STREET SMARTS  

Norm Brodsky


The 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 T...  Read story

The Simon Cowell of Sales

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

"You Do What?"

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

Not All Fabulous Ideas Make Money

Here's an idea I recently got from a reader named Pat, who lives in New York City. Pat's tired of having his car get nicked and dented whenever he leaves ...  Read story

Follow the Numbers

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

How Do I Meet a Nice Lawyer?

I recently got a question from a reader named Aaron, who's been in the records storage business, just like me, since 2002: "The challenge I am facing now,...  Read story

How Do I Get My First Customer?

I recently got this question from a reader named Doug: Hi Norm, I'm a typical start-up and can't seem to get my "first customer." I've start...  Read story

What Goes Around ...

Remember Nova? You may recall that that's the outfit that tried to buy my company. We spent much of last year negotiating and for a while there I really ...  Read story

Do You Really Know Your Problems?

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

Creeping Expenses

What a great response to my recent blog post, "I Will Lose Everything...  Read story

Tivo Alert!

Try to check out MSNBC's "Your Business" this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET when you'll find me serving as one of the judges in the Elevator Pitch contest. I'm u...  Read story

Why Business People Should Be Scared

Politics is not my favorite subject, and it's not my favorite activity. I get a little involved in local politics. I support a few local politicians. But ...  Read story

Have I Changed My Mind About Multilevel Marketing?

I recently received an impassioned, well-written letter from a business owner named Jerry. Here it is: Hey Norm, I happened to find an...  Read story

What Are You, a Bank?

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

Stan O'Neal Failed the First Rule of Leadership

I've been following the recent troubles of Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal with interest, though not much sympathy. After reading an excellent article in th...  Read story

I Will Lose Everything

I recently received the following question from a reader named Scott: I started a transportation company two years ago in Virginia. It grew ...  Read story

My Visit with Ahmadinejad

I walked out on the roof of my building the other day and was a little surprised to see someone who looked a lot like the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmad...  Read story

Proof That Good Entrepreneurs Can Make Bad Investors

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

Biz tip: It's all about building the relationship

I usually go out on the first sales call with any new sales person we hire. After we leave that first meeting, the new sales person's comment is usually, ...  Read story

Looking for Advice?

Would you like to have me visit your company, analyze your business, and offer suggestions on how you might improve it? I'm looking for volunteers. The de...  Read story

Don't Be Afraid to Share Your Idea

People are always asking me for advice -- and I encourage you to send any questions you may have to asknorm@inc.com -- but something funny often happens w...  Read story

Biz Tip: Watch How Others Do It

Here's this week's business tip: It's important to learn from what other people do -— both the things they do well and the things they don't...  Read story

Welcome to the Inc. 500 Conference

Inc.'s annual conference honoring the fastest growing private companies in America opens today in Chicago. If you're at the conference, please come by and...  Read story

How Do I Take the Next Step?

Here's a question I got from a reader named Jose: "I'm a one man band. I do it all -- sales, invoices, labor, everything. I have a few clients, a...  Read story

Free At Last

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

Business Tip of the Week

Here's my business tip this week: Treat your customers as if they're prospects. You know how this tends to work: When you have a prospect you're t...  Read story

What Do All Entrepreneurs Have in Common?

Ask most people that question, and you'll hear a lot of talk about risk-taking and passion and independence. But here's the real answer: They all want to ...  Read story

Sell!

You can tell something's happening. It's in the air, and it's in the n...  Read story

Where Do You Learn How to Run a Business?

Here's the kind of question I get all the time. It comes from a young man named Tony Wagner: "I am just starting out and would like to know, Where would ...  Read story

Taking On Starbucks

How independents can hold their ground.  Read story

For Entrepreneurs Who Feel They Have Nowhere to Turn, This Is The Place to Turn

Welcome to The Morning Norm. If you've read my column in Inc. magazine, you may know that when I take on a new venture I insist that it meet thre...  Read story

The Offer, Part Nine

What I learned from my fiasco.  Read story

The Offer, Part Eight

You have got to be kidding me.  Read story

The Offer, Part Seven

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

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

The Offer, Part Four

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

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