Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

5 Ways to Make Your Audience Love Your Brand

CHuntly

Without an audience, it’s kind of hard to run a business. A growing customer base will drive your business growth. There are a lot of other brands out there, so how do you get your customers to choose you over your competitors? And once you have their attention, how do you build a loyal, long-term relationship with them?

Here are five ways for you to create a strong and loyal relationship with your audience. Five ways to get them to fall in love with you.

  1. Be authentic: If you are constantly selling and trying to put a spin on your sales pitch, you will come across like a pushy and dishonest salesman who will say anything to get the sale. Your brand should have characteristics that are attractive to your audience – values and ethics that show what you stand for. When you communicate with your audience, find ways to make personal connections with them that go beyond selling. Once they are loyal to your brand, the sale is inevitable because what you are offering will be top of mind.
  2. Talk with them, not at them: Many brands get stuck in a rut where they are constantly pumping out content, but they don’t take the time to interact with their audience. It should be about generating meaningful dialogue on your marketing channels, whether more traditional or digital. In many cases, brands could put out less content if they up the engagement factor with their audience. It becomes a case of quality vs. quantity. And if you are a small business owner wearing multiple hats, it’s about finding efficiencies in your marketing strategy that will get you higher returns on your efforts.
  3. Tell them you appreciate them: That feel-good feeling is pretty contagious. If your existing customers are happy, they will tell their friends. Create opportunities to show your appreciation through loyalty programs and content that is directed towards customers. The brands that do well are as grateful for an audience of 500 as they are an audience of 500,000. You will find that once you start appreciating each individual customer they will start multiplying pretty fast.
  4. Create an experience: You should showcase the positive experiences your audience can have with your brand through your blog, social media, and other channels. Take it a step further and create those experiences through public stunts and events where they can’t help but get involved with your brand. Not only will this showcase what you have to offer, but it will generate an emotional connection with your audience because you are making a direct impact on their lives.
  5. Love yourself: Self-hype can be detrimental if you ignore things that should be improved. However, you can’t make someone else love you if you don’t love yourself. You should always start out looking internally, getting to know your brand, and pointing out everything that is great about your brand. This will jumpstart any successful marketing strategy.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

Exhibitor 101: How to be an exemplary exhibitor at your next tradeshow

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Many business owners, like myself are always trying to find ways to promote our businesses.  One of the best ways to get face time with potential clients is through the tradeshow circuit.  We try to maintain our business presence in the community by attending tradeshows as an exhibitor.  We also host a minimum of 5 tradeshows each year and we find that there are a few guidelines that our exhibitors are usually unaware of.  Below are some tips that we have put together to help with determining what shows are right for you and how to get the best of your exhibitor experience.

  • Before being an exhibitor, let us back it up a bit.
    • How do you source events?
    • How do you plan for your events? How many per year?
    • Budget
      • Event booth cost
      • Promotional product cost
      • Literature cost
    • You have booked your exhibitor space, now let’s prepare.
      • Ask about choosing your booth location
      • Swag bag opportunities (inserts and swag bag sponsors)
      • Advertising exchange (if you have a large mailing list, offer to be an advertising sponsor). Ask about sending a certain number of emails, tweets, Facebook posts, Google + in exchange for mentions at the event, logo placement in handouts, etc
      • Promote the event!! If each exhibitor brings 10-20 guests from their network to the tradeshow, imagine how many more potential clients will be in the room to help grow your business.
      • Ask the organizer if there are ways to make your exhibitor fee back? (affiliate ticket sales, affiliate exhibitor sales, etc)
      • Preparing your table/booth layout
        • Preplan what items you will display
        • Ensure that you have literature about your product or service pre-printed
        • Ensure that you have the appropriate display for your product.
          • If you are a jeweler, how do you effectively display your item
          • If you are a clothing company bring a model or offer to have certain pieces worn by other exhibitors
          • If you are an author how will you display your books
        • Decide if you will do draws/raffles at your table, how frequent and at what cost?
        • Will you offer an event only discount?
        • Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Dress appropriately for the event and remember that you are your brand.
      • It is the day of the event
        • Be on time: You want to not only make an impression on the planner, but also on the other exhibitors
        • Spend your first moments setting up – not socializing with other exhibitors. Ensure that your space is set up exactly how you envisioned.  Stand back and look at it from every angle to make sure that it is visually appealing, but also that it meets your marketing expectation.
        • With your remaining time, mingle with other exhibitors, exchange business cards, discuss event partnerships (ex, cupcakes with teacups at an event) – clothing company partnering with a jewelry company to wear their clothing
        • Ensure that you have eaten prior to event startup. Try to have small snacks and beverages with you (in a bag under the table). Do not clutter your table with food and beverages.
        • Once the doors are open, smile and be ready to be somewhat aggressive. Work the room.  You don’t always have to be behind your table, just stay in your space and do not impede traffic to your other exhibitors.
      • The event is over. Next steps
        • Event feedback.
          • If the organizer has a feedback form/email, take part. If not, relay your experience to the organizer. Be truthful and constructive
          • Follow up with your contacts
          • Asses if you would take part in the event in the future and let the organizer know. Right of first refusal!!
          • Connect with other exhibitors to find out about events they normally attend.

