There Ought To Be A Law So you've only got one business? And maybe making that work is a struggle? Well, some business owners have more than their share--and make it look easy. We call them serial entrepreneurs.

It was November 1957, outside Plainfield, Wisconsin, when thepolice arrested Ed Gein. Inside his kitchen was a bountiful meal ofpork chops; macaroni and cheese; pickles; coffee; cookies--and,simmering in a saucepan on the stove, a human heart.

Inside his house, the police made other grislydiscoveries--including a box of noses, skulls on the posts of hisbed and a headless corpse. The only room that appeared normal, savefor the coat of dust, was that of Gein's long-dead mother. Ifany of this rings a bell, it's because Gein was the real-lifeinspiration for Robert Bloch's novel, Psycho, whichbecame one of Alfred Hitchcock's film masterpieces.

America has long had a gruesome sense of humor, so maybethat's why "serial entrepreneur," a riff off serialkiller, is the term often used to describe entrepreneurs who ownmultiple companies in their lifetimes. It's hardly a crime, butthere does seem to be a growing number of entrepreneurs who stalk atrend, create a business from it and then, when it'sflourishing, kill it (by selling or dissolving). Some serialentrepreneurs can't get rid of their company--it's theirbaby--but they want a growing family, so they hire managers to runthe daily operations while they give birth to a new business.