Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Entrepreneurs: Don’t Go it Alone; You Can Get Expert Help, On Demand

 

I called up a lawyer the other day for some advice. It cost me less than $20. The same week, I called up an HR consultant & career coach and had a video chat. The advice and insight she gave me cost a little over $40. When I put it into action, it will be worth a few thousand dollars in income this year.

Have you ever been it a situation that made you think, “Wow, is that even legal?” Unless you have a lawyer friend who doesn’t mind talking shop on their downtime, your best bet until now has been Google, or a maybe a self-help book.

What if you could connect with a lawyer (or a career coach or an HR expert, or a digital marketing guru), and it wouldn’t cost you hundreds of dollars?

There is a way; actually, there are two ways, and before we go much farther, I want you to know I don’t work for either one — I’m just excited to share what I’ve learned. Plus, resources and support for entrepreneurs are among my favourite subjects.  We entrepreneurs, are by nature, “go-it-alone” types or we wouldn’t be entrepreneurs. If I had one piece of advice for every new business starting up, it would be to drop that line of thinking from day one, and take advantage of all the support that exists.

 

Lawyers On Demand

One of the most exciting things I have stumbled onto this year has been Legal Shield.  It doesn’t sound very exciting does it? I first heard about it about three years ago but in truth, its dull, solid-sounding name didn’t get my attention. Honestly, if I were in charge I’d rename. It needs a name more along the lines of “Legal Hammer” or “Legal Bayonet.” It’s more like a catapult than a shield although Legal Catapult doesn’t have the right ring to it at all; nor does Legal Hand Grenade.

In any case, Legal Shield is, in my humble opinion, a beautiful, effective and affordable weapon. Legal Shield is like CAA, but instead of tow truck coming to your rescue, you get access to real, live, lawyers in your home province or state. You pay a membership fee, and in return, you have emergency, 24-hour a day access to legal advice. The basic monthly fee in Canada is $26 month. I have literally not been able to find a single drawback.

I’ve called upon Legal Shield twice now. The first time, a client owed me money. The lawyers sent the client a collections letter that got his attention. Full disclosure: he still refuses to pay. I may take him to small claims court. The lawyers from Legal Shield will help me prepare the paperwork if I go that route. For $26 a month they won’t actually come to court with me but they’ll get me ready for my appearance. But, I rest easy knowing that the demand letter, delivered on a Friday around 5 p.m. ruined his long weekend. I mean, he wrote back right away. He was actually furious that I hired a lawyer to collect from him. Sometimes just knowing you got under someone’s skin is enough.

The second time is ongoing, so, I can’t go into much detail but suffice to say, if I had to pay a lawyer by the hour to take on our case, it would cost us thousands of dollars and, frankly, we simply wouldn’t be able to pursue it. The lawyer assigned to us has read our documentation, and has confirmed that we have a good case.  That confirmation alone has been worth the cost of membership. She’s drafted the first letter to get the ball rolling. Even if we lose the case, it will have cost us less than a cup of coffee a day.

There are no penalties or extra fees for ending your membership, either. Join for a month, six months or stay long term.

This is the link through which I joined Legal Shield (https://lisajibson.wearelegalshield.com/)

 

Experts and Professionals of All Kinds, Also on Demand

For every other kind of expert, and I mean pretty much every kind, there’s Magnifi. Magnifi is a new iPhone app that was launched in the spring.

Magnifi connects you with experts, as needed – pretty much on demand.  Would you like to have a chat with a career coach, or a wellness expert, or a web designer, without feeling like you have to commit to anything? Would you like to ask even one burning question? If you have an iPhone you can do that through Magnifi. An Android version is in the works and I’m guessing it’s coming soon because the demand is real.

Magnifi lets you talk one-on-one with that expert you need – privately, and if the expert is available, you might even get him or her, right then and there.

The cost varies from as low as 50 cents a minute. Many Magnifi experts offer free initial minutes to get you started. I’ve seen several experts who charge $5.00 a minute; the most expensive I’ve seen is $17 a minute but if you can afford that you should probably be a Magnifi expert yourself (if you have expertise to share, see the “Share My Expertise” link at the top of the Magnifi site).