You have your tips and now it is time to execute.  Enjoy your experience.  Ask us about our upcoming shows or find out more on our website.

Dwania is the Founder and Executive Director of Canadian Small Business Women Contact Canadian Small Business Women:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website

3 Ways to Network This Summer

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Summer is fast approaching and as the days get longer and warmer entrepreneurs put their networking goals on hold.  Sadly many people think of networking as work and forget that a strong network is built through relationships not rules or business card quotas. Contrary to popular belief summer is a great time to get out there and strengthen your network. Here are three ways you can network this Summer:

Get in the game
Outdoor sports are extremely popular in the summer. Whether you’re a player or simply a fan get in the game by joining a sports team or attending a sporting event.  There are also some great charity sports events such as golf or volleyball tournaments that you can get involved in.  Sharing a common interest such as sports, brings people together and helps form better relationships.

Leverage your lunch break
The warmer summer weather is a great reason to be outside and an even better opportunity to invite a new connection out to lunch. Most people enjoy being out of the office during the warmer summer months and are more likely to accept a lunch invitation. The season also makes a lunch meeting more informal as you can opt for outdoor seating and enjoy your surroundings.

Attend some festivals
Summer is famous for its festivals. Attending a few summer festivals is a great way to learn about new music and different cultures. It also exposes you to many potential connections.  Most festivals are free and open to the public so it’s a cost effective way to enjoy the summer and build your network.

  Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

Facebook News Feed: How does it work?

Kelly headshot (2)

Have you ever wondered how Facebook’s news feed work? Or how Facebook decides what content to show in your news feed?  In this blog we are going to tell you how the news feed works and how you can create more visibility for your brand

 

  1. Facebook decides what to show you in your news feed based on other similar content that you browse.

For example  if you spend most of your day reading articles about animals, watching videos about animals, then you will see more content about pets and animals on your news feed.

How do you get your content to show on your fans news feeds?  You need to create content that engages your users, and keeps them around.  The longer users spend on your content, the more likely they are to see your updates in their feed.

There are a few ways to do this.  Don’t use deceptive headlines, this won’t win you any points with Facebook’s algorithm.  Make sure you have great content.  You want a catchy headline that will make people click on your link, video or instant article.

How much content is enough?  Don’t make content for web and mobile too long.  The majority of people have a very short attention span when interacting with online content, especially articles and videos. While the algorithm measures time on content, there is a maximum threshold.

 

  1. Content Diversity

Due to feedback from users, Facebook plans to implement some diversity in it’s news feeds.  Users have complained about seeing the same content, back to back, from the same publisher, pages or sources.  Facebook learned that users want to see wide-ranging content from different publishers.

Diversity can be harder nut to crack, but there is a very simple way.  Make sure you post your blog on multiple site, get friends pages to share it, if you have partners, ask them to share your info.  The more places that your content lives, the more likely it will appear in people’s news feeds.  I do however want to suggest caution, as having your content on too many sites can damage your google search rating.  It’s all about finding the right balance.

The other thing you can do is to re-purpose old content, and share that to your page via other links like from your blog, your LinkedIn page, employees pages.  You have more content to draw from and share than you realize.

 

  1. Facebook wants to show you the stories that it thinks will matter most to you

This is an easy on to achieve, create stories that matter to your audience.  Are you involved in the community? write a blog about it.  Do you help out with charity drives? write a blog about it.  Did an employee of yours win an award? write a blog about it.  Creating stories is easy because there are so many around you if you just take the time to really connect with your customers and employees.

 

  1. Shows you content based on the friends you have and pages you follow

I’m sure you’ve seen this in action.  You follow a new business page, and BAM, their content starts to show up in your news feed.  Pretty convenient right?

Well, here’s how you can start to take advantage of that for your business.  You have all these fans, maybe thousands, that like your page and have shown interest in what you do or what you offer.  Encourage your fans to share your content.  The more that they share, the more your content will appear on their friends news feeds.  Identify who your regulars are.  Who is always commenting, sharing and engaged with your content? Give them a shout out, recommend that other people follow them.

