Hamodia Articles

July 19, 2023

Is a Seasonable Business Worth the Trouble?

Mechel is a father of 7 who is still learning in kollel. His wife Rivi works as a part-time nurse, but her salary is far ...

July 12, 2023

Why Trademarks are More Important than Ever

Izik was all set to open a new men’s clothing store when his attorney called to warn him that the name he chose for the ...

June 29, 2023

Trade Shows Rediscovered and Reinvented

Hershel, in business for nearly two decades, never visited a trade show before 2019 when he learned that a trade show can help grow his ...

June 14, 2023

New Technologies Are Cutting into Major Traditional Businesses

Messenger services used to thrive prior to the Internet. Manhattan streets were always dotted with messengers on bicycles or motorcycles delivering everything from letters to ...

June 8, 2023

Wanted: Any Sales Help

Ariel has been in the service business for nearly three decades. To drive sales in his business, he has always relied on hiring and retaining ...

June 5, 2023

The Growing Epidemic of Shoplifting Even in Good Neighborhoods

Elkie had carefully laid out clothes that had arrived via UPS, only to notice that two of the colors she displayed were missing. Her saleslady ...

May 26, 2023

The Migrants Floodgate: A Blessing or Disaster?

The news has not been kind to the recent wave of migrants, especially those crossing over into the US through the Mexican border. Many in ...

May 18, 2023

Some Ideas Can be Turned into a Real Business

Faygie has enjoyed baking since she was 8 years old and would often join her mother in the kitchen in baking for the family or ...

May 11, 2023

The 2023 Panic that Doomed One of the Nation’s Largest Banks

The collapse of First Republic Bank is an anomaly. It is a mystery how a bank flush with cash ($212.6 billion in assets in 2022) ...

May 4, 2023

A Volatile Retail Sector Seeks to Make Comeback

There are signs that retail in the US is on the verge of a major comeback. With the COVID pushback now behind us and the ...

May 1, 2023

The Mixed Bag of the Real Estate Market

It wasn’t so long ago that one could say that the real estate market was healthy, so much so that it became a major category ...

April 18, 2023

After a Pesach Debacle, Travel Insurance Gets a Second Look!

David was one of a number of people that learned several days before Pesach that the program he paid for in advance at a hotel ...

April 16, 2023

Is it Time to Switch to the Highly Successful Larger Banks?

David Samuels (name changed), an importer of watches, was a long-time customer of Signature Bank. He was devastated when he heard that the bank had ...

March 24, 2023

With the Uncertainty in Banking Reinvesting in Business Pays Best Dividend

As soon as the news broke about the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank and subsequently Signature Bank in New York, the inquiries began to ...

March 10, 2023

Why Valuation is Important to a Business

Whenever I am involved in helping someone sell or buy a business, there is always the question about the valuation of the business. In simple ...

February 15, 2023

Thinking of Starting a Business? Proceed with Caution!

Morris had an idea for a new health care related business that he believes is very much needed. In fact, he spent many hours doing ...

January 12, 2023

Experts Predict Most Expensive Ever Pesach!

Whether one opts to stay home or join nearly 150 Pesach programs around the globe, the consensus amongst the experts is that this coming Yom ...

August 12, 2022

Winners and Losers in a Near-Recession Environment

Even as Congress was close to passing the Democrat inspired Inflation Reduction Act, financial experts were still not prepared to label the current economy as ...

August 4, 2022

Any Change in a Business Can be a Good Thing!

Several years ago, a local store in my neighborhood was underperforming. They were below projections and couldn’t seem to gain much traction. They moved from ...

July 28, 2022

Can America be its Own Breadbasket?

How unusual is it for two warring nations to reach an agreement in the middle of battle that has nothing to do with the war ...

July 21, 2022

Crime a Daunting Factor in Post- Covid Business Growth

The news was shocking but not surprising. Starbucks announced that it is planning to close 16 locations across various cities, citing safety concerns. Here is how ...

July 14, 2022

The Allure of Moving Corporate to Florida, Especially from New York

The list of corporations that are relocating their headquarters from New York to states like Texas and Florida continues to grow daily. While it is ...

July 7, 2022

Is Buying a House this Summer a Good Bet?

Ruben pushed off looking for a house until the summer. He reasoned with his wife Goldie that the kids would be away at camp and ...

July 1, 2022

Who’s Hiring and Who is Not

Take a walk along any commercial street in New York City and you are likely to see signs on the door or windows. “Now Hiring!” ...