Magnifi experts include a an electrician, an expert gardener, a nutrition coach, a wedding planner, digital marketing experts, relationship coaches, life coaches — the list just grows every day as experts join. Click here to see the list for yourself.

If you don’t have an iPhone, bookmark this somehow or follow Magnifi on Facebook so you know when the Android version is launched. They promise it is coming soon.

To use Magnifi, go to the Apple app store and download the Magnifi app. Once it’s installed, it’s very easy to navigate.  Search by name or keyword or browse a community of subject matter experts from around the world. If the expert’s profile shows he or she is available, you can even connect then and there.

Whatever You Do, Don’t Do It Alone

I can’t say enough about not going-it-alone. Whether it’s joining a Facebook group, a networking group or your local chamber of commerce or using one of these services I described above, never think of yourself as having to face your entrepreneurial journey alone. In fact, your success depends upon it.

 

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Stephanie Regan is a professional writer. Occasionally she takes on new clients. Her website is http://www.durhamwritingservices.com. Connect with Stephanie through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieregancopywriting/

Four Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started My First Business

In 2013, I learned my federal government job would be moved from Oshawa, where I had a house, to Richmond Hill. I’d been unhappy for a long time in that job. It was scary to give up 11 years of security. But what other people might find comforting, I found restrictive and stultifying.

I had wanted, for years, to have my own business of some kind. I didn’t care what. I just wanted to do something of my own.

In 2012 I started my own retail business. I won’t lie, the financial toll has been much worse than I’d ever have envisioned, but I’m still happier than I had been for many years.

When I started, I was full of optimism. I believed in myself and my business with absolute certainty. There was no way this could go wrong. I was doing something good, for all the right reasons, and because of that, I would succeed.

Five years later, I have learned a lot. I have grown a lot. I have some regrets, but mostly I’ve gained insight.

Here are the top four things I would do differently, if I knew then what I know now:

  1. I’d get a line of credit while I still had a good job. This will be obvious to some, but I really under estimated how hard it would be to get credit once I was out on my own. When the loans officer at the credit union in Oshawa found out I was no longer a civil servant, she became a lot less friendly. In fact, once I left the government, my former credit union became downright hostile toward me.

Because I was a new business, I couldn’t get overdraft on my business account. “Come back in a year,” they said. After a year they wouldn’t give me overdraft because I’d had some payments returned NSF – because I was trying to run a business without something as basic as overdraft. The frustration of this circular reasoning probably took ten years off my life.

More importantly, with no line of credit — or even overdraft — to float me over emergencies like overdue hydro bills and being short to cover payroll, life was just pretty damn hard a lot of the time. There were a lot of calls to my parents. This was by far the hardest lesson learned.

  1. If I started again, I’d hire a trained, qualified bookkeeper, who could start me off using Quickbooks or some other automated bookkeeping software. I tried to handle it myself in the beginning. Then I hired a friend of a friend. Her incompetence (she wasn’t actually a bookkeeper, for starters) created a mess with CRA that I am still trying to pay off. There are certifications for bookkeepers. Don’t trust your books to just anyone. Things can get out of control really fast.
  2. Incorporate

There are elements beyond your control. If you’re a sole proprietor and your business fails, you will be left with A LOT of bills. That mess I mentioned earlier wouldn’t be my problem anymore if I had incorporated.

When I started, I was full of optimism. I believed in myself and my business with absolute certainty. There was no way this could go wrong. I was doing something good, for all the right reasons, and because of that, I would succeed. Unfortunately, all the “You-can-do-anything-if-you-just-believe-in-yourself!” messages I got from the cartoons of the 1980s can’t match the effects of, say, the anchor store disappearing from your plaza. Bad stuff happens, no matter how much you don’t think it can.

  1. When you go out on your own, you’re really on your own. There is no one else. Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart, because you’re it.

There is no IT guy to help with your computer when it dies; there is no payroll clerk to make sure you get paid              and make your government deductions.

There is support, such as business development agencies and the Chambers of Commerce, where you can attend workshops and networking meetings. In Durham region, where I live there is the Business Advisory Centre of Durham. Other communities have their own resources for small business owners. Make sure you use those resources. You’ll be surprised at the amazing, free offerings.

