Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

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

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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

 

 

Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo returns to Toronto, September 17, 2017

 

In light of current undertones towards immigrants in Canada, the expo promotes peace, hope and success for all business women

 

Toronto…Now in its fifth year, the one-day, experiential Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo (IWSM Expo) celebrates the aspirations and achievements of immigrant women, taking place in Toronto on Sunday, September 17th, at Daniels Spectrum. Under the theme “The Changing Face of the Immigrant Community,” IWSBE offers women an opportunity to get informed, empowered and enlightened, while providing access to business building services, networking opportunities and entrepreneur workshops.

Expos are a crucial factor in helping new businesses acquire the leads, networks, information and polish they need to succeed in the business world.

This is according to Dwania Peele, founder of Canadian Small Business Women (CSBW) and the IWSB expo who notes that women owned small and mid-sized businesses generate around $117 billion to the Canadian economy annually.

“We’ve always championed the fact that women matter, and we’ve sought to celebrate all the roles they fill in their family, career and community,” said Peele. “Immigrants, specifically, struggle in Canada’s labour market despite their many skills, and we are more than excited to be in Toronto with this rallying cry of support for immigrant women entrepreneurs across Ontario.”

Another advantage of a business-focused event is that it presents practically unlimited opportunities for information-sharing, says Peele. “We have found there is significant demand for practical advice and insights that help would-be immigrant entrepreneurs and small businesses to run their businesses effectively. Expos bring together stakeholders from across a niche spectrum and present an ideal platform for workshops, demonstrations and seminars that help participants grow their businesses.”

ISWB expo offers a rich experience with informative seminars and panel discussions presented by notable speakers including the Honorable Gagan Sikand, MP for Mississauga-Streetsville,  and entrepreneur Julie Suen, President and CEO of Chinese Canadian Voice. Throughout the day attendees can view educational exhibits and corporate displays from Canada Business Ontario and the Government of Canada. The seminars and workshops will be far ranging and engaging, featuring topics that impact women’s daily lives addressing such issues as health & wellness, marketing and social media tips, career advancement, business/entrepreneurship, the welfare of our children and much more. While IWSB expo targets immigrant women, there are elements for all women business owners.

In addition, ISWB expo offers ample opportunity for shopping and sampling from local artists and artisans showcasing their handmade wares at the Craftadian pavilion, formerly the Made by Hand Show.

 

IWSB expo offers a one-stop business platform to gather information, exchange ideas and network for anyone considering starting their own business, and for those already in business and looking to expand.

Admission runs for $5 / person including access to seminars, panel discussions and the handmade market.

What:                                   Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo

 

Where: Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas St E, Toronto, ON M5A 2B7

When: Sunday, September 17, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Cost: Admission: $5 (Under 16 years of age free)

Website: http://toronto.immigrantsmallbizexpo.ca

 Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/immigrant-womens-small-business-expo-toronto-2017-tickets-31623796627

The Cash Flow Paradox

 

The number one concern most business owners have – especially in the beginning – is how to manage their cash flows. It’s not just about generating the sales – but getting those clients to pay. Pay on time. So you can pay your bills on time. And just because you aren’t getting paid doesn’t mean that your vendors will excuse your late payment. And so we find ourselves in this cash flow paradox of you need money to pay your bills, but what do you do when your clients just aren’t paying you?

The reality is cash flow ups and downs happen in any business and the excuse of your clients aren’t paying you does not bode well with most vendors. You need to be prepared for this and have a plan. The solution is a business line of credit.

For some reason most entrepreneurs do not want to get a business line of credit. Perhaps they’re afraid they’ll abuse the credit available or they need to personally guarantee it. But the fact of the matter is, you will inevitably need it at some point. Here are the two mistakes I see the most when it comes to borrowing money.

  1. Timing

Getting a line of credit can be a challenge for many business owners. If you’re a new business you don’t have enough credit established as a business and many banks will deny you unless you personally guarantee the loan. If you’re an established business, but have a lot of debts, you can also be denied the loan. Or If you’re an established business, the banks can question why you need a bank loan now when you’ve been in business for X years already. It can be a red flag to all of a sudden need to borrow money unless you have an expansion or specific tangible purpose.

