CanadianSME

CANADIANSME ISSUEE 3 FEBRUARY 2019

Empowering Canadian Small & Medium Businesses

BUSINESS TALK

TECH TALK WITH PIERRE-LUC CHARBONNEAU

JASON STORSLEY VICE PRESIDENT, SMALL BUSINESS, RBC

VP- SALES & MARKETING-OBKIO

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5FRUITS

ESSENTIAL

THE FUTURE OF

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LENDING FOR SME’s

TO RELIEVE YOUR STRESS

CATO PASTOLL, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, LENDING LOOP

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PAGE 34 PAGE 14

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

STEPHANIA VARALLI

CO-CEO, PAGE 58 WOMEN OF INFLUENCE PAGE 18

PAYROLL

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS

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Exclusive chat with the President of ADP Canada PAGE 16

Holger Kormann PAGE 12

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CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I 1 www.canadiansme.ca

CANADA BUSINESS TALKS

www.canadabusinesstalks.ca

Business Topics Canada Business Talks will be talking about the following topics that are crucial when it comes to having a successful business: 1

MARKETING FOR SMES:

What are the best resources and tools when it comes to promoting your business to ensure that it gets all the attention you want from the very beginning. How to promote on a small budget and ensure you get the right marketing before launching, along with new trends in marketing.

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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION:

Why going digital is important and investing in technology will make your business grow. Resources and creative ideas on how to use technology to your advantage and ensure your business is kept up to date with the new trends.

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SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY:

The best technology tendencies for small businesses. What the current tech trends are for small businesses and how it can help them grow their business.

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2

FINANCE:

Financial experts that will be partnering up with Canada Business Talks will be sharing best practices and expertise advice on how entrepreneurs can get funding, what are the best loans for SMEs and how to manage and run a budget that will ensure the success of your business.

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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT:

Guidance how to manage your business by hiring the right employees and how to grow your business through available programs, resources and mentoring opportunities that can help all entrepreneurs when it comes to managing a successful business.

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WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP:

Resources and tools that are available to women entrepreneurs. Coaching and mentoring opportunities to help women grow their business and be successful.

LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT:

Orientation and workshops to help business owners become successful leaders. Programs, tools and resources available to help entrepreneurs get the proper skill set when it comes to being successful leaders.

Canada Business Talks is a new concept into bringing influential people in the business world together so they can share their thoughts and learn from one another. Business experts and tycoons, industry leaders and entrepreneurs will all come together and take part in sharing their ideas, learning from one another and taking part in brainstorming sessions. The main goal is to create a platform where entrepreneurs can meet and discuss with business gurus and experts to share knowledge and perhaps even get some coaching along with guidelines and advice on how they can grow their business and take it to the next level. Canada Business Talks will also be conducting seminars and workshops that will be hosted by experts in their fields so they can help entrepreneurs be successful when it comes to managing their business.

Who Should Attend?

Canada Business Talks is for people who have a vision to change the business world. So, we’re talking about business students, business owners, entrepreneurs and people who are looking for expert advice and suggestions when it comes to running a successful company.

Organizations who support the expansion of businesses or who are looking to connect with business owners who want to globalize and grow their business, Canada Business Talks is the place for them where they will find all the information they need.

Get Involved Canada Business Talks is looking for partners with common goals such as corporations, volunteers or business experts who want to partnership with them. They want people who are interested in sharing their expertise in any upcoming events and having their brand be a part of Canada Business Talks.

WELCOME Welcome to the third edition of CanadianSME Magazine. This month we’re all about women empowerment. Because we believe that women entrepreneurs make for a greater and more diverse Canada, this issue features women in leadership roles who are making a difference in the business industry.

CanadianSME is a proud supporter of women entrepreneurs. The business industry is changing and with it, women are taking on more management roles to lead the world of business.

This month’s edition includes several interviews from women in leadership roles. Our Business Woman of the month is none other than Carinne Chambers, CEO of DivaCup. Other exclusive interviews of inspiring women included in this third edition of CanadianSME are Stephania Varalli, Co-CEO of Women of Influence and Shirley Vickers, President and CEO of Innovate BC. We’re also excited to announce that our Entrepreneur of the Month is Dan Radu, founder of Macro-Tech. Cato Pastoll, Co-Founder and CEO of Lending Group and Jason Storsley, VP of Small Business Banking RBC talk about financing options and lending opportunities for SMEs in their exclusive interviews.

We are very glad to chat with Holger Kormann, President of ADP Canada, Our readers will also be pleased to learn what the 5 best fruits for stress relief are and our choice of the best business books that every entrepreneur should read.

This third edition of CanadianSME is promising to be a great read for everyone. Through our exclusive interviews and resourceful topics, we’re hoping that this month’s edition will provide you with great insight and knowledge to help make your small business into a success. CanadianSME aims to inspire and support Canadian entrepreneurs as they take on this exciting journey of entrepreneurship. Proud supporters of Canadian SMEs, we make it our mission to include informative articles on a monthly basis to contribute towards the success of SMEs all throughout the country. We hope you enjoy this months’ reading and thank you for trusting us to provide you with the resources you need to grow your business!

Thanks for your support!

CANADIANSME Empowering Canadian Small & Medium Businesses

www.canadiansme.ca info@canadiansme.ca canadiansme canadian_sme canadiansme Editor & Publisher Shaik Khaleeluddin (SK) Consulting Editor Daniel Zimmer Creative Design Abdhesh Kr. Jha Webmaster Ashraf Contributors Holger Kormann Jason Storsley Stephania Varalli Dan Radu Joel Sears Prabha Mitchell Pierre-Luc Charbonneau Lisa Shepherd Carinne Chambers-Saini

Laura Williams Cato Pastoll Phoebe Yong Shirley Vickers Sandra Altner Vincent Alimi Silvia Pencak Lawrence Susskind Samuel Dinnar

For Advertisements: info@canadiansme.ca For Distribution Enquiries: CMarketing Inc. 2355 Derry Road E, Unit 27 | Mississauga, ON | L5S 1V6 Phone: 416 6550 205 MEMBER OF

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CONTENTS

12

INTERVIEW

HOLGER KORMANN

President of ADP Canada

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Sandra Altner: The face of Women’s Enterprise Center of Manitoba

34

Lending Loop: The Future of Lending for SMEs Cato Pastoll Co-Founder and CEO of Lending Loop

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Entrepreneur of the month Dan Radu

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

STEPHANIA VARALLI

Co-CEO at Women of Influence Inc.

INTERVIEW

Tech Talk with Pierre-Luc Charbonneau VP of Sales and Marketing at Obkio

42 32

WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

Small Talk with Shirley Vickers President & CEO of Innovate BC

RESOURCES

10 Best Small Business Resources in New Brunswick

By David W. Smith

CONTENTS

44 35 41 16

BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE MONTH

Carinne Chambers-Saini CEO of DivaCup

BOOKS

5 Best Business Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

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Insights from Jason Storsley: Vice President, Small Business, RBC

CAPITAL

Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative BUSINESS

What's Marketing Worth To A Business-to-Business Company?

By Lisa Shepherd

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INTERVIEW

On a mission to change the world of business Prabha Mitchell, CEO of WESK

66 22 40 62

BRANDING

Ideas for New Business Branding ACCOUNTING

5 Best Accounting Software for Canadian SMEs SOCIAL MEDIA

5 Best Social Media Management Tools LUXURY SUV

At a Glance: 2019 Nissan Pathfinder

Contributors:

President of ADP Canada

SAMUEL DINNAR

PRABHA MITCHELL

Tech Executive, Consultant and Mediator

As President of ADP Canada, Holger Kormann is leading the strategic vision and execution of ADP Canada’s business plans to position ADP as the leader in the Human Capital Management space and as a partner of choice in the human resources technology and outsourcing markets.

Samuel Dinnar is a mediator, consultant, board member, and venture capital investor. He is an instructor at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Negotiation Institute. He is also a research associate with MIT’s Science Impact Collaborative.

Chief Executive Officer of WESK, formerly Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc., Prabha is passionate about driving change to close the Gender Entrepreneurship Gap and the resulting Gender Economic Gap. Through her advocacy efforts, Prabha served as the first President of the Leaders Council of the Paul J.

JASON STORSLEY

DAN RADU

HOLGER KORMANN

PIERRE-LUC CHARBONNEAU

Vice President, Small Business, RBC

President, Macromator Inc.

Jason’s career at RBC dates back to 1998 when he joined RBC Dominion Securities on the retail fixed income sales and trading desk. In 2003 he was elevated to Vice President and assumed leadership of both the fixed income portfolio advisory group and the retail bond desk.

About Dan Radu Dan Radu leads Macro, an agency dedicated to running sales and marketing operations on a global scale for B2B businesses. He founded the company in 2013 after being frustrated with the little care and understanding of digital marketing tools his marketing co-workers had in their jobs. His vision was to empower companies with the digital marketing technologies available.

STEPHANIA VARALLI

JOEL SEARS Partner, Branderos

Founder, The Mezzanine Group

As co-owner and Co-CEO, Head of Media of Women of Influence, Stephania is able to dedicate her time to two passions: helping women to advance in the workplace, and sharing information, insights, and inspiration through engaging print and digital content and social media.

For more than three decades, Joel has worked as a copywriter, creative director, strategist, coach and educator. He is a Partner in Branderos, a boutique marketing agency serving small and medium-sized businesses.

Lisa has been working with complex and tech-based B2B companies for almost 20 years.

As the Founder of The Mezzanine Group, she has helped over 250 organizations successfully grow their potential – and increase their bottom line.

Co-CEO at Women of Influence Inc.

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CEO of WESK

I CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019

VP of Sales and Marketing at Obkio

Pierre-Luc has over 15 years of experience in Computer Networks.

For the last years, he has been working with optimize Network and Application performances.

LISA SHEPHERD

Contributors:

CARINNE CHAMBERS-SAINI CEO of DivaCup

As CEO and co-founder of Diva International Inc. (Diva), Carinne Chambers-Saini has lead a 15-year journey to create and market the revolutionary product and brand, the DivaCup. As the only real innovation in feminine hygiene in decades, the DivaCup has completely disrupted the industry by providing the most ecofriendly, clean and comfortable way to address menstrual care on the market today.

PHOEBE YONG

Principal and Founder of Magnolia Communications With over 25 years of industry experience in B2B marketing, Phoebe has built an award-winning boutique marketing agency based in Vancouver that services high-tech, cleantech, financial and manufacturing clients.

SHIRLEY VICKERS President and CEO- Innovate BC

LAURA WILLIAMS

Founder, Williams HR Law

As the founder and principal of Williams HR Law Professional Corporation and Williams HR Consulting Inc., Laura boasts more than two decades of experience providing strategic advice and legal representation to employers on a full range of labour and employment law matters.

CATO PASTOLL Co-Founder and CEO of Lending Loop Cato Pastoll, CEO of Lending Loop.

Cato Pastoll is the CEO of Lending Loop, a Canadian marketplace lender specializing in small business loans.

Lending Loop allows investors to invest in small business loans through a peer-to-peer marketplace.

VINCENT ALIMI

Chief Growth Officer, Mobeewave Vincent Alimi has worked in the field of payment and financial technology for more than 15 years. Responsible for growth and innovation at Mobeewave, he has specialist expertise in mobile ecosystems, mobile architecture, EMV, payment systems, mPOS architecture and ecosystems, embedded applications, as well as contact, contactless and mobile payment.

SILVIA PENCAK

President, WBE Canada

Vickers is a serial entrepreneur that brings an unparalleled understanding of multiple industries to the table.

Her record includes building several multi-million dollar companies, developing technologies in the resources sector and working in senior health care and medical technology industry roles.

Silvia Pencak is the President of WBE Canada, Canadian non-profit organization that is opening doors for Canadian women-owned businesses to supply chains across North America. It certifies firms that are at least 51% owned, managed and controlled by women and introduces them to opportunities with large corporations. The organization also partners with governments, women’s business centres and other womencentric communities across Canada.

SANDRA ALTNER

LAWRENCE SUSSKIND

CEO, Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba

Professor at MIT and Founder, Consensus Building Institute

A seasoned entrepreneur originally from New York, Sandra owned a women’s clothing boutique before completing her MBA and starting The Management Exchange, a management consulting firm that was the first in Winnipeg to offer the Self-Employment Program (SEP). The Management Exchange specialized in strategic and market planning.

Lawrence Susskind is Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT and head of MIT’s Science Impact Collaborative. An expert mediator and negotiation trainer, he is co-founder of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School where he currently serves as Vice Chair of Instruction. He is also Director of the MITHarvard Public Disputes Program, and designed and teaches the MIT course, Entrepreneurial Negotiation: The MIT Way. CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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NEWS Len Wong, Toronto Cannabis Expert, to Launch The Grow Depot in 2019 Len Wong, cannabis expert, master grower and entrepreneur, has announced the grand opening of his store – The Grow Depot – in early 2019.

The location will be on Martin Grove Road in Toronto.

The Grow Depot will provide a full range of products for the cannabis grower, including products related to lighting, growing environment, plant propagation, and water and aeration. In addition to stocking cannabis products for purchase, The Grow Depot will also offer the cannabis grower two additional services: the renting of cannabis growing equipment and cannabis consulting. Cannabis consulting will be provided through Genetix Consulting, a firm based in Toronto comprised of individuals who are experts in cultivating specific strains for the Canadian climate, while using specific strategies to optimize a plant's genetic code.

The Grow Depot will be supported by a caring team with over two decades of cannabis growing experience who pride themselves on assisting clients through every stage of the growing process.

The Grow Depot is founded and led by Lenny Wong, who has more than sixteen years of industry experience and who founded the store as a result of his dedication to sustainability and his passion for the role that organic gardening plays for the environment and human health. Len Wong's career began as a medical cannabis consultant under Health Canada's Marihuana Access Regulations (MMAR). He now serves as a consultant for Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), as well as for Cann Help Clinics, a medical marijuana clinic in Toronto that specializes in developing personalized medical marijuana treatment plans. He is also the master grower and founder of Genetix Consulting.

"For me, opening The Grow Depot is a culmination of nearly twenty years of experience in cannabis genetics and organic gardening," Len Wong says. "Both myself and my team are truly excited to provide our support and knowledge for cannabis growers of every experience level in Toronto and to provide the products they need."

ABOUT THE GROW DEPOT The Grow Depot provides a full range of products for every level of cannabis grower. Led by a caring team with over two decades of cannabis growing experience, The Grow Depot assists its clients with all of their growing needs, from the very beginning stages of growth.

For more information: https://thegrowdepot.ca | info@growdepot.ca SOURCE Money Canada Limited

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I CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019

Dark clouds bring rougher seas in 2019: Don’t let the risks paralyze you Key findings: Riskier waters ahead: U.S. protectionism and international retaliation; a possible disorderly U.K. exit from the European Union; rebalancing of monetary policy by key central banks; and looming fiscal challenges in many emerging and advanced economies—all could pose threats to global growth and have economic consequences.

Canadian oil production slows: While crude oil prices will partially recover from recent lows and the Alberta government’s curtailment of oil production that came into effect this month aims to shore up local oil prices, 2019 should see lower oil prices and a reduction in oil production, creating a negative impact on Canadian economic growth.

The end of the U.S. economic boom: The U.S. economy continues to outperform others in absolute pace of expansion, but it will experience the greatest degree of slowdown over the next two years.

Higher prices for tariff-affected imports, retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. exports and fiscal drag set the stage for a deceleration in growth to below a 2 per cent annualized pace by the fourth quarter of 2019.

Global uncertainty wards off business investment: Protectionism, BREXIT, financial market strains, and the rebalancing of U.S. monetary policy have tempered the willingness of organizations to make large capital outlays.

•

While Canada’s economic growth is expected to slow in 2019, Deloitte Economic Advisory’s newest outlook, Dark skies bring rougher seas, recommends companies not overreact and not allow the riskier environment to paralyze decisionmaking. Although Canada should be prepared to gear down amid the late stages of the business cycle, the most likely scenario for 2019 is a year of more modest economic growth.

•

Since Deloitte’s last forecast in October, an oil price correction and production restrictions in Alberta are expected to negatively affect Canada’s economy in 2019. Economic

growth will dip from close to 2 per cent in 2018 toward 1.6 per cent in 2019, and drop to 1.3 per cent in 2020.

•

Although the Bank of Canada has signaled that it will eventually need to raise the benchmark overnight interest rates to a neutral level, in the range of 2.50 to 3.50 per cent, Deloitte anticipates only a half-point increase in 2019, to 2.25 per cent.

The dollar will also act as a shock absorber for the economy amid downside risk and slower growth.

Although Canadian firms are bracing for global economic uncertainty and slower growth at home, they should be preparing for the future rather than letting paralysis set in.

•

“There is no shortage of downside risks on the horizon, and coupled with the forecast of slow economic growth in the years to come, the late stages of the business cycle look daunting,” says Craig Alexander, Chief Economist, Deloitte Canada. “It’s important to know we’re returning to a more sustainable rate of growth in 2019 and a below-trend rate in 2020. However, businesses shouldn’t let global uncertainty and the shift in growth sway them from planning, making decisions, and investing in the future. Business cycles are a normal part of economic experience. Waiting for risks to play out often means missing key opportunities.”

About Deloitte Deloitte provides audit & assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries.

Deloitte serves four out of five Fortune Global 500® companies through a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries and territories bringing world-class capabilities, insights and service to address clients' most complex business challenges. To learn more about how Deloitte's approximately 264,000 professionals—9,400 of whom are based in Canada—make an impact that matters, please connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

NEWS Labour shortage continues to limit SME investment intentions: BDC study

Gearing up for change: The upcoming disruptive technologies will have a significant impact on Canada's automotive aftermarket

Over half of entrepreneurs will limit investment in 2019 due to lack of qualified workers

Connected, autonomous, shared, and electric (CASE) vehicles are poised to change the way people and goods are transported, but they will also have a significant adverse impact on the automotive aftermarket and its workforce. A new report by The Conference Board of Canada estimates that the rollout of CASE vehicles could result in a loss of more than 48,000 jobs in Canada's automotive aftermarket.

Investment intentions among Canadian entrepreneurs remain stable amid a shortage of qualified labour and confidence in the economy, according to BDC's fourth annual report on the investment intentions of small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Over half of SMEs (53%) say the labour shortage will cause them to limit business investment in 2019. This is the second year in a row the problem is cited as the top obstacle to investing. In a previous study, BDC found that SMEs are struggling to find new employees and the problem will not improve. Next-cited reasons for not investing are insufficient cash flow (48%) and confidence in Canada's economy (43%).

Business optimism remains stable nationwide, with 73% of SMEs expecting their revenues will grow in 2019, compared to 72% last year.

At the same time, SMEs are shifting their investment plans to reflect the digital transformation of Canada's economy, with four in 10 businesses planning to devote all or some of their investment to new technologies.

"It is encouraging to see some optimism from Canadian businesses as they adapt to the labour shortage and digital technology," says Pierre Cléroux, Vice President, Research and Chief Economist at BDC. "SMEs make up 99.7% of Canadian companies, so their success is crucial to the economy. Companies can better meet today's challenges if they invest in retaining workers, hiring newcomers to Canada and adopting new technology."

"The implications of connected, autonomous, shared, and electric vehicles on the automotive aftermarket have generally been overlooked, despite the sector being a significant contributor to Canada's economy," said Roger Francis, Director Energy, Environment and Transportation. "Workforce impacts are among the greatest challenges associated with these disruptive technologies and, as a result, transition strategies for the sector will be required."

Highlights •

In 2017, the automotive aftermarket employed close to 400,000 people and generated an estimated $27.6 billionin economic activity.

•

A move towards connected, autonomous, shared, and electric vehicles could result in an estimated loss of more than 48,000 jobs, $7.0 billion in GDP, and $5.4 billion in labour income in the aftermarket by 2051.

Connectivity may have greater adverse impacts than automation and electrification will.

Other findings: •

The sectors with the brightest investment outlook are wholesale, technology and business services.

•

•

Exporting businesses are more likely to plan new investment in technology, thanks to a low Canadian dollar and strong U.S. demand.

•

More entrepreneurs plan to invest in intangible assets such as software and intellectual property.

High-growth firms are focused on buying new technology, with 59% planning such investments compared to 43% of all businesses.

The automotive aftermarket generally includes everything after a vehicle leaves the dealer's lot, such as parts and accessories merchants, repair and maintenance shops, and gasoline stations. In 2017, the automotive aftermarket in Canada was made up of more than 46,000 businesses, with close to 400,000 Canadians employed in the sector. It generated an estimated $27.6 billion in economic activity in 2017.

The 2019 Investment Intentions report is based on a phone survey of 4,024 business owners conducted in the Fall of 2018.

SOURCE Business Development Bank of Canada

The report, A CASE of Disruption: Economic Impacts to the Canadian Automotive Aftermarket, explores the economic impact of automated, connected, and electric

vehicles on Canada's aftermarket sector over the span of 30 years starting in 2020.

The introduction of automated vehicles would likely increase the number of vehicles on the road as they would offer mobility options to individuals who previously did not have a licence. However, since connected vehicles allow the dealer to gather data about vehicle performance, owners are likely to bypass traditional aftermarket businesses and take their vehicles to the dealership for maintenance. Connected vehicles could also go longer between regular maintenance appointments.

Meanwhile, the move to automated vehicles is expected to increase safety by reducing the number of collisions on the road, which will also have a negative impact on the collision sector of the aftermarket. Further, a transition to electric vehicles would have negative implications for gas stations.

The report estimates that at the beginning, the effects of CASE vehicles would be small, as new technologies are introduced gradually. By 2051, the impacts would be much more significant with an estimated loss of more than 48,000 jobs, $7.0 billion in GDP, and $5.4 billion in labour income.

If ride sharing were to become much more prominent, vehicle ownership could decline significantly and potentially lead to 77,400 fewer jobs and a $11.4 billion reduction in the aftermarket and in supporting industries by 2051. Occupations most vulnerable to the rollout of connected, autonomous, shared, and electric vehicles are the skilled trades in the mechanical and collision sectors.

A CASE of Disruption: Economic Impacts to the Canadian Automotive Aftermarket was funded by the Automotive Industries Association of Canada.

Follow The Conference Board of Canada on Twitter.

If you would like to be removed from our distribution list, please e-mail corpcomm@conferenceboard.ca.

SOURCE Conference Board of Canada

CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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NEWS

Amsterdam-born Creative Workspace, SPACES, Becomes Ally To Deloitte Canada's Workplace Vision Today, Amsterdam-born creative workspace, Spaces announces that Deloitte Canada, one of Canada's leading professional services firms, has reached an agreement to become the sole tenant in its new Vancouver location, Spaces Granville. In line with Deloitte's commitment to champion collaborative, innovative and productive work environments, Spaces Granville will provide a temporary home for the firm through its vibrant and immersive co-working space situated in Vancouver's historic Tom Lee Music Building on Granville Street.

