CanadianSME Small Business Magazine April 2022 by CanadianSME

ISSUE NO. 41

APRIL 2022

CANADIANSME Empowering Canadian Small & Medium Businesses Banking partner

Shipping partner

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO DEVELOP A ROBUST ECOMMERCE STRATEGY FOR YOUR BUSINESS PAGE:15

Ryan Moreno

Leaning into Innovation Ryan Moreno is the co-founder and CEO of JRG, which owns and operates more than twenty-five unique food and beverage venues, including a list of restaurants, liquor stores, private-label beer & wine, ghost kitchens, a catering company, and a hotel.

PAGE:17

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Helping you start and grow your business. Get started here.

®/™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. 1 Includes electronic (digital) debit and credit transactions to the account, such as online bill payments, pre-authorized payments (PAPs) and point of sale (POS) transactions.Standard fees apply for other services, including cheques and cash deposited at RBC ATMs, Pay Employees & Vendors (PEV), Interac e-Transfer transactions and wire transfers not expressly included in the packagewhen completed online. For full list of fees not included with the account review the RBC Digital Choice Business Account Package page - https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/ business/accounts/digital-choice-business-account.html 2 Includes cheques deposited through the RBC Mobile App, RBC ATM and ChequePro. 3 Only includes outgoing Interac e-Transfer transactions sent on the RBC Online Banking for business platform. Excludes all other Interac e-Transfer services such as Autodeposit, Request Money, Request Money Fulfillment and Bulk Interac e-Transfer service.

Our April issue is officially here and we are very excited about all the great content we have included in this month’s issue! We strive to be Canada’s top magazine in providing exclusive insights, strategies, and advice to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Our mission is to include the best of the inclusive interviews and top business insights from reputable industry experts. Our team works very hard in delivering the most valuable content to our readers to ensure that you stay up to date on all the latest business trends. Empowering small and medium-sized businesses is our prime goal. This month, CanadianSME is focused on E-Commerce trends in Canada and interviews and advice from industry experts based on it. The issue will also feature Business Woman of the month and much more. Learn How to Start a Profitable Online Business Across Canada in 2022: Top 15 Ideas; A Comprehensive Guide to Develop a Robust eCommerce Strategy for Your Business; and Top 10 Technologies That Is a Must for Small Businesses. Get inspired by Mary Jo Fedy, National Enterprise Leader, KPMG Canada, A Leader in its Truest Sense. And read our exclusive interview with Steve Apostolopoulos and Jason Sawyer, cofounders of CAARY Capital; Two Robust and Innovative Entrepreneurs To Watch Out. Resilience, Recovery and Reinvention! The CanadianSME Small Business Expo is coming on June 29-30 and we can’t wait to see you! Join us at the Biggest Gathering of Canadian Small and Medium Enterprises on Wed, June 29th, 2022, 10:30 AM – Thurs, June 30th, 2022, 4:30 PM EDT. This virtual trade show has been primarily organized for the benefit of small and medium-sized enterprises. Showcase your brand at CanadianSME Business Expo Are you a business owner who has a product or service and is looking to share it with the world? Are you looking for an opportunity to share your innovative business idea with thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs? The CanadianSME Business Expo is the perfect opportunity for you to do just that! We, at CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, understand that during this new year after pure chaos, small and medium-sized businesses need more support than ever before. These articles provide insights into the tools and resources available and 2022 eCommerce trends to keep top of mind this year. We hope that this month’s issue will help give you the knowledge and information you need to stay ahead in the market. Don't forget to subscribe to our magazine to get the latest trends and stay up to date on all of our events Until next month, happy reading! SK

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Published by Cmarketing Inc 2800 Skymark Avenue, Suite 203 Mississauga, ON. Canada. L4W 5A6. Copyright © 2022 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 Inc, the publishers nor any of its partners, employees or affiliates accept any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of its contents.

14 GoDaddy Professional Email Helps Your Small Business Look More Professional Build trust and grow your business by using a professional email address to connect with your customers

Regulars

Allen Lau -

A Visionary Serial

Entrepreneur to Watch Out For! Co-founder and CEO of

Wattpad

Philip Cutler Bringing Positive Energy into the Educational Sphere Chief Executive Officer at

Adam Armeland -

Paper

Streamlining

the Food Delivery and Takeout Sector Leveraging Innovative Technology CEO of Kitchen Hub

Kitchen Hub -

Taking the Concept of Ghost Kitchen

to New Heights!

Edward Yao -

Harnessing the

Power of Technology to Deliver Positive Results CEO & Founder of OneLocal

Why the Canadian production industry is thriving amidst the pandemic and showing no signs of slowing down

Martha Durdin -

Creating a

Vibrant Future for Canadian Women Entrepreneurs

By Vince Commisso,

President and CEO,

President and CEO of

Canadian Credit Union Association

9 Story Media Group

How to Start a Profitable Online Business Across Canada in 2022: Top 15 Ideas

23 Anne de Aragon Taking the Importance of Online Presence for Businesses to a Whole New Level Vice President and Country Manager,

GoDaddy Canada

RPAs are ready to serve small businesses for their post-covid economic recovery The Canadian Institute of Accredited Public Accountants (CIAPA) was established in 1938 and was granted a patent on May 7, 1946, under Part II of the Canada Corporate Act.

Bruce MacLellan -

Charles Lavigne

A Man of Many Roles

the Way World Views Data via

CEO,

Proof Strategies Inc.

- Transforming

Spatial Business Intelligence President, & CEO,

The Society of Professional Accountants of Canada (SPAC) was formed in 1978. The Society was granted a Federal Charter as a Corporation under the Provisions Part II of the Canada Corporations Act. Canadian Institute of Accredited Public Accountants, the oldest accounting institution and now under the control of the Society.

LlamaZOO

Mary Jo Fedy -

A Leader in its

Truest Sense

Ryan Moreno -

Leaning into Innovation

National Enterprise Leader,

KPMG in Canada

A Comprehensive Guide to Develop a Robust eCommerce Strategy for Your Business

Danish Yusuf -

Transforming

the Way by Building State-ofthe-Art Insurance Solutions

By CanadianSME

Founder, President, and

CEO of Zensurance

Top 10 Technologies That Is a Must for Small Businesses By CanadianSME

Steve Apostolopoulos and Jason Sawyer - Two Robust and Innovative Entrepreneurs To Watch Out

Simeon Garratt Co-founder & CEO,

Man of Innovation

and Creativity

Spark

Dr. Garth Gibson -

World of Business and Academia President and CEO of

Bridging the

Vector Institute

Chantal Mackenzie -

Naveen Senthamilselvn -

Providing Cutting-Edge

Easing Millennials’ Financial

Solutions to Insurance

Anxieties Through Building

Advisors in Helping

Financial Resilience

Families and Communities Senior Manager, Wealth Management,

Meridian

News HSBC Working with IBM to Accelerate Quantum Computing Readiness FINANCIAL

New Cisco study finds Canadian workers demanding universal access to highperformance broadband to succeed with hybrid work

HSBC and IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that they will work together on exploring applications for quantum computing in financial services. The new three-year collaboration is designed to bolster HSBC’s expertise in quantum computing and ensure its organizational readiness to take full advantage of the technology.

Business Barometer®: Small businesses report highest shortterm optimism since start of the pandemic, but high costs and supply chain issues continue to exert pressure

TECNOLOGY

Cisco’s Broadband Index reveals people value access to the internet more than ever before. The global report surveyed almost 60,000 workers across 30 countries, including Canada, about their home broadband access, quality and usage. According to the survey, Canadians believe that economic and societal growth will not happen without universal access to fast and reliable internet.

SMALLBSUINESS

Small businesses are starting to feel more optimistic as many restrictions are lifted across the country, signaling a new phase of this pandemic. However, other indicators of business health show that there are many concerns on the horizon, namely higher costs, supply chain challenges and labour shortages, which may hold back business recovery,” said Simon Gaudreault, Vice President of National Research at CFIB.

Minister Ng announces renewed funding for the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHI

The Honourable Mary Ng, announced a new contribution agreement totalling $4.25 million for the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), one of the pillars of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, a now $6 billion program to advance women’s economic empowerment. This funding will help the WEKH sustain its momentum, advancing its research and expanding its tools and resources to support diverse women entrepreneurs.

09 - CanadianSME - April 2022

News New report by Deloitte Canada and auticon Canada finds employment barriers, lack of workplace support for autistic community WORKPLACE

According to a recent report by Deloitte Canada and auticon Canada, employers

need to do more to understand neurodiversity, reduce barriers to employment for those with autism, and create thoughtful structural supports to foster deeper inclusion among the autistic community.

Toronto Startup, SPATULA Foods, Raises $1.5M USD to Launch First-of-Its-Kind Subscription Service that Delivers Michelin Chef Meals that are Ready in 10Minutes to Consumer Doorsteps Starting at Under $12 a Plate STARTUP

Innovative gourmet meal subscription startup, SPATULA

Foods, officially launches in Toronto today to deliver meals developed by local chefs that are flash frozen – and ready in 10 minutes – to consumer’s doorsteps starting at under $12 a plate.

$50 million for projects to support Alberta’s circular economy ECONOMY

Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is committing $50

million through its new Circular Economy Challenge to accelerate the province’s transition towards a lowemissions economy. The investment from the Government of Alberta through ERA is focused on advancing innovations that will reduce the impacts of material production, processing, and disposal, and support economic diversification.

Surrey Board of Trade and CyberCatch Partner to Support Surrey Businesses with Solution to Comply with National Cybersecurity Standard of Canada CYBERSECURITY

The Surrey Board of Trade is pleased to take the lead in Canada and partner with CyberCatch to introduce an innovative and comprehensive cybersecurity solution to businesses in Surrey, especially as we have seen so many cybersecurity concerns that businesses have and will continue to face,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.

10 - CanadianSME - April 2022

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO DEVELOP A ROBUST ECOMMERCE STRATEGY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Until just a decade ago, you couldn't buy something

During the global pandemic, businesses from all

the proper product for your needs. For example, a specific shirt brand in a specific size may be available only in one or two shops in your neighborhood, and

adapting. According to Gartner Inc.'s research, the organizations that prospered throughout the pandemic were those that had a set eCommerce

you hadn't personally seen or touched. It required going out of your way to visit stores and outlets to get

you'll have to do some detective work to find out where it is. Similarly, an electrical item or appliance might only be chosen after visiting many stores and spending time evaluating its features and cost.

With global internet access, safe and trustworthy payment gateways, and tremendous development in mobile telephony, as well as an increase in the number of mobile apps owing to smartphones, purchasing things has become so much easier with the touch of a mouse or a scroll on your mobile. Everything from jewelry to heavy machinery, prepared cuisine, consumables, and electronics can now be acquired online from the comfort of your own home or office. No surprise, an increasing number of organizations are establishing eCommerce strategies of outfits to sell their own items or function as aggregators obtaining things from other companies and selling them. The success of Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay, all speak to the huge potential of the global eCommerce market. So what’s the reason behind their mammoth success? Well, let us say, it is a robust eCommerce strategy. Without an accurate eCommerce strategy in place, you won’t be able to prosper in the digital world.

over the world were put to the test in a variety of industries. It was either going out of business or

strategy, teamed with digital behemoths and reconfigured for internet accessibility.

If you are planning to create a robust eCommerce

strategy for your online business, this blog intends to give you a framework for analyzing your present environment and company skills, allowing you to develop your vision for going online.

Creating a Robust eCommerce Strategy When developing your eCommerce strategy, there are several broad themes to keep in mind. Consider them, and you greatly boost your chances of having a successful eCommerce business.

Build an Action Plan Many firms will rush into developing their eCommerce website without a suitable plan in place. You may be able to get away with it for a time with brilliant team members, but you will ultimately become lost.

Ecommerce Comprehensive action plans will keep this from happening and will provide you with direction for up to a year. Your action plan should take into account as many functions as feasible while also being explicit. It is critical to sketch out job allocations and prioritize activities for essential outcomes.

Define Goals and Key Deliverables Businesses that take action without setting objectives will be unable to track success and constantly improve. Without objective points and, notably, a list of essential deliverables to base efforts on, teams will soon feel lost. If these items aren't obvious, planning will become chaotic. The first thing you'll want to figure out is what you want to do and when you want to accomplish it. This might contain your expectations for a successful launch as well as your goals for the year. Begin broad, then become particular and granular.

Generating traffic to your website, increasing new and repeat consumers, and increasing income are all examples

However, this is a fantastic approach to developing a mediocre online presence. After you've identified your goals, the following stage is to form teams to lead the various areas of your eCommerce shop. Management, operations and development, logistics, as well as marketing are some examples. They can focus on these tasks independently, completely relieving the management or other employees of additional work they are not particularly skilled for.

Understand Your Competition When attempting to figure out how to design an eCommerce strategy, you need first to comprehend the market you're in. You'll be travelling blindly into uncharted land if you don't have strong knowledge. You may correct this by conducting research on your competition. Take note of their strengths and limitations, and then look for a market niche that you can fill.

of critical goals. Granular goals, often known as critical

It's also a good idea to look at how rivals optimize their websites and user experience.

lines.

competition. This might assist you in determining

deliverables, might involve launching a certain number of product campaigns. Another example would be reaching a set number of new clients every month or expanding product

Target Market Building your brand may be a challenging undertaking. It will be simple to feel disoriented or unreliable. That is why it is critical to identify your target market. Defining your target market has an impact on how you are conducting your marketing activities and presenting yourself. Your branding will also follow. If you already have a wellestablished brand and are migrating to the internet world, you may send out a survey to determine who your target market is. New brands or enterprises may choose who they wish to target and develop their structures accordingly.

Create Your Teams Many firms make the mistake of underestimating the amount of labour required to develop an eCommerce platform. It may be tempting to cut costs by delegating tasks to talented personnel you already have on staff.

Especially when their brand may be more wellknown than yours. Search engine optimization (SEO) tools can assist you in analyzing your where the traffic is coming from.

Build Your Internal Capabilities Creating internal capabilities to support your platform is part of how to design an eCommerce strategy. Website Development: Unfortunately, you cannot simply create a website and leave it at that. You'll need a capable staff to collaborate with you as well as with the rest of your departments. This specific group can design and maintain your site. They will also be taking care of any faults that need to be fixed and any site upgrades that need to be made. Logistics and Management: A logistics and management department should be part of your plan. They can keep an eye on and finetune the procedures. This covers the time it takes to place an order, pack it, ship it, and deliver it. You'll also need a robust inventory management approach.

Ecommerce Digital Marketing: Digital marketing is a critical component of any eCommerce strategy. It's not always enough to let your product speak for itself. People will simply not be aware of your existence if you are not visible. Your digital marketing plan will be in charge of making people aware of your existence. Here are some of the most significant ideas to consider: SEO: Search engine optimization performs exactly what the term implies. This completely optimizes your site for search engines, making it easier for people to find you. When someone searches for something related to your product or service, you'll want to be at the top of the list. There are several techniques to improve your SEO. If

you had to pick just one, SEO tools would be at the top of the list. These are definitely an investment, but they are vital and will make gaining insight much easier. They enable you to break down what needs to be improved. Content Creation: You may believe that content

Social Media: Social media has swiftly emerged as one of the most effective platforms for both sharing content and marketing products or services. According to Statista, more than 30% of customers between the ages of 18 and 35 have purchased things via social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram immediately recognized this and modified their structures to incorporate shops as well as fast connections to online merchants. These platforms have essentially evolved into extensions of websites. This should be an important factor in your eCommerce approach.

Optimize Your Pricing Teams Building a strong pricing department is one thing

you could neglect. Businesses frequently believe that they can delegate this to sales or accounting. Pricing, on the other hand, is far more complex and will need much more specialized staff.

development is unimportant to your company. However, there are other types of material you may use to engage with your audience. When done

Pricing teams are critical for every organization, but especially for businesses entering an unknown

including:

Because markets and technology change so quickly, pricing may make or ruin your firm. To improve your pricing ability, consider engaging a

correctly, your material will fit in with your company's services and will not appear as an obvious advertisement. This can take numerous forms,

Blogs

Videos Customer feedback and testimonials Product guides Influencers You may be concerned about the final bullet point, but trust us when we say that influencers are paid well for a reason. They have become a conduit for audiences who have grown tired of commercial ads. Influencers have large fan bases in specialized fields. Using their audience to drive new clients to your website may be a fantastic strategy. Email: Email marketing does not have to be limited to annoyance-inducing spam adverts. Creative and smart campaigns that totally resonate with your target audience are examples of extremely effective techniques. This might take the shape of welldesigned personalized newsletters.

online arena. These teams have an in-depth understanding of pricing in various industries and are critical to propelling your company forward.

professional pricing agency.

The Key Takeaway Developing an eCommerce strategy might appear to be a difficult task. It doesn't have to be that way, though, with the appropriate strategy and the right teams. Create a strong internal capability. Hire knowledgeable pricing teams to help your company grow. Nowadays, it's simple to make the most of the numerous digital channels at your disposal in order to reach more people. Create intelligent digital marketing content and initiatives to do this. Soon, you'll have established a booming eCommerce platform and presence.

