Best Practices

How do we honor a month that serves to spotlight those who should have been heralded all along? When we think of those we champion, encourage, lift up and celebrate in the African-American community, it may be easy to recall an athlete, a great actor, a musician. But we at Cultivate Advisors are committed to growing small businesses and honoring entrepreneurs who are the very lifeblood of innovation and economic growth.

Cultivate Advisor Maura Vella shares important lessons she's learned throughout her entrepreneurial journey.

Having owned and run small businesses since 2006, I've endured a perfect storm of massive deflation+competition+scandal (+a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic). I've also enjoyed an against-the-odds, gritty comeback, which led to a 1000% profit increase over one year in my 7-figure business. This experience empowers me to say that your business can flourish, just like mine, when you embrace these ten things that I learned over that year:

Chicago’s Top Commercial Real Estate Broker, William Himmelstein, shares insights on what to expect when looking for office space in 2021 and offers tips on navigating the commercial real estate landscape.

While many businesses continue to extend their work-from-home policies as the pandemic wears on, many owners report plans to return to the office. Some business owners are looking to downsize their in-person workforce only to include partners and upper management, whereas others are looking to relocate their entire workforce, hopeful of finding new space at a reduced price point given the recent market fluctuations. Regardless of why, many business owners are interested to know what exactly is involved in searching for new space. Herein we review the most important steps involved in an office relocation, along with a few additional tips and tricks we think will help. 

Chicago’s Top Commercial Real Estate Broker, William Himmelstein, shares insights on how COVID-19 has impacted Commercial Real Estate, how to approach the current market, and how to plan for a safe return to the office.

Commercial real estate (CRE) is typically a company’s second largest expense to payroll or 3rd largest for manufacturers. Yet, never before in recent history has space been on the mind of almost every single business owner and CEO. As the CEO of Tenant Advisory Group with twenty+ years of experience as a commercial real estate broker, I have seen corporate leaders make many mistakes since March that have cost their companies significant dollars and negotiating leverage. In this article, I discuss the current and future CRE market and how to best position your company to buy low, sell high, and ensure you are getting the most out of your space while spending the least. I will also share insights into what other commercial space users are doing and planning for, the do’s and don’ts of approaching your landlord to garner free rent or a lease restructure, and how to safely return to the workspace.