CanadianSME Small Business Magazine November 2020 by CanadianSME

ISSUE NO. 24

NOVEMBER 2020

$ 8.00

CANADIANSME Empowering Canadian Small & Medium Businesses

FEATURES

ADVICE

EXCLUSIVE

If You’re Not Digitally Transforming,You’re Dying.

Purpose… The New Strategy

"Digitally advanced” companies create 9 percent more revenue than their industry competitors, as reported in a study conducted by MIT.

Some organizations are narrowly focused on the financial metrics and wealth generation and that would need to be embraced by employees to foster real engagement.

Exclusive banking partner

How The Canadian Tech Industry Can Better Support Black Entrepreneurs Graham Wong Founder & CEO of LAUFT

Welcome to the November issue of CanadianSME. With less than two months left in the year, we must look back at the year not as a defeat but as how far we’ve come and the challenges we’ve faced along the way. COVID-19 has had a significant impact on businesses, more specifically on small businesses. If it’s one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s to see which companies survived and what aspects contributed to their success. Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned here. Entrepreneurs should be taking this opportunity not to evaluate what their business is lacking to survive a global pandemic. By taking the time to re-evaluate their business strategies, business owners can come back stronger and better. As always, CanadianSME is focusing on helping entrepreneurs succeed by giving them the tools and resources they need to contribute to their success. That’s why since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve been including exclusive interviews and articles from experts in the business industry that we believe entrepreneurs can benefit from. This month’s issue is no different. With only a few weeks left in 2020, we are now more encouraged than ever to help Canadian entrepreneurs succeed. We’re very excited about the interviews we have in this month’s issue from some of Canada’s top business leaders such as Graham Wong, Founder and CEO of LAUFT, Andrew Maida, who is the Founder of Flourish Pancakes, and of course our businesswoman of the month, Cara Hirsch, Founder and CEO of Hirsch + Associates. In addition to the exclusive interviews we have in this issue, we also have a number of resourceful articles that we believe many entrepreneurs will benefit from. David Smith, who has over three decades of experience as a certified coach, talks about business strategies with his article The New Strategy. Mediator and Family Enterprise Advisor Nathalie Boutet has contributed this month with her article Saving the Family Business From Divorce During COVID-19. Founder of Digital Transformation Agency, Howard Tiersky talks about the benefits of digital transformation in his article If You’re Not Digitally Transforming, You’re Dying. We also have several other articles such as Buying and Selling a Business in Challenging Times, How to Optimize Your Time and Work, and COVID is Accelerating Changes in How Canadians Pay and Are Paid by Tracey Black, President and CEO of Payments Canada. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue, and as always, we look forward to hearing from you. Until next month, stay safe and cautious during these challenging times. Happy reading!

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Publisher Shaik Khaleeluddin (SK) Consulting Editor Shiraz Siddique Creative Designer Rakibul Islam Client Manager Sheliza Yacoob Social Media Cmarketing Inc Sales Abdul Sultan Shaik Photography Ahsan K Canva.com Web Ashraf S For Advertisements info@canadiansme.ca Cmarketing Inc 2800 Skymark Avenue, Suite 203 Mississauga, ON. Canada. L4W 5A6 Call us at 1-855-966-2995

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Published by Cmarketing Inc 2800 Skymark Avenue, Suite 203 Mississauga, ON. Canada. L4W 5A6.

Copyright © 2020 CMarketing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The contents in CanadianSME Magazine are for informational purposes only. Neither Cmarketing, the publishers nor any of its partners, employees or affiliates accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of its contents.

IN THIS ISSUE

November 2020 Issue 24

Canadiansme small business magazine

How Canadian Tech Industry can better support Black Entrepreneurs

Business woman of the month

The importance of small businesses evolving their IT infrastructure

Purposeâ&#x20AC;Ś The New Strategy

COVID is accelerating changes in how Canadians pay and are paid

Saving The Family Business From Divorce During COVID-19

IN THIS ISSUE

November 2020 Issue 24

Canadiansme small business magazine

Driving the shop local movement by connecting local consumers

54 Buying and Selling a Business in Challenging Times

If You’re Not Digitally Transforming, You’re Dying.

Can we predict what’s next for us?

How to Optimize Your Time And Work?

How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times

Helping Canadian Moms in Business During COVID-19

ANNA SINCLAIR Founder -The Total Mom Show

SMALL BUSINESS CHAT WITH LORI DARLINGTON Vice President, Small Business and Strategic Partnerships, RBC

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Intact Provides $50 Million To Small Business Customers Most Impacted By COVID-19 TORONTO, Oct. 30, 2020 /CNW/ – Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is providing $50 million of immediate relief to more than 100,000 of its small business customers through its Small Business Relief Program. This is in addition to over $350 million of relief that has helped more than one million personal and business customers across the country as at the end of Q2-2020. Intact carefully considered the types of small businesses most affected by mandated shutdowns and public health restrictions due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be sending these Intact small business customers a cheque equivalent to 20% of their annual premium.

“Intact is committed to helping its small business customers weather this crisis,” said Louis Gagnon, President, Canadian Operations, Intact Financial Corporation. “This is why we are directing $50 million in targeted relief to the most vulnerable small businesses whose owners’ livelihoods depend on their doors staying open. We continue to work with brokers and our small business customers, one-on-one, to find solutions to help them through this tough period. Our message is clear: we are here to help.”

Intact recognizes that COVID-19 has impacted every business differently. The Intact Small Business Relief Program is in addition to the ongoing support available since March. Even if customers have not yet reached out, with one call to their broker, impacted Intact business customers can access support now – even before their policy comes up for renewal. Small and medium-sized business customers who have closed due to mandated shutdowns or have been severely impacted by reduced payrolls or revenues can contact their broker to request immediate payment flexibility options and premium adjustments.

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“The unique situation businesses face is an industry-wide challenge and one that requires a cross-industry solution,” added Louis Gagnon. “We want to ensure more small businesses are equipped to overcome the challenges of this global pandemic. Intact is committed to working with the Insurance Bureau of Canada on a cross-industry effort to ensure small businesses across Canada can access insurance products during the pandemic.” About Intact Financial Corporation Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with over CAD$11 billion in total annual premiums. The Company has approximately 16,000 employees who serve more than five million personal, business and public sector clients through offices in Canada and the U.S. In Canada, Intact distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through belairdirect. Frank Cowan Company, a leading MGA, distributes public entity insurance programs including risk and claims management services in Canada.

In the U.S., Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions provides a range of specialty insurance products and services through independent agencies, regional and national brokers, and wholesalers and managing general agencies. Products are underwritten by the insurance company subsidiaries of Intact Insurance Group USA, LLC.

SOURCE Intact Financial Corporation

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Fears Of A Second Wave Are Hitting Small Firms With Further Drops In Sales: More Than A Third Losing Money Every Day TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2020 /CNW/ – Half of small businesses across Canada report they have seen a further drop in sales as a result of fears of a second wave of COVID-19, finds the latest survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). In some regions that are under new restrictions, like Winnipeg and Toronto, that number rises to as many as 70 per cent.

“Small businesses still haven’t recovered from the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown measures. In fact, 37 per cent of all businesses across Canada report they are actually losing money every day they are open,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. “The new round of restrictions in several regions are already proving to be devastating to them, especially as new supports from government remain in the development stage.”

*The samples for some regions experiencing lockdowns were too small to include in this chart

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While businesses in the hospitality (76 per cent) and arts and recreation (69 per cent) sectors were more likely to report that sales were down due to fears of a second wave, businesses in sectors unaffected by new provincial restrictions have also seen sales drop recently. A “second wave” is therefore likely to have widespread effects on the economy, and small businesses will need all the support they can get during these critical times.

CFIB urges all governments to support businesses through the coming months by: Provide a top-up to 90 per cent for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) for firms subject to additional COVID-19 related closures as is planned for the rent subsidy Immediately deliver on promised expansion of the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan program by $20,000 with an extra $10,000 forgivable portion Immediately deliver on the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), ensuring all firms subject to additional COVID-19 related full or partial closures can access the top-up to 90 per cent Ensure new businesses started in 2020 can access all the major government support programs, including CEBA, CEWS and CERS Deliver retroactive rent support to those firms whose landlords refused to participate in the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) from April to September Share all evidence from provincial health authorities that have led to decisions related to additional business closuresAnnounce additional provincial supports for all firms subject to new closures

“An alarming 71 per cent of small business owners say that governments need to do a better job at reporting COVID-19 related health statistics in order to support consumer confidence. A growing number of small firms are feeling punished by provincial governments despite taking major steps to protect the health and well-being of their customers and employees. This needs to change,” Kelly concluded.

Source for CFIB data Preliminary results for COVID-19 recovery survey – October 2020, online survey started October 22, 2020, n = 3,901. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of +/-1.6%, 19 times out of 20.

About CFIB The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.

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How the Canadian Tech Industry Can Better Support Black Entrepreneurs

Graham Wong Founder & CEO of LAUFT

Graham is the former principal and founder of Urban DNA, an advertising agency in Downtown Toronto, that was founded in response to the lack of diversity in the advertising industry in Canada. The agency from the top down prided itself on recruiting talent from a broad spectrum of candidates from diverse backgrounds. This enabled the agency to successfully create innovative campaigns for brands like Athletes World, Toronto Public Health and others. Graham has been a creative entrepreneur for over 17 years building, executing and deploying brand strategies for some of Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best known brands including Aeroplan, Nike, 3M, Greenpark Homes, Fujitsu, City of Toronto, Ontario Ministry of Health and Enbridge. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a UX strategist and architect for solutions for clients such as Toronto Public Health, Jibestream, CTT Pharmaceuticals, INUO and CAMH. He introduced Mobile Proximity marketing to Canada in 2006 and was responsible for the sell through of mobile solutions across Canada and in the U.S. resulting in ongoing relationships with OOH vendors, Telcos and Advertising agencies. Graham has lent his voice to discussions on race in media and consulted on diversity and integration campaigns in the advertising industry.

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As CEO of LAUFT, what would you say has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced and what strategies did you use to overcome these challenges? One of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced in building our business has been the absence of ready access to an established network of established business mentors who know and understand me personally. I believe that your network is critical to entrepreneurship and without a strong network – things can be challenging. Everything is harder to navigate without a map or guide to help you along.