The dynamic work environments of Spaces supports Deloitte's vision to increase flexibility and choice around how people work, encouraging social interaction and collaboration to inspire greater innovation for their employees and clients. Like many other disruptive industries, the purpose of workspaces continues to evolve. The concept of 'the office' has evolved to become the cradle of innovation; less about conventional cubicles and downtown towers, and more about collaborative and productive spaces in creative neighbourhoods. The inspiring and open-minded community of Spaces Granville is what attracted Deloitte to adopt the space as a temporary and agile solution to their present workspace requirements.

"We are proud to collaborate with Deloitte as they continue to lead in reimagining the workplace with their national strategy to build unique destinations that foster innovation," said Wayne Berger, CEO of IWG Canada and Latin America, which owns Spaces. "There is a revolution happening in the way people work, and we are supporting enterprises like Deloitte to achieve their new workspace vision. Today's news that Deloitte will become our sole tenant in Spaces Granville is further proof that some of the world's leading companies are redefining the world of work at a growing rate."

"This move to Spaces Granville—a 'nontraditional' location for a professional services firm—is a milestone in our journey and commitment to flexibility, collaboration and innovation for our people and clients,"

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said Etienne Bruson, Managing Partner, British Columbia at Deloitte Canada. "It's an exciting move for us at a time of significant growth and change. Spaces provided a unique environment and the flexibility to work with our evolving needs and timelines."

Both global and Canadian workplace trends are pointing towards fundamental shifts to a new definition of work, which produces benefits for companies, their employees and the overall economy. A study by IWG, the company that owns Spaces, found Canadian businesses recognized that offering flexible working strategies to their employees provided them with significant benefits: • Business growth (88%) • Competitiveness (88%) • Improved client service (85%) • Attracting and retaining top talent (71%) • Profit maximization (83%) • Reduced real estate management costs (81%) Deloitte collaborates globally with IWG's network of workspaces. The professional services firm has a presence in 15 IWG workspaces around the world. In addition to Canada, Deloitte is a tenant in Spaces and Regus locations in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland and Vietnam.

About Spaces Spaces offers an inspiring work environment for professionals and growing businesses.

In addition to office space, there are memberships and meeting rooms to help encourage creation and cooperation with like-minded people. Spaces' goal is to offer inspirational surroundings with an entrepreneurial spirit where ideas are born, a company can evolve and valuable relationships are built. Spaces has locations in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Africa, Australia and Asia.

For more information visit: https://www.spacesworks.com/ SOURCE Spaces

I CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019

Minister Hajdu meets with the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal on supporting Canadian businesses and growing the economy A confident, growing middle class is driving economic growth, creating thousands of new jobs and more opportunities for Canadians to succeed right across the country. Canada's growth continues to be among the highest in the G7 and unemployment rates are at their lowest level since 1976. Businesses are benefitting, but this economic success has also created new challenges for some employers who have struggled to find enough workers to meet the high demand they are experiencing.

That is why today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, met with Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, to discuss how the Government of Canada can help employers in Montreal continue to grow both their businesses and the economy. Minister Hajdu reconfirmed the Government's commitment to support Canada's small and medium sized enterprises through the additional cuts made to the small-business tax rate from 10 to 9 percent, which came into effect on January 1, 2019.

Recognizing the urgent nature of the labour shortage in Quebec and across Canada, Minister Hajdu confirmed the steps the Government of Canada is taking to improve service delivery for the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program.

The Government has recently invested $3.4 million across Canada, including $1.7 million in Quebec, to handle the increased number of applications and reduce the processing times of applications from employers turning to the TFW Program when they are unable to find Canadians or permanent residents to fill positions. These investments are in addition to ongoing efforts to streamline processing and to provide consistent service to employers.

Since September 2017, the Global Talent Stream of the TFW Program has been helping Canadian companies attract the highly skilled workers they need from across the globe so they can expand both their businesses and the skillsets of their Canadian workers. Over 800 employers across Canada have benefitted from using the Global Talent Stream pilot.

In return, as of October 31, 2018, these employers committed to create over 38,000 jobs for Canadians or permanent residents and invest more than $59 million in skills and training domestically, including investments in more than 9,000 paid co-op positions in Canada.

NEWS Quick Facts •

The Government of Canada cut the small business tax rate from 10.5 to 10 percent effective January 1, 2018, and further reduced the rate to 9 percent which came into effect on January 1, 2019.

•

The combined federal–provincial– territorial average income tax rate for small business is now 12.2 percent—the lowest in the G7 and the fourth lowest among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

•

The Government of Canada has received more than 3,000 applications through the Global Talent Stream pilot in a wide range of industries such as information and communications technology, visual effects and animation, video gaming and entertainment, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and clean technology. Close to a third of these applications are from employers in Quebec's most innovative and growing industries.

•

Between April 1, 2018, and January 6, 2019, there has been a 28 percent increase in the volume of Labour Market Impact Assessment applications from employers looking to hire temporary foreign workers.

"Our government is positioning Canada as a world-leading destination for innovation, and we are making sure that Canadians stay competitive in the global marketplace. By responding to the urgent needs faced by businesses and using tools like the Global Talent Stream to help build up the skills of Canadian workers, our government is showing its commitment to support the businesses and workers that drive our economy."

– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

ADP Canada Adds AI-Enabled HR Foresight to ADP HR Assist(SM) Partnership with Toronto-based Blue J Legal provides insights on employment law issues for Canadian small and medium sized businesses ADP Canada, the leader in Human Capital Management technologies for Canadian businesses announced that it will be adding new artificial intelligence based technology on its ADP HR AssistSMplatform. The technology will deliver insights on employment law issues to its suite of services for Canadian small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).

Through a new partnership with Toronto-based Blue J Legal, ADP Canada will provide SMBs with access to Blue J Legal's HR Foresight tool, designed to help HR professionals gain insights as to how the courts have previously ruled in several challenging areas of employment law. HR Foresight is the first tool to make predictions on likely outcomes of employment and workplace scenarios in the following areas of employment law: Reasonable Notice, Managerial Exemption to Overtime, Worker Classification, Duty to Accommodate Disabilities, and Drug and Alcohol Testing by leveraging machine learning on data from past cases.

"Small business owners already have enough on their plate – trying to stay on top of the latest in employment law and understand how it applies to situations in their own businesses can be next to impossible," says Sooky Lee, Division Vice President and General Manager, Human Resources Outsourcing at ADP Canada. "With the introduction of HR Foresight to our ADP HR AssistSM solution, employers can utilize AI to allow them to gain a clearer picture of their obligations and risks under employment law, allowing them to make smarter decisions and keep more focus where it is needed – on their day-to-day operation."

This new functionality complements the existing ADP HR AssistSM features, including access to tools small and medium-sized businesses need to help them handle their everyday HR needs, manage the risk of compliance issues and save time. This new partnership will further help ADP HR AssistSM users navigate uncertainty in areas of employment law, by empowering them to run searches that will allow them to gain insights on past decisions and predictions on the likely outcome of their scenario. Business owners will now have access to a tool that can help make informed and confident business decisions.

"We're excited to extend the reach of HR Foresight to ADP Canada users nationwide through this partnership," says Benjamin Alarie, CEO, Blue J

Legal. "The tool is a first-of-its-kind solution to use machine learning to predict outcomes that will help small businesses make more informed decisions."

There's a clear desire for technologies which help bridge gaps within workplaces and we are thrilled to be offering the HR Foresight tool. A 2018 study from ADP Canada showed that three-infive Canadian workers (59%) said they believe A.I. and automation will have a positive impact on the workforce overall in the future. These new smart technologies help organizations maintain their bottom line while giving peace of mind to SMBs who do not have the scale or resources of larger organizations.

"New technologies and approaches like A.I. are more than just buzzwords – they are becoming foundational to improving the way that businesses of all sizes handle their day-to-day well-being," adds Sooky Lee, ADP Canada. "We're seeing how automation and affordable access to the latest technologies can help to level the playing field between small businesses and large corporations, much to the benefit of the little guy. By incorporating these new solutions in ADP HR AssistSM we're making it easier for small businesses to adopt these latest technologies at a price point that makes sense for their operations, while providing them access to new tools that they may not otherwise be able to afford."

For more information on ADP HR AssistSM, please visit https://www.adp.ca/en-ca/solutions-forbusiness/small-business/hr-assist.aspx About ADP Canada ADP Canada gives organizations of every size the tools to help their people thrive.

From foundational payroll to complex people management systems and analytics, we help business leaders make better decisions. Our clients trust ADP to provide strategic insights and expertise to build and inspire the workforce they need. Visit us at www.adp.ca or follow us on Twitter @ADP_CDA. About Blue J Legal Blue J Legal uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to make the law more transparent and accessible. The company's technology saves users hours of time and offers confident answers in challenging circumstances. While the company's current focus is on tax and employment law, the technology is versatile and is being extended to cover other areas of law in the U.S., Canada, and around the world. For more information, visit www. bluejlegal.com.

SOURCE ADP Canada

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INTERVIEW

Q&A

HOLGER KORMANN PRESIDENT OF ADP CANADA

For the last three years, you have been President of ADP Canada. What does it mean for you to be head of such a great organization?

As President of ADP Canada, Holger Kormann is leading the strategic vision and execution of ADP Canada’s business plans to position ADP as the leader in the Human Capital Management space and as a partner of choice in the human resources technology and outsourcing markets. Holger is responsible for the overall strategic management, direction and growth for the country’s leading provider of people management solutions. He leads ADP Canada’s senior leadership team and its 2,000 associates across the country.

Holger joined ADP in December 2015, bringing with him two decades of experience and leadership in the information technology and outsourcing industries in North America and Europe. Most recently he held dual roles of CEO and General Manager, Atos Canada and Senior Vice President Indirect Channels, Atos North America. Prior to Atos, Holger was Vice President and CEO Canada at Siemens IT Solutions and Service Business Solutions and the Energy and Media Market Vertical for North America. At Siemens, Holger successfully managed a variety of roles with increasing responsibility in General Management, Sales and Marketing.

Holger received his B.A. from the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, Germany and an MBA from the University of Hamburg.

Holger and his family live in Toronto, Ontario.

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ADP is a company which prides itself on having invented Payroll outsourcing about 70- years ago. And the company has been in the top quarter of fortune 500 companies for many years. Representing ADP Canada means a lot to me.

We are serving 2.5 million Canadians everyday.

What are some of the initiatives that you’ve put in place since you joined ADP in 2015?

A big one is straightening our technology core which is transforming our core systems which we use. We want to modernize the user interface and create readiness for different platforms. Particularly for SMEs – for them to have access to the latest expertise on how this can make their lives easier. Our systems move toward aligning the technology backbone and core in the best possible way, which allows us to bring innovation to Canadian buyers.

In terms of portfolio expansion, we’re looking at launching new client offerings to SMEs (adding systems beyond payroll) to hiring and retiring employees.

We’ve been working on a full HR system, which of course most small businesses don’t have access to in- house.

ADP is one of the top payroll solutions for Canadian SMEs. What are some of the programs that ADP offers to small business owners?

Everybody understands that payroll is our core offering. Over the last couple of years, we’ve improved that experience to our buyers, by making it platform independent. We’ve launched a solution which integrates timing sheets which we believe will be well received. That relates to tracking time of employees.

We also have other offerings on the food chain of HR needs – customizing policies and accessing HR expertise in the form which small businesses typically couldn’t tap into – legal matters, or how to best structure HR environments. We also integrate more and more partners – accountants, brokers. And we have improved our platforms with APIs and connectors to provide our clients with the best possible experience.

INTERVIEW

SME owners, particularly in the onset years, see payroll as simple math but once your business grows, things become more complicated. You’rehiring contracts, you have part time employees, you have exceptions and timing needs. You can outsource your HR through ADP. We can scale in size the HR needs to match exactly the gross parts of your systems. We’re trying to tailor our offerings so that they fit and grow with the changing needs of our client base.

What would you say sets ADP apart from other similar organizations? Why should entrepreneurs choose ADP as their payroll solutions as opposed to other companies offering the same services?

We want to make sure that while being a large organization, the business experience translates into how SMEs operate. And we do believe that the access tool to expertise are not just payroll but HR as well, which is unprecedented in the industry. The trust we’ve built over the years with our clients, has allowed us to tool our systems to commit payroll to running the right way. We find many SMEs try to do it themselves and certainly as they grow, payroll becomes more and more complex and that’s where ADP can help. We don’t just confirm calculations of payments, but also commit that if the tax CRA should issue a statement on a tax underpayment, we take control of our errors. We work with our clients from the calculations stage to remittance.

What is the best service that ADP provides to small business owners when it comes to effectively managing their business?

Even on the core service, we feel that we’ve tailored our solutions to our clients. If you call us in the morning and there’s an urgent requirement, we do our best to help you solve the issue by the time-line required. You can contact our service agents until 10pm if there are any issues.

Some of the new services that we’re working on involves partnering with other corporations and individuals to improve our offering.We have partnered with ZipRecruiter – and we’re using AI tools to further automate along the employment continuum . We have launched an AI-enabled offering called HR foresight, which gives our clients the ability to search for HR legal advice - when it comes to termination or separation of employment engagement .

And ADP can offer specific guidance on case law and precedent on what a severance would look like. This can also be accessed through our portal. No need to call, or email.

Small business owners face several challenges when it comes to managing their business. In your opinion, what is the main challenge that SME owners have when it comes to their payroll and how can ADP help them through it?

SME owners, particularly in the onset years, see payroll as simple math but once your business grows, things become more complicated. You’rehiring contracts, you have part time employees, you have exceptions and timing needs. You can outsource your HR through ADP. We can scale in size the HR needs to match exactly the gross parts of your systems. We’re trying to tailor our offerings so that they fit and grow with the changing needs of our client base.

ADP also offers outsourcing services to help small business owners. Can you give us further information on how this service works and how it can benefit SME owners?

Often times it has that notion of reducing your own workforce or cutting jobs. In our case, it’s meant as a complementary service. Certain things are better handled by another expert.

The varieties and different flavours for the HR environment which ADP offers is fairly unique.

ADP is so globally present and if you want to set up an office in New York or in London for example, we can help you set up shop there and set up all HR systems. We can supply HR employment law advice to our clients and many other tools to help them succeed when expanding globally.

Statistics show that small businesses usually fail within the first five years of business. Often, these are mistakes

that entrepreneurs make and can often be avoided. What do you believe is the number one mistake that entrepreneurs makes when starting their business and can ADP perhaps help them prevent these mistakes?

That certainly taps more into my personal opinion. I do believe that one of the key impediments for an entrepreneur, is that they wear so many hats and fail to recognize when to step aside. As the business grows, the complexity grows and therefore they must realize when they can do it themselves,and when they should consult some help. It’s a challenge to realize as an entrepreneur when to let go and when to engage professionals.

Managing is very different than being a hands on entrepreneur of the very early days.

And this is why I believe SMEs are often not making it.

On a final note, you have over two decades of experience in the technology and outsourcing industries. How do you believe your past experience has helped you in your current role?

I’m a little bit of a tech and business junkie and I believe that today, everything we do, be it service, supply chain, how you run your internal operations runs back to technology.

A deep understanding of how tech dominates the workforce is very important to understand.

The only means to get into the customer service industry 20 years ago was a telephone.

But it’s very very different today. The service you deliver needs to be rooted in technology and offering your clients the best possible experience, whether that be email support, 24 hour online chat, and many other possibilities.

I do believe that my passion for tech gives me a natural incentive to inspect closely the current state of how tech is applied in the business world.

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INSIGHTS

Business Talk with Jason Storsley Vice President, Small Business, RBC

Jason’s career at RBC dates back to 1998 when he joined RBC Dominion Securities on the retail fixed income sales and trading desk. In 2003 he was elevated to Vice President and assumed leadership of both the fixed income portfolio advisory group and the retail bond desk. In 2006 Jason was appointed as the head of RBC Asset Management’s institutional investment management business and Director of Global Equity Research, and in 2009 assumed the role of President & CEO of RBC Direct Investing (RBC’s online investing business). In 2013, Jason became Vice President, Operations for RBC’s Personal & Commercial Banking division where he was responsible for Strategic Planning, Performance Management, Role Design and Change Management.

Jason is a CFA charter holder and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Scott Mission where he chairs the Investment Committee.

Jason lives in Oakville with his wife and two sons.

As Head of Small Business, what are some trends you’re seeing in the small business and entrepreneurship space in Canada?

We’re definitely seeing a strong entrepreneurship trend in Canada. Surveys found that 54% of people we surveyed in Canada are thinking of starting or buying a business. We did some sector deep dives and millennials in particular have that desire to be self-made – 63% of them are thinking of starting/owning a business.

People often think that getting a small business loan from a bank is challenging because banks tend to be more conservative in their approval process.

Why do you believe that is?

Being prepared always improves your chances of success. Have a strong business plan that outlines your business goals and cash flow situation. You need to have a plan of how you will manage your cash flow and finances.

a banking advisor and decide on some tailored solutions for your business. Seek advice from other professionals and advisors at your local financial institutions – lawyers, bankers and others who are there to help.

It’s also very important for lenders to see what kind of equity you are bringing to the table and what kind of skin do you have in the game.

The lender wants to see that you are fully committed to the success of the business and having substantial skin in the game is certainly very important.

What are the top motivations and challenges for those who are seeking entrepreneurship?

When it comes to established owners - plan early and plan often. You will want to talk with your financial institutions on how they can help you. RBC has a program called “Promote” to help attract more clients. We’ve got free accounting and software through “Wave”.

We’ve got opportunities with ADP for Payroll.

We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for business owners to be successful. These are important conversations to have with your financial advisor at your financial institution.

This comes up in our survey repeatedly and the reasons for going into entrepreneurship are as follows: Being your own boss, having control of your career and making more money. These are the top 3 reasons for starting a bossiness.

As the head of Small Business Banking at RBC, what financing tips can you give to small business owners when it comes to managing their finances?

For entrepreneurs who are looking to start their own “side hustle” or full-time business, what advice do you have for them to start them on the right path?

Does that advice differ for established business owners?

I think that for aspiring entrepreneurs, starting with a strong business plan - clarifying motivations and objectives. And then sound boarding that with people you trust: your friends, family, colleagues, mentors.

Also, it’s important to have a conversation with 14

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People often land into the same pitfall: Separate your business and personal finances right from the start. There’s nothing more confusing then going through your credit card statements and trying to decipher what’s personal and what’s business. Treat your business as its own entity.

Doing research around digital tools that can help you automate the process is also very important. For example, RBC offers free accounting through Wave that will streamline the process. Quickbooks has some great templates to streamline the process. There

INSIGHTS

are so many digital tools available out there to help the business owner and makes their lives easier.

A lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners often try and finance their business with their own savings rather than getting a business loan. Do you believe that’s a wise decision and why?

It’s rare to find a business owner that hasn’t invested their own capital. It always depends on the situation and the degree of the development of the business plan and objectives. Certainly, you should expect to have some skin in the game and invest your own capital.

At what stage of business ownership should entrepreneurs consider creating a formal business plan and planning their financial options?

Planning early and often! It’s never too early to have a business plan and sound board that plan with others in your network. For the folks that have done this, they always have more control.

Control is always key! Their conversations with bankers and vendors are always sharper and it instills more confidence.

There’s obviously a lot of competition between banks when it comes to providing financial support to business owners. What should entrepreneurs look for when searching for a lender?

The business owner should look at someone who is going to take time to understand their plan and objectives. You want a partner in starting, managing and growing your business.

The traditional role of financial institutions has evolved. The financial institution must be more than just a lender. The lender should save them time on payroll, administrative work, accounting, etc. Really see them as a partner towards the success of your business.

A lot of entrepreneurs often hesitate before going into business because of the economy and not having enough resources or capital to launch. In your opinion, is there a “good” time or a “bad” time for business owners to embark on their journey of becoming entrepreneurs?

How do you believe your past experience has prepared you for your current role as Head of Small Business Banking with RBC?

That’s a great question. Certainly, the economy does play into that. But the biggest factor is when the individual is ready to make that step to starting their business: How much time are they willing to put in and what level of thoughtfulness of planning are they willing to commit.

I have always had a growth mindset - Always growing and always learning! I’ve been at RBC for 21 years – started out in bond trading, then asset management. I was then President and CEO of RBC Direct Investing, where individuals manage their investment portfolios online. I was also an entrepreneur before joining RBC. I’ve learned a great amount from all of my previous work experiences and I apply that knowledge to my role today.

I spoke about the millennials earlier- one of the things that holds them back is that they don’t feel they have a good enough understanding of business fundamentals.

It goes against the stereotypes of that generation of “leaning in” – they are actually cautious to take that step forward and often lack the confidence to get started.

All these assets to help your business certainly didn’t exist 21 years ago at RBC. It didn’t even exist 5 years ago. There are always things that we’re learning to help individuals take their business to the next level. We also learn from the communication with our clients, which helps us improve our products which ultimately assists them in their journey towards success.

What is some advice that you would give to entrepreneurs and small business owners starting off 2019?

I would say for those that have had a business plan that is older than a year old, it’s time to refresh it. Look at how your objectives may have changed and how you plan on addressing your clients’ new demands. Think differently about clients and how expectations are evolving in the our new world, where there’s the need for instant information.

Do you have a website? Do you have e-commerce set up? If you’re not doing that now, how are you getting into that digital space. If you are, how can you take that to the next level and improve your current platform.

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What's Marketing Worth To A

Business-to-Business Company?

By Lisa Shepherd

eaders of business-tobusiness (B2B) companies often wonder if the rewards of marketing outweigh the costs. They wonder what kind of return they will get if they implement a strategic marketing plan that goes beyond the basic minimums of marketing. For most B2B companies, who have traditionally relied on sales people to generate revenues, there is a lot of uncertainty about how investing in marketing will pay off.

But there is mounting evidence that marketing makes an impact on B2B companies. B2B companies are spending more on marketing – an increase of 18% over the last 4 years. On average, B2B companies spend 9% of their total operating budget on marketing as of 2018, and plan to increase that by another 9% in 2019.

Businesses have different reasons for investing in marketing. For some, it’s about supporting their sales team to be more effective. Sales ‘hunters’ are increasingly hard to come by, so companies need marketing to bring leads in and make the sales people as effective as possible. Some companies want to build up their reputation – or brand – in the market so they’re well respected and can 16

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attract new customers. Yet others know that they have a good customer base but don’t do a solid job of cross-selling other products and services to that captive audience, so they use marketing to improve their communications with customers and grow sales among their existing base.

All of these objectives, in one way or another, add up to the same thing. They grow sales and profits, and they increase the value of a company. At the end of the day, every business leader wants their company to be worth more than it was the year before. Whether they’re thinking of selling their business or not, the ultimate score card is valuation, and marketing has become one of the factors that drives valuation for B2B companies.