You can also start following other businesses, recommend other businesses who you have had successful partnerships with in the past.  All of this not only helps you gain more exposure to followers of these groups, but also helps to build your brand awareness and recognition.

 

  1. Types of content users interact with

This one is pretty straight forward, if users tend to watch more videos on Facebook, then their feed will tend to include more video content.  Same goes for text, photos and links.

To overcome this obstacle, be sure to have a wide variety of mediums for your content.  Have a good mix of text, video, pictures and links.

 

  1. Engagement can beat Recency

Lets talk about engagement first.  If a post has a lot of engagement with your audience, it will be more likely to show up compared to something posted recently.  For example, if someone posted content yesterday that got a lot of engagement and you decided to share that same content today, Facebook would prioritize the post with the highest engagement to show up on the news feed.

For recency, be sure you post everyday.  If you take a few days off from posting anything, then you will be less likely to show up in news feeds because your audience also follows pages who may post more often and therefore will have a higher chance of showing up.

So make sure that you post often and that you are getting engagement on the content you are posting.

 

  1. Users can control their news feed

While this is an option for all users, most people are unaware of this option.  Users can hide posts from friends and pages, while still remaining friends and fans of those same pages.  Users can also tell Facebook which pages they would like to see first in their news feed.

Make the assumption that most users don’t know about this option, then tell them how they can be sure to see your content first in their news feed.  Take a screen shot of your page with the instructions of “how to see us first”  Then pin it to the top of your page or make it a part of your cover photo.

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Companies like Facebook and Google are constantly changing how their algorithms work, so it can be a full time job staying on top of the changes and understanding what they mean for your business.  Keep up with the changes and adapt your content to meet those changes and you will see better results.

 

Teach Me Social owner Kelly Farrell has been helping empower Canadian Small Business owners through social media for over three years. Her team now offers services ranging from training sessions for small business owners and their teams, to full-service social media account management. Visit teachmesocial.ca to learn more about our service offerings or to contact us today for a no obligation consultation, including an audit of your existing social media channels.

Networking – it isn’t just about you!

Sheralyn

Many have shared thoughtful insight and opinion on the topic of networking but here’s what sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Networking isn’t always all about you. It really isn’t. I teach emerging entrepreneurs about the benefits of networking and provide a “how to” on creating their own starter statement (most call this an elevator pitch) as a way to get the conversation flowing.  The reality is however, sometimes, the audience with whom you’re networking, just isn’t one you’ll ever do business with.  If that’s the case, should you still expend the effort? Heck yes!

Networking is in fact almost always about the referral.  It’s possible you will never have reason to do business with the financial representative you just met over coffee and unlikely you could buy from each of the lovely “Brand X” nutritional shakes or skin care reps you meet along your networking journey. But guess what? If you make a favorable impression on them or they on you, its entirely possible you might know someone else who is willing to do business with them and/or needs their product or service.  Because you took the time to have a great conversation, to network and get to know them, each of you are now more than willing to act as a referral source for the other. That’s how networking works.

Too often people go into these opportunities with a “what’s in it for me” attitude.  Recently, I was at an event where someone was selling a health food product with nuts in it.  I didn’t notice and when I asked if it was nut free she was quite sarcastic in her response. That’s not a person I want to do business with.  I made an honest mistake and I actually know two individuals who own and operate establishments where this person might have wanted to have her products featured. I did pass along the names of the establishments to her (I’m not that mean) but I certainly didn’t offer to act as a referral source because our networking conversation wasn’t a pleasant one.  I had no confidence in her product because I had no confidence in her.  It also meant I was unable to discuss my business with her so it was a missed opportunity for us both.

So yes you should still expend some effort even when the networking isn’t about you.  Think of the time spent as an opportunity to share your core values with the world. By sharing who you really are, not just what you do, you are sending a strong message to the world about what is important to you, how you do business with others and how you treat people. I don’t know about you, but knowing these kinds of things about a person is much more likely to encourage me to want to do business with them and I believe makes others more interested in potentially working with me.  Be the kind of referral you would like to get from others and meet others with the intention of acting as a great referral for them.  That’s what networking should be all about.

 

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

The importance of using social media for networking

 

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Social media has changed the way companies and people network themselves because now a days it isn’t about who you know, it’s about who knows you. Marketing yourself through social media has become the norm for businesses and thanks to sites like Facebook and Twitter, interacting with your cliental couldn’t be more easy and beneficial.