Entrepreneurs with established family and social circles stocked with ready resources like other entrepreneurs, senior level executives and other experienced members have clear advantages over entrepreneurs without this same level of access. Entrepreneurship is a journey of wins and losses and your ability to mitigate loss is directly correlated to the speed at which you can identify a loss, counteract and learn from it.

In the absence of these circles, I have rolled into many losses which could have been mitigated much faster had I an easy to access network of friends, family and mentors who possessed first-hand knowledge of entrepreneurship and business.

The key strategy that I employed was to take an extensive audit to self-identify where my gaps were (both professionally and personally). Then I built a list of experts with the requisite experience to advise and guide me – both professionally and personally – across these gaps. I actively pursued these individuals and recruited them as advisors to the business so that I could secure guidance for both the business and myself personally. Why do you believe the tech industry is lacking Black entrepreneurs? What would you say is the biggest factor that’s impacting the void of black entrepreneurship in the tech industry? I believe that the tech industry has followed similar patterns as other industries that are similarly lacking in Black representation. Many companies implement recruitment pipelines focused on candidates from ivy league or comparable institutions and many of these institutions are underrepresented. While the tech industry is somewhat more diverse than other sectors comparatively, it falls behind in in other key areas such as gender and black representation. The unfortunate byproduct is that when people don't see success stories that mirror who they are, it can be very difficult to envision yourself in that environment as a valued creator and contributor.

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You believe that there are five factors that if implemented by the tech industry, there will be a significant increase of black tech entrepreneurs. Can you go into further detail about these five factors and why you believe they will have a strong impact?

Build A Strong Advisory Board: Identify where you have gaps and be bold and relentless in building a strong advisory board for guidance to fill in these gaps. As a black entrepreneur, it’s very possible that your personal network may not include as deep a resource pool as other groups to source networked experts for mentorship and guidance. This is supported by the stark reality that even though 1.2 million Canadians identify as black, representing 3.5% of the population, a Black in Canada survey found only 2,000 black-owned businesses of significant scale. Furthermore, this is not just reflected in Canada. In 2018, a U.S. study found just 1% of venture-backed founders were black. The value of pulling on others who can assist you in filling in the knowledge gaps will be critical for success. Your ability to intimately know what your knowledge gaps are and your transparency in sharing this with potential advisory members will go a long way in your recruitment efforts. Many senior professionals have spent their careers building up their intellectual knowledge and would welcome the opportunities to help – if only someone asked. An integral part of our strategy in building LAUFT was to recruit and pursue executives to fill required skill sets that we lacked internally. We could not afford to hire these individuals nor did we have a personal network of said professionals. We aggressively reached out in areas ranging from Risk Mitigation to Commercial Real Estate to Data Analytics. We aggressively pursued the executives who could provide us with insight to fill in our gaps regardless of their ethnicity. Many agreed because they appreciated us valuing their expertise and our passion for the business. 1. https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/why-are-there-so-few-black-entrepreneurs-in-canadian-tech/

In the absence of having the same level of access (as other groups), it would be extremely helpful to have a database of vetted business professionals in and outside of the tech industry executives who are willing to advise , guide and participate in black owned ventures.

Acknowledge Scrutiny: A US study in the Harvard Business Review revealed that African American employees tend to receive more scrutiny from their bosses than their white colleagues, meaning that small mistakes are more likely to be caught, which over time leads to worse performance reviews and lower wages. In Canada, a recent Environics report says 40% of respondents who have experienced some form of discrimination, experienced it in the workplace. As a black entrepreneur, I understand and accept that I often face added scrutiny of my work vs. other groups. It’s become part of my checklist. I am definitely my harshest critic and constantly vet everything that I do as to preempt any added scrutiny. If there’s an angle to be had – I’ve probably measured it and remeasured it. Truthfully, it may be viewed as over kill but I also realize this means that my vision is often crystal clear in my head and I use this as my personal motivation to plough through the challenging times. It becomes empowering forme under the right lens. Accepting that this scrutiny is systemic and real, the tech industry could benefit from having available resources set up to help nurture black entrepreneurs with a holistic approach that address some of the psychological baggage that a sense of being under a high intensity microscope produces. Helping them achieve and understand that they don’t need to be perfect (because no one is ) could help encourage greater participation in the industry. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/why-black-workers-really-do-need-tobe-twice-as-good/409276/ https://www.environicsinstitute.org/projects/project-details/race-relations-in-canada-2019

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Active Recruitment:

If you started with nothing, you have nothing to lose. As a black entrepreneur, you are already part of a small group in an industry that is highly underrepresented by people who look like you. In Silicon Valley, only 1% is black. In Canada, blacks represent the one of the lowest participation groups in the tech sector.

A solution would be for the tech industry to actively participate and recruit in marginalized communities to nurture and build interest in the tech industry. The willingness to connect with the black community in a meaningful way (internships, community workshops, internship programs) would go a long way to demonstrate that this audacity is valued in tech.

Given this reality – I say that the silver lining is that you have nothing to lose but to be audacious in your pursuit of your goals. Own the fact that if you’ve built a great product, recruited a strong advisory and survived your own scrutiny – you will have a great chance of cutting through the clutter.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjVxOeSheHrAhWwlHIEHd9YDyoQFjADegQIBRAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbrookfieldinstitute.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FFINAL-Tech-WorkersONLINE.pdf&usg=AOvVaw01ahMbWU7-Gp7otflCVlbJ

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Black Resilience is a Super Power: Never underestimate the power of black resilience. Resilience can be defined as the “ability to form a successful adaptation in the face of obstacles and adversity” (Seiler, Shamonda and Thompson 2011). A Statscan report found 65% of the Black population in Canada felt that they “always” learned something from those experiences compared with 48% in the rest of the population.

Partner & Connect with Other Black Founders/Entrepreneurs:

A 2018 report by Innovate Inclusion found that some of Toronto’s top tech incubators — institutions tasked with helping new startups thrive — lacked diversity at several levels. A growing problem, the study says, that’s contributing to a “digital divide” in the province. It has to start somewhere and if you are a black entrepreneur, make a concerted effort to connect with other black founders and entrepreneurs across as broad a base as possible. Then pay if forward. Lend assistance, sit on boards and nurture and guide other black owned businesses.

I truly believe that being black has tempered my resilience. I know that many of my life experiences carried significantly more consequences than whether or not a pitch in a boardroom went successful. I’ve been in business environments where colleagues have come apart over things – that given my personal experiences – would be a blip on my radar. By no means is this to minimize what they felt. It’s just that, my threshold was different.

The tech industry could benefit from implementing a resilience index into their recruiting practices if it doesn't already exist. In an industry that is extremely high paced and competitive, resilience is a superpower against issues of burn-out and other concerns.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-657-x/89-657-x2020002-eng.htm

The tech industry would benefit by actively establishing and partnering with black entrepreneurs outside of tech to build more on-ramps into the industry. Many black entrepreneurs could become investors and participants in tech start-ups. This would lead to expanded opportunities into communities that are underserved and open up businessopportunities on both sides.

https://dmz.ryerson.ca/the-review/the-ugly-truth-about-howunderrepresentation-is-hurting-tech/

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Do you believe that there are certain initiatives that the federal government of Canada can also implement to help increase black entrepreneurship within the country? Access to funding is always been a gap for entrepreneurs. Add to this systemic barriers for entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups and the gap becomes wider. The recently announced program is a welcome kickstart for black entrepreneurs but additional support programs designed to support these entrepreneurs beyond the seed round of financing that match these entrepreneurs with financial resources that continue beyond the initial loan t help them to employ funding in order to effectively scale their business and prepare and match them up with funding partners for later rounds. You’ve been an entrepreneur for almost two decades and have built yourself a strong reputation of building strong brand strategies for several well-known brands, such as Nike and Aeroplan just to name a few. What can you tell us about the strategies you used that have contributed to your success? I’ve always approached business with a nothing to lose attitude. I will always analyze an opportunity and identify where to attack it effectively. In instances where I don't have the network or cache to walk in the front door – I have been creative in finding a reason for the door to be open. Whether this was by finding an innovative technology (like proximity marketing) that didn't exist in our market but had value for advertisers and would force the door open or specializing in an area of marketing that was foreign and somewhat uncomfortable to advertisers (like the urban market). I was successful at identifying where I could insert my entrepreneurial drive and match it up wit a real world pain-point. I have employed this same strategy with LAUFT as well. Finding a convenient, consistent and professional remote work experience has become a very real pain point for millions of workers. We identified this over 3 years ago and have been building our solution to meet the growing demand. COVID simply put it into overdrive. On a final note, what can you tell us about any future plans you have for LAUFT? What do the next 5 years look like for the company? It’s a global vision for LAUFT. We want to build the largest network of on-demand flexible smart workspace for people and organizations to do their best work in the most convenient, consistent and professional way possible. Aside from Smart Desks, Offices, Workrooms and Boardrooms (all bookable by-the-hour) we’ll be introducing more services from green screen rooms to podcasting to 3D printing for creative content creators.

Our mission is to MAKE SMART WORK and we truly live it and breath it. In the end, we want to be as close to home as possible so that people can truly experience the life that they need by working when they want. This means airports, conference centers, malls, stand-alone locations, store-in-store, hospitals (when feasible) and everywhere in between.

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Canada Emergency Business Account Now Open To Businesses Using Personal Banking Accounts October 26, 2020 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada The Government of Canada is providing continued support to small business owners and entrepreneurs to help them adapt and position their businesses for recovery. Today, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland announced that as early as October 26, 2020, the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) will be available to businesses that have been operating out of a nonbusiness banking account. To be eligible, businesses must have been operating as a business as of March 1, 2020, must successfully open a business account at a Canadian financial institution that is participating in CEBA, and meet the other existing CEBA eligibility criteria. The deadline to apply for CEBA is December 31, 2020.

CEBA is part of the Government of Canada’s economic response plan to help Canadians and Canadian businesses deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures under this plan are helping businesses keep their doors open, keep their employees on payroll, protect the jobs that Canadians depend on, and recover quickly when the time comes.