GoDaddy Professional Email Helps Your Small Business Look More Professional Build trust and grow your business by using a professional email address to connect with your customers There’s a type of digital activity that continues to be on the rise – and it’s not what you might think it is. According to Statistics Canada, nearly 9 in 10 Canadians over the age of 15 said they used email in the past three months during a 2021 poll, making it the top digital activity in the country. With Canadians spending an average of 17 hours a week on their emails, your business deserves nothing less than a professionally branded email address, ideally, that matches the name of your business. With Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy, small business owners can look professional in any inbox, and put their best foot forward with a professional email address that matches their domain name and business name. 14 - CanadianSME - April 2022

Beyond the cohesion of a matching email address to a web address, a professional email has many benefits for a business and its customers. According to GoDaddy research, customers are nine times more likely to choose a business with a professional email address than one without. While “free” is an alluring prospect for entrepreneurs looking to cut costs, businesses leave too much potential untapped when they choose a free address over a professional one.

Email for small business Going pro with Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy can help businesses get more out of their communications. Here are some of the top benefits of having a professional email:

Trust During an era defined by choice, entrepreneurs need to build trust, a quality that is more vital than ever in a crowded online marketplace and increased privacy concerns. For businesses, one of the building blocks of trust is a seamless brand experience, whether it’s from one franchise location to another, or from the website

Harmony As businesses grow, operations can get increasingly more complicated. You hire staff, manage increased demand, and the paperwork gets more challenging to manage. Utilizing onestop-shop solutions like GoDaddy can help make those growing pains easier to manage. For popular tech guru Marc Saltzman, Microsoft 365 made his GoDaddy website more powerful

than ever. “As a long-time GoDaddy customer, you can imagine how delighted I was to learn that

to the email address. Professional emails inspire more confidence in your business by the reader and can save them time from having to verify whether the

I didn’t have to set up a separate account with Microsoft to get Microsoft 365,” he wrote on a GoDaddy blog. “Getting it from GoDaddy, where

message should be flagged as spam.

my website and domains are hosted, simplifies my accounting.”

Support

Why trivialize your business with a personal email address, when you can amplify your business

With a professional email account from GoDaddy, a business has access to an entire suite of advanced support, from world-class data security and spam filtering to on-demand IT assistance. Microsoft 365

instead with a professional email address building credibility and trust with your customers.

from GoDaddy provides a more secure digital experience than other non-professional options, as well as additional solutions to solve issues quickly. It’s like having a personal “IT person” on call. With GoDaddy,

businesses don’t need to know about SMTP relays or MX records and can tap into outside expertise whenever they need.

Access The suite of offerings that come with professional email services can provide businesses with advanced access to consumers that they wouldn’t get with personal email addresses. Email marketing has become increasingly powerful in recent years, but that rise in influence has also led to more skeptical consumers who delete questionable emails without a second thought. With GoDaddy, which also offers a Digital Marketing Suite to create and manage communications online, businesses with professional emails can gain better access and achieve greater results through strategies like a business newsletter.

15 - CanadianSME - April 2022

To learn more about Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy, visit godaddy.ca.

Ryan Moreno

Leaning into Innovation

Ryan Moreno's tale began in elementary school, where he met his closest friend and business partner, André Bourque. They both grew up surrounded by the culture of nightclubs and restaurants starting as bartenders in their late teens and eventually working at Earls. Previously, Ryan used to work as a busboy when he was just 14 and quickly developed a passion for the hospitality industry.

They started their joint businesses after

Andre sold his nightclub and Ryan had taken over a restaurant that ultimately collapsed. He eventually recovered and in 2006, Ryan and Andre decided that it was time to

engage in a new venture together: The Vanilla Room in Langley. This venture ran its course, with another big break arriving in

2009 when a property on Granville Street in Vancouver became available. Ryan and his friend established JRG and operated the

Joseph Richard Nightclub (which is a name combining their middle names).

He confesses that he got into the nightclub

sector at a favourable moment and that he was fortunate to work with some incredibly bright and dedicated people. Ryan and his best friend, Bourque, were ideally suited to enter into business together after building a good bond in elementary school. It was evident that the pals had comparable professional interests and aspirations. Ryan Moreno is the co-founder and CEO of JRG, which owns and operates more than twenty-five unique food and beverage venues, including a list of restaurants, liquor stores, private-label beer & wine, ghost kitchens, a catering company, and a hotel. Mr. Moreno was a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2017 and was named the South Surrey White Rock Chamber of Commerce's 2018 Business Person of the Year. Ryan has taken his hospitality company to the next level by developing a network of virtual ghost restaurants.

Now, Ryan has more than 100 virtual restaurants operating out of more than a dozen ghost kitchens and continues to overcome obstacles and maintain his position as an industry leader. Ryan pushes the boundaries of the hospitality sector and aims to give outstanding customer service to his guests and clients. His most recent company, Meal Ticket Brands, is the next generation of internet eateries.

Entrepreneurship

How Did Ryan Moreno Make His Company Stand Out? The restaurants and projects of The Joseph Richard Group stand out because they contribute something new to the market. They go above and beyond service quality, aiming to meet their guests where they are most at ease - in their own homes. Ryan was able to install 100 new virtual restaurants in a single day after launching the Meal Ticket Brands concept, which had never been done before.

Meal Ticket Branding allows JRG to regularly select menu items and remain on top of industry trends, keeping consumers

Ryan’s Pieces of Advice to Budding Entrepreneurs Ryan advises adopting a mentality of continuous learning since open-mindedness, curiosity, and respect can lead to the discovery of new prospects. This emphasis on lifelong learning enabled him to virtualize his brands and develop ghost kitchens. It required a lot of learning to make this happen, but it has had a huge impact. Secondly, he advises using feedback, trust, and open communication to exercise thought leadership. Having this contact with his team has increased Ryan’s skill as a leader and has assisted him in bettering himself and the business. He also suggests people should surround themselves with people who share their interests, whether they are relatives or friends. Ryan’s inner circle is similar to himself. Therefore, it is critical to have other people who are hungry, humble, and smart around oneself to help them grow.

pleased and their menu diversified. He has created two smartphone applications,

And, people must always find their passions and create clear goals but should leave room for flexibility. Being set in their ways simply

opportunities by being ahead of the curve. The company has provided a higher level

obstacles.

LIQR.ca and JRG Rewards, in addition to these establishments. JRG distinguishes itself and becomes open to new

of service to their consumers by constantly reinventing itself.

How Did Ryan Find Success? What Is His Belief? Resilience and courage have always been

the two important components that have helped Ryan along the way. He believes that individuals should be hungry, humble, and smart to achieve success. But, never just 2 of those characteristics; you must be all 3. True leadership entails listening to and learning from a team while remaining steadfast toward a goal. He believes that no matter how challenging the time is, nothing can stop a business from propelling further if one is hungry, humble, smart and has a passionate team. He also believes that staying on top of the overall recruitment is a constant effort. To keep a high-quality personnel base, his company regularly examines and enhances its overall working conditions, compensations, and employee perks to make its business successful.

serves to limit their possibilities. While JRG is a result of Ryan’s enthusiasm, the company has shown to be highly adaptive to shifting conditions. This has enabled him to overcome the most difficult of

Lastly, he advises everyone to be grateful for every moment and

savour the adventure. He believes that time certainly does fly, and people often fail to savour the moment while they are still fresh in

their minds. Instead, he advises taking the time to relax and enjoy the process because “This Is Your Moment”

Entrepreneurship

About Joseph Richard Group Joseph Richard Group, owned by Ryan Moreno and his best friend, André Bourque, is a variety of one-of-a-kind hospitality companies. Their team runs more than 20 enterprises, continually fine-tuning concepts to meet guests' needs. The visitor experience, which is their driving philosophy, distinguishes them. Their purpose is to create moments for people with top-notch offerings, a kindhearted service unit, and an acclaimed culinary staff.

The Joseph Richard Group currently employs approximately 1,000 people and has been recognized previously as one of British Columbia's Fastest Growing Companies.

The recent introduction of Meal Ticket Brands is an impressive example of leaning towards

innovation and being flexible to change. Using third-party delivery software and online ordering via SkipTheDishes, Uber Eats, and DoorDash, the company effectively opened

100 virtual eateries in one day. They currently operate many virtual restaurants out of each of their brick-and-mortar kitchens. The potential for development is considerable, and the concept revolves around technological breakthroughs and the everchanging consumer landscape.

For more information regarding Joseph Richard Group, you can visit their website https://www.jrg.ca/.

Two Robust and Innovative Entrepreneurs To Look Up To CanadianSME sat down with Steve Apostolopoulos and Jason Sawyer, co-founders of Caary Capital, earlier this year to understand their vision for small and medium-sized businesses across Canada and get their thoughts regarding the future development of SMEs in Canada. We also talked about the present state of FinTech and how it can help in creating tremendous efficiencies for businesses in the coming years. Steve and Jason shared the purpose behind launching Caary and how they are helping SMEs in Canada in procuring the capital they need. We also talked throughout the interview about the roadblocks for SMEs in getting credit. Together, we explore Steve and Jason's journey and hear their advice for startups of today.

Steve

Jason

Apostolopoulos

Sawyer

Co-Founder of Caary

Co-Founder of Caary Capital and a veteran of the alternative investment business.

Capital, Managing Partner of Triple Group of Companies and CoFounder and Chief Development Officer of Triple Properties, a privately-owned real estate investment, development, asset management and leasing company. Steve is also the founder of Six Ventures Inc., a private equity and venture investment company.

Currently, Jason is the General Manager of Access Alternative Group S.A., a Nassau, Bahamas based venture investment and advisory firm that has led and maintains investments in early-stage software, fintech, clean energy, natural resource, health & fitness, and consumer product companies.

What is your vision for SMEs in Canada? And how do you see SMEs evolving over the next few years in Canada?

What are your thoughts on the current state of fintech? How do you think fintech can help businesses?

Jason: Our vision for the sector is why we started Caary. We want SMEs to thrive. While it’s been a very challenging couple of years, I believe the sector will be even more dynamic in the future. There has been a lot of contemplation by budding entrepreneurs over the last two years – about how they view their roles and new ideas emerging. I expect we will now get to see the execution of these big ideas from a more diverse set of entrepreneurs, including more womenowned businesses.

Jason: Fintech’s progression and innovation have been largely focused on the consumer space until recently. That’s due to a deep reliance on a concentration of large financial institutions in Canada. In the last couple of years, there has been a global focus on fintech and it’s become, by far, the most investable space in the VC universe. As a result, Canadians and Canadian businesses are starting to take note. They are seeing their peers in other jurisdictions benefit from better fintech products and services and they are starting to turn their heads towards the possibility that there is more out there than what traditional financial institutions can offer.

Steve: Not to mention businesses have learned how to be more agile and resilient as the world delivered these twists and turns throughout the pandemic. Many SMEs went digital and that accelerated change is likely to inspire even more innovation over the coming years.

Alongside that, fintech has become laser-focused on the business environment and the pain points that every business - from a startup to a fully functional, profitable, mid-size business -encounters. We expect to see fintech create tremendous efficiencies for businesses from those advancements over the next five years.

Entrepreneurship What inspired you to start Caary Capital? Can you give us an overview of Caary Capital and what it does? Steve: We are both entrepreneurs and we saw firsthand the barriers facing small businesses when it comes to accessing credit. We saw the inability, inefficiency and unwillingness of financial institutions to support them. And we saw a massive unmet need in the market that we could do something about. Caary’s aim is to finally give the 1.2 million SMEs in Canada the credit they deserve. We are delivering easy, accessible credit with no personal guarantees or credit checks required and no-fee physical and virtual cards, which SMEs can easily issue to their staff or dedicate to vendors. We are also simplifying expense and spend management for them, with a progressive financial platform that gives them control and visibility over card issuance, receipt capture and accounting integration. The time savings derived from this are enormous.

It’s a huge step forward for SMEs. In fact, we are starting to hear from large businesses who want it too.

What is your take on the credit situation for SMEs in Canada? How important is access to capital for small businesses in Canada? Jason: Credit is quite often not readily available to SMEs. If it is available for an SME’s specific circumstances, it takes a lot to track it down, tremendous time to apply and process applications, ultimately require a personal guarantee anyway and after all of that, it’s expensive. It’s something that, without question, slows small businesses down.

Credit – access to capital - is a critical component of any entrepreneurial venture regardless of stage and it’s the fuel that drives innovation and growth. The absence of accessible risk-priced credit is a significant and unnecessary obstacle for Canadian SMEs. Why do you think it's been so difficult for SMEs to get credit? What has been the impact of this on SMEs? Steve: Traditional financial institutions haven't known where to put SMEs. They don't fit in their commercial business. They don’t fit in the personal side of their business. And they’ve never refined that. Their expectations of an SME – to have a corporate credit history that is telling of their ability to take on credit – are unrealistic. So, they rely on personal guarantees, which leaves small business owners carrying risks that really should be the burden of the business.

Jason: I would add that Canada's large financial institutions are, more often than not, very disconnected from the entrepreneurial experience. It’s been 150 years since these institutions have been entrepreneurs themselves and had to live what SMEs live every day. They are not properly crafting products that meet the needs of this constituency, utilizing the vast array of modern, digital tools and data points to assess risk and properly adjudicate credit decisions for worthy businesses. What are some of the ways that Caary Capital can help SMEs obtain the capital they need? Jason: The leading component of our platform is the Carry business Mastercard. When an SME applies for a corporate card, we look at them differently than a traditional financial institution would. We look at

their corporate tenure, cash on hand, historical business cash flow, any available credit history, industry/sector trends and growth, all in a seamless digital process that takes minutes. Through this proprietary process, we gain a comprehensive view of their ability to utilize credit and service debt, which usually means we are able to extend more credit that would otherwise be made available to them.

From there, we build a relationship. We get to know our customers so we can deploy capital in other forms, like revolving or installment loans, and in ways that are most helpful to them.

What advice would you give to startups that are looking to use Caary Capital for their funding needs? Steve: Get signed up for Caary as quickly as you can. The demand for what we are doing in Canada was overwhelming before we built the product. Participate with us in shaping the future of SME credit, payments and expense management. Let’s get to know each other, work together and, in a short period of time, you're going to have access to – not just credit – but other types of lending products. You’ll find that Caary is going to be a one-stop shop for credit, payments, reconciliation and more. As your business evolves, we will grow with you.

PAUCEK AND LAGE

ISSUE 5

Taking the Importance of Online Presence for Businesses to a Whole New Level

CanadianSME sat down with Anne De Aragon, Vice President and Country Manager for GoDaddy Canada, to discuss the present state of eCommerce in Canada as well as its development in the future. She also laid down some of the hottest eCommerce trends for small businesses across Canada and how they can put these trends to use in order to carve their name in the digital space. Throughout the interview, we also talked about the importance of having an online presence for small businesses to remain competitive. Finally, she gave out some important advice to small businesses in Canada for their success. Together, we explore Anne's vision and thoughts regarding the growing importance of eCommerce as well as what the future holds for the sector. Anne De Aragon is the Vice President and Country Manager for GoDaddy Canada, the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs. In this role, she is responsible for all GoDaddy operations in Canada, leading the charge on business strategy and growth. Throughout her tenure at GoDaddy, she has worked closely with Canadian small businesses to understand their needs to help them reap the benefits of having an online presence. Anne has also been a driving force behind GoDaddy’s partnership with the Toronto Raptors resulting in some of the most successful branding campaigns in the company’s history. This past year, she spearheaded the “Don’t Stop Being Unstoppable” campaign, highlighting real Canadian small business owners and Olympian Andre De Grasse.

What do you think of the current state of eCommerce in Canada? And how do you see it evolving in the near future? Ecommerce is thriving in Canada today. During the global Covid-19 pandemic, more businesses adopted eCommerce tools to help their business make it through the challenging business environment, and these tools aren’t going anywhere. In fact, Canadian retail eCommerce revenue jumped to over $50 billion in 2021 and is expected to increase to over $60 billion by 2025. Yet, as physical stores open back up across Canada, an omnichannel approach will be extremely important so businesses can cater to a variety of consumer preferences. 23 - CanadianSME - April 2022

What are the top eCommerce trends for small businesses in Canada? How can small businesses take advantage of these trends? Canadians have never been online as much as they have over the last two years, which is why “social commerce” has become a real trend to watch.

Businesses are looking to provide direct and convenient ways for consumers to purchase items on cell phones and tablets through social media platforms like Instagram, or marketplaces like Amazon. Small businesses can take advantage of this trend through GoDaddy’s Marketplace feature. Using items from their GoDaddy Website Builder product catalogue, customers can list products with Amazon and eBay in just a few clicks. With the rise of platforms like TikTok, and features like Instagram Reels and Facebook videos, the use of video has become a number-one priority on social media. But the interest in video content doesn’t end there.

Small businesses should consider implementing more video content onto their websites as well. Adding diverse, snackable and engaging video content about your business, along with your products and services to a website, can be a great way to provide consumers with more information on the brand and its offerings. Another trend we’re seeing is personalization, but in this case, personalization will present a challenge for

businesses over the next few years as Google announced

it plans to end the use of third-party cookies in 2023. This means brands can no longer gather contextual information on consumers or run personalized ads with

this information. To prepare and take advantage of this eventual shift, small businesses need to pivot and test new strategies to avoid losing traffic and ad revenue.

Increasing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or experimenting with social media marketing are good areas for small businesses to explore. Both strategies are included in GoDaddy’s Digital Marketing Suite to help small business owners stay connected to their customers.

