Small Business and Entrepreneurship Experts, Tips and Advice | BizLaunch Small Biz Blog » Daniel Patricio

Financial Post live chat with David Wilton and Roger Pierce: Leading Success

Daniel Patricio — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:07:07 +0000

BizLaunch Co-founder Roger Pierce and small business banking expert David Wilton will be doing a live chat with the Financial Post Online tomorrow discussing leadership in small business and how to build up your personal leadership inventory.

This free event will start at 1 p.m. on September 30 (EST).

Click here to register

Photo credit, Lumax Art

Announcing the Fall Schedule for BizLaunch Seminars – Now including Webinars and New Topics

Daniel Patricio — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:18:29 +0000

We are pleased to announce an exciting new Fall Schedule for Staples BizLaunch Seminars – now including webinars!

Because the previous event schedule has changed, your registration to an upcoming BizLaunch Seminar has been cancelled – please do not attend that originally scheduled event.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but webinars will now make it easier for many more Canadian small business owners to learn how to build successful companies. We invite you to visit www.Bizlaunch.ca to see the new webinar and seminar schedule to register for your favourite topics.

Whether your event is delivered online or in-store, you’ll still receive a free How-to Guide, a money-saving coupon and a complimentary Gift Card from Staples®. Please check out the new schedule today! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us anytime at renee@bizlaunch.ca or 1-866-302-0996.

Here is a list of the next 10 upcoming seminars:

Click here to register for upcoming seminars

5 Ways Invest in Your Business During Downtime

Daniel Patricio — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:53:23 +0000

In Canada, August tends to be an incubation time for many businesses. As people take their holidays and enjoy the break of sun, business can wind down and business owners find themselves with some extra time on their hands.

Some businesses take time off, take a vacation or just fight through the summer chasing leads. Not that a business owner should ever drop their guard but you should evaluate investing your crucial time just as you would any other investment.

Chasing leads can be in vain when many of the contacts are in and out of the office and as a business owner you have to wonder if your time could be better spent.

Here are 5 ways to invest in your business more effectively.

1. Set goals
Goals and resolutions aren’t just for January first. To ensure you business direction aligned with your objectives it is important to regularly review and set important goals. Downtime in the business can be a great opportunity to reset and focus the business.

2. Project cashflow
August can be a great time to take a second look at annual cashflow projections and take a real look at what the picture really looks like and make changes and preparations to tackle the next few months.

3. Survey customers
While the sales front is quiet, spend time on asking your current customers how you are doing and why they buy from you. Sometimes taking the time to talk to your customers can be the best and cheapest market research you can do.

4. Train employees
While employees might not be as busy as they are used to help them optimise the free time by increasing their knowledge, skill set or even spend time team building to make your company a more efficient machine.

5. Educate yourself
As a business owner the most important investment to manage is yourself. Take the opportunity to focus your mind, read and educate yourself.

Invest in your business during downtimes to hit the ground running when business hits.

The X Factor of Successful Startups: Love

Daniel Patricio — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:44:02 +0000

Starting up any new venture can be one of the greatest challenges any business person could face. Even experienced and talented experts or business people that have thrived in some of the most challenging corporate environments can find themselves discombobulated when faced by the pressure and interdependence both financially and through accountability of an entrepreneurial venture.

That being said, there is definitely a unique personality and disposition or character required to endure and especially thrive in the entrepreneurial adventure. In particular I enjoy how Sarah Prevette, CEO and Founder of Sprouter, defines the fine balance of entrepreneurial characteristics. She defines the key characteristics of the entrepreneur as a balance of gumption and structured narcissism. These definitions definitely toe a thin line and leads us to think, can a business owner be too entrepreneurial to a fault?

Sarah defines the culture of the entrepreneur as combination of “A tempered vanity; a desire to be seen as the best, but primarily to one’s self” and “An unwavering belief in personal capability and the assertiveness to flaunt it”.

