If Hurricane Matthew would have taken a more westerly track by just 30 or 40 miles it probably would have been the largest natural catastrophe the East Coast has seen since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Almost seven years ago, during the later hours of a Friday afternoon, I was wrapping up some paperwork and feeling pretty good about the progress of the week. My wife and I had a sitter lined up for the evening, and I was looking forward to date night with dinner and a ballgame. 

It is true that all entrepreneurs are self-employed, however, not all who are self-employed are entrepreneurs. There is a profound difference between the two. And, not all who are self-employed should try to be entrepreneurs.

Years ago, while preparing a project management seminar for the Restoration Industry Association (RIA), I was asked to include a section on upselling strategies. At first I was reluctant, feeling the topic was inappropriate for the subject matter of the course. However, upon presenting the material and seeing the reaction of the audience, I recognized the need.

Almost one year after my working career in restoration started, I was baptized by accepting a request to look at a boat fire. I had absolutely no knowledge of marine vessels, how they were constructed or what the component materials were, let alone how they react when they burn.

In part one of this article we explored the four stages of turnaround involved in saving a failing business, including the objectives and actions necessary in each stage. These are the mechanics involved in bringing a business back to solvency and setting it up for sustained profitability in the future. Most of the information is easy to identify with; even common sense, if you will.

As part of my job, every year I review hundreds of income statements and analyze operational costs for the purpose of improving profitability. On three separate occasions in just the past year, I discovered that struggling contractors were not realizing their full profit potential because their gross profit targets were too low.

The Delaware Water Gap is a sweeping valley almost a thousand feet wide, where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge in the Appalachian Mountains, creating the eastern border of Pennsylvania and the western border of New Jersey.

Shortly after graduating from college, I spent the better part of four years living on a horse farm in rural Southwestern Pennsylvania. In addition to working as a national account manager for the 84 Lumber Company, I spent my spare time mucking stalls, feeding horses, mending fences, and making hay on the farm in exchange for rent.