Blogs

Mar
28
Are You a Hoarder?
By admin|March 28, 2012|Category: Operations

They’re there. Files upon files. Folders upon folders. You can’t see them, but they’re taking up TONS of space on your hard drive AND they’re keeping you from doing what you do best!

It’s one thing to create and build a valuable resource library, but have you crossed the line from researcher to hoarder? One of the biggest challenges we can face in business is to cease and desist from searching for more and more information.

Clutter, in whatever form it takes, whether we can see it or not, uses energy. Energy to find it, save it and search through it.

Here are 5 success tactics that can move you from hoarder to staying focused:

Mar
21
Make Your Business “Age- Friendly”
By admin|March 21, 2012|Category: Marketing

Have you ever considered the impression your business gives to people who are not ‘29’ anymore?

“Older adults tend to be loyal customers. If your business is age-friendly, you can attract and keep customers within a large and expanding demographic.” Age-Friendly British Columbia.

When I had my stores, I had a large number of customers who were well into their 50’s and they taught me a great deal about what they wanted in a comfortable shopping experience.

Mar
13
Be Bold – The World is Your Marketplace
By admin|March 13, 2012|Category: Marketing

Flexibility, change and reinvention are part of the challenge of being an entrepreneur whether you are creating new services to meet your client needs, exploring new opportunities or marketing to potential customers. Consider expanding your business to take advantage of opportunities in other parts of the world. Diversifying into different markets can help you mitigate risk in economic downturns and market fluctuations.

In this article Conny Millard, Director of Millard Consulting Group Inc. gives her insight on how you can confidently extend your business into a new market.

Mar
7
Finding The Right Insurance For Your Business
By admin|March 7, 2012|Category: Operations

Insurance coverage is important for small business owners. One effective cost saving strategy is with loan insurance. It is common risk management practice for lending institutions to request disability and life insurance protection on loans and mortgages. Personal insurance is more favourable over creditor protection.

We will examine the process, savings, risks and benefits:

1.Application and approval process. Typically creditor insurance is offered by the lending institution. It is a tick of a box to accept, there are a few medical questions, the process is easy and the insurance coverage is almost immediate. However, the hidden cost such as interest payable on insurance premium, is overlooked.

Feb
29
Business Casual: Just How Casual Should You Be?
By admin|February 29, 2012|Category: Marketing

Relaxed work attire is a trend many entrepreneurs have embraced -- some perhaps a little too much. In fact, a recent survey commissioned by The Creative Group found 39 percent of executives said workers and company representatives appear too casual when donning a relaxed look.

As an entrepreneur, we ARE the company and our appearance should reflect that..

Here are a few pointers to be ‘best dressed’ without the stress.

Under-do it. Unless your job is in the entertainment or fashion industry, clothing should never be distracting. Your personal style still can shine through--just don't make it scream.

Feb
22
How Many Twitter Accounts Should You Have?
By admin|February 22, 2012|Category: Social Media

As a social media strategist I often come across the following question - I have a barely used Twitter account under my personal name. Should I open a new account for my business under my business name?

I strongly suggest you keep just one Twitter account with your name on it. If you want your business name to have some presence on Twitter you can always change the @mention name to your business name… but keep the actual account in your name.

People are more likely to engage with you (in the relationship building way) when it is a person vs. a company name. Also, if you network locally, people are also more likely to search you under your name as well.