June 24, 2022

How Commodity Prices Influence Inflation

Most of us think of corn as a sweet food that we enjoy in various forms. This is the barbecue season and corn on the ...

June 17, 2022

The Retailer’s Newest Dilemma: Full Shelves or Profitable Shelves?

Americans were shocked at the sight of empty shelves during Covid and subsequently due to supply chain issues and labor shortages. America is the “land ...

June 10, 2022

How the Friendly Skies Became So Unfriendly!

It was all blamed on Covid. The delays, cancellations, crowded planes, frequently lost luggage, and even unruly passengers were all products of the pandemic, the ...

June 3, 2022

Does the Baby Formula Fiasco Bode Well for Future Essential Products?

By now we are all aware of the supply chain issues that are plaguing our country. We have seen the visuals of the empty shelves ...

May 26, 2022

Is Investing in Startups a Good Idea?

It was “breaking news” in major media. Saudi Arabia, which does not as yet have diplomatic relations with Israel, will be investing in Israel through ...

May 20, 2022

Does the President Really Control the US Economy?

A good percentage of the US populace believes that the President of the United States actually controls the economy. The experts often say that “people ...

May 13, 2022

Is Russia Fighting Another War? The Western Economies?

With the war in the Ukraine entering its third month and victory as elusive as ever for the Russians, political pundits are hard at work ...

May 6, 2022

Creating the Proper Business Environment in Troubled Cities

It is a proven fact that economic development in a city is directly related to its stability and safety. Business requires a “healthy” environment to ...

April 14, 2022

From a Coin Shortage to Digital Currency

The U.S. has a coin shortage and you and I are being blamed for it. The government says that the shortage is due to the ...

April 14, 2022

Raising Interest Rates will Ease Inflation? The Fed Thinks So!

By now almost every reader knows that inflation has hit full blast. Just ask any shopper wheeling a wagon with Pesach foods and you’ll hear ...

March 24, 2022

Taking Advantage of a Hot Job Market

The data is clear: We are in a hot job market. The Help Wanted signs are up all over to the chagrin of many employers. ...

March 17, 2022

Ouch!! Gas Prices Soar as War Drums Get Louder

You may wish to adjust your glasses when you see the big boards with gas the daily prices. No matter where you look, you will ...

March 11, 2022

How the War in the Ukraine Affects Us

President Joe Biden has slapped a set of economic sanctions on Russia for its aggression against the nation and people of the Ukraine that will ...

March 4, 2022

The January Surprise: Retail Rebounds

For months, economists and financial experts were writing the obituary for retail as we know it. The pandemic, they said, has permanently changed the retail ...

February 25, 2022

Why Interest Rates Matter

Interest rates, said a prominent economist, are like the relative who always shows up at every family affair. “You just take him for granted and ...

February 17, 2022

The Business School of Reb Moshe Reichman

The recent book “Building for Eternity,” the life and legacy of Reb Moshe Reichmann, by Yisroel Besser (Art Scroll, 2021), is a biography of one ...

February 10, 2022

An Economic Silver Lining : Commercial Real Estate

Financial analysts are still reviewing the economic impact of the pandemic and assessing the real estate market is no exception. The state of the real ...

February 3, 2022

Is the Global Economy Collapsing?

The expression that “it’s a small world” very much fits what came to be known as the global economy. People doing business in one country ...

January 28, 2022

The Shaky Airline Industry Faces a Shakier Future

If you’ve been to an airport in a major city lately, you are likely to go away with the impression that commercial air travel is ...

January 21, 2022

Finding and Keeping Good Workers: Newest Challenge for Businesses and Organizations

Larry has owned a Brooklyn hardware store since the ‘60’s and thanks to his manager Warren he has been extremely successful. He was able to ...

January 15, 2022

Cars in America are Suddenly Hard to Come By

Americans have a hard time accepting shortages of any kind. After all, “the land of plenty” is not supposed to have shortages. Many immigrants will ...

December 31, 2021

The Double-Edged Sword of the Fading Credit Card

Shia is a third-generation retailer in one of the large Jewish communities in the New York area. His father and grandfather, who preceded him in ...

December 24, 2021

Foodservice: “The Train Has Left the Station!”

One of the most discussed casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic was the restaurant industry. Many restaurants throughout the country were forced to close as dining ...

