Archive Posts
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Outside Consultant: How Should I Lead My Team When Our Project Isn’t Successful?
Outside ConsultantThis "Outside Consultant" column by AnnMarie Thomas, professor of entrepreneurship and engineering, ran in the Star Tribune on Nov. 29, 2021. I have never met a successful person who doesn’t have at least one story of a project that went spectacularly awry. Whether it is an underwater robot that dove into an ocean and never returned,…
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Outside Consultant: How Can We Best Collaborate in the Workplace?
Outside ConsultantThis "Outside Consultant" column by Marcella de la Torre, EdD, a faculty member in the Opus College of Business, ran in the Star Tribune on Nov. 22. Collaboration is a win-win, whether you are a business owner, consultant, educator or nonprofit leader. Our natural tendency is to become siloed when we are facing tough decisions, adverse or unforeseen… -
Outside Consultant: How Do I Successfully Exit My Franchise Business?
Outside ConsultantThis "Outside Consultant" column by Dennis Monroe, senior distinguished fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, ran in the Star Tribune on Nov. 15, 2021. There are several factors you need to take into consideration when selling. Franchises are valued on a unit level based on free cash flow. For a national concept, a multiple is applied to that cash… -
Outside Consultant: What Should I Focus on When Operating my Franchise Business?
Outside ConsultantThis "Outside Consultant" column by Dennis Monroe, senior distinguished fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, ran in the Star Tribune on Nov. 8, 2021. Training. Franchises are developed by an experienced businessperson with a proven track record, so start by tapping into this success model. Take advantage of the franchisor’s experience – and… -
Outside Consultant: What Are the Best Practices for Financing a Franchise?
Business & LawThis "Outside Consultant" column by Dennis Monroe, senior distinguished fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, ran in the Star Tribune on Nov. 1, 2021. The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), which the franchisor is required to provide potential franchisees, will have a specific section titled “Estimated Initial Investment.” This section outlines a range, depending… -
Outside Consultant: What Are Some Things to Consider Before Becoming a Franchisee?
Outside ConsultantThis "Outside Consultant" column by Dennis Monroe, senior distinguished fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, ran in the Star Tribune on Oct. 25, 2021. Just like past downturns in the economy, the pandemic has created a new flood of entrepreneurialism. The desire to be the master of one’s own destiny has led to an increase in franchise sales.… -
Outside Consultant: What Is the Best Way to Think About Office Space and the Way We Work?
Business & LawThis "Outside Consultant" column by Rod Hagedorn, adjunct faculty member at the Opus College of Business ran in the Star Tribune on Oct. 18, 2021. Think in terms of what the drivers of change are that we have all been dealing with. The pandemic has taught all of us the need for agility in terms of business… -
Outside Consultant: Why Are Trademarks Important to My Business?
Business & LawThis "Outside Consultant" column by Bradley Walz '01, '04 J.D., head of the St. Thomas law school Trademark Clinic, ran in the Star Tribune on Oct. 11, 2021. Too few businesses federally register their trademarks. There’s a disparity between the number of new business applications and new trademark applications filed each year; perhaps business owners do… -
Outside Consultant: What Are the Best Practices for Auditing DEI Initiatives?
Business & LawThis "Outside Consultant" column by Ernest Owens, an assistant professor of management in the Opus College of Business, ran in the Star Tribune on Oct. 3, 2021. If you burden the department in charge of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with an inability to audit the process, you assure its failure. Without defining a workflow and baseline for the process, you… -
Outside Consultant: How Has COVID-19 Accelerated Changes in Health Care and How Will They Impact Employers?
Business & LawThis "Outside Consultant" column by Daniel B. McLaughlin, a senior executive fellow at Opus College of Business, ran in the Star Tribune on Sept. 27, 2021. Because of COVID-19, the past two years have disrupted American society and accelerated many changes in its health care system. The most visible change is the rapid adoption of telehealth.…