Dean Kaplan Economies are cyclical. For every upturn, there’s a downturn. When there is a downturn, unqualified collection agencies tend to spring out of nowhere. In 2011, during the Great Recession hundreds of un-trained collection agencies entered the market. Predictably, complaints about collectors’ abusive practices reached all-time highs. According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2011, the … Read more
Whether you own or lease, real estate is a huge expense for any business. If you are planning on remodeling your space, or building a new facility, the expenses can skyrocket. Quality construction costs money, but that’s no reason to throw away money by failing to plan properly or negotiate with your contractor. Negotiation is … Read more
Working from home, either full-time or part-time has become a popular option for both employees and business owners. More and more companies are becoming 100% remote. Workers like working from home because it saves commuting time and money and can provide a great work-life balance. Employers like the ability to attract top talent (no matter … Read more
With e-commerce and the Internet, some of the barriers between international business no longer seem as difficult, especially when it comes to close neighbors like Canada and the United States. But, if you’re doing business with Canada, it’s important to know that there are different laws covering situations like unpaid invoices, collections and corporate bankruptcy. … Read more
Entrepreneurs report rates of depression and stress that are significantly higher than those of other people. According to the Gallup Wellbeing index, 45% of entrepreneurs report being stressed. Thirty percent of entrepreneurs report being depressed, compared to only 15% of the general population. It’s important that business owners and CEOs be aware of the risks … Read more
It’s hard to imagine anything more awkward than asking about an unpaid debt after someone dies, but just because it’s awkward doesn’t mean you can avoid it. What happens to an individual or company owner’s debt after they die? It depends. If an individual dies owing money, generally, their estate is responsible for paying any … Read more
If you Google “hiring negotiation” you’ll see hundreds of articles about how to negotiate a higher salary when given a job offer. You’ll also get a lot of articles from the employer’s point of view about how to negotiate a lower salary. But what so many of these articles overlook is that the negotiations involved … Read more
The book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz was published in 1997. The book has been translated into over 40 languages and has sold over 7 million copies in the United States alone. Clearly, it hits a nerve for some people. Although the book is meant to help with personal growth and relationships, I’ve … Read more
We’ve all been there. You miss a payment on a credit card or utility bill and find yourself paying not just the amount due, but the amount due, plus a late fee. In B2B relationships charging a late fee and/or, a finance charge, is also common practice. If you aren’t already charging your clients for … Read more
If you’re the owner or CEO of a company, you’re probably familiar with what happens when you have a struggling employee. You sit down with the struggling employee and assess what they’re doing wrong. You ask them to improve and then, six or eight weeks later you assess their improvements. Sometimes things get better, sometimes … Read more