“Our government is unwavering in its support for Canadian businesses of all sizes and we know that small businesses are facing particular adversity right now. The CEBA loan has supported over 774,000 Canadian small businesses and not-for-profits and with this change an even greater number of small business owners will be able to access this important financial lifeline. Small business owners are resilient and our government will continue to be there to help them. Their survival is key to a robust economic rebound once we defeat the coronavirus. ” – The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

“Small businesses owners make incredible contributions to our communities in every corner of the country. The next phase of the CEBA loan launched today will help even more of these hard-working Canadians. We’ll continue to deliver the extra support small businesses need to bridge through to better times.” – The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

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The importance of small businesses evolving their IT infrastructure Kale Johnson, senior sales manager, CDW Canada

In a constantly evolving digital world, small businesses need to keep up with IT in order to stay relevant and meet evolving consumer demands. Even before the pandemic, many small businesses operated on tight budgets and faced unique challenges keeping up with their competition. In many circumstances, these issues were highlighted in the transition to working from home, as many small businesses lacked the necessary infrastructure to ensure business continuity in a remote landscape. A recent survey from CDW looking at small businesses found that 19 percent were prepared for remote work but faced some challenges, while 12 percent werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t prepared but were able to pivot successfully. So, what should small businesses consider as we continue to navigate the remote landscapeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increasingly long-term horizon?

The new workplace The pandemic forced organizations of all sizes to rethink their office of the future. While many small businesses may have been hesitant to allow employees to work from home, they have likely seen that productivity remained, regardless of where employees were sitting. The new reality will be work from anywhere, not work from home. CDWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s survey found that 42 percent of respondents noted employees will have the flexibility to continue working from home, meaning many business owners will need to increase or shift their IT investments to accommodate.

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Cybersecurity is more important than ever A data breach can be financially costly to any business and do irreparable damage to its reputation. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vital small businesses understand where potential cybersecurity gaps lie in their organization and how these may have increased in our new normal. With employees outside the office, devices connected to corporate networks have increased, similarly expanding the threat landscape to potential bad actors. Thankfully, small businesses took important steps to rectify this amid COVID-19, as our survey found that 20 percent of respondents invested in security software and looking to the future, 22 percent of survey respondents will continue optimizing cybersecurity. While itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important for organizational leaders to take cybersecurity seriously, they need to ensure the knowledge is shared with their employees. We found that only 48 percent of small businesses provide cybersecurity training or resources to small businesses, which can leave critical gaps as employees may not be aware of the threats they face.

Consider future-proofed data storage needs Like organizations of any size, small businesses need to store data securely while giving all employees convenient access to important files. The pandemic forced many small businesses to migrate to the cloud for the first time, which 55 percent of small businesses did at the outset of the pandemic according to a recent survey. Thankfully, small businesses did see value in the transition as a separate survey found 19 percent will continue to optimize their cloud infrastructure looking towards the future.

where to start while 14 percent are unsure of their needs. For any small business looking update their IT systems or just looking to understand what the starting point is, connect with one of our small business experts by visiting cdw.ca/smallbusiness.

Where small businesses can begin We know the pandemic has been difficult for all businesses and that IT investments can seem like a daunting challenge. Our survey of small businesses found that some of the key challenges amid the pandemic for small businesses looking at their IT infrastructure were not knowing where to start (13 percent) and being unsure of their needs (22 percent). Looking past the pandemic and into the future, small businesses foresee similar barriers as 11 percent donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know

Kale Johnson is a senior sales manager at CDW Canada. He works to develop small, medium and enterprise sales teams to provide the right IT solutions to customers across Canada

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MINISTER NG ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGH THE CANADA UNITED SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF FUND OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 20, 2020 /CNW/ â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Small business are at the heart of our communities. They create good jobs, grow our economies and bring life to our main streets. But they have also been among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to fight this virus, small businesses face further losses, increased costs to reopening and an uncertain economic future. The Government of Canada is committed to doing whatever it takes to support small businesses and their communities. Their success is critical as we recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, during Small Business Week, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, announced an investment of $12 million in the Canada United Small Business Relief Fund. Canada United is a national fundraising campaign created by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in collaboration with private sector partners and provincial and territorial chambers of commerce, including the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC). The campaign has been rallying support from Canadians for local small businesses in every corner of the country.

HON. Mary Ng

Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

The Canada United Small Business Relief Fund, which is managed by the OCC, is supporting Canadian businesses across different sectors and industries with grants of up to $5,000. These grants will help thousands of small business owners cover the costs of personal protective equipment, make physical modifications to their businesses to meet local health and safety requirements, and enhance their digital or e-commerce capabilities. This is especially important as we enter the second wave of the pandemic. This investment builds on the Government of Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continued support for small and local businesses through a wide range of COVID-19 emergency programs, such as the expanded Canada Emergency Business Account, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy.

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Quotes “The support announced today is yet another lifeline for resilient small businesses across Canada. These grants will help them cover expenses involved in reopening and allow them to build a stronger digital presence. As we’ve said from the very beginning of this pandemic, we will always be there for small businesses and the millions of hard-working Canadians they employ.”– The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade “Small businesses are cornerstones of our local economies and key to thriving communities, creating jobs, driving innovation and generating wealth for Canadians. Local businesses have always been there for us and now need our support more than ever. A sincere thanks to Minister Ng and the federal government for critical support to small businesses when they need it most. Along with chambers of commerce and boards of trade across the country, we’re proud to support small businesses through the Canada United Small Business Relief Fund, helping them with their recovery efforts as a result of COVID-19.”– Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce “While the pandemic has undoubtedly challenged us in many ways, it’s also highlighted Canadians’ unwavering commitment to supporting one another during difficult times. We are incredibly grateful for the ways Canadians have supported their local businesses when they really needed it and for the commitment of our partners who helped bring Canada United to life. And now, with the federal government’s support, we are confident that the Small Business Relief Fund will make a significant difference in helping businesses prepare for the road ahead.”– Neil McLaughlin, Group Head, Personal & Commercial Banking, RBC

Quick facts Starting on October 26, small businesses can apply online through the Ontario Chamber of Commerce for the next wave of Canada United Small Business Relief Fund grants. Applications are open to small businesses across sectors and industries in every part of the country that have between $150,000 and $3 million in annual sales; have up to 75 employees; are registered in Canada; and would use the grant to cover the costs of personal protective equipment, make physical modifications to their businesses to meet local health and safety requirements, and enhance their digital or e-commerce capabilities. To support Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada introduced the largest relief package in our country’s history, which includes the following major programs for business owners and their employees: The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is helping businesses by covering up to 75% of payroll, retroactive to March 15 and with the intention of continuing support into summer 2021. The expanded Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) will provide businesses with an additional $20,000 interest-free loan on top of the original $40,000 CEBA loan. The new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, building on the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA), would provide simple and easy-to-access rent and mortgage support until June 2021 for qualifying organizations affected by the pandemic. The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) is delivered through Canada’s regional development agencies and supports small businesses across Canada that have been unable to access existing relief measures. Originally vested with $962 million, the RRRF has been topped up with an additional $600 million. In addition to broad support programs, the government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan includes targeted measures to help tourism businesses, rural communities, artists and athletes, innovative highgrowth businesses, Indigenous-owned businesses, women entrepreneurs, farmers and agri-food businesses, and more.

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COVID IS ACCELERATING CHANGES IN HOW CANADIANS PAY AND ARE PAID By: Tracey Black, President and CEO of Payments Canada

COVID-19, for all of the challenges it presents, has created the need and opportunity for rapid advances in digital experiences. Companies of all sizes have been required to take a closer look at their digital strategies, the impacts of digitization on their operating models, and to react. Businesses that rely on face-to-face interactions have had significant changes to make as Canadians increasingly require and demonstrate a “digital-first” preference From a payments perspective, the move to digital payment options has been underway for some time; we have observed steady declines in the use of cash and cheques for years. COVID-19 has accelerated a preference for digital payment options, highlighting the security, speed and convenience benefits of paperless payments. At the point-of-sale (POS), fast, safe, convenient contactless payment continues to replace cash. In 2019, digital payments (credit and debit) grew by 10 per cent to represent 75 per cent of total transactions; cash payments declined by nine per cent to represent 22 per cent of total transactions. In 2019, Canadians made close to five billion contactless card payments and four billion cash payments at pointof-sale. A survey by Payments Canada in May demonstrated that consumer POS payment preferences have accelerated as a result of COVID-19. In early April, the credit networks increased the contactless tap limits from $100 to $250, dramatically increasing the number of transactions that can be paid for with a tap.

Our survey showed that 42 per cent of Canadians avoided shopping at places that didn’t accept contactless payments, and 52 per cent tried not to exceed the contactless limit when buying something in-store. Our survey showed that 42 per cent of Canadians avoided shopping at places that didn’t accept contactless payments, and 52 per cent tried not to exceed the contactless limit when buying something in-store. Just over 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed reported using cash less frequently than preCOVID-19, and ATM withdrawal volumes decreased by more than 50 per cent relative to 2019.

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Consumer use of cheques also continues to drop significantly, with a 24 per cent decrease in volume between 2018 and 2019. Canadians are turning more frequently to digital payment options, especially for P2P payments. Interac released information in May demonstrating a dramatic increase in first time Interac e-Transfer users, and record eTransfer transaction volume in April. Almost 8.8 million Canadians have received Canadian Emergency Response Benefit payments, resulting in 39 million payments as of September 19. As a result of an industry-wide effort to allow Canadians to register online to receive these benefits digitally, about 90 per cent of these payments have been made using direct deposit rather than cheque. Direct deposit is a much faster, secure and more convenient method of payment allowing recipients to receive benefits directly into their bank account. As a result of COVID-19, Canadians have become reliant upon fast, safe, convenient, remote payment experiences. Canadians have benefited from increased access to digital payments through existing and new channels - from in-app options to smart home assistants (in 2019, 15 per cent of Canadians made purchases via gaming consoles and home assistants like Google Home ). Initiatives like the government’s Digital Main Street and Go Digital programs are providing Canadian businesses with improved access to the tools needed to meet Canadians’ digital payment needs and expectations. Ongoing digital innovation in payments will continue to provide benefits for Canadian businesses and consumers. Payment system stakeholders are aware that the availability of payments options can determine how and where Canadians choose to shop. We understand the importance of a secure and frictionless payment experience that meets consumer expectations for Canadian businesses of all sizes. And we recognize the value of data-driven insights from digital payments that provide businesses with a competitive edge. Payments Canada has heard clearly from SMEs that efficiency and a wider selection of payment options are important. The launch of Canada’s Real-Time Rail in 2022 will support the introduction of real time, irrevocable, secure, data-rich payment options that can help to lower operational costs and boost bottom line returns over time. Canadian SMEs are encouraged to visit modernization.payments.ca to learn more about the Real-Time Rail and ISO 20022, the message standard that will support data-rich payments.

