Blog

Notes and analysis from the world of business decision-making.

23 October 2026

How to Make a Business Decision with AI: Five Steps and Where It Goes Wrong

A single AI answer has burned me more than once. What I learned: five steps for a business decision with AI, from a clear question to checking the numbers, and where AI most often goes wrong.

19 October 2026

90-Day Payment Terms: When to Let a Customer Pay Later and When You Are Financing Them

A customer asks for a longer payment term. How much cash it ties up in your firm, what it costs, and five questions before you agree to 60 or 90 days.

12 October 2026

A Big Customer Asks for a Discount: When to Agree and When It Is Just a More Expensive Contract

A customer offers bigger volumes if you cut the price. What a discount really costs, how much extra volume you need to earn the same, and five questions to ask before you agree.

7 October 2026

Solitude at the Top: Who Does a Business Owner Ask Before a Big Decision?

The owner of a small or medium-sized firm often makes key decisions alone. What it means to have no one to ask, and four questions that help you look at a decision from several angles.

7 October 2026

AI Sycophancy: When AI Tells You What You Want to Hear

A Stanford study shows that AI tools affirm users more often than people would. What that means for business decisions, and four questions you can ask yourself.

4 October 2026

You Bought a Cost-Cutting Machine. Who Actually Saved?

Equipment or a tool that cuts your costs does not have to raise your profit. Four questions that show who really keeps the savings.

3 October 2026

What a good decision report looks like

A long AI text is not the same as a basis for a decision. The five parts every decision report should contain.

27 September 2026

Why Small Businesses Fail in the First 5 Years: 7 Reasons

Why do a large percentage of small businesses fail in the first 5 years? 7 key reasons and how multi-perspective analysis helps you spot those mistakes in time.

27 September 2026

Hidden Risks in Choosing a Vendor

Imagine three logistics bids, three different risks a quick AI answer would not catch, and what an analysis from several separate angles looks like in practice.

26 September 2026

Why One AI Answer Is Not Enough for a Strategic Decision

One AI answer is fine for an email, but not for a decision that is costly to reverse. What a single answer misses, and how separate perspectives lower the risk.

14 September 2026

When Your Body Decides for You

You keep postponing rest because the moment is never right, and recovery takes longer each time. How to tell that exhaustion is already steering you, and how to stop in time, before your body does it for you.

7 September 2026

An Outside Advisor: When They Help and When They Just Confirm, Expensively

You pay an advisor, yet the decision is still yours to carry, often at night. When an outside perspective is truly needed, when it is wasted money, and how to choose someone who dares to say no.

31 August 2026

A Major Client That Holds You and Chokes You

A client who brings most of your revenue can be a lifeline or a trap, and you should neither drop them in fear nor keep them at any cost. When a major client should go, and how to let go without panic.

24 August 2026

A Big Growth Opportunity You Cannot Deliver

A big contract is tempting, and if you cannot deliver it you lose customers, people and reputation. When to turn growth down, when to accept, and how to say no without losing the relationship.

17 August 2026

Your First Big Decision, and How to Make It

Our 50th article: what happens in a company while the owner puts off the first big decision, when you must decide, and when you firmly should not rush.

10 August 2026

When Closing Your Company Is Not Defeat but Responsibility

Every month of delay drains money, health and the trust of people who believe in you. How to tell when closing is the responsible decision, and when there is still something to save.

3 August 2026

An Offer for Your Company Has Arrived: Accept or Decline

Pressure to accept the first offer and fatigue after years of work can lead you to sell below value. How to judge price, terms and buyer, and how to decline without burning the relationship.

27 July 2026

The Stock Exchange as a Goal: When Going Public Helps and When It Costs Too Much

Going public looks like recognition, an exit or quick money, yet it really demands years of preparation and complete openness. What to check before you start.

20 July 2026

When an Investor's Money Costs More Than It Is Worth

Money in the account lets you sleep, but an investor also walks into your decisions. How to judge whether they are the right partner, and how to say no without burning the relationship.

13 July 2026

The Middleman Takes Your Margin and Your Customers: When to Open Your Own Sales Channel

Direct sales can give you back the customer and control, but they bring costs and conflict with the partners who feed you today. How to judge whether it pays off, and how to open it without a war.

