Tom Aranow

Articles written by Tom Aranow, Harrington Daniels Advisors

Be realistic about the value of your business

The problem for many of us is that we really don’t know what our businesses will be worth because many of us don’t understand the ways in which businesses are valued.

 

Change keeps a business breathing

For entrepreneurial business owners, the inability to muster the discipline to overcome habits that handicap their businesses can be a fatal flaw.

 

Don’t go it alone – seek input when making decisions

One of the fatal flaws in small business management is the inability or reluctance of owner and managers to seek the help and input of others when making decisions.

 

Don’t take all the money home

One of the greatest dangers you will face is taking too much money out of the company at the wrong time.

 

Fatal flaws in small businesses

What’s the most common reason for the failure of small businesses? Our vote would be for owner/managers who are unable to let go or move away from direct involvement in providing goods or services to their customers.

 

Friends as Partners

The rules of friendship and the rules of business relationships are very different

 

Increased sales may just be temporary fix

Let’s talk about a major business myth. It goes something like this: “All we need to do to get back on top is to increase our sales.”

 

Manage client expectations, grow your business

expectations drive client satisfaction, then where are the expectations created? There are a variety of sources of customer expectations that you need to manage

 

The mutual success of opposites

Most of us would agree that, in general, truly creative people and highly organized people are very different. In the simplest of stereotypes, creative people are appropriately full of ideas and inspiration while managerial people are full of process and rules. The fact is that it may take a carefully balanced combination of both types to successfully run a business.

 

Tom Aranow warns Beware of franchises

There are hundreds if not thousands of franchise “opportunities” out there for entrepreneurs who want a fresh start at a new business. I question whether many of them are really opportunities at all and I urge all potential franchise owners to beware when considering purchasing one.

 

What a business plan should – and shouldn’t – do

The true benefit of a business plan is in the ability of the writer to convince investors that the plan will work and achieve the goals and successes that it proposes. Key words: business plan, evidence, marketplace.