These characteristics are aligned with the tough traits required to meet the description of the role associated with significant risk and initiative. However, excessive pervasiveness of the entrepreneurial traits can be a roadblock to true success on a new startup. If the most prominent motivation to become an entrepreneur is mislead by vanity and self sufficient showmanship. As a business owner it is important to evaluate that priorities stem from a passion for the business and not besuperseded by a need for independence and or self indulgent vanity.

Some entrepreneurs liken the experience of starting a business to raising a child. Building a startup takes an investment beyond just the 9 to 5 and requires a high level of unwavering dedication. To build a sustainable successful business, the business owners need to have absolute passion for their business and not just a desire to be their own boss.

Love and passion for the business is what makes the difference between successful startup artists and people that buy themselves a job.

Would you agree?

Photo credit Zak VTA

Your website is the front door, your blog is the board room table

Daniel Patricio — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:47:56 +0000

I often get the question posed by businesses of many different sizes about whether a blog should be a part of their business strategy.

Blogs have been hyped up for many years as everything from the doom bringer of traditional media to a lead generation tool for small business, however in recent years they have been downplayed in favour of the fresh buzz surrounding newer tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

Now that the dust is settling I think we can really take a clear look at what role each tool can contribute to the overall marketing and brand strategy.

From my experience with managers of businesses large and small with a plethora of different target audiences I have noticed two prevalent issues.

Brand managers aren’t sure if blogging is a fit for their organisation and their customers
Most brand managers and consumers have no idea what the difference is between a blog and a website.

This is not necessarily a bad sign but rather a sign of the lack of knowledge of a still relatively new and misunderstood tool for business.

Let’s be real here, a blog is not mystery bottle of social media magic, it is a part of the web and often would be indistinguishable from what we know as a ‘website’ to the average internet user. Blogs can take on many different forms and functions and it is misleading to group them as tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

In fact a blog can be an important way of satiating Google’s indexing algorithms need for frequently updated content raising the traction of the rest of the website.

The way I typically explain the differences between blogs and a corporate website are:

Your website is the front door, your blog is the board room table

The most common differences are

Frequency of content
Tone of content
Interactions with readers

A blog allows businesses to frequently update visitors on new developments, articles, tips and even new products or services as often as they need to with little to no marginal cost and limited knowledge of the technology. For small businesses they can effectively become their own publishers.

The role of the website is often a destination where visitors can quickly learn about the products, people and services behind a company however that only serves to answer the ‘Who and What’ of the marketing mix. The blog is where people go when they ask “Yes, I can read your marketing copy but what you guys really do?”

A blog is an important part of the marketing mix where businesses have the most creative control of the medium to really flesh out their brand identity. Business can use it to leverage media mentions, interview members of their community and share their expertise of their product and industry.

The expertise, tips and updates, branding and open door invitation conveyed through a corporate blog are not isolated solely to blogs. If implemented appropriately, it is just quality content displayed on a different medium however the majority of users will not look for a blog, they will look for good content.

The question is not, should my business have a blog?

The question is – does our business have knowledge to share or a story to tell and would our clients appreciate our expertise?
If the answer is yes, then a blog can be a viable solution to reach out to more customers, increase traffic to your online presence, retain relationships with your customers and increase brand awareness.

Photo credit Industry is Virtue

Keys to Keeping Your Small Business Afloat Amidst Tough Times

Daniel Patricio — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:30:44 +0000

They say revenue is vanity, profit is sanity but cashflow is reality. Improving your cashflow can give you the money you need to carry you through lean times or help grow your business.
Here are a few ways to improve your cash inflow:

Collect accounts receivables faster:
- Ask your customers to pay you in advance. If not the full amount, ask for a 50% deposit up front
  which you can use to buy materials.
- Ensure that your clients are invoiced immediately after the completion of a sale.
- Monitor your accounts receivable. If clients are not up to date, give them a call.
- Offer a discount to clients that pay quickly.
- Insist on doing credit checks on all new non-cash customers.
- Go after more cash business and refuse to do business with slow paying customers.
- Encourage your customers to pay using their credit card.
Pay accounts payable slower
- Ask your suppliers to allow you to take 30 or 60 days to pay.
- Pay by credit card to take advantage of the delay between your purchase and when you have to
  pay off your card balance.
Photo credit Alireza Teimoury

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Upcoming BizLaunch Seminars Week of July 27th

Daniel Patricio — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:54:39 +0000

Next week is the last week of seminars we have before our August break so be sure to join us.

