Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

The Cost of Hiring an Amateur

Understandably as a business owner there are A LOT of expenses to start and run your business. A common area entrepreneurs try to save a little is by doing their own bookkeeping. However bookkeeping is a vital process for a business and doing this wrong can be financially devastating! If you are going to be a DIYselfer avoid the following mistakes!

  • Keep track of your personal contributions into the business! The money you invest becomes part of your cost base and one day you will need to know what this cost when you sell the business or die. Keeping track of your personal contributions into the business will also have an immediate tax impact when you want to withdraw money from the business.
  • Missing eligible deductions! You don’t know what you don’t know and that could result in you missing eligible deductions or not maximizing the expenses you are claiming. So what? That means more taxes paid (or not enough loss recorded!). This is a hard one to learn on your own and some accountants or business development centers do offer courses on exactly this.
  • Not preparing financial statements! If you are just using an excel spreadsheet and putting your expenses under the right column heading; unfortunately this is not going to be helpful. Yes you have a grand total at the end of the month, and you can use this to make an income statement, but what you are lacking is the ability to make a balance sheet. This will be of greater consequence if you ever need to ask for a bank loan, investors or want to sell the business – they will want to see a complete set of financial statements.
  • Mixing personal and business finances. If you don’t separate the activities of the business from your personal activities it will be virtually impossible for you to truly understand how your business is doing. Did you spend that money investing back into the business… or did you spend it on personal activities? Plus if everything is combined the CRA then will access everything if they are auditing you. Treat the business – mentally and physically – as a separate entity and keep a proper paper trail of activities between business You and personal You.

These mistakes are by no means the full list of common mistakes. But each of these has a significant tax impact and business impact for you often immediately and in the future.

 

 

 

“Behind Every Great Business is a Great Accountant”

For more information on how to keep your business tax efficient, or to get a consultation on whether you are making all the right tax choices for your business, contact Dharna CPA. www.dharnacpa.ca. Info@dharnacpa.ca

How mentorship can change the way you see your brand

Your business is your baby and your brand is its carefully developed personality. As a business owner you should be very careful about how you put your brand out there – what channels you use, the language you use, the causes you choose to support, etc. However, sometimes when you are so singularly focused on creating a successful business and brand you can become stuck in one way of thinking. Before you know it, you have tunnel vision and you aren’t able to see a variety of possibilities and opportunities you are missing out on.

One way to avoid tunnel vision is to work regularly with a business mentor. A business coach is great, but a mentor is a relationship that you foster that is mutually beneficial – not financially based as a professional service offered. Globally, 93% of small and medium sized business owners agree that having a mentor can help drive business success. The sad part is that only 28% of business owners actually work with a mentor.

Working with a mentor will help you to change your mindset and approach to both your business and your brand, which can give you a fresh perspective on the opportunities you may be missing for your brand. A mentor is someone who has already paved their own path, someone you can learn from their mistakes.

In terms of branding, a fresh perspective will help you critically question the decisions you are making with your brand so you can have more control over how your audience perceives you. Discover what is working and what isn’t working based on your mentor’s knowledge of the industry and your target audience.

If you have a mentor that has turned on a lightbulb for you in terms of your brand, I would love to hear about it. If you are looking for a mentor that will be able to help you in your specific industry, Canadian Small Business Women is a great place to start! Find someone who is in your industry or a related industry and ask if you can ask them a few questions about how they got to where they are now. Every relationship starts with a  conversation!

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

 

How to Take a Vacation From Your Marketing

CHuntly

As a business owner, the most important thing you can do for yourself is take a break. It also happens to be the hardest thing to do if you are trying to run your business because the moment you go silent on the marketing front you will lose audience interest.

With the holidays right around the corner, it is the perfect time to take a breather from 24/7 entrepreneur brain. Taking both a physical and a mental break from your business (even if it’s a staycation) will help you avoid burn out.

If you’re looking to take some time off this holiday season, don’t let your marketing efforts suffer. Here are a few things to consider to keep that momentum going throughout your time away.

