Category Archives for "Finance"

[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 […]

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 […]

[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 […]

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 […]

I teach/mentor/coach a buy and hold strategy when it comes to real estate investing. It’s also a truism that you make money in real estate when you buy not when you sell (and since I teach folks to hold property for at least 3-generations), purchasing well-located properties at a decent price (ie, buying smart/buying low) […]

By Richard Paul Evans (2005) Review (from Amazon): When Richard Paul Evans was twelve, his father, a building contractor, shattered both his legs. With no insurance, no income, and eight children, the family was destitute. At that difficult time young Evans was introduced to a kind multimillionaire who taught him the five secrets of wealth. […]