Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Financing for Female Led Startups

Being a woman is difficult enough, pressure coming from internal and external sources. Being a woman in business brings about a completely diverse set of struggles to tackle head on.

One of the most common struggles that women face within their startup journey and also once deep in the trenches and ready for their first level of growth is obtaining financing.

You can have the greatest idea, product or service but what happens when you max out on your business and/or personal capital and ability to maintain or grow your business? You have little choice but to seek external capital sources.  This may seem simple enough, but if your business is under 2 years old it will difficult to obtain lending from your typical financial institutions.  Unfortunately, new businesses are risky for most financial lenders and their willingness to extend credit is either far too low and or non-existent without a solid proof of income that extends at minimum to the 2 year period.

This causes many entrepreneurs to seek partnerships with Venture Capital firms or find other private lenders, they can essentially become investors in your company. This is a great form of access to capital for many organizations and also a scary step to take as you now have to answer not only to yourself and protect your interests but also theirs.

How easy is it to obtain private equity funding?

Many will tell you it can be a greater challenge for women versus men.  While many new funds are being created to create access to investment it is true that Venture Capital Funds are predominately held by men and statistically investments are made to men versus women, making this financing option difficult to obtain. Why is this the case?

Evidence suggests that there is a tendency for women is often pitching realistic numbers. Men so often overstate and exaggerate that investors often discount the numbers off the bat. Investors, who are often men, will assume that the women entrepreneurs are operating just like the men and inflating their numbers. Therefore, they will provide funding at lower levels than requested. Women need to understand this dynamic and approach their pitches accordingly. Meaning, if your business needs $25,000 ask for $30,000 to ensure that through potential negotiations if your offer is reduced you will end up closer to the point that you need to be.

What should you do if you are unable to obtain funding through a male dominated venture capital partnership is?

Research. Look to Women peer to peer network for venture capital funding. For example: Bumble Fund, Female Founder Fund & Government Grants!

The Government of Canada has developed a great amount of business grants that are specifically being provided for women – look into these options on the Canada.ca website under Business Grants & Financing.  You must be prepared to offer a detailed application including details about your product, service, market needs in your region and potential a justification for the amount required and its intended use.

In addition to these grants, there are a number of funds directly solely for women that you can consider, here are a few:

Bumble – Yes, that Bumble. They announced the Bumble Fund to Invest in Women Founders are began accepting applications.  They created this fund to combat the reality that women led startups receive 2% of venture capital funding.

BDC – The Woman Entrepreneur initiative has an estimated $200 million to invest in women led technology startups, why not join and submit your application? Their program not only provides the potential access to capital but also mentorship and entrepreneurial resources.

The Billion Dollar Fund for Women was announced in February of 2019 and has set it sights on becoming the largest venture capital fund directed solely towards supporting women led businesses in technology.

These are just a few of the resources that are available, to determine which one you should apply to requires due diligence on your part as a business owner, not only in informing yourselves as to what types of applicants are being selected but more importantly how to create a successful application that will be reviewed.

What is critical when asking someone to invest in your company financially? Transparency in your business and clearly defined answers.  You must be willing to show your business income and expenses as part of this process and be able to substantiate your claims for expected revenue in the future.  It may happen every so often where someone will invest in the hunch of a business owner but not often.  Hard facts are what most investors rely on before they are willing to sign a cheque. Additionally, you want to offer as much information as possible to support your position, holding back only what is necessary and that may be proprietary.  Being vague and unclear when asking for financing is not an effective strategy and not yield results.

Lastly, you must be willing to let an outsider into your business and ensure you obtain the appropriate counselling outside of the investor to understand exactly what that means for you and your business.  You must understand clearly if you are giving up a controlling interest in your company and the expectations that investors may have in the decision-making process of your business as well.

Much of the above may sound daunting and alarming, but if you have reached this point of consideration it means you have surpassed the initial hurdles of starting a business and ready for the next level of growth.  Take your time to research your options, their impact and align them with your business needs and that of yourself.

Good luck to all the incredible entrepreneurs out there!

 

Instagram: balancethefive

Facebook: balancethefive

Twitter: balancethefive

LinkedIn: Stefanie Ricchio

 

2 BABIES AND A BUSINESS

 

How do women entrepreneurs make it? How do they succeed? And more importantly, how do they have children, build a family and at the same time, build a business?

It comes down to four major components:

  1. Serious time management
  2. Passion
  3. A vision
  4. Support

Before launching SocialEyes Communications, Marly Broudie (Founder) was originally 9-5 downtown Toronto commuter. A role at a leading litigation firm required a 6am wake-up, a 25-minute drive to the subway station, a 45-minute subway ride, a 1 hour lunch break (on most days) and a hell-of-a trek home that stretched well beyond Toronto rush hour. The corporate setting taught Marly A LOT about organization, detail, planning, research, development and most of all, that a corporate setting was not her calling. She had always had known deep down that she was the type that needed to beat to her own drum. The vision of a hustle (you know, the kind that gets you up in the morning and keeps you awake at night?)…that was what drove her.

The Inception of the Business

There she was, one month following her wedding, an intense family situation that afforded her some alone time, and a 12am lightbulb switch. Marketing, communications and the online digital movement was an industry that not only intrigued her, but invigorated her. It was also a specialized area that she spent much time practicing, … and beyond that, knew that every person and every business required it (biased, but true).

And just like that, SocialEyes Communications was born.

 

The First Year of Business

  • Hustle Hustle Hustle
  • Proposal pitching
  • Branding and marketing
  • Networking
  • Strategy implementation
  • Campaign launches
  • Building a team of qualified experts

…Boom –  Pregnancy. Marly was about to embark on life as a new first-time mom, while growing and operating a business. How is it possible?

