You might be thinking, “who cares about statistics? I’m just starting a business, I don’t need to know that stuff.” In my business school program, the first course they teach is statistics. Now I’m sure lots of students thought it was a weeder class or a filler class or something along those lines. But within 6…
A lot of people think that the best negotiators out there are quick-witted, and that’s how they’re so successful. But the truth is that the best negotiators are the ones that are the best prepared. Preparation is the key to successful negotiation. Which is good news fort those of us who don’t consider ourselves quick…
Do you ever take mental shortcuts? The answer is most definitely yes. In fact, without mental shortcuts we wouldn’t really be able to live the way we do. Think about it. When you drive your car do you consciously process every action that you take? Or do you go into a sort of auto pilot mode?…
When people talk about marketing, what comes to mind? If you’re like most people you think of Superbowl commercials, funny billboards, or Facebook ads. When we hear the word marketing we mostly think of advertising. But in reality, advertising is just one piece of what marketing really is. In fact, in business school I took…
Do you need an EIN? Do you know if you need an EIN? EIN is short for Employer Identification Number and it’s a number that the IRS uses to identify a business. It’s the business version of a social security number (SSN) and you’ll need one if you have any form of business other than a…
Have you ever thought about what makes some of the ads you see effective while others just get ignored? Have you ever felt like there were so many advertisements, so many messages being yelled at you, that you couldn’t really see any of them? The truth is that we’re constantly bombarded by companies trying to…
Most businesses take one of five forms. And which one is right for your business depends on what your goals are. So if you are starting a business, it’s likely that it’ll take one of the following five forms. Sole Proprietorship Partnership (general or limited) C Corporation S Corporation Limited Liability Company (LLC) The two…
If you’re like most people, negotiations probably make you nervous. If that’s not the case, then you’re pretty lucky because most people don’t like negotiating. There are probably lots of reasons for this and we won’t go into them too much here, but I do want to go into why we should negotiate more, even when…
How many ways can you think of to get brand recognition? How can you make your business the one that people think of when they want whatever it is you offer. When I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I moved out to a beautiful place in Southwestern Virginia. It was a quiet, tranquil county and…
Almost 8 years ago, I bought this book intending to read it and make myself rich! I finally got around to the reading part last week… The book is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. First, let me give you my summary and key takeaways. The book starts out by taking you through Robert’s childhood…