Monthly Archives: July 2019

On the plus side of getting whacked by a tornado in September 2018 is knowing soil conditions in our neighborhood, Arlington Woods. It’s sand all the way down–a great foundation material–it’ll support residential structure no problem at all plus the drainage is fantastic. Here’s our neighbor’s home. Her house was destroyed by the tornado attack. […]

My real job is not real estate investment and business coach and realtor, it’s file clerk. That’s right, file clerk. My computer is the other half of my brain. I keep great files and detailed notes so when a client calls me (even after a few years), I remember who his/her lawyer is, renovator, mortgage […]

[This is the second in a 3-part series written for Ottawa Business Journal by OBJ columnist, Bruce M Firestone, PhD, who is working with the city of Ottawa to develop a new OP, official plan, one that is suited to 21st century conditions—both economic, sociological and environmental. An edited version of this article appears at, […]

A client of mine asked me today about helping him sort through a very complex contract to fit up his new swim school. Obviously, the construction industry is perfect, right? Wrong. Here’s what I wrote him: This is scary for everyone. The four major things that can often go wrong in this biz are: 1. […]

I believe it’s time for a new approach to taking care of yourself and your family for at least three generations. By “new” I actually mean hundreds of years old–wealthy families the world over have known for many, many generations that the best way to provide for themselves and their families is by owning their […]

My friend and adviser Corey Oliver helped me develop my very own GaVinci Report. It rhymes with “da Vinci” for a reason–not that I am Leonardo da Vinci but rather Corey is! Actually, it was named after his son Gavin… The GaVinci Report developed by Corey is a storytelling strategy piece; it helps anyone or […]

Developing a message map for a business, organization or even a sole practitioner like me, is really important. It helps you quickly tell folks what it is you do and why because, as Simon Sinek says, people don’t buy what you do or how you do it, they buy why you do it… Here’s what […]

[The difference between a city accountant and a country one explained…] Clients of mine, first time home-buyers Katie and John (not their real names), are not on a path like others. No, they want to buy a home that pays them rather than one they pay for. What’s that you say? A home that pays […]