 

Motherhood in All Its Glory

January 2017, Marly welcomed her first child into the world. The time was not easy – work and hormones were both at an all-time high. She was fortunate enough that time management was a major strength and so, nap times were dedicated to client phone calls; grandmothers babysat and client meetings took place; new clients were brought onboard and new team members too. By the end of the 3rd month of motherhood, SocialEyes was now a bursting operation serving 20+ clients and receiving excellent feedback.

Fast forward – 4 months into motherhood and boom – PREGNANCY!…AGAIN!

How are we meant to do this mom thing, and also grow a successful business?

 

6 Tips to Achieve Success:

  1. Time Management – there IS enough time in the day!
  2. A method to the madness
  3. Time blocking
  4. Vision as an incentive
  5. Passion for what you are doing
  6. Support – both personally and professionally

Motherhood and mom-preneurs have a few things in common – patience, fortitude, tenacity and perseverance.

 

 

 

 

Marly Broudie is the Founder of SocialEyes Communications – a digital marketing and business development firm based in Toronto, Ontario.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/socialeyescommunications

Twitter – https://twitter.com/socialeyescomm

LI – https://www.linkedin.com/company/socialeyes-communications/

Insta – https://www.instagram.com/socialeyescommunications/

How To Create A Successful Blog

As featured on www.makinthebacon.com

A Successful Blog Can Create Success For Your Business

If you’ve been following my blog for the past year and a bit, you may have come across the popular blog post – Why You Need To Blog For Your Business.

So you know about the why. I’m going to share a little bit about the how (it’s not as complicated as you think)

First off, just start.

Seriously.

Your first blog post may not be pretty or polished the first time around. But just start with a simple plan and go from there.

Take a look at my first blog post back in 2012.  I like to think that I have come a long way since then.  Note that it’s hard to build credibility or a following with just one post or one video either. You need to have several blog posts. One isn’t enough. People will want to read more of your posts and may come back to your site on a regular basis to check for new posts.

There is a lot of noise out there that only focuses on how they gained 1,000 views in their first month of blogging or how they are making “X” amount of dollars from blogging. When starting out, it’s tempting to give up early on and you will be frustrated at times, may not think your blog posts are good enough.  We are our own worst critics.  The more you write, the more content you’ll have and the better you’ll get.  Remember, you’re not writing a book (yet). But keep in mind that blogging can often lead to writing ebooks and physical books.

Focus On A Different Definition of Success

If you treat your blog the same way you treat your business (i.e. you’re in it for the long haul and are focusing on growth and long-term sustainability), then that’s progress right there. You have to have grit and be willing to persist.

For the record, when talking about a successful blog, I’m not focusing on the making money part. Thanks to society and perhaps upbringing (mine), we were led to believe that money = success. More money, more success.

One of my Instagram posts, shown below here stated what my current definition of success is and I believe it can be applied to blogging.

As a matter of fact, my blog enabled me to achieve all of those things.

Keep It Simple Silly

When it comes to being productive with your blog, there are a few simple things to keep in mind.

1. Set a rough schedule for your blog. If the idea of a content calendar is too much, you can always start off simply by just making a note in your agenda to write a blog post this week or every other week, etc.

2. Remember it isn’t necessarily about the number of blog posts, it’s the quality. Business blogging does not serve its purpose if you are constantly producing sub-par content just for the sake of posting frequently.  You wouldn’t want to be known as the blog that provides useless information or poorly written posts.

You may think that you need to post every day, every week and no that isn’t always the case. At the same time, don’t be like the old me and write blog posts every other month.

3. And don’t be a perfectionist either. Yes, check for grammar and spelling but you don’t have to be the grammar police. Blog posts are meant to be more of a conversational tone than a research article. As long as you tried your best, reviewed it several times (I’ll even read my blog post out loud from time to time), just hit publish already.

The great thing about blog posts is that you can easily edit and update them. You can’t do that with video.

4.  Be willing to commit and make time for it. It’s not a matter of time, it’s a matter of priorities.

Remember that being productive isn’t about getting a lot of things done, it’s more about getting the RIGHT things done.

 

If they are the right things, the ones that will help your business and move your business forward, then that is productivity at its best.

New Blog Post, New Opportunity

Mindset is key. Know that each blog post you publish is a new opportunity to connect with your current and potential customers. Think of each blog post as an opportunity to share your knowledge/opinion/advice (recall that we are a sharing society) and promote your business.

People will come back to your blog because they know you are THE resource for the topics of x, y and z. They’ll want to share your content with their networks because they found it to be very valuable/entertaining/interesting.

You’re killing two birds with one stone in that you don’t have to come up with as much new social media content. Just pull stuff from blog posts or promote the entire blog post.

It’s a sign that your site is of good quality because it is being updated with new content on a regular basis.  According to Hubspot, Blogging helps boost SEO quality by positioning your website as a relevant answer to your customers’ questions .

 

“In addition to my love of writing, these are the reasons why I continue to blog. So keep going, keep sharing and keep putting yourself out there.”

 

Karen Swyszcz has over 6+ years of blogging experience and has written content on the blog for brands such as SupperWorks, Camp Tech and Meridian Credit Union. She is also the instructor at Sheridan College for the Blogging For Fun and Profit Course and Effective Strategies For Social Media Course.” 

Find her at makinthebacon.com

 

Time Sucker Alert: No Prioritization System

As you begin to plan for the year to come, I want you to be sure to take some time to plan out how exactly you are going to get it all done. I have spoken before about the biggest time sucker I see time and again. Now let me walk you through the biggest prioritization issue I see with my clients, working on the WRONG stuff, and what you can do about it.

 

How do I know what the right stuff is?

To answer that, I’m going to share with you the highlights of my Plan to Grow process.

