Norm Brodsky is one of my heroes. We met about ten years ago, before he sold City Storage. I copied some of his stuff immediately: keeping the bonus plan game-like and super-simple, bringing prospects to the office for an 85%+ close rate. Norm’s contributed heeps to the art of business. He evangelizes and educates through speeches, his Inc column, and his two books. He and Rob Levin host Scotch night, one of my favorite gatherings. He’s given back hugely to Brooklyn, starting with hiring and training locals and giving back to his then-struggling now-booming community of Williamsburg. He believes that you can learn business. My kind of guy!
Norm says his “one” business superpower is spotting trends...
No one wants to commute anymore. People of means are spilling into edge neighborhoods of big cities, gentrifying them. Many of these affluent people are becoming entrepreneurs, but they are drawn to tech and virtual work, not community-based businesses (our term for mom or pops). So there is a growing opportunity for people who are hungry and willing to learn to grow profitable community-based businesses - the need WIBO fills. As Norm pointed out - “Many of these people have skills they don’t know they had - they are resourceful and know how to survive. Entrepreneurs are in survival mode every day.” These mega-trends are accelerating in New York (dramatically so in Brooklyn) and across the country.
I agree. I’d add to that that the tools to learn to grow a business have never been sharper, starting with knowledge-based programs like WIBO. So we have a chance to give many people and families a shot at a better life, while helping the development of our cities.