What do you think makes GoDaddy a one-stop-shop for eCommerce solutions? Can you tell us a bit about the eCommerce solutions that GoDaddy offers? GoDaddy is not only a one-stop shop for eCommerce solutions but also a one-stop-

shop for entrepreneurs to build and manage

their entire online presence. GoDaddy’s eCommerce solutions help entrepreneurs of all sizes and skillsets sell their products and services online.

GoDaddy Online Store is an easy-to-use platform that combines a sleek virtual

storefront with powerful selling tools, customizable shipping, and flexible payment options. For a more advanced eCommerce

option that requires highly customized solutions, GoDaddy offers Managed WordPress eCommerce Hosting with WooCommerce

Why do you think it’s important for small businesses to have an online presence? And where do you anticipate small businesses will need to capitalize on in order to remain competitive? Having an online presence isn’t just important for a business, it’s crucial. A website is often the first place people go to learn more about a product or service. It’s that first touchpoint for many potential consumers and can be a deciding factor in turning a potential customer into an actual customer. According to Adweek, over 81% of all purchases begin with an online search. The eCommerce industry is evolving at a rapid pace so small businesses need to remain nimble to adapt to the changing landscape. It’s crucial to have an online presence but it’s not crucial to be everywhere all the time. Small business owners need to assess what makes the most sense for their brand.

extensions. WooCommerce is the world’s most popular open-source eCommerce solution, featuring powerful flexibility with easy-to-use extensions and client management tools, and over 50,000 plug-in features.

Are there any other comments or advice that you would like to share with small business owners who are looking to start selling online? Setting up your own online store and selling online is easier than you think. Today, there are a variety of resources and support available. GoDaddy empowers the everyday entrepreneur and supports Canadian small business owners with an integrated suite of online tools and solutions, along with 24/7 support, to help them grow their business online.

ACCOUNTANT’S PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE IS A RESULT OF YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF ACCOUNTING AND TAX MATTERS.

Ask small business owners why they prefer a professional accountant with the RPA designation

and they will tell you that RPA designation represent a proven understanding of small business management, commitment to ethical behavior, cognitive approach in problem solving and always putting client’s interests first. All of which contribute to the devotion and credibility of their organizations. For our designation holders and their clients, those three letters are making a true difference every day.

ZUBAIR Choudhry, RPA, APA

President & CEO

rpacanada.org

info@rpacanada.org

ARE YOU PRACTICING ACCOUNTING WITHOUT A DESIGNATION? YOU DON’T HAVE TO NOW IS THE TIME TO GET THE DESIGNATION THAT COMES WITH RESPECT AND REWARDS

10 Years Accounting Practice

College or University Degree

Concise MPE Exam

Attend Review session: •Financial Accounting •Management Accounting •Taxation in depth Data Analytics & Technology

The Pathway to RPA Designation

RPA -CERTIFIED ACCOUNTING PRACTITIONER Review sessions for practicing accountants without designation

1. Accounting Practitioner must be an RPA in good standing 2. Education, training and competency examination for practitioners 3. Practical experience in public accounting

RPAs with Certificate of Accounting Practice

4. Following RPA Code of Ethics

follow the Standards, procedures, practices and

5. Maintaining Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

the quality management set by the Society to maintain the good standing practice certificate.

6. A Complaint Process for public 7. Errors and Omission Insurance as Practitioner

Protecting the public is top priority for the Society.

8. Periodic Practice Review

As a Registered Professional Accountant

The More you Learn, The More you Earn!

rpacanada.org

info@rpacanada.org

RPAs are ready to serve small businesses for their post-covid economic recovery RPA offers the pathway to Certification of Accounting Practitioner in Canada. The Canadian Institute of Accredited Public Accountants (CIAPA) was established in 1938 and was granted a patent on May 7, 1946, under Part II of the Canada Corporate Act. The Society of Professional Accountants of Canada (SPAC) was formed in 1978. The Society was granted a Federal Charter as a Corporation under the Provisions Part II of the Canada Corporations Act. Canadian Institute of Accredited Public

Accountants, the oldest accounting institution and now under the control of the Society. The RPA designation is an abbreviation of the term Registered Professional Accountant, awarded to individuals of recognized experience who have completed the obligatory professional

examinations and requirements set by Society. The Society is an

out-and-out professional organization formed for training and setting standards of qualification to ensure the professional competence of its members in the practice of accounting and the

safeguarding of public interest. The Society has members in Canada and internationally with demonstrated skills in their chosen profession. The Society is proud of the unique distinction of being the premier Canadian accounting designation and is keenly focused on Canadian small and mid-sized enterprises.

To become an RPA, individuals should successfully complete

prerequisite courses aligned to SPAC's (Society of Professional Accountants Canada) 5 pillars of education with a diploma or degree from a reputable Canadian post-secondary institution. SPAC has accredited McMaster University and Sheridan College courses with RPA prerequisite courses. SPAC is in the process of accrediting other community colleges and universities to align their courses with RPA prerequisite courses. These courses are offered via convenient and flexible online self-study and learning formats in the virtual classroom. Zubair Choudhry, RPA, APA, 2019, became the CEO and President of the Society of Professional Accountants of Canada. He has rewritten the Society's vision, values, and mission to reflect today's standards. Under new and focused leadership, the Society resolved to reform its educational program, build new skills, embrace new technologies, solidify its lifelong commitment to continuing professional development, and maintain the highest ethical standards inspired by the IESBA (International Ethics Standard Board for Accountants) to implement. 27 - CanadianSME - April 2022

Accounting

Why Is It Necessary for Professional Accountants to Attain the Canadian Accounting Designation and a Certificate of Accounting Practice? Effective December 14, 2021, the Canadian Auditing and Accounting Standard Board (AASB) has developed the new compilation engagement standards (CSRS4200) for non-licensed accounting practitioners to follow. The decades-old “Notice to Reader '' report for the preparation of financial

With the amalgamation of 3 accounting designations in Canada, there was a void that RPA is willing and ready to fill. The Society has reformed its curriculum to make it more relevant to the jobs and announced its RPA education program in 2020. The society also resolves that the accounting

Becoming a Registered Professional Accountant is a

educational institutions.

statements has been discontinued now. The Society of Professional Accountants of Canada embraced these new standards for Compilation Engagement. The Society launched its education and training program for RPA accounting practitioners to follow these standards and serve their business clients with confidence and quality management standards.

great career choice. RPAs are robust leaders in various industries and companies, and some have even broken into entrepreneurial avenues and

started their accounting practices to serve business clients. After extensive research and consultation with industry leaders, head-hunters, the academic

community and related technology experts, Society finalized its new education curriculum that will meet the needs of today’s job market and businesses. Society’s main goal is to offer choices to young students who dream of becoming professional

accountants and meeting the needs of the industry in the space of SME.

28 - CanadianSME - April 2022

profession should be inclusive and work with a cognitive approach to problem-solving and decision-making. The Society has facilitated training and education with mentoring programs for the young accountants to play a major role in Canada's socio-economic system. Young accountants need to catch up since technology is evolving faster than professional organizations and

The Society's 16 prerequisite courses form the base of the accounting profession to procure the RPA

accounting designation. After completing the prerequisite courses students write the Mandatory Professional Exam (MPE) where Society makes sure that students meet the competency required to become designated accountants as RPA. Once the

students have received the RPA designation, they can pick the areas of interest for the specialization

like Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Internal Auditing, Forensic Auditing, Non-Profit Accounting, Cloud Accounting, and Taxation indepth or Blockchain Accounting.

Accounting

RPA is the best choice for young accountants to secure Canadian accounting designation with relevant accounting knowledge focused on serving SME. RPA Designation: The young graduates need it; the post-secondary institutions want it; the industry demands it, banks recognize it and the public is better served with it. RPA’a are the qualified professionals who are widely recognized for their excellence and for maintaining

Although RPA is considered the oldest accounting designations across Canada, their training and education programs are the most updated and relevant to today's evolving industry needs. The Society has five diverse ways to become RPA: 1. 2.

Pathway for Foreign Accounting Designation Holders Pathway for University Graduates

support the public as well as businesses with unmatched assurance.

5. 6.

Pathway for Bookkeepers Pathway for Mature Professionals

higher standards. With this professional designation, you can be a practitioner and

3. 4.

Pathway for College Graduates Pathway for Non-designation holder practitioners

Here is a simple graph to help you understand the various pathways of RPA -

Upon attaining the RPA designation, members may enter public practice as practitioners. A member in public practice should earn a Certificate of Accounting Practice from the Society upon completion of the required obligations. An RPA Accounting Practitioner qualities to perform the Compilation Engagement and issue the compilation report for the SME clients.

29 - CanadianSME - April 2022

How Small Businesses Can Benefit from the Cloud

As cloud services have multiple advantages, small businesses should consider moving to the cloud. We live in a digital and competitive society, and practically all organizations are concerned about data security. Cloud technology is here to help with the transition by offering a secure platform for storing and accessing vital data and apps. As a small business owner, you may benefit greatly from implementing cloudbased technologies and using them as an alternative to hosting information in a data centre on-premises. Success depends on how you handle and organize information. Cloud services free up time and energy for small businesses to focus on more critical

aspects of their business by eliminating much of the stress of management and organization. This informative article will delve into the benefits of cloud technology and discuss the different options available for small and mid-sized enterprises.

Benefits of the Cloud for Small Businesses The benefits of the cloud for small businesses include increased data storage and easier access to applications and operations. In addition, migrating to the cloud provides cost-effective technology solutions to help a small business get up and running while putting less strain on people and resources. Here are five compelling reasons small businesses should utilize cloud services to maintain business operations.

Cloud computing Cost-Efficient: One of the most significant advantages of cloud services for small enterprises is lower costs. Many startups and small firms cannot afford to purchase all the hardware and equipment needed for running their business, especially right off the bat, so cloud services can be a more cost-effective option. Also, migrating to the cloud eliminates the need for financial investment in installing and maintaining the infrastructure on-premises. Flexibility: Cloud services aid small enterprises in maintaining a flexible work environment. They allow employees to work from any location around the globe, and access the applications and data they need to do so effectively. Cloud-based

resources are extremely beneficial since they can be easily scaled up and down to match your specific demands and requirements.

Reduce Time-to-Market & IT Cost: Small businesses can deploy resources and execute changes faster with cloud technologies, leading to speedier

manufacturing and a shorter time to market. It's feasible to maximize uptime

with minimum effort using cloud-based technologies, as your applications can be

hosted by a reliable, third-party provider instead of living on your own servers. This also lowers operating expenses since cloud services require less upkeep, particularly in the public cloud, where maintenance is the cloud provider’s responsibility.

Disaster Recovery: Downtime is never beneficial to a business, but cloud services can help provide peace of mind when calamity hits. When an unexpected incident occurs, it can often be quicker to recover data hosted in the cloud rather than on aging, faulty, on-premises infrastructure. Regardless of the tragedy or setback, cloud technology can help provide your firm with a sense of resilience.

31 - CanadianSME - April 2022

Top-Notch Security: The growing number of cyberattacks and data breaches is a major concern for small and large businesses. You can rely on cloud services to help secure your company's critical data. The most sturdy and dependable cloud services providers can increase data protection by utilizing the most recent tools and best practices to secure their environment.

Any of the reasons listed above should be enough to persuade you to migrate your business to the cloud. Still, there are different types of cloud technology available, which you will need to consider when transitioning to the cloud.

Find Out Which Cloud Technology is Right for Your Small Business There is no single sort of cloud computing appropriate for all

situations. To suit organizations' continuously changing technological demands, several different cloud computing models and services have been developed. Learn which model might be best for you.

Cloud services can be deployed in one of three ways: on a public cloud, on a private cloud, or a hybrid cloud, based on your organization's requirements.

Public Cloud: The most prevalent form of cloud computing is the public cloud. A third-party cloud service provider owns and operates the cloud resources (such as servers and storage)

distributed through the internet. The cloud provider owns and manages the software, hardware, and other supporting infrastructure in a public cloud. In a public cloud environment, you get to share the same storage, hardware, and network devices as other organizations or cloud "tenants." You use a web browser to access services and manage your account. Web-based email, storage, online office programs, testing and development, are common uses for public cloud deployments. Private Cloud: A private cloud is a collection of cloud computing services utilized solely by one organization or business. The private cloud might be physically situated in your company's onsite data centre or hosted by a third-party service provider. However, with a private cloud, the services and infrastructure are constantly maintained on a private network, and the hardware and software are exclusively dedicated to your organization.

A private cloud makes it easier for an organization to personalize its resources to meet its unique IT needs. As a result, financial institutions, government agencies and other mid-to large-size organizations frequently utilize private clouds, desiring improved control over their environment.

Hybrid Cloud: A hybrid cloud platform offers several

benefits to organizations, including more flexibility, additional deployment options, compliance, security and extracting more value from their already existing

infrastructure. When processing, computing and demand fluctuate, this disruptive model enables organizations to instantly scale up resources within the

How CDW Can Help with Cloud Migration Challenges While the cloud may be incredibly advantageous

to small organizations, having a cloud plan is essential. You face the danger of surpassing your cloud budget if you don't have a clearly defined plan. Many firms may also lack the technological competence or workforce required to shift to the cloud successfully. And, with so many cloud services to select from, how do you know which

ones to use and how to make the most of them?

public cloud to accommodate any overflow while

CDW can assist you in understanding how your

Your websites or public-facing apps should be hosted in the public cloud to keep you as near to your clients as feasible. The private cloud is best suited for legacy apps that do not interact with customers, such as those that run machines within a manufacturing facility. On the other hand, a hybrid cloud architecture may deliver the best of both worlds by putting programs in the best possible place for both internal and external users.

in managing your entire cloud environment going

allowing critical applications to securely run onsite to meet demands or regulatory requirements.

32 - CanadianSME - April 2022

applications and services may be translated into cloud-native, secure, cost-effective and highly available results. In addition, they can assist you forward by providing application modernization, proactive monitoring and problem resolution, and on-demand deployment. CDW also offers data analytics to uncover useful insights that may be used to improve the services you deliver to clients. To learn more about CDW’s cloud services, please visit https://www.cdw.ca/cloud.

Mary Jo Fedy A Leader in its Truest Sense CanadianSME sat down with Mary Jo Fedy, National Enterprise Leader, KPMG Canada, to discuss how it is important for small and medium-sized businesses to realize and invest in the latest digital innovations to better weather economic conditions while beautifully balancing investments in their overall infrastructure. She also shared some of the strategies that businesses can implement in order to mitigate cyber threats today since there is an increase in digitization. We also talked about the shortage of skilled labour which is turning a kind of risk to recovery, and how businesses can address this shortage. Finally, we talked about how business leaders and entrepreneurs can make their businesses thrive amidst the pandemic better the present condition, ensuring robust growth. Mary Jo Fedy proudly holds the role of National Enterprise Leader of KPMG in Canada. She has more than 35 years of experience serving privately held Canadian companies and owner-managed businesses. Mary Jo provides proactive, hands-on service to address her clients’ needs, which include financing, budgeting, strategic and succession planning, attestation services, tax planning, and tax compliance. For more information, visit home.kpmg/ca/enterprise or email mfedy@kpmg.ca

Heading into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, what are you hearing from small- to medium-sized businesses across Canada? If there is a silver lining to the pandemic on the business front, it’s that many Canadian small- to medium-sized businesses proved their resilience. Although there were many challenges, it was inspiring to see and work with businesses that adapted and innovated. This positive momentum continues today, as we are hopefully nearing the finish line of the pandemic. What I am hearing from my clients echoes what more than 500 businesses across Canada told KPMG Enterprise in our recent poll: Business leaders remain optimistic for the future, with the vast majority (nine in 10) expressing confidence in their company’s growth prospects.

33 - CanadianSME - April 2022

Of course, this optimism comes with

concerns. Across sectors, businesses are faced with labour shortages and higher

costs, as well as headwinds from the ongoing supply chain disruptions being felt around the world. Digital transformation continues to be top of mind for businesses. In our poll, most business leaders (89 percent) indicated

they must invest quickly in digital operations. However, skilled labour shortages remain a challenge. While the majority of businesses are looking to add to their headcount, 68 percent are struggling to hire people with the right skill sets—namely digital—to achieve growth.

How can businesses continue to invest in digital innovations to better weather economic storms while balancing investments in their infrastructure? It’s no surprise that many small- and medium-sized businesses had to pivot during the pandemic and focus on digital innovations to unlock new business opportunities and revenue streams. However, successful digital initiatives can require a fair amount of resources—both financial and human.

National Enterprise Leader, KPMG in Canada

and beyond. Together, we explore Mary's vision and strategies to

Digital Innovation Finding a balance between digital and other investments today is a challenge. The appetite for government support remains strong. In our survey, 82 percent of business leaders believe their industry is in “for a major shakeup” and will require government support for them to invest in emerging and clean technologies. They also want measures that will support innovation and growth amid the latest risks to a global economy already struggling with rising inflation and supply chain issues.

We also found that 91 percent of business leaders believe businesses need more tax incentives/credits for investments in innovation; digital transformation; and research and development, such as software, automation, or patents, example.

As digitization has increased, cyber-attacks have also accelerated. What can businesses do to better manage cyber risks? As business leaders are well aware, cybersecurity incidents can result in the disruption of business operations and cause severe financial and reputational damage. In KPMG’s 2021 CEO Outlook, 94 percent of small- and medium-sized Canadian companies said they closely monitor for potential cyber-attacks, yet only 39 percent are “very confident” in their ability to detect and respond to an attack.

