Since the beginning of COVID, a few business owners have asked me what measures they should take to divorce-proof their business. I think the more appropriate question is how to divorce-ready your business. Similar to the assets of a marriage, a company’s assets are considered mutually owned within a marriage. The complexity of a business can be far more challenging … Read More
How 6 Factors Will Help Your Business Survive and Thrive Through Succession Planning
For many entrepreneurs and business owners, their business represents their single largest asset. Depending upon the size of the business, it likely dwarfs the value of their home or other assets. Like selling your home, to attain the most significant selling price, you will have to invest some upfront time, money and energy into fetching the best asking price possible. … Read More
Wake Up Parents; You Could Lose Your Child to Suicide
Last month I was invited to speak to a group of grade 7 and 8 parents about teen mental illness, what I’ve learned of our dealing with Madeline and what we were hoping to accomplish with The Maddie Project. We scheduled a date. I provided a summary of the content, and an agenda was sent out to all parents to … Read More
Do We Have a Responsibility to the Entrepreneurs of Today and Tomorrow?
Being an entrepreneur can be one of the most rewarding and liberating things you can do as a career. Equally valid, being an entrepreneur can be one of the most frustrating and emotional roles you can choose to make a living. Schools are great at teaching you how to succeed when starting a new business, but do these schools properly … Read More
Does the Entrepreneur’s Journey to Greatness Need to be so Damn Lonely?
Do you ever wish you could have an honest conversation with a fellow business owner without judgement? I’m talking a completely candid; no holes barred, these are my deepest and darkest fears kind of conversations. I’ve been doing this entrepreneur thing for 30 years, and over the duration, I’ve experienced many emotions: joy, frustration, pride, anxiety, depression, optimism, sadness, fear. … Read More
My Accidental 10-Year Journey to Discovering Emotional Intelligence
There’s something ironic about me writing about Emotional Intelligence. Those who knew me 15-20 years ago would probably accuse me of not even knowing the definition of Emotional Intelligence. They wouldn’t be far off the mark. Since then, a lot has happened, including several devastating life events that have impacted the person I am and how I look at the … Read More
How Do You Know if You are CRA’s Favourite Target?
No one wants to be in CRA’s cross-hairs. You may be an unsuspecting victim even if you’ve done nothing wrong. We’re not talking about people who are guilty of tax evasion or tax avoidance. Your only criteria may be your marital status. If you are single, divorced or widowed, then you may be CRA’s favourite and unsuspecting victim. If you … Read More
5 Reasons Why I Wouldn’t Want to be a Teenager Today
This isn’t one of those nostalgic posts about “I remember when”, but my kids will probably accuse me of it. Obviously, there have always been challenges in raising teenagers but throw in social media, access to technology and our kids surpassing our knowledge base for certain things, and so our job as parents just got exponentially more difficult. Life was … Read More
9 Powerful Ways That Philanthropy Can Help to Build Your Brand?
Being altruistic usually means putting the needs of others ahead of your own needs. So discussing how philanthropy can help to build your brand almost comes across as being hypocritical. But being generous and charitable doesn’t mean that you can’t beat your chest a little, especially when it comes to being good corporate citizens and leaders in your community. Here … Read More
8 Tragic Things People Don’t Understand About Losing a Child
Earlier this month was Suicide Prevention Day. It’s been more than 6 years since we endured the tragic loss of our beautiful daughter Madeline. Since this tragic event devastated our family’s lives, I have felt a multitude of different emotions ranging from anger, gratitude, helplessness and, of course, inconsolable sadness.I read a blog post by Paula Stephens, “What I Wish … Read More