  1. Have a business plan: You wouldn’t go on a road trip without a map complete with rest stops and check-ins all mapped out, and you shouldn’t do that with your business. Having a business plan allows you to layout where you want your business to go over a certain period of time (i.e five years). When you know where you are going, you can set goals and say yes or no to interrupters and shiny objects with confidence. And most importantly, you can stop spinning your wheels on things that aren’t serving you or your business.
  2. Set goals that are going to result in significant growth in your business: With a destination point all set out, you can start building backwards, setting goals and taking on the projects that are going to progressively move your business towards where to be years from now. For this, I usually use the SMART goal setting methodwith my business and my clients.
  3. Create a roadmap for your goals by breaking the goal down into small, manageable tasks: Once you’ve decided on the goals that you need to take on to move your business where you want it to go, it’s time to create a roadmap for each goal you’ve set. This involves breaking the goal down into small, manageable tasks through a process of starting at where you want to be and then work backwards, listing everything you are going to need to do to get to the end.
  4. Get real about your schedule: This means figuring out where your time is going and how much time you actually have. Why? So you’re managing your own expectations and not putting unrealistic demands on yourself. When you are deciding which goals to take on and assigning them timelines, you need to have a true understanding of all the other things vying for your time. Without that knowledge, you’re going to feel overwhelmed and overextended and nothing is really going to get done.
  5. Find someone to hold you accountable: There is nothing more powerful than having someone waiting for me to tell them about my progress to make sure I actually make some progress.

 

Why you need to put in this work:

When you don’t know where you are going to get the biggest return on your time investment, you end up spinning your wheels without even noticing it. It’s like throwing a bunch of spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. While it may be the easier  route, successful businesses just aren’t built that way. So as you begin to plan for the new year, be clear about what you want, what needs to be done to get you there, and how you’re going to do it.

Samantha King is a busy mompreneur and homeschooler with two young children and a couple of businesses at home. When Samantha’s daughter was diagnosed with autism, she had to learn how to keep her priorities aligned within her family, while operating her business at the same time. She is excited to share her knowledge to empower entrepreneurs by giving them the tools they need to do something they love while building sustainable, profitable businesses.  

Contact Samantha:

Tel: 416-885-6841

Email: samantha@fempirebuilders.com

Facebook: @FempireBuilders

Twitter: @FempireBuilders

Instagram: @Fempire_Builders

Get Creative: Who can you lean on?

I often say that as women we are pulled in a million different directions based on whatever is screaming the loudest. More times than I’d like to admit, it has left me running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Between my business, my two special needs children, my marriage and general household duties, some days there is a lot vying for my attention.

I learned a long time ago, the hard way, that I was going to need to lean on people in order to get it all done. Not someone who finds it easy to ask for help, over the years I’ve gotten pretty good about finding creative ways to manage everything I need to get done in the limited amount of time I have.

My biggest tip for those looking to do the same is: You need to outsource.

 

A creative way to manage your time and To-Do List

In order to have profitable businesses, we should be spending most of our time each day doing what we are great. The tasks and skill set that makes up our Zone of Excellence is what our clients pay us for, after all. But what about all of the other things that need to be done as part of running our business?

It can be hard to strike the right balance between working IN your business (completing the job your clients hire you for) and working ON your business (think administration, marketing and business development) – especially when it’s just you wearing all of the hats. Not yet quite ready to hire an employee, in years past, business owners had to tough it out in this land of limbo until budget caught up with work load.

However, that’s not the norm anymore. With the rise of remote working, more business owners are opting to run their business out of their homes and outsource the overflow work wherever possible; freeing up more time to work in their Zone of Excellence and saving on overhead costs.

 

If you’re just outsourcing business tasks, you’re not doing it right

When we think of outsourcing, our minds generally go straight to business tasks. During a discussion with anyone of my busy boss-mom clients, they can list off a number of business tasks they feel they should be sending to someone else to complete. I get it. As a mompreneur, who is homeschooling her children while running a business, my kitchen table often doubles as my office, and I have some remote contractors and virtual assistants helping me as I go.

But to stop at business tasks is to do yourself a disservice. In my business, I can’t outsource much; I’m the business strategist. I am the business. So I had to begin to think outside of my business tasks and start taking a closer look at the tasks in my personal life that could be handled by others.

The usual ones came up (i.e. housekeeping), but I pushed myself to dig deeper.

 

Here are a few others that I found:

  1. Shop for groceries online and utilize ‘in the parking lot’ pick-up options now

offered by stores like Zehrs.

  1. Make the local play place your office for the morning so you can work while you children are entertained
  2. List of chores that can be done by your children with some training (i.e. my daughter has been putting her own laundry away since she was three)
  3. Kid friendly meetings where mompreneurs can network and collaborate while our children play
  4. Laundry services that will take your laundry, wash it and bring it back dry and folded
  5. Because I am a night owl, I outsourced bedtime routine to Dad so that I could work uninterrupted from shortly after dinner until my bedtime.


Samantha King is a busy mompreneur and homeschooler with two young children and a couple of businesses at home. When Samantha’s daughter was diagnosed with autism, she had to learn how to keep her priorities aligned within her family, while operating her business at the same time. She is excited to share her knowledge to empower entrepreneurs by giving them the tools they need to do something they love while building sustainable, profitable businesses.  

Contact Samantha:

Tel: 416-885-6841

Email: samantha@fempirebuilders.com

Facebook: @FempireBuilders

Twitter: @FempireBuilders

Instagram: @Fempire_Builders

5 things to consider before pairing up with an Accountability Partner

 

I think we can all agree that accountability is a HUGE tool in our success tool bag, and, as we go into the last quarter of the year, it’s one I want you to take out and use NOW.