Tracey Black, President and CEO, Payments Canada Tracey Black is the President and CEO of Payments Canada. Building on the organization’s past success, Tracey provides the leadership to define the next stage of Payments Canada’s evolution, supporting the payment needs of Canadian consumers and businesses, and empowering a new era of modern payments. Prior to Tracey’s appointment as President & CEO in March 2020, and since joining the organization in November 2018, Tracey was the Executive Director of Modernization, responsible for leading the modernization of the Canadian core clearing and settlement payment infrastructure. Tracey has held executive roles at TD Canada Trust and RBC Royal Bank and has consulted extensively in the financial services industry as an independent consultant, and with McKinsey & Company. Previously, Tracey was the President of GFH Group Inc, where her responsibilities included the launch of chip cards (or smart cards) in Canada. Tracey has more than 20 years of professional experience with extensive industry knowledge and deep expertise in payments strategy and innovation.

https://newsroom.interac.ca/covid-19-accelerating-the-move-to-digital-paymentsacross-canada/ https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/claims-report.html Leger/Payments Canada. 2019/2020 Canadian Consumer Payments and Transactions Survey

Canadian SMEs are encouraged to visit modernization.payments.ca to learn more about the Real-Time Rail and ISO 20022, the message standard that will support data-rich payments.

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Kale Johnson is a senior sales manager at CDW Canada. He works to develop small, medium and enterprise sales teams to provide the right IT solutions to customers across Canada

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HON. Mary Ng

Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

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You have over 10 years of experience in the real estate industry. What would you say has been the biggest change that you've seen in the real estate market over the years? Overall, I think buyers are becoming a lot more savvy, which is fantastic. There's a lot more resources for them to really research and make sure that they're making the right decision when purchasing. I do think COVID-19 has brought forth very big changes. The real estate\ industry is very slow to move forward in terms of advanced technology and to be able to do things remotely. I think the pandemic really forced a lot of developers to come out of their comfort zone. As their sales team, it’s allowed us to trust a lot of these systems that enable us to sell pre-construction virtually from the comfort of a buyer's home. I think overall, this is a huge achievement for our industry, and one that has kept the real estate market going strong, especially the pre-construction market.

So would you say, this has been the biggest impact COVID has had on the real estate industry? Yes. COVID has allowed us to operate our sales program, teams, and office, completely remotely, and virtually. It’s forced us as an industry to get creative -to work with purchasers, and to work with developers to be able to offer everything that we would have typically offered them in a sales office. I think without the pandemic, we would be a lot slower to adapt to this process. It really enabled us with the ability to accelerate.

What advice can you give to homebuyer's about investing smart? What are the top three aspects they should consider before getting into the market? I like to look at real estate as a long-term investment because it's a tangible asset. You don’t see the ups and downs as quickly as you do with the stock market, for example. In order to invest smart, you obviously need to do your research.

Familiarize yourself with the trends to know what's going on. In terms of my top three tips to consider before investing, I always say ‘location’.

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I love to buy into locations that I know are up and coming. For example, I know that right now when i'm buying into it, it still hasn't seen its peak and its growth, but I know in 5 to 10 years, that location is going to be completely different. The next piece of advice I would give is to know the competitors in the area to make sure that you’re buying the retail market price and not overpaying.

What does the future of Hirsch + Associates look like? Where do you see your agency in the next five years?

Lastly, always try to play the long-term hold, when you can. Don’t buy into something, especially pre-construction, thinking that you’re just going to flip it. Real estate is fruitful because it's a long term investment, not a short term one.

Right now we’re a small firm who is very much family oriented. In the next five years I definitely see us continuing to grow, but I do want to keep the mentality of being a close knit team and to be very selective about who we hire. We want to make sure our core values like our passion and integrity, both individually as people and together as a team, remain. Ideally, it is a goal of ours to penetrate the U.S market as well.

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Purpose… David Smith, BComm, CMC, ACC, RPM has over 30 years of experience as an organizational leader and a decade as certified executive coach, facilitator and management consultant. He has served as a corporate executive (CEO),

The New Strategy

business owner and entrepreneur in multiple start-ups in different industries including one of Canada’s ‘50 Best Managed Companies. He is the President of Logia Consulting Inc™. and Co-Founder of Virtual Leadership Matters Inc™.

By David W Smith CMC, ACC Leadership Coach & Consultant President @Logia Consulting™ Co-Founder @Virtual Leadership Matters™

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In the past seven months since the arrival of COVID-19, much has changed. We heard strategic prophets at the outset talk about how the next two years, will bring us the same amount of change anticipated for the coming two decades. Wow, much to assimilate and adapt to so quickly. As millions of people in Canada have transitioned to remote working, many things are different. In general, organizations have not dramatically altered their vision and mission but certainly working processes, systems and the climate within teams have morphed profoundly. In the deafening noise and commotion around pivoting in this new environment, the phrase ‘purpose is the new strategy’ has rung loudly. With organizations jettisoning long-term strategic planning in favor of looking after the present, purpose has taken on a new vital profile. A few years ago, author Daniel Pink wrote in his book ‘Drive - the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us’, that the number one motivator for people is the realization that the work they do is meaningful. In times of looming personal and safety risk (COVID-19) this has become even more important as people think about their participation in the workplace and all the effort involved.

If the work isn't meaningful and the rewards corresponding, it's not likely people will be engaged or even there.

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I encountered Juan Pablo Ibarra, the US-based COO of The Mercon Group, in a virtual leadership conference recently. He explained that they are a vertically integrated global green coffee supplier. From headquarters in the Netherlands, they guide over 500 employees in 8 different countries serving clients in more than 40 countries. They are strongly committed to the sustainability of the coffee industry to generate long-term value and benefits for everyone in the supply chain, especially the coffee farmers and their communities. Their purpose is ‘to build a better coffee world.’ Pablo made it clear that the critical ingredient to keeping the teams engaged during the many dramatic impacts from COVID-19, was keeping their purpose top of mind all the time. They are making a difference in the world!

The meaning that people drive from the purpose in

Why think about purpose? Our purpose or the ‘why’

their work stems from host of factors. Certainly,

we do things, naturally emanates from the mission,

the ‘Why’ the organization exists is principal among

vision and values within our organization. When we

them. Organizations could be focused on being

enjoy personal alignment of our own purpose to

client service centric or industry leading or perhaps

the organizations there is a higher probability of

even driven to serve a greater cause, like the

synchronicity and productive engagement. Our

desire Steve Jobs had to ‘make a dent in the

sense of purpose influences our conscious and

universe’ at Apple. They could also be focused on

subconscious thinking and thereby our emotions

altruism in serving communities or simply

positively or negatively and ultimately, our habits

maintaining quality employment for their

and behaviors.

employees as their key purpose. Some organizations are narrowly focused on the financial metrics and wealth generation and that would need to be embraced by employees to foster real engagement. Logically, profit sharing would then be the ‘Why’ that motivates.

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As humans, our purpose or ‘Why’, drives our behaviors in profound ways and we need to understand that to be

successful and engaged. During the COVID-19 crisis it is particularly important that leaders talk about the purpose of the organization but also ensure that it is clear for individual teams, individual people

and specific jobs and work assignments. Great benefit accrues from taking the time to ensure there is clarity of purpose within the team and for specific individuals. That sense of purpose and then be sub-defined for key groups to ensure relevance is sustained these critical stakeholders: clients, team members, communities and business partners or suppliers. Having a keen sense of who they are and what they expect will go a long way in delivering to their expectations or perhaps even beyond, which would be ideal.

In summary, our suggestions for leaders are firstly, to remember that purpose is the ‘new

strategy’ so, regular references to mission , vision and values for the organization and defining the purpose for specific jobs and

assignments are critical.

Secondly, use routine polling of the team's level of engagement with purpose to being vigilant to the likely need to course correct and attempt to nurture greater alignment. This is what leaders must do, tell the story of ‘why’ the organization exists and ‘why’ the work is important so people will remain productively engaged and organizations will endure to thrive again.

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By Nathalie Boutet Mediator, Collaborative Family Law Lawyer and Family Enterprise Advisor, Co-Founder at NEXT Ltd.

Nathalie Boutet, based in Toronto, is an experienced family law lawyer, accredited mediator and certified Family Enterprise Advisor, skilled at providing unique strategies and out-of-court results to the complex legal, financial and human matters related to separation or divorce for high-net-worth families and business owners.

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The pandemic has already taken a toll on both the economy and marriages across the country, and now with a second wave, those numbers are likely to rise. A recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reveals that one in seven small businesses are at risk of going under as a result of COVID-19.

Family disputes have become more complex because previous norms around income predictions and business valuations no longer exist. Particularly for family-owned businesses, reducing the negative impact of divorce on the family itself, staff and the day-to-day operations is critical.

Practical steps for business owners facing marital breakdown The family business is both an asset and source of incomeâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; sometimes for more than one generation. But upon separation, people can deliberately or inadvertently cause it harm.

As early as possible in the separation process, spouses need to work together on a transition and exit plan by agreeing on who continues to work in the business or how roles will change, and how to make property and support payments that take into account the businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cash flow and development needs. They may benefit from the assistance of a collaborative lawyer or mediator who has experience dealing with these issues. Generally, unless the shares were excluded in a marriage agreement, family law in Canada allows married spouses to receive the equivalent of half the value of the business portion that was acquired during the marriage. This means that the payment to the separated spouse may be considerable and may cripple the operations of the business.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important for spouses to work collaboratively to develop a payment structure that will respect the needs of all involved, including the business.

