A forward-thinking, successful entrepreneur, Neil Cooper long knew he never wanted to work for someone else.

Neil discovered his entrepreneurial skills in college, where he and friend set up a summer course in which they taught incoming freshmen “everything they needed to know about college: how to dress, which professors were good, which fraternities had the best parties, what was decidedly uncool and similar critical issues.”

“We made a few thousand bucks and couldn’t believe it,” he says. “We repeated the course for a couple of summers.”

After graduation, Neil got a job selling advertising for a Cleveland-based trade magazine for the packaging industry. A few years later, he and two friends bought the magazine. In time, the partners added five more magazines and moved the company to Chicago.

“The 1970s were tough economically,” he says. “Fortunately, the packaging business was somewhat recession-proof, so we did OK.”

In the early 1980s, the wife of one of the partners died, and enthusiasm for the business began to wane. It was then that a European company expressed interest in acquiring the business.

“We thought of what might be a fair number for buying the business then doubled it,” Neil says. “And they paid it!”

Not all of Neil’s ventures after that were as successful. He began a labeling company, primarily so he could subsidize his health insurance premiums. Neil used his relationship skills to win some big accounts, and the labeling business soon was very successful. Trouble arose, however, when a partner tried to start his own, competing venture. The partnership dissolved, leaving behind some relatively bad feelings.

Fortunately for Neil, a magazine that he had launched at the same time he started the labeling business was becoming successful. Today, his company publishes two magazines and is exploring online ventures. Neil spends half the time in his office and commutes to his home in Florida on weekends. His children are grown.

Neil used a full-service broker as an advisor until he grew weary of following the broker from firm to firm. Today, he relies on some independent advisors to manage portfolios for him. His wife has some assets at one of the large trustee banks. Neil regards his attorney as his primary advisor. An accountant helps with his business as well as his personal investments.

When asked about any concerns he has for the future, Neil acknowledges, “The tenor of things has changed.

---