Information relevance

Short post today, but it's about decision making.  Often people get bogged down in too much information, making it very difficult to figure out what the best choice is in a given situation. In order to have clarity to make the right decisions it is important to weed out confusing information that should not affect the outcome and focus on the important information.  There are two main criteria for determining what information should be considered.

The ABCs of Activity-Based Costing

One of my favourite MBA classes has been managerial accounting. It's like solving little math puzzles and using them to make managerial decisions.  We've learned a lot this semester but one thing that is very useful is activity-based costing. I would like to take today's article space to explain the gist of this concept. I warn you in advance: For the first time since the Time Value of Money we may need to use... math.

6 keys to promoting a YouTube channel

Hello loyal readers,

Today I present part two in the series on how to increase viewership on your YouTube channel.  Last time we talked about content, and how to make it engaging.  This time we will focus on promotion: how can you get your channel seen?

5 ways to protect against competition

Happy Monday, everyone!  Have you ever had a great idea for a business, then after a quick Google search, you find there's someone doing something similar?  What was your reaction?  My reaction used to be "better think of a new idea."  Having studied some business cases I realize now that this reaction is a bit ridiculous.

Midweek update: TCP part 2, business plans, event planning

Greetings my lovely readers,

I hope you're not as busy as I am.  It's midterm season, so I'm staring down the barrel of a few big projects in the next little while.  I'm also starting to think about job hunting, given that I'll be winding up my degree in only two months.  Where did the time go?  Over the next few weeks I'll have to narrow down exactly what type of job I'm looking for, then start knocking on doors.  It's exciting!  A new adventure!

Crafting as a business part 2: the Business Model

Good morning and happy Monday everyone!

Today I'm going to continue my discussion of Crafting as a Business. Today's topic: different business models.

Midweek Update: Guest blogging, Starting a business, thoughts on SOPA, etc.

Greetings everyone.  It's been a busy week this week, and I have a lot of news to share.  Also some valuable insights if you are thinking about starting your own business in downtown Montreal.  Things to consider if you want to rent commercial space or form a corporation.  I also have a thought to share about the controversial SOPA bill that's in all the news, as well as some interesting tidbits from home.  But before all that, I have guest blogging news!

Public Relations: What is it and how does it work?

A small introduction for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

By Patrick Agut Klose  [patrickagkl@gmail.com]

[Nathan's note: This is the first of what I hope will be a tradition of guest articles. Patrick Klose is a PR student in Spain currently finishing the Spanish equivalent of a Master's degree in PR. I met Patrick through Reddit, and found he had a lot of valuable information to share that was in line with the theme of this blog. So I hope everyone enjoys and appreciates the expertise that he has been so kind as to share today.]

Crafting as a business, part 1

moving from a hobby to a business

Gather 'round, dear readers, and I shall tell ye a tale.  My wife, Sherri, and I have run a small jewelry business together for around 10 years.  The business, however, started well before we were married, as Sherri has been making jewelry since she was 12.  The business is called Beads, Indeed!

The Personal Selling Process

...and how it applies to Jooble

Mid December I got an email from a man named Serge Lavange who works for a company called Jooble. He asked if I would link to Jooble on my blog in exchange for him promoting my blog with a banner ad for a month on Jooble. I agreed, technically making this my second Consulting For Swag article that I'm posting, the first being FaceGuard. I know, I know, this is not exactly a consulting job, but it's close enough because I'm using the opportunity to discuss the Personal Selling Process. Similar to the 4 Ps of Marketing, this is an academic marketing model that is very practical when it comes to real-world application.

When startups are really multiple businesses

There are all sorts of traps that lie in wait for people starting a small business.  I've written a bit already on strategy and on bad reasons to start a small business, but now I want to talk a little about the scope of a small business idea, and why it's important to not take on too much at once.

5 Bad reasons to start a small business

I'll admit that my business experience is more academic than experiential, however even with my short time in the business world I've encountered a lot of wannabe entrepreneurs.  I've had people approach me with ideas at social events, over the Internet, at birthday parties, holidays, on the street, in school, and waiting in line. Most of the time it's because I start conversations with people and I talk incessantly about business.

Business Strategy Explained

I recently handed in a final report for my strategy class that I took this term.  Strategic Management is a huge topic, and an interesting one. Strategy or the lack thereof often means the difference between success and mediocrity in business, or at worst, the difference between success and failure.  Nevertheless, many people, even senior business executives, often have only a vague understanding of what strategy is.

Segmentation and Adoption of Innovation: The FaceGuard Case

This week I had my first non-school-related consulting project.  The client had read my blog and asked if I could take a look at a project he was getting ready to launch.  I was a bit nervous, as I'm just starting out, but I thought it went rather well.

The Four Ps of Marketing

So I was reading a marketing question on a forum today from a guy who was promoted from being a waiter in a Cajun restaurant to being director of marketing.  He had no idea what to do and most people were suggesting various promotional tactics such as giving free meals to hotel clerks.

I was transported in my mind back to marketing class, which was one of my favourite classes because I had a great teacher and I understood it well.  So I went through a classic analytical model, one of the basics they teach in marketing class.  The 4 Ps of marketing. Acutally, with services like restaurants they talk about 8 Ps, so I went through all 8, which I now present to you, dear reader, because I believe it's interesting.

Small Business Saturday

I really don't want to work on my paper right now.  So here's another blog post.

Have you heard of Small Business Saturday? It's today!  This is an interesting initiative which hit the news because a number of Occupy people have been rooting for it.  The idea is that instead of mobbing Wall-mart on Black Friday and giving all your dollars to big business, to go do your shopping at small businesses.

Reflections on New York: BBH

This past summer of 2011 I had an amazing opportunity.  I went to live in Manhattan for a month on a school exchange.  I stayed in International House, a dorm near Columbia University, and I attended the Levin Institute taking classes in Global Leadership and Management and Global Finance and Marketing.  It was an intense 4 weeks, but the best part was the site visits.

Time value of money

I didn't come from a business background.  Everything I learned in the MBA came as fresh insight, things that I had never thought about or considered before.  Whenever I would go to class I would come home and tell my wife, my friends, everybody about the amazing new thing I learned!  This is a really really basic financial concept but when I first learned it, it was such a revelation to me that I had to share it. I post it here because I'm sure many people I know are still unaware of it.