The finale for Season 5 of Dragons’ Den was devoted to the 5 constant figures in the Den, the five Dragons. The show was titled Path to Riches and went through the story of how each Dragon reached their current success. What was especially fascinating about the show was that while discussing 5 unique stories, [...]
What would you do for a dollar? This question was put to me the other day, and made me think about how a business grows. To answer the question, I started by looking at what I used to do for money and what I currently do for money. I used to accept money for anything [...]
I was reading a book to my daughter the other day, and the opening words struck a chord with me: This was no time for play. This was no time for fun. This was no time for games. There was work to be done/ The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss Two [...]
You never know where your next lead will come from. In any business, there is always the dream client or customer. While the precise details of what constitutes such a customer depend on the exact business, there are a few common factors: The profit margin is high The value of the contract or purchase is [...]
Look at a typical business, and you will see that they have multiple clients active at any point in time. This is nothing unusual – few jobs allow you the dedication to focus completely on a single client or project for any length of time. When you’re working for yourself, though, you need to be [...]
There is a story which I recall from when I was in day school on the subject of leaders: There was a rabbi who traveled between towns, staying a few days at each to speak, and then moving on. One town was particularly poor, but they treated him well, offering what they could, and acting [...]
One of the main focuses of my company, Optimal Upgrade Consulting, is to look at the core problem our clients are trying to solve. This may or may not be the same problem as the one the client thinks they have, simply because they are often unaware of available solutions to the real problem they [...]
When working on a large project, there are generally two ways to bill for the project – by the hour, or by the project. In an earlier article, I discussed the system I use to determine a price for a project. My hourly rate is determined based on how much I want to earn, and [...]
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.
