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Nov 24 2014

Don’t Leave Money On The Table!

Martina New

 

Leaving money on the table, as a businesswoman, seems almost as bad as throwing it out of the window. You wouldn’t intentionally throw money out, yet you may well be ignoring untapped revenue sources.

This past month I was reminded by two experts that many of us “leave money on the table” by not utilising accessible sources of revenue.

Business coach Odette Laurie, for example, explains that getting yourself ‘out there’ as a speaker and knowledge expert in your field gets you in front of greater numbers of people, and therefore far more potential prospects and clients than you would otherwise find in the same amount of time.

Naturally, you need to have a topic and a signature speech that you can present, and which is of interest to a broad range of small business owners. Many business coaches, including Odette, and skilled communications specialists can teach you just that: How to find a story that is unique to you, and blend it with the why and the how you are so good at what you’re doing, and how as a result you can bring many benefits to your clients. If you don’t want to become a paid public speaker, then this still is a good step to grow your local contact list and client base. Of course you may become so good that event organisers will start hiring you as paid keynote speaker, becoming another source of income for you.

Another way you are probably leaving money on the table – or rather on the web – is by not tapping into an array of online revenue streams you can generate from your website. Successful entrepreneur and TV host Lee Romanov is one of Canada’s top internet marketers and has been making money online since 1994. She shares her online success and experience through How-To seminars, as well as her book called Today’s Multi-Millionaires: What I Did & You Can Too. Also, starting December 2014, Lee will be hosting her new Rogers Cable TV show called Income Activator TV.

In the seminar I attended, Lee treated the audience to an eye opening show-and-tell on her Top 10 online tips and tricks on converting visitors into revenue. If you already have a website, this really seems like a no-brainer. As long as you have interesting and regularly updated content, and links to related good content, you can earn ‘passive’ income from pay per click ads, lead generation, selling or linking to affiliate products, and more.

In doing so, Lee created the largest online quoting service for car insurance in Canada, generating over $50,000 revenue per month through lead generation (and then sold the business to TorStar). You decide whether you really want to leave that kind of money on the table!

 

Sources:

Lee Romanov, www.incomeactivator.com

Odette Laurie, Business Women On Top, http://businesswomenontop.com

 

Martina Rowley is the founder and operator of Beach Business Hub – THE co-working space east of the Don Valley. She combined her passion and experience in the environmental sector with her community engagement side to create a local work environment where space and resources are shared. She fosters and facilitates collaboration, networking, and learning for and with small business owners and new start-ups. Contact her at:http://www.beachbusinesshub.ca, on Facebook and on Twitter

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Martina Rowley · Tagged: Beach Business Hub, business, business coach, Business Woman, Canada, Canadian Small Business Women, Communications, entrepreneur, How-To Seminars, Income Activatory TV, internet marketers, keynote speaker, leave money on the table, Lee Romanov, Martina Rowley, money, money on the table, Odette Laurie, prospects, revenue, Rogers, small business, small business owners, tips and tricks, Today's Multi-Millionaires: What I did & You Can Too, Top10, Toronto Star, TV host, website

Oct 02 2013

Alicia Vianga – Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of September 2013

Alicia Vianga

Alicia is a big-hearted entrepreneur who combines her expertise in trend forecasting, bra fitting, and fashion knowledge to give women in Toronto an authentic and educational shopping experience.

Before starting her journey into entrepreneurship and advocating for women who have battled breast cancer, Alicia spent over 19 years in hospitality.  As a catering and sales specialist in the industry she had the opportunity to work for esteemed organizations such as the University of Toronto, Colony Hotel, Hotel Plaza II, and the Marriott Hotel Bloor Yorkville. While she attributes her business savvy to her experiences in the hospitality industry, Alicia knew she was meant to start her own business and fill a niche many women didn’t know existed. This led Alicia to found Premier Jour Lingerie and Swimwear, a boutique that provides its customers with unique lingerie and swimwear as well as certified bra fittings.