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The New Strategy

By David W Smith CMC, ACC Leadership Coach & Consultant President @Logia Consulting™ Co-Founder @Virtual Leadership Matters™

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The Canadian Black Chamber Of Commerce Announces National Grants Program In Support Of Black-Owned Businesses With Facebook Canada TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2020 /CNW/ – To mark Black Business Week 2020 in Canada, the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) is pleased to announce their newest initiative with Facebook Canada to assist Black Entrepreneurs who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19. Facebook Canada is contributing $500,000 in funding to the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce in support of their new grants program to assist Black-owned business. This national grants program is available via online application to eligible candidates from the CBCC membership and the Black community. CBCC President, Andria Barrett, launched the program at a live fireside chat this morning with Garrick Tiplady, Managing Director of Facebook Canada, as part of C2 Online. “We are thrilled to partner with Facebook Canada to support Black Canadian Entrepreneurs and their social media presence during this unprecedented time. With these grants, we can strengthen Black Entrepreneur’s online reach and capacity. Having this announcement in the midst of a Black Business Week which coincides with a difficult time for Black communities, underscores our intentions toward positive economic solutions for Black Canadians, and to the overall Canadian economy.” Andria Barrett, President, Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce.

“COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Black Canadian business owners, and shed light on the systemic barriers they face when starting, growing and scaling their businesses. We’ve heard loud and clear from entrepreneurs that financial support goes a long way and we’re grateful to the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to support Black business owners who are the heart of our local communities and integral to Canada’s economy.” Garrick Tiplady, Managing Director, Facebook Canada.

The announcement comes as Barrett closed a fireside chat with Garrick Tiplady, Managing Director of Facebook Canada. Barrett and Tiplady were part of the lineup for the inaugural C2 Online, and led a conversation about The Inclusive Economy. The talk aligned with the overall C2 Online theme of RESILIENCE, and provided insights about macro and micro shifts shaping economic recovery as Canadians continue to respond to the pandemic.

About the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce: The Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce is a national, non-profit, bilingual organization. We are a distinctive platform that supports Black businesses, promotes economic growth and prosperity, leads public and private sector advocacy and forms alliances and broad-based coalitions that represent the economic interests of our members and stakeholders.

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DRIVING THE SHOP LOCAL MOVEMENT BY CONNECTING LOCAL CONSUMERS MATT CROWELL Founder & CEO, GetintheLoop

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MATT CROWELL Founder & CEO, GetintheLoop Matt Crowell is the Founder and CEO of GetintheLoop, a location-based technology platform that is driving the shop local movement by connecting local consumers with local businesses across Canada through a network of local franchise owners. Matt’s is passionate about helping small businesses and entrepreneurs through GetintheLoop and his blog, Love the Grind. Prior to starting GetintheLoop in 2013, Matt was an Account Manager at BDC where he was responsible for building and maintaining value-added relationships with Canadian entrepreneurs and developing new opportunities to accelerate their success. In 2010/2011, Matt spent two seasons playing professional hockey in Europe for HYC in Herentals, Belgium where he won two Belgium Hockey League titles while also leading the Dutch league in scoring. Matt holds a Masters in Innovation from Antwerp Management School and a Bachelors of Science, Marketing from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York

What was the inspiration behind the founding of GetintheLoop? What are you hoping to accomplish through it? It all started with a simple WordPress website and text message platform that helped golf courses market to players in the Kelowna area. GetintheLoop golfers would receive text messages with offers and available tee times. Once we started seeing success with that offering, we realized we had a technology solution that could be used to help other businesses connect with local consumers. Our mission became to establish a business model that is different from the daily deal sites, sustainable for local businesses, and built on a platform consumers loved using. What we learned in those early days was that small business owners really needed support with digital or mobile marketing solutions to reach local consumers. We know that local business owners are busy and focused on the daily challenges of operating their

business, so we designed the GetintheLoop platform to be an easy to use multi-channel marketing engine to help drive foot traffic through the door and deliver results.

How do you believe GetintheLoop is helping small businesses succeed? In what way is it contributing to the success of small businesses? We’re making digital and mobile marketing simple and effective for local businesses so that those business owners can focus on running their businesses and serving their customers. It starts with our passion for the shop local movement, and believing that local businesses form the foundation of a vibrant community. With that in mind, GetintheLoop connects consumers with nearby businesses by providing them access to rewards, offers and events in their community. Another thing that makes us appealing for local business owners is they aren’t competing against Amazon or bidding on Google AdWords in order to attract customers. With GetintheLoop, small businesses pay a low monthly fee, and are communicating with people who are looking for places to go eat, shop and visit locally. We aren’t disrupting consumers on other platforms or serving intrusive ads. We have a community that comes together to support local, and the results are new customers, repeat business and increased loyalty, particularly with our new digital punch card feature.

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What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced since the launch of GetintheLoop and how did you overcome it? We’ve been building this business for seven years. When we started, we were in the early stages of the mobile marketing space. Today, mobile has become an essential part of the marketing mix for small businesses. It took dogged determination, persistence and a commitment to our vision to get us over the initial hump. We’re not just building mobile technology or a marketing platform, GetintheLoop is really facilitating and growing the Shop Local movement which takes time and patience.

What are some of the marketing strategies that you’re using that has contributed to the success of the platform? The unique thing about GetintheLoop is we’re not only supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs, we are creating them. We work with hundreds of local franchise owners who purchase a community or territory to manage. They are our boots on the ground and our local champions for the platform, our retail partners and the shop local movement. These franchisees know their local markets intimately, and are truly invested in the success of our partners.

Unlike Facebook or Google, when small businesses work with GetintheLoop, there is a local Entrepreneur who is there to provide support, marketing insights, and strategic guidance. For a low fixed monthly fee you get that expertise plus someone in your community who is promoting you, and thinking about your business success. If I were to pinpoint our secret sauce or winning recipe for success it’s the connection our local owners have with small business owners in their community and their ability to create simple and impactful digital marketing campaigns that connect with local members on the app. With the global pandemic having had a huge impact on small businesses, it’s now more important than ever to encourage consumers to buy local. What are some of the initiatives that small business owners can put in place to encourage their clients to purchase local? What advice do you have for them?

The biggest threat to small businesses is the proliferation of online shopping which has only been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As consumers have become increasingly comfortable shopping from their phones, we’ve created a way to get small businesses and their offers in front of consumers on their mobile device. With less foot traffic, it’s essential for small businesses to be actively communicating and engaging with shoppers in their community. A platform like GetintheLoop helps retailers stay top of mind and build a relationship with consumers. Aside from that, my advice to small business leaders is...keep going. I am an entrepreneur, and our company is filled with people who believe in the entrepreneurial spirit. That energy and spirit implores us to push forward, try new things, and adopt a positive attitude and outlook. On a final note, what can you tell us about any future projects you have planned for GetintheLoop? Where do you see the platform going in the next two to three years? We have an ambitious product development road map and we’re really excited about some of the features and solutions that are on the horizon. We’re very excited to have recently opened our API to allow integrations as a way for other websites and apps to support the shop local movement and help us reach more people. We currently have over 75 integrations across the country and we really see this as a tremendous win-win for the integration platforms, our partners and our company.

We are constantly finding new ways to unlock value for our retail partners and consumers in the GetintheLoop community. Our focus will be on doubling down on our ability to listen to our partners and build solutions that help solve their business and marketing challenges. I believe that will help us stay ahead of the curve and continue our growth in Canada and potentially beyond.

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IF YOU’RE NOT DIGITALLY TRANSFORMING, YOU’RE DYING. (Six Reasons to Do It Now)

BY HOWARD TIERSKY CEO, President and Founder The Digital Transformation Agency

Howard Tiersky is the author of Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance. He has been named by IDG as one of the “Top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers to Follow Today.” As an entrepreneur, he has launched two successful companies that help large brands transform to thrive in the digital age: FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency and Innovation Loft. His dozens of Fortune 1000 clients have included Verizon, NBC, Viacom, Avis, Universal Studios, JPMC, Crayola, Morgan Stanley, Condé Nast, the NBA, Visa, and digital leaders like Facebook, Spotify, and Amazon. Prior to founding his own company, Howard spent 18 years with Ernst & Young Consulting, which then became part of Capgemini, one of the world’s leading global consulting firms, where he helped launch their digital practice. Howard speaks regularly at major industry conferences and is proud to have been on the faculty of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, his alma mater. Howard speaks regularly at major industry conferences and is proud to have been on the faculty of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, his alma mater.

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The world is changing rapidly, and once-loved “legacy” brands arefalling out of favor. The reason is painfully

You Need to Remain Relevant

simple. At one time these brands exceeded customers’

to the Customer.

needs and stood for something they cared about. (That’s how you earn love.) But today’s customers are different. Very different. The vast majority are living a lifestyle that has digital at the center…and many companies haven’t

Customers today demand a superior digital experience. A Salesforce study found that 80 percent of customers view

transformed to meet them there.

“the experience” a company provides as equally

Digital is no longer just a “need” for customers. Expecting

industries, most experiences offered today are simply not

to access a seamless digital experience on demand is more like a value. If you can’t provide that, you’re not only not resonating with their lifestyle, you’re in conflict with their fundamental worldview. The move toward total digital immersion has been happening for a while; COVID has only accelerated it. And here’s the thing: Almost all businesses have digital operations, so you may think yours is meeting customer expectations. But there’s a good chance it’s falling short. To deliver “digital” at the increasingly elegant level today’s customers expect, most of today’s large companies need to reinvent themselves in a variety of ways, and quickly. Unfortunately, many aren’t designed for this kind of rapid change. They might lack an aligned vision, or encounter resistance, or have the wrong technology. Maybe they’re entrenched in a way of thinking that just isn’t customer-

important as its products and services. But across up to customers’ expectations. PwC found that 49 percent of U.S. consumers say that companies are providing a “good” customer experience today. Brands also spent a lot of energy on online content about their brand and products. But market research shows that consumers today have massive cynicism today about what brands “say” about themselves. As Trinity Mirror and Ipsos Connect found in a study, almost half of consumers have a general distrust of brand and 69 percent specifically distrust their advertising. So how do consumers evaluate your brand and products if they assume most of what you say is a lie? Mostly, from their own digital experiences. If your website is confusing and disorganized, that is the message people will take away. If your signup process is cumbersome, they assume that your product will be as well.

centric. And so despite their best efforts, they fail. Let’s say your organization is already using digital for

You Need to Gain the Efficiencies

marketing and e-commerce, but you are not truly

to Be Cost-Competitive.

“digitally driven.” Maybe you provide customers with a good app—but it’s really just an add-on. You’re not aggressively creating products and experiences that take full advantage of the potential of digital. You can’t honestly say you’re digital at the core. If this describes you, is it truly necessary to change? Most likely yes. Here are just a few reasons why.

