B6
business
Thursday, October 30, 2014
calgaryherald.com
CAPITAL IDEAS COMMUNITY QUESTION:
UPCOMING:
What have you done to put your business in a position to grow?
NOV
Startup Calgary 5th Annual Launch Party
NOV
2015 Economic Outlook
13
Business owners share their strategies for success
13
A celebration of Calgary’s hottest startups, with special guests Ray Muzyka of BioWare and Rahul Sood of Microsoft Ventures When: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Where: Mount Royal University, Ross Glen Hall (4825 Mount Royal Gate SW) Admission: From $25. Details at startupcalgarylaunchparty.com
An annual luncheon featuring global, national, regional and local economic forecasts from Todd Hirsch and Glen Hodgson When: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Where: Calgary TELUS Convention Centre (120 9th Ave. SE) Admission: From $90. Details at calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com
Have an event that Capital Ideas should know about? Contact us at hello@capitalideascalgary.com.
Photo: Kelly Zenkewich/Capital Ideas
From left, award-winning Calgary business owners Annie Cole of Muttley Crue Organics, Mike Finch of Self Connection Books, Ryan Townend of William Joseph Communications and Roger Jewett of Jump On Flyaways discuss their business success on a Small Business Week panel and networking event hosted by the Calgary Public Library on Oct. 20.
“It started five years ago when the building we had been in for 31 years was sold. At first that was a problem, but we looked for an opportunity out of the situation, which was moving to a new building that we could personalize. We decided to put in an education facility, which we’ve been renting out to experts and authors needing a place to teach. The next step is to start capturing that content. Our growth will come from putting all this educational video content online and attracting a global market, not just locals coming into our bookstore.” — Mike Finch, owner of Self Connection Books — selfconnection.ca “Momentum’s self-employment program put me on the road after I developed my idea. They helped me understand how Canadians think, which is very difficult as an immigrant. My background is marketing and sales, but we do that differently in my country. When I came here, agencies like Momentum helped me understand the market and how I can provide my services.” — Leandro Giron Canales, president and CEO of Master Mats — mastermats.ca “I started Zone One Wellness a year and a half ago in downtown Calgary, but have been practising in health and wellness for 15 years. So now I’m in the process of building the business. So far, we’ve been working a lot on social media, as well as doing lots of promotions, referrals, networking, talking to other business owners and collaborating with other businesses. We’ve been looking to expand on that, and looking for more exposure.” — Shannon Gordon, owner and registered massage therapist at Zone One Wellness — zoneonewellness.com
These answers were collected at the Oct. 20 event. For more information about upcoming programs and events, visit calgarypubliclibrary.com. “A strong marketing plan. We are a social media, reputation management and web development agency that actually practises what we preach. In addition to online marketing, we also use some offline traditional methods.” — Shawn Alain, president of Viral In Nature — viralinnature.com “I needed to invest in my team by recruiting and training key team members and removing those that were holding us back. During growth, it is important that business owners learn to delegate so they can focus on running the business. A key factor of delegation is creating systems and processes throughout the business. This ensures that your standards are being upheld and that there are clear expectations among the team.” — Megan Armstrong, owner of Dogma Training & Pet Services Inc. — dogmatraining.com These answers were in response to a question posed by Tracey Scarlett, CEO of Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (awebusiness.com). Alberta Women Entrepreneurs is seeking nominations for its annual Celebration of Achievement award. Nominate yourself or a female entrepreneur you admire at awebusiness. com/nomination-form before Oct. 31.