  1. Blog early: You should have a regular posting schedule for your blogs so your audience can come to expect content at a certain time. Keep that schedule going while you are away by writing your blogs ahead of time. Most blogging platforms will allow you to schedule each blog to go live at a specific day or time.
  2. Automation is your best friend: This requires a bit of planning, but if you work ahead of time, you can schedule content to go out while you are away. Work with a program like Hootsuite, Buffer, Mailchimp, etc. Try to stay away from the bots that automatically like and comment on posts as those can seem too contrived.
  3. Delegate tasks: If you already have a team in place, make sure you put someone in charge while you are away. Empower them to make decisions without you, but let them know that you are available for emergencies. If you are a solopreneur, hire someone you trust to look after things while you are gone. Start working with them at least a few weeks in advance so they are fully comfortable while you are away.
  4. Prioritize tasks: Not everything has to be done right now. Have a look through your to do list and rank everything by due dates. If there are things that need to get done before you leave, then get them done. If you have tasks with no due date or ones with later due dates, leave those to get done when you get back.

After taking some time for yourself, you will find that you return more refreshed, which usually leads to more energy to put into your business. Taking time away from your business will allow you to approach your business from a new perspective. It will make you a better business owner – and your marketing strategy doesn’t have to suffer.

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

Get organized for 2017

2017-workbook

Top 5 Reasons why You should Blog for your Business

Jemi

Blogging has become a huge phenomenon in the online world. Anyone and everyone can start a blog. It’s easy and very inexpensive to start. All you need is a computer, the internet, and the time to put together a blog. As a business owner, you can stand out from your competitors by giving useful tools and great expertise to your customers at minimal cost to you. Here’s what blogs can do for you and your business:

  1. Open Communication between you and your customer: You are starting a conversation with your potential client. When they read and follow you, it gives them a direct insight to how you are as a business owner.
  2. Subscription list: If your readers enjoy your blog they can be notified directly via e-mail. This is an opportunity for you to create database for you to promote your services and products. Limit your e-mails to once a month or twice a month.
  3. Affiliate marketing: When you are receiving a large following of readers, you may want to consider using affiliate marketing into your blog. This will create another stream of passive income right into your bank account. Affiliate marketing are just like businesses advertising on your blog, when your readers click the ad from your blog, and a sale is made, you will get a portion of the sale!
  4. Higher rankings: Google analytics like to see different clicks going to and from your website. The more clicks coming to your blog from your social media sites, and vice versa, Google “bots” see it as a popular place to be and will rank your blog and website higher for FREE.
  5. Free publication: Having a blog puts you, as a business owner, on a different and personal expertise level than someone that is competition and not blogging. You never know who may be reading and following your blog that can create a whole new venture for you that will make you even more money!

Hope these tips will get your fire burning to write a blog. Even if the blog is just once a month to start, it will generate a following that will be expecting your great insight. Happy blogging!

Contact Jemi Echevarria by phone: (647)785-5851 or by e-mail:  jemiechevarria@gmail.com

Choosing an accountant

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No matter the size of your business, or its cash flow position, a business owner should never be without an accountant.

Accountants ought to provide services beyond the scope of tax preparation. Business owners in our community deserve, and should expect more from their accounting and tax service providers. Your accountant should be

  1. Accessible and open all year round
  2. Someone whom you can trust to offer you sound business advice and guidance (a trusted business advisor)
  3. Someone who can interpret your financial results, and hold a meaningful discussion with you about what the numbers are saying about your business
  4. Someone with whom you have an active relationship with right throughout the year, advising you on how to structure your affairs in a tax efficient way. Not just at tax time, because at that point the relationship is reactive, not pro-active
  5. Someone who can advise you on whether or not the systems and internal controls you have implemented in your business are effective. If not, they should be able to help in the re-design and implementation of suitable controls
  6. Someone who can scrutinize the financial performance of a company that you would like to buy
  7. Able to accurately present your company’s financial performance if you would like to obtain financing or are planning to sell
  8. Able to provide or recommend you to an estate planner (for succession planning)
  9. Transparent in the pricing of their services. That is, you should know exactly (or very close to exactly) what your bill will be for the service being provided. There should be no surprises when you open up the bill from your accountant.
  10. A highly trained professional, preferably one who is licensed to deal with the public. If they are licensed, then they belong to a professional body that regulates them, and ensures that their skills and training are current.
  11. Knowledgeable and up to date on your industry and current accounting/tax issues and trends (up to date on current tax and accounting issues)
  12. Adding value with sound tax planning strategies
  13. Properly represent you with the CRA
  14. Ethical, and a right balance between conservative and aggressive, in respect of tax deductions

Note: When looking for an accountant, you should meet with about 2 or 3 accountants to determine what they have to offer, and if they will be a right fit for your company. While fees are very important, your choice should not be made based on fees, but based on what your accountant will save you I time and money, as well as whether they are a right fit.