To mitigate risks, businesses need a robust

cybersecurity strategy that is aligned with their objectives and risk priorities. While no two cybersecurity strategies are alike, all facets of cybersecurity—from preventing attacks to responding to them in the event they do occur to recovering from an incident—require a plan. When implemented effectively, a strong cybersecurity strategy enhances product integrity, customer experience, operations, brand reputation, investor confidence, and more.

Skilled labour shortages continue to represent a risk to recovery. How can businesses address this shortage? Businesses increasingly require more employees with digital skills, especially in cybersecurity and data analytics. However, that is a challenge given today’s tight talent pool. Many businesses are considering recruiting outside of Canada, which presents a range of tax implications. To attract and retain great talent,

businesses will need to meet employees’ evolving needs—for example, flexibility, inclusivity, and a sense of purpose—by adopting hybrid work models and addressing climate, equity and diversity issues. Given the rising awareness of environmental, social and governance issues (ESG), stakeholders are expecting businesses to take action. Customers want organizations to take the lead on societal challenges such as racial and gender equality and climate change. Employees also expect their employers to tackle these issues, and it has become a baseline expectation for talent that companies are trying to attract and retain. Investors are demanding a commitment, a plan, and a measurement of outcomes, and leaders expect that banks will start to insert loan covenants related to climate change. Organizations are listening to their stakeholders and addressing these issues. The pandemic and other recent events have increased business commitment to making a difference on social and environmental issues, and it’s important to ensure the workforce, too, is diverse.

The pandemic exposed many vulnerabilities in global and domestic supply chains. What can business leaders do to continue to grow their business amidst ongoing disruptions to supply chains? The current supply chain disruption is on a scale most supply chain leaders have never experienced before. Canadian business leaders say they would source domestic supply if they could, but it’s not available. However, many are hopeful that over the next three years this will change and they will be able to source more product inputs within Canada to avoid supply chain disruptions and improve their operational resiliency. The intention of Canadian companies to source more product inputs within Canada creates an opportunity for Canadian businesses and could bode well for future business investment.

About KPMG Enterprise KPMG Enterprise is a dedicated audit, tax, advisory and law practice focused on supporting entrepreneurs, family businesses, not-for-profit organizations, privately held companies, and high net worth individuals and families. We are always looking at the big picture so we can strive to deliver ideas, provide insights and create opportunities to help businesses become even better.

Simeon Garratt

Man of Innovation and Creativity Co-founder & CEO, Spark

Simeon Garratt launched Spark out of a mix of frustration and passion for the real estate sector. He ditched the idea of using pen and paper, excel spreadsheets to complete real estate deals. According to him, all these were time-consuming and frustrating. Thus, in order to ditch the age-old system, he founded Spark RE Technologies and since then he along with his team are constantly working hard in order to take Spark to a whole new level of success. His company, Spark, is transforming the way real estate is sold, managed, and marketed worldwide. Working with marketers and developers in more than 80 cities, Simeone's company has powered over thousands of projects globally. His goal is to fill the gap between technology and real estate by empowering millennials with data in order to make informed decisions.

Real Estate Software As co-founder of Spark, Simeon has been responsible for landing some of Spark’s top real estate clients in North America. Years of living abroad in Asia and building his experience in the real estate industry fueled his ultimate vision — to transform and streamline how new development is managed and sold. With an extensive background in selling and marketing property, Simeon has been involved in the sales of over 1,000 homes internationally which helped bring Spark into more than 80 cities worldwide. Recently, Garratt has been nominated to President of the BC Real Estate Tech Association, where he looks forward to sharing his expertise and institutional knowledge of the fast-changing industry.

What was the inspiration and motivation behind finding Spark? And what are you hoping to accomplish through this platform? My inspiration primarily came from a frustration with the lack of technology that I had access to in the real estate industry. Not only were there opportunities to improve the speed and

efficiency of the market, but also to open the door to a better understanding of how and where to build based on data collection. Ultimately, our goal is to be the leading force behind more efficient and convenient home sales for developers around the world.

Why do you think we see so many big moves in the real estate space lately? There are a lot of reasons why real estate has been on the move lately. In our space specifically, COVID has created an environment where people have the ability to live and work with much more flexibility. Places like Florida (one of our fastest-growing markets) have seen a huge influx of people, which has led to a large increase in real estate development and investment. That, coupled with extremely cheap money has created the perfect storm for a boom in real estate.

What are your thoughts on Spark's impact on the real estate tech vertical? And what are some ways that Spark is looking to evolve with technology? Our goal has always been to make a real estate developer's life easier and more profitable. We focus on digitizing a transaction process that is traditionally paper-based and making it seamless, secure and faster for all parties involved. Our goal is to connect all aspects of the new development real estate transaction process, making it straightforward for both buyers and developers to manage projects across their entire portfolio – this includes mortgages, insurance and data.

How does being disruptive to the real estate industry present any difficulties or advantages for you as a company? With any type of disruption, there is a learning curve and need for market education that cannot

be overlooked. With Spark being one of the early leaders in this space, we have to focus a lot of our time and effort on creating ways for potential clients to see the future value of our technology,

and all the applications it will bring with it for years to come. A large advantage for us is that we are laying the foundation for the future of this industry, creating

products that are purpose-built and specific to our exact target clients. As more people adopt our software (and other projects), those advantages will compound.

What is your special advice for our small businesses so they can thrive and survive in this challenging time? I think that the only real advice I can give in this challenging time is to listen. Listen to your clients, your employees and your peers. Be open to change and seek to constantly be learning and developing better ways of doing the things you consider normal. Nobody can predict the future, but if you foster strong relationships, those will pay dividends when times get harder.

TOP 10 TECHNOLOGIES That Is a Must for Small Businesses

Technology

When you operate a small business, your potential to adapt to the market determines whether you will drown or swim. You must fulfill demand without losing money or biting off more than you can chew. Perhaps this is why so many small business owners are hesitant to accept new technology – even if their company is doing well (for now). Though small company owners may be hesitant to modify their ways, the world is changing rapidly - and so are customers' expectations. Consumers have new expectations about the firms they support with their hard-earned money, from customer service to data-driven advertising. According to Forbes, people want to deal with businesses that are more approachable, simple to use, and customized. When it comes to running a small business efficiently, having the correct IT tools in place may help you set yourself up for long-term success. Here's why technology is important for entrepreneurs, as well as several must-have technologies for any new small business. Fortunately, technical improvements in software and applications have resulted in a plethora of digital tools

Cloud Computing Cloud computing has completely transformed the IT world, and its consequences have affected many companies. Organizations have become more scalable and nimble by embracing cloud computing. In reality, cloud computing has turned out to be a significant aspect of many small-scale enterprises. And the greatest thing is that cloud computing does not use a large portion of your money, at the same time allowing you to benefit from increased efficiency without expanding your overall budget.

Next-Gen Payment Methods Buyers are still put off by online payment. Despite

enormous technology breakthroughs and several algorithms, we are still unable to build a totally secure, safe, and fast money transaction procedure over the internet.

accessible to assist you in streamlining your business and making your work less stressful. But, with so many

To eliminate the fear of being deceived from the minds of customers, firms must establish creative and secure payment options. What's the bottom line? Customers

alternatives available, how can you know which ones would work best for your company? In this post, we'll give some

regularly.

begin to trust you and purchase from you more

tool recommendations to make your life simpler.

Mobile Apps What Are the Must-Haves Technologies for Small Businesses? Across industries, technology has become an increasingly vital component of a successful company. Through social media channels and other digital marketing tactics, business owners can quickly engage with their consumers and increase brand exposure. The correct technology solutions may also help businesses optimize their procedures and stay organized, which is critical for scalability. Technology may also be used by product-based firms to enhance the sales process for both personnel and consumers. In this blog, we will look at ten technologies that small business owners should use to increase their revenues and reach.

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Mobile apps are a difficult terrain to navigate. As

today is the age of mobiles and mCommerce has become ubiquitous, almost everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and building their mobile application. However, there is a catch. People may download a large number of programs, but they only utilize 7 to 8 of them on a daily basis. As a result, it is vital to use mobile applications wisely. You should have it because it has been the standard, but don't overdo it.

Data Security When discussing financial security, it is also necessary to discuss data security. Any business, large or small, cannot afford to ignore data security since it may destroy your client base and find you in legal problems.

Technology You may create your own indestructible castle in the online world by utilizing basic yet efficient technical elements.

Chatbots The era of chatbots is here. Chatbots are 2.5x more effective than people since they can interact with consumers more effectively due to their vast intellect, and they are also less expensive. Customers of this generation want to interact. They want their questions answered, they want you to offer products and services to them, and they want you to connect with them in ways that go beyond the selling process. And, all of this is possible by embracing chatbots.

Website Implementation and Enhancement Tools Small businesses find it challenging to maintain an

internet presence. If you're having the same problems, don't worry. There are several free tools and solutions available to offer you the finest of the internet world and allow you to catch up with the rest. Website implementation and enhancement tools

are growing increasingly popular, thus it is critical that you capitalize on this technology's potential.

HR Software Employees are the most valuable assets. This is a well-known cliché, and everyone focuses on it, but how about using the latest technology to ensure your human resource management is best-inclass? This certainly enhances your employees' morale and makes them more productive. Using HR software, you can effortlessly manage functions like attendance and staff development initiatives.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Customer service consumes a large percentage of your resources. As a result, you should continually explore new and more effective ways to deal with consumers so that you may focus on other things. A CRM can help you increase use, boost lead ,

conversion, and cut marketing expenditures. There are several options to pick from, allowing you to find a product that best matches the size and kind of your organization.

Emails It may appear that emails have grown obsolete, but this is not the case. In fact, they remain one of the most costefficient and result-oriented tools available to small businesses. If you know how to use emails correctly, they may be a powerful weapon in your arsenal. Emails help you to reach a larger audience and deliver your message more effectively. We offer a multitude of tailored email campaigns designed exclusively for the needs of small businesses.

Project Management Tools If you're attempting to keep numerous balls in the air,

project management software can help. Essentially, these technologies allow you to keep track of your activities,

appointments, and deadlines online (as opposed to having to do so manually). These programs may generate reminders for forthcoming activities and events, providing specifics such as when and where your next meeting will take place. Furthermore, these technologies may send comparable reminders to other

team members, ensuring that everyone is aware of what is expected of them and by when.

The Bottom Line This is not a complete list of business tools for small businesses. The size and maturity of your business, the sector in which you operate, as well as your budget, will all naturally affect whatever digital technologies you choose to invest in. However, the value you'll acquire from these tools is in their capacity to automate much of the time and effort required in boring chores. Furthermore, in a post-pandemic future, they can assist you in meeting the requirement or desire for individuals to work and operate their enterprises remotely. We recommend you begin slowly. Also, solicit input from your staff, as well as your clients and partners, on which ones they prefer or dislike working with. Once you've discovered a few, you may begin to scale them up. Also, remain up to speed on new features and functionality to ensure you're getting the most out of your investments.

BRUCE MACLELLAN A Man of Many Roles CanadianSME sat down with Bruce MacLellan, CEO of Proof Strategies, Inc. earlier this year to understand the anxieties and stress faced by Canadians since the global pandemic has severely affected their mental health. As a result of the pandemic, Canadians continue to encounter several obstacles, within and outside, throughout the whole emotional, physical, social, and financial well-being spectrum. Bruce MacLellan has directed the CanTrust Index, an annual assessment of trust in Canada, since 2016. And as the findings of the study are being made public in order to increase knowledge and understanding, together, we explore Bruce's role in preserving and developing both internal and external trust, along with his perspective on our new era ahead. Bruce MacLellan is a veteran communicator and the founding CEO of Proof Strategies Inc. Now with 140 staff members in offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Washington, Proof was named the #1 workplace in Canada in 2010 by Great Place to Work® and has received more than 300 industry awards for client work. The firm has been carbon neutral since 2008 and was named in 2022 as a Caring Company by Imagine Canada. Since 2016, Bruce has led the CanTrust Index, an annual study of trust in Canada. The study’s results are shared publicly to advance knowledge and understanding of how to maintain and grow internal and external trust. In 2021, Bruce co-authored a Trust Toolkit for Boards of Directors, in collaboration with the Institute of Corporate Directors. Bruce is an active volunteer, including serving from 2017-19 as Chair of the board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (the country’s largest conservation charity) and currently as Vice-Chair of the board of Canada’s History Society (an organization active in education and which manages the Governor General’s History Awards).

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CEO, Proof Strategies Inc. Bruce holds an MA in Public Administration from the University of Toronto. His work experience in government includes as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Culture in Ontario and as Chief of Staff to the Minister of National Defence in Ottawa.

According to the 2022 Proof Strategies CanTrust Index, what do you think are the main causes of anxiety for Canadians? There is no question the two years of the

pandemic have created higher levels of anxiety and stress. Our research found that 46 percent of Canadians say they still feel anxiety and stress from COVID-19. In Alberta, it peaks at 55 percent. There are many dimensions to the stress caused by this pandemic, including personal health, caring for elderly parents or young children, employment uncertainty and social divisions over safety rules.

Leadership Evidence suggests younger people have been impacted the most. According to a 2021 Statistics Canada study, feelings of loneliness or an increase in physical health problems due to COVID-19 were experienced by 83% for those aged 18 to 24, 80% for those aged 25 to 44, 70% for those aged 45 to 64, and 54% for those aged 65 and older.

Can you share the key findings and your thoughts on the results of the survey? Do you think anxiety is on the rise in Canada? If so, why do you think that is? Trust is under enormous pressure nowadays. False information is generated deliberately and spread

widely. Additional forces working against trust include pandemic anxiety, economic disruption and petty, divisive politicians. Trust in government has fallen during the pandemic, no doubt in connection to vacillating public health decisions under very difficult

and fluid circumstances. Corporate leaders can also do better, and boards of directors should show leadership. After all, trust in business executives is at only 26

percent. Trust should be treated as a key leadership competency and is essential to maximizing productivity, innovation, sales and other important indicators. Our full report can be found at www.CanTrustIndex.ca

The Omicron variant has been linked to causing pessimism in some Canadians - do you have any thoughts on this? What effects do you think the Omicron variant might have on the economy? The pandemic has left Canadians feeling tired, frustrated, and stressed. As vaccinations rolled out in 2021, optimism started to return, until the Omicron variant. Omicron was a setback that triggered new caseloads, reinstated restrictions and caused new worries. Our January 2022 research found that 36 percent of Canadians said that Omicron made them more pessimistic about the economy. The good news is that cases are falling again, and Canada has seen impressive new employment numbers with a gain of 337,000 jobs in February. These results more than offset the loss of 200,000 jobs in January and dropped the unemployment rate to 5.5 percent, below the 5.7 percent level in February 2020. Provincial governments that set many restrictions are starting to relax them. 41 - CanadianSME - April 2022

It will be important that ongoing safety measures not be politicized as “wedge” issues, a practice used by politicians to sow division. When it comes to trust, politicians rank at a dismal 18 percent, so they need to do much, much better.

According to the study, why do you think trust in the Canadian healthcare system has declined? What solutions do you think are necessary to improve trust in the healthcare system? Overall, trust in the Canadian healthcare system remains solid at 58 percent of Canadians, although it is down from 63 percent in 2021. Our

CanTrust Index found a significant decline in trust in the healthcare system among older Canadians (baby boomers and older). A possible reason for

this is the delay in access to healthcare due to the system’s need to manage COVID-19 patients. We know that older people require more health system support than younger citizens, and this

points to why backlogs will need to be addressed. Politicians should heed this finding, as older voters are the most likely to cast a ballot in elections.

What tips do you have for employers in order to maintain trustful relationships?

Our recommendation to employers is to start with knowing your values, link them to your plans, communicate often and always show empathy. Your values are your moral compass and should resonate with your employees and customers. Once established, your subsequent decisions should be connected to these values, and therefore become coherent, logical and supported. Leaders rarely communicate too much, and in a crisis such as this pandemic, the frequency of communications should increase. Good communication begins with listening and understanding, and that leads to empathy. Given the pressures of the pandemic on people, an employer must “walk a mile in their shoes” as the old saying goes. Listen to understand, adapt to employee needs and show that you care. It’s essential to a trustful relationship. Trust can be built if there is the will and understanding of how.

Danish Yusuf Transforming the Way by Building State-of-the-Art Insurance Solutions Tell us about your company. How is Zensurance leading the digital revolution in the insurance industry and meeting the needs of startups and small- and medium-sized businesses?

Founder, President, and CEO of Zensurance

Toronto-based Zensurance is Canada’s leading digital business insurance brokerage dedicated to serving small business owners, entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and independent contractors in multiple industries. We specialize in helping them find the business insurance coverage they need at a price they can afford with the service they deserve.