“I wanted the business to be a reflection of my vision, values and mission; a separate, sustainable organization which delivers value to the client. This required the application of systems and process, technology and brute competence. Systems and processes establish the framework for how a business delivers value; the addition of technology improves efficiencies; and brute competence occurs when there is clarity, focus, direction and alignment.” — Elizabeth Brueckner, founder and principal at G.K. Hills Tank Inspection — gkhills.com “We put our clients first, every time, no matter what — we honour them as the lifeblood of our company. They feel it, and share us with others. We never stop improving our offerings, and we always look for what’s missing. We’ve also become a really great place to work … Treating clients and staff with love and respect is the secret sauce.” — Charis Curtis, CEO of Prema Sai Wholistic Living — premasai.com “We focused on three things: Strategy, structure and culture. We’ve also established ad hoc advisory boards … and a structure where senior managers are mentoring junior managers to help develop their skills and competencies … Lastly, we created a culture of team leadership and common systems and processes so managers can collaborate and deliver our business in a consistent manner.” — Phoebe Fung, owner of Vin Room — vinroom.com “Hiring a fantastic team is the No. 1 objective in positioning our business for growth in 2015 … Staying focused on every aspect of our customers’ organizational requirements is also important … and finally, staying focused on the vision and the mission of our company is key.” — Wendy Going, managing partner at Timber-Tech Truss Inc. — timbertechtruss.ca “Our team. Everyone in Vertical Motion is empowered and trusted to fulfil their role. If you don’t have confidence in your team, you’ll quickly find yourself suffering from what we call ‘founderitis’ — where all the skills and tendencies that allowed you to run a business solo actually end up impeding your ability to scale. A founder has their finger in every pie, and their hand in every project, but the leader of a team will become a bottleneck if they don’t learn to delegate and trust. Micromanagement is the death knell for any small business that’s in a growth phase.” — Jason Jones, president of Vertical Motion — verticalmotion.ca “Creating a standard operating procedure (SOP) put my business in a position to grow. By recording everything I was doing personally, I could hand off tasks easier and still have them done the way I wanted them to be. The SOP also serves as a training guide for new hires; it’s a reference for tasks that are done infrequently and helps facilitate temporary staff replacement for holidays or sickness. By having my requirements for every area of my business recorded, I can focus on what I need to do instead of tasks that someone else could accomplish.” — Nancy Seeger, CEO of Seeger Consulting Inc. — seegerconsultinginc.com
“Think leverage [and don’t do] everything yourself. If you were going on a cruise, you wouldn’t expect the captain to set the course, steer the ship, cook the meals, clean the rooms, help load and unload luggage. So start thinking about all the activities that need to be done for your business and who else can do them, freeing up time for you to think about growth and other strategic things.” — Harvey Taphorn, owner of Crestcom — crestcomleadership.com/harveytaphorn “I recently started implementing ‘CEO Fridays.’ These are days for me to work on my business instead of in my business. Fridays are now my time to look at the big picture, set goals for growth and have time to plan and implement these goals.” — Christina Workman, web designer and social media manager at Amethyst Answers — amethystanswers.com
CAPITAL QUESTION: How have you made your company culture attractive? Finding great staff is crucial to any business, but attracting and retaining them can sometimes be a challenge. That’s why Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business, would like to hear from you: How have you made your company culture attractive? 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 Nov. 6. To learn more about what small- to medium-sized businesses in Alberta are thinking, visit atb.com/businessbeat.
Take in Calgary’s Economic Outlook Here’s your chance to hear what’s coming up, economically speaking, with hundreds of other business leaders and entrepreneurs at the 2015 Economic Outlook luncheon, presented by Calgary Economic Development and ATB Business. Answer Wellington Holbrook’s question — How have you made your company culture attractive? — at capitalideascalgary.com, and you will be entered in a draw for a seat at the luncheon, to be held Nov. 13 at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre. The draw is open to Capital Ideas members only, so join us today. Visit calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com for more information on the 2015 Economic Outlook luncheon.
No purchase necessary. Contest open to legal residents of Alberta. Entrants must be over the age of majority in their province or territory. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Enter online at www.capitalideascalgary.com (the “Contest Website”). One entry per person per email address during the Contest Period. Winner must correctly answer a time-limited skill-testing question. Contest starts October 29, 2014 and ends November 3, 2014. Winners will be selected on November 3, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta. There are fifteen (15) prizes available to be won each consisting of one (1) admission ticket to the Calgary Economic Development’s 2015 Economic Outlook Luncheon on November 13, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta. Each prize has an approximate value of Ninety-Six Dollars and Thirty-Nine Cents (CDN $96.39). Full Contest Rules can be found at the Contest Website.
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