Here are three ways that marketing increases the valuation of a business-to-business (B2B) company, the price that it can be sold for, and the overall chances of a sale.

1. Higher revenues For decades, marketing wasn’t relevant in B2B except for the largest companies. But now even the smallest B2B companies need to devise strategies to ensure they’re known in the marketplace. Twenty years ago, this happened

through trade shows. Now, it happens online.

B2B companies without effective online marketing lose out on countless opportunities to present their solutions to potential buyers.

Those B2B companies who market their products and services effectively get more sales leads and revenues, which in turn results in a higher selling price for the company.

B2B companies that invest in marketing can grow their revenues. And sales momentum will increase a valuation exponentially. It is much easier for a company to sell a growth story than a story of flat or declining revenues.

2. Strong brand One of the big problems for small businesses is that the owner of the business *is* the business. If the company doesn’t have talented people and competencies beyond the owner, it won’t sell. Building the reputation of the company (not the owner) through B2B marketing —such as thought leadership, public relations and online presence—will help build a company’s brand. The essence of shareholder value (the price a company gets in a sale) for most small and mid-sized companies is in intangible assets—and the heart of intangible assets is brand.

3. Improved curb appeal Just like in residential real estate, company image plays a role in a purchase. There are many great companies who do worldclass work, but their public image as seen through their website, social media and other digital presence is often a weak reflection of what they have to offer.

Increasingly, businesses are how they look online. If a company looks like a non-entity online, it won’t spark any interest among potential buyers. It’s quite likely they will lose opportunities because anyone who looks at the business in a preliminary duediligence process will write it off.

A common reason that B2B companies invest in marketing is to ‘look bigger’ to potential customers. And it works. When companies invest in their online presence and overall marketing, they begin to attract interest and opportunities from much larger customers. The same is true for mergers and acquisitions -a company that looks bigger online can attract attention from more purchasers. That is not to say that marketing will change how

the company’s financial statements are evaluated. Those are things the CFO needs to work on. But getting through the door for the first discussion, that’s something that marketing can help with.

Lisa Shepherd

Marketing Plays a Role In B2B Company Valuation Marketing has come a long way in the business-to-business world. Twenty years ago, it was the department for organizing golf-tournaments and pens with the company logo. Today, smart business owners know that an investment in marketing has a multiplier effect on company valuation. If a typical company is looking at a multiple of 5X EBITDA, a company that has growing sales, a strong brand and can attract the attention of multiple buyers to spark a bidding war – well, that company will achieve significantly more than a ‘typical’ valuation. More B2B business leaders are starting to get savvy about the impact of marketing on company valuation.

Lisa Shepherd is the founder of The Mezzanine Group, a sales and marketing company that specializes in business-to-business (B2B). Lisa has been working with small and mid-sized companies on issues of revenue generation for over 15 years.Lisa was the youngest woman CEO to be named to the Profit 100 and has been a nominee for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award.. She’s written three books on B2B sales and marketing – The Radical Sales Shift, Market Smart and Walking on the Moon.

Learn how over 250 B2B companies have increased leads by 30-100% Contact us today to get on the path to accelerate sales and profit growth.

Call us: 416-583-5831

themezzaninegroup.com

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INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Stephania Varalli Co-CEO at Women of Influence Inc.

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You’ve been part of the organization for Women of Influence for quite some time now. Can you tell us what inspired you to join Women of Influence?

When I first came to the company, I was a freelancer. I didn’t have any expectations to stay on any longer than the 2 months as it would take to finish the issue. But I was so inspired to tell the stories of these women and luckily the owner kept me on board. Eventually, I was able to buy the company.

Can you tell us more about the Women of Influence Movement and how it’s benefiting women?

Our goal, like many Women’s organizations, is to try to get to gender equality in the workplace by inspiring individuals. Our focus is on helping individual women move their careers forward by providing them role models: by giving them connecting opportunities with peers and mentors to move forward in their careers, despite the fact that the system isn’t quite set up to help women move forward right now.

Women of Influence Advancement Center is a great program that’s helping women in organizations thrive and reach their full potential.

What was the inspiration behind launching this program?

We actually started The Advancement Centre after doing a white paper that was focused on interviewing women in the senior ranks to see how they achieved success. We found seven pitfalls that women seemed to face and our goal was to figure out how we can help women overcome them. These pitfalls included negotiation, how to be your own champion and things like that. The Advancement Centre has now been going on for a few years and we’re very proud of our accomplishments. We’ve focused on helping women coach other women, and supplying them with the tools to make that a reality. We’ve worked with men as well to help them in this endeavour.

Can you give us more information about how the Leaning Out program is helping women?

I’m really excited about Leaning out. We’re doing this in partnership with Trish Wheaton. Trish was kindly asked to retire and she choose otherwise. When she first came to us asking to do this program, we thought this was an amazing opportunity. Our main focus has been helping women out of university and assisting them all the way up to the senior ranks. Prior to the Leaning Out program, we never really focused on what would happen after that. Trish calls it the “Primetime” because it’s really saying to women that when you’ve hit your late 50’s or 60’s and the career you had might not be serving you but you might not be ready to call it quits, what can you do in your next chapter.

I absolutely think that all entrepreneurs should be joining. We do have the RBC Canadian entrepreneur awards. That program alone is designed to help women get inspired and get recognized. It’s all about advice and telling the stories of other women that have done it. I think that that sense of inspiration is incredibly valuable and helps women use those tools for their own business. If she can do it, I can do it!

I also encourage men to join. The advice we get from entrepreneurs is valuable to all entrepreneurs. And it’s valuable for men to see women’s success which leads to a much more inclusive environment.

If you type in CEO on Google images, you’ll practically only see pictures of men – because the perception in people’s minds of a CEO is automatically a male individual. Our goal is to change the idea of what a successful entrepreneur looks like.

What advice can you give to women who are looking to become entrepreneurs?

I think that having the confidence to jump in and do it is extremely important. There is something to be said of careful planning but there is that important point where you say: I’m going to make that dream come true. I encourage women that if you have a passion and a dream to go for it! If you would make a better entrepreneur than an employee, then go for it. Even if you fail, you can learn from it and try again. It’s just a lesson on your journey to success.

Where do you see Women of Influence in the next 10 years? What does the future hold for WOI? Over the next 10 years, I think that the work that we’re going to be doing is very important. When I originally bought the company, I thought we could be doing a lot more content, more email newsletters, and get the message out to as many women AND men. We have lots of plans to get this out to as many people as possible.

We focus on Canada but we want to continue our push to establish ourselves worldwide – and it’s certainly much easier today where you have social media and your message can travel much faster. I hope that in 10 years I can still tell the amazing stories of women entrepreneurs.

Hopefully, in 20 years we’ll be obsolete. That may be too ambitious of a goal because the most recent studies certainly don’t suggest that in 20 years we’ll be there quite yet. I’ve seen more men and corporations coming on board and that’s been very encouraging. What we need now is guidance on how we can actually make change happen and there are lots of great organizations putting their own flag in the sand. It’s an everybody on board kind of solution to make this change happen.

In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge that women face and how can Women of Influence help them overcome it?

It’s a tough question because there are a lot of areas where women come up against bias: after university when looking for jobs and later in their careers as well. Things like gender pay gap for example: When women ask for a raise, it’s looked at as too aggressive instead of ambitious.

There are a lot of different areas where women face discrimination.

The biggest challenge is that the system isn’t designed to help women succeed. A lot of people believe we are in a meritocracy, where people believe things are equal and people succeed based on their ability. But the reality is that it’s not a meritocracy and there is a ton of evidence to prove that. The challenge is making it clear that there are disadvantages and the goal is to actually live in the meritocracy that most people think we are already in.

Do you believe that all women entrepreneurs should be joining the Women of Influence community? Who would you say are the perfect candidates to join WOI? CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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ENTREPRENEUR

Entrepreneur of the month

Dan Radu About Dan Radu Dan Radu leads Macro, an agency dedicated to running sales and marketing operations on a global scale for B2B businesses.

He founded the company in 2013 after being frustrated with the little care and understanding of digital marketing tools his marketing co-workers had in their jobs. His vision was to empower companies with the digital marketing technologies available.

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ENTREPRENEUR

Can you give us more information about Macro, your company? What is the mission of the company? What are you hoping to accomplish?

Thank you for the interview. At Macro, we make it easy for companies to improve and track their revenue by running efficient sales and marketing operations. Companies that show up at our door steps need an extra hand with complex marketing automation, digital marketing technologies (MarTech) and customer relationship management (CRM).

You also run the MarTech Toronto Community. Can you tell us more about that? What is the community all about?

Seven years ago, I have started organizing events for digital marketing professionals to get together and talk about their jobs and the tools they need to use. We were mostly gathering in bars and coffee shops to chat about our jobs. Today the community brings together over 600 marketing technologists to collaborate, share knowledge, and stay upto-date with the latest technologies. Many of the promising marketing technology companies from the Toronto start-up scene presented at one point over the years.

What inspired you to go into this line of business?

Technology should be enabling companies, not impending them.

Working for digital marketing agencies either as full-time or freelancer, I’ve quickly realized the importance of marketing departments using their arsenal of tools to their full potential. Different barriers always occurred, such as broken processes or politics which never really enabled companies to be empowered by their technologies. I wanted to change that and create a good reputation for the marketing technologist profession.

What common mistakes do entrepreneurs make when it comes to marketing and sales and how can you help them overcome these mistakes?

Building a fully aligned marketing and sales organization is key from the beginning. From the way you seduce your prospects to how you understand their pain points has to be a streamlined process and feedback loop. By that I mean, what you promise them on your website and how you interact with them via email communications and how you walk them through a sales process needs to be a continuous pleasant experience.

What advice can you give to SME owners who are looking for better marketing strategies to grow their business?

Less can be more. Find a few marketing technologies that work well together, without over complicating what you are trying to achieve.

Don’t put the digital marketing technologies and tactics before the fundamental strategies. As you are building your marketing technology stack, build processes and designate ownership for people around the tools you deploy to support your sales & marketing operations.

Where do you see Macro 10 years from now? What is the overall goal?

Our mission is simple: To be the most efficient sales & marketing operations for enterprise clients. The company will continue to evolve that is certain, all businesses do over decades. We’ll be doing bigger and better work, but on a larger scale.

You’ve brought a new vision to marketing by incorporating technology.

Do you believe this will be the future of marketing?

Marketing fundamentals remain the same, however, digital technologies are constantly changing. Marketers are constantly under pressure to patch together new widgets and tools. There is always a new one coming to the market, new features are rolled out and companies often have to leverage several tools working together in a “marketing stack”. The success of the marketer in the future will depend upon how successful they are at leveraging these digital tools efficiently.

What would you say is the biggest challenge that SME owners face when it comes to marketing their business?

Let’s say you are selling technology, like many of our customers are; I’ve seen companies too many times being focused on marketing features and benefits. The technological capabilities of your solutions are fundamentally conceptual in their value. You should market what pain they will avoid and what pleasure they will gain.

You help companies come up with better marketing and sales strategies. What impact do you believe this has on companies when it comes to growing their business and increasing their revenue?

Revenue should always be the main goal of both sales and marketing. In order to track the revenue impact, companies need to use what is called “Attribution models”. To give you some advance examples these can be “First Touch Attribution”, “Last-Touch Attribution” or “Multi-Touch Attribution”.

What is your company’s biggest accomplishment to date?

Servicing enterprise clients has been a big accomplishment. They benefit from very good value for sales & marketing operation services and our book of business grew over the years. I’m also personally very happy when I see my team members building great careers at the company and we made an impact on the lifestyle of almost everyone who works for us.

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ACCOUNTING

Best Accounting Software for Canadian SMEs

Having the right accounting software is crucial for any business owner. It keeps track of your sales, revenue and determines where your cash flow is at. Without the proper software, it’s easy to lose track of where your business is financially. It can also make it easy for you to make drastic mistakes that can hurt your business. Therefore, ensuring to have the right accounting software is of the upmost importance for any small business owner. There are hundreds of different accounting software, but how do you know which one is the right fit for your business? How do you know which one will suit all your needs and give you the results you need in an efficient matter to make it easy for you to run your business smoothly? Don’t worry. We’ve made it easy for you by narrowing down the 5 best account software for Canadian SMEs.

FreshBooks has been making a killing in the small business industry since it first launched. It’s the perfect accounting software for all small business owners. FreshBooks makes it so easy to understand that you don’t have to be a financial guru to understand how to do your own accounting. It supports several online payments such as credit cards, PayPal and Google Checkout. FreshBooks provides a complete accounting service so you don’t have to worry about using different applications for your accounting needs. With easy to use application, affordable pricing and complete accounting services, it’s definitely the number one choice for many SME owners.

FreeAgent is the perfect accounting software for small business owners and freelancers. Used by over 60,000 businesses, FreeAgent has the ability to manage all the different aspects of financial operations. It comes with several different tools that are designed to let you efficiently manage all the important financial tasks and processes such as payrolls, taxes, expenses, invoices, bank transactions, cash flows and time tracking just to name a few. FreeAgent is definitely a complete software when it comes to managing and keeping track of your business’s financial aspects. With easy to use application, advanced expense management and simplified payment options, FreeAgent is definitely a top contender when it comes to choosing the right accounting software for your business.

Known for having revolutionized accounting, Xero was designed to provide the best user experience possible. The software is one of the easiest to use making impossible tasks such as double bookkeeping easy for first time users.

For business owners who require a bookkeeper, Xero offers certified advisors who are more than willing to assist them. Xero also makes it easy to maximize their platforms potential with the assistance of its help center. With different pricing models depending on your business needs, the software is easily affordable to all business owners. Easy setup, inventory management, transactions made easy and robust financial reporting, Xero is definitely a solid choice for all small business owners.

Definitely one of the smartest accounting solutions designed to manage all of your small business’s cash flow and finances.

Zoho Books is known for its easy to use software, helping SME owners make smart choices. With its capability of sending professional invoices and accepting payments online, the platform is extremely powerful by giving its users absolute control over their financial management. The dashboard is easy to read and provides a clear overview of your businesses finances. Zoho Books is definitely a popular choice when it comes to choosing a strong and effective accounting software for all small business owners.

Another popular software when it comes to accounting for small business owners.

QuickBooks is definitely a popular accounting platform with its several accounting and organising tools it provides to all SME owners. Those features include paying bills, contact data, overdue items, and common accounting tasks which can be crucial for entrepreneurs.

Payments have never been easier with its Pay Now link that can connect to customers and vendors’ credit cards or bank accounts. QuickBooks also provides several different pricing plans depending on your business needs so it makes the platform accessible to a wide-range of business owners, no matter how small or big they are and what stage they’re in. With its capability of tracking customers and vendors and ability to manage banking processes, it’s no wonder that more and more small business owners are turning to QuickBooks for their accounting needs.

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Innovation Canada Canada’s economy depends on the success of its business industry. The key to the success of any business is innovation.

Companies that have the most success are the ones that are the most innovative. Taking this into consideration, the government of Canada has initiated a program to help business owners become more innovative. Innovation Canada is a government funded program that provides funding and expert advice and resources to help entrepreneurs become more innovative which will eventually lead to their success. Through its programs and services, Innovation Canada will help businesses innovate, create new jobs and eventually contribute towards the growth of Canada’s economy.

Programs Innovation Canada offers several programs to help entrepreneurs become innovators. Each program is specifically designed to help Canadian SME owners become more innovative and successfully grow their business, whether through funding, mentoring or networking.

Innovative Superclusters Initiative: The program aims to strengthen Canada’s most talented groups. The program gathers several different groups such as private sector, academic institutions and non-profits just to name a few. Through collaboration, the program will help boost the economy and create strong, well-paying jobs.

Strategic Innovation Fund: Through its members and investors, Innovation Canada invests in innovative businesses through this program. By investing in them, they are helping these businesses grow, research, develop and commercialize cutting-edge ideas and collaborate in new ways.

Innovative Solutions Canada: The program is designed to create new opportunities for innovators so they can solve government challenges with the financial support they need to develop their ideas into real solutions.

Clean Growth Hub: It’s a platform that gives entrepreneurs and businesses different technology projects. It also has a personal guide that can answer their questions and talk through different options available as well as introducing them to the right network.

Accelerated Growth Service: The service provides high-growth companies one advisor for everything. Through this service, every entrepreneur will have someone doing all the hard work so they can make the right connections that can ultimately contribute towards the growth and success of their business.

The Innovation Canada digital platform brings everything together in one place. It's where entrepreneurs can go if they want to get a complete list of everything that the government can do for their business.

Microlending for Women in Ontario: The new government program to help build women entrepreneurs

Canada believes that its economy is stronger when women participate and contribute to it, therefore they have put in place programs to give women the tools they need to become successful entrepreneurs. The government of Ontario has initiated a program to help women who are in need of support to start their business. The Microlending for Women in Ontario program is a government funded program that supports women who have low-income and wish to become entrepreneurs. The program offers financial literacy training, entrepreneurial mentoring, skills development and like skills support. Through these resources and skills training, the program is ensuring that women have the knowledge and resources they need in starting and growing their business successfully.

The women who will successfully attend these programs and get the skills they need will be eligible to receive small loans (microloans) to help them start their business. Through the Microlending for Women in Ontario program, over 800 women with low-income will receive business support and financial skills training to help them on their journey of becoming successful entrepreneurs.

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RESOURCES

Best Small Business Resources in Alberta

Alberta is home to farmers and all things agriculture. With so many rich natural resources, Alberta’s farmland is well known across the country for being impressive. However, their reputation for being big in everything doesn’t apply when it comes to their businesses. Although a lot of people will think the businesses in Alberta are big corporations and companies, their economy is actually based for the most part on small businesses. Nearly all companies in Alberta are small businesses and they play a huge part in its economy.

Compared to the rest of the country, Alberta has the highest amount of small businesses in Canada:

“On a per capita basis, Alberta has one of the highest numbers of small businesses in the country. In 2010, there were 39 small businesses in the province for every 1000 people, far exceeding the Canadian average of 31.”

Source: Alberta Canada – Small Business Profile

Small businesses are defined as having fewer than 50 employees. About 96 per cent of businesses in Alberta are small businesses. They employ over one-third of all private sector workers and contribute nearly 30 per cent of Alberta’s Gross Domestic Product – higher than the national average.”

Source: Alberta Canada – Small Business Profile

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With small businesses taking such a huge part in its economy along with having the largest amount of small businesses within Canada, the government has put in place several programs and resources to help small business owners in Alberta. Here’s a list of the top ten resources that are available in Alberta to help small business owners.

1. ALBERTA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Alberta Chamber of Commerce is there to represent businesses and put in place policies and procedures that are to the benefit of business owners.

Website: www.abchamber.ca E-mail: tacorn@abchamber.ca Address: 1808, 10025 - 102A Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5J 2Z2 Telephone Number: 1-800-272-885

2. BIZPAL Online service that helps business owners find the permits and licenses that they might need when they want to start or operate their business. It facilitates the process of finding out what entrepreneurs need when it comes to starting their business.

Website: www.services.bizpal-perle.ca/?b=48

3. AG-INFO CENTRE Resource representatives that provide members of Alberta's agriculture industry access to consultants, information and services that can help them when it comes to growing their business. It’s the primary resource tool for producers and the agricultural industry in Alberta that provides entrepreneurs with resources and information that can be helpful to them.

Website: www1.agric.gov.ab.ca E-mail: aginfocentre@gov.ab.ca Telephone Number: 403-310-FARM (3276)

4. THE NEW VENTURES TEAM They help prospective and emerging agri-preneurs by providing them with helpful business and marketing information that can be essential to planning, growing and operating a successful business.

The New Ventures Team delivers individualized information and resources to help all new entrepreneurs to start their business.

Website: www1.agric.gov.ab.ca E-mail: kathy.bosse@gov.ab.ca Telephone: 403 755-6116

5. CONNECTICA

6. FORUM FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRAINING (FITT) A program that is designed to help business owners learn about exporting internationally. The FITT skills program is an eight-week course that is designed to help entrepreneurs get more knowledge and become experts on international trade.

Website: www.fitt.ca E-mail: info@fitt.ca Telephone Number: 1-800-561-FITT

7. ALBERTA CROP INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT FUND LTD. (ACIDF) Offers funding for projects in the agriculture and food industries, with a specific focus on expanding Alberta’s market opportunities.

Website: www.acidf.ca E-mail: info@acidf.ca Address: 5030 – 50 St., Lacombe, Alberta, T4L 1W8

8. CANADA-ALBERTA JOB GRANT This program is great for entrepreneurs who need to have highly skilled employees but don’t have the funds to train them. The Canada-Alberta Job Grant is a training program where entrepreneurs can provide training to their employees and have a portion of the tuition fees covered. This allows business owners to have fully trained employees at little to no cost.

Website: www.alberta.ca/canada-alberta-job-grant.aspx E-mail: jobgrant@gov.ab.ca Telephone Number: 1-855-638-9424

9. CANADIAN AGRICULTURE PARTNERSHIP The Canadian Agriculture Partnership is a government initiative that was put in place to ensure that Canada’s agriculture sector remains a leader in job creation and innovation. The goal is to expand Canada’s agricultural exports by offering programs to business leaders in that industry to answer their needs.

Website: www.cap.alberta.ca

Service that helps business owners connect with Alberta’s expanding research and innovation network. It’s the ideal place for entrepreneurs find information about programs, services, facilities and events that meet their needs.

E-mail: CAP.Alberta@gov.ab.ca

Website: www.connectica.ca

Alberta Innovates is a program that is designed to help Albertans by providing solutions to the challenges that they face. They do this by helping entrepreneurs be innovative by providing them with resources and helping them develop their technology strengths to be innovative and come up with ideas that can help Alberta’s economy and population. Alberta Innovates invests in companies that they believe can provide economic and social benefits to Alberta.

Address: 250 Karl Clark Rd NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T6N 1E4 Telephone Number: 403-210-5399

10. ALBERTA INNOVATES

Website: www.albertainnovates.ca E-mail: info@albertainnovates.ca

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INTERVIEW

On a mission

to change the world of business

Prabha Mitchell CEO of WESK

Chief Executive Officer of WESK, formerly Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc., Prabha is passionate about driving change to close the Gender Entrepreneurship Gap and the resulting Gender Economic Gap. Through her advocacy efforts, Prabha served as the first President of the Leaders Council of the Paul J. Hill and the Kenneth Levene Schools of Business at the University of Regina and currently serves as a member of the Paul Hill Advisory Board, University of Regina. A supporter of entrepreneurship, Prabha serves as a Judge for some of the community’s Business Awards and was also a Prairie Regional Judge for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Prairie Award. As an active member of Board of Directors for the Saskatchewan Housing Authority, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation, Prabha continues to be engaged in the community to influence strategic change.

