ha — this is so funny.

    You could do a follow-on cartoon, Mark, about how Thanksgiving has been acquired by Christmas. It’s like nobody decorates anymore for Thanksgiving — we just eat a turkey and get back to Santa Claus. 🙂

  2. That is so true Anita. We skip right over Thanksgiving except to pause for a day to gorge ourselves in preparation for Black Friday. Another great cartoon though, I wasn’t expected a Halloween one!

  3. Personally Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because there so little pressure, other than cooking the bird. It’s so nice and relaxed, there’s not a lot of stuff ot buy…. And there’s stuffing! Glorious stuffing!

  4. Another one that brought a big smile to my face!

    I’m guilty of a very minimal Thanksgiving observance. . .my Christmas tree goes up that weekend every year 🙂 I can’t believe it’s only a matter of weeks away. . .

  5. Mark, this has to be one of your best cartoons I’ve seen.

  6. Always great to get a smile on Friday… so thanks Mark!

    One of the interesting trends I have observed over the years is how little “investment” we make in the holiday time. Instead of good planning to spend time with friends and family, these events just sneak up and are gone… kinda a necessary interruption in the pursuit of the next big business win.

    So with all thats going on… take some time to enjoy the various holiday events for what they were made for. Real time with family (kids, parents, siblings etc) and reaching out to new and old friends.

    Enjoy,
    Cheers, Grant

  7. I will attend a Thanksgiving dinner on 11/26 with fellow members of Vasa Order of America (Lodge #452 Gothenburg) and “Sweden Contact” Association. I will also coordinate the new carnival called #GoodThing in Life during the holiday. Please click on my name if you are interested to participate in the carnival. I look forward to your recipes and good life entries! 🙂

    Have you heard about the first Thanksgiving celebration in Jamestown, Virginia? I recommend you to read “Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Heart of a New Nation” by David Price.

    Mark: I will give you a riddle… How about stuffing the turkey with gold? 😉

    Talking about Halloween. I am in the process of writing a new blog post and creating a video holiday greeting. Watch out! 😉

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