FINANCIAL POST
T H U R S D A Y, A P R I L 1 4 , 2 0 1 6
CA LG A RY H E R A L D
B7
CAPITAL WHAT ARE SOME HURDLES IDEAS YOU’VE OVERCOME TO C A P I TA L Q U E S T I O N
GROW YOUR BUSINESS?
Entrepreneurs discuss the challenges of building a business “One hurdle I overcame while growing my business was a major one: I had to find customers. Without customers, I didn’t have a business. I also didn’t have a lot of money to advertise or promote my business so I networked. I went to all the events I could and I talked to people. I made connections. I made friends. I made an effort to find out what other people were doing and how I could help them. Other business owners helped me and gave me their valuable time and advice. Nobody turned me down when I asked her or him if I could bend their ear. It took time but my relationships eventually turned into customers.” Lea Storry, owner and writer at Family Lines, ourfamilylines.ca
“My challenge was that there wasn’t enough of me or time in the day. There was far too much work coming in and important tasks to do. No one wants to turn work away but how could I keep up? I figured out business tasks I could outsource such as administration, bookkeeping and accounting, and brought in support people to help me manage the work coming in. Now I have a scalable business and a very competent team to lean on so I can work on my business, not just in my business.” Amanda Schewaga, owner of The Marketing Girl, themarketinggirl.com
“Since starting in business more than 20 years ago, my hurdles have been common to many of the small businesses I support (including) financial, fraud, theft, advertising and government issues. This lead to early bankruptcy and many legal battles. The good news is I have been successful and trouble-free for 12 years. School of hard knocks paid off. Persistence and patience lead me to where I am today: A company with award-winning service, wonderful staff, amazing regular customers and I own the building my business is in. My advice? Keep your nose to the grindstone.” Mike Chartrand, owner of A Laptop Shoppe Corp. and SOS Computer Service, alaptopshoppe.com
Merri Lemmex, managing partner of operations at Lemmex Williams Training (lemmexwilliams.com) says finding the right target client market has helped her business succeed: “Over the years we’ve changed the who, where and how in our business to keep growing. We changed our focus to private companies and specifically more operational organizations. Too many of our competitors focus on the largest of organizations, specifically oil. We moved to Calgary five years ago to concentrate on western Canada where there are fewer organizations providing the type of training we do. We stopped doing public group courses and moved to custom training only. We no longer maintain a training centre, thereby reducing our costs to our clients. By concentrating on these changes over the last few years, we are in a niche market that allows us to expand and grow our business.” S TE VE L EMMEX
“(A hurdle was) accepting that to grow I needed to delegate tasks and make time to continue to be the lead promoter and spokesperson for my business. Bill Gates isn’t sitting in a dark office at Microsoft writing code. He’s out in the world representing the company with every initiative he’s involved in, even if it’s just by association.” Ray Woodley, president of Sales Voodoo, salesvoodoo.net
“Burnout! After striving for monetary success and then burning out (by accepting clients that had deep pockets without always having alignment with my values), I took a step back and created thinking space. Then I recreated my business and rebranded under a new name that aligns with my energy and values, that speaks volumes to my clients about my work. Flourish with Yvonne Silver — the name says it all.” Yvonne E.L. Silver, executive business harmony coach at Flourish with Yvonne Silver, we-flourish.org
“Finding and selling to customers are the most important tasks after you get things up and running to your satisfaction. Marketing is the systematic uncovering of potential customers who need your product or service. It’s hard enough to identify an ideal client or customer to seek out. Then you have to discover where to find him or her … and you have to construct a message that incites enough curiosity to make a phone call, send an email, click a link or take a followup call. And finally, you’ve got to package the whole bundle up and turn it into a system that produces a stream of good quality prospects you can sell to.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL 15 AWAKENED COMPANY Support Albertans who are working hard to launch or grow their social enterprises, shape our local community and make a positive impact for people and the planet from the Alberta Boostr stage. ■ Where: Civic on Third (130 3rd Ave. S.E.) ■ When: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. ■ Admission: $50. More info at albertaboostr.ca M AY 6 AWE CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT Join Alberta Women Entrepreneurs at this celebration luncheon which pays tribute to exceptional entrepreneurs in the province. ■ Where: Hotel Arts (119 12th Ave. S.W.) ■ When: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ■ Admission: $50 and up. More info at awebusiness.com M AY 24 PHOTOGRAPHY FOR ETSY SHOPS Learn how to take and style product photos and more in this two-hour workshop, led by photographer and local Etsy seller Jillian Logee. ■ Where: The Camera Store studio (210-3060 9th St. S.E.) ■ When: 7 to 10 p.m. ■ Admission: $65. More info at etsycalgary.com/workshops For more great events, visit capitalideascalgary.com/ events
COMMUNITY QUESTION
How do you make your business stand out from the crowd?
Richard Sherry, co-owner and business development manager, Minaris Bookkeeping Plus Inc., minarisbkp.com
The above answers are in response to a question posed by Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business. Here’s his take: “I’ve had the opportunity to be inspired by literally thousands of entrepreneurs over the last couple decades and the one hurdle that seems to pop up more than any other is fear. Fear that the next decision could be a mistake that can’t be undone or fear that an investment decision (time/money) could go to waste. That fear, more often than not, drives conservative decision making among entrepreneurs and ultimately becomes the biggest obstacle to growth. Those brave and bold entrepreneurs that have the courage of conviction to follow through and to fight the voices that scare them are often those that see the strongest return on their risk.”
NEXT EVENT
From killer customer service to an innovative branding and marketing plan, there are many ways to get noticed in a competitive market. That’s why Lisa Marie Genovese, president and CMO at Bottom Line Marketing (bottomlinemarketing.ca), wants to know: How do you make your business stand out from the crowd? 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 Apr. 21.
How do you creatively fund your business? When: Apr. 28, noon to 1 p.m. Where: Glenbow Museum (130 9th Ave. S.E.) RSVP at capitalideasyyc16.eventbrite.ca Join three local entrepreneurs who will discuss their creative approaches for funding business ventures. Tickets are free and a light lunch will be served. Panelists share their advice at the March Capital Ideas event at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. JEN N PI ERC E
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