With a Masters of Social Work in Community Development, Policy and Planning, and an honorary CPA conferred by the Board of Governors of the Certified General Accountants. Prabha has had a diverse career spanning 20 years. Previously, Prabha was the CEO of the Certified General Accountants (CGA) Association of Saskatchewan and had served in that capacity for seven plus years. Prabha was a key player in leading the organization through the Unification of the Accounting Profession, bringing together the three accounting bodies namely, Certified General Accountants, Certified Management Accountants and the Chartered Accountants as Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA).

Prabha has served as the CEO of WESK for the last 4 years.

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INTERVIEW

What was the inspiration behind the launching of WESK? Women play an important role in the creation and operation of small businesses across Canada, yet they face unique barriers and a lack of support in many areas, particularly in terms of access to financing and capital.

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) established the Women's Enterprise Initiative (WEI) in 1996 to assist women entrepreneurs to start, scale up and grow their businesses.

How is WESK helping women entrepreneurs when it comes to growing their business?

In several ways that include: financing the venture up to $150,000 providing access to experts and mentors assisting them in connecting with key players in the network delivering structured programs such as Peer Spark that help them Scale their business using a cohort model providing one on one business advising and coaching As CEO of WESK, can you talk about some of the challenges you face on a daily basis and how you overcome them?

As the CEO of WESK I believe it is important to keep the needle moving on closing the gender entrepreneurship gap. Keeping the needle moving entails relentless conversations and debate regarding closing the gender entrepreneurship gap. In addition it involves serving as a catalyst to COLLECTIVELY develop strategies to address the situation.

Women entrepreneurs contribute 148 billion to the economy and a 10% increase in women owned businesses could increase that to 198 billion. There is a sound business case to invest in women entrepreneurs. The greatest challenge is ensuring that policy makers, business leaders and the community at large understand that this is not just a moral or social imperative but a lost economic opportunity if left unaddressed!

Further, we must support women in SCALING their business. Male owned businesses are 3.5 times more likely to hit a million. One of our challenges is to ensure that women owned businesses in SK are moving beyond the start up phase and can demonstrate sustainability and success.

Lack of Access to Capital & Financing including venture capital investors: Women tend to rely more on internal financing rather than external financing. According to Industry Canada, in early stage businesses 45% of majority female owned SMEs requested external financing compared to 53% of majority male owned SME’s. rejection rates for insufficient collateral are higher for women and rates of attracting venture capital investment is lower.

Lack of access to Networks: Networks are emerging as a crucial accelerator in business growth.

Lack of Training & Mentors: There is a direct link between those accessing training and mentors and access to capital.

Balancing personal/business responsibilities: Research suggests that most innovative entrepreneurship occurs between 25-44 years which is when women have families. Therefore, balancing business growth with family responsibilities impacts the ability to scale up.

WESK was launched in 1995, which is well over twenty years ago. If you compare the company to when it first launched and to where it is today, how would you say WESK has changed?

WESK has stayed relevant. In 2016, we launched our new Brand, it was not just a new visual identity but a� promise� to create an inclusive brand that supports the needs of all entrepreneurs regardless of age, culture and stage of business growth. We started with 6 members in 1995 and grown to 754 members today. It now includes supporting women START and GROW a business Further, we launched Matchstick: Spark for

WESK helps women entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan. Would you say the challenge of being a women entrepreneur is higher in Saskatchewan compared to other provinces in Canada?

There are many similarities in terms of challenges women entrepreneurs experience across the country.

Research suggests that access to capital/ financing; lack of access to networks; lack of training and mentors are consistent barriers, as is the priority to balance personal responsibilities with business growth. Some of these barriers may be more acute here due to the smaller percentage of majority female owned enterprises and hurdles related to access to markets.

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INTERVIEW

Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs a year and half ago to support Indigenous women to start and grow businesses, employ people in their communities, and fuel economic growth in Saskatchewan for generations to come. We will be launching a new program (in 2019) for women scaling up their business.

There’s been a lot of progress about women in business in the last twenty years. More and more companies have women CEOs and the number of women entrepreneurs has significantly increased. How is WESK adjusting with these changes?

We have come a long way but there is more to accomplish. We must take pause to celebrate the achievements of those that have come before us; but also recognize that there is more to be done. We as a province can lead the nation in relation to majority female owned businesses. Majority Women owned enterprises account for 13.7 percent of businesses here while Ontario and BC lead the country at 17 percent. Only 6% of tech company founders in Canada are female and we need to promote women in technology and support women founders in technology. Research suggest a direct link between women in leadership roles and economic growth, productivity and innovation.

Continuing to emphasise and implement diversity and inclusion in business ventures is critical in continuing to advance gender equality.

WESK has several partnerships with different organisations so they can provide resources to women entrepreneurs and help them succeed. How do you go about choosing your partnerships?

Partnerships are critical as WESK does not have all the resources required to advance our mandate efficiently. Our partners assist with mutual and reciprocal support in advancing respective mandates and the partnership is based on principles of reciprocity, fit and vision.

What would you say is the biggest accomplishment of WESK? Being a leader in advocating to close the gender entrepreneurship gap and ensuing economic gap in SK To date WESK has lent over $35.5M to support businesses start, expand or grow in Saskatchewan Recently founded Matchstick: Spark for Indigenous Entrepreneurs: A dedicated strategy to support and assist Indigenous women will help fuel economic independence, drive growth and foster entrepreneurial activity in Indigenous communities.

Where do you see WESK going in the next 10 years? What is the main goal?

If we close the gap in Saskatchewan, if men and women entrepreneurs have an EQUAL opportunity to succeed in SK, WESK should not be in existence. Can we do it in 10 years in Saskatchewan is the critical question. I believe we can.

On a more personal side, what do you enjoy doing on your free time?

Spending time with my husband and kids, cooking a meal for them, reading fiction primarily psychological thrillers, working out at the gym, following world politics and enjoying Bollywood music.

Balancing personal/ business responsibilities: Research suggests that most innovative entrepreneurship occurs between 25-44 years which is when women have families. Therefore, balancing business growth with family responsibilities impacts the ability to scale up.

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INTERVIEW

Tech Talk with Pierre-Luc Charbonneau VP of Sales and Marketing at Obkio

Can you tell us more about the products offered at Obkio and how they can help Canadian businesses?

The product is a solution/software that we developed that is dedicated to IT professionals.

So it’s for all business sides. It allows clients to manage a little part of the IT on their side.

So maybe if their business is a little too small to have an IT team, this product is perfect for them.

There is a software agent that is going to generate some scientific traffic and it will do a measurement of traffic flow between the agents. It will give clients a lot of visibility on the performance of the network. Small businesses are going more and more into the cloud, so there is less infrastructure from inside the business. Therefore, people don’t have the visibility between users and infrastructure in the cloud. It helps by bringing visibility. The ultimate goal is to help them with making strong business decisions and solving problems.

One thing that sets Obkio apart from other companies offering similar services is its overall simplicity. Can you tell us how Obkio managed to make the app so simple?

The user interface for our solution is an application which has been designed for cell phones first. We also offer a web version but our competitors have some really really complex solutions. So our priority from day one has been to create an application with the goal of overall simplicity.

Having the right technology has a huge impact on a company’s productivity. Why do you believe that is?

Most companies now in 2018 believe that the productivity of the company is based on the staff. However, something that is a little bit more challenging for some to understand is that the productivity of the employees is often based on the IT tools. If the IT is slow and not productive, the overall productivity of the company will suffer.

architecture, and can’t measure the results, it must not be a good solution. Be patient before going to market to ensure you have the product you want to display to your customers.

How do you believe having the right technology tools can help with the growth and success of Canadian SMEs?

We’re a very young company, founded in 2018 and our Minimum Viable Product (MVP) was launched in July. Our biggest accomplishment has been our time to market and that we already have customers that are really enthusiastic and really like our product.

Customers loved our first idea and they already appreciate how useful it is to them.

SMEs must be really good in their niche and excel in their core market. So if the tech is not great, they will be looking for new projects.

Before Obkio, I was in the same business for 10 years and I was in the project for creating the new software that would be launched.

The new tools were so easy to integrate. The software market has been booming for the last several years. The company must use simplicity and good tech to empower their clients to reach their goals. Otherwise, another company will be able to do it and knock you out of business.

What advice could you give to small business owners when it comes to IT solutions?

Get some help! That’s the best advice I can give to entrepreneurs. Don’t be afraid to get some trusted advisors. The IT market is growing so fast and you’ll need to get help from a consultant or a third party . In IT, you won’t be able to do everything in-house, because there’s so much to do. Before going to market, make sure to establish a strong network of trusted advisors so you put the best product on the market.

When you’re in the process of making your IT

Can you tell us about some of the accomplishments that Obkio has had on Canadian SMEs?

You have over 15 years of experience in Computer Networks. How do you believe your past experience is helping you in your current role at Obkio?

Understanding the customer “pain point” is essential to build solutions that are going to be a pain reliever in the customer’s day to day job.

Because it all starts from the customers pain point and then you plan around that.

Where do you see the company going 5 years from now? What is the overall goal of Obkio?

We hope that the solution becomes an indispensable tool for IT professionals. In our first year, our road map is already full for the next 18 months. We know exactly where we’re going. The priories might change a little but the development of the solution is quite clear for us. The 5 year vision is quite far but this is where we want to be in the future – we see tens of thousands of agents spread across all the continents.

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HR LAW

Why SME owners should have these HR law trends on their radar for 2019 The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in ​ English v Manulife Financial Corporation​, for example, that while an employee can resign at any time, they do not have an absolute right to retract a resignation. This was welcome news for employers who would rather focus on next-steps when a staff member announces their workplace departure—particularly when that resignation comes as a relief.

Laura Williams As far as tumultuous years of labour and employment law change go, 2018 was a memorable one for owners and managers of small to mid-sized businesses, and their HR teams.

So sweeping was the shift in some jurisdictions—especially in Ontario, where a change in government brought about a veritable reversal of employment standards policy—that organizations were left struggling to satisfy a wide array of new compliance obligations.

Many are still working to catch up, just as new legislation comes into effect for 2019.

Case in point: While many employers in Ontario celebrated the passage of Bill 47, the ​Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018—​which froze the minimum wage at $14, repealed the entitlement to two paid and eight unpaid personal emergency leave​ ​days​, ​and​ ​repealed equal work for equal pay provisions, among many other significant amendments​—​they also complained that the legislation’s rollback of worker-friendly entitlements meant their organizations had to once again amend employee policies and procedures after complying with Bill 47’s predecessor, the controversial Bill 148, the​Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017​. That legislation imposed measures that many business leaders argued were unbalanced, were implemented too hastily and put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Important employment law developments weren’t limited to Queen’s Park. The provincial judiciary also handed down a range of important decisions.

Another significant decision clarified the appropriate interpretation of restrictive covenants, such as non-solicitation clauses and non-competition clauses—provisions that prohibit former employees from soliciting client business for a prescribed period after the end of the employment relationship, or from inducing former colleagues to leave their former employer—in employment agreements.

In ​MD Physician Services Inc v Wisniewski,​the Court of Appeal for Ontario found that any ‘courtesy calls’ that are made by a new employee to notify a former client of their change of employment— but that are really made to obtain that client’s business—will likely be found to breach an applicable non-solicitation clause. At the same time, employers that instruct their employees to engage in such activities may be held vicariously liable to pay damages for an employee's breach of a non-solicitation clause.

Then there was the legalization of cannabis for recreational use. Although medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001—and employers have been required to accommodate its use for medical reasons—last year the Trudeau government delivered on a longstanding promise to legalize recreational pot. Employers across the country fretted over the prospect of a chaotic rollout, but legalization came and went without a notable hangover—particularly for organizations that were prepared.

That said, many employers are still working to draft comprehensive, legally-defensible policies on workplace cannabis use. Some believe that legalization has meant an open-season on marijuana consumption, but nothing could be further from the truth. Employers in every province are allowed to prohibit recreational cannabis consumption in the workplace, while those same policies should also differentiate between medical and recreational use and state that workplace cannabis impairment will not be tolerated in safety-sensitive environments.

That brings us to 2019. While this year is shaping up to be slightly less eventful than the last, there are some very important HR law developments that should be on every SME owner’s radar.

In Ontario, implementation of the muchmaligned ​Pay Transparency Act​(PTA) has been

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postponed indefinitely. The legislation was slated to take effect on Jan. 1, 2019, but its unceremonious shelving means that employers will continue to be legally permitted to determine compensation rates based in part on candidate experience, qualifications and expectations, will be spared the administrative burden of creating pay transparency reports and will be free to limit employees’ ability to disclose compensation information. There is a very strong chance the PTA will never resurface, or will be subject to dramatic revisions before it does.

The proposed Bill 66, ​ Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act, 2018,​takes aim at the provincial Employment Standards Act, 2000’​ s overtime and hours of work provisions, as well as certain aspects of the L​ abour Relations Act, 1995​ . While the bill isn’t yet law, it’s expected to clear the legislature once the House resumes sitting in February. Among many employer-friendly provisions, it would remove the requirement for employers to obtain governmental approval for employee agreements to work in excess of 48 hours per week, and would remove the requirement for employers to obtain governmental approval for averaging overtime hours.

In addition, enhanced Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits that were extended to Ontario employees on Jan. 1, 2018—covering workplace-related chronic mental stress including workplace harassment and bullying—are proving far less daunting for employers to manage than first expected. In two 2018 decisions, arbitrators held that the new entitlement to WSIB benefits for chronic mental stress set out in the ​Workplace Safety Insurance Act ​(WSIA) barred legal claims against employers for damages for chronic mental stress that would now be compensable under the WSIA. Further, a recent audit conducted by the WSIB found that more than 90 per cent of claims for benefits related to chronic mental stress have thus far been denied.

Of course, rather than simply watching trends in 2019, employers should be proactive in addressing them. That means taking the time to revise workplace practices and policies to comply with new legislation, training employees and—when it comes to the rollback of employee entitlements in provinces such as Ontario— thinking strategically and considering whether to claw back benefits, or extend them to workers as an act of brand-building good faith to help drive employee attraction, retention and engagement.

And when in doubt, seek advice from an experienced employment lawyer to avoid falling prey to common—yet avoidable—peoplemanagement pitfalls in the year ahead.

DIGITAL PAYMENT

Mobile Payment Technology for the Construction Industry

By Vincent Alimi

The construction industry in North America is facing considerable pressure to decrease costs, improve productivity and improve its competitive edge with respect to quality of service and customer satisfaction. Recent advancements in mobile technology provide new ways of addressing all of these issues. The role of emerging mobile technologies is becoming more important as a way to enable the construction industry to remain competitive because it offers access to real time technology, more accurate and organized reporting information and a greater ability to integrate information. Moreover, mobile technology facilitates more efficient onsite payment. This aspect of mobile technology is especially important for small dependent contractors.

As we move towards the cashless society, the gaps between physical and digital payments are closing. There remains, however, one type of payment that remains to be addressed -- cash-in-hand transactions.

One North American company is enabling construction companies to address this gap. Montreal-based Mobeewave has been a pioneering force in the mobile payment space since its inception in 2012 and has created a patented solution enabling contactless payment acceptance on smart devices such as your cell phone. This technology is revolutionizing the way small and medium-sized businesses operate.

Mobile banking presents great opportunities for contractors and construction companies to meet the growing expectations of consumers with regards to ease of payment in this new mobile age. A solution that provides a mobile-only solution rather than 20th century payment solutions such as cash or cheques is an important advance.

Mobeewave’s solution enables anyone to accept money from a contactless card or a mobile wallet using only a smart mobile device i.e. no other hardware is required. This technology enables micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses to collect payments from their customers with the swipe of the customer’s credit card against their mobile phone.

The flexibility of the Mobeewave solution means that the platform is not limited by geographical restrictions. The fact that it can offer value to licensees in both mature and emerging contactless markets means that the platform could ultimately be deployed globally. Currently, Mobeewave has deployed its technology in Canada, Australia and Europe -- with roll outs in other markets, including the United States, to be announced shortly.

Mobeewave has recently negotiated partnerships that enable it to extend its global reach. For example, Mobeewave signed a global partnership agreement with Samsung Electronics in 2018 making its platform available on over 250 million Samsung devices around the world. Through strategic partnerships such as the Samsung partnership, Mobeewave’s technology enables anyone with a Samsung phone to collect payments from their customers by having the customer wave his or her credit card against the payment collector’s Samsung phone.

Resistance to new software technology, especially in the field, is a challenge faced by many construction companies. Software suppliers have responded by making user interfaces easier and more intuitive, by improving the performance of and support for their products and by making it easier to integrate applications and data across workflows.

Real-world experience over the past decade has also created a wealth of proven best practices for deploying mobile technology successfully.

The construction site is not viewed as a leader in the use of mobile technology, but studies reveal that it is being used by more than half of construction professionals on construction sites. It is, therefore, a short step for many of these companies to employ mobile technology for payment purposes.

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RESOURCES

Best Small Business Resources in New Brunswick

The same goes when it comes to the number of Small Businesses in Canada. New Brunswick is ranking in the bottom five with barely more than 25,000 small businesses in its province.

New Brunswick is the third smallest province in Canada ranking right after Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Contributing at only 0.7% of the country as far as the national geographic area, it’s no wonder that they are ranking close to last when it comes to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“The lowest contributions to GDP by small businesses came from New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador (25 percent and 23 percent respectively) Source: Key Small Business Statistics

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At the end of 2015, there were only 25,002 small businesses in New Brunswick.

Source: Key Small Business Statistics

With New Brunswick being one of the smallest provinces within Canada and ranking in the bottom when it comes to contributing towards Canada’s economy and GDP, one would think that resources in that area are limited. Although compared to other provinces like Ontario and Saskatchewan who contribute much more towards Canada’s economy so therefore they have much more resources available to them, New Brunswick still has its share of resources available for small business owners. The government, taking into consideration that they need to promote small business in the region, has taken steps in providing several programs and resources to help its small business owners. Here are the top ten best small business resources in New Brunswick that are sure to come of aid for business owners.

1. ATLANTIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ACC) Since the Atlantic Provinces are quite small and have for the most part the same business needs, the Government of Canada has put in place one Chamber of Commerce that combines all the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. The ACC is actively working with its members and several other organizations to encourage a strong growing Atlantic Canada.

With a connection to a national network of more than 450 chambers of commerce and boards of trade as well as more than 200,000 businesses, the ACC has the largest and most influential business association in the country.

Website:www.atlanticchamber.ca E-mail: tracy@atlanticchamber.ca Telephone Number: 902-698-0265

2. OPPORTUNITIES NEW BRUNSWICK (ONB) Opportunities New Brunswick has a mission to grow the provinces economy. They have a team of experts who work with business owners to help them start, grow and expand their business. They also help business owners recruit employees that are skilled in their line of work to help them grow their business successfully. Their goal is to help entrepreneurs grow their business by providing them with the best available resources.

Website: www.onbcanada.ca E-mail: info@onbcanada.ca Telephone Number: 1 (855) 746-4662

3. BIZPAL NEW BRUNSWICK BizPal New Brunswick helps business owners find all the information they need in regards to permits and licences when it comes to starting their business in New Brunswick.

Website: www.snb.ca/bizpal

4. CANADA BUSINESS – NEW BRUNSWICK Canada Business – New Brunswick is a member of the Canada Business Network. They answer all questions when it comes to your business needs.

Whether you are starting your business, expanding or have questions in regards to government programs and resources that are available to you, their team of experts will answer all your questions and point you in the right direction.

Website: www.canadabusiness.ca/about/contact/new-brunswick-centre E-mail: info.cb.nb@acoa-apeca.gc.ca Telephone: 1-888-576-4444

5. THE NEW BRUNSWICK SMALL BUSINESS INVESTOR TAX CREDIT The Small Business Investor Tax Credit program offers funding by increasing access to equity financing for New Brunswick small businesses.

They also encourage New Brunswick residents to invest in local small businesses. By providing up to 50% non-refundable tax credit to eligible investors who invest in small businesses, they are contributing towards the development of the economy in the province.

Website: www.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/finance/taxes/ credit

6. IGNITE FREDERICTON Named the “2016 Startup Community of the Year” by Startup Canada, Ignite Fredericton provides support to all entrepreneurs. With their team of experts, they give advice and provide a list of resources to help business owners launch their business. Their list of programs help entrepreneurs from creating their business plan all the way to expanding their business and hiring employees.

Website: www.ignitefredericton.com E-mail: info@ignitefredericton.com Telephone Number: 1-800-200-1180

7. THE HIVE LA RUCHE A business center incubator to help new immigrants start a business in New Brunswick. They provide support and programs to immigrants looking to launch their business. With training and a team of experts to guide them through their business plan, getting a workspace and access to funding, they ensure that someone is there every step of the way until they are ready to manage their business on their own.

Website: www.thehivelaruche.ca Telephone Number: 506-585-955 Address: 1273 rue Main Street, Moncton, NB, E1C 0P4

8. PROPEL ICT Propel ICT helps entrepreneurs who specialize in technology get access to resources and funding so they can increase their chances at success.

By providing funding, mentoring programs, knowledge and support, they are encouraging business owners and contributing towards the provinces technology innovation.

Website: www.propelict.com E-mail: info@propelict.com

9. CONNEXION WORKS ConnexionWorks is a collaborative workspace that provides a place to work for individual start-ups and small to business sized businesses.

Their goal is to encourage small business in New Brunswick by providing entrepreneurs a workspace that is affordable for them so they can start and grow their business.

Website: www.connexionworks.ca E-mail: info@ConnexionWorks.ca Telephone Number: 506-632-0000

10. COMMUNITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS (CBDC) CBDC is a non-profit organisation that helps Atlantic Canadian business owners succeed. They provide financial assistance, business counselling and advice, entrepreneurship development and training and technical assistance. Their goal is to help business owners in the Atlantic Provinces succeed so they can help towards the Canadian economy.

Website: www.cbdc.ca Telephone Number: 1-888-303-2232

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INTERVIEW

Lending Loop: The Future of Lending for SMEs

Cato Pastoll CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF LENDING LOOP

risk. We tend to be more flexible and look at businesses through a different lens compared to traditional financial institutions.

The capital that we provide comes from Canadians who want to put our money into SMEs and into the economy. Lending Loop is in the business of making sure that both sides have a good experience. We’re incentivized to get them the right rate for that business.

2

Lending Loop connects small businesses with investors to help them grow their business. How do you go about linking investors with small business owners?

We have an online platform where any Canadians can sign up and they can quickly create an online profile to connect them with SMEs.

Lending Loop is a lending platform focused on small businesses. Can you talk about how they are helping Canadian SMEs grow their businesses?

There’s a few core things that we do: The primary thing is providing financing to SMEs. When SMEs are looking to grow, renovate, gather inventory before the holiday season – we’re there for them and we’re the fastest and lowest cost option. We support businesses with more than just capital. We’re really focused on working with them to provide tools like free credit checks, and other opportunities to help them secure the capital they are looking for.

How is Lending Loop different from the traditional financial institutions who offer financing to small and medium sized businesses in Canada? What makes you different?