If you find the right accountant, he or she should be a priceless resource for your business as it progresses through its various stages (start up to maturity).

Green Meikle & Smith Chartered Professional Accountants

Authorized to practice public accounting by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario

 

1020 Matheson Blvd. E. Unit 10

Mississauga, ON L4W 4J9

905-919-3543 Ext 101

647-338-5306 (cell)

www.greenmeiklesmith.com

Cassandra Scully: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of June 2015

Cassandra Scully

Cassandra Scully, is the Owner and Event Stylist of Creative Elegance. Creative Elegance is a Toronto based event planning company with a niche for creating custom designs for special events.

In 2003, Cassandra became a Certified Wedding and Event Planner through The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada, but not before becoming a professional Merchandiser at Seneca College in Toronto.  It was during her Merchandising course that Cassandra tapped into and became in sync with her creative flare and realized that she has a passion and desire to create beautiful and innovative pieces.

Creative Elegance is renowned for their custom bridal bouquets which meets, and at times, exceeds expectations, visions and within budgets.   As an extension to her bridal bouquets Cassandra has added the in-famous toss “Panty Bouquet” which adds a much needed uniqueness to the traditional rose and floral bouquets.  Instead of using typical flowers Cassandra takes the time and her creativity to transform undergarments into beautifully shaped roses and arrange them into a Bouquet… the catcher always gets a surprise!

With the growth of her company Cassandra plans, styles, and coordinates all types of special events and weddings, gearing towards all budgets, size and dynamics.

Cassandra didn’t stop there, she became a certified Stager in 2014 – you can now benefit from the luxury of having the Creative Elegance touch inside of your home whether you are buying or selling – moving or staying! Cassandra sets the stage for your sale and designs for your stay.

Cassandra prides herself on staying on top of current trends in all facets of the wedding, events and staging industry.
Cassandra will always give you an exclusive and custom Creative Elegance experience

Our Q & A with Cassandra:

*What inspires you?
My kids. I always try my hardest to lead by example. I want to show my girls how to be a strong women and show my son that its never too late to chase your dreams and that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything.

*As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?
My proudest moment is definitely seeing my client’s reactions after I set up their vision. Seeing how happy they are that their special day is complete is the most rewarding feeling. I think that anyone with a business, big or small, can most certainly relate.

*What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?

The advice I would give to an upcoming individual with that creative flair is to be true to themselves, and to live their truth. Let your individuality shine through and do not comprise yourself to “fit in” for being a creative individual because you were born to stand out.

*What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?
My brand is expanding, and we are now offering new products and services, some of which are; custom/bridal TuTu Skirts, printed Bridal Tanks & Tees and gum ball necklaces/bracelets for kids events.  As well, my brand is now venturing into the staging industry both residential and commercial. One other thing you can look out for this is my collaboration with two other amazing event planners in Toronto (Heavenz Décor & Ki-Events), together we have formed an organization called CAKEvents. CAKEvents is an organization that focuses on the youths and brides on a budget as well giving back to our community

Connect with Cassandra

info@creativeelegance.ca
www.creativeelegance.ca
www.facebook.com/creativeelegance
Follow us on Twitter @creativelegance

Don’t Feel Overwhelmed By Your Social Media Networks

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As a business owner, engaging on social media can often feel quite overwhelming. With continuously changing newsfeeds, tweets and posts, and so little time to go through everything, it is very easy to feel frustrated with real-time online content.

Quite honestly, we’d rather forget about this part of online marketing too. I mean, there’s nothing better than looking out a window, instead of having your eyes glued to a (small) electronic screen. Unfortunately, our ideal job as a professional window gazer will have to wait for now.

Seeing as this is no longer the 20th century, social media networks have significantly changed how we as people communicate and do business. Whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay. No matter how uncomfortable or overwhelming it might make us feel, we have to use it to further maximize our business potential.