December 17, 2021

The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Gamechanger for Careers and Businesses

The Covid-19 pandemic has wrought many changes in society from doctor’s visits over Zoom to education that is remote. We are now learning about many ...

December 9, 2021

Does the Federal Reserve Control Our Economy?

President Joe Biden recently appointed Jerome Powell to another four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB). He also chose Lael Brainard, who currently serves ...

November 30, 2021

Are we Ready for Solar Energy?

While no financial whiz, Alex was concerned about his soaring utility bills, particularly heating. An energy consultant he invited to his home advised to consider ...

November 22, 2021

Travel Rebounds But is it Here to Stay?

Hector Addabbo took his first business trip in almost two years recently. He confessed that the entire experience of getting on a TSA security line ...

November 12, 2021

Getting the Billionaires and the Wealthy to Pay Their Fair Share

There is a raging debate in the halls of Congress, in the media, and in society whether the country’s billionaires should be forced to foot ...

November 5, 2021

Our Dependency on Strong Commercial Strips and Strip Malls

The chances are that if you live in one of the Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey or for that matter in other ...

October 29, 2021

The Unfriendly Aisles of Retail Stores…for Senior Citizens

It was in the early 1980’s that a young woman completely changed her appearance and mannerism to look and act like an elderly shopper. In ...

October 15, 2021

The Rapidly Collapsing US Supply Chain

Reports indicate that sales of kosher foods during this past Yom Tov were at record levels but at the same time retailers faced some unprecedented ...

October 4, 2021

Big Business Dilemma: How Big is Too Big?

It seems that one issue that society faces nowadays is the exten to which some of the mega business and specifically tech companies run our ...

September 17, 2021

Economic Setback: The Covid Delta Variant

As the month of September rolled in, many economic experts had expected a dramatic and major turnaround in the number of new jobs, a sign ...

September 10, 2021

Your Favorite Store May Just be… in Another Store!

The bankrupt Toys R Us is back under new owners, WHP Global which had acquired a controlling interest in Tru Kids, the parent company of the ...

September 3, 2021

Is Biden Economics Bad for the Country?

Seven months into his presidency, President Joe Biden has reason to smile about the direction of the economy. While still plagued with many problems, the ...

August 27, 2021

Rising Inflation Stinging Younger People

Back in 2013, Michael Winerip wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times in which he related how he used to love inflation as ...

August 20, 2021

Are the Airlines Suffering from Post-Covid Syndrome?

Just a few weeks ago it seemed as if there was a recovery underway for the airline industry. Airports sprung to life during the July ...

August 12, 2021

How Demographics Changed Retail, Especially Kosher

Occasionally there is a milestone that is noteworthy not only for the event itself but the enduring effect it has on an entire industry or ...

August 5, 2021

Ben & Jerry’s: The Wrong Business Strategy

By now, almost everyone is familiar with Ben & Jerry’s story. Not the story of the two Jewish friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who ...

July 29, 2021

Starting a Business vs. Acquisition: Risk or Opportunity

Case History # 2 A special summer series on select business issues that were dealt with by Lubicom Business Consulting. Some of the names and ...

July 16, 2021

“Stuck” in the Family Business or Branching Out

Case History # 2 A special summer series of three essays on select business issues that were dealt with by Lubicom Business Consulting. Some of ...

July 8, 2021

Buying a Business: Price vs. Value

(Case History # 1): Part of a special summer series of three essays on select business issues that were dealt with by Lubicom Business Consulting. ...

July 1, 2021

A Business Recovery with Many Hiccups

Economic experts are telling us that we are in the midst of an economic recovery, in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. That should be ...

June 17, 2021

Can One Key Person Turn a Company Around?

Bed Bath & Beyond was destined for the dustbin of history until a new CEO took over the helm. The company was bleeding badly as ...

May 27, 2021

Moving to Make Ends Meet

The Isaacs family recently moved from Brooklyn to Boca Raton, Florida. Three of their friends made the move in the last two years which was ...

May 20, 2021

Incentives to Stay Home and Not Work

It has always been a formidable goal of any forward thinking government to achieve full employment. The benefits are many including a larger tax base, ...

March 18, 2021

Can the US Win the Manufacturing War with China?

Make no mistake! China is still the world’s leading manufacturer but there are signs that the US is gaining ground and may even have moved ...

March 12, 2021

The Cost of Living: Why we Need to Pay Attention

Many American families chose where to live in the USA based on the cost of living in various cities. Living on a fixed budget is ...

