Category Archives for "Business Coaching"

Think about it—Mr Buffett has been buying stock in well-managed, top brands for many decades. These stocks (for the most part) pay dividends, which Mr Buffett used to pay down debt he took on (through his principal investing vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway) to purchase these investments in the first place, which (again, for the most part) […]

If you missed it, here’s Sean McCormick, expert mortgage broker, and Bruce M Firestone, real estate investment and business coach, on CFRA 580’s Experts on Call along with host Dave Watts… “I listened to Bruce on Experts-on-Call. I really enjoyed it. It was awesome for real estate investors just starting out. I especially liked the […]

Here’s a joke about negativity: Why are mathematicians so positive? Because the square root of -1 is an imaginary number. OK, so it’s not very original or even very funny, but you get the message (I hope). Want to know why you are not as successful as your 11-year old self hoped for? Right, look […]

I read Jon Willing’s October 5th, 2019 well-reported article, Ban some from renting homes short term if they don’t live there, consultant recommends (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ban-some-people-from-short-term-home-rentals-if-they-dont-live-there-consultant-recommends). I believe the Maclaren Report is flawed, so I wrote the following to the city of Ottawa’s policy people: Dear city of Ottawa, My spouse and I own a home in […]

My friend Chris Castillo is nearly finished writing his pithy and insightful book, Bucket of Wisdom available for pre-order at, https://bucketofwisdombook.com/ Here’s my review of his work: “Some of Chris Castillo’s stories remind me of what a top end bike salesman once told me about what he was like as a teenager. He had a […]

From time to time, Paul and I take students on a property tour to teach them what works in terms of real estate investing (and what doesn’t). “Wow, what an amazing property tour organized by Prof Bruce and Spirepoint Wealth’s Paul Blacquiere. It was very interesting and educational. It made the concepts of the course […]

Try answering this question. The list price for a duplex at 1234 Any street, Anytown is $575,000 and its NOI (net operating income) is estimated at $30,150 pa (per annum) based on its existing leases and revenue streams. You expect to incur some additional closing costs including land transfer tax estimate ($7,975), legal fees on […]

So, you think you know something about modern-era business models? Well, test yourself by examining what chief executive officer Michael Lastoria has done with his fledgling chain of tiny (300-square foot) &Pizza restaurants, which now number 36 locations on the US east coast. Here’s his secret sauce in which he invokes crucial elements of the […]

[Negative Cost Labor (And Low-Cost Finance)] Sometimes, you can turn a cost into a negative cost. A former architecture student of mine, Dominique Tonetti and her husband, Frank Dutton, are managing to do that on their new project, Solisterra in Québec. Dominique and Frank are building wonderful straw bale structures on a 150-acre property they […]

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 […]