None of us are strangers to the idea of peer pressure. As children, we tended to think of it as something to avoid. I’m going to ask you to put that concept aside and imagine for a moment:

What could would it mean for you and your business to feel a little positive pressure from someone in the same boots as you? A woman who gets it and pushes you from a place of love, respect and a genuine desire to see you succeed?

That’s the power of an Accountability Partner.

However, I don’t want you not to pick just anyone. This should be an extremely selective process. Treat it as if you were choosing a daycare provider for your child. This is your business baby after all.

Here are some things I encourage my clients to consider:

  1. Your prospective partner must be motivated.This goes above and beyond what they are telling you in your discussions with them about a partnership. Are they someone you know to be intentional and focused in their day-to-day lives? When you check their social media accounts, are they consistently representing themselves as a business owner? These are just a few of the ways you as an outsider can tell if they are seriously working their business.
  2. Where are they in their business?I like to surround myself with people who are, for the most part, a few steps ahead of me. That way I am fortunate to have people who have already been through the stage I am currently at. If they aren’t a few steps ahead in their business, then they should at least possess a skill set that is complimentary to yours. Where do you struggle? Are they strong it that area?
  3. Are they invested in you and the Accountability Partner process?This is probably the most important question to answer because, if the answer is no, then you’re wasting your time. You partner needs to be willing to make time for you in their schedule. If they are giving you all kinds of reasons why they can’t schedule your sessions on this date or that, move on. They should be a good listener and have a genuine interest in getting to know you in a meaningful way. If they aren’t willing to put in the work to get to know you, how are they going to know when to push you and when you hold back?
  4. They need to have a concrete understanding of how your business runs and generates revenue.The truth is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ business model. Some are very intricate. Some industries are much different than others. Your partner needs to understand, and preferably have some experience in, your business model to be able to successfully help you during your time together.
  5. You must be able to trust your partner.Like Fight Club, what happens in your sessions needs to stay in your sessions. If you can’t trust your partner, you won’t be able to open up and the process will inevitably fall flat.

BONUS: You need to care about not letting them down. If you’re not worried about this, then they either aren’t the right fit for you or you’re not ready for the process. Either way, this partnership won’t end well.

 

Curious if there are personality types to avoid? There absolutely are. Check out this post.

Samantha King is a busy mompreneur and homeschooler with two young children and a couple of businesses at home. When Samantha’s daughter was diagnosed with autism, she had to learn how to keep her priorities aligned within her family, while operating her business at the same time. She is excited to share her knowledge to empower entrepreneurs by giving them the tools they need to do something they love while building sustainable, profitable businesses.  

Contact Samantha:

Tel: 416-885-6841

Email: samantha@fempirebuilders.com

Facebook: @FempireBuilders

Twitter: @FempireBuilders

Instagram: @Fempire_Builders

A Mindset of Gratitude

At this time of year there’s a lot of attention paid to how grateful we are for the memories we’ve made and shared through the last few months. Truth be told, we can have that same feeling for our own business, if we’re in the gratitude mindset zone.

When you finally achieve success in your business it feels AMAZING! Finally, all your hard work and dedication to your goal has started to pay off and you’re achieving those goals you spent the time to map out. You have arrived. It can often feel as if this success is owed you – weren’t you the one who put in all the hours to get here?

You know it’s normal, healthy, and expected to feel a sense of pride when you reach certain levels in your business, and you do have a lot to be proud of, after all! But a problem arises when, instead of feeling grateful for your success, you begin to expect it instead.

Many business owners find that without gratitude in their lives, their businesses fail to deliver – in many ways. Being self-absorbed to the point of believing success is owed to you is a slow poison to your business mindset, and in turn, your business itself.

Success in business – or in any area of our lives – is something that must be planned, focused on, worked towards, and above all, earned. Most of all, it must be appreciated, not taken for granted as something that is owed to us.

One of the best ways to create an attitude of gratitude is to share what has helped create your success with other business-owners – maybe those who haven’t yet reached your level of success. You can do this in many ways – business consulting at no charge, business mentoring – and your local Small Business Administration will be able to help you in finding up-and-coming business owners that truly need a helping hand up.

Your business knowledge, wisdom, experience and advice are worth sharing to help others achieve their own goals and dreams in business. In this way, you help “pay it forward”, while acting on your feelings of gratitude and thankfulness for getting where you are today.

Another way to express gratitude is to actively reach out to your own business mentors and thank them for sharing their knowledge and experience with you. Your mentors have helped you get to where you are now and letting them know that they are appreciated goes a long way towards creating that gratitude mindset that you need in business.

The success of your business may not rise or fall depending on your level of gratitude but having a mindset that is full of gratitude will help your business and will also help in all areas of your life!

Barbara Jemmott is the founder and business strategist at Your Entrepreneurial Spirit. Her 4-point YES to Customer Acquisition Program (C.A.P.) allows her to work her passion which is helping entrepreneurial women grow their audiences and income, online. She got here through her 20+ years of experience helping businesses understand and implement systems, strategies and procedures to increase productivity as well implement change and streamline operations. With experience and responsibilities to design, develop and deliver training for small to large technology training initiatives for Fortune 100 companies, she brings “Big Business” expertise to the small business space. Learn more about Your Entrepreneurial Spirit and the YES to Customer Acquisition Program at www.yourentrepreneurialspirit.com

Winning communicate skills for entrepreneurs

 

There are more than a few necessary skillsets you need for the success of your business, and the one you cannot underestimate is the art of communication. How we do this is varied, ever changing and necessary for attracting and keeping your current customers. It is so important it may be best to think of communication as your actual income strategy because it’s impact controls how much money you can and will make.