Since starting her business Alicia has been sought out for her expert bra fitting skills and knowledge. From befuddled husbands shopping for a loved one, to the readers of her blog for the Huffington Post and Revive Magazine, people are hungry for her specialist opinions. One of Alicia’s biggest and most interactive audiences has been held at Dundas Square where she gave a bra fitting workshop for over 1,000 women.

Alicia and her company Premier Jour have been featured as a pre and post breast augmentation bra fitter on Hollywood’s 10 Best This Week, Entertainment Tonight Canada, CFRB 1010, Rogers Day Time TV, Weddingbells Magazine, Toronto Star, Slice TV’s Plastic Makes Perfect, LOVE INC, Jeanne Beker Post News, SNAP Magazines, and Avenue Magazine. Premier Jour was also voted the Best of the Best Readers Choice Lingerie Boutique in 2012.

Alicia strongly believes in giving back to the community. She is an active board member of the Corso Italia BIA, whose goal is to preserve and promote the beautiful neighbourhood of St. Clair West in Toronto. Alicia also supports non-profit events such as The Jeanne Lottie Pink Bedroom Party, and Covenant House-Celebrate Mom.

Alicia, in conjunction with Premier Jour, was asked to review the official Bra Fitting Guide for a major hospital chain in Toronto. Through this affiliation with the Hospital, Alicia identified a major gap in the health care system; there is no program that provides necessities for women who have battled breast cancer who are financially strained. It was this realization that encouraged Alicia to found After Breast Cancer, a charity aimed at ensuring survivors of breast cancer lacking financial means have access to necessities such as bras and/or prosthesis. Alicia understands that when women move from breast cancer patient to breast cancer survivor, the world is a different place for them.  Obtaining properly fitted prosthesis and bras enables survivors to begin their journey to regain their self confidence and restore their feeling of being whole again.

After Breast Cancer was launched on October 14, 2012 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month at a Toronto Argos Game. The charity has been featured in Toronto Is Awesome, OMNI Television’s Culture Avenue, Samaritan Magazine, Girls of T.O, Urban Moms, CP24 Breakfast, and Global News’ Susan Hay Making a Difference segment.

Along with founding After Breast Cancer, Alicia is also the creator of Bras for Congo, a charitable organization that accepts donated bras which are then given to women in the Congo. Each year, Alicia accepts hundreds of bra donations from the public to distribute to hospitals in the Congo.

Alicia is a socially responsible, passionate, and determined business woman and she lives her life trying to make a difference…one bra at a time.

 

 

Q & A with Alicia

 

*What inspires you?
*As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?

As a small business owner, I am most proud of seeing the smiles, and sometimes tears of happiness from my clients face.

As the owner of Premier Jour Lingerie and Swimwear and a Certified Bra Fitter; I know that a bra is not just a item of clothing. The right bra gives a woman hope, it could make her feel whole again, it could make a mother feel alive and renew after nursing her child/ children, it’s a foundation to a woman’s beautiful posture, it’s give a new job seeker confidence and allow her to sit and stand tall. A good bra, give woman relieve from back pain and nick pain.

I am very proud of my charity “After Breast Cancer” because this program changes women’s lives.  It gives them hope. It provides resources that contribute to woman’s Quality of Life (QOL) due to breast cancer. We provide women with no insurance and limited financial resources with bras, camisole and breast prosthesis at no cost to them after breast removal surgery (mastectomy).

Women undergoing breast cancer treatment face many “out of pocket” expenses and the cost of breast cancer to the individual has been well documented.

Through the work of After Breast Cancer, we are beginning to address the aftermath of the devastating blow that breast cancer continues to deliver to our mothers, sisters, friends and their families. We are just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of the support services required to give survivors the whole and meaningful life that they fought so hard to live for.

Our Goal at After Breast Cancer is to help eliminate as much stress from women’s lives as they goes through the healing process of breast cancer, we want our friends/ sisters/ mother to focus on getting well and not worrying about as my survivor friends once said to me… “I just want to feel whole again”
*What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?

