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 [...]
I’ve been exchanging e-mails with a few people about some ideas for new websites. Currently, there are 4 of these ideas that I would categorize as active – several exchanges of information per week on average. When looking at each idea, and how they differ from one another, I realized that there are some people [...]
I do some work on the side for charities and small businesses. Most of this work would be referred to as “contract work” where I am brought in to do a particular task, for a specified amount of money, to be completed by a target date. With some of my clients, I have a formal [...]
As a technical consultant, I have worked with several contracts over the course of a few years. In all these cases, I was working directly for the client. However, during a discussion with one of my networking groups last night, we talked about the issues of subcontracting, and the problems they solve and create. A [...]
If you are an entrepreneur, then you have likely come across the question in the title more than once when you presented your idea to someone. The question is valid, but, unfortunately, often difficult to answer. I was reading today in the National Post about how due diligence on the show Dragons’ Den failed to [...]
I have my first business proposal sometime next week. I’m meeting with someone who is a potential client AND a potential investor to describe my idea, the research I have already done into it, and to get buy-in from them. I’m actually not trying to get any money from them at this point, but I’m [...]
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.