Those are the hardest lessons I learned when I opened my first business, a consignment store in Ajax. My current business is freelance writing, which is a bit lonely at times but also much easier as it is what I do best. Find me at www.durhamwritingservices.com.

 

Stephanie Regan is a writer and editor who gets her husband to hide her laptop at night. Some of her work can be seen at www.durhamwritingservices.com.

Some Great Tech Tools Every Small Business Owner Needs to Check Out

When you’re in business, you’re always looking for new ways to work. Here are some online tools worth checking out.

TestSubject (https://zurb.com/playground/testsubject)

It’s official: more email is being read on mobile devices than any other device. But odds are you’re composing, and testing your marketing emails on a lap or desktop.

The challenge is, smartphones truncate subject lines and email previews. Truncated in the wrong place, an email about loads of pool toys can end up being about loads of…something else.

TestSubject is a simple and free tool for testing how your email subject line and sender name look on the most popular mobile devices and email clients. Just copy and paste your text to get instant previews.

Email Subject Line Grader (http://emailsubjectlinegrader.com)

While we’re talking about email subject lines, here’s a great tool to test out the overall appeal of email subject lines before you send. This one is free, and no registration is required — my favourite things in a tech tool. As someone who works in a creative field, I love getting confirmation I’m on the right track; it’s even better if I find out I’m not, before I hit send.

Canva.com (https://www.canva.com)

Canva is pretty well-known because it is easy to use and the results look really polished and pro. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out. Easy to register, easy to use, and very low-cost or free. Canva’s stock photos cost $1 to $2 for one-time use, which is a smart way to ensure you are using images legally, with no worry about copyright complaints coming back to bite you later because you used something you found using Google.

Cold Turkey www.getcoldturkey.com

Easily distracted? “Squirrel!” If you need to block out distractions, Cold Turkey will lock up your devices and get you focussed.  They offer a free version, and a pro version, for $29 for the true procrastinator. Stop getting sucked in by clickbait and get more done, starting today: www.getcoldturkey.com.

Hubspot (https://www.hubspot.com)

Ready to try out some new approaches to digital marketing? HubSpot’s dazzling array of hundreds of downloadable e-books and templates are free for the downloading in exchange for your contact information. I’d be irresponsible not to point out two things. First, if you get excited about new marketing ideas, you can spend hours on Hubspot, so be warned. Second, if you don’t like your inbox flooded with exciting and distracting offers, use a secondary email address.  Just be sure to check it, because Hubspot sends out great stuff.

Stephanie Regan is a writer and editor who gets her husband to hide her laptop at night. Some of her work can be seen at www.durhamwritingservices.com.

 

When to Hire a Second Set of Virtual Hands

 

Years ago, I worked for the Federal Government. One day our department announced it was unveiling a Vision Statement. It would be printed and laminated and every one of us would get a copy to hang on our office wall.

It was lovely. It really was very, very nice. It was also really long. And wordy. And kind of nebulous, and cumbersome.

Worst of all, it had taken the committee two years to create.

I looked at it, and, being somewhat young and full of vinegar and opinions, I blurted out (to the Big, Big Kahuna): “Really? I could have written you guys a vision statement in half an hour!”

I didn’t win myself any friends in high places that day, but, I was serious. And OK, maybe it would have taken me two hours – as a writer, we have to take into account time for researching and gathering information. Then there’s time it takes to go back and forth with the client — the drafts and copy changes can take more time that the actual writing sometimes.

In any case, this illustrates my point perfectly. Hiring a professional makes sense in so many situations. Whether you’re renovating your kitchen or writing a proposal — why labour away at something painfully, slowly (and in a committee, no less!) when you could spend a little bit of money to have it done quickly, with beautiful results?

VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS

The virtual assistant (VA) is one of the wonderful results of our digital world. You can hire a VA for a short-term projects, or on an ongoing, long-term basis, and that VA can be anywhere.

You can hire a virtual assistant for literally anything, from the mundane and time-consuming such as addressing holiday cards, to the complex such as setting up your office or a filing system that actually works virtual assistants can also make travel arrangements, and do research.