6 July 2026

A Franchise as a Shortcut to Growth: When Your Company Can Really Carry It

A franchise looks like growth without capital, but it shares control over what you spent years building. How to judge whether your model is ready, and how not to ruin the brand while you multiply it.

29 June 2026

A Subscription Instead of Selling: Steady Income or Lost Customers

A subscription promises calmer revenue, but done wrong it costs you both customers and money. How to judge whether your product has the rhythm for one, and how to introduce it with less risk.

22 June 2026

The Product Sells, Yet You Lose Money on It: When to Drop It

Harder than dropping a product that fails is dropping one that has customers. How to tell sales from profit, and when stopping is responsibility rather than defeat.

15 June 2026

A New Product Category: Opportunity or Escape From Problems You Already Have

A new category can be a way out of stagnation, or an expensive way to multiply your problems. How to judge whether you are ready, and how to enter without gambling what you have built.

8 June 2026

The Crisis May Be Over, but You Do Not Dare to Exhale

Declare the end of a crisis too early and the next blow catches you unprepared. Declare it too late and you keep the company and its people in fear for no reason. How to judge where you really stand.

1 June 2026

The Company Grew but the Organisation Stayed the Same: When to Restructure

Every decision waits for you, costs outpace revenue, and you cannot sleep at night. When restructuring is truly needed, and when it would only make things worse.

25 May 2026

Closing a Business Unit: When Holding On Costs More Than Letting Go

A unit has eaten the rest of the company's margin for years, and you cannot close it because it is your story and your people. When closing is the responsible move, when it is still worth trying, and how to close without damage.

18 May 2026

Layoffs: The Hardest Decision, and Why Delay Is Often Unfair to Everyone Else

Behind every dismissal there is a face, a name and a family, but also other people who depend on the company surviving. When letting people go is responsibility, when it is a mistake, and how to do it with dignity.

4 May 2026

Business Model: Is the Problem the Model or the Execution

You work harder than ever, yet revenue stalls or margin leaks. Whether the model can no longer grow or you are simply underperforming, and how to change it without endangering what already earns.

27 April 2026

Leaving a Partnership: When to Stay and Fix It, When to Go

Partnerships rarely break all at once; they leak away through small disappointments and unspoken expectations. Talk or leave, and how to exit without damage.

20 April 2026

A Partnership Instead of an Acquisition: The Right Solution or a Way to Postpone the Decision

An acquisition scares you, a partnership looks easier, but it has its own price. Is it a smart model or a way to avoid the decision? How to tell the difference.

13 April 2026

Selling Your Company: A Decision You Cannot Repeat

You are tired, the company has been your life for years, and the wrong moment to sell can wipe all of it out. How to know the time has come and what to put in order before the first talk with a buyer.

6 April 2026

You are buying a company, and its problems too: when an acquisition makes sense

An acquisition promises fast growth, yet it can cost you the company you built. What has to be in place before you even start negotiating.

30 March 2026

A new market is not an escape from problems at home

Growth in a foreign market sounds logical, but you are spending money you spent years earning. When entering makes sense, and when it only multiplies the problems you already have.

23 March 2026

You are the bottleneck: when it is time for a first manager, and when it is not

When everything runs through you, the company stops the moment you do. But a wrongly timed first manager is costly and painful, so here is how to judge the right moment.

16 March 2026

The job that troubles you before you sign: when to turn it down

Turning down a job seems like a luxury, yet the wrong job can eat your margin, reputation and months of time. How to recognize a job to decline and decline it without burning bridges.

9 March 2026

When a Contract Should Include a Territorial Exclusivity Clause

Questions that help you judge whether you need territorial exclusivity: whether the partner invests, how large the market is and how much the brand depends on positioning.

2 March 2026

Your supplier is late, prices keep rising, and you wonder whether it is time to leave

When a supplier costs you more than it is worth, you see it in empty shelves and nervous customers. Does it still make sense to stay, and how to switch without shock.

23 February 2026

A consultant or just a structured check: how not to face an irreversible decision alone

Before signing a contract that is hard to undo, there is nobody to ask you the hard question. Do you need a consultant, or is a structured check enough.

16 February 2026

When a Distribution Agreement Should Contain a Territory Protection Clause

Four questions about the territorial clause in a distribution agreement: how the territory is defined, whether it is protected from the supplier's direct sales, whether it covers online channels and what happens if you want to grow beyond the territory.

