Cover Story
Cover Story: Upsize Business Builder of the Year
Tom Salonek has experienced it all while building Intertech from a spare bedroom in his house to a 70-employee firm with more than $14 million in revenue. From chaos to calm, from ‘gunslinging’ to well-developed systems. Tom Salonek has experienced it all while building Intertech from a spare bedroom in his house to a 70-employee […] Continue reading →
Letter From the Editor
Letter from the Editor
I still remember when Lisa Bollin, CEO of Cowgirl Tuff Co. in Cokato, strutted into Winthrop & Weinstine’s conference room in downtown Minneapolis wearing glitzy jeans of her own design and a fabulous jacket bejeweled with turquoise. She blew away the assembled group with her fearless attitude and was the unanimous choice for Upsize Business […] Continue reading →
Focus
Workshop: Avoiding the Avoidable
How great would it be if you could bypass common mistakes that business owners make? Upsize and Club E convened a panel to talk about just that, so consider this your don’t-do list for the new year. Rick Brimacomb, Club E and Brimacomb + Associates, moderator: I’ve spent my career in venture capital, and venture […] Continue reading →
Business Builders
Innovation
When companies approach our team at Brave New Workshop Creative Outreach to work with them on their innovation programs, our first step is always to simply have a conversation to get to know them and their company’s situation. Ever since we started speaking more than 15 years ago, we always lead with asking them to […] Continue reading →
Buying & Selling
You nurtured and grew your business and now you want to sell it. You find a buyer, negotiate the price, and perhaps the terms of payment. Do you now shake hands and exchange the keys for the cash, or do you need a purchase agreement? If you need a purchase agreement, can you simply […] Continue reading →
Online reviews
Research suggests that 66.7 percent of people consult online reviews before making a major purchase. We’re not just talking about millennials here, either. In fact, as the chart to the right shows, 62 percent of people age 35-54 and 61 percent of people age 55+ at least “occasionally” read online reviews when trying to find […] Continue reading →
Coaching
Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt initially rejected the advice he received in 2001 to hire a coach. After all, he was already a CEO with lots of big league experience. But ultimately Schmidt took the advice and now says that it’s the best advice he ever got. Just like famous athletes recognize […] Continue reading →