If we recognize how crucial good communication skills to the value of your business, it’s going to make prioritizing your skills development as important as any other area in your business. A key place to start this development is with a focus on the “art of the follow up.” With work in this area you can hone your communication skills to develop the most effective ways to talk to your customers. What would it mean to focus on this area? It would mean showing the people who you communicate with that they matter to you. So, how do you do that?

Most of these items you already know but here are a few thoughts:

  • Deal with and return any communications in a timely manner – do you have a plan for managing instant messaging, phone calls and email inquiries successfully? What does that structure look like?
  • Consider having a written response plan covering the eventualities that can affect your connections. Guarantee to respond within 2 hours (or less) using the same method your customer reached out to you and let them know about this guarantee in your customer info outlets.
  • As your business grows, you may find (because of your great communication skills) that responding to your customer enquiries is something you can outsource to a competent VA. You may find that setting up a “self-serve” appointment booking system would free up the back and forth activities that happen when trying to line up schedules and services. There are many cost-effective systems that can streamline this task and take some of the pressure off.
  • Use your email signature to best effect with helpful links to areas of interest for your clients.
  • Create a meaningful FAQ section that helps customers to get the information they need and free you up to provide personalized, high quality service and connection that represents the quality of your business.
  • Check if (Facebook) messenger bots can help support your business. Many people use instant messaging to get quick responses these days, which is great if not disruptive to say the least. How will you manage this type of activity and can these messenger bots help you connect, support and communicate in ways that work for you and your customer.

Using these types of processes bring several business-building results, such as: letting the people you communicate with that they matter to them, and you are acknowledging them in their moment of need, even more than just being polite about returning their call.

You will build your business reputation as you become reliably responsive to your customers. Setting expectations around your response times and methods will also help streamline your operations and provide space to provide the services you’ve worked so hard to create while providing space for business growth. All this brings opportunity knocking at your door as it grows your bottom line. This reputation growth also leads to great things like joint ventures and partnerships as it brings you closer to your financial goals. Everyone wins when we finetune communication skills and serve our customers where they live. Something we can measure and improve by putting communication with our customers first.

 

Barbara Jemmott is the founder and business strategist at Your Entrepreneurial Spirit. Her 4-point YES to Customer Acquisition Program (C.A.P.) allows her to work her passion which is helping entrepreneurial women grow their audiences and income, online. She got here through her 20+ years of experience helping businesses understand and implement systems, strategies and procedures to increase productivity as well implement change and streamline operations. With experience and responsibilities to design, develop and deliver training for small to large technology training initiatives for Fortune 100 companies, she brings “Big Business” expertise to the small business space. Learn more about Your Entrepreneurial Spirit and the YES to Customer Acquisition Program at www.yourentrepreneurialspirit.com

I work from home, but I am not a stay-at-home mom

With the summer well underway, many of us are juggling business and children or family expectations. Whether it’s trying to work while the kids are home during the week they don’t have camp or family who want to spend time with you while they are vacation during the week you have the most deadlines, you’re might be starting to feel some frustration or guilt each time you have to say no or set boundaries in order to continue the activities that you need to do to grow your business. Likely these boundary setting efforts come with some push back. I mean you’re home aren’t you?

When the frustration, guilt or push back occur, I have to remind myself that while I have worked from home for the better part of two years, I am not a stay-at-home mom.

Not only do I work from home, but last July, we decided that I would also homeschool my daughter, now seven years old, and have my have my now almost three year old son home as well. So I would be building my business while having my children home with me, and take on the responsibility of educating my daughter too boot. Many thought me crazy, but we’ve worked those parts out.

I love what I do. I also love homeschooling my children. I do not love cooking, cleaning or grocery shopping, which is why I avoid it all costs.

And that was the part of our lives that was still struggling to work itself out. Since I was home all day, my husband expected that, in all of the other stuff I was doing, I should also be taking care of the house.

Now, please don’t think that I am taking this opportunity to complain about my spouse. I have lucked out in the husband department. He is my rock. But he also works around the clock (and he likes to keep that schedule), which leaves me functioning as a single parent a lot of the time.

I also don’t think he even realized he had that expectation at the time.

 

This is not a comparison of work-from-home mamas and stay-at-home mamas.

Not only am I against these kinds of comparisons, but I am part of the camp that believes that being a stay at home is a full time job. There’s a reason why in 2011 Forbes pinpointed the annual salary of a stay-at-home mom at over six figure. You Mamas are the chef and the teacher, the cheerleader and the warden, and the cleaning company and CEO. All at the same time. You wear all the hats, and I respect you the heck out of you for it.

My truth was a little bit different to that, yet, I think, my husband wasn’t seeing that. He truly hadn’t even thought about it, and it was causing friction in our day-to-day lives.

Since we couldn’t seem to talk about it and actually get anywhere on it, I do what I always do when work and home seem to collide. I asked my mastermind group, who are all busy boss-moms like me, for their insight. Yes, I dedicated an entire hot seat to this, and it was worth it.

They too were working from home, and, some of them, had already been through this phase of the journey. By listening to their stories, I found the words to explain to my husband that the same amount of work was getting done around the house that would be getting done if the kids were at school/daycare and I working a 9-5 office job. If the dishes didn’t get done that night, they weren’t going to magically get done in the day.

Not only did he begin to understand my point of view, but I found that I had also given myself the permission to start saying:

I work from home. I homeschool my kiddos. But I am not a stay-at-home mom.

And I have been living this truth ever since. Now, I share it with you. It was a truth I needed to hear, and I know that there are other women in business out there who need to hear it too. We’re all in this together after all, aren’t we?