How to Find Money for Your Business

Cash is key to business growth. Yet sourcing and negotiating investment money is a really challenge. At this seminar, you’ll discover how the finance community works. You’ll learn:

Different sources of investment money including government grants, programs & loans.
How to attract partners and investors.
Creative financing.
How to pitch your idea.

Why it pays to bootstrap.
How to manage your cash flow.

July 28, 2009 – Vancouver, BC
Presented by Ron Gordon
Date 28 July, 2009
Address 901 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Time 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

July 29, 2009 – Winnipeg, MB
Presented by Steve Beal
Date 29 July, 2009
Address 1910 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg
Time 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

July 30, 2009 – Ottawa, ON
Presented by Roger Pierce
Date 30 July, 2009
Address 2210 Bank Street, Ottawa
Time 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

July 30, 2009 – Toronto, ON
Presented by Andrew Patricio
Date 30 July, 2009
Address 945 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto
Time 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

How To Get More Sales

Nothing affects your bottom line like sales. It requires constant attention – even if your sales people are ‘naturals’. At this seminar you’ll learn proven sales strategies and techniques including:
- 4 ways to grow your business.
  
  July 29, 2009 – Windsor, ON
  Presented by Linda Lord
  Date 29 July 2009
  Address
  7126 Tecumseh Rd.E., Windsor
  
  Time 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
  
  To register visit bizlaunch.com
  
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Three Ways to Use Twitter to Market Your Small Business

Daniel Patricio — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:25:39 +0000

Many big brands are still wrestling to quantify and measure the success of social media and how it contributes to their marketing activities however some of the best examples come from smaller, local brands.

Some of the best implementation of social media strategy I have seen comes from local small businesses that have taken advantage of their connection and passion for their product, customers and local community to roll out a social media strategy that delivers real business results.

After hearing several recommendations from friends in the community such as Satish Kanwar, Verne Ho and Aidan Nulman I decided to pull together a list to see how these small businesses approach their social media strategy.

Freshii

Freshii, formerly known as the Lettuce Eatery, is a North American franchise with a location in Toronto can be found on Spadina and Richmond. They specialise in fresh, fast and custom meals and snacks served with an emphasis on healthy, fresh and creating a waste free environment. Their menu consists of salads, soups, bowls, burritos, wraps and even breakfast. They aren’t just on this list for their social media presence; they have really developed a great brand experience which has created many passionate lunch time fans that pack their Spadina location daily.

They can be found on Twitter under @freshii and they use it as a great tool to speak directly from the kitchen. They frequently surprise customers with free food, promote exclusive Twitter only deals and tips on healthy living from CEO and founder Matthew Corrin.

Freshii uses social media as a part of their strategy of reaching out to their customers by extending the experience past the 30 min lunch hour, getting them involved and retaining and leveraging relationships with existing customers.

Pusateri Fruit Market

Pusateri’s is a grocery and fruit market on Church and Wellesley and has been around since the 1960s and is run by Tony Cerminara and Frank Mangione. They personally stop by the market every morning to pick up the best fresh produce and are frequently featured as one of the top fresh fruit markets in Toronto.

They use twitter as a way of sharing their knowledge and love of food, to connect and promote others in the food and grocery community, updates on upcoming promotions in the store and reaching out to their community.

Darkhorse Cafe

The Darkhorse has only been around for a few months but have already embraced Twitter and the community around them in the beautiful Robertson Building including the Centre for Social Innovation above them.

The the Darkhorse is an espresso bar near Spadina and Queen in the heart of Toronto’s creative district that specialises in rich espresso, fresh roasted coffees and delicious baked goods. The first thing you notice when walking in is the community feel of the large shared tables in the beautiful building and they try to facilitate the same atmosphere online.

