By Ed McLaughlin with Wyn Lydecker James B. Stewart recently explored the topic of annual bonuses for chief executives in his “Common Sense” column in The New York Times (“A Bonus Is Declined; A Problem Remains”, February 22, 2014). IBM’s chief executive, Virginia Rometty, and members of her “senior team” recommended to the IBM board [...]

By Ed McLaughlin with Wyn Lydecker Before you start your business, ask yourself: How will you leverage technology to streamline your operations, improve customer service, and open up new revenue lines? Nowadays, it seems that tech startups are the only ones getting media attention. But many entrepreneurs are launching non-tech startups, just as I did. [...]

  By Ed McLaughlin with Wyn Lydecker As you develop your business model, you need to ask: What will it take to create, manufacture, and deliver your product to your customers? For a manufactured product, this step forces you to think through and learn about your requirements for raw materials, labor, machinery, inventory, and distribution. [...]

By Ed McLaughlin with Wyn Lydecker Before you start your business, ask yourself: What will you charge for your product? The revenue model you choose, your product’s positioning in the marketplace, and your profit target will help you determine your price. Each type of revenue model will most likely have market benchmarks you can research [...]

  By Ed McLaughlin and Wyn Lydecker It seems fitting that the first gold medal of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics games was awarded to an American, Sage Kotsenberg, in the slopestyle snowboarding event. Snowboarding was born in America, thanks to generations of inventors, tinkerers, sports enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. Snowboarding was added to the Winter [...]

By Ed McLaughlin with Wyn Lydecker Before you start your business, ask yourself: How will you generate revenue? Answering this question is an essential part in determining your business model. You need to know if you will sell a product, a service, advertising, or access to data. Cash flowing into your business from sales is [...]