CanadianSME sat down with Danish Yusuf,

Established in 2016, Zensurance started digitizing the business insurance

the founder, President, and CEO of Zensurance, earlier this year to understand the impact of digital transformation in diverse industry verticals since the sheer power of digitization has reshaped every aspect of the global economy. We have also talked about the implications for small businesses not having proper insurance and how COVID-19 has drastically changed things and how his company is helping small businesses in managing their insurance cost-effectively and securely. Throughout the interview, there was a lot of discussion on what's holding the industry from embracing new technologies, especially now that the global pandemic and social distancing have emphasized the need for smarter and customer-oriented insurance solutions. Together, we explore Bruce's role in the digital insurance sector, along with his perspective on our new era ahead. Danish Yusuf is the Founder, President, and CEO of Zensurance, a Canadian technology company revolutionizing the small business insurance space. He is a former leader in McKinsey & Company's Digital Insurance practice, supporting insurance clients globally on defining their digital strategy. Before McKinsey, Danish was a software architect and developer at IBM Canada, covering everything from mainframe development to web development. Danish earned a bachelor's degree in Software Engineering from the University of Toronto and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

application and transaction process in Canada. We have always believed that the micro-business segment has been underserved in the insurance industry. So we've made it our mission to create a digital experience that

is affordable, transparent, and fast. As a result, small business owners and entrepreneurs can come to our website, fill out an online application, receive the lowest quote available on the market for free, and even complete the transaction online, depending on their needs. And through our technology and network of insurance providers, we've been able to offer policy rates of up to 35% less than our competitors.

We have 100 licensed brokers to support our clients and serve as their

trusted insurance and risk management advisors. Our system shops our partner network of more than 50 leading Canadian insurance providers to find our customers the customized policies they require based on their unique businesses.

In which aspects of business do you think digitization will have the most impact? What are the best digital resources for businesses to invest in to grow? Every business is unique, and when digitizing your operations, your first step should be identifying your target customers and how they're buying your products or services. For example, my parents are never going to buy auto insurance online. It's just never going to happen. So, if you are an auto insurance provider catering to an older demographic, adopting e-commerce software may not be the first investment you make. But every business needs a customer relationship management (CRM) system, so it is generally a good investment. What business owners have to think about is how sophisticated a system they need. CRM can help when someone visits your website but doesn't make a purchase. You can still capture their contact information and follow up later. A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is also usually a good investment – it can streamline critical activities like payroll, talent acquisition, and training. The same logic applies to digital payment tools

Entrepreneurship – credit card fees can be high, but when processing and reviewing times are considered, the cost of using paper cheques or cash is often higher.

The CDAP is the latest of several government grants available to small businesses, which make up 98.1 percent of all employer businesses in Canada and are rightly considered the backbone of the Canadian economy.

Let's not forget about the basics, either. Many SMBs – particularly those micro-businesses of one, two, or three employees (like tradespeople, independent professional service providers and others) may not even have a dedicated website yet. That first step is critical when their prospective customers are increasingly thinking digital-first.

There are two grants available to Canadian SMBs under CDAP: ‘Grow Your Business Online, worth up to $2,400 and enables SMBs to develop and implement e-commerce capabilities; and ‘Boost Your Business Technology’, which is worth up to $15,000 and helps Canadian SMBs adopt new digital technologies.

Because SMBs tend to have fewer digital security resources than larger companies, they often become targets of phishing and ransomware attacks. How do you think SMBs can keep themselves safe when going digital, including cost-effective software and insurance they can use?

graduates.

The reality is that any company conducting business online opens itself up to risk, whether

Eligible ‘Boost Your Business Technology’ applicants can also access zero percent interest loans worth up to $100,000 from the Business Development Bank of Canada and a wage subsidy of up to $7,300 to hire post-secondary students and recent

I'm delighted the federal government is making that money

available to SMBs that can use it. But, at the same time, there are other grants out there, and I believe that any small business applying for them should dedicate the same level of research to the many different grants they could apply for for their digital transformation projects.

it’s the local office of an international conglomerate or an individual practitioner with

Is there anything else you would like to suggest to startups and small- and medium-sized businesses when it comes to digital adoption?

The good news is that cyber insurance policies

I think it's worth mentioning why digital adoption has become so important. Before the pandemic, I would have guessed we

an email contact form on their website.

exist that protect your business if something goes wrong and are a necessary part of your

company’s cybersecurity management. Five years ago, these types of policies were scarce,

but with the increasing number of attacks targeting all types and sizes of businesses – and SMBs are no exception – there is now a wide range of policies available and at varying prices. When shopping for cyber insurance, SMBs especially should avoid jumping at the lowest price possible without doing their homework. Investing in a comprehensive insurance policy will almost certainly save them money in the long run. Like home and car insurance, an insurer will ask for proof that you've taken every precaution to prevent an avoidable incident.

What do you think of the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), recently launched by the federal government?

were five or so years away from digital services becoming the norm, but COVID-19 pushed the timeline forward on both the business and consumer sides. As consumers, we're now used to video chats with friends and family and ordering everything from groceries to medication online. So as workers, I think we expect a similar user-friendly experience from our jobs, whether it's remote work, digital payments, or coordinating with customers and business partners. And while I've emphasized the importance of researching the pros and cons of the software your company is thinking about adopting, it's equally important to know who would run that software and what the risks could be. Digital payments, for example, could alienate customers who have an easier time paying by cash or cheque if not explained adequately. Likewise, your company won't benefit from CRM software if departments like marketing and collections aren't sharing their customer data. And for any digital tool, the benefits of adoption can quickly turn into risks if you don't take steps to ensure they are secure and that your customers and your business are protected.

Dr. Garth Gibson Bridging the World of Business and Academia President and CEO of Vector Institute

Dr. Garth Gibson, being a leader in education, research, and commercial collaboration, bridges the gap between business and science. This one-ofa-kind combination ideally positions Garth to lead the Vector Institute on its mission to advance Canada's leadership in AI (artificial intelligence) research, fuel economic growth, and enhance the lives of Canadians. Dr. Garth's work has advanced the world's leading computer science research and translates into value-added commercial applications. He is best known for his contributions to RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) technology, which laid the base for some of the world's fastest supercomputers. Panasas, one of Dr. Gibson's founded data storage companies, used this technology for serving numerous sectors. Dr. Gibson, being a collaborative and active researcher, has been instrumental in the integration of industry and academia. He also publishes and lectures on artificial intelligence and machine learning, connecting high-performance computers. Dr. Garth Gibson brings to this role over 25 years of research, higher education and commercial collaboration. Prior to joining Vector, Dr. Gibson held a number of academic leadership positions at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh. His work has advanced world-leading computer science research and translated it into impactful commercial applications. His contributions to Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) and 44 - CanadianSME - April 2022

parallel file system technology for scalable computing laid foundations used in the world’s fastest supercomputers. Dr. Gibson holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, a Master's of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery in 2013, and elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2014. Dr. Gibson sits on the OECD.AI task force on AI compute.

What is the FastLane Program and what was the inspiration behind the launch of this program; how is Vector Institute playing a role? AI’s possibilities are evolving rapidly in every industry. Canadian organizations must join the transformation

and lead innovation. The risks of not innovating are too high. An inability to keep pace with the market,

technology, and customer demands will result in lost opportunities to create value.

As AI’s possibilities evolve, so too does the global demand for AI talent, making it increasingly

competitive. The key to adapting in this environment is gaining access to leading-edge abilities in applied AI

and the talent small-medium-enterprises (SMEs) need to support their AI strategies. This is where FastLane can help.

Economic Growth The program helps SMEs to leverage AI and compete more effectively in the

global economy. It came about as a natural progression of Vector’s

activities in Canada to accelerate AI adoption, develop AI talent, and

collaborate with industry and health partners to innovate and scale their success using AI.

What obstacles do SMEs face as they work to harness the power of AI as an innovation tool for their company?

In your opinion, how will AI be instrumental in developing top talent globally while also addressing labour shortage challenges faced by companies around the world? As our Chair of the Board, Ed Clark, said, SMEs “are like a jobcreation machine,” and SMEs using AI will also play an

important role in the post-pandemic economic recovery.

Canada has a unique opportunity to use our position as a world leader in AI to help our SMEs quickly adopt this

technology. The more that turn to AI to support their growth, solve business problems or gain a competitive advantage

the more likely that our top talent will remain in Canada and work for our SMEs.

AI adoption and implementation are

For example, financial analysts, risk analysts, IT professionals,

accelerates this journey so that even

essentially anyone using Microsoft Excel to analyze data —

learning. Through the program, Vector

who are accepted into FastLane have the opportunity to take

articulate their business challenges,

doing non-technical roles. This both supports their career

and accelerate its deployment.

understanding of the opportunities AI provides to all types of

challenging but our FastLane program

logistics/supply chain managers, and marketing analysts —

SMEs can take advantage of machine

can benefit from upskilling in AI. Employees at companies

can help companies attract talent,

courses in moving from “Excel to AI,” even if they are currently

identify and benchmark an AI strategy

trajectories while also helping them advance the businesses.

How will Vector Institute help SMEs innovate and grow their business with the use of AI? FastLane provides SMEs transformative programming and services.

Companies accepted into the program get access to help with talent

recruitment, placing qualified people in AI roles and improving employment

opportunities for people looking for AI provided with professional

What would be your advice to SMEs looking to grow their business with the help of AI?

and upskilling. The program also helps

SMEs need to consider leveraging their data with a long-term

products, or services to build sustained

operations, supply chain optimization or customer service

jobs. Current SME employees are also development to help with AI adoption companies apply AI techniques,

growth and productivity by giving them access to leading-edge AI expertise and the latest AI techniques.

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strategy using AI whether it's for solving logistics, back-end problems. With access to the right AI talent and tools, even smaller companies can innovate, adapt, and scale their

success rapidly. If you are already on this journey or ready to transform your business, reach out to our FastLane team.

Naveen Senthamilselvan Easing Millennials’ Financial Anxieties Through Building Financial Resilience

Senior Manager, Wealth Management, Meridian CanadianSME sat down with Naveen Senthamilselvan,

Senior Manager, Wealth Management, Meridian, earlier this year to talk about the survey conducted by

Meridian regarding millennials' financial anxieties and stress as well as the reason behind such stress. We

have also discussed what led Naveen to conduct such a survey and his tips and strategies to help overcome this and build financial resilience. So, for some

fundamental advice and tactics to assist millennials to overcome their financial anxieties and acquiring

confidence, this interview with Naveen Senthamilselvan

was a game-changer. Together, we explore his vision of our new era ahead.

What was the motivation behind Meridian conducting the new survey about Millennials suffering from underlying financial anxiety? Meridian does a lot of work with Millennials – they are an important demographic. We conducted this survey to deepen our understanding of them and their relationships with money. With this deep dive into their mindset, we can better support their needs based on what they have told us with an end goal to work together to help build financial resilience.

Can you provide some keen insights on the uniquely Canadian survey results? And what is the exact reason behind this? Surprisingly 56% of Millennials say they learned to save and set financial goals growing up and 79% said they felt knowledgeable about finances when they left home. More than half (51%) say they still deal with leftover money anxiety from childhood. Although Millennials have healthy money values and beliefs, 58% of Millennials rate their money knowledge as a medium to low and the vast majority (73%) don’t work with an advisor and instead go it alone when it comes to financial planning and investments

This data shows us that the strong interest, proactivity and self-efficacy around finances that

Millennials have means they are attracted to self-directed investing apps and experimentation. This open and engaged approach can be very

First you must identify what is causing your money stress to come up with a solution. Our survey results

suggest there is a combination of factors leading to money stress & anxiety:

beneficial when it comes to lifelong financial learning. On the other hand, given Millennials’

51% of Millennials say they battle lingering money anxiety from childhood.

Millennials aren’t reaching out to talk through their financial goals with an advisor who may also help ease financial anxieties by providing an

20% (highest of all generations) say money caused tensions and arguments growing up.

financial values of transparency, collaboration and partnership, it’s interesting that more

independent perspective on their financial goals, plans and accomplishments

Do you know any strategies to help Millennials become more comfortable with their finances? In general, the survey shows that Millennials may feel intimidated to reach out for financial support and advice. They may not see how it’s possible to blend self-directed investing and apps with an independent professional perspective. The best strategy would be to continue to encourage Millennials to talk openly about their financial questions & concerns so they can feel confident and curious enough to reach out for support. To help support that process and make you comfortable with your finances, we would suggest speaking with an advisor and talking through your goals

Based on your research and personal experience, what is the most important factor in overcoming money stress? 47 - CanadianSME - April 2022

More than 30% (the highest of all generations) say their parents were always worried about money.

There is a common feeling amongst Millennials that they have to “go it alone.” They worry that they don’t have enough money to access support and the perspective of financial advisors when it comes to

assessing their finances and working toward goals. The best thing you can do to overcome money stress is

to identify the problem/cause of your money stress and address it head-on (whether that be on your own or with the help of an advisor).

What are some key pieces of advice you would give to someone looking to become financially successful in this generation? A piece of advice I’d offer would be to utilize some the tools you have at your disposal. For example, there are lots of online self-directed financial & investing apps available to all. I’d recommend accessing some of our free Meridian resources that can help you assess how you’re doing, how you can improve. I would also suggest working with a wealth advisor you trust. They can help you gain the confidence and traction to start to rebuild your relationship with money.

Why the Canadian production industry is thriving amidst the pandemic and showing no signs of slowing down By Vince Commisso, President and CEO of 9 Story Media Group Since the onset of the pandemic, people have been forced to social distance, cancel group activities and essentially, seek refuge at home. The result has been nothing short of a digital revolution, wherein people have turned to digital platforms like online video streaming services, in search of entertainment as an

Canada has always been a popular location for both local and international companies to film, produce and create content due to the government tax incentives, a stable exchange rate and proven track record of superior quality of production. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has caused unprecedented levels of disruption for live-action productions. It is only through the combined efforts and

service subscriptions passed 1 billion

removal of funding caps and the Federal government’s $50-

escape from the harsh reality of a global pandemic. In fact, in 2020, amidst the height of the pandemic, the number of streaming worldwide for the first time ever - Netflix, for example, attracted 15.77 million new

subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, up 23% from the same period in 2019 and by the end of 2020, had more than 200 million paid members globally.

commitment of all production industry stakeholders that creative solutions, including stringent COVID-19-related protocols, government relief funds, enhanced tax credits,

million Short-Term Compensation Fund (STCF) to help film and TV productions insure against COVID-19-related

shutdowns, that we have been able to safeguard against a prolonged live-action production industry shut-down.

The animation industry, however, remained quite stable

This insatiable demand for video content has had a seismic impact on the Canadian TV,

during this period because of its ability to transition quickly to remote and flexible working practices. As an industry that relies on computer-generated imaging and talent that is not

experiencing the highest level of content demand in its history. At 9 Story Media Group,

animation sector remained strong despite the lock-down restrictions of the pandemic.

film and video production industry, which is

an award-winning creator, producer and

geographically limited to specific shooting locations, the

distributor of animated and live-action kid’s shows, our production volume is at a new high: we are on track to produce 78% more episodes in 2022, as compared to 2021. Over the last 18 months, we have secured the highest number of green lights in the company’s history, starting production on 18 new shows, including Ridley Jones (Netflix), Ada Twist, Scientist (Netflix), and Get Rolling With Otis (Apple) and Hello Jack! The Kindness Show (Apple). Moreover, our recent show Karma’s World, which launched last fall, was created in partnership with Chris Bridges (the Grammy-winning rapper, known as “Ludacris”) reached Netflix’s Top 10 ranking in 42 countries. It is now set for a second season drop on March 10, 2022, clearly demonstrating the global appetite for well-produced content with a positive message to share.

The results of the increase in demand for at-home video content, a resilient animation sector and the combined efforts of the live-action production sector to return to “business as usual”, are the primary reasons the Canadian production industry as a whole has witnessed a tremendous boom over the past two years. Not only is demand for animated content at record highs, but live-action productions have also experienced meteoric growth - In 2020, Ontario also hosted a total of 25 scripted series, representing a whopping 66% percent increase over 2019.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-03-18/streamingmilestone-global-subscriptions-passed-1-billion-last-year-mpa-theme-report

https://www.vancouvereconomic.com/blog/media/bc-film-spent-3-4-billion-in-2020-despite-covid-19-productionpauses/

With the US and global filmmaking industry operating at varying rates of recovery and content demand and consumption being at an all-time high, the thriving Canadian production industry is a testament to what is possible when people work in unison and are supported by all stakeholders, including the government, and technological advancements.

https://www.nutanix.com/theforecastbynutanix/technology/will-the-streaming-video-bubble-burst-post-pandemic

Charles Lavigne Transforming the Way World Views Data via Spatial Business Intelligence President, & CEO, LlamaZOO CanadianSME sat down with Charles Lavigne, the President and CEO of LlamaZoo, to discuss his entrepreneurial journey. Charles tells us how his team is combining digital twinning with several other technologies to create groundbreaking 3D visualization solutions for clients to help them comprehend difficult data and make vital choices. We also discussed his main motive behind accomplishing the work he is doing, as well as how his robust software can help Indigenous communities. He also shared how his software can be used effectively when it comes to land management and negotiation scenarios as well as the impact of technology in this particular field. Together, we explore Charles' vision and his advice to aspiring Indigenous entrepreneurs during such a difficult time. Charles Lavigne has over 18 years of experience as a technology developer, designer, and leader, including 12 years with some of the world's biggest video game companies. Today, he is President & CEO of LlamaZOO. LlamaZOO is a big data fusion, analysis, and visualization company focused on enabling ESG through cleantech, by making complex data more understandable and accessible to any stakeholder. Charles’ visionary leadership drives LlamaZOO’s mission to “be the leading solution provider of Spatial Business Intelligence, and change the way the world sees data.” To achieve this, he has formed a multi-disciplinary team that generates millions of dollars of value for clients and partners in manufacturing, lands management, and built spaces. He has spoken at forums including SXSW, AWE, CVR, OCIO, PDAC, and iVentures about interactive AR/VR and mixed reality solutions for enterprise and industry 4.0. During his spare time, Charles loves to spend time with his family and his new daughter, hike with his dog, and camp.