Do something that you love and most importantly, always give back, because the more you give the more you will receive.  Be kind and loving.

Owing your business could be very rewarding, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment. But having a business takes lots of hard work, sometimes sleepless nights, because you are the accountant, the marketing director and window washer.  Be mindful if you have a family, and don’t ignore them to get rich.  Most of my older mentors tell me that’s their biggest regret.

And most importantly, don’t forget to smile; smile when you are on the phone and smile when you see a new or old client.
*What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

This year, we hope to launch our on line shopping for Premier Jour, we get lots of request from our clients who already know their bra or swimwear sizes and they just want to shop on line.

We look forward to continue building great relationships with the community and our clients.

we are excited at Premier Jour as our “Bras for the Congo” program is growing and this year we hope to ship 2500 bras to women in the Congo, the rape capital of the world.

And we so look forward to the growth of “After Breast Cancer” as we launch our program in two more cities within Canada

 

Contact Alicia at:

 416-654-1868 / 416-560-3835

 http://pjlingeries.com

Web: http://afterbreastcancer.ca
Facebook.com/afterbreastcancer
Twitter.com/ABC_program_

 

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Small Business Woman of the Month · Tagged: ABC, After Breast Cancer, Alicia Vianga, Avanue Magazine, Best of the Best Readers Choice Lingerie Boutique, Bra Fitting, Bras for Congo, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Canadian Small Business Women, CFRB 1010, charity, Colony Hotel, Corso Italia BIA, Covenant House Celebrate Mom, CP24 Breakfast, Entertainment Tonight Canada, entrepreneur, ET Canada, Girls of T.O., Global News, Hollywoods 10 Best This Week, Hotel Plaza II, Huffington Post, Jeanne Beker Post News, Love Inc, Making a Difference, Marriott Hotel Bloor Yorkville, OMNI Television Culture Ave, Premier Jou, Premier Jour Lingerie and Swimwear, Revive Magazine, Rogers Day Time TV, Samaritan Magazine, SNAP, Susan Hay, The Jeanne Lottie Pink Bedroom Party, Toronto, Toronto is Awesome, Toronto Star, University of Toronto, Urban Moms, Weddingbells Magazine

Aug 01 2013

Angela Aiello – Canadian Small Business Woman of The Month of July 2013

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Destined to become a Wine Entrepreneur, Angela grew up beside a booming local food and wine industry and stems from a family of entrepreneurs. She is a true city girl with country roots who has a passion for building wine confidence.

She got her start in the wine industry at the tender age of 16. Her story begins at the Prestigious Vineland Estates Winery Restaurant (a CAA/AAA Four Diamond Award Restaurant). Her experience at VEW lasted for a total of five years and she then continued for another four years at Peller Estates Winery Restaurant (which recently receiving the highest possible rating for food by Zagat readers). Follow that with a couple years of wine retail experience downtown Toronto, a growing passion for wine and a friendly and bubbly personality and her career seemed to form itself.

After completing her degree in Business Communications at Brock University, Angela moved to Toronto to pursue her interest in media and marketing/communications working in both television production and Radio. It started out as a personal hobby – blogging about wine – to create a network of wine lovers, share information and help people learn about wine. But, as more people began to subscribe to her blog, she realized she was on to something great. Using a quirky play on her last name, the iYellow Wine Club was born.

Founder of the Toronto Wine Revolution Angela believes in making wine accessible to everyone and has built iYellow around her vision of empowering people with “Wine Confidence”. iYellow Wine Club now consists of over 6500 members and hosts regular events, classes and tours to allow members to congregate and learn about wine in a fun, friendly, open and casual atmosphere. iYellow also has a powerful online social network and sends members monthly e-news and offers an interactive community based environment both online and offline. Angela is determined to help members build their own sense of wine confidence no matter how they learn about wine whether it’s socially at a wine event, formally at wine school or experientially on a wine tour.