So, here are three easy steps to lower your social media anxiety:

  1. Master One Social Media Platform At a Time

Each platform is going to have its challenges, limitations and advantages. It is important to take the time to understand each platform’s functions, as well as the company’s ability to integrate new features to better suit market demands. For instance, did you know that because Facebook is currently gaining ground on Youtube video posts it is ready to promote your video posts over you picture posts? Or did you know that Instagram users are 58 times more likely to like, comment, or share a brand’s post than Facebook users, and 120 times more likely than Twitter users?

Really mastering how to use a social media platform, and understanding its significant tech changes, is important to the well-being of you, your business and your clients. Don’t rush into it, take your time and learn through observation and research.

  1. Scheduling is Your Best Friend

Quality content is Queen when it comes to social media. Have thousands of followers doesn’t guarantee engagement, especially if your content is not relevant, hard to read or outdated. This is why you should take a time or day a week to sit down and research trends, events or news related to your sector or field of business. Combine this with your company’s latest product events and promotions, and you should more than enough material to start scheduling posts for the following week.

By using tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social or Buffer, your life will be a whole lot easier. Schedule the time and day for your posts (and in some cases even the perfect target market), and forget about the days  when you wondered if you have the time to post online.

  1. Make Time to Engage with Your Followers

Social media is called ‘social’ for a reason. That’s why I like to recommend clients to set time aside to engage with their followers. Retweet, share or repost followers’ interesting, relevant posts. Interact, connect, follow-back and ask for feedback whenever possible. By doing so, you’re actively building brand-recognition and working towards customer loyalty and trust.

Most importantly, be respectful and have fun while engaging with others online. Give your business that unique voice that only you can give it.

Written by Marisol and Silvia Fornoni, Founders of JDC.

JDC supports socially conscious organizations with finding sustainable ways to tell their stories using visual design, engaging content and non-traditional media. We help you with anything from organizing fundraising campaigns to web design and social media management.

http://www.joint-development.com

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

PLANTING ONE SEED (INVESTMENT) AT A TIME!

Amina

This past weekend the weather was finally amazing to get out in the garden, dig through the earth with my fingers and pull out all the weeds before planting my vegetable garden. It got me thinking that it takes one seed at a time to harvest your garden.

What if we took the same view on our investments?

When we first start we are so keen to learn and invest in anything that comes our way – but that can be foolhardy – especially when it comes to investing!  WHY?

Ask any successful real estate investor and he or she she will tell you that the secret to their success was knowledge.  They learned everything they could before investing in their first property.  They planted one seed at a time!  Did they stop there? No they keep learning and applying that knowledge to build on their portfolio.

As an investor you must take your time to learn, which strategy suits you best. Is it student rentals, multi-family, rent to own, buy & hold, flipping, just to name a few?  Or is it lending your money for a great return or investing in syndicated mortgages or even 2nd mortgages?

Lending your money or investing in 2nd mortgages, may not provide as big returns as a bricks and mortar property, but you also don’t have the hassle of being a landlord and dealing with tenant issues.

I was recently approached by a financial advisor, who only believed that the road to wealth was paved on people investing in the stock market.  I have nothing against financial advisors, but being a person who lost a lot in the 2009 crash, I did not want to repeat past mistakes, which included investing in the stock market.  Does that mean I don’t invest in the stock market at all? NO – I do but I self-direct my investmetns and don’t leave it to somebody else to do it for me – thus I don’t incur huge MER (management expense ratio) fees, which can cut into the growth of my investments.  He could not understand why I would not recommend him to my clients.

Taking charge of your financial future should not be left up to somebody else – burrying your head in the sand and hoping your money will be taken care of is also foolhardy!  Does it take work to look after your finances? YES, but isn’t it more rewarding to see your garden grow when you have planted those initial seeds yourself?

Planting those seeds takes time but when that garden (investment portfolio) starts to grow, you will reap the rewards!

To your Wealth!

Amina

Please “like” my facebook page here Please follow me on twitter here

The Importance of Research

Sheralyn

The importance of, and the reliance upon, good, old-fashioned research should never be underestimated.  Whether we grew up using the Dewey Decimal system and Encyclopedia Britannica or more recently, rely on “Dr. Google” and “Wikipedia” – the simple fact is, research can support your thesis, or give your website credibility and it fosters the viability of your business.  So whether you are creating a website, starting a new business, contributing to a magazine article or blog – make sure you do your research and always site your sources. It might sound kind of obvious but fewer and fewer people seem to be doing it these days.