Companies that are winning in the digital economy are delivering a dramatically improved value proposition— offering customers more for less. It helps to have investors who are patient about whether the company operates at a profit. But more long-term, these companies are able to operate in a different way— harnessing tools like crowdsourcing, AI, and process automation. If you don’t have access to these types of opportunities to increase efficiency, it’s difficult or even impossible to be price-competitive with those that do.

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You Need to Attract and Retain Talent in the Organization. Millennials want to be a part of companies that are digitally savvy. This might be the most important reason of all to ensure that your company has a high level of digital effectiveness.

Despite the investments they need to make to transform, studies show that digitally driven companies deliver better returns. A Harvard Business School study found that the three-year average profit for “digitally centric companies” was 5 percent more than that of those companies “behind the curve.” A different study at MIT concluded that “digitally mature companies” are 26 percent more profitable than competitors.

A study by the market research firm Penn, Schoen, & Berland found that 82 percent of millennials can be

What’s more, digitally effective companies tend to be

swayed in their career decisions by a digitally equipped

highly customer-centric. A KPMG study showed that

office, while 42 percent would leave a company due to

“customer-centric” companies saw a projected profit

“substandard technology.” Similarly, Microsoft found in a

growth rate that was 3.6 percent greater than “non-

study that 93 percent of millennials polled cited modern

customer-centric” companies.

and up-to-date technology as one of the most important aspects of a workplace.

Digitally Driven Companies Have Higher Valuations

Digitally Driven Companies Have Greater Revenue Growth.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, digitally driven companies have consistently higher valuations. According to MIT, more digitally “mature” companies achieve market

A study by the Aberdeen Group found that the top 20 percent of companies as measured by their “quality of digital customer experience” enjoyed an average yearover-year increase in revenue of over 35 percent,

valuations 12 percent higher than competitors. Forrester calculated that in recent years, the stock price of “leaders in digital customer experience” grew by nearly

compared to a 7.7 percent average for the rest.

30 percent more than that of lagging brands.

"Digitally advanced” companies create 9

Bottom line? It’s a new era. There have been many

percent more revenue than their industry competitors, as reported in a study conducted by MIT. And digitally “mature” companies are almost three times likelier than lower-maturity organizations to report annual revenue growth significantly greater than their industry average, according to yet another study, this one by Deloitte.

periods of time when businesses could operate in more or less the same manner for decades, updating their advertising campaign periodically, creating marginally “new and improved” products every few years, and making small incremental changes to keep cutting costs and drive profits higher. Those days are gone. You need to reinvent yourself, and there’s no time to waste. Whether your business is window washing, restaurant supplies, maritime navigation, or podiatry, your customers’ expectations are digital. Your competitors are leveraging digital to drive

Digitally Driven Companies Have Better Profit Margins

better customer experiences and increased operational efficiencies—enabling them to offer more compelling value propositions to customers. If you aren’t doing the same, it’s going to be tough to remain relevant and price competitive.

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One-On-One With

Andrew Maida Founder of Flourish Pancakes

Andrew Maida is the 25-year-old Toronto native behind Flourish Pancakes, the protein mix brand revolutionizing the relationship Canadians have with healthy foods and indulgent treats. Since its inception in 2018, Flourish has grown rapidly, scoring an investment from Dragon Den's Arlene Dickinson, and scaling to more than 2000 retailers across the country. In the next 18 months, Flourish is tracking to become a 10MM/year business, and most notably, they just surpassed an amazing milestone: Serving one million pancakes to Canadians since their launch. However, before the infamous pancake mixes were flying off the shelves at grocery stores, or sold out online, Andrew Maida was estranged from his family and facing precarious housing situations. After just getting back on his feet after one of the worst slumps in his life, he reached out to his brother, whom he hadn’t spoken to in years, to commission him to create a healthy breakfast that could replace his classic Eggo Waffle meal. What began as a simple idea, eventually evolved into the brand it is today. Not only did Flourish enable his entire family to reconnect, but it also serves a similar purpose for consumers today — uniting families to come together over a healthy meal at the breakfast table.

FLOURISH was created in 2018 by entrepreneur, Andrew Maida. Born out of a passion for the classic breakfast staple, pancakes, then 21year-old Andrew sought to create a simple to follow yet delicious recipe that was health conscious and packed with nutrients. With guidance from his brother Peter, a chef and entrepreneur, FLOURISH was created – a pancake mix made from all-natural ingredients that is high in fibre and protein, organic and non-GMO, fortified with superfoods and contains 0g of added sugar.

CanadianSME I November 2020

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What made you decide to found Flourish Pancakes? What was the inspiration behind it

Flourish provides Canadians with all the right ingredients, and all the good stuff, right upfront in the bag.

and what are you hoping to accomplish through it? I founded Flourish Pancakes back in 2018 with a goal to change the relationship Canadian consumers have with healthy foods and indulgent treats. Whereas at one time you could only have one or the other, I wanted customers to be able to have both. The mission behind our company has always been to allow people to lead and live a healthy lifestyle, without restriction.

This is what gets people to try our product in the first place. Afterwards, it’s the uncompromising flavour that turns firsttime buyers into long-term Flourish Fam members! Since its launch in 2018, Flourish Pancakes has been seeing a huge increase in profits. What would you say are the main factors that contribute to the brands success? We always put the consumer first. Our team puts countless hours into analyzing and improving all touch points throughout the brand journey which culminates at that first bite and then grows into eventual brand loyalty. If we lose our consumer-first focus, we’d lose our brand and our success thus far.

When I first started Flourish, I personally struggled to find food (breakfast foods specifically) that was tasty, but also good for you. I found that I always had that mid afternoon sugar crash and it definitely didn’t feel great! At Flourish, we aim to deliver what we promise first and foremost. We live up to all of the amazing benefits we advertise on our packaging and our pancakes taste just like the “real” ones.

There are many healthy alternatives that already exist in the food industry that provide Canadians with healthy breakfast foods. What sets Flourish Pancakes apart from the rest? What gives it a competitive edge? Many healthy alternatives aren’t actually healthy and if they are, they usually aren’t tasty. We wanted to create a product that Canadians could enjoy, without sacrifice. Our industry is plagued with ‘healthwashed’ brands that call out fibre, or protein or low sugar, but are then made with all the wrong ingredients. It’s a huge problem in our space and deteriorates trust between consumers and brands.

What was it like appearing on Dragon’s Den and getting an investment from Arlene Dickinson? How has the company changed since this crucial event? I didn’t actually appear on Dragon’s Den. I was approached by Arlene’s team at her private Venture Capital company - District Ventures Capital. Arlene and her team brought us into the District Ventures Accelerator which really turned things around for our brand. We came in as thesmallest company, and 6 months later, left as one of the largest. We then went on to become the first accelerator company to receive follow up capital from Arlene. Her support, appetite for risk and expertise has been priceless. In turn, we’ve grown about 2000% since working in the accelerator just 1 year ago.

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What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced since launching the company and what strategies did you use to overcome these challenges? Keeping up with the pace of demand from consumers and the grocery industry has definitely been a challenge. Our whole team is learning new things about the consumer packed goods industry every single day. I do my best to connect with other companies and work with mentors to expedite my learning. However, like most start ups, our typical strategy is to move quickly, and accept that there will be mistakes, walls and pitfalls. We try to embrace a culture of speed and a forgiveness of mistakes. That has been crucial to our rapid growth. On a final note, what advice can you give to young entrepreneurs that they can benefit from? I think the best piece of advice I can give to young entrepreneurs is to just take it one day at a time. Often times people want to jump to overnight success, but that’s just not likely. As a young entrepreneur, I’m guilty of holding myself accountable to unrealistic expectations. When I catch myself in these negative thought-patterns I remind myself that next year, next quarter and next week are not promised.

“Overnight” success is an accumulation of many ordinary days, mundane moments, small wins, big losses and innumerable lessons.

Do all that you can today. Do it with passion and do it better than you did yesterday.

Can we predict whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next for us?

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Dr M Muneer Managing Director of Customer Lab Solutions and Co-Founder of Non-profit Medici Institute.

As we business(wo)men anxiously squirm in our executive chairs or sofas inside homes, trying to make business sense of the “lockdownomics”, it is a tough call for us to see around corners, so to speak. My esteemed colleague Rita McGrath of Columbia University had outlined a few thoughts for “Seeing Around Corners” in normal times, in her book by the same title, and here are my “five cents” for the pandemic time:

High uncertainty will drive third world countries to innovate. Disruptive innovation can be highly unpredictable but the higher the uncertainty, the bigger the risk/return. We use a discovery driven growth process for navigating highly uncertain climate. Let us all agree that the level of uncertainty is pretty high this year and a good part of next year. Seeing around corners is never easy and so never attempted

Is the pandemic changing the world or are we attributing the many changes of the recent past to the pandemic? When clients challenge me to predict what’s next for us, I quote Yogi Berra even though I ain’t any NY Yankee fan: “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Most of my friends rant about tectonic shifts but I believe the pandemic only accelerated the changes that we have been seeing over the last couple of years. I also believe, with apologies to all scientists and epidemiologists, this war against coronavirus will last some years. The post-pandemic effects will be a new normal rather than business as usual. But what is that normal? We, as leaders, need to make decisions based on data that give us some indications. Not like the kind of flattening curves shown by various experts two months into the lockdown, which we now know as forever flattening at higher levels.

by most small and medium enterprises. Now is the time to drive business disruption, especially given the opportunities such as the growing anti-China sentiments and FB ad boycotts. Remember that if we don’t disrupt our own business, someone else will. By listing out assumptions, testing them quickly and being agile, some of them can find winning disruptions for the new normal.

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Research is fine but… Consumer research is always tricky and currently it is even more so. Let’s stick to exploratory research and not take the data as the gospel. Consumers will say a lot of things but with mounting job losses and increasing social security claimants, what data can we rely on? We will have to choose much finer samples and still not get the definitive data.

Sentiments are ever fluid right now and no government or media propaganda of economic green shoots can change that. Besides, most people suffer from anxiety and the research at best can give us some trends. For instance, participants in a recent survey said they would not travel or stay in hotels for the next one year. That can change when a vaccine is developed or a proper treatment protocol is clinically approved. Already we have seen lockdown fatigue that led to spikes across many countries in the world, for instance. Three weeks before, I have seen people in “social proximity” without masks as if everything was almost normal, until it isn’t anymore now.

