Jun 13

HST, it’s complicated

By Bruce Firestone | Entrepreneurship , Finance , Investing , Real Estate , Real Estate Investment Coaching , Sports & Entertainment , Urban Economics

Harmonized sales tax (HST) is a value added tax. Believe it or not, it’s a profit center for most businesses (because you are allowed to set off against HST amounts owing to government any ITCs (input tax credits) you may have). From a consumer’s POV, however, it’s just another tax (in most cases). When we […]

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Jun 04

How to give a better interview or be a better interviewer

By Bruce Firestone | Business Coaching , Life Coaching , Sales & Marketing

Sales and marketing are about storytelling, true, but it’s also about improving your ability to communicate. A client of mine started his storytelling business–teaching enterprises how to do a better job at communicating their stories. His first step is interviewing clients using a two-way video tool like Zoom, which he records and uploads (unlisted) to […]

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Jun 04

How to more than double the value of rental property through animation: the PAAN Report

By Bruce Firestone | Architecture , Business Coaching , Design , Entrepreneurship , Finance , Ideas , Investing , Real Estate , Real Estate Investment Coaching , Urban Economics

Most real estate investment coaches/mentors, concentrate on house flipping, no-money-down transactions, cost-cutting, how to buy below market (often by submitting dozens or even hundreds of offers until some naive seller bites on one), purchasing foreclosed property or tax sale property… It all amounts to the same thing IMHO: Everyone is looking for a shortcut to […]

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Jun 03

Why I don’t like retirement residences as an asset class

By Bruce Firestone | Architecture , Business Models , Design , Entrepreneurship , Finance , Ideas , Investing , Real Estate , Real Estate Investment Coaching , Urban Economics

I have felt negatively about these constructs for a long time (I’ve been known to call them “vertical warehouses where people go to wait for death”), but my thoughts crystallized when a friend of mine moved from her farm into a brand-new facility. It costs her $5,500 a month for a room with a cot, […]

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May 28

Why realtors should also own their own rental portfolio

By Bruce Firestone | Business Coaching , Business Models , Entrepreneurship , Ideas , Investing , Real Estate Investment Coaching , Sales & Marketing

I can think of many reasons why realtors should own some rental properties, not least because, if you represent or coach investors the way I do, one of the first questions they’ll ask you is this: “Do you walk the walk or just talk the talk?” If you have your own successful portfolio, well, this […]

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May 26

What’s holding back the economy?

By Bruce Firestone | Architecture , Business Models , Design , Entrepreneurship , Finance , Ideas , Investing , Real Estate , Real Estate Investment Coaching , Sales & Marketing , Urban Economics

In a ground-breaking study[1], University of Chicago Booth School of Business economist Chang-Tai Hsieh and University of California at Berkeley professor Enrico Morerri reported that restraints on new housing prevented people, especially young talent, from moving to or staying in clusters of innovation. They found that such constraints: “lowered aggregate US growth by 36 percent […]

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May 05

How economic development is impacted by a city’s zoning and official plan

By Bruce Firestone | Architecture , Design , Ideas , Real Estate , Urban Economics

(A version of this article first appeared in OBJ, Ottawa Business Journal, https://obj.ca/article/op-ed-zoning-better-ottawa. An online poll is available for you to make your views known until May 31, 2019 here, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedsKa0yykFAqStVgMvZwBux1QTfknZ3TIn8tuspcHjPZ1dHA/viewform). Introduction Urban guru, the late Jane Jacobs had a theory—the closer government is to people, the more important it is to citizens and also […]

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Apr 15

Stupid Zoning Rules

By Bruce Firestone | Architecture , Business Coaching , Business Models , Design , Entrepreneurship , Finance , Ideas , Investing , Real Estate , Real Estate Investment Coaching , Urban Economics

Here’s an excerpt from a book I wrote (Jenna’s Story, https://brucemfirestone.com/product/jennas-story/) in which Jenna McConnell launches into a diatribe on how stupid zoning regulations help the top .01% (which she calls “Big Mules” or “Equity Lords”) control almost all the levers of political and economic power. Jenna is from South Carolina and proudly speaks like […]

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Apr 15

Selling Towns Should not be a Swimsuit Competition

By Bruce Firestone | Architecture , Business Coaching , Entrepreneurship , Real Estate , Real Estate Investment Coaching , Sales & Marketing , Urban Economics

Look at the way this developer sells towns… see below. It’s more of a “swimsuit” competition rather than a value proposition. Key words: “limited” “priced low” “hardwood “ceramic.” #BigMistake IMHO They do OK on location but are missing out on any of these desirable characteristics: walkable, mixed-use, transit, nearby attractions, employment opportunities… which would help […]

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