In starting a new business venture research is critical. You are going to want to complete a market analysis, scout locations, survey your potential customer base and thoroughly investigate financing options.  Each of these steps requires research and further, requires you to produce written documentation that you can present to potential backers, even if that backer is your spouse or mother in law. Reliance upon cold, hard facts with supporting documentation is what’s needed when considering investing in business so the research step is important. Ensuring the use of credible sources while on your fact finding mission is also paramount.

When it comes to websites, often this is the first place your customer finds you. Websites with lots of “jazz, pizzazz and razzmatazz” will only take you so far if the product or service you are selling is represented inaccurately.  With websites, not only are you seeking accuracy in the description of your product or service, you also must ensure that whomever designs your site has also spent time researching SEO keywords for your industry, knows and understands the function of font and colour scheme to best attract the type of customer you seek and can provide you with information on where your website is likely to place in Google rankings. You better darn well hope they have also done their due diligence when it comes to logo design and other potentially proprietary information. I write website content for clients and a significant amount of my time should be spent on conducting research to ensure accuracy, avoid duplication and create content that both resonates and ranks.

If you are looking to drive traffic to your website and/or just have an interest in writing once again, whether blogging or submitting articles for publication, research to clarify content and guarantee accuracy is not just important but ethical too.  From a legal standpoint you want to be sure your claims about products are defensible and true and if you are writing about a person, quoting facts is the only feasible option. Writing an article or blog that compares two types of services, (perhaps comparing Naturopathic and Western medicine for example) requires extensive due diligence on the part of the author and research, verifying the accuracy of sources and interviewing key people in the field is what you MUST do. Too many irresponsible people with easy access to the Internet are presenting what amount to opinion pieces that have no solid foundation in fact.  Blogging for business is not the time to share your opinions.

It is incumbent upon us to be sure that whether we are offering information or searching for it, we take the time to verify its accuracy. If you are responsible for content, make sure it is well researched, accurate and sourced appropriately. If you are looking for information apply the same due diligence to your search.  Look for the source, is it credible? Apply the scientific principle – is it replicable? You probably want to place a higher degree of reliability upon a medical site hosted by the Mayo Clinic than one hosted by Facebook, curated by “Tom” and called “Free guide to pain free Home Dentistry!”   This might all seem like common sense but the unfortunate fact is common sense appears harder and harder to come by.  Our reliance upon the web to present factual and credible information and to discern fact from fiction has taken the place of the old-fashioned legwork that used to be involved in going to library, hauling out books and comparing their content or searching through microfiche for factual references in newspapers. I know I’m dating myself and I am not a Luddite “anti-internet” gal by any means. It’s pretty darn convenient. Just don’t forget that the old principles: research, accuracy, credibility, source citing….still apply!

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

Sheri Andrunyk: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of May 2015

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Sheri believes that we all possess the knowledge of what’s best for our own life and business. She is the catalyst that can (and does) bring those insights to the forefront; especially empowering business owners, entrepreneurs, and authors with vision, wisdom and support.

Upon the release of her first book Hearts Linked By Courage, Sheri expanded her business to share her new knowledge and resources for those embracing the writing and book publishing journey. I C Publishing was officially unveiled in 2011. Since then, Sheri and her virtual team of ten have produced an amazing cross-section of high quality books, including a second of her own called Working From Home & Making It Work© in 2012, and, Do You Have a Book In You? and The All Season Entrepreneur, both due out in 2015.

Over the past thirty years, eleven of which were spent as a successful franchise owner in the beauty industry, Sheri has also had extensive formal training and mentoring in business and direct sales, earning her numerous awards for personal achievement and team development and success.

In addition to working with her author clients, she will always remain passionate about coaching and mentoring business owners and entrepreneurs who are as committed and enthusiastic about work and life as she is. As a coach, mentor, and Master NLP Practitioner, Sheri skilfully guides her clients through many stages of their career, helping to maintain the work/life balance that is best for them… all the while inspiring confidence and providing direction to continually take those next steps in living their ideal life. When assisting clients with marketing projects, Sheri has a unique sense of how best to communicate and express their message, as if they created it themselves. Her extraordinary and obvious passion and expertise in language, communication, and relationships, makes her an invaluable source of support in one’s personal or professional journey.

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Our Q & A with Sheri

What inspires you?