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What was the inspiration and motivation behind the launch of Guardian, the preservation software tool? And what are you hoping to accomplish through the work that you doing? Over the years LlamaZOO has worked with a number of industrial companies in forestry, mining, and land management including the B.C. government. What we found was that through all of these interactions, First Nations themselves did

not necessarily have the resources at their disposal to have an equal footing to access the data needed to engage in conversations and negotiations. It’s through those series of interactions that we effectively started working with First Nations and collaborating to better understand how the tools can be applied, changed, and modified to support their respective use cases and really unlock the value of big data for them. We’re excited to continue to iterate Guardian, working closely with First Nations as more use cases are uncovered, and plan to expand its reach to support other Indigenous Peoples. With Guardian, we hope to help protect and enable many Nations throughout Canada as they navigate land management, cultural preservation, knowledge sharing and more.

visualization technology What are some of the unique challenges that come with preserving indigenous cultures and land? How does your software help indigenous communities? A unique challenge that comes with preserving Indigenous cultures and land is that each nation has its respective traditional knowledge of the land and heritage, and in most cases, that traditional knowledge is sacred. It’s not always available in a shareable or digitized format so that poses some unique challenges. When developing the software we wanted to surface that data, integrate it, and make it available while also respecting the information and data sovereignty of that Nation, as it may not be suitable to share with everyone such as industry or even regulators. But, it is important to have and retain that data.

By having a tool that visualizes the land and all of the data-related projects, activities, and the

Can you walk the readers through an example of how this technology would be used in a negotiation or land management scenario? First Nations typically have a referral process, supported in some cases by the government, so when

a project or an activity is being proposed on the land a referral needs to be done. Engagement is sometimes not possible at the deepest level that everyone would like. Whether it’s because of things such as the

make it more accessible. Communities will now

pandemic limiting our access to one-on-one inperson engagement, limiting our availability to one another, or the remote nature of such activities.

land management, or even traditional knowledge

We live in a fairly diverse geographic part of the world; we have mountains, glaciers, deep forests, wetlands,

two speakers of the traditional language so it’s

it is sometimes quite difficult to access so our tool facilitates those conversations from the perspective of

culture and heritage of the land, the visualizations have an accessible repository or common operating picture that can be used for education, training and language retention in their community. Some communities only have one or really critical to capture that while we can and

make it available to everyone in their community.

What are your thoughts on the impact of this technology on land management and negotiations?

and coastal lands. Because of the diversity of the land,

accessing the land virtually. We can visualize the

process and the referral by encouraging the exchange of data related to the referral and bringing it into

Guardian, and we do so from a very hands-off perspective. By using Guardian, First Nations are able to bring in data that are given to them by the regulator or industry itself and can visualize and make those assessments on their own in context to their own data.

The impact of this technology is about creating transparency and equal footing by making the same data accessible between industry, landowners, and regulators.

What is your advice for indigenous entrepreneurs during this challenging time?

When coming to the table to have those conversations, everybody can be talking about the same thing from a data-driven perspective. It really removes the question of are we talking about the same thing, the same place, what data or version each group has. Creating that common repository, evens the playing field for everyone, making transparent discussions and negotiations possible.

I think the time is now; to pursue passions and dreams. If you have a mark to leave on the world, go and do it. There’s a lot of support out there so when facing challenges, which you will as all entrepreneurs do, it’s about perseverance, so make sure it’s something you can be passionate about, and surround yourself with the right people who believe not only in just your vision but in you as an individual. Go find those people, build that network, and get out there and do it.

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Martha Durdin Creating a Vibrant Future for Canadian Women Entrepreneurs President and CEO, Canadian Credit Union Association

CanadianSME sat down with Martha Durdin, President and CEO of the

Ms. Durdin is bilingual; holds a BA (Hon) from Western

Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA), earlier this year to talk about the leadership techniques she applies when it comes to leading

University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and an ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors at the Rotman

CCUA and what's her current take on the state of entrepreneurship in Canada. She also shared the kind of programs offered by CCUA for

School of Management.

empowering and assisting women entrepreneurs and how she is working hard to create an even playing field. She also told us about the strategic ways taken by CCUA in promoting female entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow, along with some beautiful pieces of advice to the companies supporting and empowering women-led small and midsized businesses across Canada. Together, we explore Martha's role in empowering and backing women entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow. Martha Durdin is currently the President and CEO at the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA). She is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in management, public affairs and advocacy. Previously, she was the Managing Principal of a leading national strategic public affairs firm and spent thirteen years as an executive at a large Canadian bank. Early in her career, Martha worked on Parliament Hill. Martha volunteers her time for a number of community organizations. Among them, she served three terms as the Chair of the Ontario Arts Council and is the immediate past Chair of the Royal Ontario Museum Board of Trustees. She is also a Director of The Canadian Club of Toronto. Martha represents CCUA on the boards of The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and Co-operatives & Mutuals Canada (CMC) and a member on the National Steering Committee for Financial Literacy. Martha is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

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What are your thoughts on the current state of entrepreneurship in Canada? Why do you think it is important to support young businesses? Entrepreneurship is more important now than ever. If we want to grow the Canadian economy, we need to support and create more opportunities for

new businesses and entrepreneurs. With the rising number of millennials embarking on entrepreneurial pursuits, and the growing need for capital to finance their ventures, we need to support the future leaders of tomorrow. As of 2021, Canada’s credit unions have supported over 374,363 small businesses. For example, in Ontario, the Libro Prosperity Fund focuses on increasing employment and improving the financial capacity and resilience of people, businesses, and organizations. Young entrepreneurs may do business differently than the generations before them, but the passion that drives them is universal and we need to support that.

Financial What do you have to say about the set of programs that the Canadian Credit Union offers such as Cultivator and Conexus Venture Capital Inc., CCUA’s National Mentorship Program, Micro-Lending Program and Unity Women Entrepreneurs Program for empowering and supporting women? Advocating for women in business is a critical part of our cooperative values. By providing programs that support women, we can help them overcome systemic barriers and increase the representation of female voices both in and out of the boardroom. Ultimately, it’s important to offer programs that empower and support the advancement of women to ensure we continue to work towards creating an even playing field for all.

What are the strategic ways through which credit unions can use to support and empower female entrepreneurs? Credit unions support and empower female entrepreneurs through unique initiatives which cater to the specific

communities they represent. Since its inception in 2019, Cultivator and Conexus Venture Capital Inc. have supported

29 female-founded start-ups, and Conexus Venture Capital has invested in six companies with a female founder. Another example is the CCUA's National Mentorship Program, a

Credit unions are supporting female entrepreneurs, where only 2.3% of them were granted venture capital funding in 2020. Can you please share your views in this regard? Today, women are building innovative companies across a variety of sectors. However, while financial institutions have communicated their commitment to opening doors for female entrepreneurs and fostering inclusivity, we need the dollars to be put to work. Credit unions look at a person’s or company’s whole financial picture, not just current circumstances, which can help secure the financing entrepreneurs need. Credit unions can also offer greater flexibility, which can lead to quicker and more personalized loan decision-making.

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program that offers a women-focused stream to provide female employees and directors with additional support from

industry leaders to take that next step in their professional careers. Cape Breton Credit Union and Sydney Credit Union offer Micro-Lending programs to help female entrepreneurs fund their business ventures. In Vancouver, there is the Unity Women Entrepreneurs Program by Vancity credit union, which offers loans to support women entrepreneurs.

What is your advice to the companies willing to empower and support female-owned small and medium businesses? From running their households to a successful business, women can do it all. While great strides have been made to support the strategic business ambitions of women, there is more work to do. For female entrepreneurs, lack of access to information and financing options has made the road to success a tough one. I would encourage companies to offer more funding and training opportunities targeted at women to help them gain the confidence and resources to take their businesses to the next level.

Edward Yao Harnessing the Power of Technology to Deliver Positive Results What was the motivation and inspiration behind starting "OneLocal", what are you hoping to achieve through the work that you do? Small businesses are an incredibly underserved market which is surprising, considering they represent nearly 99% of all businesses in the United States and Canada. In

CEO & Founder of OneLocal CanadianSME sat down with Edward Yao, founder and CEO of OneLocal, to talk about his inspiration and motivation behind launching OneLocal as well as the

prime goal that he wants to accomplish through his work. He also shared some of his thoughts regarding online reviews in building awareness of small businesses as well as their impact on driving trust and reliability. He also talked about the strategies that can be executed when it comes to digital marketing and the power of social media and email

in reaching customers. Also, he discusses the role of online advertisements in the digital marketing of small businesses. Finally, he shared some of the strategies and ways entrepreneurs can drive brand awareness for their companies and set themselves for success. Together, we explore Edward's role in driving digital success for SMEs across Canada. Edward Yao is the founder and CEO of OneLocal. With a background in management consulting, he has already successfully built Canada's first daily deals company, Teambuy, growing and scaling it to >$50M GMV and 130+ employees in under five years. A local marketing expert and thought leader, his career is focused on delivering measurable results, revenue growth and customer loyalty for businesses of all sizes. Eddy lives in Toronto with his wife Jessica and their dog Bolt.

addition, small business owners typically cover at least three to five additional operational roles within their companies (bookkeeper, salesperson, marketer etc.) The

result? Most small businesses lack the time, resources and expertise to adequately manage their marketing which is resulting in performance gaps and a failure to drive actual business results.

At OneLocal, we solve this in a few ways: first, through our

suite of local marketing tools, which are explicitly designed to drive SME success and second, by backing up our tech with a real-life marketing expert to help guide our customers and optimize their success.

Historically, SMEs have either marketed themselves directly or relied on agencies and publications to do it for them. Both scenarios are far from perfect. The first lacks expertise, results and time, while agency billables and media costs can quickly run into the tens of thousands, making it cost-prohibitive. At OneLocal, we operate as a hybrid solution that relies on proprietary technology and procedures to deliver the same level of marketing expertise and success at much lower subscription prices.

What are your thoughts on the role of online reviews in creating awareness about small businesses? What kind of impact have online reviews had on your business? Online reviews are a significant source of credibility and are essential to the local marketing stack. This value is ten-fold for SMEs that don’t often have established online brand presences to drive trust and authority on their own.

As one of the most important ranking factors for local SEO, generating more, better quality reviews provide the social proof buyers are after while earning recognition and better placement by search engines. We use reviews within our own business to create trust and authority while improving SEO.

What strategies do you think work best when it comes to digital marketing? Do you think that email and social media are still effective methods for reaching customers? There is no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy and gone are the days when we could call any single

channel a 'silver bullet'. With the average buyer requiring eight or more impressions to convert, multichannel or omnichannel strategies typically prove most fruitful.

Social media and email remain highly effective at

driving the repeated engagement of buyers to need to convert. In a post-pandemic, paperless world, I believe we'll continue to see these channels grow as they become more and more engrained in the overall customer experience post-sale, with dynamic data and AI automating much of the process for business owners.

When it comes to online ads, optimization efforts are focussed on lowering customer click/CPC costs (improved headlines, ad copy and keywords) in line with

improved landing page experiences that drive conversions while maximizing overall quality scores. Customers who self-manage ads before onboarding with OneLocal consistently see an immediate performance lift through optimization activities and the application of best practices.

What are your strategic plans for entrepreneurs to drive awareness for their companies and set themselves up for success?

We will continue to educate SMEs and entrepreneurs on

the importance of taking a multichannel approach to their marketing. While each channel offers a chance at some marketing success, we see bigger wins when the systems are integrated and share data and unified management throughout the customer journey.

From the product side, we will continue to productize our procedures to give our customers more and more selfserve options, adding automation and AI to reduce the time and effort they spend on redundant marketing tasks, targeting and communication fulfillment.

About OneLocal

What role does optimization of online ads play in the digital marketing of small businesses? Optimization is an essential part of any marketing campaign, even more so for small businesses. Their budgets are often a fraction of those they are competing with at auction, so their campaigns must be run with a higher degree of efficiency to be successful.

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OneLocal is revolutionizing small business marketing. With a best-inclass suite of local marketing tools, supported by a team of real-life marketing experts, OneLocal provides technology-backed, managed marketing services that allow small business owners to focus on their passions and what they do best - running their businesses. Backed by Y Combinator, Nimble Ventures and Share Capital, OneLocal levels the playing field while driving tangible results for thousands of small businesses throughout North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. For more information or to see a demo, please visit www.onelocal.com.

Chantal Mackenzie Providing Cutting-Edge Solutions to Insurance Advisors in Helping Families and Communities Regional Vice President at Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial Company

CanadianSME sat down with Chantal Mackenzie, the Regional Vice President at Canada Protection

There was a recent analysis conducted by CPP on the past data revealing the gender gap in financial protection, can you highlight the keen insights of the analysis?

She also told us how the global pandemic badly affected the financial conditions of female

Each year around International Women’s Day, we see a

the challenges that she faced and how she learned from her past experiences. Finally, we talked about the role of financial literacy of a

analysis of aggregate data (based on 500,000 transactions

Plan, a Foresters Financial Company, to talk about the survey conducted by Canada Protection Plan revealing the gender gap in financial protection.

entrepreneurs when it comes to accomplishing their needs and goals. She also shared some of

woman in shaping a successful business. Together, we explore Chantal's role in bridging the gender gap in financial protection. With over three decades of experience in the financial industry, Chantal Mackenzie is the

Regional Vice President at Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial Company for Alberta South, NWT/YT. As Vice President, she focuses on transforming and coaching advisors and general managing agencies with their business growth plans. With an impressive record of success in developing winning growth strategies and building effective teams, Chantal has set strategic direction for brokers and distributors through Canada Protection Plan and Foresters Financial’s product solutions and tools. Over the course of her career, her experience in growing organizations has ranged from traditional to simplified issue insurance providers.

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renewed interest in discussions surrounding gender equality, but a lesser talked about component of equity is financial protection. Canada Protection Plan recently conducted an since 1960) and uncovered some interesting insights. Namely, the insurance gap between men and women has narrowed since the 1960s, with nearly 52% of women insured today

compared to 48% of men. Compare this to the period between 1960 – 1980, which saw men at 62% and women at 38%. Impressively, critical illness insurance data shows that women are further taking action at 60% ownership, compared to only 40% of men. While these trends indicate that women are increasingly taking control over their financial security, the average face value tends to be lower, which could be a reflection of the continued income gap.

The pandemic has affected the financial situations of women entrepreneurs which made them think about getting financial protection for meeting their goals and needs. What do you have to say about this? I think the pandemic has been a major eye-opener for women when it comes to their financial protection, and we’ve seen a heightened focus on how to become more confident and better equipped to handle financial savings and investments. For female business owners, in particular, the threat of the pandemic, from both a personal and a professional perspective, has shaken up

Financial traditional understandings of financial planning and driven a renewed interest in exploring the tools that are available to protect against uncertainty. Interest in life insurance has certainly experienced an uptick from entrepreneurs, many of whom have come to realize that such benefits are usually covered by employers. Becoming an entrepreneur is an impressive feat, but one that entails thinking about ways to protect yourself, your business and your family should something unexpected happen.

While the realization may have been borne out of the pandemic as a necessity, this ‘rethink’ of financial wellbeing has been largely a positive one. We’re seeing more females motivated to take control over their finances, their businesses and most importantly, themselves. This committed and disciplined approach is about giving other female entrepreneurs a model to emulate and paving the way for others to follow.

By 2022, women are more likely to purchase insurance than men.

What are your views about the gender gap becoming narrow with women being more aware of financial protection?

The narrowing of the insurance gap is a highly promising trend that reflects the increasing financial power held by women. Historically, we’ve seen men dominate the insurance space, as old-fashioned thinking led us to protect the people who were ‘earning an income. That women are seeking out insurance at higher rates than men is a very welcome sign of two key realizations – an understanding of the immense value provided by home or family caregivers, and the incredible strides made by working women, from launching innovative businesses, to managing large amounts of wealth, to climbing the corporate ladder and becoming major economic

players. The willingness of women to take responsibility and protect their financial assets is a hugely positive development and a hopeful sign for a female-positive future.

How does the financial literacy of women play a major role in small businesses?

Being a successful entrepreneur requires having solid investing and budgeting skills, two main aspects of financial literacy. Entrepreneurs are responsible to protect themselves, employees and loved ones against the unexpected, and many look to secure some peace of mind through insurance. When women set goals and expectations and act on them by obtaining the necessary protective measures, they can move forward with confidence knowing that their business and family will be cared for, no matter the circumstances. Entrepreneurs with life insurance can also enjoy certain tax benefits, such as funding transition plans, reducing tax on passive assets, having access to cash that their businesses can use if needed, and diversifying their portfolios. 56 - CanadianSME - April 2022

What did you learn from your failures? Were you able to overcome them? I wouldn’t call them failures but rather challenges. Despite tremendous advances from women, financial spaces are still predominantly male-oriented. As a female in the industry, I’ve experienced plenty of bias over the years, predominantly from older men, and I’ve struggled to find mentors whom I could really connect with. With over 30 years of experience, the challenges I’ve encountered haven’t stopped me – in fact, they’ve helped me develop a better understanding of industry shortcomings and connect with a critically important market that continues to demand more female representation.