There are two key differences: The speed, convenience and accessibility of our offering. We’re significantly faster than other options (1-2 days). You can do it all online. And we remove a lot of the bias from the decision making and simply use data points to predict business

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What do you believe are the benefits for investors to invest in small businesses?

It’s a very unique and attractive asset class. It’s not tied to market fluctuations, the real estate industry or other typical indicators.

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It’s a loan product and you’re getting a fixed rate of return so investors value the stability.

2

For many of our investors, it’s a way to give back and support businesses in their local communities, and the Canadian economy at large.

3

What was the inspiration behind Lending Loop? What brought up the idea to connect investors with small business owners?

My parents were both Small business owners and I worked with them on weeknights and weekends. I noticed the challenges that SMEs have to getting capital. People often rely on family and friends and if you don’t have such resources, it often can become quite difficult.

I personally really wanted to find a better way than invest my money in something other than the stock market. And helping small business owners find access to capital was a great opportunity.

As co-founder and CEO of Lending Loop, what are some of the accomplishments that the company has had with Canadian SMEs? We have helped over 500 Canadian businesses gain access to 35 million dollars of capital. We have helped companies hire new employees, expand by opening new offices, and helped them get out of tougher financial situations. There have been countless success stories with businesses that we’ve helped.

Some are businesses that you may run into everyday on the street, and some are much less visible manufacturing companies for example that we have helped.

Can you talk about some of the challenges that you face on a daily basis and how you over come them?

We look at ourselves like a small business. So we have many of the challenges that other SMEs have. We want to make sure we’re doing a good job in protecting both sides of our platform and make the market more aware of Lending Loop, and that there are other options out there other than traditional financial institutions.

What advice can you give to small and medium sized business owners who are looking for investment opportunities?

The most important thing is to educate yourself and constantly be doing research.

Speaking to the right people and getting the right advice from friends and family, accountants and bookkeepers or other mentors you may have. It’s essential to understand the market and what the different options are. There are plenty of options for SMEs to help them get access to financing.

It’s about doing the research to find the best fit.

On a more personal note, can you tell us what you enjoy doing in your free time?

I love technology and building little things in my off time on weeknights and weekends.

I’m a huge raptors fan, soccer fan, and I really enjoy following politics.

5

Best Business Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

2019 has just started and what better way to kick in the new year then by reading an inspiring business book? No matter what your goals are for the New Year, whether it’s to expand your business, manage your finances better, become more organized or master the art of multi-tasking, these business books are sure to help you towards your goal. So here are five great business books that every entrepreneur needs to read to manage their small business successfully.

Successful Business Expansion, Philip Orsino This is the perfect book for Canadian Small Business Owners who are looking to expand their business. Canadian businessman and author Philip Orsino talks about the benefits of expanding your business as well as some key factors to take into consideration. All your questions about timing, financing, exporting, developing new markets and so much more will be answered in this book. So, if you’re considering to expand your business, make sure you read this book to guide you through your expansion process.

Time Management for Entrepreneurs, Dan S. Kennedy It’s no secret that small business owners often wear many different hats. It comes with the job description.

Therefore, entrepreneurs often feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day to do everything they have to do. Time management is crucial. In his book Time Management for Entrepreneurs, Dan S. Kennedy gives great pointers on how entrepreneurs can effectively manager their time better. This book is a definite must have for all business owners.

Entrepreneurial Finance, Steven Rogers Whether you are just getting ready to launch your business or have already been in business for some time but need guidance, this book is perfect for business owners who need help when it comes to managing their finances. Steven Rogers provides the essential tools and crucial information to help entrepreneurs build a solid financial foundation to help them for years to come. So, if you’re in desperate need of guidance on how to better manage your small business finances, make sure to read this book.

The Lean Startup, Eric Ries Statistics reveal that most startups fail within the first few years. However, most of them are preventable. Eric Ries talks about techniques and pointers on how to ensure your startup doesn’t get included in those statistics.

Whether you are launching a big corporation or a small business, The Lean Startup provides tools and key factors to help entrepreneurs successfully start their business that will last for years to come.

Innovation Thinking Methods for the Modern Entrepreneur, Osama A. Hashmi This book is perfect for entrepreneurs who are in need of some innovation thinking. Innovation is key to the success of any business. Entrepreneur and tech CEO Osama A. Hashmi introduces innovation thinking in this book. Based on his own personal experience as an entrepreneur, Hashmi gives guidance and resources to help business owners become more innovative and master the art of innovative thinking. Easy to read and written in a conversational style, this book will have you finish it within one sitting.

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RESOURCES

Best Small Business Resources in Newfoundland and Labrador

Although Newfoundland is not the smallest province in the country (they are however in the bottom 5), they also have the lowest number of small businesses per population in Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador have the less amount of small businesses within Canada. With just over 17,000 small business in the province, they also contribute to having the smallest percentage of GDP in the country.

The lowest contributions to GDP by small businesses came from New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador (25 percent and 23 percent respectively).

Source: Key Small Business Statistics

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Compared to the rest of the provinces in Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador have the less amount of small businesses per 10,000 population. While the rest of Canadian provinces average from 300 to 500 small businesses per 10,000 population, Newfoundland have only 187 small businesses.

Source: Alberta Canada – Small Business Profile

Newfoundland and Labrador hold the record in Canada for having 50% of its population that live in rural and small-town areas. Almost all of its population live in the island of Newfoundland and more then half live in the province’s capital, St. John’s. St. John’s is home to the offshore petroleum business and accounts for about 50% of the province’s gross domestic product. This makes petroleum as one of the main business industries in Newfoundland. The Government of Canada has put in place several resources to promote small business in Newfoundland because they do understand its potential and they want to attract more investors as well. They strongly believe that if Newfoundland is given the appropriate resources to help small business owners, they will contribute greatly to the country’s economy. So, here’s a list of all the best small business resources in Newfoundland and Labrador.

1. ATLANTIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ACC) Since the Atlantic Provinces are quite small and have for the most part the same business needs, the Government of Canada has put in place one Chamber of Commerce that combines all the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. The ACC is actively working with its members and several other organizations to encourage a strong growing Atlantic Canada. With a connection to a national network of more than 450 chambers of commerce and boards of trade as well as more than 200,000 businesses, the ACC has the largest and most influential business association in the country.

Website: www.atlanticchamber.ca E-mail: tracy@atlanticchamber.ca

2. ST. JOHN’S BOARD OF TRADE The St. John’s Board of Trade is one of the main resources for all business owners in Newfoundland and Labrador. They’re an organization that’s main goal is to find solutions for all problems that entrepreneurs can encounter while managing their business.

By providing access to opportunities and addressing issues that affect all businesses, they collaborate with their partners to help business owners succeed and grow.

Website: www.stjohnsbot.ca E-mail: mail@bot.nf.ca Address: 34 Harvey Road, 3rd Floor Paramount Building, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5V5 Telephone Number: 709-726-2961

3. LABRADOR NORTH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (LNCC)

5. NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (NEIA) The NEIA is a non-profit association that promotes the development of clean technology and the growth of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. They work towards the development of new enterprises, the retention and growth of existing local businesses as well as the attraction of new businesses in the province. To ensure that new businesses are developed and those existing are growing successfully, they invest in activities to take place so these goals are met. Their activities are focused on six key areas that include: a support framework for entrepreneurs and startups, a network to help increase productivity and competitiveness, resources to encourage innovation, export and international business development programs, training and professional development opportunities, leadership on policy and advocacy issues.

Website: www.neia.org E-mail: info@neia.org Telephone Number: 709-237-8090

6. CANADA BUSINESS – NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR Canada Business – Newfoundland and Labrador is a member of the Canada Business Network. They answer all questions when it comes to your business needs. Whether you are starting your business, expanding or have questions in regards to government programs and resources that are available to you, their team of experts will answer all your questions and point you in the right direction.

Website: www.canadabusiness.ca/about/contact/newfoundlandand-labrador

Labrador North Chamber of Commerce represents businesses groups in Central Labrador and works with different organisations to promote business in the region. Their goal is to promote and improve trade, commerce and the economy within the area.

Through the several networking events that they hold during the year and their programs, they work hard to help business owners grow their company

E-mail: info.cb@acoa-apeca.gc.ca

Website: www.chamberlabrador.com

The ASAP is an initiative that has been put in place by the Government of Canada to help Atlantic Canadian businesses take advantage of Canada’s naval and coast guard fleets. Their goal is to help businesses in the Canadian Atlantic Provinces understand the process and address areas like innovation capacity, certification, workforce skills so that they can prepare for future opportunities.

Telephone Number: 1-877-920-8787

4. GANDER & AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE A non-profit organisation that works with its members and different organisations to advance the areas commercial industry so that all businesses in the region can prosper and succeed. They provide information and references to help business owners develop their products and grow. They find solutions to problems that businesses face in the area. Their goal is to have all business owners in the area work together successfully so that they can work for the good of the community.

Website: www.ganderchamber.nf.ca E-mail: chambergeneral@ganderchamber.nf.ca Telephone Number: 709-256-7110

Telephone Number: 1-888-576-4444

7. ATLANTIC SHIPBUILDING ACTION PLAN (ASAP)

Website: www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca/eng/Pages/Atlantic-ShipbuildingAction-Plan.aspx

8. ATLANTIC CANADA OPPORTUNITIES AGENCY (ACOA) The ACOA actively works towards creating opportunities for businesses to grow in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. They help entrepreneurs become more competitive, innovative and productive in the business by joining forces with a wide-range of communities.

Through their partnerships, they work towards developing and diversifying the local economy.

Website: www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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RESOURCES

9. BUSINESS ASSOCIATION NEWFOUNDLAND LABRADOR (BANL)

10. BUSINESS & ARTS – NEWFOUNDLAND & ARTS

The BANL is a group of local entrepreneurs who founded the organisation to help support businesses in the province. They join forces together for mutual benefit and support because they believe that with the severe economic climate that the province constantly faces, if they work on building each other up and networking together, they have a better chance at success.

Website: www.businessassociationnl.ca E-mail: vcestick@idealeupholstery.com

Business and Arts Newfoundland and Labrador is a non-profit organisation that drives economic development and initiates a partnership between the business and arts community in the province.

Their goal is to put in place a mutual beneficial relationship between the arts and business communities. They believe that by including a more artistic view on growing business and including it in the business industry, the economy in the province can take advantage of it and grow to its full potential.

Website: www.businessandartsnl.com E-mail: psoucy@businessandartsnl.com Telephone Number: 709-745-1611

The Canadian SME Magazine has a mission to deliver insightful content to new and growing small and mediumsized businesses and support them in building a strong foundation in their respective fields.

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Empowering Canadi

How Health Coaching & Support from Novus Health Is Preventing Disability in the Workplace Novus Health, a leader in health navigation, provides organizations the tools to help individuals and their loved ones live healthier lives. The innovative programs from Novus Health tackle some of the most pressing health challenges that people face so that they are empowered to improve their health and well-being.

Novus Health understands the critical importance of early intervention in preventing disability. That is why they created a Health Coaching & Support program (Stay Healthy at Work™) to address health concerns and common conditions before they lead to extended absences and disability claims. (CNW Group/Novus Health) Disability is a key concern for many employers.

Whether temporary or permanent, disability can become quite costly—not only for employers, but also for affected individuals and the family members who rely on them. Being able to work has many positive effects on a person: it creates a social network, a feeling of accomplishment and purpose, and generally keeps people active and engaged in their lives.

Novus Health understands the critical importance of early intervention in preventing disability. That is why they created a Health Coaching & Support program (Stay Healthy at Work™) to address health concerns and common conditions before they lead to extended absences and disability claims.

The result? A healthier population, with higher productivity and lower costs for organizations.

With this program, organizations can provide their employees, members, and customers the tools to take charge of their everyday health goals, commit to meaningful and sustainable changes that work for them, and live healthier

and more productive lives—both at home and in the workplace.

assist in achieving their health goals, such as psychologists, dieticians, and social workers.

HERE'S HOW THE HEALTH COACHING & SUPPORT PROGRAM HELPS

Through the program's positive reinforcement and ongoing coaching support, Novus Health has helped a diverse range of individuals to tackle their health challenges and regain their livelihood. From managing chronic pain, to creating new pathways for handling stress and anxiety, to reducing alcohol consumption, the Health Coaching & Support program puts the power for positive change in one's own hands.

The Health Coaching & Support program is an end-to-end solution that helps individuals tackle potential health challenges before they lead to disability. An integral part of our health navigation solution, the program can work alongside other health management programs and support services - but aims to keep individuals on top of their health concerns and enact positive change before access to other programs is even required.

With Novus Health's suite of products, organizations can lead the way to a healthier and more productive population.

To get started with the program, individuals can follow a simple step-by-step process.

First, those with access to the Novus Health Navigation Platform can fill out an online selfassessment questionnaire, which will generate a personalized report about their health risks.

Eligible individuals then have the opportunity to: •

Receive one-on-one health coaching support via phone or email

•

Develop health improvement strategies and personalized action plans

•

Better understand their health issues and evaluate their treatment options

Depending on their needs, they also have access to a multidisciplinary team of experts to

FOR MORE INFORMATION Learn more about Health Coaching & Support program: https://www.novushealth.com/ product-suite/health-coaching-support ABOUT NOVUS HEALTH Novus Health is a leader in health navigation.

We deliver personalized support, reputable information, and health-related services in one single destination, using technology to help individuals make informed health decisions.

In doing so, we create value for our partners while improving their members' and customers' health and well-being.

SOURCE Novus Health

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5 Best Social Media Management Tools

S

ocial media is crucial when you are starting off your business. It build your online presence and helps spread the word about your product and services. It’s also a great marketing tool. Very few companies today don’t have a Facebook or Instagram account. Why? Because it’s free and it allows people to see your products and everything you offer. It gives them an insight of your company. It spreads the word. It’s honestly the best marketing tool for all businesses. This brings us to social media management. Why is social media management so important? We covered why social media is important. But social media management is also extremely crucial because it ensure that your online presence is a good one. Everyone knows that a bad review or comment can drastically hurt a business. All it takes is one negative review, and people will choose another business over yours. Therefore, having the right social media management is crucial.

That’s why more and more companies are hiring specific people whose main job is to manage their social media. They ensure that not only companies have a strong online presence, but that it’s a positive one. It’s one thing being visible online, but it’s another thing when all people are seeing are negative reviews and things that could have a negative impact on your business. So having the right social media management is extremely crucial and can go a long way when it comes to growing your business successfully.

Here are the best 5 social media management tools for Canadian businesses that are sure to be very valuable:

1. ZOHO SOCIAL Zoho Social is a great social media management tool because they cover everything from top to bottom. Their services include publishing, sharing, collaborating, monitoring, messaging, stats and analytics and so much more. They offer several different platforms to make it easy for everyone to use. Zoho understands the challenges of that business owner’s face, which is why they have made it their mission to make their tools easy and affordable for all users. Their analytics reports are extremely easy to understand which is crucial for SMEs when they want to understand what their customers like. Their pricing is very affordable compared to other social media management tools out there in the market. Zoho Social is known for being the best tool for social media starters with their easy to use services. www.zoho.com/social

2. HOOTSUITE Hootsuite is a social media management platform that was created in 2008. Founded in Vancouver, their aim is to help all Canadian businesses have a strong online social media presence. For the last decade, they have been helping Canadian SMEs when it comes to social media management. Their services include scheduling, content curation, analytics, monitoring, team management, security, apps and integrations. Hootsuite understands that business owners are busy and can’t go to their different social media accounts regularly to manage everything. This is why they have simplified social media management by creating a platform where users can manage everything on a single dashboard. SMEs will now be able to view everything at once and ensure that their social media is effective in the way that they want it to be. They offer different pricing plans that are designed to help Canadian businesses for their different needs. www.hootsuite.com

3. BUFFER Founded in 2010, Buffer is currently helping over 80,000 businesses around the world. With clients like Shopify, Microsoft and Trello, it’s no wonder that more and more businesses are putting their trust in Buffer when it comes to managing their social media. Buffer allows users to connect over 25 social media accounts and schedule up to 2,000 posts per social account. Each user also gets access to advanced analytics allowing them to track engagement and interactions on each post so they can see how it’s performing. Buffer also gives the option for users to add team members 40

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so they can collaborate by creating and sharing drafts. Understanding how business owners can have different needs as well as the struggle of SMEs, Buffer offers affordable pricing. They also have a free plan which is great for Canadian businesses who are just starting off and don’t want to start investing too much into social media management. www.buffer.com

4. SPROUT SOCIAL Firm believer that social media is the most important thing when it comes to branding in today’s market, they have made it their mission to provide top quality social management for all businesses. They strongly believe that creating a strong connection with people is the best way to sell a product or service, and there’s no better way to do that today then through social media. With strong values such as care deeply, embrace accountability, champion diversity, equity and inclusion, celebrate change, solve hard problems, seek simplicity and promote open, authentic communication, it’s no wonder why more and more businesses are choosing Sprout Social. All their services are designed to create a true strong connection between businesses and their consumers. Their services include social management, customer care, analytics and social listening, and advocacy and influencers. With each service, they ensure to create a solid bond between your business and your customers. www.sproutsocial.com

5. AGORAPULSE Agorapulse prides itself as being the easiest and most affordable social media management tool for businesses. Top rated by its users, they also offer free social media management services such as Facebook Page Barometer, Twitter Report Card and Facebook Page Contests. Their goal is to make social media management simple and affordable for all business users. With services like scheduled posts, social media inbox, content queues and categories, bulk upload, automated inbox moderation, social media listening and chrome browser extension, they meet the needs of every business owner, small or big. Their pricing plan makes it easy for you to choose the one that’s best for your business. Agorapulse makes it their business to understand the audience of each business and see who they are and what interests them. They want businesses to be able to capitalize on every opportunity with their full monitoring and engagement that is perfectly designed for them. www.agorapulse.com

CAPITAL

The Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative To be able to grow and develop a business, entrepreneurs depend on funds. Having access to funding is crucial. It helps business owners grow innovative companies and further develop their ideas, promote new products, increase revenue and create new job opportunities across the country which is significant for Canada’s economy. The Government of Canada has put in place a new initiative called Venture Capital which is a specific type of private equity financing that takes calculated risks on great ideas. In doing so, they are giving young high growth-potential companies the chance to develop their ideas into profitable products. Aside from offering funding, Venture Capital investors bring solid experience, technical knowledge, the right networks and mentorship to the businesses in which they invest.

Having a strong team of investors is a crucial part in the success of Canada's potential future technology leaders.

Therefore, it comes to no surprise that the government of Canada has launched the Venture Capital initiative to get the right investors to invest in innovative companies.

The Government of Canada made an important announcement in Budget 2017. In partnership with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Canada is making $400 million available to increase the availability of late stage venture capital in Canada. This significant investment has the potential to increase approximately $1.5 billion into Canada's innovation capital market. The funding also complements other programs that are under the Innovation and Skills Plan to help increase Canada's innovative start-ups.

THE VENTURE CAPITAL CATALYST INITIATIVE Through the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, the Canadian Government has created a solid portfolio of large funds and alternative models that reinforces and expands the Canadian Venture Capital ecosystem.

The Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative also includes a complete focus on enhancing diversity and addressing gender balance among Venture Capital fund managers, investors, and portfolio companies. The Initiative used a competitive process to allocate capital to fund managers in two streams: •

Stream 1: A $350 million investment in large private sector-led funds-of-funds that is designed to capitalize on returns through diversified investments, support skilled Venture Capital fund managers and attract substantial private sector capital.

•

Stream 2: A $50 million investment in Venture Capital fund managers that can offer a financial return to investors, but in areas not otherwise be addressed by Stream 1. Applicants under this stream had strategies focused on supporting underrepresented groups such as women or diverse fund management teams and entrepreneurs, or emerging regions and sectors.

To find out more about the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, see below for their contact information: Email: capital@canada.ca Telephone: 1-800-328-6189

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WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

Small Talk with

Shirley Vickers President & CEO of Innovate BC

Your background demonstrates that you have several years of experience when it comes to helping businesses start off. What would you say is the biggest challenge that business owners face when they are starting off?

In a lot of ways it depends on the type of business. Generally, it is figuring out what support you need to build your business and where to get it. You need to know who can help with it; getting the right type of people; where to get funding; how you are going to fund it; are you going to bootstrap it; are you going to use.

Depending on the amount of money you might use angel investment, capital investment, equity.

There is a variety of things and of course funding and cash flow is always key at the bottom of that. How do you get a decent cash flow to get you going? Innovate BC is such a good resource for innovators because we connect entrepreneurs to the resources that small and medium sized enterprises actually need. It might be government funding things that might be available. We can put them in touch with different types of investments. We also do a lot of work connecting them with entrepreneurs in residence who have been there, done that, built the businesses themselves and continue to help start up and also in growth stages. We help with scaling a company. People that can actually help you minimize some of the risks that you face as you go along building your business.

Basically, you can think of it as “I made all of these mistakes, so here I’m going to show you the mistakes I made.” It is a little more involved than mentorship. Depending on the stage of the business. It might be a new technology business. It might be actually determining what type of scientific help you may need to make your technology more advanced and leverage technology more. It might be actually how do you capitalize things? How do you define your market? When you are growing your business, at a certain stage, if you get around 25 employees you end up in a whole other world. You then need structure. How do you deal with human resources? How do you deal with compliance issues and governments and boards of directors?

All of those sorts of things. It depends on the stage and the type of business.

You’re a firm believer that technology can help entrepreneurs develop their business and help them expand. In your opinion, what is the biggest impact that technology has had on businesses?

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I think that with technology and development generally you have to look at things at the revolution that we are facing. And it effects the development of every type of business.

For traditional industries like mining, forestry, agriculture, oil and gas. All of those resource type of businesses have been really impacted by technology and other types of businesses as well but I am really interested in the whole natural resource because being in British Columbia our history has been to build the economic wheel in the natural resource industry and in the oil and gas industry in particular. We know how much technology has impacted them. We look at mining and the whole health & safety of the employees, some of the technological developments. When you look at agriculture and the new technology has really impacted the agritech industry because of things like “How do you even track the food supply.” How do you actually do that type of thing. It’s really, really interesting. And we find in British Columbia we see so much prospect & collaboration with the large public and private tech sector adopting new technology. We have something called Innovation Marketplace. A couple of really good examples that we have done. We have built on the idea that if somebody has problem such as a big global company has a problem, we should be able to connect researchers who are trying to solve that problem together with the person having the problem. If you take the Ministry of Agriculture here is seeking innovative solutions to do that. One example is looking after clean water and how do you reclaim water that you have used for industrial profits. What is really cool is that whole clean tech sector.

Being CEO and President of Innovate BC, you have probably seen a lot of entrepreneurs who came up with innovative ideas to grow their business. What is the most innovative idea that you have seen?