 

Samantha King is a busy mompreneur and homeschooler with two young children and a couple of businesses at home. When Samantha’s daughter was diagnosed with autism, she had to learn how to keep her priorities aligned within her family, while operating her business at the same time. She is excited to share her knowledge to empower entrepreneurs by giving them the tools they need to do something they love while building sustainable, profitable businesses.  

Contact Samantha:

Tel: 416-885-6841

Email: samantha@fempirebuilders.com

Facebook: @FempireBuilders

Twitter: @FempireBuilders

Instagram: @Fempire_Builders

Develop your brand now to avoid disappointment later

It’s not uncommon for businesses to push through their initial launch only to realize that they haven’t really done any foundational brand work. In the long-run, this can actually have a negative effect on your overall business growth. After all, if you don’t figure out exactly who you are, how are your customers supposed to know? But, what does branding even mean? And how much work do you need to do to develop it? Some business owners feel like they just need to develop a product or a logo and it will all magically fall into place. It’s not quite that simple.

Not only does creating a strong brand help you stand out among your competitors, but it also allows your audience to connect with you on a more personal level. A stronger connection to your audience generally means better revenues and long-term loyalty.

Skipping over the brand development phase, you run the risk of no one knowing who you are and an inconsistent marketing and communications strategy that will confuse your target audience. And remember… branding is not just logo development. Your logo is just a visual representation of the brand you have developed.

Brand Factors

When it comes to brand development, certain factors like industry, audience, and geography will affect your approach, however, below are brand factors that you will always need to address for your own brand development:

  • Audience Segmentation: Figure out who they are, what they want, what they need, and how they want to get it.
  • Value proposition: Decide what value you bring to your target audience and how is it different than your competitors.
  • Brand messaging: These are the main points that you can use to talk about your brand. It will form the base for all marketing and communications content you put out there.
  • Brand identity/personality: Your messaging shows what you are about, and your brand identity showcases your values, ethics, and the characteristics that really make you you.
  • Brand story: Take your messaging and brand identity one step further by crafting your organizational story. Focus on the people and the things that are most important to you.

After you have gone through all of these things, you are well-equipped to create your logo and build your website and web content based on what would appeal to your audience and showcase your brand story.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Now that you have this great brand developed, you need to think about how you can establish a long-term presence with it based on three things:

  1. Consistency: Maintaining consistency when it comes to colours, messaging, tone, and all of your brand’s defining factors is important so your audience knows what to expect from you. It also helps with brand recall (your audience will remember and recognize you based on your marketing efforts).
  2. Adaptability: While you need consistency, you also have to be adaptable when it comes to evolving your brand over time. Your audience and their needs will likely evolve over time and it’s important that you don’t get left behind because you haven’t kept up.
  3. Storytelling: Weaving storytelling through everything you do will allow you to better connect over a long period of time with your audience. You took the time to develop your brand storytelling based on what your audience might want, so use it!

Brand development, while often overlooked, is an important part of the process when you are starting a business or when you are going through organizational change. It will set you up for future business success.

Candace Huntly is Founder and Partner 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Network and Thrive

Even though it’s 2018 and much progress has been made, it’s no secret that professional women are still at a disadvantage in the workplace. The same is true of entrepreneurs.

 

The glass ceiling is holding strong

While progress has been made over the last decades and even more over the past few years, the glass ceiling is still stubbornly holding strong.

This is why networking, an important component of any professional’s career, is even more important when it comes to women – whether they want to climb the ladder to the C-suite or start their own business.

Networking is the most influential and efficient way to raise your profile in the business and corporate world. However, networking will only help you if done strategically.

At this point in history, men entrepreneurs (on average) are more successful than women entrepreneurs (on average) at growing their businesses. To be as successful as the men, you do have to do something you can do but that many women don’t: Build a strategic network

 

Top 8 networking tips for women

 

  1. Be Yourself: If you are guarded, people will not get a sense of who you really are and it will be difficult to connect with you. Bring your smartness and uniqueness to light.
  2. Be passionate about what you do: if your personal values don’t line up with the product or service that your company sells, you need to leave the organization or to do something else. How can you passionately talk about your business when networking if you are not excited about it. If you are not enthusiastic about what you offer, others won’t be interested in what you stand for.
  3. Take it one step at a time:You won’t amass a huge network of contacts overnight. Researches have found that just ten minutes a day is all it takes to make a big impact on the size and quality of your network.
  4. Do your research:The internet is a mine of information, and finding you have something in common with people you’re about to meet is gold. A quick online search can tell you that you went to the same university or have a connection in common.
  5. Don’t avoid men: Many women have a tendency to go to functions that only other women will attend, which limits the benefits of networking. You need to think strategically and make as many valuable connections as possible to further your success. And the best way to do so is with women and men.
  6. Help them to help you:It’s as important to be found as to find others. Having an up-to-date LinkedIn profile (including a professional headshot) makes you much more likely to be approached by new connections.
  7. End as you mean to go on:You may only have one chance to make a good first impression, but you can undo all your good work if you make a bad exit. Say a proper “goodbye” and follow up the next day to make sure your new contact remembers you for the right reasons.
  8. Follow-up: We know that the follow-up is key to cashing in on your networking efforts, but this is one of the greatest areas of missed opportunity because people don’t make time for it and then wonder why they didn’t get the deal.

Don’t just limit yourself to local, in-person networking gatherings if you want to see the best options and most opportunities in the field you’re playing in. Consider newer, more effective alternatives to networking that can take you and your business to unprecedented territories.

 

Women’s rights advocate and gender equality specialist, Darine BenAmara has dedicated her career to supporting other women. She is an international speaker, writer and advocate. Darine has significant international experience advancing women in leadership, leading global diversity and inclusion programs and advocating for women at work. Inspired by the many women she met, she designed “The Smart Woman”, an initiative helping women to overcome the challenges of networking and learn how to create smart connections to fulfill their career goals.