Typically banks and creditors like to support clients in either the start-up phase or the expanding phase. So getting a line of credit established early on – even if you have to personally guarantee or put up some collateral – is advisable. You can support your business case by citing all the start-up costs that require immediate cash flow (website, advertising, space rental etc) and banks understand that in the beginning there will be more money out than in. Versus, needing money to just survive. The latter is a guaranteed loan denial. So ask for the line of credit application when you’re starting your business!  You don’t have to use it, but it’s easier to not use it when you have it, than be denied when you need it.

  1. Borrowing the wrong way.

Yes, there is a right and wrong way to borrow. The right way includes a nice tax write off! If you borrow money for business purposes, the interest you pay on that loan is TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Yay!

Often what I see happen is entrepreneurs put their SAVINGS in the business and then BORROW to fund their PERSONAL lives. Borrowing for personal purposes is NOT tax deductible. So only use your personal savings into the business if you have enough to cover your personal needs. Otherwise, see point 1 about getting a line of credit.

Note: even if you use your personal line of credit for business purposes the interest is still tax deductible. Either way, you need to be able to support the “business purpose” with a paper trail.

 

 

“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

Most business partnerships end in divorce. Here are the top 5 ways to beat the odds.

Done correctly, going into business with a partner can be a great way to grow quickly as each partner brings expertise or assets that the other party is missing but which are crucial for business success. Yet, according to some studies, 80% of business partnerships fail. When you consider that the failure of a business partnership can often lead to loss of valued relationships, financial struggles, lawsuits and even complete business failure, those are eye-wateringly bad odds.

So, how do you beat the odds?

 

Get on the same page

If you’re starting a business together, don’t jump straight into setting up the bank account and buying inventory. Spend a lot of time (I’m speaking about days if not weeks) mapping out what your business will look like. What are the business goals? Timelines? What is your vision for the business and what it will take to achieve this? What is the sacrifice plan? When will you increase your team and how? What is the exit plan?

Skipping this step can be disastrous. If you plan to build a large business with 10 locations across Canada and sell it to your largest competitor in 7 years for $10 million and your partner is content to stay small as long as she can make $72,000 a year from it, your business partnership is not going to work out and it’s best to know this before you invest your energy and money.

 

The Devil (and the Lawsuit) is in the details

The big picture is crucial but it will remain an unfulfilled mission statement on a wall somewhere if you don’t nail down the details.  Having a clear, detailed plan can often be the only thing that allows you to ride out changes in the market and in the emotional state of the partners. Before you get started:

  • Establish the objectives and expectations of each partner;
  • Determine each partner’s contribution in terms of funds, skill and time;
  • Complete an organizational chart, even if right now it will only contain two names- yours and your partner’s, and assign the jobs each partner will have. This is often the most difficult part as someone has to be the Managing Partner.
  • Form evaluation objectives and plan ways to monitor and assess performance;
  • Decide on a procedure to resolve problems when there is a serious issue e.g mediation or arbitration.

 

Map out Your Mutual Expectations in Writing

Now that you know where you want to go in your business and how you plan to get there, step back and think about the roadmap for the relationship between you and your partner. Before you visit a lawyer (more on that later), you and your partner(s) should take the time to draft your version of a partnership agreement. This will save on legal fees as it will allow you to experiment with different structures and solutions on your own, get a clearer idea of what you need to address and distinguish business issues from legal issues. The more work you have done before stepping into your lawyer’s office, the more useful and less expensive your agreement will be.

 

Get Professional Advice Early On

I know you wouldn’t start a partnership without legal advice! A business lawyer who has helped form partnerships before can help you assess your draft agreement and determine how realistic and beneficial your wish list is. She can also help develop your negotiation strategy including determining what you should ask for and when.

You should also have a consultation with an accountant who will be able to give you advice on how to make a budget, manage revenue and minimize tax liability.

 

Trust Your Instincts

A wise person once said- “Always trust your gut. It knows what your head hasn’t yet figured out.”  Sometimes, a partnership looks great on paper but something just doesn’t add up.