No there are too many that cross so m any sectors. There are so many innovative ideas that cross sectors, geno mapping, general fusion, dealing with energy. A business that we have here that is going to change the world is the whole quantum computer sector. We are a world leader in that in the Vancouver area and I think it’s going to revolutionize a lot of businesses. It’s hard to say which on. It depends which sector you look at. That’s what I love most about my job. I get to see the most amazing things that people are doing. It’s so much fun. We work a lot with academia as well so the people that

are doing basic research at universities. It’s just phenomenal some of the things that they are trying to research and bring forward. That’s what’s really cool about what we do. We bring all of these groups together in a collaborative way.

Innovate BC encourages the application and development of innovative technologies that meet the needs of the industry in British Columbia. What is the biggest need that the province needs in terms of technology that could help business owners?

The best way to describe what we do is we connect BC innovators to government resources & funding. We have a variety of initiatives that we actually do. As the technology industry as a whole develops we are going to have a job shortage in the future. That doesn’t matter if you are a start up or if you are a company like Google that is in Vancouver now. We have a few programs like the Tech Co-op Grant. Hiring grads in which we supply funding for small businesses to hire co-op students. They get job experience and introduces them to a career in tech and develop our future work force. The other thing that we do which is really, really interesting and one of our most popular programs is the ignite program which is collaborations between industry and academia to overcome market streaming challenges. For example we would have an industry consortium which is a partner ship between an industry person and an academic to solve an actual problem. We can get some research grants towards that too. That means the province as a whole has an investment and industry has an investment and academia investment really has the past experience helping entrepreneurs. We have had a lot of research

WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR

grants in a lot of different water issues. There is a million different ways they are looking at water as reclamation. How you change water and how you purify it in different industries. That’s such a great program. That collaboration really helps businesses grow. It helps the companies grow their businesses because they are able to work with the province’s top researchers. It helps them to attract investment by going through that process.

Innovate BC partners up with several organization to help business owners. What would you say is the most challenging part when it comes to finding the right partner that could help entrepreneurs?

We have partners and accelerators that are situated all over the province. It isn’t a challenge, but the benefit is that no matter where you are in the province you can access support and funding and information to help you build your business.

The most important component to build a strong partnership is to make sure that we have our goal in mind which is ensuring BC’s emerging tech sector grow throughout the province. Whether you are located in Fort Nelson or Prince George or on Vancouver Island you should be able to build the technology that you want. Sometimes it’s challenging to find the right partner. It’s really important that you have alignment of your goals.

One of the core values of Innovate BC is to guarantee results by monitoring regularly its programs and services with the partners and clients they deal with. What factors are used when monitoring to ensure results are met?

That really depends on the program itself and what the actual results are that we are trying to achieve and the impact. Because we are a crown agency it’s important that the money we spend and the resources that we spend have really good results. We put a lot of value in reviewing and analyzing feedback from our program partners and investors and that allows us to improve every program that we have an initiative around. For example, the student hiring process is pretty simple to chart and graph and we can compare to previous years as well. The hiring institution and the students give us feedback on the program. In the innovation marketplace we have constant contact with the client throughout the entire process. We can adapt easily. The most important for me as a CEO is to ensure that we are regularly reviewing the metrics to get the desired impact that we want. And also that we are using our resources very efficiently.

what is needed. For example, Innovation Marketplace is a great example of how we can integrate creativity and originality into our operations. The challenges that these people work on trying to solve are that we have to be very flexible and open to new ideas and new ways of delivering these services. Always with the goal in mind of what we are impacting with them. Another example of creativity is the BC Tech Summit which is the largest conference in western Canada. Every year we need to come up with new ideas and ways to make it unique and make sure we are providing the value for our delegates. The investors have an Investment showcase, there is an educational content and we have a big youth innovation day to try and expose our secondary school students to what is happening in technology in the province. We make sure we are providing value & services for their needs. Part of our mandate and legislation is to provide policy recommendations to the government which is a very important component.

If you were to compare British Columbia to other provinces across Canada, what would you say is the main difference in terms of technology when it comes to growing a business?

This is a hard question. Our innovators here in BC run across different sectors and it’s very interesting the amount of research that is being done by our academics and institutions. We have over the last few years worked with entrepreneurs and researchers that are creating and finding solutions. I mentioned clean drinking water in third world countries; plastic consumption reduction. If I had to say about BC’ers in general, they want to change the world with their technology because when you compare it population wise to other parts of the world, we are small so we don’t have a marketplace to showcase it. They want to change the world with their technologies and we do everything we can to help them do that.

Finally, as CEO and President of Innovate BC, what is the best accomplishment that Innovate BC has had that makes you most proud?

A lot of Innovate BC makes me proud. I’m proud to work here with such a talented group of people who are just absolutely passionate about what they do. One of the biggest accomplishments over the years that Innovate BC has done is putting together that partnership that reaches every single corner of the province. Making sure that we have a direct line. I think that is the biggest value proposition that we have in our organization. No matter where you are, we can make sure that as an innovator in the province you are taken care of. I’m really proud of the amount of amount of work that is happening in the clean tech space. Not so much in BC but generally. The other big accomplishment is the development of the innovation marketplace which helps solves problems in the world by using and connecting technology with innovators and researchers to come up with solutions to problems and its amazing impact. We work with using the Innovation Marketplace. We work with large government organizations working with artificial intelligence with the justice system in BC. They had some challenges they wanted to address. We work with a big mining organization and are going into second stage to solve some of their problems in the interior mining sector which is all through our Innovation Marketplace. It has been fascinating and I am really, really proud that we have developed that.

Innovate BC employs less than 25 people but they have a big reach through partnership with other organizations and the federal government to help small and medium sized businesses reach their goals. It’s about how to maximize your resources right.

Shirley Vickers has been CEO and President for 2 years and worked there previously as an entrepreneur in residence. She has had several businesses previously which makes her the ideal person to lead start-ups and help them get going in the right direction.

How does Innovate BC put creativity and originality at the gate of its operations?

We are a very entrepreneurial organization ourselves. We have to be really in tune to what our industry needs because our goal is to grow the industry. We always have to look at CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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DivaCup

HAVE AN IDEA?

BRING IT TO LIFE! HELP FOR ONTARIO’S ENTREPRENEURS. The Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE) is a collaborative network of organizations across Ontario designed to help entrepreneurs, businesses and researchers commercialize their ideas. It provides a comprehensive suite of programs and services spanning the full commercialization continuum from idea to market. The ONE network was created to bring together the various resources for entrepreneurs, so you don’t have to search. The less time you spend finding and accessing programs and services, the more you can focus on “the business of running a business”.

With a simple visit to www.onebusiness.ca, you can get connected with the right expert for all your business needs.

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DivaCup started years ago when its creator Francine was trying to find a better alternative for the discomfort options available for women during their menstrual period. After years of researching she discovered menstrual cups and in partnership with her daughter, they further experimented and perfected the cup that is today known as the DivaCup. The DivaCup is not only a healthier option, but it also makes the experience of going through your menstruation much easier and smoother. It provides women with a positive experience during their menstruation cycle. Francine and her daughter Carrine founded DivaCup and through it are not empowering women. They are shedding light on a subject that has long been considered shameful and an embarrassment to address in public.

Carrine has also been attending several conferences such as the PeriodCon which had its first ever conference just last year. Through these conferences and webinars, the DivaCup is a strong supporter of women empowerment. They are revolutionizing the way people perceive certain feminine aspects such as menstruation. DivaCup is showing women everywhere around the world that they should no longer feel ashamed or embarrassed about their periods. It’s a natural part of being a woman and people need to understand that. DivaCup is not only an alternative better way of dealing with your menstrual cycle, it’s also taking a strong stand and empowering women around the world.

#ADPCANADANER

ADP CANADA DECEMBER 2018

NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT THIS MONTH CHANGES

13,000

Change in Canada Nonfarm Payroll Employment

Change by Sector & Industry

Construction

6,900

1,400

Information

1,100

2,600

Education and Healthcare

1,600

Leisure and Hospitality

3,000

1,900

Other Services

3,500 CHANGE IN TOTAL NONFARM PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT Chart 1: Change in Total Nonfarm Payroll Employment, in Thousands 80

74

70

67 59

50 40

28

20

16

0 -10 -20

-13

22

13

2

-3

-13

Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 Apr-18 May-18 Jun-18

Jul-18

Aug-18 Sep-18 Oct-18 Nov-18 Dec-18

Sources: ADP Research Institute®

The January 2019 ADP Canada National Employment Report will be released at 8:30a.m.ET on February 21, 2019.

Chart 2: Historical Trend – Change in Total Nonfarm Payroll Employment, in Thousands

About the ADP Canada National Employment Report

ADP® Canada National Employment Report Statistics Canada

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The ADP Canada National Employment Report is a monthly measure of the change in total Canada nonfarm payroll employment derived from actual, anonymous payroll data of client companies served by ADP Canada. The report, which measures more than two million workers in Canada, is produced by the ADP Research Institute®, a specialized group within the company that provides insights around employment trends and workforce strategy.

60 40 20 0 -20 -40 -60 2013

2014

2015

2016

"Despite a dip in job growth in December, overall gains for 2018 were strong," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. "Of the more than 340,000 jobs added this year, education and healthcare, professional services and leisure and hospitality were significant drivers of growth."

The November total of jobs added was revised up from 39,100 to 74,000.

HISTORICAL TREND - CHANGE IN TOTAL NONFARM PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT

100

- Service Providing: • Trade/Transportation and Utilities -7,700 • Information -1,100 • Finance/Real Estate -2,600 • Professional/Business Services 1,600 Professional/Technica -400 Management of Companies -1,800 Administrative and Support 3,700 • Education & Health Care 3,000 Educational Services 0 Health Care 3,000 • Leisure and Hospitality -1,900 • Other Services2 -3,500 * Sum of components may not equal total, due to rounding.

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30

10

• Manufacturing 4,700 • Natural Resources and Mining 1,400

Financial Activities

7,700

60

- Goods Producing: • Construction -6,900

Service Providing Sector

Professional and Business Services

Employment in Canada decreased by 13,000 jobs from November to December according to the December ADP® Canada National Employment Report. Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP Canada National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute®. The report, which is derived from actual ADP payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm payroll employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Industry Snapshot:

Natural Resouces and Mining

4,700 Trade/Transportation and Utilities

EMPLOYMENT

Total Canada Nonfarm Payroll Employment1: -13,000

Goods Producing Sector Manufacturing

ADP Canada National Employment Report: Employment in Canada Decreased by 13,000 Jobs in December 2018

2017

2018

Each month, the ADP Research Institute issues the ADP Canada National Employment Report as part of the company's commitment to adding deeper insights into the labour market in Canada and providing businesses, governments and others with a source of credible and valuable information. The ADP Canada National Employment Report is broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge.

Sources: ADP Research Institute®, Statistics Canada

CHANGE IN NONFARM PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

For a description of the underlying data and the statistical model used to create this report, please see "ADP Canada National Employment Report: Development Methodology".

Chart 3: Change in Nonfarm Payroll Employment by Industry, in Thousands 4.7

Manufacturing

About ADP (NASDAQ: ADP) Powerful technology plus a human touch. Companies of all types and sizes around the world rely on ADP cloud software and expert insights to help unlock the potential of their people. HR. Talent. Benefits. Payroll.

Compliance. Working together to build a better workforce. For more information, visit ADP.com.

For more information about ADP Canada, visit ADP.ca.

-6.9

Construction

1.4

Natural Resources & Mining -7.7

Trade/Transportation & Utilities

-1.1

Information -2.6

Financial Activities

1.6

Professional & Business Services

3.0

Education & Healthcare -1.9

Leisure & Hospitality -3.5

Other Services -8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

ADP, the ADP logo, ADP A more human resource. and the ADP Research Institute are registered trademarks of ADP, LLC. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2019 ADP, LLC. All rights reserved.

Sources: ADP Research Institute®

For more information, please visit the ADP® Canada National Employment Report website at www.adp.ca/ner The ADP logo, ADP A more human resource, ADP and the ADP Research Institute are registered trademarks of ADP, LLC. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2019 ADP, LLC. All rights reserved.

1 Including 14 industries (cf. report methodology) 2 Including public administration SOURCE ADP, LLC

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WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE MONTH

Carinne Chambers-Saini CEO of DivaCup

As CEO and co-founder of Diva International Inc. (Diva), Carinne Chambers-Saini has lead a 15-year journey to create and market the revolutionary product and brand, the DivaCup. As the only real innovation in feminine hygiene in decades, the DivaCup has completely disrupted the industry by providing the most eco-friendly, clean and comfortable way to address menstrual care on the market today.

The incredible growth of the company and the rise of the DivaCup brand have received much recognition. To name a few, Carinne has been awarded the EY Entrepreneur of The Year for Sustainable Products and Services, EY National Special Citation Award for Industry Disruptor, in addition to being recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 under 40. Additionally, Diva has ranked 138 on the 2018 GROWTH 500 list and 103 on the 2017 PROFIT 500 list, along with being recognized as one of the Waterloo Area's Top Employers for 2019.

This would not have been made possible without the 35-plus member team that has helped to lead the company to triple-digit growth over the last four years, outselling established brands and positioning Diva as a company to follow.

Honestly, after that, it was just a natural progression to bring a more user-friendly, modern menstrual cup to the market. It was a lot more challenging than we ever imagined, but we have really played a big part in the acceptance of menstrual cups in the world.

That is so rewarding!

In addition to working towards her business dreams, Carinne is also a daughter, wife and mother of two amazing kids. It is because of her family that she is motivated to achieve more each day

How does it feel to be the head of an organization that hasn’t been mentioned a lot until very recently?

What inspired you to go into this line of business? On your website, you mention that you’ve always known that you would join DivaCup and that you’ve been working towards it your entire life. What is it about this industry that inspired you to become part of it?

Menstruation was a topic that my mom was very open about as I grew up – she had always been searching for a better period care option.

Growing up in the 60s, the options were very limited for her, and it became her personal mission to pioneer a better option. My mom’s passion for seeing the incredible potential of menstrual cups, and then falling in love with the concept ourselves, really ignited that passion within me.

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My mom, Francine, and I worked hard for so long to get the DivaCup on shelves, and we met with a lot of resistance from some of the retailers we met with early on – many of them just didn’t understand why innovation in the category of menstrual care was even necessary. Whenever budding entrepreneurs ask me for the greatest lesson I’ve learned through DivaCup, my answer is always “patience.” It takes so much patience and time to build a business, but if you believe in it, it’s all worth it.

Now that we’re seeing the DivaCup on shelves in so many drugstores and grocery stores, and seeing so much dialogue in the media about Eco-friendly periods, period poverty and menstrual equity, it feels like this is what we were working for, for so many years.

I really am proud to be leading this organization that is changing lives around the world. Diva has really become a platform to elevate the movement and make an even bigger impact in the world through our philanthropy.

For the longest time, the subject of menstruation has been very hush hush. Why do you think that is?

There are so many reasons! Typically, menstruation has been treated as a shameful bodily function that needs to be kept private and hidden. We have been taught that periods are something to be embarrassed about, and I think that’s partly because, to this day, women’s reproductive health is poorly understood and not prioritized. For a long time, the medical community did not understand menstruation, and this led to a number of myths and misconceptions about periods that have just contributed to the silence.

Today, more and more women are comfortable talking about menstruation in public.

Although there is still a long way to go, the subject is no longer considered as shameful or an embarrassment. In your opinion, what factor do you believe contributed towards that?

Again, I think so many factors have contributed

WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR

to this. For one thing, as we’ve learned more about the impact that menstruation can have on people’s lives and what a crucial role it plays in overall health, it’s become something that is taken more seriously. And I also think that a newer generation of women is more willing to say “This is a reality of our lives, and it isn’t something we’re going to be silent or ashamed about anymore.” That, combined, with the fact that there are so many amazing and innovative menstrual products out there now – once you’re willing to consider different options for menstrual care, like reusable cloth pads or a cup, you’re more willing to question everything else you’ve ever been taught about periods.

What would you say is the biggest challenge that women face currently when it comes to their personal hygiene and menstruation and how is DivaCup helping them overcome it?

This question very much depends on the situation of the individual accessing period care. We know that many people around the world frequently have to choose between buying food or buying menstrual products that month – so finances are a major barrier for so many, and this is a need that our DivaCares program was developed to address.

For those who are able to afford period care products each month, having a sense of fear or intimidation about exploring alternative menstrual options is the biggest barrier people face around managing their periods.

Many people have only ever learned about two options – disposable tampons and disposable pads – and the idea of considering something reusable is often a strange concept to people! Using a DivaCup also requires you to become a little more familiar with your flow – something that many people are squeamish about at first. Part of our educational initiative is to communicate that being acquainted and familiar with your flow is natural, normal, and healthy.

We’re also incredibly proud of our recent B Corp certification. B Corp is such a great way to make businesses work as a force for good, and though the certification process is quite rigorous, I’m so proud of our team that we received it and are continually working at getting better and better!

In February of last year, you joined the firstever conference of PeriodCon. What was it like for you to be part of other industry leaders and talk about better solutions for menstruation?

Period Con in 2017 was a fabulous experience!

It was a privilege to be part of the first Period Con, especially because Period is such a valued partner of our DivaCares program. I was honoured to be asked to be the Keynote speaker for the event and share our journey.

It was definitely eye-opening and amazing connecting with other industry leaders and come together to celebrate all that we do.

As head of an organization that many people still have a certain discomfort towards it, you must come across several challenges during your day. What are some of those challenges and how do you work on overcoming them?

One of the questions I used to get when we were first bringing the DivaCup to market was “are you still selling that thing?” or even “is that really a full-time job?” The fact that women’s health and period care still isn’t taken seriously was a huge barrier when we first started, and while we’ve seen massive change (along with massive growth of our company!), I still run into people who are surprised that I’m so open talking about menstrual cups.

I also feel like there are still some opportunities that we are not considered for because of the topic. That is definitely changing, and as well as periods have a lot more presence in the media today. I try not to focus on that though.

Because our team is so passionate and focused, we simply keep doing what we do.

If we focused on the discomfort towards our company or products or industry, we would not be where we are today!

What is the best advice that you can give to women who are seeking entrepreneurship in an area like you, that is not often well received by others?

Patience and persistence are so key to succeeding! If there’s no clear path or category for what you want to do, don’t be afraid to forge your own. And if people won’t take you seriously at first -- don’t be discouraged! If you believe in what you’re doing, then it’s worth sticking to it.

On a final note, where do you see DivaCup 10 years from now? What is the main goal?

We really want to grow our DivaCares program – as I mentioned earlier, there are so many organizations we support and love working with, but we also know that period poverty is an issue around the world. We want to continue making a difference, expanding our partnerships, and helping as many people with clean, comfortable period care as we can.

This year we’ve also released our brand-new Model 0, a smaller cup for those under 18 years of age. We want to continue listening to our consumers’ needs and producing innovations that help people have the best possible period experience.

DivaCup has been contributing greatly towards women empowerment. What would you say is the biggest accomplishment that DivaCup has had to date?

We have so many fantastic relationships with charitable partners. We work with Period: the Menstrual Movement, the Native Youth Sexual Network, and Diva Day, to name only a few. Working with these organizations is so rewarding because it allows us to really make a difference by providing education, resources and cups to people who need them. I think the fact that we’re in the position right now to develop our DivaCares program and create a comprehensive strategy to champion period enlightenment is one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of.

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FOOD

The 5 Essential Fruits to Relieve your Stress Being a small business owner can get very stressful at times. The pressure of running a full-time business and doing many of the tasks on your own can be overwhelming. It’s no wonder that many business owners often either show the white flag or face burnouts. There are however many ways to help relieve stress so one can manage their business with a clear stress-free mind. Meditation, yoga, breathing exercises or taking walks are just some of the ways to relieve stress. There are also fruits that help relieve stress. While many people don’t know that certain fruits can help relieve stress, experts have proven that they actually go a long way when it comes to stress relief. But how do you know which fruits work best? We’ve narrowed down a list of five fruits that have been proven to help relieve stress.

Citrus Fruits If you’ve ever heard the expression of “Orange juice is the breakfast of champions”, well now you know why.

In case you didn’t know, oranges are filled with Vitamin C. Vitamin C not only lowers blood pressure, but it also lowers the stress hormone cortisol. Nothing is better then eating an orange or drinking a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice to get your fill of Vitamin C. You will instantly start feeling better.

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1

2

Avocados If you’ve ever heard the expression of “Orange juice is the breakfast of champions”, well now you know why. In case you didn’t know, oranges are filled with Vitamin C. Vitamin C not only lowers blood pressure, but it also lowers the stress hormone cortisol. Nothing is better then eating an orange or drinking a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice to get your fill of Vitamin C. You will instantly start feeling better.

Bananas Bananas have several advantages.

For starters, they’re a great source of potassium which your body needs. They’re also great for weight loss and improve your digestive health. Another benefit of eating banana is that they also provide sustained glucose because of their natural sugars and fibers, which slowly release into the bloodstream. Bananas are also rich in the amino acid tryptophan.

This can make your body produce serotonin, which can significantly improve your mood. That being said, the next time you’re feeling down and looking for something to make you feel better, grab a banana.

3

4 Cherries Research has proven that cherries are the only fruit that provide a source of melatonin. Melatonin is a chemical that regulates sleep. It controls a person’s internal clock and ensures that they get the required amount of sleep that their body needs. It’s a proven fact that a common cause of stress is lack of sleep. If you’re not sleeping enough or well, it makes you more stressed and irritable. It’s your body’s way of telling you that you’re lacking sleeping. Experts recommend that eating cherries, fresh or dried, an hour before bed will help you sleep better. So, if you’re not sleeping well and feeling stressed, grab some cherries before your bedtime. Your body will thank you.

5

Berries While all fruits are great for your health, berries are definitely at the top of the list! For starters, berries are extremely versatile in their ways of being eaten: yogurts, smoothies, oatmeal’s, cheesecakes…). They also contain a huge amount of benefits when it comes to your health. Berries are a rich source of Vitamin C and contain antioxidants and anthocyanins which not only contribute towards lifting your mood, but they also protect your brain. So, make sure to get your full serving of berries on a daily basis to start seeing an improvement in your mood.

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SUCCESS

Keys for Making Canadian SMEs more Competitive and Successful

By Silvia Pencak

A new year is often seen as a clean slate, fresh starts, commitments for change, the launching pad for exciting plans, anticipation for growth and much hoped for success. For Canadians SMEs, I see 2019 as a year of building towards the future. Here are some thoughts and tips.

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Build on innovation

Canadian companies, especially those larger in scope are generally careful when it comes to innovation. SMEs need to be nimble and agile. This gives them necessary marketing edge - you might not be large in scale, but you can win large contracts when you bring better efficiency or other improvements faster than larger players.

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Build on failures

Innovation and failure go hand in hand. Taking action, even those that are well thought out and researched, can end up going off the rails.