She not only loves wine, but she also truly appreciates food and has worked and learned alongside well known chefs such as Chef Marc Picone (Marc Picone Culinary Studio), Chef Jan Willem Stulp (Vineland Estates Winery), Chef Jason Rosso (Toronto’s Distillery District) and Chef Jason Parsons (Peller Estates Winery & City Line Guest Regular).

As a respected wine and food expert, with over 13 years experience in the industry, she was the exclusive wine host for the CBC’s Steven & Chris Show, Le Gourmet.TV, as well as being a contributing writer for Toronto Star’s WineFox.com, Grapevine Magazine (and grapevinemagazine.ca), and the iYellow Wine Club blog. Her passion for wine has taken her to all over Ontario, as well as Italy, Chile, California, France, London, UK, Germany and Argentina.

She was also featured in a CBC Wine Documentary titled “Wine Confidential” and has been recognized in several print, television and online media sources, including Cosmo TV, Twenty Something TV.com, Sweethome.ca, Canada AM, Global TV, The Toronto Star, Post City Magazine, City Bites, Metro, The St. Catharine’s Standard, TasteTO.com, Toronto.com, SheDoestheCity,com, HUG (hipurbangirl.com), Virgin Radio, Classical 96.3 and CBC TV. She has hosted the Ontario Wine Awards as well as various videos with the LCBO.

In 2010 Angela was awarded the prestigious Top 40 Under 40 Award by Niagara’s own Business Link Magazine and most recently she was selected and by the Ontario Hostelry Institute to receive an award of distinction in the hospitality industry, the Annual Top 30 Under 30 Award. Aiello was recognized amongst thirty top young performers as one of Ontario’s leaders in hospitality for her dedication and innovation in the wine industry.

Our Q & A with Angie Aiello

*What inspires you?

Having my own business inspires me. So does working at what I love. I’ve always been inspired to be my own boss and work for myself. I also love having a team around me who I can inspire and work with to achieve business goals. I love being around the people and feeling of the wine industry. Everyone is always so happy to be going to work and to love what they do that that always inspiring to work around.

*As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?

I am most proud of the fact that I had a vision and through all the ups and down’s I’ve made it to the place I really wanted to be at. I now have an office a full time employee and am in the midst of new developments. Making and achieving goals is a great way to make any business owner proud. It makes you feel good when you can work hard and get rewarded for all the blood, sweat and tears you put into your business. The other great aspect is that over time you build credibility from your trade around what you do, this also makes me proud.

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

 You need to have perseverance, flexibility and passion to survive.

Perseverance  – Pushing through to reach your dreams in a skill that many don’t have. Motivation comes very close to this skill. You need to be personally motivated to persevere and in turn be what I feel is successful.

Flexibility –The ability to be flexible is a crucial skill to have. Life is ever changing and being able to flex with the changing times will surely make you easy to work with and will assure relationship retention when it comes to business relationships

Passion – I believe that passion is one of the most important skills. Best of all you can find it inside of yourself. Finding a real way to monetize your passion is a true skill that takes time and patience to discover.

*What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

Over the course of the next year, you will see many fun things from iYellow Wine Club. From the development of an app, to a new website to many great tasting events – 2013 has been a banner year, and 2014 is looking the same!

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Small Business Woman of the Month · Tagged: Angela Aiello, blog, Canadian Small Business Women, CBC, Chef Jan Willem Stulp, Chef Jason Parsons, Chef Jason Rosso, Chef Marc Picone, Chloe Magazine, Cosmo TV, food, food expert, Grapevine Magazine, iyellow, iyellow wine club, LCBO, Le Gourmet TV, Marc Picone Culinary Studio, Peller Estates Winery, small business owner, Steven & Chris Show, Toronto Star, Toronto Wine Revolution, Toronto's Distillery District, Vineland Estates Winery, Wine Confidential, wine entrepreneurs, wine host, wine industry, winefox.com

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