 

  • Feedback: receiving supportive criticism could potentially impact your business in a more positive direction and help adjust your marketing strategy.
  • Constantly connected: social media provides you with the ability to view problems or concerns customers may have. In return this gives you the opportunity to respond and resolve these issues immediately.
  • Personal: social media to many can feel more like a personal connection and not just some business shoving out advertisement. Being able to read tweets or posts will give you the opportunity to learn what your clients have to say, which can become helpful advice in making improvements within your business.
  • Finding customers: using key word searches is a helpful way to find new clients. Using this tool will give you the opportunity to redirect them to your company’s personal website.
  • Connecting: join multiple groups through Facebook relating to your scope of work. Market yourself within theses groups by posting a link to redirect potential customers to your site; this will help create brand awareness.
  • Promote: media sites give you the chance to get your name out there. This can also help lead to clients recommending you to friends and family members through Facebook and helping create traffic to your website.
  • It’s free marketing: unfortunately we aren’t all rolling in money and have millions of dollars to blow on ad’s for our company. These media outlets are easy to use and manage, while giving you the opportunity to promoting yourself without any fee.

 

Contact Canadian Small Business Women:

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6 things to consider before hiring an agency

CHuntly

When you are running a small business, it can feel overwhelming to try to “wear all the hats” to get things done. You have to be the new business development and sales manager, the accountant, product development, HR (even if you’re a solopreneur, you still have to take care of yourself!), marketing director, operations director, etc. You get the picture. It can be overwhelming to stay on top of everything while ensuring your business is growing at a rate you are happy with.

Perhaps you have thought about hiring someone, but you can’t necessarily cover a full monthly salary cost. You could consider an intern, but they may not have the experience necessary to get you to where you need to be. One option you may not have considered is hiring an agency to take care of your marketing efforts.

Maybe you aren’t ready to work with an agency to take your marketing off your to do list, but if you are, here are six things to look for in an agency.

  1. Chemistry: Sometimes you will have the option to “date before getting married” if you have a smaller project you want to work on before signing a longer-term commitment. This isn’t always the case, but either way you want to make sure that you have a good fit with the agency. They should uphold the same business values and ethical standards that you do as they are representing your brand.
  2. Budget transparency: It can be easy to take a “budget” at face value, but make sure you clarify all that is included in the budget. One of the biggest issues to cover is whether you are working on an hourly basis or with a set fee. If you are working hourly, you may be surprised when you get your bill at the end of the month as it might be higher than what was quoted. Negotiating a set fee will ensure you don’t pay for any overages in hours worked.
  3. Nothing is guaranteed: Be wary of any agency that will “guarantee” you specific results such as “We’ll get you TV coverage” or “We’ll guarantee you xx number of media hits” or even “We’ll guarantee you 50,000 followers within the first month.” I have worked with many clients who have been attracted by these guarantees only to find that they are empty. The key is finding an agency who is as invested in your success as they are their own. It should be more like a partnership than two separate entities.
  4. Know what success looks like: Work with your agency to determine how you will know when your campaign has been successful. Every industry has certain metrics they track, and they all mean different things for brands.
  5. Check their track record: A great agency will be able to put you in touch with current and former clients who will sing their praises. At the very least, they should be able to provide you with case studies of clients who have similar goals to your own. Just because an agency has a lot of clients listed on their site doesn’t mean they are the best at what they do.
  6. Know your account team: Don’t be afraid to ask who will be working on your account. It is common in a lot of agencies to sign a contract and then have the interns working on the bulk of the work to create higher profit margins for the agency. If you are concerned about this, just ask. Again, this is your brand, and you deserve to know who will be representing you to your audiences.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

Keeping it Consistent on Social Media

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With millions of people to reach online, spread over hundreds of Social Networks, how do you keep up engagement levels with your fan base for your small business? The simple answer is: consistency. The more consistent you are in posting, liking and commenting through your business profiles on social media, the easier it will be to break through all of the online noise with your message.

Finding Consistent Content

Quality content is the most important commodity in the online world today; it is also the most time consuming to create. Don’t worry – the good news is that you probably have more to share than you know of. Answer these questions to look for existing content in obvious places and as a starting point to help you to start thinking of what you can post, share and create:  

  • How many previous blogs, social media posts, videos or reviews can you repurpose?
  • Do you have daily/weekly sales or specials that you can share routinely?
  • Can you talk about any problems or concerns that your customers have that is relevant to your business?
  • Start thinking of your content as the voice of your business – What is your business passionate about?
  • If your business had an avatar, what would their personality be and how would their voice sound?

