Steve Miller, managing director of Standard & Poor’s LCD, a division which provides information to the leveraged finance industry, recalls how a pink slip led him to start his own business. He also gives some practical advice on how to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Here is a great article about a book series that teaches the values of entrepreneurship to children. The first two books are Tyler & His Solve-a-Matic Machine, which won the 2007 iParenting Media Hot Product Award, and Tyler Passes The Golden Key. Their plots “interweave the characters as they become suppliers, customers and referrals for one another, emphasizing the power of networking and its influence on one’s business success.” The author, Jennifer Boudani, actually became an entrepreneur herself, establishing her own publishing company Bouje Publishing after unsuccessfully pitching the series to other publishers.

Meanwhile, FranChild offers children the opportunity to learn first-hand about what it takes to run a business. The company offers four ”franchise-like” business models for kids to choose from: beeswax candles, organic soap, jewelry or apparel. FranChild’s founder was inspired to start the company by his two young sons, who sold hand-rolled beeswax candles as a way to supplement their allowance.

Inc Magazine released its annual top 500/5000 list of fastest growing companies. Taking the top spot is Senior Whole Health, a managed care company based in Massachusetts, with a three-year growth rate of 31,525.4%! Here are some other interesting facts (PDF) derived from the ranking:

Top three industries represented: IT (11.6%), business services (10.6%) and construction (9.2%)

Top three industries by growth rate: energy (298%), government services (220%), security (200%)

Median growth rate: 147%

Top three metro areas by median revenue: Grand Rapids, MI (16 companies and $26.2 million revenue); San Antonio, TX (25 companies and $21.3 million); Baton Rouge, LA (14 companies and $18.8 million)

Start-up funding methods: self-funded (87%), loans from family and friends (19%), bank loans (17%), venture capital (3%)

Median amount of capital used for launch: $25,000

Top three locations of companies: New York metro area (255 companies), Washington, D.C. and suburbs (300), Los Angeles (244)

Median number of employees: 50

Political affiliation: 32% Republican, 10% Democrat, 13% Independent

Entrepreneur Magazine tells the story of two young college friends who turned their frustration over finding pants that actually fit into a business. Key quote: “We really are trying to innovate for the sake of solving a problem we see in the world much more so than for the sake of creating a company that’s worth a lot of money.”

A nice selection of resources for hiring the right talent from Small Business Trends, including how you can make the most of an interview and why you should offer a “quit now” bonus to new employees.

Online virtual worlds like Entropia and Second Life are offering young people a way to learn the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneur Magazine gives two examples of teenagers who utilized their passion for online role playing games to build successful businesses.

Jeff Bussgang at Staying Entrepreneurial asks, What motivates entrepreneurs? This question is particularly interesting when one considers the many open source projects for which developers receive no financial reward. Bussgang posits: “The reward for the entrepreneur is not just about the money – although, sure, they are motivated by the money — but what really drives great entrepreneurs is the ego, pride and feeling of recognition and respect.”

At Risky Business, Matt Bandyk discusses whether peer-to-peer lending is a good option to finance startups. Social networking type sites like prosper.com connect lenders and borrowers directly to each other without being mediated through financial institutions.

Two free ebooks via Small Business Trends: 100 Best Kept Marketing Secrets and Best Business Blogs (both in PDF format).

A study (PDF) by Deloitte and the National Venture Capital Association surveying the opinions of 400 venture capitalists worldwide found that European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom are emerging as leaders in the life sciences and clean technology fields. Ranking second behind the United States are Japan in telecommunication technology, Taiwan in semi conductor innovation, and India in software development.