Connect with Darine on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Visit The Smart Woman website.

Small Business Seminar: GTA East

Small Business Made Easy – Technology & Marketing Tips for 2018

 

As entrepreneurs, we are always seeking ways to streamline our processes.  What better way to do so than to rely on technology?  We will provide tools that will make your marketing and business operating lives much easier in 2018.

 

Why be a guest?

  • You will get full access to all our vendors/exhibitors who will provide valuable information to assist with building your business and easing the burden. 
  • You will also get free downloads, hard copy workbooks, and reference books. 
  • Full access to two 2 hour workshops
  • Lunch
  • Swag Bag
  • Exclusive discount to CSBW items

$40.00 – RSVP Now

AGENDA

8:30am : Registration Begins and open networking

10:00am – 12pm: Workshop I

How to Master Social Media Engagement in 15 Minutes a Day

Step Up Your Facebook & Instagram game to reach new customers with a pain free strategy. Includes the Social Media Marketing Workbook: How to Master Engagement in 15 Minutes a Day

12pm – 2pm: Lunch and Networking

2pm – 4pm: Workshop II

Leveraging Mobile Technology for Small Businesses
– Strategies, Tools and Techniques to Acquire & Retain Users
Mobile apps have been a key element for many disrupting business models, and it’s no surprise more and more startups are relying on it to build their businesses. However, with so many apps out there, you’ll have to be smart about yours to make sure it doesn’t end up on the Apple Store graveyard. From tech trends and user behaviour to marketing strategies and tools, learn all you need to overcome the app startup’s biggest challenges: to acquire, retain and convert users.

5pm: Event Closed

Interested in being a Sponsor?

Get access to over 150 small business women who are seeking tools and advice to grow their business.  Sponsoring our event provides you with not only in person access to all our guests, but also visibility on all our social media channels, websites, and mailing lists.  Your business will be seen by over 20k people!!  Email us at info@canadiansmallbusinesswomen.ca for more details.

SponsorshipPackage_CSBW 2018

 

Interested in being a Vendor/Exhibitor?

ONLY 10 SPOTS AVAILABLE AT THIS EVENT

APPROVED VENDOR LIST

Arbonne

CCV Insurance and Financial

Empowerpreneur Books

Canada Business Ontario

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

The Village Hive

Embrace Your Destiny

Bell Canada

Guarano

Get’er Done Marketing

  • Get exclusivity in your area of expertise!
  • Full access to all workshops
  • Full access to all guests
  • Lunch
  • Swag bag
  • You will also get free downloads, hard copy workbooks and reference books.
  • Business name listed in the program
  • Business name listed on the event website

Vendor cost: $300 + HST

Do You Have A Networking Strategy?

Do you ever have the feeling that you are wasting your time at networking events? Have you ever collected a lot of business cards that ended up on a shelf, in a drawer or in the trash?

Studies shows that 97% of businesses regard customer referrals as an important source of new business, yet only 3% of businesses have any form of strategy to generate customer referral based leads. Do you have a networking strategy?

  • “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

We’ve heard it repeatedly. Networking has become one of the most talked about terms when it comes to career growth and business success. But networking is much more than showing up at networking events, shaking a lot of hands and collecting a bunch of cards. It involves relationship building and it can be a deceptively complex process.

Think about it. How many people do you know? How many of these people truly understand what you do? How many of them have directed prospects to you as referrals? And how many of those referrals have actually turned into business?

  • An underutilized power

Even women professionals who understand the importance of networking as a tool for increasing effectiveness seem to underutilized strategic networking. Not everyone you meet can help move your business forward, but everything you do can be driven by the intention to grow your business.

The purpose of strategic networking is to figuring out your future priorities and challenges and enlists the people necessary and gets them to support you. It means that you have to be proactive. The key to a good strategic network is leverage; the ability to gather information, support, and resources from different groups of people to create networks favorable to your business goals

Strategic networking can be difficult as it absorbs a significant amount of time and energy and this is one reason why many women drop it far down their list of priorities.

  • Why would you want a networking strategy?

Many of us take a misguided approach to networking. If you identify you networking goals and know the details of how you will achieve them, you will be far more likely to succeed. In fact if you don’t have a strategy, you will have to be very lucky to move your business forward.

According to McKinsey & Company, women’s lack of access to good quality networks is a main obstacle to their professional advancement, comparable in impact to lacking a mentor, or appropriate coaching and training.

As reported by Statistics Canada, female workers currently make up only 35% of managerial positions and represent 36% of small business owners (in 2014, 15.7% of SMEs were majority owned by women and 19.7% were equally owned by women and men). On average, women business owners are younger and have fewer years of management or ownership experience compared with male business owners. Canadian women business owners are less likely to engage in international trade compared to Canadian male business owners.

The reality is that men still dominate high-level leadership positions in most canadian workplaces. As a result, when women seek to build relationships with senior executives, most of the time they will need to connect with men. According to a study by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company, men have predominantly male networks while women have predominantly female. This pattern means that men are more likely to have the ear of senior executives in their organizations, and that women will need to connect with a male-dominated network to open new doors.

Approaching networking with a strategy is an essential part of your business strategy. It allows you to use your time and abilities wisely, to keep in mind what you are trying to achieve in the long run and help you to achieve it.

  • Network smarter, not harder

Make a plan, focus and be consistent. When you understand exactly what strategic networking is and step up to the challenge, you’ll find avenues of opportunity that you may have otherwise never discovered, and you will be making an invaluable investment in the steady growth of your business.

