Norm Brodsky

"Street Smarts" columnist and senior contributing editor Norm Brodsky is a veteran entrepreneur who has founded and grown six businesses. In 2008 he sold CitiStorage, a document-archive business based in Brooklyn, New York, for $110 million. Along with Bo Burlingham, Norm has chronicled his entrepreneurial journey in his column in Inc. and in the book The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up.


Street Smarts: The Rule of Three

Anticipating the torpedoes that can sink a deal  Read story


Norm Brodsky: Selling My Company (Again)

I thought I cashed out. But then the credit squeeze changed my plans  Read story


Management Advice from Entrepreneur Norm Brodsky

Veteran entrepreneur Norm Brodsky answers readers questions about retirement, selling a business, and more.  Read story


A Deal Falls Through

Norm Brodsky's plans change when a deal to sell his company -- again -- falls through  Read story

Ask Norm: Business by Numbers

A reader asks how to deal with a change from using part-time accountants, to a full-time controller.   Read story

Norm Brodsky: When Negotiating, Always Listen Before You Speak

It pays to find out what the other side is thinking, then adjust your position accordingly  Read story

Street Smarts: How to Fix Cash-Flow Problems

Cash-flow problems have just a few possible causes. More often than you might think, business is all about the basics  Read story

Street Smarts: My First Year

When my start-up found itself face to face with catastrophe because of conditions beyond my control, I learned how to cope  Read story

Street Smarts: Surviving the Recession

It requires conquering your fears and making the right choices. Many business owners won't do either  Read story

Street Smarts: Our Irrational Fear of Numbers

No, you didn't start a company because you wanted to learn accounting. But you had better learn some -- pronto -- if you want to understand your business  Read story

Street Smarts: Whose Business is It, Anyway?

It's yours ! So don't apologize for setting aside your emotions and doing the right thing.  Read story

Street Smarts: What the Financial Crisis Means for You

The rules of small-business banking have changed, and that's bad news for the economy. But there are ways to cope, and there may even be a silver lining.  Read story

Street Smarts: Secrets of a $110 Million Man

There are no guarantees when it comes to running a business. But the best entrepreneurs I know follow these guidelines.  Read story

The Knack… and How to Get It

Veteran entrepreneur Norm Brodsky, the man behind Inc. 's popular Street Smarts column, and Inc. editor at large Bo Burlingham, his longtime col...  Read story

Street Smarts: Falling in Love With Growth

As everyone on the Inc. 500 knows, building a company can be exhilarating. Just don't forget what got you there.  Read story

Street Smarts: It Takes a Company

If your best salesperson leaves, how do you make sure you don't lose your best customers, too?  Read story

Street Smarts: Ask Norm

How do you know when it's time to sell -- and other questions from our columnist's readers  Read story

Streets Smarts: Get Lost

Taking more vacations increased the value of my company. How cool is that?  Read story

Norm Brodsky, Recession All-Star

Inc. columnist Norm Brodsky just sold three businesses. Two of them were started just as the economy slipped into recession, in 1990 and 2000. ...  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer: Part 11

I'll be over here if anyone needs me.  Read story

Street Smarts: Offer: Part 10

In which our columnist finally finds the pot at the end of the rainbow.  Read story

The Long Road to Nirvana

Part One Norm discovers that getting a substantial offer for your business can actually be a little scary. Part Two...  Read story

Street Smarts: The Simon Cowell of Sales

Few things are more fun--and productive--than critiquing someone else's sales performance.  Read story

Street Smarts: "You Do What?"

"I import dirt," he said. And if he can keep his focus, it just might work.  Read story

Street Smarts: Follow the Numbers

It's the best way to spot problems before they become life-threatening.  Read story

Street Smarts: Do You Really Know Your Problems?

Entrepreneurs have a tendency to see what they want to see.  Read story

Street Smarts: What Are You, a Bank?

You probably lend your customers more money than you realize. Have you checked lately?  Read story

Street Smarts: Proof That Good Entrepreneurs Can Make Bad Investors

Or how I figured out how to handle my own money.  Read story

Street Smarts: Free At Last

There's nothing like getting rid of those personal guarantees.  Read story

Street Smarts: Taking On Starbucks

How independents can hold their ground.  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part Nine

What I learned from my fiasco.  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part Eight

You have got to be kidding me.  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part Seven

I've just about had it. Are we going to make this deal happen, or not?  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part Six

The paranoia moment. Are they stalling? Is this deal about to fall apart?  Read story

It's All About Trust

Confronted with the offer of a lifetime, our columnist concludes it's time to sell. Part 5 of a series .  Read story

Should Norm Sell? The Readers Have Spoken

By better than a five-to-one ratio, readers who wrote in think Norm should sell. Here's what some of them had to say:  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part Four

We interrupt these negotiations while a bunch of outsiders critique my very existence.  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part Three

I can sell my businesses for more money than I ever thought possible. But then who will I be?  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part Two

After spending decades building his businesses, our columnist managed to negotiate the offer of a lifetime--by refusing to negotiate.  Read story

Street Smarts: The Offer, Part One

You'd think he'd be celebrating, but our columnist has discovered that getting a great offer for your business can be a very scary proposition.  Read story