Posting Consistent Content

Once you have good content, it’s important to be posting it regularly. Social Networks function person-to-person, so be social! In order to be seen on busy social networks you have to be active, just like in real life. Posting content once a week just isn’t going to cut it. Ideally, brands need to be posting multiple things daily.

How does this work in practice? For example, if I have a daily special, then I might put a post about that special online each day at 8AM. If you publish a blog, make sure that you are posting that blog at the same time every week or month. Building around that single consistent daily post you can start to plan when (2-3x daily) and where (1-2 social networks) online you will share the rest of your content. Just don’t get so stuck on the plan that you don’t allow for any spontaneity in your posting!

Scheduling Consistent Content

Keeping up with this demand for visibility can be a huge challenge – content planning calendars are perfect for this. Using either a digital or paper planning calendar will help you to plan out what content you want to post, at what times and on what networks. It’s a good idea to stick to a basic posting schedule that allows for 2-3 posts daily.

Planning out 2-3 posts (or more) daily across multiple social networks can be a full-time job in itself (just ask me!), so busy businesses need to ensure they are not spending too much time each day thinking about planning their social media posts. You can save time by using apps like Buffer or Hootsuite to manage your social networking content calendars and pre-schedule posts for an entire week or month at a time. Additionally, there are many other Apps that work with specific platforms (ie. Tweetdeck for Twitter, Latergramme for Instagram, etc.) and Facebook has it’s own build in “schedule” for Facebook Business Pages. By pre-planning content, you can spend as little as 10 minutes a day online responding to comments and engaging with other brands.

The most important thing to remember is that an abandoned online presence is worse than no presence at all. You have real people waiting on the other end of “the internet” that want to hear what you are saying, so don’t let them down!

Teach Me Social owner Kelly Farrell has been helping empower Canadian Small Business owners through social media for over three years. Her team now offers services ranging from training sessions for small business owners and their teams, to full-service social media account management. Visit teachmesocial.ca to learn more about our service offerings or to contact us today for a no obligation consultation, including an audit of your existing social media channels.

Give Your Audience an Experience They’ll Remember

CHuntly

We’re all familiar with the major stunts that brands have pulled off. Whether it’s a guy free-falling from the edge of the atmosphere, a horror scene in a coffee shop, or an elevator with a false floor, the one thing all of these stunts have in common is that they leave a lasting impression on anyone who experiences or sees them. These public stunts, also called brand activations or experiential marketing, can result in a huge bump in your brand awareness growth.

The good news is that you can create an amazing experience at any budget.

Here are 6 things to consider when you are building experiential marketing into your overall marketing strategy:

  1. Clearly define your objectives: This goes for any strategy you build, however, it’s very easy to get carried away when you are doing experiential marketing. When any new idea comes up, you always have to ask yourself how it relates to your strategic objectives and if it helps you reach your overall business goals. If the answer is no, then the idea should be off the table.
  2. Budget: This should come up whenever you discuss strategy. Most small businesses are limited when it comes to budget, but that doesn’t mean your strategy has to have a small impact. It just means you have to plan carefully within your budget.
  3. Concept: This is the thematic idea that will tie everything together. Your concept should represent your brand and its values. This is the overall story that you will pitch to media, and it will shape the activities that happen on the day of the activation.
  4. Connection: Remember that you are creating an experience, so you should tap into all of the senses and emotions that will resonate with your audience. The idea is that when people remember the experience, they immediately associate it with your brand. The first step is making the experience memorable. They need to feel a connection with your brand, so any activities you do should make sense for your brand.
  5. Cross-channel integration: Utilize all of the resources you have available. This means integrating social media, media relations, influencer relations, and content creation into your planning. The event shouldn’t just live in one place. Why not stream it live or have attendees upload photos to Instagram?
  6. Continuity: What happens beyond the day of the activation? Many brands forget that it takes more than one event to put your brand on the map. You might generate a lot of social media buzz and maybe some media coverage, but what next? You have to keep thinking of ways to keep your story fresh and encourage people to keep talking about you.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

6 mistakes entrepreneurs make when seeking out funding

Praveeni

Entrepreneurs often have many  “great” ideas and rely on funding in the form of a business loan or investors to bring their dreams to light.  Pitching your business and asking for funding can be an intimidating and grueling process. However if successful the payoffs can be huge. Unfortunately many entrepreneurs aren’t successful in securing the funding they require. Here’s a look at 6 mistakes entrepreneurs make when seeking out funding:

  1. Over-valuing their firm or product
    Ok you’ve got an idea- that’s great, but how much is it worth? If it’s your idea it’s probably priceless to you but how much is your business really worth? People tend to over-value their business in hopes of securing a greater investment but that very often fails. Take an objective stance when valuing your business – look at how much you’ve done in sales, your costs and how much revenue you’re really brining in. Remember sales do not denote firm value. Don’t forget to factor in your production, operational and carrying costs.
  1. Presentation & pitch is too long
    Your elevator pitch and investor presentation should be short and informative. Keep your presentation under 10 slides and make your slides concise with 3-5 points per slide. Your elevator pitch should be about a minute long at most. If you can’t summarize your business in under a minute you may need to spend more time understanding your business. No one wants to be stuck listening to a 20 slide presentation.
  1. No concept of market size
    Whenever you offer a product or service you must be aware of how large or small its market is. Whether it’s a nice or mass market item, every product/service has a market. It’s up to you as an entrepreneur to research your market and determine who your target audience is and how much of a market share you would like to capture. Remember 100% market share isn’t always a viable or profitable goal. Be realistic in your market share goals and understand the size of your market.
  1. No professional business plan

A well written, factually correct business plan can garner you the funding you               require. It’s important not to skimp on your business plan. Don’t rush it, take time     to understand the risks, opportunities and profitability of your idea. Make sure you     comprehend your product and what it will take to bring your idea to market.  Many     people overlook the financial aspect of a business plan. Projections can be                     intimidating so seek out professional help if you require it, never assume always ask.

  1. Inability to explain what problem their product solves
    Ok so you’ve got an idea – great! How can it help me? What problem will it solve? Many times entrepreneurs are unable to explain exactly how their product is useful to consumers. This can be off-putting to investors as they think – if a person can’t even explain their own product then how can they sell it? You must fully understand your product or service and how it benefits consumers. Be prepared to answer questions about your own product and your competitor’s offerings as well. The more informed you are the better.
  1. No flexibility
    When asking for funding you need to be flexible. Remember you’re asking someone else to put their trust and money in you and your business. You may not always get the offer you prefer and in some cases may have to counter offer as well. It’s good to be prepared with at least 3 different counter offers when pitching to investors. You should also be open to different kinds of offers. This doesn’t mean give away your whole company for free but listen to what they have to say and run the numbers before you decide to accept, counter or decline. Most importantly be realistic – have a realistic valuation and seek out the appropriate amount for the share you’re offering.

 

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

Simple Steps to Help You Achieve Your Goals This Year!

yvonne

 

Foremost on our minds at the start of a new year is making one type of change or other in order to help us achieve our goals; get better at something, be healthier, life or career goals, and more.

I’d like to introduce you the ADKAR by Prosci. ADKAR ​is most commonly used in organisations as a Change Management tool to manage change in business processes, technology etc. However, it can also be a fantastic tool to apply in personal change situations.

Here is one way we can apply ADKAR to Personal Change

Awareness – Start with recognising and being aware that your current situation needs to change i.e. your job or role, need to get healthier or lose weight, or improve your relationships.

Desire – Have a strong desire to want and see your goals become reality. By having a strong ‘why’ on your need to change, this becomes the motivation and driving force to create and maintain the momentum you need i.e. having a strong desire to increase your income so as to care for your family or pay-off your debts, or a need for strong inner or spiritual fulfillment, or job satisfaction

Knowledge – This requires equipping yourself with the knowledge and information needed to help you change and be successful with your desires and goals. i.e. attending career or health seminars, reading books or online blogs, networking event and communities

Ability – Building the skills and behaviours that will help you be successful with the desired change. i.e. attending training, receiving coaching, on-hands learning and practice

Reinforce – Create the right environment and support system to help you make the change stick and sustainable. i.e. join support groups, get an accountability partner, get a mentor, join professional associations

What are your strategies for personal change? Have you used the ADKAR approach or any other formal methodologies to implement personal change? Please share your personal experience and tips.

 

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to help them implement the change they want and achieve their goals.

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on how to get the results you want, visit www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset

She can be reached at:  www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc  . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc . www.youtube.com/user/ChangeYouWantTV

It's That Time of Year Again

Amina

It’s that time of year again when we get inundated with messages about topping up our RRSP’s or investing for the long run for our retirement, but how do you choose what to invest in?

The markets are down, the dollar is down and according to the press it’s doom and gloom on the horizon. But how do you as a savvy investor, cut through the headlines to figure out what is the best bet for your dollars?

Experts (who are they?) will say buy when the markets are down and sell when they are high, but when you look at your statement and you haven’t seen a high in your returns for a long time, who do you trust? How do you know that the more money you invest, will promise the returns you want?

time to invest

Well looking from the other side, here are some options you can consider that don’t depend on the stock markets and whether you should buy now or not?