What piece of advice would you like to give women-owned small businesses regarding the increasing need for financial literacy? Focus on honing your saving, investing and budgeting skills – and start as early as possible. Developing an understanding of finance will allow you to ask the right questions and make

better, more educated business decisions. I’d also recommend working with a financial advisor to help you navigate the extensive number of solutions available. Advisors can also help create a personalized plan that takes your specific needs and goals into consideration, so don’t be afraid to ‘shop around for the right one. Lastly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, not having risk protection in place is a risk in and of itself. Remember, while you cannot control the future, you can equip yourself to control the unexpected.

Desirée Bombenon Revolutionized the Call Center Sector with Her PurposeOriented Strategy CanadianSME sat down with Desirée A Bombenon, CEO and Chief Disruption Officer at SureCall, to talk about what motivated her to take the entrepreneurial journey. She also shared with us about EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Program in encouraging and empowering her career. We talked about her winning the RBC Momentum Award, what this win means to her, and how it impacted her entrepreneurship career. We also had a discussion regarding how Hero Girls is educating girls of unrepresented communities and providing them with financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills. She also shared some of her biggest failures and how she learned from them, and also the pros and cons of being a female entrepreneur. Together, we explore Desirée's role in building resilience during the hardest of times.

Desirée A Bombenon is a serial entrepreneur and mentor. Born in Colombo Sri-Lanka, she immigrated to Canada at a young age with a dream to work hard and give back to her community. Balanced by her Husband Marc and her two children Janine and Joel, Desirée is passionate about making a difference. Desirée is a health enthusiast, enjoys wake boarding, snowboarding, hiking, tennis, writing, painting, drawing, reading, scuba diving and martial arts. Desirée enjoys community giving, philanthropy, and volunteer work. Outside her many business endeavors and community work, Desirée is a published fictional author. Desirée’s life goal is to create value by mentoring those who wish to improve themselves through business and social responsibility for a better community and world. Her work at Harvard created Hero Girls – a humanitarian project of educating women in developing countries to raise the prosperity of the entire community.

How did you start your business career? Can you please share your journey with our readers? The journey really started out with taking business courses and getting an undergraduate in business. I loved the fact that anyone could start

a business and build it up and there was strategy and goals and a whole structure around it. When I had the chance to step up and show people what I could do, as well as share my thoughts and ideas, it helped me to get into roles that would

support me later as an entrepreneur. I had to work through several roles, from the front line to almost every position in the corporation I worked for to prove I was able to take on a leadership role.

CEO & Chief Disruption Officer, SureCall

Quite often I was passed over for a male employee, who had much less tenure than I had. One of the most important things a budding entrepreneur or business leader can do is take chances, and when an opportunity presents itself, you have to take it. That proactiveness will serve you later as a foundation for confidence, but also as a lever to the next big thing. After several professional roles, I started a wine importing business, as well I became co-founder, and CEO of SureCall a global purpose-driven BPO, that has grown tremendously since 2013. I pivoted to social entrepreneurship as I had always had the goal of utilizing business as a force for good since I was very young, and before it became the popular thing for businesses to do. Today my company spends 2% of our top-line revenue, giving back to the local community, assisting in national endeavours, and contributing to global humanitarian causes.

Women Entrepreneurship You've been involved in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program, both as a winner in the Prairies Region for the category of Communication Technology, and also as a judge. How has recognition like this impacted your career and would you encourage other successful entrepreneurs to nominate themselves?

According to recent Salesforce data, it shows that 83% of Canadians want to support brands that prioritize values and profit equally. Can you share your thoughts on this with our readers?

It's been a pleasure and honor receiving the EY

employees. My company is a certified B Corporation, meaning we are held to the highest standards of environmental, social, and ethical behaviors and

recognitions and judging these incredible companies vying for entrepreneur of the year. I think it has brought awareness to many things, not just to me but to my business, which does a lot of community work. EY has of course added tremendous value to both my personal brand and the brand image of my businesses. We have seen an increase in interest

from both new customers as well as a talent who want to come and work for us. I would definitely

encourage entrepreneurs to nominate themselves or others whom they think can benefit from the program. Regardless of whether you win, there is significant value to the exercise of doing the submission. I realized our company had done so

much and come so far, and I wasn’t really using any of that information to market the company. I could show my team the fantastic progress we were

making. The EY program opened my eyes to how much we should be celebrating as a company for the efforts we have made and the success we have had.

In 2020, you were awarded as the winner of the RBC Momentum Award, a category of the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards that honors an entrepreneur who has created a responsive business that can adapt to changing market environments and leverage opportunities for continued growth. What does winning this award mean to you? This award is meaningful for many reasons, one is that the women who are nominated for the awarded work hard and have had to fight through different challenges and obstacles than their male counterparts. But more important to me is that it sends a message to all the young girls and women out there that they can do and become whomever they want. That they can follow their dreams and passions and believe in their ability to make things happen. This award is a symbol of that.

This is evident in how many businesses are clearly shifting the way they do business and some of the corporate values that are changing in order to retain

processes. As more consumers want to ensure that their purchases are contributing to corporately responsible companies who value sustainable business practices you will see more and more

companies change their own values and behaviors. This is wonderful of course, it means many things including how people are valued by the companies they work for, as well as thinking about community contributions, and sharing in environmental goals among other important humanitarian efforts.

Women Entrepreneurship You launched Hero Girls because of your passion to educate girls in underserved communities and provide them with financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills, etc. Please let us know about the challenges faced during this initiative and why you think it's important to empower the underrepresented communities. Let me start by saying when you empower girls in a community you raise the prosperity of the entire community. There are hundreds of research papers that speak to this, and it really doesn’t matter how, as much as it matters why. Women have so much to contribute, not only in their creative and collaborative methodology when it comes to solving

challenging problems, but they are generally the caregivers and nurturers,

especially in developing countries. How you treat the females in a society is directly related to how that society will survive and succeed. For me, the challenge, especially in developing worlds, is to get the local

community to support the efforts to educate females. In many of these regions, girls are treated no better than farm animals, and are used to barter, or sold off to work as labourers or worse. We had to

go in and establish a relationship with village influencers on the ground and build trust, and ensure they understood the value that the program would bring to the village in order to be accepted. We also had to work hard to show results in the first year to encourage further collaboration that would allow us to continue the program. In the end, we had a successful 3-year pilot, putting over 500 girls through the empowerment and entrepreneurial Hero Girls program, which included scholarships, and an innovation project. We were also able to provide bicycles for safe transportation to school and supported the mother’s group with microloans to start businesses in the village. We are now moving the program to include assistance for women and girls being exploited and trafficked in these countries. 59 - CanadianSME - April 2022

What have you learned from your failures? Which of them are most meaningful? I have learned that failures must happen if you want to reach your full potential. I have learned that titles don’t matter, and that leadership is about empowering and supporting others. I have learned that it’s important to make decisions even if it’s the wrong decision, the status quo is not an option, and hope is not a strategy. I have learned that barriers and limitations are figments of my imagination. And I have learned that the less you think about money and profit, the more money and profit you make. Every failure is meaningful; someone asked me if I could go back and have a re-do which failure would I pick, I simply would not. I embrace these as learning opportunities and believe me, I learned a lot!

Are there any pros and cons of being a woman entrepreneur? What specific advice do you have for young women who are aspiring to become entrepreneurs in future? There are both pros and cons, to being a woman entrepreneur, especially today. It’s a highly regarded position to be a female entrepreneur, whether for the right or wrong reasons, the spotlight is on women today. There are still many challenges and underlying issues to deal with. Today if you are a woman in a leadership role you are under a microscope, and often seen as getting the role to make quota or as the “token” female on the board. It’s tough because we know female

leaders and entrepreneurs are effective, and talented and deserve the right to be in the role. Other challenges are that

female entrepreneur are still not looked at with the same degree of seriousness as male entrepreneurs, and in many cases are overlooked when it comes to funding opportunities or investment. I realize these things are changing, but not quickly enough. In the meantime, I encourage all entrepreneurs to never give up, it’s these challenges that will build resilience to get you through the hardest times and give you the energy to succeed more than you could ever imagine.

KITCHEN HUB

TAKING THE CONCEPT OF GHOST KITCHEN TO NEW HEIGHTS! What Made Adam Armeland Open Kitchen Hub?

The concept of a ghost kitchen has long been crawling around the

culinary scene. The idea of T oronto's unique “Kitchen Hub” food hall

concept, essentially a ghost kitchen that houses multiple catering partners, was born in Adam

Armeland's head one day while on maternity leave and counting the number of people buying food.

Kitchen Hub claims to be “Canada’s first virtual food hall”. It offers restaurants and foodservice

establishments dedicated turnkey

kitchen spaces (colloquially referred to as "ghost kitchens") to expand sales of the space, especially for takeout and delivery operations.

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During parental leave, Adam always went to a place called

Pazza Pazza in Eglington to buy food for his family. It was his way of 'cooking' for the family when he was busy taking care of his daughter. He kept noticing and slapped his head like an anvil several times, and eventually, he woke up and noticed a group of drivers and parents just passing by him. People were gathering and driving. He noticed two people sitting on the floor and had to feel the constant traffic jams. And, suddenly an idea came to his mind. Adam realized that people are busy and looking for comfort and quality food. Toronto is famous for its amazing food and it is known all over the world since off-premises were on the rise at that time. DoorDash just arrived in Canada and UberEats has its place. All these things led to the birth of Canada’s first virtual food hall - Kitchen Hub. Adam Armeland, Co-founder and CEO of Kitchen Hub, has an interest in logistics and plans to open more locations across the country, allowing brands to quickly and relatively inexpensively expand their presence in high-demand locations outside of shipping locations.

Entrepreneurship

Overall Strategy of Kitchen Hub Adam Armeland’s Kitchen Hub’s strategy is to make restaurants very successful in their space. He has collaborated with small and large restaurants such as Kanga, Fresh, and Pai and a dessert-only concept of the Cheesecake Factory. It also attracts more CPG products and other brands that want to sell directly to consumers, such as Greenhouse juice and frozen desserts like Magnum, Ben & Jerry, and Klondike. Kitchen Hub’s CPG partners typically sign up for a minimum of one year, but restaurants sign up for a little longer, which is closer to a rental. Kitchen Hub has two business models. One is 'instant cooking', in which dishes are prepared according to a restaurant partner's recipes and ingredients. Kitchen Hub is confident in launching a virtual brand that either succeeds or can succeed. The other is a jumble of sold by and sold through. When a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream or Greenhouse juice runs out, Kitchen Hub is a fulfillment partner for brands to "put the pins back in place” as if they are having a store of their own, but it’s a virtual and digital store.

Future Plans of Adam Armeland Adam Armeland has announced plans to launch five more food halls next year, with 50 stores expected to open across Canada over the next five years. This announcement comes after Kitchen Hub has raised an additional $9 million in funding for a total of $10 million to date. According to Kitchen Hub, investors in this round include Harlo Equity Partners, Proficio Capital Partners, QSR Group, PIK Investments, as well as existing entrepreneurs and investors. There will be the flagship site with 13 kitchens and retail space among the food halls to open in 2022. According to Kitchen Hub, the virtual food hall model gives restaurant operators access to previously non-takeout restaurants in the surrounding area, while providing infrastructure and low overhead costs for restaurant operators. Kitchen Hub currently serves takeaways from Toronto-based restaurants like Pai and Piano Piano. To expand its presence, Kitchen Hub will use the funds as a first step toward opening more locations to support adding restaurant partners, grow existing partners, further develop skills and double the size of the team. 61 - CanadianSME - April 2022

What Does Kitchen Hub Believe? Matthew Wosk, CEO of Proficio Capital Partners, said the pandemic has driven tremendous innovation and growth in the takeaway market. Virtual food halls have become an integral part of North America. And because Kitchen Hub is an industry leader in Canada, he sees an opportunity to help them grow quickly. Mat Abramsky, Co-Founder and CFO of Kitchen Hub believes that Kitchen Hub is a great way to bring community centers, industrial hubs and suburban offices to life. This new capital will allow them to work with more rental partners across Canada to expand their presence and cater to their neighbours.

Adam Armeland Streamlining the Food Delivery and Takeout Sector Leveraging Innovative Technology Could you please share with us your innovative idea behind this ''ghost kitchen" concept? The Kitchen Hub story began while I was on parental leave

in 2018 — my way of ‘cooking’ for my family while I was also busy taking care of my daughter was picking up takeout from a local restaurant. During my many visits to our

CEO of Kitchen Hub CanadianSME sat down with Adam

Armeland, CEO of Kitchen Hub, earlier this year to talk about the disruption he has brought to the food industry through his "Ghost Kitchen" concept. He shares the innovative idea behind the concept of

"Ghost Kitchen" and how it is revolutionizing the takeout industry in Canada by making it more convenient and streamlined. We also talked about some of Adam's business

models provided by Kitchen Hub for its restaurant partners and what his future plans are with the $10 million funding that he received. We also discussed how the global pandemic has severely affected North America's takeout sector and how his company expanded rapidly during such a difficult time. Together, we explore Adam's vision and how Kitchen Hub differentiates itself from other already existing "ghost kitchens" in Canada.

favorite local spot, I started to notice familiar faces all on

the same mission. There was a steady flow of people just like me, along with delivery drivers, looking to pick up orders with nowhere to wait and no idea how long they would be doing so, especially as takeout felt like a secondary priority to dine-in.

It was on my regular takeout run that it hit me — Canadians are busy and looking for quality food provided quickly and conveniently, but also want a variety of choices to select from. While the take-out and delivery channel had been

steadily growing over the last six or seven years through the implementation of third party apps like UberEats, Skip the Dishes and DoorDash along with the rise of off-premise

cooking concepts, the primary focus of most restaurants was the in-person dining experience. Take-out is rarely prioritized and, as a result, often not profitable. There needed to be a solution for both restaurants and consumers. Enter, Kitchen Hub. We opened our doors in January 2020, co-founded by myself (Adam Armeland, commercial lawyer specializing in corporate real estate); Mat Abramsky (real estate investor and startup expert) and Oren Borovitch (restaurant strategy and operations expert).

How is "Kitchen Hub" going to transform the takeout industry in Canada? Kitchen Hub is ushering in the next generation of takeout we are reimagining the takeout experience by focusing on our four key pillars: convenience of quick and easy takeout;

Entrepreneurship consistent high-quality; collection of curated offerings in both product selection and the channels they are available from; as well as care packaged into every order. Everything Kitchen Hub does prioritize the takeout experience — from the layout of our facilities to the customdesigned kitchen spaces and our proprietary technology (digital screen displaying order status across all third-party apps) and our owned channel KitchenHub.com, cloud data storage, backend analytics).

What are some of the various business models Kitchen Hub provides for its restaurant partners? Kitchen Hub offers partnership opportunities at all levels from the grab-and-go visibility available to our consignment partners to fully-custom kitchens in a range of sizes for our restaurant partners.

The key difference between the business model that Kitchen Hub offers its restaurant partners and that of the existing standard of ‘ghost kitchens‘ is that our partners have their own kitchen on-premise, which is staffed by their teams. Kitchen Hub takes care of the front of

house and operations so that the restaurants just focus on what they love – to cook! If you order Chef Nuit’s Pad Thai, it’s made in a PAI kitchen with PAI chefs. Our model allows the restaurant partners to pay 100% attention to delivery/takeout orders (as opposed to being split with dinein), resulting in an extremely high-quality product.

Could you please tell us some of the major restaurants you've partnered with? PAI Northern Thai Kitchen Piano Piano Gusto 101 Impact Kitchen Victory Foods Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen Cabano’s Comfort Food Chatime …to name a few 63 - CanadianSME - April 2022

With the CAD $10 million funding that you received, what would you like to do? What are your future plans? Since opening its doors in 2020, Kitchen Hub continues to grow exponentially. With the $10M in funding raised from top-tier investors, we will be opening four locations in 2022 with a total of 50 planned in the next five years. Over the past few years, consumers have learned how to ‘cook with their phones’, becoming accustomed to reaching for their phone to order their

favorite dishes. Customers can browse through a wide selection of restaurants and quickly scan offerings from local restaurants at the touch of a screen. By re-engineering the takeout model, we have been

able to provide restaurants with a platform to successfully focus on takeout and provide an UNBELIEVABLE experience to customers at home. Our

team will continue to focus on delivering hospitality at every stage of the takeout experience - from the moment the order to the delight and surprise they get when opening the package.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the takeout industry in North America? The pandemic has made the takeout channel a key lifeline for restaurants while facing industry-wide shutdowns. Previously, takeout often felt like an afterthought, with dine-in being the primary focus.

Lockdown has illuminated this imbalance, but restaurants have subsequently discovered that the growth potential of the takeout channel is substantial, especially with such extensive support from third-party apps. Now, as restaurants navigate reopening once again, it can be quite challenging for staff to split their focus and excel at both dine-in and takeout simultaneously. By partnering with Kitchen Hub, restaurants are able to not only excel in both areas and expand with low overhead but also access new communities, building brand awareness and engaging a wider consumer base. Enjoying a quality meal at home has been, and forever will be, of the utmost importance. With the takeout channel continuing to evolve, providing exceptional takeout will continue to play a large role in the restaurant industry overall moving forward.