9 February 2026

Is a Partnership with a Competitor a Good Idea?

A joint project with a competitor can share costs, but it can also open the door to your customers and your know-how. What to clarify before you sit down at the table, and how to protect yourself if the cooperation fails.

26 January 2026

An Offer That Looks Too Good: When to Decline and When to Negotiate

The numbers shine, yet you do not sleep any better than before. Learn how to tell when declining is the right call and when negotiating is worth it, before you sign something you will pay off for years.

19 January 2026

Your Costs Went Up and Your Prices Did Not: When Is It Time to Raise Them

Your margin is melting and you fear a price rise will cost you customers. When to raise the price, when not to, how to do it without customers running, and how to check that it pays.

12 January 2026

Your Own Brand After Years of Selling Other People's: The Best Decision or the Costliest Mistake

You have sold other people's brands for years and dream of your own. Before you invest the first euro, it is worth knowing where the conflict with your supplier hides and what it could really cost.

5 January 2026

When a Distribution Agreement Should Contain a Non-Compete Clause

Three questions about the non-compete clause in a distribution agreement: what exactly it prohibits, how long it lasts and what you get in return.

29 December 2025

All Your Purchasing Goes Through One Supplier: What If It Raises Prices, Runs Late or Walks Away

One supplier is easy, until it raises prices, runs late or ends the relationship. How much you depend on it and how to bring in a second one without conflict.

22 December 2025

Your Supplier Wants an Advance: How Much Money Are You Willing to Let Go

You pay 40% upfront, the goods run late, and you need that money for salaries and other suppliers. How to keep an advance as protection rather than a loan you give your supplier.

15 December 2025

How to Read an AI-Assisted Business Report

A fact-checking checklist before you act on an AI analysis: agreement among several models is not the same as verification.

8 December 2025

The Fine Print That Decides Everything

Four questions about the governing-law and jurisdiction clause in an international contract, which is usually read last.

1 December 2025

One Big Customer, One Big Risk: Turnover Drops 40%, the Result Drops Much More

When one customer carries a large share of turnover: a risk calculation and questions to check

24 November 2025

Stock That Freezes Your Capital: When 6 Months of Sales in the Contract Becomes 8

How a minimum stock obligation freezes your capital: a calculation and questions to check

17 November 2025

Are You Even Allowed to Use That Logo? Exclusive Distribution Is Not the Same as a Trademark License

Are you allowed to use the logo of the brand you distribute: questions to check before investing in marketing

10 November 2025

A Contract Without an Exit

Three exit clauses distributors most often do not think about before signing: the notice period, what happens to stock and a sell-off period. With questions to check.

3 November 2025

Who Pays When the Customer Returns the Product? The Cost Missing From Your Margin

Who bears the cost when a customer makes a claim in a distribution chain: a calculation and questions to check

27 October 2025

Force Majeure Isn't a Universal Excuse: One Sentence in the Contract Can Change the Whole Cost

Why a force majeure clause may cover less than you assume: a calculation and questions to check

20 October 2025

The Guarantee That Could Cost You the Business: How Much Credit One Signature Ties Up

How an on-demand bank guarantee affects your credit line: a calculation and questions to check

13 October 2025

When Your Partner Becomes Your Competitor: Who Gets the Market You Built

What happens to your market and customer data when the relationship with the supplier ends: questions to check

6 October 2025

Who Bears the Currency Risk? A 5% Rate Move Can Eat a Quarter of Your Margin

Who bears the currency risk and how a rate move affects your margin: a calculation and questions to check

29 September 2025

Building Someone Else's Empire? Who Keeps the Value When You Pay for It

Who bears the cost of building someone else's brand and what stays with you when the relationship ends: questions to check

22 September 2025

The Forgotten Risk of Imports: Who Is the Registration Holder?

Who is the registration holder of your product and what happens to the registration when the relationship ends: questions to check before investing

15 September 2025

Planning Exclusive Distribution? A Quota You Sign Blind Can Bring Down Your Business

Traps in minimum sales quotas worth thinking through before you sign

8 September 2025

3 Hidden Traps in Contracts With Foreign Suppliers

Three clauses that are easy to skip before you sign with a foreign supplier: exclusivity and online sales, one-sided price increases and responsibility for goods. With questions to check.