I was called this morning by a university friend whom I have not spoken to in a while. He wanted to know if I could do some work for him, which happened to be outside my area of expertise. Without digging further, I gave him a referral to another friend who might have been able [...]
As an earlier article I wrote mentioned, I waded into the world of networking a week ago for the first time. However, based on how networking has been described by people who spend much of their life networking, I have in fact been networking for many years. Any time I talk to a member of [...]
I was just sent an e-mail advertising a new computer system from Dell: the XPS One 24 Desktop. I’m looking for a new development computer, and I prefer to use Dell, as I have had very good experiences with them in the past. Does anyone have any feedback on this system? One of the downsides [...]
I’ve been hearing a lot about best practices lately, and came to an interesting realization. I’m from an IT background, so I will focus on that area, but what I have to say can be extended to essentially any professional area. In IT, there are two kinds of Best Practices: those that apply to how [...]
A friend of mine posted yesterday on How to Compete With Free. I would like to address the same topic, but from the perspective of a consumer, as opposed to the perspective of a distributor. After all, to understand how to distribute, you need to first understand how the consumer thinks. When I look at [...]
I’ve just come back from a networking event, the first formal such event I’ve ever attended. I drove out through unplowed roads, which made a 20 minute drive take closer to 60 minutes. I wasn’t the only one, however, as about 60 people attended, although some did arrive late. I had been briefed as to [...]
As a follow-up to an earlier article I wrote about working at home, this article focuses on what it takes to set up your home office to maximize your productivity. No, not everything I say here will apply to everyone, but think about the ideas, and perhaps you will find a few good points that [...]
As of this morning, I am now the owner of Optimal Upgrade Consulting, registered as a sole-proprietorship in Ontario. I have put up a quick website (www.optimalupgrades.com) and will be making changes to the site in the near future.
Elie Kochman is the author of Advice for Small Business Owners and the founder of Optimal Upgrade Consulting. Using his experience working in the corporate world along with his exposure to the world of small businesses, he writes these articles to assist others avoiding common pitfalls of growing a business. His experience in the corporate world, building his own business, and working directly with other growing businesses has given him some perspective on the trials and pains of running a business.