March 4, 2021

A Robust Job Market in a Post-COVID-19 Era

What a difference a year makes! Approximately a year ago, the business world was slowly shutting down on the throes of one of the worst ...

February 18, 2021

What the Pandemic Taught us About Credit Cards

I read an article about how the average American family made it through the pandemic financially. It was about layoffs, the stimulus and more. There ...

February 11, 2021

Bidenomics: Concern or Welcome Change?

Business executives are just beginning to decipher what a Biden presidency will mean for business. With the ongoing Covid pandemic and a second Trump impeachment ...

February 3, 2021

Manhattan: On a Steep Decline or on the Cusp of Recovery?

Not since Peter Minuit, the director-general of New Netherland, purchased Manhattan in 1626 from the Lenape, or the Delaware Indians, for $24-worth of trade goods, has ...

January 22, 2021

The 737-500 MAX is Flying Again: But Will the Passengers?

Last week two spectacular events happened with the same model aircraft built by the Boeing Company. A 737-500 crashed in Indonesia and after being grounded ...

January 8, 2021

What a Difference a Year Makes or Does It?

As the world ushered in a new year, there was a sense of disappointment that the expected return to “normalcy” was not only a no-show ...

January 8, 2021

What Retailers Might Learn from Box Stores

Robert needed a few household items, including deodorant, tissues, and paper cups. In the pre-COVID-19 days, he might have driven about 15 minutes and shopped ...

December 31, 2020

The Mixed Fate of Luxury Goods

It is called the luxury market simply because these are goods and services that people with high net worth consume. Economists generally define consumers of ...

December 24, 2020

America’s Newspaper Industry: On the Brink?

One of the fundamental articles of the US Constitution is a guarantee of Freedom of the Press which most Americans always took for granted. The ...

December 10, 2020

The Toy Industry: Toying with Success Despite Calamities

You probably couldn’t open a newspaper over the weekend without having a colorful toy catalogue fall out or find full page ads in the newspapers ...

December 3, 2020

Meet Your New Pharmacist: Amazon

For all those that may have forgotten, Amazon, started by Jeff Bezos in 1994 was launched as an on-line bookstore, almost instantly putting a dagger ...

November 26, 2020

A Biden Presidency: Should Small Businesses Worry?

There is no need to repeat the obvious. 2020 has been a year full of challenges for small businesses and so many were afraidabout their ...

November 19, 2020

The Shaky Business of Polling Gets Even Shakier

Why is how badly the polls performed in the recent presidential election a business story? While many Americans think of polling as being part of ...

October 29, 2020

Is the Publishing Industry Out of the Woods?

The publishing industry, which faced enormous challenges in the last few years, is facing even more uncertainty in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. The ...

October 22, 2020

Has the Covid-19 US Economy Beaten the Odds

With Election Day looming, all eyes are on the US economy. Afterall, political strategists agree that most people go to the polls to “vote their ...

October 15, 2020

The Good and Bad News For the Construction Industry

IF you took a drive in New York City, or for that matter in any major U.S. city these days, you would be hard-pressed to ...

August 22, 2020

Kodak – A Rigid Business Model That Refused to Change!

I and people of my generation remember Kodak as an iconic rock-solid business that represented the brilliance and ingenuity of American capitalism. After all, from ...

January 27, 2020

The Ups and Downs of Mergers and Acquisitions

In recent months, some of the nation’s biggest names were involved in some major acquisitions. In the tech industry, it is an almost daily occurrence, ...

January 3, 2020

Your Airline Seat May Soon be for Cargo

With air travel down by as much as 85% from a year ago and losses mounting by the billions, airlines are forced to take a ...

December 7, 2019

The Latest Challenges for Small Businesses

2019 may be remembered as the year of the upgrade for small businesses, especially retail. Take a tour of any commercial area in a Jewish ...

December 2, 2019

The Trade Show: The Face to Face Business that Survived

TO BE SURE, technology has changed the way we do business. Most of our communications with prospective business partners are no longer conducted in person. ...

November 7, 2019

How Important is a Banking Relationship Nowadays?

There is a misconception these days among some small-business owners that a banking relationship is not as important as it used to be. They feel ...

October 26, 2019

The Art of Negotiation

Negotiations are a fundamental part of business and of life in general. When people sit down to negotiate a deal, whether for a business or ...

September 23, 2019

Rebranding and Turning Around a Business

A battle between two brothers who are partners in a business played out in my office. While one brother failed to see any future in ...

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