Meaningful conversation, ongoing learning, self-awareness and self-growth, kindness and compassion in others, and the way thoughtful words can move us individually, and collectively, to do great things.

‘And a child’s smile, a friendly hug, the adoring love from a pet, and nature.
As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?

On a personal note, it would be my beautiful family life and fulfilling marriage of thirty-three years. There are many business accomplishments, big and small, which I am tremendously proud of; however, they pale in comparison to that of creating a work/life dynamic that serves all in my world—personally and professionally.

On a business note, of course, each stage of my career holds its own special memory for me.

At the very beginning of my entrepreneurial path, in my twenties, I was terribly uncomfortable speaking in front of any audience. Over the years I worked on that, and have studied and practiced and learned so much. Suffice to say, I am very much more at ease sharing and delivering on topics that I am knowledgeable and passionate about. In fact, it’s like a calling to me now.

The other intangible that comes to mind is the wisdom I’ve gained over the years, and how I’m able to draw on this, as well as all of my formal training and real life/work experience. It really helps me to understand and relate to others in their journey.

And at the end of the day, if I’ve been able to help someone feel more encouraged, enlightened, and confident in their own abilities . . . and motivated to take their next steps . . . it just doesn’t get much better for me. 

What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?

Believe in yourself, your work, and the difference you want to make. Seek out support that elevates you.

When making decisions and planning ahead, do your homework, and ask questions. Once you have thoughtfully gathered important information and resources—check in with yourself—then trust and follow what resonates with “you” most.

Above all, I encourage business owners and entrepreneurs to be present, in the moment as much as possible. Give others your full and kind attention always. And embrace and enjoy each chapter of your life. It goes by so quickly!
What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

The growth of I C Publishing has been so exciting and significant these past few years, I’m simply enjoying the journey at the moment. Yes, I have more specific goals, for sure; however, I am a little less attached to outcomes than I once was. Beyond my daily passion and commitment to serving my growing list of amazing clients, I’m sure I will complete the writing and e-publishing of my next two books, Do You Have a Book in You?, and The All Season Entrepreneur. I look forward to taking on a few additional speaking engagements this year too.

On a personal note perhaps, as my publishing team continues to expand, I will likely get closer and closer to my four-day work week more often. And being just in my early my fifties, it feels so affirming that my hard work is paying off, and I am afforded more choice with my time, along with the chance to spend more of that time with my family.

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A little more about I C Publishing:

I C Publishing bridges the gap between self and traditional publishing. In many respects, we’re a one-stop shop offering “customized” high level support and services to busy authors and business owners—including consulting, project management, editing, design, production, social media, fulfilment, and more—a la carte, or in packages depending on our client’s needs and budget. We have a team of ten professionals with different areas of expertise to ensure we have all the bases covered. And we work closely with all of our clients, right from the beginning of their projects to set the pace of our work together, ensuring they have the support and guidance they need to move forward and realize their dreams.

Connect with Sheri: 

Sheri@ICPublishing.ca 

www.ICPublishing.ca

www.ICBookstore.ca

905.853.1968

MY CLIENTS NEEDS MUST COME BEFORE MY OWN

Amina

Yesterday I was contacted by an investor, who found me on Linkedin and had been reading some of my blog posts. He and his brother were investing in a smaller market about two hours east of Toronto.  This would be their first purchase in this area and it was a multiple bidding situation.

As first time investors they made some errors, which are common, such as putting in the offer before being pre-approved for financing.  Especially in a multiple offer situation you want to make sure that your bid for the property has no conditions of financing.  The only condition you want is the inspection.   This way if the seller is presented with all of the offers, they will most likely accept the one with no condition of financing as that is a sure thing vs. somebody who still needs to be assessed for financing and does not really know whether they can afford the property.

This investor had put in the offer, ordered the inspection and was now contacting me for financing – however the clock was ticking.  I  immediately asked for an extenstion as I was not certain that I could fulfill financing in such a short time (3 days left).

He went back to the realtor and asked for the extension but it was denied simply because it was a multiple offer situation. The realtor suggested her broker, who lived and worked in that market and could get the appraisal the next day – which would ultimately save the client time and possibly losing the deal.

It was great that they were both organized and could get me the paperwork but I still had to find the lender, who would do the deal.  To further complicate things, the investors were incorporated, which would mean further validation of income.

