It is human nature to avoid acknowledging mistakes. Some of us are more susceptible to this than others, some of us are more aware of this fact than others. When we err, we try to save face, and often this translates into dragging out a mistake longer than may be necessary, thereby exacerbating the costs [...]
I’ve worked on many projects over the years, and I’ve noticed something in common with all of them. No matter how big or small the project, no matter how long or short the time line, the closer to the end of the project I get, the tighter the deadline seems. In discussion with several other [...]
This question is faced by programmers just about every time they are presented with code which they did not write, and have been asked to fix. Our ego tells us that we can do a much better job than the original programmer, that the entire code is a waste, and should be completely thrown out. [...]
There’s a saying that I’m fond of quoting: If you have time to do it twice, you had time to do it right the first time. That is, any time spent correcting the work done the first time around could have been spent during the first iteration to do it correctly in the first place. [...]
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 [...]
I was having lunch the other day with an old friend discussing the consulting that I do. He asked me how I come up with prices to quote potential clients, specifically when the work is being done on a project basis, not hourly. After explaining my system to him, I realized that other people likely [...]
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.
