When the landlord announced a significant increase in the monthly rent, one small business began to get concerned. Running a fitness facilty has significant overhead, and budgets had been carefully calculated to allow for a certain number of classes to run, for the upkeep of the equipment, and for staff to stay on site. The [...]
A recurring problem that many people have is running meetings effectively – that is, where the meetings in hindsight are not deemed a waste of time – for any of the participants. This can be quite problematic, as different people coming to a meeting will often have different objectives, and reaching everyone’s objective in a [...]
As a founder of a business, you likely are not thinking about leaving the business, at least in the early stages of the business development. However, if you’ve ever entertained the thought of seeking investment dollars, an exit strategy ought to place itself high on your list of priorities. There are, fortunately, only a few [...]
Perhaps one of the more difficult things to assess in an interview is whether or not the candidate is competent in the needed area. After all, it can be quite easy to talk in a manner that indicates competence without actually being able to do the job, and it can be extremely time consuming to [...]
Recent discussions with one of my clients brought to light a common problem with marketing plans made by businesses without the foresight to consult with marketing companies, or companies involved in aspects of marketing. The client in question was looking for ways to promote their product, and thought of several different methods by which they [...]
There is a tendency for prudent people to have a Plan A, or what they really want to have work, and a Plan B. In business, though, your Plan B should be to support Plan A. The true reason for having multiple plans is when there is an outside factor which can influence whether or [...]
When a new product was launched by a company with a large amount of clout and marketing power, a project I was working on had its management team move into crisis mode fairly quickly. The competing product, at first glance, seemed to compete directly with the product we were building, which raised the question as [...]
If you don’t know where you’re going, you can’t get lost. I advise some companies on strategy, helping the owners figure out where their business is today, and where they would like to see it in 5 years. These two pieces of information can then be used to devise a road map for success for [...]
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.