Real Estate – buying single family, multi-family, commercial (plaza’s, strip malls, apartment buildings, etc) in a buy & hold strategy, can provide you with monthly cash flow as well as long term appreciation. Even when markets are down, your property will always serve you well as long as you keep the following points in mind:

  • Buy in markets that have population growth, job growth, infrastructure growth and a diversity of industries to service that market;
  • Buy low and sell high – this is also true in real estate, but it is more dependent on figuring out whether your property will cash flow positively while also paying down the mortgage. It does not make sense to invest in a property if it is not going to provide long-term wealth or cash flow – cash is king to a buy & hold investor. Furthermore, if you decide to sell a few years down the road, make sure you have maximized your returns so when you sell you are not on the losing end – remember buy low and sell high!
  • Using your RRSP’s to invest in a property; I spoke of this in my last article. By investing Non-Arms’s Length, you invest in a property that is owned by another investor, stranger, etc. the distinction is they cannot be related to you by blood (see last article Making RRSP’s Or TFSA Work)

If you don’t fancy investing in bricks & mortar properties, you might want to consider investing in development through Syndicated Mortgages. Syndicated mortgages have quickly caught on amongst savvy investors as they get to choose from a variety of different asset classes (single family developments, commercial, condo’s and hotels to name a few) to invest in. With a minimum investment of $30,000 and a fixed return of 8% per annum, you can’t lose. Here are some other benefits:

  • By investing your existing RRSP’s, they are held in trust by Olympia Trust – one of Canada’s biggest and most respected trust companies and not by the syndicated company themselves;
  • Your RRSP’s are not affected by the markets and thus you will continue to get a fixed return of 8% per annum regardless of whether the market is up or down or the dollar is up or down;
  • You get to choose where your money is invested and you don’t have to pay fees to invest ever!

Even though I love Investing in Real Estate, I don’t put all my eggs in one basket so I also invest in Dividend paying stocks. “The best way for people to get a decent return these days is to have a good portion of that return come from reliable dividends versus less reliable capital gains,” says Bob Gorman, market strategist at TD Waterhouse. “This is going to be the era of the dividend growth stock.”

Here are some tips that make Dividend Investing a versatile investment:

  • I invest only in blue chip stocks (yes stocks) that provide a consistent flow of dividends for the last 10 years and only 1 or 2 from each asset class (Utilities, Communication, Tech, etc)
  • I invest in 1 stock and then purchase more through cash injections into my account, without paying fees ever;
  • Picking the right dividend stocks is key. Avoid companies with the highest yields, because that may indicate the dividend is likely to be cut, and the stock price will suffer as a result. Instead, choose reliable dividend-payers that can maintain those dividends even in bad times, while also growing them consistently over time. Look for well-managed, profitable companies in stable industries with good balance sheets and modest growth. They should also pay out only a reasonable proportion of profits.
  • Invest in Canadian Dividend stocks in non-registered accounts (such as a TFSA) but hold your US Dividend stocks inside your RRSP to protect from US withholding taxes of 15%.
  • Pick Dividend stocks that have medium yields but also beat the rate of inflation – many stocks today don’t provide adequate returns after you factor in fees; by self-directing your investments, you can omit fees and maximize on the return.

Regardless of how you decide to invest your hard-earned dollars keep in mind that in order to maximize your returns and your retirement goals, be careful of what you invest in, how much or little you pay in fees and your time horizon. All of these facts will help guide you on your path to investing your RRSP’s this year!

To your Wealth!

Amina

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39 ways to hand out your business cards

Jemi

Welcome to the world of networking. Business cards are the most inexpensive way to get your name out there. They are small, thin, and easy to give out. Your name, contact, website, and slogan tell the prospect all they need to know about you and your business. You can get 500 for less than $60 in colour. This means when you have successfully handed out your 500 cards, that’s 500 people that didn’t know about you before. There’s no telling what this can do for your business. If you try these 39 ideas on a regular, you’ll see more traffic to your website, and more referrals coming your way.

