CAPITAL IDEAS UPCOMING EVENTS OCTOBER 20: SMALL BUSINESS, BIG VISION LUNCHEON Join Famoso CEO Justin Lussier for an inspirational and informative luncheon filled with tasty tidbits of business insight guaranteed to grow your business. ■■ Where: The Westin (10135 100 St.) ■■ When: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ■■ Admission: $49.95. Details at edmontonchamber.com/ events
COMMUNITY QUESTION
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST HR CHALLENGE YOU’VE FACED? Entrepreneurs share their advice and issues with workplace communication and hiring “Not having the budget to hire but needing help with workload. Outsourcing and contracting has been the answer.” Laura Saueracker, owner of The Resourceful Lady, theresourcefullady.com
“As small business owners, our biggest challenge is freeing up enough time to work on the business and not just in the business. For my partner and I, it is too easy to get sucked into focusing on operations and on ‘putting out fires’ rather than focusing on business development, growth and overall business strategy. To solve for this, we have to hire a strong operational manager to take over some of the day-to-day tasks and projects, but as you can imagine, finding the right person for this job is no easy feat.”
OCTOBER 21: WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU A DO-OVER Hear the story of “Tattoo Preacher” Aaron Davis and how his lessons can help you get out of your own way to reach success. ■■ Where: Chateau Nova (13920 Yellowhead Trail) ■■ When: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ■■ Admission: $90. Details at dexio.biz/october-focusseminar NOVEMBER 7: 6TH ANNUAL L ATINO AWARDS GALA The Latino Canadian Chamber of Commerce recognizes Latino individuals for their outstanding contribution to the community ■■ Where: The Radisson Hotel (4440 Gateway Blvd) ■■ When: 6 p.m. ■■ Admission: $80 ot $100 for VIP. Details at latinocanadianchamberofcommerce.com For more great events, visit capitalideasedmonton.com/ edmontonevents.
C A P I TA L QUESTION
What’s your No. 1 cash flow management tip?
Renee Majeau, co-owner of City MiniMix Concrete Inc., cityminimix.com
“One of the biggest HR challenges is acknowledging that you don’t have the expertise when the challenges or opportunities arise. We sometimes feel like we can muddle through HR but it is a critical component to attraction, retention, legislation and compliance. To overcome the ‘it can’t be that hard’ pitfall, we established trusted partners to render the expertise as needed and help us know what we don’t know.” Darryl Moore, vice president of marketing and communication at Executrade, executrade.com
Brittany Anderson, co-owner of Edmonton Paintball Centre, edmontonpaintball.ca believes that staff engagement is essential. “Culture is very important to us. Our biggest HR struggle has been keeping our staff engaged with our culture as our team grows and our work environment changes.” P H O TO BY: L E ROY S C H U L Z
“As an entrepreneur, I have a virtual team. My biggest HR challenge was contracting with an associate coach and after working with me for a year, she started her own coaching business using my intellectual property and poaching my clients. That was a huge challenge, taking us to litigation and more. I learned a lot.” Pat Mussieux, founder and CEO of Steps2Happiness, patmussieux.com
“Keeping part-time staff motivated and invested in their jobs is challenging, as the salary alone usually isn’t enough to do so. Finding ways to make them feel just as vital to the team as their full-time counterparts requires open communication and frequent guidance to help the team work smoothly together. It’s important to maintain flexibility without lessening expectations, and to ensure part-timers receive comprehensive training to enable them to contribute to their full potential.” Stephanie Szakacs-St. Louis, executive director at Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market, osfm.ca
“It was easy for me five years ago when we had two staff to manage sales, production, and productivity, it was done more by feel. I could tell when we were slipping behind in performance in the various areas of our business and would adjust for it with my own physical input and hours. Now with a dozen staff and various outsourced resources, managing has become more of a challenge. I have had to adapt and learn to realize that every person is motivated in different ways and address those needs and challenges. The real trick is realizing a person’s specific skills and utilizing them to the fullest while maximizing their growth and productivity.” Edward Langer, managing partner at Think Tank Ads, thinktankads.com
A business needs to update its cash flow forecasts on a regular basis, especially to prepare for down seasons or downturns in the economy, which is why Wellington Holbrook, vice president of ATB Business, is curious to hear from you: What’s your #1 cash flow management tip? You can answer the question in two ways: Open today’s Capital Ideas email if you’re a member or visit capitalideasedmonton.com. We’ll publish the best answers, along with your business name and website address, on October 14th.
