G Sierchio Profile and Articles

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1). Who Needs a Business Advisor?
The simple answer to the seemingly complex question of “Who needs a business advisor?” is … everyone responsible for operating a business. That’s right. The Fortune 50 CEO to the one-person show needs an advisor.

The CEO of a public company has mentors as well as a board of directors to turn to. They often don’t have a choice of who their advisors are but small business owners do.

2). Signs of a Drowning Company
Very few entrepreneurs want to close their business. Sell, yes. Merge, maybe. Shut it down, I doubt it. The reality is that more than 50% of all new companies opened in the U.S. and Canada close within the first three years. That means you need to know when, in fact, it may be best to cut your losses and get out.

Yes, it might happen to you. It’s happened to me so I’m speaking from a lot of experience here.

3). WHEN TIMES ARE TOUGH, DON'T CUT MARKETING
Although on the books, marketing is an expense, it’s really not when you stop and think about it. What do you need to do to generate sales? You have to let people know what you do and what you can offer them. It’s called marketing.

So when times are tough, why would you stop using your main resource outside of referrals to get more money in the company? With that in mind, forget what your accountant labels marketing as, you have to treat it as an investment.

4). Exiting Your Company Gracefully
Since you own a business or plan on having one in the near future, you have an exit strategy, right? Your answer is probably “No”, which is typical for many people in their first venture of working for themselves. Every owner will eventually exit their business… even if they run it until they die. But then what?

Not having an exit strategy before, or very soon after, starting or buying a company is a dangerous proposition.

5). 8 BIG Small Business Mistakes
Here’s an interesting notion: Do you realize that there are mistakes you can make at various stages of your business’ growth that can be slowly killing it for months or even years if you don’t watch for them?

Well, these mistakes do exist and they are not just reserved for the rookie companies. Many working businesses, including those you might think are “successful” because they’ve been around for 10+ years, are often still making them… and are possibly losing a lot of money and/or wasting a lot of time in the process.