He kindly called me and said he would stick with me if I could do the deal.  Now, if I was looking out for my own interests, I would have said,  “Yes of course I can do the deal”.  Instead, I was looking out for what is best for my client and suggested he use the other broker with the connections in the marketplace.  If I could not get the deal done, I would not only lose the trust of this client but more importantly I would not be putting my clients needs before my own!

It is hard to give away business but I believe strongly in Karma – what goes around comes around.  The client thanked me for looking out for his interests and said that he would be using me for the next deal.

I believe that if we all focus on putting our clients needs before our own in every situation, it will come to serve us all well.

To your Wealth!

Amina

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Competition Elimination

Tamara high res 1

As small business owners, we are constantly reminded of the large volume of competition out there. It could be a local shop owner who is selling similar products as you or a service provider that just moved into your neighborhood.

No matter what industry you are in – you are going to face ‘competition’ at one time or another. In my field – (design), I am constantly surrounded by talented entrepreneurs who could make me think that I don’t have a shot at my big dreams. Instead of thinking about those individuals as being competition, I have stuck to my belief that there is something you can do, which could almost completely eliminate the competition mindset.

From personal experience, (as well as taking cues from very successful small business owners), I have discovered that the way to really step away from competition is to focus on two things. Who you are and why you want to provide the product or service that you do.

‘Who you are’ (for the purposes of this article) is another way of saying: ‘what is unique about your business’ based on your personal skills, strengths, experiences and perspective. In business exercises you may hear people use the term ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ (USP) – which is a common term for an exclusive offering. Often people identify and express this USP is through branding, messaging, copy etc. To really make these expressions – I suggest weaving YOU into those messages using things that only you can offer. Lean on what you have learned and see how it can differentiate your business from your competition.

‘Why’ you want to provide the products and services is also unique. Your intrinsic motivation is often more powerful and inspirational than the threat of someone taking your clients and consumers, as is in the ‘competition’ mindset.  As an example – think about a business owner who runs an all-natural skin care line. If she started the business after seeing her child suffer from terrible reactions to big brand-name creams, that would be a big differentiator from her competition. Knowing that she is dedicated to helping other mothers soothe their children’s painful rashes isn’t the same as being the lowest priced item (Which may be another skin-care lines USP).

Some people may argue that competition is a necessary part of business. You may even think that it is naïve to think that competition doesn’t need to be the focus. I am not saying that you can ignore the fact that there may be someone doing something very similar to you. I simply suggest that you use any similarity to inspire you to showcase everything that is unique about you as a business owner and why you got started.

Tamara is the Founder and Creative Director of Sweet Clover Studios. Where she provides resources, planners, learning opportunities and inspiration for other creative small business owners. You can also see her personal gallery of products as a surface pattern designer at www.SweetCloverStudios.com

It's Time to "TALK" about Social Media

Sheralyn

As the saying goes “unless you’ve been hiding under a rock” there is a very good chance that you’ve not only heard of facebook and LinkedIn but are an active and engaged participant on both. We are reminded constantly of the need to be on social media, to maintain a social media presence and to interact with our customers by employing this type of technology. How much is too much however? At what point does your message become de-valued, meaningless white noise amongst the clamor for customer attention? At the same time, how much is too much for you, as a person trying to conduct business? Social media has a huge role to play in terms of its ability to distract and consume your time voraciously in a non-productive way. Let’s talk about how much we “talk.”

The word “talk” was very deliberately placed in quotes. Why? Because today, due primarily to the influence of social media, we don’t do nearly enough actual talking.  Our interactions with others on a human scale are some days, literally non-existent while our “interactions” on social media are exhaustive!  Social Media has created a “doors wide-open” philosophy where we are encouraged to post, post, post, often times with little regard for the quality of the posting.  There are entire blogs related to how often you should post and the rule of three has become the norm:  post three times sharing information, tips, tools, techniques or free giveaways, before posting any targeted and specific attempt at soliciting business. The problem is we are often left searching for content of value, re-circulating posts that have already made the internet rounds several times over and which are, at best, tenuously related to our business. Currently, “curated content” is the new buzzword. Let’s look at what that really is. Curated content is regurgitated. It’s a nice word for taking someone’s work, cobbling it together with other similar posts and offering them up under your banner for public consumption. Often, I find an attention-grabbing headline has been shared to a page but when you click on the link, the content has nothing to do with the business sharing it. Clearly this is an example of someone not vetting content or sharing information of value but rather, a person simply caught up in the rush to post, post, post.