Yet your business size as an SME allows for more agility and faster turnarounds during setbacks. When you fail, take time to evaluate what went wrong, what you could have done differently and jump right back in. Based on 50

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your evaluation either try again with some tweeks or change your approach altogether.

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Build with focus and intention

Way too often businesses fall in love with their “baby” (aka products and services) and fail to stay focused on marketing and sales.

I challenge Canadian SMEs to grow their businesses intentionally - to diligently focus on marketing and sales, pursuing opportunities in front of them and when necessary, discovering and creating their own pathway.

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Build strong alliances

There are many organizations, businesses and individuals who can help you move your business forward faster in 2019. Don’t become

a bottleneck in your own business. Look at what you need to improve, who you can partner with to do it faster or better than yourself. Utilize resources like coaches, consultants, industry associations, government organizations, networking events, professional services and more to scale up your business faster.

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Build up your people

This is perhaps the most important key to your success in 2019 and beyond. In today’s aggressive war for talent, take time to invest in your team, customers and stakeholders (in this order). People problems are very expensive and it is always cheaper to prevent them than to fix them. Be proactive and invest in improving your relationships. Your business will thank you.

SUCCESS

Rise above the Noise with

Niche Marketing Phoebe Yong With over 25 years of industry experience in B2B marketing, Phoebe has built an awardwinning boutique marketing agency based in Vancouver that services high-tech, cleantech, financial and manufacturing clients. With a degree in Communications and an MBA in Marketing, Phoebe has led partner marketing campaigns with some of the biggest brands in the world – Dell, HP, Microsoft, Vodafone and Unicom China. Working on everything from shoestring budgets to over $2M ad campaigns, she’s also run press tours with the largest and most influential global media outlets. For more information, visit magnoliamc.com.

By Phoebe Yong, Principal and Founder of Magnolia Communications It’s not the first time you’ve heard about niche or target marketing to stay above the noise, The marketplace is getting ever more competitive with new market entries and added with accessibility like we’ve never experienced before. Small business is big in Canada: 98.2% of all businesses have fewer than 100 employees. Yet even in today’s fast-paced and aggressive online landscape, knowing where your core competencies lay and building from there can keep SMEs on the right track when it comes to strong and steady growth.

Being in marketing for over 25 years, I engage with SMEs every day. The number one question they ask is, how do we compete with the big players and establish our authority with presence and knowledge? I go back to my fundamental approach on why it’s critical for SMEs to niche to rise above the noise.

Keeps You Focused Running a business can offer many distractions and research has shown that 68% of B2B organizations have not identified their funnel. To keep your eyes on the prize, it’s much easier to remember or be reminded that you have a specialized audience to work for and keep the team laser-focused on their markets and their needs. From product management to sales and marketing initiatives, knowing you remain true to your market’s message, and requirements will greatly improve your excellence in product or service delivery.

Easier to scale When you focus on specific markets, not only can it be cost-effective but it’s also easier to scale your business. It’s easier to establish key relationships and networks with identified markets. For example, it takes less time to discover key industry events that your customers attend, let alone to attend them and the same goes for establishing standardized processes

that work for one market as opposed to many. The key thing to remember is when you have key processes established for one market, it’ll likely be easier to transfer that discipline to others.

A message that resonates loud and clear For vertical markets, their own terminology and characteristics specific to their sectors. For SMEs to succeed in marketing to them, the message is not only clear but needs to speak to convincingly show you understand their pain points and how you can help to resolve them. For example, to help you better define those messages, having a strong network and customer base will help you define and refine your message that your audience can attest to and identify with.

Act with authority.

Own your space.

Specializing in a market is putting your authority on the table, loud and clear.

You are telling your customers, this is an area that I specialize in and I’m going to help you increase your market share. This bold statement is tremendous as you’ve identified your core competencies and articulated your differentiation from the rest of the pack. From here you can build a strong brand that tells your customers why you know their problems and how you can help overcome them with your specialized approach or product. For your target audience to identify with your brand/offering, they must feel confident that you do know their industry, the growing pains and how to overcome them. This only comes when you not only act with authority but you deliver on that promise.

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SUCCESS

Top 5 Challenges SMEs Face When Selling to Large Corporate and Government Buyers

By Silvia Pencak

Selling to large corporate and government buyers can be time consuming. Competition is fierce and stakes are high for both sides. Let’s look at the top 5 biggest challenges every salesperson faces and how you can overcome them to close more deals in the upcoming year.

Sales cycle is too long This is perhaps the biggest challenge SMEs face when selling to large companies. The larger the contract, the longer the process will be. From your prospect’s perspective, they need to manage their assets wisely and must take time to review and evaluate their options before making a decision.

There are a couple of strategies you can use to shorten the sales cycle and land that deal. The key is to stay in touch, be consistent and stay relevant. If you can attend events they are attending and build your credibility through personal interaction, you should absolutely do that. What’s even better is to speak at such events or become a sponsor. You can also offer an “easy yes” to a smaller scope project which will be much easier to get buy in, plus it will help you build credibility with the company.

One thing to keep in mind - a B2B sales cycle might be longer, but it also can be more rewarding than selling to smaller businesses or individuals. If they like you and you deliver on your promise, you will be able to make more money in the long term.

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2

Unable to reach sales prospect First of all, realize that there are the right “Prospects” who will be able to make a purchasing decision on what you offer,” Introducers” who can introduce you to the right person and “Tire kickers” whose sole purpose is to waste your time (without telling you). You want to get rid of Tire kickers, ask for introductions from Introducers and follow up with the prequalified prospects.

Chances are that almost none of your Prospects will be ready to buy from you the moment they meet you. They need time to check you out, research other options and ultimately ensure they make the right business decision. Statistics state that it might take 8-12 approaches to gain interest from a prospect. Many SMEs give up too soon - after 2-3 attempts. Follow up is a key to reaching the prospect.

Take time to review your existing follow up strategy. How is it working for you? Do you give up too soon? Do you need to build additional touch points? Building resources-like white papers, brochures, case studies, videos, samples and more might help you stay in touch with your prospects during the process. Make sure that they are insightful, relevant and useful. You might also vary your approach, switching between email, phone calls, in-person meetings, social media and more.

SUCCESS

Complicated buying & decision making process

Retaining customers It is more expensive and time consuming to find a new customer than to upsell an existing customer. This is also the most untapped territory SMEs leave behind. I strongly recommend taking a path of more proactive selling. Instead of waiting for opportunities to come, reach out to your existing customers and let them know about other options that might be useful for them.

As you can imagine, every corporation has its own buying and decision making process. Navigating the space can be time consuming. The more complex your solution, the more frustrating it can be to navigate through all the hoops. Buyers might need to do additional research, include additional internal buyers in the decision making process, or simply get additional approvals.

Schedule an appreciation lunch to inquire about your prospect’s additional needs that you might have a solution for. Send an updated catalogue with products and services they are currently not buying, but might be interested in. Ask them about their biggest frustrations and develop a new product or feature that will resolve it. Opportunities are limited by your imagination. This of course goes hand in hand with you delivering great service, meeting the timelines and being a great vendor to work with.

It is crucial that you take time to understand the buying culture, processes and policies before you present your sales pitch. Do your research, have multiple conversations, prepare well to win the gig. At WBE Canada, we connect women-owned businesses with procurement professionals to enable conversations around procurement processes, upcoming procurement initiatives and more.

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More than 1 decision maker There are usually multiple people involved in a corporate decision making process. Actually, there are more decision makers today than there were 2 years ago. Always ensure that you have the ability to talk to final decision makers. Talking to their assistants and hoping for them to do a good job selling your product to a decision maker is not a good sales strategy.

Some of the decision makers might have competing priorities and you will need to win each of them over to get their buy-in. The best sales people ask questions and listen more than talk, adjusting their pitch based on data collected during these conversations. Listing product features is not going to help you win the gig. Specifying benefits for the company and individual buyers will.

SILVIA PENCAK

President, WBE Canada

Silvia Pencak is the President of WBE Canada, Canadian nonprofit organization that is opening doors for Canadian womenowned businesses to supply chains across North America.

It certifies firms that are at least 51% owned, managed and controlled by women and introduces them to opportunities with large corporations. The organization also partners with governments, women’s business centres and other womencentric communities across Canada.

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FAHION

Make a Statement

MONTBLANC

Trolley Cabin Suitcase

Take your travels to the next level with this Trolley Cabin suitcase from Montblanc.

It's equipped with top and side handles as well as a retractable metal handle for ultimate convenience. Your belongings will stay safely stowed on-the-go with multiple interior pockets with zipper closure.

Available at www.harryrosen.com

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA Cap-Toe Oxfords

Ermenegildo Zegna is renowned for faultless classics and these suppler calfskin, made-in-Italy Oxfords are an exceptional example. The minimal design features a sleek cap-toe profile and a smooth, polished finish as well as excellent flexibility for a comfortable stride. Team them with one of the label's streamlined suits for an impressive, client-ready look.

Available at www.harryrosen.com

GLOSSY FINISH LEATHER SHOESDETAILS BURGUNDY - 5414/302 Leather derby shoe. Glossy finish. Laces with five pairs of eyelets. Rounded shape.

Available at www.zara.com

TEXTURED WEAVE SUIT Jacket made of textured weave fabric.

Lapel collar and long sleeves.

Front double welt pockets at hip and welt pocket at chest.

Interior lining with pocket detail. Double back vent.

Front button closure.

Available at www.zara.com

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THE CHELSEA HERITAGE TRENCH COAT Our slim-fit trench coat reimagined with a clean-cut silhouette and rounded shoulders. The archive-inspired style is made in England in our signature weatherproof gabardine with a Vintage check lining and undercollar. Wear over tailoring or a T-shirt and denim. Alterations can be made using our in-store service Available at www.ca.burberry.com

EQUESTRIAN KNIGHT CHECK TIE-WAIST SHIRT DRESS

FAHION

A belted shirt dress in check cotton reworked with fil coupé Equestrian Knight motifs for a textured finish. Available at www.ca.burberry.com

COPPER PAISLEY TIE

BY SERICA CLASSIC

SHINOLA

The Runwell Stainless Steel & Leather Strap Chronograph Watch

From The Runwell Collection. Built to last, and named accordingly, every detail of The Runwell was engineered with an obsessive focus to ensure the highest possible quality.

Available at www.thebay.com

Originating in Persia, many legends surround the paisley pattern - tales of great warriors, symbols of virility and bounty. Archeologists have discovered paisley art that is thousands of years old. Type “paisley” into Google for an interesting education on this ancient pattern. Available at www.boutiquejacques.com

CARRERA

New Champions

Carrera sunglasses are part of a lifestyle. Experience a life full of thrilling experiences. Be true to who you are and follow your heart. Live outside the box, be adventurous, real and unconventional while wearing these sunglasses.

Available at www.thebay.com

CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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INNOVATION

Canarie Canarie has recently announced the launch of their new program: Digital Accelerator for Innovation and Research (DAIR). What does it do exactly? The purpose of the program is to influence Canada’s investment in the CANARIE research and education network. By investing in this domain, they are increasing product development and market competitiveness of Canadian SMEs. DAIR gives the possibility to Canadian tech entrepreneurs to have access to free cloud-based (virtual) compute and storage resources. This is crucial when entrepreneurs need to grow their business through innovative ways.

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w4 virtual cores (vCPUs)

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4 virtual machines

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8 GB RAM

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80 GB storage across 4 file systems

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200 GB of object storage

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NVIDIA GRID Graphical Processor Unit (on an as-needed basis)

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Native OS: Windows Server 2012 R2, Server 2016 R2, Centos 6.5/7.0, Ubuntu 14.04/16.04 LTS, OpenStack Murano – packaged software

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“Unlimited” data transfer in, within, and out of DAIR

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Support

The Benefits of the Program Since CANARIE launched 25 years ago, they have been helping over a thousand Canadian start-ups take their ideas to the cloud. Their current clients use DAIR as an influential tool to grow, test, and establish a variety of products. Some of these products include but are not limited to mobile apps, multimedia offerings and IT security systems. This goes to prove that DAIR has had a positive influence on the business industry and is contributing towards the growth and development of cuttingedge innovative ideas.

Here is a list of benefits that all entrepreneurs are sure to gain through the DAIR program:

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Revolutionize product development and deliver it to the market faster

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Cut your product development costs

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Display your prototype faster to potential customers and investors

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Freedom and flexibility to test your design and development, to discover the optimal way to build your product

Applying has never been easier!

To apply for the program, it’s as easy as 1-2-3! First off, it’s important to note that any Canadian SME owner can apply to DAIR to develop, test, or demonstrate pre-revenue, pre-production products. Entrepreneurs wishing to take part in the DAIR program can complete a form that is found on the CANARIE website which doesn’t take more then 2 minutes to complete. After completing the form, applicants should expect a response within a week.

If you wish to find out more information about DAIR and the program, see below for contact information:

Digital Accelerator for Innovation and Research (DAIR)

What You Gain

Website: www.canarie.ca/cloud/businesses

Aside from the list of benefits that you’re sure to get through the program, DAIR also provides several resources and tools to help your business grow to its fullest potential. All eligible users will have access to the following resources for a year for development, testing and trials:

E-mail: dair@canarie.ca

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COMPETE HARDER

BUSINESS

BY BETTER UNDERSTANDING YOUR COMPETITION.

By Joel Sears

N

o business operates in a vacuum. Yet I’m surprised how many businesses find it hard to list their primary competitors. When you then ask them which of their competitors’ websites they like the most things get really interesting.

Either their answer provides invaluable guidance on how to boost their marketing efforts, or the process of combining the internet for your competitors’ sites becomes equally as illuminating for us and our clients alike.

That’s because it’s equally important for you to know your competitors’ website content and other marketing activities as it is their product lineup and distribution.

So what do your competition’s marketing activities tell you? Just like their product lineup tells you where you might find a sweet spot for your business in your sector, the same is true of marketing.

If a competitor is touting value, should you be all in on quality? This is where things get tricky. You can’t change your positioning just by changing your message. The first rule of marketing is that you have to be true to what your customers will experience. It’s not about aspiration but about delivering on promises.

So the most important learning from your competition’s marketing is a deeper understanding of what they see as their strengths. Then you can perform the smell test and determine if they can legitimately stake out this territory, or if they are saying what they think people want to hear.

This allows you to more accurately gauge your competitive set. Then you can take the next step and adjust your positioning and messaging to stake out defensible turf in your competitive landscape.

Joel Sears

For more than three decades, Joel has worked as a copywriter, creative director, strategist, coach and educator. He is a Partner in Branderos, a boutique marketing agency serving small and medium-sized businesses.

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ENTREPRENEUR

DON’T LET POOR

NEGOTIATION SKILLS

DOOM YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE In ENTREPRENEURIAL NEGOTIATION, Experts Samuel Dinnar and Lawrence Susskind Reveal Eight Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make And Provide Proven, Commonsense Ways ofThe Avoiding Them. great majority of startups fail,

and most entrepreneurs who have succeeded have had to bounce back from serious mistakes. Entrepreneurs fumble key ighty to ninety percent of all start-ups interactions because they don’t know how to handle the will fail. While there are many reasons negotiation challenges that almost always arise. They for this, onebelieve of thethat biggest mistakenly dealsproblems are aboutnew money when ventures facemore is poor negotiation skills. they are much complicated than that.

E

According to experts Samuel Dinnar, a Harvard and entrepreneurship business mediator, Thisinstructor book presents as a series of interactions between founders, partners, and Lawrence Susskind, a professor at MIT who potential partners, the investors and others at various stages also co-founded Program on Negotiation at of the entrepreneurial process seedthreat to exit.

Harvard Law School, “the single- from biggest toThere are plenty of authorsisoffering ‘tips’ to on handle how to succeed entrepreneurial success an inability as an entrepreneur, but no one else scrutinizes the the negotiations that arise in the evolution of negotiation mistakes that successful entrepreneurs talk a start-up.” Founders must be able to prevent, about with the authors. detect, and respond to potential negotiation mistakes As in each of their interactions.

Dinnar and Susskind show, learning to handle emotions, manage uncertainty, cope with technical

In their book, ENTREPRENEURIAL NEGOTIATION: complexity and build long-term relationships are Understanding Managing The Relationships equallyand or even more important.

This book spotlights eight big Your mistakes that entrepreneurs often make That Determine Entrepreneurial Success shows how most and can Susskind be prevented with some (Palgrave and Macmillan), Dinnar point forethought.

It includes interviews with high-profile to the mix of emotion, uncertainty, complexity, entrepreneurs about their own mistakes. It also covers and relationships that makes entrepreneurial gender biases, cultural challenges, and when to employ negotiation so difficult. They explain that the agents to negotiate on your behalf. very qualities that help entrepreneurs launch businesses – willingness to take risks, high levels Aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs should pay of self-confidence, a desire for rapid results can the most attention to the negotiation errors that–even themselves become stumbling commonly blocks. Based successful entrepreneurs make. on their many years of hands-on experience, plus their in-depth research – including videotaped interviews with business founders – Dinnar and Susskind pinpoint eight common mistakes that entrepreneurs are prone to make. These are: MISTAKE #1:

SAMUEL DINNAR and LAWRENCE SUSSKIND

Entrepreneurs Are Self-Centered – Because entrepreneurs are deeply focused on their own interests when building a business, they often fail to recognize the needs and priorities of those with whom they have to interact. This focus on their own desires can blind entrepreneurs to clues that could lead to better outcomes for both sides, an important goal when building working relationships.

MISTAKE #2: Entrepreneurs

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Are

Overly

Optimistic

and

ENTREPRENEUR

Overconfident – Most entrepreneurs are supremely confident. They believe strongly that they will be successful (despite wellknown statistics regarding failure rates).

Because of this overconfidence, many fail to incorporate appropriate contingencies into the agreements they sign.

MISTAKE #3: Entrepreneurs Need to Win. Now – The primary objective of many entrepreneurs is to win. They are often primarily concerned about besting their counterpart and thus treat negotiations as one-off interactions, disregarding the possibility that future deals might be even more valuable than whatever is on the table at present.

MISTAKE #4: Entrepreneurs Are Too Quick to Compromise — Entrepreneurs are “doers.” They try to get things done while operating under incredible pressure. They feel compelled to decide quickly and “move on.” Instead of exploring additional options and finding even more advantageous trades, they settle for quick (and minimally acceptable) solutions.

MISTAKE #5: Entrepreneurs Work Alone – When entrepreneurs let their independent spirit dominate the way they negotiate, they prepare alone (rather than consulting their stakeholders and advisors), misread unfamiliar signals, take unreasonable stands, or vent emotionally at inopportune times. They fail to recognize that negotiation is an organizational, not an individual, task.

MISTAKE #6: Entrepreneurs Haggle – Many entrepreneurs get “tunnel vision,” assuming that the only thing they’re negotiating is price. This leads them to take a series of aggressive positions along this one dimension, forgetting to consider other factors that can create significant value.

MISTAKE #7: Entrepreneurs Rely Too Heavily on Their Intuition – Many entrepreneurs rely on their instincts when a negotiation doesn’t go as planned. But when trusting their instincts, they are not as reflective on what they are doing and why. So, they end up blaming the other side when things to wrong. Worse, these same problems keep occurring because they fail to learn the right things from their experiences.

MISTAKE #8: Entrepreneurs Deny Their Emotions – Most entrepreneurs have a strong sense of what is fair. When they feel they are being mistreated, they fall prey to a slew of emotional mistakes, or cognitive biases, that allow ego to overrule logic. This can be especially problematic for entrepreneurs who tend to deny the relevance of emotions (and ego) in negotiation.

While claiming “it is just business,” they can overvalue formal power, leverage, and control and undervalue the more subjective side of business negotiations.

To illustrate to entrepreneurs and those who negotiate with them how these mistakes play out, Dinnar and Susskind have included key portions of their interviews with eight founders from various backgrounds and industries in ENTREPRENEURIAL NEGOTIATION. The authors provide commentary about the reported missteps and show how each founder’s performance improved moving forward. The interviews, which also reveal issues of gender bias and the pros and cons of using agents, can be seen at www.entrepreneurialnegotiation. com, and are just one of the unique features of ENTREPRENEURIAL NEGOTIATION.

The book also includes extensive advice and worksheets to help readers recognize and prevent their own missteps. The authors explain how to prepare for, engage in, and reflect on each negotiation; how to deal with negative personal triggers; analyze the motivations that drive almost all participants; and step back to view heated situations “from the balcony” as an unbiased observer. These are the skills that entrepreneurs need to successfully negotiate the future of their enterprises.

ENTREPRENEURIAL NEGOTIATION shows them how.

Samuel Dinnar

Samuel Dinnar is a mediator, consultant, board member, and venture capital investor.

He is an instructor at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Negotiation Institute. He is also a research associate with MIT’s Science Impact Collaborative. Dinnar is founder and president of Meedance, which provides negotiation, training, and dispute resolution services. He has helped resolve highly emotional business conflicts involving founders, investors, and board members with some disputes reaching tens of millions of dollars. Dinnar builds on two decades of general management, strategic growth, and operations team leadership in high-tech and aerospace, including two startups that revolutionized their industries.

Lawrence Susskind

Lawrence Susskind is Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT and head of MIT’s Science Impact Collaborative. An expert mediator and negotiation trainer, he is co-founder of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School where he currently serves as Vice Chair of Instruction. He is also Director of the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program, and designed and teaches the MIT course, Entrepreneurial Negotiation: The MIT Way. Susskind who is the founder of the Consensus Building Institute, has advised more than 50 corporations, provided advanced negotiation training to more than 30,000 students and executives globally; served as advisor to supreme courts of several countries; and has published 20 books.

CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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Conceptual image only, subject to change.

A NEW SICKKIDS WILL RISE. This is Phase 1: the new Patient Support Centre (PSC). Phase 2 will be building a new, state-of-the-art Patient Care Centre (PCC) that lifts, not limits care.

Thanks to donors who believe that twenty-first century medicine needs to be practiced in twenty-first century buildings, we are over halfway to our fundraising goal of $1.3 billion. The PSC is where a transformed SickKids begins. Join us.

SickKids 60

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Limits

RESOCURSES

How ALBERTA WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS is creating the next generation of

women entrepreneurs Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) is all about helping women entrepreneurs succeed in Alberta. Big supporters of women entrepreneurs, AWE is helping them get access to resources and putting programs in place to help them grow and succeed in their business. For the last two decades, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs has been providing tools and resources to women entrepreneurs so they can get further access to funds, programs and workshops. Since they launched over twenty years ago, AWE has grown and adapted to the needs of women entrepreneurs in Alberta. Women entrepreneurs have come a long way over the years and Alberta Women Entrepreneurs has been there every step of the way, changing and evolving to ensure their services match the needs of women business owners. In addition to their programs and services, AWE also provides support to women looking to grow their businesses and expand into new markets.

