All Posts by Bruce Firestone

While it is a long march from humble beginnings to a continent-spanning business operation, if anyone can do it, it’s my friend and coaching client, Chris Long, pictured here with his oldest daughter, Lily, at the grand opening of Longyards at 6571 Bank street in Ottawa Canada on October 1st, 2019. Chris is a trained […]

[Neo-urbanist catalysts and anti-catalysts] Some time ago, I saw a Rick Mercer GOC (government of Canada) produced television commercial titled the “One Tonne Challenge.” My eldest daughter, Rachel turned to me after the commercial and asked, “How do I personally go about reducing my carbon footprint, Dad?” That is one of the problems with well-meaning […]

Why is it that, for the longest time, the National Football League refused to allow corporations to own one of their franchises? It’s because the NFL understands perhaps better than any other league that a close relationship between ownership and fans/sponsors/corporate community/marketing partners/suppliers/agents/players/coaches/GMs/scouts/lenders/staff/local, state and federal politicians, police and regulatory bodies is incredibly important. With […]

[This is the third 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.] Introduction If you were the ultimate authority in […]

Most agreements of purchase and sale have a number of elements in them— A (small) deposit which is credited on completion A down-payment (added to the deposit) on completion A mortgage in 1st place from a major lender And sometimes a 2nd mortgage seller take back from the seller or a 2nd mortgage from a […]

Where do (good) ideas come from to start your own business? Well, if you are Ben Jacobsen, you marvel at the fact that your girlfriend is willing to spend $10 on a tiny package of bespoke table salt. So, he left Europe and moved back to the Oregon coast where he sampled seawater from 27-bays […]

[Feature image: Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia (right)] In June 2019, I wrote to city consultant Brian Bourns who had held a short-term rental workshop, https://ottawa.ca/en/short-term-rental-workshop-3, which no doubt brought forth many competing viewpoints on Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia et al. Below you will find my note to Brian and also a defense of home-sharing written by […]

Many real estate developers forget about branding and merchandising. Imagine if you went to a high-end dress shop or a place to buy an expensive suit and they had fabulous clothing but no racks–you had to pick up that dress or suit up from the floor and shake off the dust? Yuck. So, when buying […]

The end of an era happens this November 2019–Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s main branch is closing on Sparks street after many, many decades. For its last years, it has been their “main branch” in name only. When I arrived in Ottawa from Australia and started out in business (circa 1983), the manager of this […]

What makes New York’s central park so successful (it’s the most visited park in the US) is, in part, the fact that thousands of people live on its periphery, which not only gives them access to it, it also creates a safer environment because there are so many eyes on the park. Parks can be […]

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 […]