A former client had the opportunity to join a business started by a husband and wife team which had strong financials and an expanding client base but in her meetings with the husband, she just always felt uneasy. Still, she thought she was being unduly sensitive and decided to go ahead with the partnership on the expectation that she could do really well financially. It turned out to be a disaster. The husband was a manipulative creep who consistently undermined my former client and then tried to force her out of the business without compensation. During that period, every time I spoke with her she expressed how upset she was, not so much with the partner, but with herself for ignoring her gut.

So, by now you’re probably thinking that you need to have a long chat with your partner but you’re wondering how to raise the subject without causing a rift. I’ll discuss that next month.

 

 

Andrea Henry

Vox Law LLP

The Law Firm Built With Love for Small Business™

T: 416.639.6235

E: andrea@voxlaw.ca

W: http://www.voxlaw.ca

Sign up to receive legal tips I don’t share anywhere else and a must-have checklist for Canadian small businesses at  The Secure Startup.

This article is made available by Andrea Henry of Vox Law LLP for educational purposes only and not to provide specific legal advice. By reading this article you acknowledge that there is no solicitor-client relationship between you and Andrea Henry and/or Vox Law LLP. The article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed lawyer.

Tell your story and grow your business but don’t make it personal!

 

Operating your own small business is a daily challenge. Writing about it, for some people, is even more so. My advice to small business owners who are looking to start their own blog is to star in their own blog. That statement however, comes with a couple of caveats: Don’t do it to often and don’t get too personal when you do.

If you own and operate a small business you know what goes into it. Often it’s a herculean effort involving long days (and nights!) and plenty of weekends too. You are passionate about what you do otherwise you wouldn’t do it. So why not share some of that passion with the world? The easiest place to start a blog (and we’ve talked about this before) is with you. Spend your first few blogs addressing the “who, what, where, why and how” of what you do. It’s ok to share your personal story. Perhaps you were motivated to start your business from a deeply personal place or as the result of an experience you had. For example, I recently wrote and published a children’s book about allergies that was a direct result of the experiences we have had with my own daughter. You can bet that in my blogs I will be sharing some of those experiences to create a relatable story for my intended target audience.

You don’t have to share the specifics but you can talk about why you do what you do and why you are passionate about it. Adding a personal touch or two to your blogs humanizes your product or service and helps people to understand your motivation. Even incorporating a “stock” kind of sentence or phrase that opens or closes each blog, one that is written from the heart (but which also relates to your business) is a great way to create continuity between blogs and to connect with customers on a more meaningful level.

The trick to this whole process is finding a balance.  Like Momma used to say “all things in moderation.” Sharing your story and “starring” in your blog is about including some relevant facts about yourself, or sharing insightful & humorous stories about your experiences, while still making sure that everything you do links back to the product or service you offer. The blogs are about you but not ALL about you. Share your story while making sure to leave out the really gory and personal bits. Unless you’re a divorce mediation specialist for example, we don’t need to hear your bitter divorce story. So find a way to get personal, without getting too personal! Finding an audience that can relate to you on a personal level can help grow your business!

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

Business Use of Home Expenses

Note: This information differs slightly for employees who are required/allowed to work from home.

Many entrepreneurs love the idea of starting a business from home because now they get to claim the home expenses – or rather a portion of them – as a business expense! BUT entrepreneurs beware there are conditions to be met!

You need to meet ONE of the following conditions:

  1. It needs to be you principal place of business OR
  2. You use the space only to earn business income AND you use it regularly and on an ongoing basis to meet your customers, clients or patients.

So what does that mean?

If you always meet clients at a coffee shop, restaurants or their place of business, and never in your home, it can be a challenge to justify why you need to claim a home office.  Furthermore, if you are also expensing a secondary office space (meeting rooms, rented office spaces) justifying the need for a home office becomes even harder. Needing a place to keep your computer and files often is not strong enough.  However taking calls, doing client work, and using that room for other functions relating to contracting business can be a better justification. Note there is also an implied expectation of a separate room or dedicated work area; using the kitchen table does not cut it.