Business owners helping business owners
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“Letting go enough to look at candidates who have unconventional skills and experience whom I wouldn’t immediately see being able to fulfil the job description. Hiring outside the box has been a challenge but with much greater reward when it works.”
Howard Suissa, founder of Suissa Design, suissa.ca
“As an artist and designer, I am not in that position yet but down the road I have a vision of having a foundation/franchise. When that time comes, I hope to partner with others who have the same vision and how we may be able to collaborate.”
Shirley Zago, founder of G&G Designs, gandgdesigns.com
“Co-worker conflict. Too often people just don’t effectively communicate. It really isn’t anything more than that. A wrong word or action can set people off and cause issues. Once everyone sees that they are important and that everyone is working toward a common goal most issues are resolved. In rare circumstances, reprimanding someone is needed but should be used reluctantly, otherwise one person is seen as having power over the other which may lead to greater issues.” Brian Jaeger, owner of Vienna Bakery, viennabakery.ca
“A small business owner has many hats. We might be jacks of all trades but masters at none. Finding the correct candidate from a sea of applicants can be time consuming. Therefore the biggest challenge would be finding the time to do a thorough examination of all applicants’ qualifications.” Alden Gushnowski, owner of Signify Signs, signify-signs.com
“Recognizing your own internal shortcomings, wants, and biases will help facilitate organizational principles and create an environment where staff can excel. Potential personal conflict can be addressed by removing subjectivity through correct language working to separate the person from the task that needs to be done. Effectively evaluating yourself is a challenge, but the self-awareness that comes with it makes other difficult situations easier to successfully tackle.” Patrick Binns, president of Abinsi Solutions Group, abinsi.ca
These answers are in response to a question posed by Alison McMahon, co-founder and CEO of TwoFold. Here’s her take: “We have found small businesses want to protect the company they’ve worked hard to build. Employee issues are stressful and relying on Google for answers can be dangerous. This means leaders at times need an adviser to lean on. At TwoFold, we help our customers put the expertise of enterprise-scale human resources departments into the hands of small business owners and entrepreneurs.” For more information about TwoFold’s unique solutions and advice, visit their website gettwofold.com
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. We’ll curate a selection every Friday in our LinkedIn group, Capital Ideas Alberta. To bring yours to our attention, email it to hello@capitalideasedmonton.com or post to LinkedIn with the hashtag #capitalideas.
From “Drowning in the sea of (unqualified) applicants” by Karina Crooks, managing partner of operations at TransparentC (transparentc.ca):
“Employers will eventually realize that there is a cost to choosing quantity over quality, or repeatedly using ineffective recruiting practices. So when my friend tells me that her ad on Kijiji was free, I reply: ‘Was it really?’”
From “How NOT To Link Up On LinkedIn” by Tema Frank, founder of Frank Online Marketing ( frankonlinemarketing.com):
From “The LinkedIn invite” by Kevin MacDonald, business consultant at L6S Business Consulting Inc. ( l6sbc.ca):
“I agree to connect with someone, and then they send me messages asking me to Like them on Facebook, sign up for their newsletter, and connect on LinkedIn. Whoa! Slow down! Just because I said Hi doesn’t mean I’m ready to meet the family.”
“How interested are you in connecting with someone who sends you a request that says “Hi, I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn.” From reading those invites, I don’t see a reason to accept them.”