FINANCIAL POST
T H U R S D A Y, M A R C H 2 6 , 2 0 1 5
C A P I TA L Q U E S T I O N
WHAT RESOURCES HELP YOU DEVELOP NEW GOODS OR SERVICES? Entrepreneurs share where they get assistance when trying something new “In catering to the small and medium-sized business sector, I need to find ways to offer something that differentiates my clients’ sales propositions from the pack – no small feat in today’s ultra-competitive economy. As a lone wolf consulting service, I look to the websites, e-letters and information boards that focus on my field, including LinkedIn Groups, for ideas on how my proposal development service can evolve. I’ve found that e-letters in particular offer insights to what works and what does not. And there are other avenues; a recent webinar I sat in on was for a service I was curious about, though not necessarily about to purchase. However, a few of the communication ideas they presented set off the light bulbs of innovative thinking — how can I introduce something similar in my offerings? Could their use of visuals be adapted for my use? Et cetera. The confidence required to lead means one also has to be willing to learn. Business evolves, and so must I.” Bob Hogarth, principal at Propose To Win Consulting, proposetowin.com
“Industry associations and trade shows can be a wealth of information. Also, I ask my suppliers all the time for referrals for resources or advice about how to tackle an issue. Suppliers deal with firms much bigger than mine so they have a wealth of knowledge about potential pitfalls and who handles their goods the best on the manufacturing side. I strike up conversations at tradeshows and constantly get offers of help, even from so-called competitors.” Melanie Love, CEO and founder Front Room, morefrontroom.com
“One of the things I find amazing about doing business in Calgary is the tremendous support and interaction that so many people have in the social media platforms. When we are looking for new ideas to make a mobile app, we often ask the community. Recently, a few people were chatting about an idea on Twitter and someone posted, asking App Guys if we could build their idea. Everyone wanted an app that crowdsourced the information about which patios were open when the spring weather was great and which weren’t, and OpenPatios was born! In only 11 days we ripped together the idea in a rough format and we are using the feedback from the users in the community to help improve it and develop enhancements. The other driving force in helping us develop new offerings is our partners and employees. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to deliver what we have, let alone build anything new.” Ryan Hnetka, founder of App Guys Inc., appguys.ca
Jim Button, co-founder Village Brewery (villagebrewery.com), says he relies on his internal team to determine what’s next. “Regardless of whether that’s a new beer or a community initiative we are going to support, we find the best ideas are those that come from our team. Once the group has beat the idea to a pulp, we feel pretty good that it will survive the market forces. They are a tough group that has high expectations for our Village.” PHOTO BY: MICHELLE HOFER/CALGARY HERALD/FILE
“Clients are my greatest resource for developing new services and solutions. Recurring themes often emerge in discussions, leading me to believe there is a gap between their needs and what is offered in the market place. Before fully developing a new service or solution, I test the waters to determine if what I am considering is something my clients will value. My Management Moments training program for emerging to mid-level leaders is a good example. The concept for this program was developed when similar challenges came up in discussions with both organizational and coaching clients. A prototype program was developed and tested with one organization. Based on feedback, changes were made to better match clients’ needs, and the program was launched to very favorable client response and outstanding results.” Wilma Slenders, president of Transcend Management Advisors, Inc., transcendmgt.com
“My network, particularly the people I use as advisors or mentors. In fact, we’ve built a platform to support this specific need for knowledge sharing and mentoring that can help entrepreneurs develop new products or services and make them successful.”
Brad Gaulin, CEO of GOmentr Inc., gomentr.com
“The biggest resource for us is our clients; they drive the need to develop new services and products. We actively seek feedback on our training programs and talk to customers and prospects about what their key issues are. Once we have uncovered a potential new service, it seems that our next stop is always the Internet. There is just a ton of information with experts continually providing the results of their research and experience ... Information is only part of our development in training programs; once we have compiled the applicable information, we turn to our experts to design the process ... This was much harder before the internet!”
CA LG A RY H E R A L D
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CAPITAL IDEAS UPCOMING
MAR. 31: FAST GROWTH CHAMPIONS: MANAGING THROUGH CHALLENGING TIMES Get advice from the owners of some of Calgary’s fastest growing companies on managing through hard times ■ When: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ■ Where: National on 8th (225 7th Ave. SW) ■ Admission: $15 to $25. Register at calgarychamber. com APR. 16: I C O N S O F A L B E R TA A N D AWE CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT A full-day leadership conference, followed by an awards ceremony paying tribute to Nicole Bourque-Bouchier ■ When: 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. ■ Where: Hotel Arts (119 12th Ave. SW) ■ Admission: Varies. Register at aweinspiringentrepreneurs. com For more great events, visit capitalideascalgary.com/ calgaryevents.
COMMUNITY QUESTION
What role does collaboration play in expanding your business?
Merri Lemmex, managing partner of operations at Lemmex Williams Training Inc., lemmexwilliams.com
“My clients are at the centre of my service development strategy and my No. 1 information resource. They are the ones using and purchasing my services, so it only makes sense to go to the source. Plus when I deliver what they need, it delivers value to them and saves my company a lot of time and money on marketing the new service or product.” Amanda Schewaga, owner and marketing consultant at The Marketing Girl, themarketinggirl.com
J O I N U S T O D AY ! We are looking forward to hearing from Jim Button, co-founder of Village Brewery (villagebrewery.com), Melanie Love, CEO and founder of Front Room (morefrontroom.com) and DJ Sures, CEO and founder of EZ-Robot (ez-robot.com) today at our Capital Ideas panel discussion. The event — entitled “How do you turn great ideas into great products?” — begins at 11:45 a.m. at the Glenbow Museum’s ConocoPhillips Theatre. Can’t make it? Catch up on this and past events at capitalideascalgary. com/category/news.
Working with other businesses can go a long way towards growing yours, which is why Michelle Phaneuf, Alberta co-director at Workplace Fairness (workplacefairness.ca/ wfi_alberta), is curious to hear from you: What role does collaboration play in expanding your 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 April 2.
These answers are in response to a question posed by Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business. Here’s his take: “This is a particularly broad question that has a lot of possibilities for answers. For many companies occupied in applied sciences or research, there are sometimes resources (and money) available from sources such as the NRC or other government bodies. These programs often have distinct parameters, but make sure to check them out. I think the best resources are right in front of you — your customers. What are their needs, wants and desires? What do they want that you are not delivering? A second resource is the creative minds that already work for you. Your own employees are the ones that are engaged day-to-day with your customers and often their inventiveness is yet to be tapped. Often the resources closest to you are the ones that can help you open the door to new ideas and solutions.”
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