A virtual assistant can come from almost any background. The right VA with the right experience can be a goldmine for you. Look for legal, financial, or government background, for example, when you need help navigating bureaucracy, or creating a proposal for a government tender.

Hire a VA to do those chores you dread. I used to think there was virtue in forcing myself to do the things I dread. It builds character, right? How about letting yourself off the hook and paying for someone else to do it? This professional virtual assistant, Lisa Jibson (http://www.rossstreetagency.com) for example, offers to “follow up on unpaid accounts receivable.” If the thought of calling people who owe you money makes your hair curl, this VA can help you get money you’re owed. You pay her to get them to pay you. That’s a great return on investment, wouldn’t you say?

WRITERS AND COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALISTS

If writing is a time-consuming chore for you, a writer can take that chore off your hands and free you up to do what you do best.

Do you struggle when it comes to writing? A professional writer can organize information quickly and clearly. I’ve met so many brilliant, articulate people who tell me they struggle to get their thoughts organized in writing; that it takes days or weeks to write up a report or proposal. What else would you do with that time — and more importantly, mental energy, if you paid someone else to do it?

When you should hire a writer:

  • Hire a professional writer when you need a polished and professional piece of writing, such as a media release. For a little investment you’ll get a media release gets results and doesn’t go into the Circular Filing Cabinet on the floor.
  • Hire professional help when you need a proposal, sales letter, or some other written item that could make you money.
  • Hire for help with a writing task or project that is weighing you down, mentally, or worse, holding you back in some way.
  • Hire a writer when you want a better, more polished online presence.

The long and the short of it is this: high-quality writing leads to improved online visibility, which leads to more clients.

More clients are always a good thing.

Stephanie Regan can make your content sing and sway and pop. See samples of her work at www.durhamwritingservices.com.

 Hiring a Second Set of Freelance Hands

Hiring a professional isn’t a luxury; it’s almost always smart thinking. Just think about remodeling your bathroom on your own and you’ll understand what I mean.

To be productive sometimes you need a second set of hands to free up your time and mental energy, so you can do what you do best.

Fortunately, the internet has made it easy to find the brilliant and talented freelancers who can help you, at affordable rates. You’ll wonder why you ever hesitated to hire some help.

 

HOW TO HIRE A FREELANCER

What should you look for when you’re hiring a freelance writer or virtual assistant (VA)? Experience is a good start, but then again, there are lots of talented writers and VAs who are just starting out, so don’t weed out the newbies too quickly.

Ask for testimonials. Ask to see samples of work. Then talk to the freelancer about what you need. Can she do what you need done? Can she deliver on your timeline?

Craigslist is another great resource. You can post an ad for your project on Craigslist. Having said that,  as a writer perusing Craigslist for work, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly.

Give as much detail as you can about who you are, where you are, what you’re looking for, and what kind of compensation you can offer. I see ads posted every day that are vague, nonsensical, arrogant, and many more that are just plain sketchy. I don’t have the time or energy to guess what I might be getting into should I take the time to get in touch. The freelancer who does have the time to respond to something poorly posted may be available for all the wrong reasons.

Post a well-written, detailed job listing. Put a call-to-action at the very end. This is to see who reads to the end, and can follow instructions.  Ask the applicant to respond with a link to his or her work or some testimonials with contact information.

If you are a small business owner, you should be networking with other small business owners (if you aren’t, you should be – that’s a whole other blog post). Ask other entrepreneurs for recommendations. Where I live, in Durham region, we have active, robust networking organizations; some of my best clients have come from networking meetings.

Check out other small business websites. If they’re good, find out who built the site. Ask who wrote the copy on the site, or who did the graphic design.

Use LinkedIn and Facebook, where you can search up “writer” or “communication specialist” and “virtual assistant” in your extended network.

One amazing resource is the job website Indeed.ca. Resumes are searchable, by keyword. If you search “writer” or “administrative assistant” in your city, dozens of great resumes will pop up.  Pick out a few that look promising, and go on Facebook and LinkedIn to do some due diligence.

Stephanie Regan has been writing professionally longer than she’d like to admit. Find out more about Stephanie at www.durhamwritingservices.com.