Original content is king and making sure that it’s laser-focused and related to your business is paramount. Self-employed entrepreneurs must fight for attention amongst big business so it is particularly incumbent upon them to ensure content is relevant. More so, it is critical that you don’t get caught up in the minutiae yourself, trawling through LinkedIn in search of content but getting sidetracked along the way looking at what all your old high school friends are doing now. The same is true with facebook. As entrepreneurs, with no IT department to block your access, and no one to answer to other than yourself, it’s far too easy to flip through facebook laughing at the antics of your nephew as he plays with that cute new puppy. Social Media for business requires both social responsibility and effective time management.  Set aside just 15 minutes twice a day to touch base with your followers. Be very regimented about that time (use the alarm on your Smartphone) and before you hit the share button employ the “pause and reflect” philosophy. Ask yourself “is this of value, relevant or potentially helpful to my clients?” If the answer is no, don’t share. If you haven’t even read the content, definitely don’t share it and if you really don’t have anything to say – that’s fine too. Just as in life, don’t “talk” for the sake of talk, but rather, talk when you have something meaningful to say. After all, you don’t want to be the person “blocked” by your customers because they were fed up with a continuous and largely irrelevant barrage of “curated content.”

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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How to Focus on the ‘Right’ Ideas in Your Business

Tamara high res 1

Being a business owner, I suspect you have probably had more than a few ideas for your business. It could be thoughts of how to increase sales, new products or services or even who to partner with. The problem can be when we have too many ideas or don’t know what to focus on, it can become hard to execute on any of them. The following article outlines how to identify what ideas should be your focus, in order to positively impact growth and personal satisfaction within your business.

  1. Notice Patterns

Even if you never wrote any of your ideas down (which I often suggest), likely you will start to notice conceptual repeating patterns if you are aware of this focusing tactic. Patterns in your ideas are anything that has a common thread that ties it all together. For example, if you were a local organization but kept getting ideas about translating your copy, market opportunities overseas and manufacturing prices abroad, this is a pattern. The idea to focus on would be international opportunities. Once you have identified how all of those little ideas fit under the bigger umbrella – it will become a lot easier to focus your energy and attention of where you want to go.

  1. Personal Response

When someone asks you ‘what you do’ at a dinner party, are you excitedly telling them about the core values of your company? Or about the best new piece of software you are using? Or would you rather tell hear about the book that they published? The reason I suggest noticing your personal response is because focusing on what you are intrinsically interested in will hold your attention longer and impact your overall offering far more than doing something just because you ‘should’.  If you find yourself more interested in someone else’s ventures, that is also your queue to see how you can bring the basic concept into your business and make it unique to you.

  1. Feedback

When I say ‘feedback’ – I am not suggesting you do whatever someone else tells you to do. The trick here is to notice what parts of your business your customers and clients comment on as being beneficial to them, and what resonates with you the most. You may find the perfect formula by combining an objective view to your personal opinions. This is an indicator to focus.

  1. Strengths

Ideas that align with your personal strengths are a telltale sign that you may be on the right track. This is not to say that you can’t be a tech mogul if you don’t know how to use drop box…but, you would have to have strengths in delegation (so not to waste your time on things that are in someone else’s zone of genius). More so I suggest focusing on ideas that will allow you to use your experience as a person and as a business owner as well as skills that come naturally to you. Personally, I focused on design aspects of my business because I enjoyed it the most and also had a lifetime of experience with different creative mediums. A weakness of mine is projecting the ‘numbers’ so any ideas that I get about increasing profit margins (for example); I consult with someone who is stronger in that area. This is when to focus on getting help, rather than diving deeper.

As a business owner who works with female entrepreneurs who are often overwhelmed by the amount of ideas they have, I have seen how applying these focusing constructs can work across many different industries. If even one helps you move forward on one idea rather than none than I believe, it was worth it.

Tamara is the owner and designer at ‘Your Pretty Pages’ where she provides templates, planners, guides and resources for creative entrepreneurs to get and stay organized. To support your successful personal business planning, Tamara has just released two savings bundles of templates in her shop found here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourprettypages

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