Search for sensible data. We must ignore the panic that has gripped the workforce. Many of the changes we see now have been in the making for some time now: Videobased meetings, online education, streaming entertainment, telemedicine, WFH, etc. Extrapolating these, touch-less entry and exit, voice-controlled lifts, robotic taxis, canned food, individually packed fresh vegetables, etc could be the new normal. A WFH research threw up a very sensible insight – it is great for women who have other responsibilities like childcare, and for men who are introverts but do productive work alone. So we can increase productivity by extending WFH for such folks post pandemic. Search for the longevity of trend data rather than just hard numbers since that will have a high chance to continue. Don’t bet on vaccine, as yet. Some regulatory and governmental agencies like the ICMR of India foolishly issued mandates to pharma companies to “discover” a vaccine by the year-end. If a country’s leader is betting his decisions on finding a vaccine, the economy can go awfully southward. Any binary bet is disastrous; even small-time gamblers know that. It’s quite possible that we will have to learn to live with Covid-19, as there could never be a vaccine. What best we should do now for our businesses is scenario- and risk heat mapping. Draw out all possible scenarios and prepare for our immediate future.

Roughly right, not precise, is right. It is best to be roughly right and fast to test our concepts instead of the old way of precise but slow. We shouldn’t hesitate to express our opinion on where we believe the world is headed. While doing so, ensure that we don’t take it to our hearts. Be flexible to discard as soon as data emerges to dispute our hypothesis. The essence of discovery driven disruption is this ability to test assumptions quickly and cheaply for faster course correction.

So, like me, go ahead and make predictions, but be ready to change quickly. Good thing is, even the best epidemiologists are probably as knowledgeable as you and I are about the future.

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BUYING AND SELLING A BUSINESS IN CHALLENGING TIMES

Nunzio Presta, BCom is an ex pro hockey player turned entrepreneur and is currently the Founder & CEO of Buy and Sell a Business – an online marketplace where people can buy, sell and grow businesses or franchises every day. He is known for his speed, endurance and strong leadership. He has helped build, grow, advise and set the tone for businesses with one main goal: to add value to the world. Nunzio is equipped with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to identifying, building and funding businesses – in addition to being a thought leader on product development, leadership, business & marketing strategy and building culture. He sits on the board of multiple startups and is part of Startup Canada’s Entrepreneur Success Advisory Council, in addition to being a Startup Canada Advisor on #StartupChats. Nunzio is a mentor to many entrepreneurs, small business and franchise owners, and is a regular contributor to Thrive Global, a digital resource for individuals and corporations spearheaded by Arianna Huffington. Nunzio graduated from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Nunzio Presta Founder and CEO,

Buy and Sell a Business

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When buying or selling a business, you should always be looking at social, economic and technology trends. We use this model at BuyAndSellABusiness.com when developing products, services and even marketing campaigns. During challenging times, it’s especially important to be looking at economic trends.

The business environment tends to be more volatile when the world is in a state of greater uncertainty. This generally leads to a weaker economy, and in a weaker economy, we tend to see three scenarios:

Individuals face job insecurity and more favourable interest rates for financing. Therefore, they’re often looking to purchase or start their own business in order to “be their own boss”.

Existing business owners/leaders with cash on hand look to earn larger future profits by buying a business at a lower valuation, cutting costs while boosting growth, and selling it after the economy has stabilized. It’s an epic flip strategy. It is also used to accelerate growth and take more market share by acquiring competitors.

The business and franchise market still continues to perform well in 2020, however, a survey of our audience of business owners, franchise owners, business brokers, and entrepreneurs, has determined the greatest risks to their business and/or business listings, which could impact their exit:

Business owners (in certain sectors) may see lower profits but, if positioned well, can demand a higher valuation due to decreased interest rates and cheaper financing options for prospective buyers.

Keeping that in mind, my advice when buying or selling during challenging times would be the same that I would give during good times:

SELLERS: - Economic recession - Ability to retain talent - Government regulations - Switch from a seller’s to a buyer’s market, which can put downward pressure on valuations

Stay focused and disciplined on building not only a valuable business but a sellable business. Sellable businesses are sold at the right time and align with social/economic/technology trends; sellable businesses are self-sufficient, meaning they aren’t dependent on a particular stakeholder; and sellable businesses have strong and healthy financials. Commit to this framework.

BUYERS: Not only should you be searching for a profitable, valuable and sellable business, you need to search for a pandemic resilient business. In the post-COVID world, it will be even more important to buy a business with a strong digital infrastructure, along with principles, processes, values, and culture that can survive and thrive if another disruption as drastic as the pandemic were to occur. We have a free buyer workshop that can help guide you.

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How to Optimize Your Time And Work? Ritu Kohli-Sethi

On most days, I feel as the day has flown by. One minute you’re settling in to answer a few emails and boom, it’s lunchtime. Before no time, it’s a wrap for the day.

My broader question of the day is that, in the quest to be more productive, are we perhaps losing on the creativity and the retrospect we need for each project we undertake?

I have tried planning my day in advance, which works well early on in the day, but realistically speaking , a few hours in, I still find myself stretching my day long to meet my deadlines.

Here are a few tips that I have incorporated into my daily routine. Not everyday is the same but a lot of my tips are more about awareness rather than action.

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Be Aware of Your Time Do a time audit to see which projects are taking most of your time. Understanding the time involved in your tasks, will help you understand the discrepancy between your subjective time and actual time. Try to identify the distractions or interruptions, which could affect your delay and account for them in your dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan.Reducing or eliminating little disturbances, such as unscheduled breaks or browsing, are a big source of help.

Goal Setting Strategy When I feel overwhelmed, the best thing I do for myself is put pen to paper or open a meeting notice and itemize things to do. The mere feeling of crossing off tasks, as I complete them is just so satisfying. Here are some other methods that help plan your week: Jot down important tasks for the following week, before heading out for the weekend. Most folks begin to reflect on the week ahead on a Sunday evening. At that time, send your self an email or meeting notice, open a task or pen to paper, for Monday morning with your action plan. This activity will help shape the start of your week and focus on the needful activities. A popular method is also separating your tasks according to Eisenhower Matrix. This involves you actively grouping your tasks into the following categories:

Important and Urgent - Do these right away Important and non-urgent- Set a schedule Not important but urgent - Delegate or reschedule them Non-important and non-urgent â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Delete them

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“Overnight” success is an accumulation of many ordinary days, mundane moments, small wins, big losses and innumerable lessons.

Do all that you can today. Do it with passion and do it better than you did yesterday.

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How can Greater Toronto Executive Centre (GTEC) Help You with Time Management?

GTEC is committed to help you save time and money Whether you are scaling up or down, we provide cost effective workspace solutions you need for your business. Separate your home from your business – Let our reception handle your mail, important client drop offs, couriers and/or unexpected visitors. Come in only when you need to use our meeting room, book the day office for dedicated work time and let us handle the rest. All the tools you need for a perfect meeting – A meeting room conducive to an effective meeting saves you a lot of time by giving you the space and technological tools. Whether you need larger space, a stable Wi-Fi connection, teleconferencing tools or a presentation screen, GTEC has it all covered. Our Business Identity Plan takes the stress away of managing the business’s day-to-day mundane activities such as phone answering, voice mail to email, mail handling and more, so you can focus on actual work. Read about the plan here. In an effort to manage your time better, remember not everything can or should be managed. We need to acknowledge that time management isn’t just about work, but also a balance between our personal enjoyment and development as well as self care. We must disconnect from our work to recharge and recover properly.

Ritu Kohli-Sethi, the Operations Manager at Greater Toronto Executive Centre talks about her role, responsibilities and her inspiration behind co-founding MKYK.ca. She also talks about marketing strategies she recommends that contributed to the success of her company.

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HOW TO DEVELOP MINDFULNESS AND SERENITY DURING STRESSFUL OR UNCERTAIN TIMES COLTRANE LORD

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Coltrane Lord is a sacred/conscious intimacy and relationship expert and is the bestselling author of "The Kinky Vanilla Love Project” and is working on her second book titled, “Love Avatar.” Coltrane is an advocate for radical selflove and discusses what she calls "the beauty and power of your erotic and expansive soul". Through her work, she is able to educate, empower and inspire individuals to reignite the lost or forbidden parts of themselves that they may be ashamed to acknowledge or freely discuss through art and the lost practice of indigenous ritual. She has spent thousands of hours of training in spirituality, sexuality, shadow work. Having worked with hundreds of women (and a handful of men) across the globe, she employs the practice of esoteric wisdom with practical solutions, to provide an in-depth embodiment experience that is rooted in tangible, real world practices since experiencing her full spiritual awakening in 2016. A married mother of two boys, Coltrane is a leader in the divine feminine movement incorporating the teachings of the Vedas - an ancient wisdom considered to be the source of many eastern philosophies including yoga, meditation, and tantra. Coltrane received a degree in psychology at the University of California, Santa Barabara. She is a certified love coach, movement teacher, an accomplished photographer, creator of conscious intimacy techniques, and a Deepak Chopra certified Ayurvedic educator who has traveled to India with him to meet the Dalai Lama.

To find serenity during a stressful moment, first stop at the moment of stress and simply observe your stressful experience. Note how you feel in your body, is there shaking? Are you thinking too much? Are you sweating? Name these feelings. Then take deep breaths into your diaphragm and focus on each inhale and exhale to stay in the present moment. This allows one’s overthinking mind to relax and focus on the “now.” When we focus on our past unprocessed stress, we feel anger or resentment, and when we anticipate unprocessed stress about the future, we feel anxiety. The breath allows us to focus on the present moment and we can reflect and respond to situations, versus react in unhealthy ways.