Once you have determined that your home office you can claim a percent of the following expenses:

  • Heat
  • Electricity
  • Insurance
  • Maintenance
  • Mortgage INTEREST
  • Property taxes
  • Other expenses (such as water)

It is important to also mention that the amount you deduct cannot be more than your net income; so the expenses relating to the home office cannot create a business loss. So we recommend calculating your net income (Revenue less expenses) for everything else first, then seeing if home expenses make the cut. These expenses can be carried forward with certain conditions.

When you sell your house, there will be what’s called a recapture if you have deducted depreciation on the value of the house so our recommendations is not to do any depreciation relating to your house!

 

 

 

“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

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

What’s your fairy tale ending?

 

Fairy tales abound with messages of hope, retribution, restitution, redemption and more. As children, a fairy tale can scare us into good behaviour, provide fodder for nightmares, or give us hope for a better, brighter future. But what of such stories and their “happily ever after” endings when we are adults? Launching a business is a scary proposition and the concept of a “pot of gold at the end of every rainbow” might seem unbelievable when the bills are mounting but the clients aren’t knocking. Does “everything really look better after a good nights sleep?” Is there ever a time in business like when Goldilocks decided a certain bowl of porridge was “just right?”  As in the classic fairy tale we believed in whole-heartedly as children, in business, we absolutely must have faith, both in our abilities and in the possibilities of the “happily ever after” ending.

If you’ve launched a business and are perhaps currently sitting in year one or year two, you might be questioning just how much longer you should pour your heart and sole into this seemingly endless money pit. Maybe you didn’t quit your day job and you’re finding that balancing both just seems a herculean task that isn’t showing any pay off. Are there generally accepted standards around how long you should keep at it? Certainly desire and conviction play a huge role but so does having the common sense to know when to bail out. Here are what some business experts have to say.

First and foremost, the type of business you’ve launched will play a critical role in how quickly you turn a profit and how much money you need to both sustain it, and earn income from it. A commonly cited example is the restaurateur vs. the web site designer. Start up costs differ significantly and will affect how quickly your earnings show on the “plus” side of the page. “The actual time frame to company profitability is entirely dependent upon how much start-up capital is needed to create the products and services, and how much money is drawn from the company for compensation and investor servicing.” (1) That said, as a general rule of thumb you can rely on earning less in your first year of business than whatever salary you enjoyed prior to launch. Any profits should be reinvested in the business. In your second year, generally you are on the road to success if you are able to draw your previous “regular” salary and finally, experts agree that if in the third and subsequent years you can draw a larger salary, or perhaps even sell shares in the company, you are well on the road to profitability.

Marketing expert Seth Godin has said it can take as long as “six years of hard work to become an overnight success” and points to examples like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg as examples. (2) Microsoft for example, was founded in 1975 but it wasn’t until 1986 that it went public and made its founder so very wealthy. Similarly, Steve Jobs and his company Apple experienced an up and down relationship from its inception in the mid 70’s until the late 80’s and the original MacIntosh was introduced onto the market. It actually took the better part of two decades for the Apple founder to be considered a “dot.com” success and we shouldn’t forget that at one time he even left the company! (3) In other words – success takes time, sometimes, a very, very long time.

For me, I believe the other key consideration in all of this is this: What do you define as success? The answer is unique to each of us. For some individuals success is having workplace flexibility, not having a “boss” to answer to and earning enough income to take the family on vacation a couple of times per year. Maybe being able to work in your pajamas for a good part of the day is motivation enough! For others, the satisfaction of providing a much-needed service to others and creating a career around something that you truly believe in, is satisfaction enough. If a living wage is earned in the meantime – well that’s a bonus. Still others of course are looking to achieve that “overnight success” and become wealthy. What’s your motivation? What do you define as success?  Your fairy tale ending is as individual as you are. Know that, as in the classic fairy tale, you might have to undergo some trial or hardships along the way but from these experiences we learn and grow, adapt and change. The bottom line remains the same however, if you believe…..you will succeed…..at whatever success means for you!

 

(1) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/average-time-reach-profitability-start-up-company-2318.html

(2) http://www.businesspundit.com/12-pervasive-myths-about-starting-a-small-business/

(3) http://www.businessinsider.com/guess-how-long-overnight-success-really-takes-2011-3

 

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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