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CAPITAL IDEAS UPCOMING EVENTS NOVEMBER 19: STA R T U P CA LG A RY LAUNCH PARTY 2015 Startup Calgary’s annual Launch Party recognizes the city’s most innovative startups. ■ Where: Mount Royal University (4825 Mt Royal Gate S.W.) ■ When: 6 to 11 p.m. ■ Admission: $35. More info at picatic.com/sclp2015
FINANCIAL POST
CA LG A RY H E R A L D
COMMUNITY QUESTION
WHAT MAKES CALGARY A GREAT PLACE TO DO BUSINESS? Entrepreneurs share what their local community has to offer “There’s a very encouraging and positive entrepreneurial energy here in Calgary. I wasn’t an entrepreneur when I first moved here, and I’m not sure if I would have followed this path if it weren’t for living in this city and having the opportunity to meet so many business people and entrepreneurs. There’s such a lively networking community here of people who want to support each other and help each other’s businesses grow. Calgary truly is a great place to do business.” Kamea Zelisko, owner of MKT Communications, mktcommunications.ca
NOVEMBER 23-24: WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP AND BUSINESS CONFERENCE Designed for leaders, managers and entrepreneurs who want to advance their career or grow their business. ■ Where: Hyatt Regency Calgary (700 Centre Street S.E.) ■ When: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. ■ Admission: $1375. More info at wilbconference.com For more great events, visit capitalideascalgary.com/ calgaryevents.
C A P I TA L QUESTION
How do you maintain motivation in your staff?
“The spirit, as hokey as that might sound. I can go anywhere in this city and talk to anyone. Peers share insights and resources even when we seek similar clients ... and even when times are tough there is an undercurrent of ‘let’s get this done’. Calgary is a city that moves forward.”
Mark Dawson, founder of Inrol Custom Simulations and Training Services, inrol.ca
Lisa Genovese, president and CMO at BottomLine Marketing (bottomlinemarketing.ca), has many reasons. “Down to earth people, a bustling economy, and a tight-knit community of small business owners who support one another, wonderful employees, my list goes on and on. I definitely feel blessed to do business in this city.” P H O TO BY: S E A N PH IL L IP S, RI VE RWOOD PH OTOG RAPH Y ( R I V E RW O O D P H OTOG R AP HY.COM )
“Calgary is a great place to do business because of the resilience of our community. This resilience is clearly demonstrated in light of the current challenges facing our provincial economy, our population has a wealth of skill and a drive to evolve and innovate. We are seeing this a lot in our accounting practice, in small business start-ups that are being founded by former oil and gas folks. They are making a place and purpose for themselves in the Calgary business world and laying foundations for success by planning their organizational start-up well and positioning for future growth.” Richard Presland, president and founder of The Entrepreneur’s Accountant, preslandcorp.com
As most business owners know, a real key to success is keeping staff members inspired and engaged which can often lead to increased productivity and spark innovation. That’s got Wellington Holbrook, executive vicepresident of ATB Business, interested to hear your best advice: How do you maintain motivation in your staff? You can answer the question in two ways: Open today’s Capital Ideas email if you’re a member or visit capitalideascalgary.com. We’ll publish the best answers, along with your business name and website address, on November 12.
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“Calgary is a thriving business community with an enviable entrepreneurial culture and attitude. You can feel the energy when you reach the downtown core, it’s bursting with energy and possibility. It’s no surprise Calgary is a great place to do business as a result of its people, a diverse business and start-up community, networking platforms, local programs and entrepreneurial culture that breeds opportunity for dreams to become realities.” Monica Kretschmer, founder and CEO of Canadian Business Chicks, canadianbusinesschicks.com
“In my role as a business broker, I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot entrepreneurs over the years. These small business owners have a passion for their community and a level of energy that acts as a driving force for our entire city. I believe a lot of this can-do attitude stems from our pioneer roots, with the belief that hard work and a powerful vision can create incredible things. Just 100 years ago, Calgary was a dusty little town in the middle of nowhere. One look around shows us the ‘spirit of Calgary’ has been here all along and is stronger than ever.” Ryan Jorden, managing partner at VR Business Brokers, vrcgy.com
“I love the strong entrepreneurial spirit amongst Calgarians. When you combine that spirit with a strong sense of community, openness, and the cultural diversity we have in this city, it creates a lot of opportunities for everyone.”
Quan Ly, partner at McRally Accountants & Advisors, mcrally.ca
These answers are in response to a question posed by Greg Habstritt, president of Vets To Go (vetstogo.com), and winner of the 2015 ATB Small Business of the Year Award. Here’s his take: “Building a business is challenging enough, and having the support you need along the way is essential. As a born and raised Calgarian, I’m incredibly proud of our city — and very grateful to be building businesses in such a great environment. It’s not a surprise that Calgary routinely ranks high as a business-friendly city — not just in Canada, but internationally as well. Calgary not only has a strong business community and network, but risk-taking and courage are part of our civic DNA. I feel like being in Calgary gives us a head start on creating a successful business, simply because we have such a great community to count on that cheers us on.” R O U N D U P : R E C E N T P O S T S F R O M C A P I TA L I D E A S M E M B E R S Find the full posts on these members’ LinkedIn profiles or at their website. We’ll curate a selection every Friday in our LinkedIn group, Capital Ideas Alberta. To bring yours to our attention, email it to hello@capitalideascalgary.com or post to LinkedIn with the hashtag #capitalideas.
From “What to do if your business has a financial crisis” by Dylan Gallagher, founder at Bridge Capital ( bridgecap.ca):
From “Words and images — Creating a marketing campaign” by Amanda Schewaga, owner of The Marketing Girl (themarketinggirl.com):
“The first thing to do when faced with a difficult financial situation is to realize and believe that the moment will pass. Don’t get me wrong. A financial crisis needs to be taken seriously but your ability to successfully see yourself through it will be based on how grounded you are in reality without letting your emotions get in the way.”
“There comes a point in the planning of any marketing campaign — after you’ve determined your audience, crafted your key messages and set a budget and timeline — when you need to choose the words and images that are going to carry your key messages to your audience. This is an exciting process as it means putting the finishing touches on your campaign, but it’s also important that you take the time to choose correctly.”
From “Lose your job? 10 things you shouldn’t do!” by Wilma Slenders, founder at Transcend Management Advisors Inc. (transcendmgt.com):
“Don’t: Immediately start looking for another role. You might say, ‘I need to support my family and haste is important.’ If you’re still dealing with the impact of a termination or layoff, your feelings will show up in your interactions with others. Do: Take a bit of time off to rest, recover, and reflect.”
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