To be proactive and build serenity into your lifestyle, you can carve out time for each of the following important aspects of well-being: 1) Get enough sleep, as it is important in reducing stress and anxiety. 2) Start a meditation practice each morning and evening for twenty minutes each to allow the critical mind a break. Eventually, this gap in thought will allow your expansive mind to emerge to create or solve problems. 3) Move your body with a walk in nature, exercise or yoga. Your body holds memories of stress in the muscles and fascia. Moving stress out of the body through exercise makes room for a coherent field of thriving energy to take its place. 4) Tend to your emotional body by giving yourself permission to grieve or express what you need to express in a safe place. Emotions are just energy in motion. If we bottle things up, we will explode later. Journaling, a dance break, screaming at trees, punching a pillow, or letting your tears fall to the earth are all very healthy ways of expressing your emotions. Remember that your partner, children and friends are not responsible for your emotions, so an inanimate object to express to is preferable. 5) Eat nutritious and healthy foods. This seems obvious, but people (especially during times of stress) do not treat their bodies with respect. Your body is your vehicle in this lifetime, and nourishment is your fuel. Your body is also your instrument, and to keep it in tune, it needs to be nourished and cared for. This is a necessary act of radical self-love, not self absorption. Your soul, family, friends, and purpose needs you to be your best self. 6) Start tuning into the rhythms of nature like rising and setting with the sun. We forget that nature gives us the greatest wisdom. The sun and moon come up as scheduled, the trees and plants will rejuvenate even after destructive fires or hurricanes, we rely on the water, the elements, and the food that She provides. Mother Nature heals, so put your bare feet to absorb her heartbeat and attune to the Earth’s Schumann Resonance (7.83hz) to get your mind aligned with Alpha and Theta Waves that are stress reducing.

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7) Give yourself permission to tap into that soulful part of yourself that is connected to the beautiful and numinouse Quantum Realm of infinite potential. When we attune to something much greater than ourselves we start to serve in a grander way. 8) Be grateful. For everything. Many relationships have been struggling to adjust with the quarantine period. What advice can you give to couples who are finding it difficult to quarantine? This is the perfect time to look at the foundation of your relationship, and recommit to your growth as individuals and as a couple. These are tough times, most couples who are finding difficulty during this pandemic are in the crucible of their partnership. It is a choice to see these challenges as an opportunity that both of you need to agree to. It is wise to remember that you or your partner did not cause the pandemic, and that everyone on the planet is being affected by it. So no blaming or receiving blame. The triggers that most couples are experiencing are not really about the other person, but our own triggers based on patterns we learned growing up. Now that we don’t have work or entertainment distractions, we have more time and space to mirror each other, and each other’s problems.

So before you find the urge to blame or defend, take a moment to observe how your parents reacted with each other and what patterns you adopted. Was there avoidance, blame, defense, pleasing, or heightened aggression? If each of you takes ownership of your own triggers during stressful times you can own your responses with more grace and ease.

What would you say are the main three aspects that people should consider when it comes to encouraging and showing support to those in your personal and professional life who have been impacted during these stressful times? You can offer support to those who have been greatly impacted by these stressful times by offering them a coherent field to settle in. This means you work on yourself to reduce your own stress before engaging with another person or persons. Just like kids who stub their toe, they will run to the parent who has the most coherent field to recalibrate before they run off to play again. Another act of kindness or grace would be to anticipate their needs and act on them so they have less on their plate. Do they need food delivered? A monetary gift? Someone to talk to, or help with the children? When people are processing their stress, they often forget their daily needs that offer them foundational support. Check in with them constantly. Sometimes people under stress do not know how to ask for help, and are too caught up with their pressures. Send a text, don’t wait for them to reach out to you. If they do not respond, assume that they are busy or too sad to respond. “Just checking in, no need for response,” is a great way to tell someone you are thinking about them.

Many professionals believe that self-love is one of the most important aspects to focus on at the present time. Why do you believe that is? Self-love is the most important aspect to focus on at all times, and the truth of this is amplified during stressful times. A reminder that self-love is not the same as self-centeredness, which is a narrow view of the world. Self-love is understanding that your mind, body, heart, soul and spirit must be in the highest vibration in order to help others with the same powerful and empowering impact. Like airlines asking you to put on the oxygen mask before helping others, selflove is an act of service to others. We are energetic beings that can pick up on fear, so keeping your whole self in balance is the best way to inspire and empower others through the templating of your wholeness.

On a final note, what’s one important aspect that you believe people should takeaway after the global pandemic? What’s an important lesson to remember? I believe the important message that Mother Nature is trying to tell us through this pandemic is to truly understand how we are interrelated to the Earth and each other. We have been given a great opportunity and time to look within to see what truly matters to each of us. The stresses of disconnection show me that connectedness not separateness is important to our global society, and we each do our part. . So love the Earth that we take so much for granted, and love humanity for the connected souls that we are, instead of focusing on the things that separate us. Be kind to each other.

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Majority Of Canadian Business Leaders Feel Better Prepared For Future Crises Like COVID-19, According To Microsoft Canada Research Accelerated digital transformation in response to pandemic has strengthened business resiliency The majority of Canadian business leaders (69 per cent) are confident that their business will survive the pandemic into 2021 and just over half (54 per cent) feel confident their company will be able to adapt to whatever the upcoming year might hold. Similarly, half (51 per cent) are confident their business could survive the second wave or spike in coronavirus infections. These are some of the key findings from a new survey released today by Microsoft Canada that explores confidence levels among Canadian businesses months into the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact technology has had on their operations and workforce.

Microsoft surveyed 670 business decision-makers across a spectrum of types and sizes of Canadian businesses, ranging from micro (fewer than 10 employees) to large enterprises (500+ employees). While many say they have taken a hit from the pandemic and have had to change the way they operate, most (56 per cent) say the pandemic has provided the catalyst their company needed to adopt new technology and new ways of working.

“Digital resilience is paramount and never more so than when dealing with the impact of major disruptions like the pandemic. Organizations are relying on technology to adapt and thrive – from emergency response, to recovery, to reimagining the way we work and live,” said Kevin Peesker, President of Microsoft Canada. “The pace of digital transformation has accelerated all over the world, and it is clear, those organizations that are using data, AI and the cloud are better equipped and more likely to not just survive, but to thrive.”

A CATALYST FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Whether it has been a shift to remote work leveraging collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams to maintain a connected workforce, or digitizing key business operation using Dynamics 365 and Power Platforms, there is a strong perception among Canadian business leaders that having to adopt new technology and new ways of working has been a direct result of the COVID-19 experience. Nearly half (45 per cent) said their digital transformation was overdue, and two thirds of that group (66 per cent) say their business suffered amid the pandemic as a result. However, 71 per cent of those who felt a transformation was needed, explicitly agree that COVID-19 has provided the catalyst their organization needed to adopt new ways of working and new types of technology. As companies shift to hybrid work and continue to move their products and services online, it is more important than ever that security is top of mind and a key area of investment. Only one in four business decision makers (26 per cent) say that their company

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has already identified and applied new security solutions for online processes, as part of its COVID response, and one in five (20 per cent) have prioritized migrating to the cloud within the next year. “Millions of people moving to remote work, remote learning and even remote socializing in a matter of months means the number of potential targets for cyber criminals has never been higher,” Peesker said. “While I am heartened by the innovation and agility I have seen, business leaders must be equally focused on securing their organizations’ digital infrastructure as they evolve their business.”

TALENT AND WORKFORCE SKILLS The global recovery will be digital and the success of Canada’s recovery will be contingent in our ability to innovate, but organizations can only do that if they have the workforce to adopt and deploy digital solutions. The survey revealed only four in ten (38 per cent) business decision makers have changed their employee training or are specifically training their staff in the new tools and platforms their organization is now using. Nearly half (45 per cent) of respondents said that training staff – or hiring new staff – with the skills required in their new ways of working has been a challenge for their business this year. “There is an immediate need to cultivate a skilled talent pipeline to drive innovation in Canada and fuel economic recovery,” said Peesker. “Whether it’s students preparing for the future, those in the workforce keeping pace with the latest skills to drive innovation or those seeking new skills so they can pursue meaningful employment opportunities, we must ensure Canadians have access to the training they need to succeed in the digital economy.” To help alleviate both the needs and the challenges in giving employees new skills, this summer Microsoft announced a new global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of this year. This was followed by an announcement in September whereby 12 post-secondary institutions joined Microsoft Canada for the “Canada Skills Program” enabling more than 4,500 students in diploma, degree and continuing education programs to graduate with in-demand data analytics, AI and cloud certifications in the first phase of the program.

OTHER KEY FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY INCLUDE Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of those whose businesses have been negatively affected by COVID-19 believe they’ll remain operational next year. Most (56 per cent) say they have had to change how they do business, with 50 per cent saying they have had to change how they serve their customers. Twenty-nine per cent reported they have lost business or customers to the pandemic, with more than one-quarter (28 per cent) having had to cut staff. Despite the disruption, a sizeable number of business leaders think the pandemic has taught them valuable lessons, with 64 per cent saying it will help their business evolve and grow in the future. More than half (54 per cent) feel their company is better equipped now than pre-COVID to keep pace with shifts in their industry – with more than onequarter (28 per cent) saying their business is serving customers better now than before the pandemic struck. To build the skills needed for business resiliency and to drive innovation, visit Microsoft Learn or opportunity.linkedin.com to access no-cost learning tools today. ABOUT THE SURVEY These results are drawn from a survey conducted by Fuse Insights on behalf of Microsoft Canada. A total of 670 business decision makers from across Canada, representing a range of company sizes and industries, were surveyed online in English and French between September 30, 2020 and October 9, 2020. ABOUT MICROSOFT CANADA Established in 1985, Microsoft Canada Inc. is the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq “MSFT”) the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft Canada provides nationwide sales, marketing, consulting and local support services in both French and English. For more information on Microsoft Canada, please visit www.microsoft.ca.

Presents

Up-close

Personal Interaction with

Jean-François Gagné Founder and CEO - Element AI

November 26, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM - Virtual Event Don't miss the opportunity to learn what it truly takes to be an

RESILIENT ENTREPRENEUR An exclusive event for small business owners

Organised by

smemagazine.ca/business-talks

November 26, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM - Virtual Event

Agenda: 12:30 PM - 12:33 PM

Opening notes from Shiraz Siddique

12: 34 PM - 12:40 PM

Welcome notes by Alexander Watson Vice President Business Markets Quebec RBC Royal Bank of Canada

12: 40 PM - 01:20 PM

Welcoming Jean-François Gagné Interactive discussion with Jean-François Gagné

01:20 PM - 01:30 PM

Q&A from attendees

1:30 PM

Closing remarks by CanadianSME

Organised by

smemagazine.ca/business-talks