Displaying posts categorized under

business

Great Customer Service

At the suggestion of my accountant, I went onto the Intuit website to purchase a copy of QuickBooks. I had been told that by mentioning my accounting firm, I would be eligible for a 10% discount. However, when it came time to place the order, I could not find a way to inform Intuit of [...]

Full Disclosure

In recent discussions with several people, I’ve noticed a trend in certain small businesses. Since there is significant amounts of paperwork and filings associated with hiring an employee, some companies choose to hire their workers as contractors, thereby reducing the obligations between the two parties. Additionally, it allows for more fluctuation in workload, while achieving [...]

Negotiating a Raise

Many employees, having put in their time working at a perceived discount rate, begin to mull the possibility of getting a raise. The thought process involved often involves self-justification in terms of what they deserve or are entitled to. The walk to the decision-maker and subsequent bursting of the balloon leaves them upset, perhaps to [...]

Don’t Ride Along the Fence

I’m surprised to learn on a regular basis about yet another company that was caught doing something shady (or, in many cases, flat-out illegal), and is then somewhat perplexed that they got caught. Dubbed cynical by many people, I still find it surprising that more people have not learned to adapt to the fact that [...]

Growth, Expansion, and the First Hire

Perhaps the hardest decision made by the owner of a growing business is regarding the first hire. It’s at this point that the stakes in the business change, from being responsible for yourself to being responsible for employees. Where before a lack of business meant that you personally didn’t get paid, now there are other [...]

Managing Multiple Projects

In recent weeks, the number of projects I’ve been involved with has rapidly grown, from the few constants and a couple small projects, to several large projects, a few smaller projects, and a constant turn-over of hourly projects. When I sat down one day to work, and realized that I had 8 active projects to [...]

The Ideal Management Team

Working with several businesses at various stages of development, as well as many projects that are to become the basis for future businesses, I’ve discovered something interesting about management teams. Every business or project has one, even if the entire company consists of a single individual. However, what I’ve discovered is that there is a [...]

The Personal Brand

Sam Zipursky is a Brand Consultant, Internet Marketer, and aspiring Digital Nomad. He spends most of his time focusing on the connection between internet, branding, design and marketing. He is one of the authors from the how to become a consultant blog Business Consulting Buzz. He is also a Co-Founder with Advicetap – The place [...]

Writing Proposals

I recently had reason to draft a proposal for something out of the norm for my line of work. I was asked by a family member to assist in writing a formal proposal for an after-school program, with the added twist that the program had already been approved in principal, pending the formal proposal. Not [...]

Networking – Your Personal Mafia Family

In my recent post The Right Time to Network I emphasized the importance of networking well in advance of you actually needing something from your network. I was mentioning the post to my photographer during a photo shoot (new images will be put up within a few days), and he described it in a way [...]