HOW TO START A PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS ACROSS CANADA IN 2022:

TOP 15 IDEAS Will 2022 be the year you finally build a profitable online business? You might have thought about it every year. You have been going through innumerable online business ideas in your mind and imagining what your life is going to be if you could finally quit your job and start making money on the Internet.

You can travel the world with ease, build a comfortable lifestyle for yourself as well as your family, and accomplish

financial liberty. You could finally get away from the constraints of working 9 to 5 and take complete ownership of your time. But what happens then? You usually spend time contemplating the ideas but eventually return to your comfort zone. The stable income of your secure job, the peace of having someone else tell you what to do each day (rather than trying to decipher from the ground up), and the consistent schedule. You say to yourself, "You know what? This year is a bit too tough, I will start this online business the following year." But let us say that the "following year" never comes. In this blog, we are here to tell you that the year 2022 is the year to begin your online business. There are more opportunities than ever before, and you must take advantage of them. In order to help you get started, we are going to share the top 15 online business ideas. Read them through, see which one of them is right for you and start your research work.

15 Robust Online Business Ideas Are you looking for some fantastic online business ideas? Browse the list below to identify the most profitable business opportunity for you.

Launch a Dropshipping Small Business Do you believe you require a warehouse full of merchandise to manage your own business? Consider again! Dropshipping is an excellent option to launch a business on a shoestring budget. You may get started quickly by acquiring a pre-existing product from a source and having them handle things like packing and fulfilment. This procedure allows you to avoid many of the roadblocks that could otherwise prevent you from launching your own firm. More significantly, it reduces the danger of discovering that your product has no market after placing a large order with a supplier or manufacturer.

Online business Become a Freelance Designer, Writer, or Developer Graphic designers, writers, and developers may use their skills to create a low-cost business. You'll be able to put your abilities to work as a freelancer by assisting folks all around the world with their tasks (while generating money yourself, of course). Freelancing does not entail committing to month-long

projects that consume your leisure time. You may simply take on bite-sized chores that fit with your schedule. Try freelance markets like Fiverr and Upwork to locate people who need your assistance.

Start Your Clothing Line You may start your own clothing firm if you have some designs in mind and a little time on your hands. If you already have a Shopify store, you may use Printful, Printify, or a comparable product-sourcing platform to

launch your own apparel line. Each immediately connects your store to clothes printers and manufacturers. They also manage every stage of the retail fulfilment process for you, allowing you to develop and distribute a diverse assortment of items straight away.

Sell Your Art Online

Although it takes time to create a successful, highvalue video lesson series, you will earn money on an ongoing basis as people join your course. Begin by brainstorming a topic that you are knowledgeable enough about to teach someone how to accomplish from scratch. This might be anything from music production to web development to social media marketing.

Publish Your Own Book It's okay to say it: you've considered writing and publishing your own book someday. While seeing your name on a list of best-sellers may appear to be a pipe dream, it's actually not that far-fetched. There are currently several possibilities for effective self-publishing of your work, whether it be a science-fiction novel, a marketing guide, or a children's picture book. These options include

publishing your work as an ebook using the Digital Downloads app or using on-demand printing providers such as CreateSpace and Blurb.

Install the Digital Downloads software to sell ebooks through your online store, and you'll be able to stock digital files as items right away. Your ebooks will be

Whether you are a musician, photographer, or painter,

distributed to your consumers through direct download or email when they have been purchased.

professionally designed eCommerce website.

If you decide to sell physical copies of your book, all you have to do is place an order with CreateSpace

there are several online business ideas and methods to convert your newest work into a source of cash with a

If you excel in photography or painting you may sell your work as prints, canvases, and framed posters through Printify or Printful. This is an excellent method to transform your artwork into something physical that people can take home and include in their surroundings. Do you enjoy music? You may sell your songs, beats, samples, etc. as digital downloads. Take a peek at The Drum Broker, the world's largest online drum sample company. With the use of applications such as FetchApp, it developed a sustainable and profitable small business model with the aid of applications like ShipStation and FetchApp.

Teach an Online Course Teaching an online course is a low-cost internet business opportunity that may provide passive revenue. All you have to do is create a video tutorial of a subject you're familiar with and upload it on your own personal website.

or Blurb anytime someone buys it. They will custom print your book and manage all aspects of storage and fulfilment.

Online business Start a Blog Since its start, blogging has gone a long way. What started as a virtual journal has evolved into a marketing and even monetization tool. A blog is a terrific internet business concept that you can start from home, whether you generate money by publishing sponsored pieces, hosting third-party adverts, or selling your items. The secret to launching a successful blog is to concentrate on developing an engaged, dedicated

readership. When you begin with an audience-centric strategy, you will build a community of people who trust you. And after you've earned trust, you can start driving revenue.

That's how Mr. Money Mustache got his successful personal finance blog off to a good start. What started as a movement has evolved into a thriving company with national media coverage.

Launch a Podcast Consider recording your own voice for a podcast if you enjoy the sound of your voice. Podcasts, like starting a blog, are a terrific home business idea with various revenue opportunities.

Here's everything you'll need to get started with your

Become an Affiliate Marketer Affiliate marketing is when you advocate a product or service to your email list, website, or other channels by promoting it on a blog or social media. Each time someone converts using your unique referral link or code, you receive a commission. Choose an affiliate program that is a good fit for your passions, personal brand, and target audience.

Examples include Affiliate Future, FlexOffers, and ShareASale. Amazon offers its own affiliate program, and the Shopify Affiliate Program is another option. Begin sharing once you've joined up. Create social media postings, blog articles, emails, and other

content extolling the virtues of the product or service you're advertising. Don't bombard your viewers with advertisements; otherwise, you risk coming out as inauthentic or spammy.

podcast:

A top-notch microphone

Software for audio recording Software for recording phone calls Consider inviting renowned personalities to be guests on your podcast to help market it. Encourage listeners to post reviews and spread the word about your podcast to their friends and family.

Become a Virtual Assistant Are you a super-organized person who enjoys working behind the scenes? If so, you might be an ideal candidate for starting a virtual assistant (VA) firm. A virtual assistant (VA) assists entrepreneurs, corporations, and executives in organizing their personal and professional life. There is a wide range of responsibilities, from basic marketing management to appointment scheduling and all in between. And it's all done online.

Become a Social Media Manager Managing and expanding social media accounts effectively is a talent. Consider becoming a social media manager or a brand consultant if you have the skills. You would be in charge of a company's online social presence, establishing its social marketing strategy, administering campaigns, and other relevant activities. It's a great online company concept with lots of demand, with jobs in social media anticipated to expand by 10% by 2030, and it doesn't require a lot of starting cash to get started. Build a website, your own social media channels (create them and use them as social proof to acquire clients), as well as a payment processing system to get started. As you get more expertise, you will be able to cater to a broader range of social media demands, such as outreach, profile growth, and brand sponsorship management.

Online business Curate Subscription Boxes

Become a Translator

Subscription boxes are themed shipments including a variety of merchandise. Subscription boxes are available in almost every sector, from craft snacks to meal-prep kits to fitness items to beauty and fitness items. You may create subscription boxes based on almost any theme you like.

Knowing more than a single language might provide you with financial benefits. With a laptop and good internet connectivity, you may be well on your way to launching an online translation business. The translation sector is thriving, having more than doubled in size in the previous decade.

When you curate subscription boxes, you collaborate with artisans and companies to acquire and resell

You may use your expertise as a translator to translate material, résumés, meetings, online conferences, and

the box, while there are some (such as meal prep kits) where the customer chooses what they get.

that after you obtain your first few clients, a translation business may be both flexible and profitable.

their items as part of a packaged offering. Consumers often expect to be surprised by what's in

Invest in Real Estate It may sound intimidating at first, but investing in real estate isn't difficult to get started if you do your homework. Depending on the industry, obtaining alternatives such as accessible FHA loans might be the jumpstart you require to assure a cash-flowing firm from the outset. You don't have to worry about stocking goods or

supply chain issues with real estate. You may instead scout properties from the comfort of your own couch. There are initial fees and purchasing requirements to consider, but loans are available to assist cover them.

The cash flow generated by your first property can be re-invested in the purchase of your next. If you do this enough times, you'll be able to get some big income.

books. As you gain experience, you can charge by the hour or by the project. In any case, the basic truth is

Create Handmade Goods Selling handcrafted things is a terrific internet business idea if you're exceptionally crafty. One business concept is to monetize your creative abilities and sell things online, whether you produce jewellery, picture frames, or furniture.

While you can utilize sites like Etsy and Craigslist, having your own internet business gives you more

control and makes tracking and fulfilling orders easier.

The Key Takeaway If you've been considering beginning an online business in 2022, now is the time to get out there and start your new venture in your spare time. You don't have to put everything on the line. Begin with a part-time side business and work your way up. Alternatively, keep things simple. The benefit of learning how to establish a business online is that you have total control over the process.

Philip Cutler Bringing Positive Energy into the Educational Sphere Chief Executive Officer at Paper People say experience is the best teacher. Philip

Cutler's experience as an education major at McGill University has taught him inequalities in the private tutoring space. He witnessed this and launched Paper (originally named GradeSlam), a company that enhances educational equity by providing

individual assistance to students who require help.

What Drew Philip Cutler to Education? Philip Cutler was one of those students who did not have a master plan. His parents were the ones with the belief "do what makes you happy." So no one pushed Philip in any direction when he went to college. However, he knew that as a student, he liked school and was quite motivated by working with children, so he thought maybe he could become a teacher. He knew he was an entrepreneur in the back of his mind, so he did not know if he would work in education forever, but he saw it as a good place to start. Philip went to McGill's elementary school program and saw classroom teaching as an option for pursuing this degree rather than the sole option, but he felt the program kept pushing him.

68 - CanadianSME - April 2022

On the first day of school in the big hall, the school authority handed him a sheet of paper with a salary table that stated the annual salary of being a public school teacher. When Philip realized that his entire professional career would be summed up on that 9*11 sheets of paper, he was not sure if teaching was for him. But, though Philip loved the people and the program, he decided to try it.

What Eventually Motivated Philip to Start Paper?

About Paper

During Philip's freshman year, his professors told him that teaching experience is needed straight away, but he needed to find a way to tutor since he wasn't qualified to teach. He looked around at his class and realized that people are experiencing the same problem, so Philip started posting advertisements on Craigslist looking for students.

Paper collaborates with school districts to provide 1:1 tutoring that is cost-effective, scalable, and equitable. Students get 24/7

He ended up starting his own tutoring business to make money and meet the program's needs, and it was quite successful. All this time, however, Philip has only served the wealthy families. As he began teaching, he realized that the most successful students were the ones who can afford that extra assistance. The other 90 percent required the help most but did not have resources at home and none was serving that side of the market.

Philip left teaching early to found Paper with his co-founder, Roberto Cipriani in 2014 and advocate for educational equity. Today, Paper has grown beyond what Philip has ever imagined when he gave up teaching, but the aim has always been the same.

Philip Cutler realized there are loads of ways to refine educational equity. It motivates Philip and his entire unit. Philip believes that people are into

engineering, marketing, and sales, but that is not why people wish to work at Paper. Philip states that people work at Paper because they believe in what they do for the company and how they can educate students. It also helps Philip to get through the challenging times of being a founder and CEO. He believes that the main reason why startups fail is there are problems between the founders. As a result, they end up leaving the mission and the business. The main truth is that if people want to build a billion-dollar company and change the world, there needs to be a lot more to it than just crunching the numbers. People need to be passionate about what they are doing. Philip Cutler feels that being at Paper for seven years and serving as a CEO has been absolutely a rocky road. Still, when he's having a difficult day or maybe a week, he just watches students come onto his platform and remember he is on a mission to help kids. It reminds him that this is not just a regular company that needs to deliver returns to the shareholders. Philip thus never fails to put the mission ahead of anything else he has to do. 69 - CanadianSME - April 2022

unlimited help and can write feedback, teachers get insights to fill individual learning gaps, and the administrators get actionable

data to make strategic decisions. The multilingual teachers at Paper add an extra layer of assistance

across grade levels and content areas, in and out of the classroom, so that students can have access to professional help.

In the present day, the rapidlygrowing Montreal-based Paper

has more than 1,000 expert teachers on its platform, offering 24/7 services for every grade level

on 200 topics in 4 different languages. Paper has received $120 million in venture capital from leading investors, including Bullpen Capital, Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Birchmere Ventures, Reach Capital, and BDC. Over the past year, this investment follows extraordinary development from assisting 50,000 students to more than a million to date.

Entrepreneurship

Allen Lau A Visionary Serial Entrepreneur to Watch Out For!

A Brief about Allen Lau Apart from being a leader and a visionary serial

entrepreneur in the Canadian tech community, Allen Lau is also a featured speaker and an authoritative voice on entrepreneurship, the benefits of a diverse

Co-founder and CEO of Wattpad

workforce, and the innovation economy. Being the co-founder and CEO of Wattpad, based out of

Toronto, he leads a global team with an inspiring vision to use breakthrough technology to transform

Allen Lau is the co-founder and CEO of

the way entertainment creates and is produced while empowering different voices.

stories regarding their passions. Wattpad stories range from science fiction to romance and everything in

Under his leadership, Wattpad grew to a community of a whopping 94 million people who have penned over a billion uploads on this robust platform. In

Wattpad, a service that empowers people to discover and share their

between. Entertainment companies are now partnering with Wattpad to transform stories into films, books, and TV series.

addition, thousands of stories on Wattpad have

Before launching Wattpad, Allen Lau was a co-founder and seller of a mobile advertising company named FeedM8. Earlier, he co-founded Tira Wireless, where he assisted top-notch brands in streamlining content for mobile delivery.

Through his leadership and innovative thinking, Allen Lau has raised $120 million from leading VCs in New York, Silicon Valley, Asia, and Canada. In the year 2021, Wattpad was obtained by Naver, the South Korean internet agglomerate, in a transaction that was valued at over $600 million.

been embraced for other platforms, becoming #1 Netflix hits, blockbuster movies, best-selling books, and Emmy-nominated TV series worldwide.

That very year, Allen Lau was invited to serve on the board of directors of the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), a cultural organization to change the way people generally see the world via films. Allen Lau brings his experience and unique perspective to support and strengthen TIFF's mission as a board member.

Entrepreneurship In addition, Lau joined the MaRS Discovery District as one of the board of directors, which is North America's biggest urban innovation center. Being a board member, He partnered with MaRS to support high-growth startups and scale-ups to power cutting-edge discoveries. Allen is a leader in the technology sector and startup ecosystem of Canada and a member of the Canadian Council of Innovators, a lobby group advancing the interests of Canadian tech companies at every level of government. Allen also co-founded the Two Small Fish Ventures, a fund investing in Toronto and

Waterloo-based early-stage Internet companies with robust network effects. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Toronto University's Electrical Engineering Program. In 2020, Allen was inducted into the University of Toronto

Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction. In addition, Allen was named twice by Toronto Life as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People.

Why Did Allen Launch Wattpad? In the beginning, there was an idea. In 2002,

Allen wanted to develop a mobile reading application for himself since he was busy and wanted to take his reading material with him. But his phone was slow and used to lag often, and he didn't pursue the idea. When the mobile phone features got better in 2006, he revived the idea and coincidentally, his Wattpad cofounder, Ivan came up to him with the same idea unbeknownst to them. When they discovered this overlap, it made sense for them to shake hands and launch a company together. Today, Wattpad helps storytellers find their audience and helps them to potentially make a living out of it; and also helps audiences find good stories, and that too for free. Several people don't have access to penned work since they can't afford it. So Wattpad delivers something very meaningful, changing the lives of storytellers and audiences.

After 15 years, Wattpad is a leading cross-platform entertainment machine that publishes user-generated

authentic and genuine content, often finding a second life in TV series, films, and books. After being taken over by Naver, the South Korean Internet company, Wattpad is finding fresh synergies. Combined, Wattpad and WEBTOON, a division of Naver dedicated to animation and comics, presently reached over 160 million monthly viewers worldwide. Allen Lau has successfully turned

Wattpad into a sustainable business while remaining true to its purpose.

About Allen’s Journey to Become the CEO of Wattpad I'm the CEO of Wattpad. He always wanted to create and build something. He founded two companies before starting Wattpad. He also worked for an incubator.

The Wattpad prototype (app) grew into a product, the product grew into a company, and the company grew into a business. The journey from Founder to CEO is different. Allen believes that founding a company is different than running a company.

Allen's Pieces of Advice to Future Generations Allen Lau believes people don't iterate fast. They get stuck in an idea for a long time. He believes ideas aren't just the only thing; people need to turn their ideas into reality and make things happen. If people have a daring idea and believe they can add value to their lives, they need to execute it.

For more information regarding Allen Lau and Wattpad, you can scroll through their official website.

CanadianSME Small Business Magazine April 2022

Articles inside

Adam Armeland - Streamlining the Food Delivery and Takeout Sector Leveraging Innovative Technology

Simeon Garratt - Man of Innovation and Creativity

Steve Apostolopoulos and Jason Sawyer - Two Robust and Innovative

Martha Durdin - Creating a Vibrant Future for Canadian Women Entrepreneurs

Why the Canadian production industry is thriving amidst the pandemic and showing no signs of slowing down

Top 10 Technologies That Is a Must for Small Businesses

Ryan Moreno - Leaning into Innovation