  1. Post them on community bulletin boards (churches, laundromats, grocery stores, etc)
  2. Place them in thank you cards, birthday cards, anniversary cards to your clients with your handwritten notes
  3. Make sure you have more than enough to hand out at networking events
  4. Attach business cards to all your bags with products
  5. Place them at the bottom of gifts
  6. For an event place them in goodie bags to hand out
  7. Punch a hole in the corner of each business card and attach them to sucker to hand out
  8. Look for businesses that have a community table where you can place a stack of business cards for their customers to take
  9. Deliver them to mail boxes
  10. Before presentations, attach them to each folder
  11. Make sure you have an electronic copy as your signature of each e-mail
  12. Use your electronic copy as a banner for your social media platforms
  13. Place them on windshield wipers
  14. Place them in bathroom stalls
  15. Add them to your invoices
  16. When you are out running errands, use this opportunity to meet new prospects and exchange numbers. Hand out your business card
  17. Have a card display attached to your car with your business cards
  18. Attach your business cards to balloons at an event and hand them out
  19. Keep samples in individual bags with your card in each of them. Get their information in exchange for your samples
  20. Have a referral system with professionals similar to you but are not your competition. You keep their cards, and they keep yours and together you spread your business
  21. At networking events have your card in a clear plastic name tag
  22. At an event, hand out water bottles. Punch a hole in the top right hand corner of your business cards and tie with a string to each water bottle
  23. Glue your card to clothes pins and pin your card everywhere
  24. Stick your card onto a magnet and hand them out
  25. Give a few cards to friends and family to hand out for you
  26. Ask your good customers for referrals. Give them cards to hand out for you and for every business transaction that comes from a customer, give them a discount.
  27. Throw a party, hand out your cards to your guests
  28. Place them in individually wrapped bags with candy and hand them out
  29. Get mini cards and hole punch them for your customers to add to their key chains
  30. Canvas to restaurants and small businesses, and introduce yourself and your products
  31. When you leave a tip, give your business card with a thank you note
  32. Give your child(ren) to hand out your business cards at events. No one can resist cute children!
  33. Wear a clear lanyard  around your neck at all times with your business card
  34. Keep business cards in stands on tables or counters from businesses in your area. Make sure you make good connections with these business owners and recommend their business whenever you can
  35. Place them in books at your library related to your business
  36. Stick them in free newspapers
  37. Go door-to-door and introduce yourself with your business cards and products
  38. Stick them on a hat as a creative way to attract interest to you
  39. Bring a brightly covered basket of your products in crowded places and when people ask you about them, give them your card

Hope these ideas will inspire you to get out there and meet new prospects! For more information call Jemi Echevarria at (647)785-5851 or e-mail her at jemiechevarria@gmail.com.

Just because I’m freelance doesn’t mean I’m free!

Sheralyn

In debating about a suitable topic for my December blog I happened across various poems and ramblings that I keep in an online journal.  I often “park” ideas that may prove useful at some future date in this journal and while most of them amount to nothing, occasionally I am inspired to explore one of these “parked” ideas further. Some of them end up posted in my blog “Random Rumblings from Suburbia.” Today, I share one here. The reason? This particular poem has to do with value.  How do you value yourself, your business and your service to others?

I won’t bore you with the whole poem although I do think it was quite clever. The essence had to do with providing writing services for free and how others perceive the value of that service. As I wrote, it also became a reflection of how I let others determine my value.  I choose to share this publicly today because I want you to know this more than anything else: Don’t ever let another person determine your value! The only person that should determine your value is you.

“I’m a freelance writer, self-employed but blue,

people think nothing of not paying you….

Create content they say, for the web or my blog

I can’t do it ‘cause my brains in a fog…..

 

Refrain….

Just because I’m freelance doesn’t mean I work for free

I have a mortgage and a family…..

 

But I’m busy they say, out hustling for money.

Finding customers to buy my organic buckwheat honey

and don’t have time to work on my website

Words are easy for you – you’ll do it right….

 

You do it at first because you want the exposure

But the only thing gained is a loss of composure

because your wallet is empty and bills need to be paid

and all you have for your labour is a jar of honey in trade…..”

You get the idea.  Your intentions were well-meaning and definitely self-serving to some degree.  You hoped doing various articles, blogs and website posts would earn you exposure and some “street cred.” After awhile though, you begin to realize that an expectation now exists that you will work for free. The value of your effort goes unnoticed and now you’re struggling to ascertain what that value should be. This leads to further turmoil when it comes to asking others to pay full value for the service you are providing. It becomes a vicious circle. Work for free, gain exposure but the exposure comes at a cost – you, undermining your true value.

In a long- drawn out way this is a reminder to all self-employed entrepreneurs, regardless of your product or service, to determine your value up front, own it, state it clearly to others at the start of any negotiation and then provide the best darn service you can – at a fair, openly stated and honestly earned price. Because let’s face it, when we get something at a discount we often think “well that’s all it was really worth to begin with. I’m just paying fair market value now.” Are you worth nothing? We all have value and don’t deserve to be discounted. If you are providing a service to others (and it isn’t a volunteer position) it shouldn’t be free, even if you’re a “free”lance writer!

 

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

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