B6
T H U R S D A Y, A U G U S T 1 3 , 2 0 1 5
CAPITAL IDEAS UPCOMING EVENTS AUGUST 19: ONE PLUS 5 EVENT Entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to connect one on one with five Government of Canada Innovation program leaders following the presentations. ■ Where: Atrium & The Inc., Innovate Calgary (3553 - 31 Street N.W.) ■ When: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ■ Admission: Free. More info at innovatecalgary.com
CA LG A RY H E R A L D
COMMUNITY QUESTION
WHAT BUSINESS ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF? Entrepreneurs tap into the wisdom they’ve learned along the way “So many things! But mainly there are two: First, “Stop doing everything yourself!” I think a lot of entrepreneurs take on too much and really struggle with letting go which nearly always leads to burnout. Second, implement systems early on. Take the time to create, organize and implement systems for all aspects of your business, from POS to naming internal documents. What’s not systemized can’t be automated or scaled, so the sooner you get that first step out of the way the sooner you will be on your way to more business and success!” Kamea Zelisko, owner of MKT Communications, mktcommunications.ca
SEPTEMBER 8: MARKETING SUMMER SCHOOL: GET R E S U LT S ! M A N A G I N G AND MEASURING THE MARKETING BEAST Marketing specialist Cidnee Stephen takes you through a series of four, hands-on workshops to help educate and inspire you. ■ Where: The Commons Calgary (1900 11st S.E.) ■ When: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. ■ Admission: $69. More info at awebusiness.com/event
“When I was younger, I owned a couple of cycling stores which are obviously very seasonal. In a small business environment, it’s often hard to separate the work from the friendships that develop working long hours together. So my mistake was hanging on to staff too long into the fall to the detriment of my own paycheque.” Rob Price, director, Alberta for Futurpreneur Canada, futurpreneur.ca
“That failure is a huge part of success and not to be so hard on myself when things didn’t go as expected regardless of the amount of effort and pre-planning that went into them.”
Lara Presber, owner at Studio Presber Architecture + Design, studiopresber.com
For more great events, visit capitalideascalgary.com/ calgaryevents.
C A P I TA L QUESTION
What have you learned from partnering with another business?
Stefan Radeta, co-founder & CTO, TLink Golf Inc. (golftlink.com) says turning back time could come in handy at any age: “Even though I am only 23, I feel like I have learned a tremendous amount in the last year with my startup. The advice I would give my younger self is to be extremely patient. Success does not happen overnight and looking too far ahead at “what could be” or “what should be by now” can often be counter productive. Surround yourself with the best team possible and work like there is someone who is working 24 hours a day to take it away from you. If you keep these things in mind, your business and life will figure themselves out.” PHOTO BY: RICKY LAM
“Two ears, one mouth. Shut up and listen!”
Danilo Terra, VP, equipment leasing and corporate finance, Leasex Financial Inc., leasexfinancial.com
“The same advice I get from my future self: think for yourself — you can get the answers you need if you start there. Try harder to listen better — to yourself, and others. Master the juxtaposition and the “AND” of things; like “stay the course” AND “go with the flow.” But most of all, try harder to listen better, to yourself and others.” Len Nanjad, partner at COREinternational, coreinternational.com
“Advice to my younger self? Consider business as a career! I spent my early career working in government and not-for-profit. When I joined global consulting firm, Accenture, I found my true calling – business. I leveraged my experience and expertise from previous roles to found four companies in four different industry sectors and have never looked back!” Wilma Slenders, president and founder of Transcend Management Advisors Inc., transcendmgt.com
“GO BIG OR GO HOME! I currently run what I call a “scrap” business because it was developed using scraps of time and money. Don’t get me wrong — ‘scrap’ doesn’t mean ‘crap’ — but I sure wish I had gone to the bank or investors for financing right from the start rather than financing the business myself. Despite a solid business plan, I ran into way more obstacles and delays than I ever could have planned for, which put a real strain on my personal finances. The good news is that persistence will usually get you where you need to go — you just arrive a little later!” Richelle Skrilec, founder and CEO ShopandShare.ca, shopandshare.ca
“Don’t over-plan it, just start and build as you go. The business might not look exactly look like what you thought it would but sometimes life has better ideas than we do. Part of our job as entrepreneurs is to identify the opportunities that are right in front of us and make the most of them.” Lindsey Boycott, founder of Cents, Sense & Sensibility, centsandsensibility.ca
These answers are in response to a question posed by Kris Hans, strategist at Market Grade. Here’s his take: Joint ventures can be a great way for a business to provide new services and expand into markets by leveraging the expertise of complementary firms without owners giving up control of their business. That led Wellington Holbrook, executive vicepresident of ATB Business, to want to hear from you: What have you learned from partnering with another business? 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 August 20.
Business owners helping business owners
JOIN US!
✔ Get expert advice on your biggest challenges
✔ Share insights with entrepreneurs like you
✔ Appear in the Calgary Herald
S I G N U P AT :
“Don’t fear failure, embrace success! I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason and for the best. By making mistakes and failing, you grow as a person and learn from your experiences. If failure happens, it happens. Fearing failure can create self-imposed limits on your potential success. With time, these life experiences reflect and define you as a person to help you become stronger.” 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 websites. We’ll curate a selection every Friday on our LinkedIn group, Capital Ideas Alberta. To bring yours to our attention, email it to hello@ capitalideascalgary.com or use the hashtag #capitalideas when you post to LinkedIn.
From “Downturn — Time to Train!” by Merri Lemmex, managing partner of operations at Lemmex Williams Training Inc. ( lemmexwilliams.com):
“You have the time – better now when you have time than later when you’re too busy to train. You’re trying to do more with less – when better to ensure people know what they are doing.”
From “What to do when your business has a financial crisis” by Dylan Gallagher, founder at Bridge Capital ( bridgecap.ca):
“You have made decisions that have produced a result and you are most likely the only person who can determine the outcome. The longer you wait to make tough decisions and the more you let your emotions determine your steps you’ll be assured that your situation will drag on and become harder and harder to deal with.”
From “ LinkedIn Giveth and LinkedIn Taketh Away (Then Giveth Back Again)” by Dave Byrnes, owner of Easier Networks (easiernetworks.com):
“In the past month LinkedIn changed the access to our connection’s information before reinstating it after a flood of complaints, axed the valuable group statistics vetting tool, gave Pulse a new look, integrated Lynda.com and opened up the Social Selling Index to all.”
capitalideascalgary.com
Join our LinkedIn group: Capital Ideas Alberta • Follow us on Twitter: @capitalideasyyc