Donnie Claudino of Techsoup Canada, who is a resident of the Centre for Social Innovation, encouraged them to join Twitter after showing the owner a log of all the conversation and meetups in and around their cafe already taking place online.

The first thing that stands out is that they really bring out the passion of their craft and their community. They use twitter to notify their followers of any fresh baked goods, new shipments of coffee and events in the community happening in and around their neighbourhood.

Best Practices

Local

An important consideration even with social media is to keep it relevant and pertinent to the people in your community. As a small local business you don’t need to connect with the world wide community rather use it as a tool to map out the conversations happening in and around your community.

A great tool for finding people in and around you is Twitter Local

Passion

The main reason why I selected these three businesses over many others was that I felt they communicated what I believe to be the key aspect of small businesses, the passion and craft of the entrepreneurs.

Social media for small business is not just about driving sales. The reason customers buy from their local coffee shop over a Starbucks is the quality and culture, social media is a great way of sharing that expertise that might not be revealed in a early morning or lunch time rush lineup.

Online networking tools such as Twitter can be a great customer relationship tool to retain communications with that customer that drops by once for the first time, the person that picks up their signature order every morning at 8 am without fail or the person that had their order mixed up. When used as a communication tool in conjuction with on premise strategy, small businesses can extend that few minute daily face-to-face time to build relationships and reach out to more loyal customers.

Action

As great as chatting with customers all day on Twitter might be for large brands that can hire a whole social media divison, for a small business, if they are going to invest their time on anything that deviates from face-time with their clients it better bring in the revenue.

The key success measure of social media campaigns is the conversion from online to offline. Whether it is inviting your customers with an alert of fresh baked brownies, a daily twitter only deal or in store promotions, action, is an essential part of creating the value proposition for customers to follow you and to deliver a return on the investment.

What is your social media strategy in your business and what local small businesses do you look up to?

Thanks to Donnie Claudino, Verne Ho, Satish Kanwar, Antonino Cerminara and Aidan Nulman.

Photo credits, Blog TO, Freshii, Matthew Burpee

NOTE: This entry is republished from my blog post on DanielPatricio.com

Small Biz Champions: The Hub Halifax

Daniel Patricio — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:18:07 +0000

Name: Sera Thompson
Organization name: The Hub
City and Province: Halifax, NS

How does your organisation help small businesses?
Our aim is to be a greenhouse for innovative ideas and entrepreneurial people and enterprises in Nova Scotia. We do this by providing flexible shared work spaces, private meeting rooms, and printing, copy, and fax services. The hub gives entrepreneurs, freelancers, artists, and small initiatives a platform to connect with creative colleagues, take risks and make things happen. On the second floor of a gorgeous historic building it combines the best of a professional office, a neighborhood café and the comforts of home.

What inspired you, personally, to get involved?
First, as someone working with a lot of people and organizations globally who were trying to make positive change, in the world, I witnessed some real results coming out of the original Hub in Islington, London UK. I saw that a well-resourced and atmospheric location, a physical space for people to work and gather gave a significant boost to a network of entrepreneurs trying to make a difference.
Secondly as an entrepreneur myself, recently returned to Halifax and running my own consulting practice from home – I was longing for a central, beautiful, social space to base my own business – so that I could get out of the house connect and make things happen.

What do you think entrepreneurship and small business has done for the community around you?
The most progressive and innovative initiatives changing the culture and lifesaver of Halifax are small-scale enterprises started by tenacious entrepreneurs with big vision and a lot of hard work. From Just Us to Car Share to the Halifax Back Packers to Fred Salon and Cafe – there are dozens of socially and ecologically oriented businesses that are living their values, making a profit and making our community, brighter, bolder and more livable.

What would you say are the essential characterisics of successful entrepreneurs?
Don’t they say 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration – Being successful takes big vision and love and passion to stick with it through the many rough times of being a start up. It takes flexibility and curiosity: the courage to try new things and change tack when needed. As entrepreneurs we need to have well rounded skill sets to take on multiple roles that in a large organization many people would fill. More than anything, building something that will last and thrive takes a lot of discipline patience and hard work.