 

Women’s rights advocate and gender equality specialist, Darine BenAmara has dedicated her career to supporting other women. For the past 7 years, she has been leading initiatives on social and economic empowerment, and political leadership of women in Africa, North America and the Caribbean. Inspired by the many women she met, she launched “The Smart Woman”, an initiative helping women to overcome the challenges of networking and learn how to create smart connections to fulfill their career goals.

Connect with Darine on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/darineba/)

Top 3 resolutions for business success this year

 

It’s the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year came so quickly. As part of this transition period for the business owner, it’s a great time to 3 identify business growth as goals are set for the upcoming year. Goals that outline hopes, plans and strategies towards more success. You’ll need all these resolutions to grow your business so what should they be? Here are the questions you’ll use to define your 3 resolutions:

You want to make more money this year. What’s your Money Resolution?

You want more new customers this year. What’s your People Resolution?

What will you do about your products and/or services this year. What’s your Product Resolution?

It’s all well and good to have hopes, dreams and plans, after all most of us hold personal (new years’ resolutions, anyone?) and business goals.  Before we get too deep in the weeds when we look at our business goals it would be wise to use high-level business growth categories where you can place the goals that support those categories.

These categories? They roll right back into to your Success Resolution. You can get the most effect by making sure these powerful categories support your:

  • Money growth category
  • People category
  • Products development category

Step #1 in creating your Success Resolution would be to:

Define the 3 main resolutions. State the amount you want to make or exceed this year. State your intentions as to what networking events, business organizations you intend to become part of to grow your prospect/customers when you provide your pain-relieving services and products. Are you going to add, remove or update any of your services or products this year? Specify these items here.

Step #2 in your Success Resolution would be to:

Define your Categories and explain how they contribute to the corresponding resolution.

Start with the statement “My XXX category contains:” Add your main headings here (eg: Promotion, Planning, etc)

Step #3 in your Success Resolution would be to:

Define your goals under the appropriate category. Each goal should follow the SMART strategy (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based). Consider adding these beneficial properties to your SMART goal. An element of challenge to get you out of your comfort zone. Make it motivate you to move you to the next step on the path you’re taking. One last reminder: make it doable so you can safely follow through.

Consider these goals when making your plans:

Money goals

With your money resolution in mind, determine how you’re going to reach those goals. Are there items you will be adding or revising?

Promote your business – sometimes small businesses fail to properly prioritize this important activity. You will need to create your marketing plan or hire a marketing expert to take care of this task for you. If you are just starting out you can get started by finding low cost ways to promote your business. Remember the promotional opportunities you can access through your own website (it can serve you more appropriately with some review). Don’t overlook this resource!

Business planning (regular) – Make this a must do weekly activity. Doing this weekly means you are acting “in the moment” to understand what’s working and what’s not. Set aside time each week to reflect, adjust and look ahead. A suggestion might be to make this non-negotiable time in your business week.

Delegate weaknesses – It’s time to admit to those things you don’t do as well as your business needs, and to get help for those important areas of your business that can be better served by someone who is an expert in that area. It will serve you well to remember the adage. “Sell your strengths and buy your weaknesses.”

 

People goals

With your People resolution in mind, determine how you’re going to reach those goals.

Want new customers & prospects? When was the last time you reviewed your client avatars? Do you still interact with these identified customers where they are most likely to get together? Are there new avatars you can add that will open new doors for you?

Networking groups – Are there new ones you can investigate to help connect with your potential customers? Plan to attend their meetings for at least 3-6 months and add it to your calendar as “must-do” commitments.

Get out in your community and join causes you are passionate about. These are easy ways to grow goodwill as you give what you can. A side benefit is the goodwill shown to you and your business while you get to do something you love doing. Everyone wins with this strategy.

Use social media, email and your online presence to grow your connections. Serve value to your prospects the way they like to be served. When you take the time to plan out your online presence you grow an extra pair of hands that are focused on staying in contact with potential and current customers, making sure they received the message you intended.

Product goals

Do you have new products or services created or planned? You need to plan, develop, cost, promote and price your new offerings. What does this mean to your customer? Have you researched the need for this offering, and the pain point will it address? Proper planning in this area can refresh a service offering or successfully launch a new one. More products or services finely tuned to your customers will grow your bottom line exponentially and possibly lead the way to other opportunities, such as passive income. Are you ready to take advantage of something like this?

What’s working & what’s not

You may have a tired, ineffective product or service you’ve not had time to evaluate. It may even be costing you in terms of branding, perception or relevance – all things that impact the buying decisions your customers are looking to make. Take the time to review and eliminate any product or service that no longer serves either you or your market. Look to your data (including any sales figures/download rates, etc. that inform you of the effectiveness of this item. Keep your product goals front and centre as you determine what’s working (and you need to keep/update) vs what’s not working any more. Be clear on what you want to achieve in this area.

So, there you have it – your 3 New Years’ Resolutions for your business. Each one is key to the success of your business and will bring you closer to your goals. Now’s the time to make a real difference. Start with your Resolution, identify the proper Category, and then finally break it down to the S.M.A.R.T goals you’ve identified. Doing this will help you work your magic and achieve your resolutions in a build-it for success strategy. Can you do it? Of course, you can! It will be Happy New Year to you because you have resolutions you can keep!

 

Barbara Jemmott is the founder and business strategist at Your Entrepreneurial Spirit. Her 4-point YES to Customer Acquisition Program (C.A.P.) allows her to work her passion which is helping entrepreneurial women grow their audiences and income, online. She got here through her 20+ years of experience helping business understand and implement systems, strategies and procedures to increase productivity as well as implement change and streamline operations. With responsibilities designing, developing and training small to large technology training initiatives for Fortune 100 companies, she brings “Big Business” expertise to the small business space. Learn more about Your Entrepreneurial Spirit and the YES to Customer Acquisition Program at www.yourentrepreneurialspirit.com

 

 

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