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.


Recent Street Smarts Articles

Size Matters

By Norm Brodsky |  Sep 1, 1998

CEO Brodsky explains how mergers and roll-ups can create great opportunities for the smaller companies that remain independent.  Read more


Caveat Emptor

By Norm Brodsky |  Aug 1, 1998

CEO Brodsky explains why it's riskier for a first-time entrepreneur to purchase an existing business than it is to build one from the ground up.  Read more


Hiring for Growth

By Norm Brodsky |  Jul 1, 1998

CEO Brodsky gives four rules for hiring salespeople who will be loyal and represent you well.  Read more


Multilevel Mischief

By Norm Brodsky |  Jun 1, 1998

CEO Brodsky recounts the experiences of a friend who went to work for a multilevel marketing company. He explains why very few people get rich from MLM ventu...  Read more


Buying Blind

By Norm Brodsky |  May 1, 1998

CEO Norm Brodsky says you shouldn't buy a business merely out of hatred for your old job. You should make sure you fully understand what the business entails...  Read more


Don't Worry, Be a Little Unhappy

By Norm Brodsky |  Apr 1, 1998

CEO Brodsky suggests that legal disputes rarely yield an ideal solution for either party. If you're prepared to be a little unhappy with the outcome, you'll ...  Read more


I've Got a Secret...

By Norm Brodsky |  Mar 1, 1998

CEO Brodsky explains that the key to successful business negotiation is to listen carefully to the other party, keep your real priorities a secret, and then ...  Read more


Due Diligence

By Norm Brodsky |  Feb 1, 1998

CEO Norm Brodsky explains that a complex business plan drawn up for investors can yield unrealistic numbers or mistakes. He suggests that entrepreneurs first...  Read more


Forget Spreadsheets

By Norm Brodsky |  Nov 1, 1997

Brodsky stresses that the best way to track monthly sales and gross margins is to do it by hand.  Read more


When the Price Isn't Right

By Norm Brodsky |  Oct 1, 1997

A veteran entrepreneur explains that to win loyalty, you have to offer more than a discount.  Read more


The Return of Customer Loyalty

By Norm Brodsky |  Sep 1, 1997

A vetern entrepreneur explains why it's more important than ever to keep the customers you already have.  Read more


We Have Met the Enemy, and He Is Us

By Norm Brodsky |  Jun 1, 1997

A veteran entrepreneur explains why it's usually employers, not employees, who create poor customer service.  Read more


What's Good About Bankers

By Norm Brodsky |  May 1, 1997

A veteran entrepreneur explains why every business needs a banker, even though bankers are bad salespeople.  Read more


Improving Your Luck

By Norm Brodsky |  Apr 1, 1997

A veteran entrepreneur explains how luck plays a role in business, but only to a point.  Read more


Listen and Earn

By Norm Brodsky |  Mar 1, 1997

A veteran entrepreneur explains why it's important to relearn the lost art of listening to customers.  Read more


A Niche in Time

By Norm Brodsky |  Feb 1, 1997

A veteran entrepreneur explains why sometimes the only way to help your company to survive is by changing businesses.  Read more


The Best-Laid Plans

By Norm Brodsky |  Jan 1, 1997

A vetern entrepreneur explains why you have to know where you want to be before you let your company take you there.  Read more


Who Are the Real Entrepreneurs?

By Norm Brodsky |  Dec 1, 1996

A noted entrepreneur explains why many people who share that lable are not really entrepreneurs.  Read more


A Whack on the Head

By Norm Brodsky |  Nov 1, 1996

A past Inc. 500 business owner explains how, when you're ready to learn, failure can be the best teacher.  Read more


Paying for Growth

By Norm Brodsky |  Oct 1, 1996

Entrepreneur explains: to be in control of your business, know how much cash you need for every added dollar in sales.  Read more


The Capacity Trap

By Norm Brodsky |  Aug 1, 1996

A veteran entrepreneur explains why cutting prices to sell unused capacity is not as good an idea as it may seem.  Read more


No Accounting for Success

By Norm Brodsky |  Jun 1, 1996

A veteran entrepreneur presents a cautionary tale of what happens if you use your accountant as a business adviser.  Read more


The Three Criteria for a Successful New Business

By Norm Brodsky |  Apr 1, 1996

A veteran entrepreneur explains why you need more than a revolutionary product to have a successful start-up.  Read more


The Truth About Selling

By Norm Brodsky |  Feb 1, 1996

A highly successful entrepreneur details the difference between a good and bad sale and how to avoid the latter.  Read more


Why Start-ups Fail

By Norm Brodsky |  Dec 1, 1995

A veteran entrepreneur explains that the capital problems start-ups have usually are a result of bad planning.  Read more