Are there any entrepreneurs that you work with that you think more people should know about?
Yes there are several, you can read about them at http://thehubhalifax.ca/members/

To name a couple:

Christian Weisenburger is a lawyer, focusing primarily in the areas of taxation, corporate / commercial, estate planning and, increasingly, intellectual property. Chris studied philosophy in Calgary, law in Edmonton and obtained his MBA from Dalhousie.
Inspired by the Hub, its founders and users, he left a job that he loved to cost effectively focus on start-ups by opening his own law office.

Sean Williams is the Principal of his own marketing and communications consulting company. With over 15 years of experience, Sean and his extensive partnership network offer company’s innovative, distinct and creative solutions. He’s worked with some of Canada’s and Atlantic Canada’s top brands, and has rolled out initiatives in Atlantic Canada, across the country, and in international markets such as the United States, the Middle East, and Australia.

If you could give any 3 tips to any aspiring entrepreneurs, what would they be?
Just do it, stop making excuses and get out there.
Prepare to learn the definition of sacrifice.
Get organized, stay organized (pay your taxes on time etc.)

Contact Details and Centre Location
The Hub Halifax
thehubhalifax.ca
halifax.hosts@the-hub.net

Barrington St
2nd Floor
Halifax, NS
B3J 1Z9

Startup Story: Tony Cerminara and Frank Mangione of Pusateri Fruit Market

Daniel Patricio — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:56:57 +0000

Name
Tony Cerminara & Frank Mangione

Company name
Pusateri Fruit Market

497 Church St., Toronto

info@pusateri.ca
http://www.pusateri.ca

What does your business do?
Pusateri Fruit Market is a fresh produce market and specialty grocer in the heart of the Church-Wellesley village. We carry top quality produce selected daily from the Ontario Food Terminal, and combine this with a wide array of specialty grocery items from the finest brands.

What makes your business different? What is that you do that makes your business unique?
The culture that envelopes our business make us unique. We are lucky enough to be a proud member of the Church-Wellesley village and embrace the idea of open minds and cultural acceptance. We love our clientèle, and they truly help shape who we are.

Why did you decide to start your own business?
In 2003, Frank Mangione a long time employee and son-in law of original owner Joe Pusateri became a Partner in the business. In November of 2007, after 41 years in the business, Joe Pusateri retired. At that time Frank Mangione brought on Tony Cerminara to be a partner in the business.

What’s the best part of being an entrepreneur?
First-hand interaction with our customers.

What’s the worst part of being and entrepreneur?
The long hours certainly take their toll, but loving what you do makes it easier.

How long have you been in business?
Since June 1966

Identify and discuss a few lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?
We used to think our previous jobs were ‘hard work’, but nothing compares to the time and dedication running your own business requires.

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur?
You must play to your strengths. Orient your career to your passions, and do what you love.

What are your goals and plans for the future?
Continuing to offer great customer service, and continuing to keep the store looking it’s best for our customers through steady renovations.

Connect with us on Twitter:
@PusateriFruit

Find a BizLaunch Seminar near you at http://bizlaunch.ca

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Experts, Tips and Advice | BizLaunch Small Biz Blog » Daniel Patricio

Financial Post live chat with David Wilton and Roger Pierce: Leading Success

Click here to register

Announcing the Fall Schedule for BizLaunch Seminars – Now including Webinars and New Topics

Click here to register for upcoming seminars

5 Ways Invest in Your Business During Downtime

The X Factor of Successful Startups: Love

Your website is the front door, your blog is the board room table

Keys to Keeping Your Small Business Afloat Amidst Tough Times

Upcoming BizLaunch Seminars Week of July 27th

How to Find Money for Your Business

How To Get More Sales

Three Ways to Use Twitter to Market Your Small Business

Freshii

Pusateri Fruit Market

Darkhorse Cafe

Best Practices

Local

Passion

Action

Small Biz Champions: The Hub Halifax

Startup Story: Tony Cerminara and Frank Mangione of Pusateri Fruit Market