Sunk Cost Fallacy Theory and Knowing When to Leave the Casino.

Anyone miss the blackened fingers from reading your daily newspaper to get your news in the morning?

Any urbanites out there reminiscing about folding the paper into columns so you could read the newspaper while strap hanging on a roller-coaster-like subway ride?

When did we stop getting our daily dose of news from tree pulp?

Excite was launched in 1995, think of it as another Yahoo. A person could get news, weather, a search engine, email address, instant messaging, stock quotes and a customizable user homepage. Excite was the 4th most visited website in the world. Excite even negotiated a deal with AOL, where AOL agreed to make Excite its exclusive search and directory service. DOJ Antitrust Unit is still preparing the briefs on that one. If you remember AOL and how big it was at the time, this deal was a massive win for Excite. In ’99 Excite was acquired by @Home network. This merger of two internet tech...

Franchising is a form of business by which the owner (franchisor) of a product, service or method obtains distribution through affiliated dealers (franchisees). This type of license grants a franchisee access to a franchisor's proprietary business knowledge, processes, and trademarks, thus allowing the franchisee to sell a product or service under the franchisor's business name. In exchange for acquiring a franchise, the franchisee pays the franchisor an initial start-up fee, management and/or annual licensing fees.

The franchise business model has an interesting history in the United States. The concept dates to the mid-19th century, when two companies - the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company (we were an agrarian economy in those days) and the I.M. Singer Company - developed organizational, marketing and distribution systems recognized as the forerunners to franchising. These then novel business structures allowed McCormick...

“Consistency is found in that work whose whole and detail are suitable to the occasion. It arises from circumstance, custom and nature.” – Roman author, architect, civil engineer, and wanna-be-accountant Vitruvius

No field is this one sentiment more critical than in accountancy. Bookkeeping and accounting standards are designed to ensure consistent presentation of financial statements, making it easier for people to read and comprehend the information contained in the statements.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles were eventually established primarily as a response to the Stock Market Crash of ‘29 and the subsequent Great Depression, which were believed to be at least partially caused by less than forthright financial reporting practices by some publicly-traded companies. The federal government began working with professional accounting groups to establish standards and practices for consistent and accurate financial reporting. Generally Accepted...

In this video, My partner Steve Perrotta and I will talk about everything you need to know about PPP Loan Forgiveness.

Hi Everyone,

In this video, we will talk about what we can and what we cannot do with EIDL loan proceeds together with my partner Steve Perrotta. 

If at First You Do Not Succeed…

An incandescent light bulb is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a bulb to protect the filament from oxidation. Current is supplied to the filament by terminals or wires embedded in the glass. A bulb socket provides mechanical support and the electrical connection. Piece of cake!

Let us consider the variables: the shape of the sphere, thickness of the glass, type of inert gas to fill the bulb, metal of the filament, etc. Piece of cake! Let us consider what can go wrong: Wrong shape of glass…boom. Too thin glass…boom. Wrong gas…boom.

Contrary to popular belief, Edison was not the only inventor to speculate on a bulb to emanate light. He was, however, the inventor of the best version of the lightbulb.

Incandescent bulbs are manufactured in a wide range of sizes, light output, and voltage ratings. volts. They require no external regulating equipment, have low...

How Leveraging a Unique Concept Can Revolutionize Your Business, and an Entire Industry

This is the tale of a couple of small-town German brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, from the rural town of Herzogenaurach, at the turn of the last century. Rudolf, the 3rd born, and Adolf, 4th born, humbly assisted their Mom Pauline with her laundry service by delivering the cleaned linens and clothing to their neighbors.

Upon completion of his high school education, fulfilling a promise to his father, Adolf began an apprenticeship as a baker. However, his true interests revolved around sports, so he occupied his free time playing athletic competitions in track and field, soccer, boxing, ice-hockey, javelin, as well as skiing and ski jumping. After finishing his apprenticeship, ‘Adi’ pursued these other interests.

Adi soon becomes an accomplished athlete, and more relevantly to my lesson today, a careful observer. He recognized the athletes of each discipline he participated in...

Keep Abreast of Market Trends and Your Clients’ Tastes or They’ll Shop Elsewhere.

Markets evolve quickly. Businesses can be likened to sharks in that they must be constantly propelling forward to prevent from sinking. Whether you maintain a comfortable market share or are chasing a competitor, awareness of your strategic market and client’s preferences is paramount.

Since prehistoric times, when cavewomen wanted shinier rocks and softer animal skins than their neighbor caveperson, early humans learned the skill of bartering. As we learned advanced agricultural techniques bartering became more sophisticated and increasingly challenging. I imagine it was difficult to trade twenty bales of hay with a palette of eggs without some fatigue. As these scenarios progressed and carrying excessive goods is made impractical, we started using coins or their paper equivalent.

Hanna-Barbara were both underrated Economists

Soon, our tastes evolve and desire for...

Leonardo’s Mona Lisa and The Joys of Compounding

This portrait below of a noble woman, dressed in the Florentine fashion of her day, and seated at the foreground of a mountainous landscape, is an instance of Leonardo’s sfumato technique of soft, heavily shaded modeling. The Mona Lisa ‘s enigmatic expression, which seems both alluring and aloof, has given the portrait universal fame. Guys love it when girls play hard to get.

Also, of legendary fame, albeit in a much less sensual manner, are Warren Buffett’s annual letters to his partners within the financial industry. This letter is anxiously anticipated by his loyal Omahans. I refer to one going back to 1964.

Buffett loquaciously espouses:

“ Since the whole subject of compounding has such a crass ring to it, I will attempt to introduce a little class into this discussion by turning to the art world. Francis I of France paid 4,000 ecus in 1540 for Leonardo da...

Now Wishing You’d Taken That Speech Class in Middle School…

For those of you with a sweet tooth, you will relate. To treat a cavity, a dentist removes the decayed portion of the tooth and then “fills” the void created. Fillings are used to repair cracked or broken teeth and those worn down from nail-biting or grinding. First, the dentist will use a local anesthetic to numb the area to be filled, followed by a drill, air abrasion instrument or laser will be used to remove the decayed area.

We can all agree this is not a pleasant act.

“Filler Words” have the same effect on conversations — as well as my ears. These words; or more precisely: utterings, are such a part of the common vernacular I am going to resist the urge to list any of them.

Often, these ticks of speech serve as crutches when we find ourselves unnerved. Whether distracted or at a loss for what comes next, it is easy to lean on filler words. Friends, this...