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The Amazings are people over 50 who are passionate about passing on their knowledge, skills and wisdom to younger generations. The range of courses and classes they offer is impressive. From a loom knitter, to a philosopher, to the guy who taught Phil Collins how to drum, to a film mogul, to a clay artist … they’re all amazings and all have something valuable to share.

One such amazing individual is Robert Kihlstrom, a serial entrepreneur with more than 40 years experience. His Business Skills for Inventors and Entrepreneurs course starts this Thursday (7 February 2013) and promises to be a ‘marvellous mix of insight, lessons and anecdotes’.

Robert’s the mastermind behind a wealth of inventions including a wallet belt buckle and the original car top tent. As writer of the Wine Tasting Notebooks for Vinopolis, he’s also sold more than a million books. From my exchanges with Robert via email and a brief phone conversation I can attest that this affable entrepreneur is full of smart, business-savvy advice along with plenty of great stories as well.

Below is a quick Q&A I conducted with Robert. To find out more about his and all of the Amazings’ fun, friendly, informal, classes and courses, visit theamazings.com.

How does one become a serial entrepreneur?

Be alert to the world around you and question why things are done or not done in certain ways. With common sense you’ll see a lot of business opportunities over the years.

With 40 years experience as an entrepreneur and inventor, you must have made at least a few blunders along the way. Any tips on dealing with failure, learning from mistakes or realising when to change course?

Be patient, have realistic expectations and be honest with yourself in your progress evaluations. The hardest part about being an inventor or entrepreneur is knowing when to stop  – ie realizing your idea isn’t as good as you think it is.  The problem will be you’ll have a personal attachment and investment in your product, “its your baby.”, so it’s hard to admit failure – and stop working on it.   The upside of this is that in developing your idea or business you should have made some important contacts and gotten knowledge that will pay off in the future. Certainly that’s been the case for me.

Looking back at all these years in business, what would you have done differently?

I should have continued to work with successful products longer instead of concentrating on my next new idea and neglecting products that still had good income potential.

How can you tell if an idea will be successful and worth putting money and energy behind?

Don’t fall for all the flattery of your friends and family, telling you what a great idea or product you have.  Make a prototype or offer your service and try to get someone to pay money for it.

What advice would you give a would-be entrepreneur with no business background but a potentially great business idea?

You can’t build a house or anything without a foundation. So before offering your product or idea get some background business skills and in depth product knowledge of your competition and potential suppliers. A good short cut would be to take my course.

Visit theamazings.com for lots more info. Try something old, learn something new. Classes start from as little as £15 and courses from £70.