A

lberta Women Entrepreneurs provides several resources and programs to women entrepreneurs. From their workshops that help them start-up their business to access to capital so they can further grow their business, AWE is there from the very beginning to the end. Their workshops include helping women entrepreneur’s startup their business. Split within three sessions, by the end of the workshop they will have a complete business plan that included everything from research to marketing to financing. Through their NextStep to Success Business Plan Learning Series, AWE provides guidance, one-on-one mentoring and expert advice to help women entrepreneurs that are ready to develop and grow their business. By collaborating closely with

local band and economic development agencies to deliver the training series, AWE is providing expert workshops and programs that can be of crucial value to women entrepreneurs.

Whether you are a business owner who is looking to start a business or you’re ready to expand and grow your company, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs can help you get there. With their workshops, programs, mentoring, business advising and access to capital, they are encouraging women entrepreneurs in Alberta to succeed. Because they believe that Canada’s economy and community is stronger when we work together, they are helping women entrepreneurs grow and become the owners of successful businesses.

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LUXURY

At a Glance: 2019

Nissan Pathfinder

PATHFINDER, ONE OF NISSAN’S BEST KNOWN AND MOST POPULAR NAMEPLATES IN ITS NEARLY 30 YEAR HISTORY IN CANADA, CONTINUES TO OFFER A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF RUGGED DESIGN, POWERFUL PERFORMANCE, EASY ACCESS FOR ALL SEVEN PASSENGERS AND A LONG LIST OF STANDARDAND AVAILABLE INNOVATIVE FEATURES AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES. IT'S THE PERFECT WAY FOR FAMILIES TO TURN UP THE ADVENTURE, AROUND TOWN OR ON AND OFF THE ROAD.

For 2019, Pathfinder expands the availability of key technologies and convenience features: •

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Rear Sonar System standard on all grade levels

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LED headlights standard on SL and Platinum grades

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New USB type-C ports added to all grades (2 USB type-C, 4 USB type-A ports)

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The seven-passenger 2019 Pathfinder is offered in 2-wheel drive (S trim only) and 4-wheel drive configurations and a choice of four well-equipped grade levels: S, SV, SL and Platinum.

In addition, all 2019 Pathfinder models continue to offer standard Intelligent Emergency Braking (IEB) and Nissan’s innovative Rear Door Alert (RDA)1 system, which can help remind customers of items that may be forgotten in the rear seat.

Nissan’s RDA debuted on the Pathfinder for the 2018 model year.

The Rear Door Alert system is designed to help remind customers of items that may be forgotten in the rear seat. The system detects if a rear door is opened prior to driving, and if it is not opened again at the end of the trip, the system can remind customers that something might be left in the rear seat.

RDA – the industry's first system that uses the horn in addition to door sensors and a message display on the center instrument panel – is designed to be simple, unobtrusive and can be easily turned on or off as needed.

LUXURY

All Pathfinder models are equipped with a 284-horsepower 3.5-litre V6.

The engine’s Direct Injection GasolineTM (DIG) system provides better wide-open throttle performance and emissions performance (versus a non-direct-injection system). Torque is rated at 259 lb-ft. The standard Xtronic transmission includes D-Step Logic Control, which simulates shifts, giving a more natural acceleration feeling. Pathfinder also features selectable 2WD, Auto or 4WD Lock modes from the available Intelligent 4x4 (I-4x4) 4WD system.

Pathfinder’s refined exterior provides a strong sense of adventure character and presence and features Nissan signature design elements such as the “V-Motion” grille and boomerang-shaped headlights with LED daytime running lights. LED headlights are standard on Pathfinder SL and Platinum grade.

Other available exterior features include fog lights, outside rearview mirrors with integrated turn signals and 18inch and 20-inch aluminumalloy wheel designs.

An available Motion-Activated liftgate with liftgate position memory is standard on SL and Platinum grades. A simple wave of the foot under the center of the liftgate activates the power opening function.

Pathfinder’s stylish, adventure-ready interior includes comfortable seating for seven. Every 2019 Pathfinder interior is anchored

by Nissan’s innovative EZ Flex Seating SystemTM with LATCH AND GLIDETM, a 2nd row tilt and glide seat that allows easy 3rd row access with a child safety seat still installed.

A wide range of seating and cargo carrying combinations are available with the 2nd row 60/40-split seat with manual slide/recline/fold flat and 3rd row 50/50-split seat with manual recline/flat fold. Cloth

seat fabric is standard for S and SV grades, while leatherappointed seating is standard on SL and Platinum models.

Heated and Cooled front seats, heated rear seats and heated steering wheel are also available.

Available Pathfinder information technology includes a standard Advanced Drive-AssistÔ Display (ADAD), located in the center of the instrument display between the tachometer and speedometer. The standard 8.0-inch touch-screen monitor, mounted in the middle of the instrument panel, provides intuitive interaction and control of a variety of driverselectable vehicle systems and settings – including available NissanConnect® Navigation.

The available NissanConnect Services powered by SiriusXM®2 features remote engine start via mobile app or smartwatch3, automatic collision notification, emergency call and stolen vehicle locator, customizable alerts, and maintenance alerts.

The 2019 Pathfinder’s wide range of available convenience features and driving aids also includes standard Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System, SiriusXM® Satellite Radio2, Tri- Zone Automatic Climate Control, RearView Monitor, and available 13-speaker Bose® Premium Audio system, Mobile Family Entertainment suite (standard on the Platinum trim) with dual headrest 8.0-inch DVD monitors, Nissan Intelligent Key® with programmable settings, Remote Engine Start3, Dual Panorama Moonroof and Easy-Fill Tire Alert.

Advanced Driver Assistance technology includes Intelligent Emergency Braking (IEB), Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC), Intelligent Around View® Monitor (I-AVM), Blind Spot Warning (BSW) and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA).

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INTERVIEW

Sandra Altner:

The face of Women’s Enterprise Center of Manitoba As CEO of Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba, what are some of the things that you are hoping to achieve?

3 major things: Increase our competencies and ability to 1 serve our client base- strategically and technically.

Increase awareness to level playing field for women entrepreneurs. If you read a McKinsey report from 2017 titled “The Power of Parity: Advancing women’s equality in Canada” - It could take up to 180 years to level the playing field.

2

Develop our own staff and their abilities of engagement to helping our clients to achieve their dreams. We want to help the world be aware, and our focus is on a regional level – where our internal staff and support are so dedicated to our client base.

3

How is Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba helping women entrepreneurs grow their business?

We grow our business in several ways. We have our core services: Our basics of business advising, training (sales courses, social marketing, business development) and loans.

Loans are up to $150,000. We have sister organizations in BC, Saskatchewan, Alberta and we all have loan funds which differentiate us from Women Loans organizations in Canada. Our national organization has created a partnership with Business Development Canada which gives our member organizations opportunities to lend at favourable rates.

Those are our core pieces.

We do other programs as well: “My Gold Mine”- based on the idea that your financial statements are a gold mine of information and should used to help you develop a growth strategy for your business.

It’s a consulting service for women to increase their financial acumen and ultimately profitability.

We participate in a program called Peer Spark – it’s an 8 month program geared to women who are growing their businesses and consists of business curriculum and coaching. We’re in our third year cohort in Manitoba and it’s been very successful

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Can you talk about some of the accomplishments that Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba has had?

All the training that we do has created amazing results. We are constantly outperforming our own metrics and this is with shrinking budget.

We have such a dedicated group and we’re working to meet and exceed our numbers. We won the regional award for the Entrepreneurial Support Startup Canada award.

Stat Canada did a report in 2016 that spoke about the Women’s enterprise initiatives in Western Canada’s measures. In almost every measure, we statistically are higher than any comparative organization that is not specifically geared towards entrepreneurship development. It proves without question, that the specific women’s business related intervention has results that are significantly greater than lending programs.

We’ve had staff go to Ukraine, Vietnam, and all over the world - and similar organizations overseas feel that the results we’ve had in 25 years are so significant and impressive, that they have modeled their strategies based on our success.

Women’s Enterprise Centre was established in 1994 to help women entrepreneurs. At that time, it was the

first of its kind in Canada. Why do you think that is? Why wasn’t something like this initiated earlier?

I was not part of the organization at that time.

I think there was a political will and people recognized the need. And we’re very happy that they did. In fact, recently, the contribution of women owned businesses has been so significant to our economy – which is why you see the Canadian budget of 2018 include support to women’s entrepreneurship. It is just good economic principle. And we’re seeing it happening globally. Business programs for women are finally gaining some momentum because of the huge contribution that women make to global GDP. Can you talk about the gender-specific programs that is offered by Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba? How do you believe these will help women entrepreneurs in the long run?

All our programs that we run are gender specific. Women run businesses different than men. And women are just inherently different than men and have other skills that have a large positive impact on global GDP. Do you believe that as the years go by and the gap between men and women entrepreneurs closes, there will always be a need for organisations like Women’s Enterprise Centre?

To be honest, I hope 5, 10 years from now, I hope there’s no longer a need for us. I hope that I’m out of a job. I hope that there will be equal access to capital, equal opportunity, no bias or prejudice, and no assumptions of inferiority at any level. Things surprise me every day. I think we are on the right path to achieving this goal.

If we could shorten that time span, I would be happy to find a different line of work.

Can you talk about some of the challenges you face as CEO of Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba?

Trying to do so much on small budget. We are very grateful to Western Economic Diversification Canada for the budget. There are so many more things we would like to do and so many ways we could meet our client

base beyond what we do now. It’s challenging.

Prices go up but our budget does not. I want to keep this amazing team we have now . We’re 12 people with jobs for 30. It’s a challenge to keep our team together even though non profit wages are not as tempting as the private sector. But the work we do is so satisfying and the team culture we have here is very compelling .

We have a national organization. It’s challenging to dedicate the time to work with the national organization which is so important. We see support coming in the next few months that will enable us to meet the needs of our members at the national level and meet the needs of our clients at the regional level.

On another note, how do you believe your past experience has helped you in your current role as CEO of Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba?

I have had 10 or 12 jobs before this. Each one of those has contributed to my ability to do this job. I have been an entrepreneur for many years. I have had 2 different businesses. I have been a writer, worked in sales, and worked for government in policy development. All of those things have contributed to my understanding of the entrepreneurial condition and understanding what happens at a government and policy level to enable supports to be brought forward and understanding what advocacy can do and what impetus it can provide to meet the goals of its citizens. I think life experience and recognition has been key.

No matter what business it is it always come down to people. Trying as much a possible in our world to be genuine and supportive. In essence that’s what the Women’s Enterprise Centre strives to be.

What advice and suggestions would you give to Canadian women entrepreneurs and small business owners for 2019?

I have always been an advocate for entrepreneurship, business development and innovation. There’s such a big world out there and lots of room for entrepreneurs. The way our civilization is going, more and more people will be self-employed. Anyone starting out should be planful: Always plan ahead! Think of

industry context, megatrends, technology, and where your clients will be in the future.

Get some knowledge from the gurus – there are a lot of free resources out there.

There were not so many supports available when I was in business. Just Google “support for women entrepreneurs”. Go and talk to people. Government now is so much more ready to support its entrepreneurs through knowledge and training and other support in so many ways.

Skim the newspaper in the morning and your favourite info sites and always open your mind to new information.

It works both ways: it’s easier in that supports are there and it’s harder because there is more competition.

If you’re going into retail: brick and mortar is still fine but you best have a digitalization component and have an online presence.

You must ensure that your brick and mortar has a pull and creates an experience. Using technology and tech adoption/digitalization is an absolute requirement for businesses to create a sales and delivery channel. Really pay attention to that.

The best people who make the most successful entrepreneurs have growth mindset – it means that you are always going to learn from everything that happens. If you don’t succeed the first time, learn from it, improve on it for the next time. And you’ll become closer and closer to the successful formula to achieving success.

A Look at the Numbers

Over the years we have helped thousands of Manitoba women as they pursue their dreams of business ownership and achieve their goals for success. Some access just one service or program, others take advantage of several.

Between October 1994 and December 31, 2018 we have:

A Look at the Numbers Over the years we have helped thousands of Manitoba women as they pursue their dreams of business ownership and achieve their goals for success. Some access just one service or program, others take advantage of several. Between October 1994 and December 31, 2018 we have:

RECEIVED

3,336

BUSINESS PLANS

DISBURSED

$27,465,384 $26,618,824 WITH OTHER FINANCIAL IN LOANS

HELPED CREATE

DELIVERED

FULL-TIME JOB

SEMINARS AND

2,183

EQUIVALENTS

LEVERAGED

2,250

WORKSHOPS

SOURCES

PROVIDED TRAINING TO

27,070

PARTICIPANTS

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BRANDING

Ideas for New Business Branding

By Canadian Sme

aking sure your business has the right branding from the very beginning is crucial. It determines how your business will be perceived by others. Proper branding is the essence of any business. It can make or break it. It all comes down to how you want people to see your business. What you want them to think of when they see the logo or read the name. Therefore, it’s important to put a lot of thought into it. You want to make sure your brand is received positively and people are able to associate your product/services according with the brand of your business. A lot of business owners don’t put a lot of thought into branding.

This is a huge mistake. Studies have proven that a lot of customers don’t trust brands because they often fail to meet their promise. That being said, branding plays a crucial part for businesses.

You want to ensure that what you are marketing,

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what your brand is saying about your company is accurate. You also want to make sure that it stands out from the rest. This can be somewhat challenging for small business owners. With the high amount of SMEs within Canada, it’s easy to get swallowed up. Canadian SMEs need to ensure that their brand is set apart from others that are providing similar products/services. Having the right brand for your SME is vital from the very beginning. beginning. Follow these tips and you will ensure that your small business will grow successfully and stand out from the sea of others.

So, how do you ensure your brand is unique? How do you come up with the right brand for your business? What are some factors you need to consider when choosing your brand? Below are some helpful resources from our team of experts to ensure that your business has the perfect unique brand from the very

BRANDING

Define Your Brand The first thing any small business owner should do is to describe their brand. But how do you go about doing that?

To define your brand and truly understand it, you need to ask yourself some questions. What is the purpose of your business?

What are you offering people? What do you hope to accomplish?

What is the main goal of your business? What inspired you to start this business? Who are your clients? How will your product/ services help them? Once you’ve answered these questions. You can truly define your brand. Your brand should promote your business. It should connect you with your customers and make you stand out in the market.

Stay Consistent Nothing is worst when a company keeps changing their tone. One day they are providing a strong message and the next day it’s the complete opposite. Or when you contact them, what they actually offer is completely different then what their brand is delivering. Therefore, it’s important to stay consistent.

You want to ensure that what your brand is communicating is what you’re actually offering. You also want to make sure that your brand will be consistent. That doesn’t mean saying the same thing over and over again. It simply means that what your brand represents, what you are showing people is consistent. You can find different ways to say it with time, but you want to ensure that your business’s voice, your brand is consistent. This will make people trust you more. Your brand will be honest and customers will know to trust you and your business.

Aim to Build Long-term Relationships with your Customers The success of any business depends on its clients. If you don’t have clients, then your business will not succeed. So it’s important that from the very beginning your brand is aiming to build a lasting relationship with your clients. You want your brand to represent trust and honesty towards your clients. It’s crucial that when clients look at your brand, they believe in it and are able to build a relationship with it. How is your business connecting with your clients? How are your products/services helping them? Use that to build your brand. Are you providing a solution to a problem? Study your clients. See what are their likes and dislikes. Figure out what the current trend is. Show them through your brand how your business can help them. Make them fall in love with your brand. By showing your clients that they are your main focus, you will ensure to build a strong relationship with them.

Be Unique – Stand Out from the Crowd This is crucial because it’s how you can ensure your clients will be able to recognize you from other companies. Don’t be afraid of being bold. Stand out from the crowd. You’re brand needs to be unique, different then what the others are already marketing. Be original when it comes to marketing and creating your brand. In doing so, you’re guaranteeing that people will remember you and recognize your brand. You’re ensuring that you have what it takes to stay in the long run.

ENTREPRENEUR

WHY MILLENNIALS ARE MOST LIKELY TO BECOME

ENTREPRENEURS

By Canadian Sme

S

tudies conducted in universities across Canada and the United States have revealed that millennials, also known as Generation Y, are most likely to become entrepreneurs.

While their role as an employee in the workplace is important, one of the biggest factors of economic growth is entrepreneurship. New and small businesses represent the majority of job growth. They help spark new trends and drive new technologies in various industries and it looks like millennials are the ones behind this. Previous generations dreamed of having corner offices in big corporations. Today’s generation however has a different dream: entrepreneurship. According to a 2014 study from Bentley University, while 13% of millennials revealed that they dreamed to climb up the corporate ladder and become CEO or President of a company, almost 67% said that their goal was to start their own business. So why is it that millennials dream of entrepreneurship? What is the thought behind that? Well it looks like many millennials have said that they are willing to make their own path because they fear that the traditional one will lead to nowhere.

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ENTREPRENEUR

According to a Forbes article: “Millennials see chaos, distrust of management, breaking of contracts and bad news associated with business. They’ve watched their relatives get fired and their peers sit in cubicles and they think, ‘There has to be a better way’.” Therefore, they’ve chosen to become entrepreneurs.

There are several reasons why the millennial generation is choosing entrepreneurship and succeeding at it. That being said, they’re shaping the modern workforce and doing things their way. They are no longer settling for the safety net of having a stable job in a rising company like the previous generation. They are taking risks and taking advantage of new opportunities coming their way.

Graduation during the Great Recession Most millennials graduated university in 2009, right in the middle of the Great Recession.

Struggling to find work when most companies were letting people go was the hand they were dealt with. What resulted was most millennials working for jobs they were either overqualified for or staying jobless. A 2015 study by ElanceoDesk and Millennial Branding revealed that 39% of millennials had difficulty finding a traditional job. With the Great Recession in full play and no prospective jobs in view, millennials had to come up with an alternative solution.

That included considering entrepreneurship.

If no companies were hiring and there was always the fear of being let go from a company due to budget cuts, why not start their own company? It seemed like the logical thing to do, so why not hop on the entrepreneurial train and give it a chance? After all, they can’t really get fired from a company they own.

Millennials are the era of technology Technology has been part of our word for the last century. But it saw a significant bloom during the generation of millennials. They are the generations who saw the evolution of video games, computers, cellular phones, smart phones, smart TVs, cameras and the list goes on. Since millennials saw the birth of all the new electronic gadgets, suffice to say that they are the best experts on it. Therefore, it’s easy for them to start a company that focusses around technology. They are living it in their everyday life. Starting an IT company, web design or social marketing management is a given gift for them. They’ve seen it, they understand it and they have the tools to take it to the next level and make a profitable living out of it. So why not go for it? It’s the smart and logical decision.

They have so many resources available to help them become entrepreneurs With organisations like Futurpreneur that are based on helping the younger generation become entrepreneurs, it’s never been easier for millennials to chose the path of entrepreneurship. There are so many resources and programs available today to help entrepreneurs. All you really need is an internet connection and an idea and you’re pretty much set on your path of entrepreneurship. Millennials have the great advantage of starting their careers in a world where they have opportunities and resources available to them so they can follow their dreams and become entrepreneurs. Previous generations didn’t have that advantage.

Starting a company was a gamble and it wasn’t a risk that everyone was ready to take. You either had to have a lot of money or be willing to take a risk and hope for the best. Today however, things have changed. With so many organisations and government programs that are there to help entrepreneurs, it’s no longer considered to be as much of a risk as it used to be. Starting a business is as easier as it has ever been. In an interview with Forbes, Fred Tuffile explained: “Millennials are realizing that starting a company, even if it crashes and burns, teaches them more in two years than sitting in a cubicle for 20 years. While they know their chances of creating another Facebook are low, they do think it’s fairly easy to create a cool start-up.”. Millennials are the most "tech-fluent" generation ever seen in the workforce. They have the experience and knowledge to put together a tech suite that could run an entire company at minimal cost. Their generation is armed with every tool needed to start a company, so it should be of no surprise that two-thirds want to do just that.

Millennials are looking for flexibility rather than the 9-to-5 standard workday The 2014 Bentley University study also revealed that 77% of millennials confirmed that they prefer having flexible hours rather then the standard 9-to-5 workday. Having flexible hours increases productivity for millennials. They are no longer stuck in the barriers of standard workdays. They can

choose when to work and how to work. Being an entrepreneur gives them the possibility to of choosing their own schedule and workplace. It’s often said that millennials have a preference for both flexible work hours and work-life balance, but only a portion of this is true. It's not that they necessarily want worklife balance. Studies by the Intelligence Group revealed that 88% of millennials want work-life integration. Meaning that there are no clear barriers between what is life and what is work.

Basically, millennials are looking to make their everyday lifestyle profitable. Which is why they are choosing entrepreneurship. Whether that’s being an Instagram influencer, a Youtuber or having a company that balances well with their lifestyle, millennials are aiming to remove that barrier that exists between their personal life and their professional life. As an entrepreneur, you are in control of your hours. Therefore, your business is in so many ways your life.

Entrepreneurs have large workloads, but they get to decide when and where they tackle work that truly appeals to them.

They have new heroes to look up to While the previous generation of Baby Boomers were looking up to actors and musicians as their heroes, millennials have new heroes to look up to. They’re idealizing entrepreneurs. Every millennial wants to be that 20-something self-made millionaire.

They want to be the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. These are the people they are looking up to and idolizing. Millennials are seeing 20-something entrepreneurs who have made billions in profits. They’re seeing their names and net worth all over the internet. It’s become a new trend and also very popular to have an "elevator pitch" include that you're an entrepreneur. It sends a different social signal today than it did just ten years ago. Therefore, it’s making it a wildly popular career choice for the first generation ever exposed to tech stars.

No matter what the reason is behind for the rise in millennial entrepreneurs, it’s happening and it has a positive impact on the Canadian economy. Small businesses create three to five new jobs for the country.

The more young and growing businesses, the better it is for the economy.

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Right now, five million Canadians are living with diabetes and six million more are at risk of developing it soon.

Diabetes is an epidemic.

We need a cure.

Donate now: diabetes.ca

Most Canadians eat out or purchase takeout food

54%

8

Eat out once a week or more

EATING OUT:

How often and why?

39

%

Did not eat out in the past month

%

Eat out less than once a week

*Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding

The main reasons for eating out are convenience and socializing

52%

Eat out as a treat, for a special occasion or celebration, to socialize with friends or family

40%

Eat out for convenience, no time to cook, do not like or know how to cook

Meals eaten out most often are lunch and dinner

49% 33% 10% Breakfast Lunch

Dinner

When available, Canadians use nutrition information to make informed choices

57

%

always, often or sometimes changed their order based on nutrition information on menus or menu boards

170 Calories per slice

310 Calories per slice

200 Calories per slice Catalogue number: 11-627-M ISBN: 978-0-660-29132-1

Source: General Social Survey (Canadians at Work and Home), 2016.

www.statcan.gc.ca CANADIANSME MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I

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