Category Archives for "Business Models"

My friends in Quebec at High Cube, led by Patrick Sauvé, build awesome container homes, offices, workshops and hunting cabins. Their model container home is now for sale for $79,995; that’s Canadian dollars (not USD). They’ll deliver the model to any place in Ontario or Quebec for free; ie, it’s included in the price. You […]

[This article originally appeared in Ottawa Business, Journal, https://obj.ca/article/opinion-big-rig-gaining-steam-microbrewery-biz.] What’s in a name? Well, if you are Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Phillips and the other four founding partners of Big Rig restaurant and brewery, a lot. Mr. Phillips and his partners – Angelis Koutsos, Lon Ladell, Pierre Cleroux and Jimmy Zourntos – spent $5 million […]

If you want to understand entrepreneurs, maybe you live with one or work with or for one, then read this excerpt (see below) from Don’t Back Down, the real story of the founding of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and why big leagues matter, a book I wrote for the 25th anniversary of the founding of […]

As folks get older, they tend to earn less even before they officially retire. Many people will recall the “Freedom 55” slogan from an old advertising campaign. I tell young people I coach, “Don’t pay any attention to the idea of retiring any time soon… if ever.” Why? For two main reasons: I believe human […]

Whether you are a high-flying coach or consultant or a house cleaner, painter, handyman, what should your hourly billing rate be? I get asked that a lot. Here’s my answer: There has been a secular increase in costs in Ottawa and Ontario over the last few years. And not just in Ontario, but all across […]

The fear of loss in most people is greater than the desire for gain so anyone’s discomfort with change is quite understandable. In ancient times, when people went about gathering berries, they did so only during the day—nighttime was when bears, sabre-tooth tigers and other predators roamed and would attack you, so you went home […]

Most people who are looking for a job or trying to get a gig or contract or make a sale start with their CV. A CV tells folks what schools you went to, jobs you’ve done, sports you played, skills you have… This, in my view, misses the mark. What do employers or potential clients […]

[This is an excerpt from an upcoming book I am working on called, Business Model Illustrations, Real Estate Investment and Personal Business for Life Mini Case Studies] David Leigh (not his real name) is a rich dentist, age 44 when he first comes to Firestone for coaching. He is a lean, polite married person with […]

I’ve just finished reading Ron Wiens’ excellent book, Building Organizations: that Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound, 2012. If I understood it correctly, the role of a leader is to build an organization that (eventually) won’t need him or her to function effectively. You can do this, according to Ron, by building, EI, emotional intelligence, RI, relationship […]

You know what I’ve found? Getting clarity in your life matters (a lot). Here’s how I help people do that (feel free to pass this on): [I highlighted the big depression-fighters in my experience in bold]

At a recent Ottawa mayoral candidates debate, the issue of what to do (if anything) about Airbnb came up. Current mayor Jim Watson pointed to a 4% tax now levied on Airbnb rentals somewhat leveling the field between professionally-run hotels and sharing economy-based ones. Mr Watson also said, “When you move into a neighborhood, you expect […]

Here’s an email I sent to a client of mine about the role of amortization in developing and financing a real estate portfolio “effortlessly” in a rinse and repeat/perpetual motion machine kind of way. See below. Chris, you are 100% right. No, actually, 1,000% right 😊 Here’s a case I looked at for clients of […]