CAPITAL IDEAS UPCOMING EVENTS OCTOBER 19-23: STA R T U P U The Career Centre and eHUB at the University of Alberta are partnering to run a weeklong event all about entrepreneurship ■■ Where: Various locations (University of Alberta) ■■ When: Events Monday to Friday ■■ Admission: Free and ticketed events. Details at caps.ualberta.ca
C A P I TA L Q U E S T I O N
WHAT’S YOUR NO. 1 CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT TIP? Entrepreneurs talk about preparing for lean times and slow seasons “Be conservative in revenue projection. We use very conservative calculations when projecting future revenue, so any cash flow surprises are pleasant ones.” Trent Oster, president of Beamdog, Beamdog.com
“Always manage your receivables. Monies that are owed to your company that go uncollected for an extended period of time can seriously affect your cash flow. You will still have operating expenses to meet during that time whether the revenue is received or not. Unmanaged receivables can collapse a small business.” Deborah Cox, president of Microbusiness Training Centre Inc., microbusiness.cam
OCTOBER 24: ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MENTORSHIP CONFERENCE Hear success stories from Alberta entrepreneurs and leaders in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). ■■ Where: Lister Centre (11613 87 Ave.) ■■ When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ■■ Admission: $25. Details at mentorupalberta.com/ events
“Challenge your forecasting assumptions regularly and rigorously. Your inputs are never static.” Kristina Milke, president of K-GAR Consulting Inc.
“You probably won’t get paid as fast as you hope to get paid.” Justin Archer, managing director at Berlin Ad/PR, BRLN.ca
“The best way to manage cash flow is to not be in denial about it. Financial statements look at what you’ve already done, not what’s coming up, so it won’t help you anticipate bottlenecks. When it comes to cash flow, this proverbial statement is best taken in reverse: you are MUCH better off to ask permission, than to beg forgiveness.”
For more great events, visit capitalideasedmonton.com/ edmontonevents.
Angela Armstrong, president and founder of Prime Capital Group, pcclease.com
“Learn how to sell. Cash flow comes from being able to convince customers to pay you for your service. And I’m not talking about marketing plans, I’m talking about a real and gritty sales plan. Something often overlooked particularly when start-ups create their business plans. Selling is not the same as marketing.”
COMMUNITY QUESTION
How do you grow your business during economic uncertainty?
Colleen Madsen, president of Colleen Madsen, colleenmadsen.com
“Invoice in a consistent rhythm and quickly follow-up on past due invoices to keep accounts receivable minimal. To do this well I recommend having a great bookkeeper that you can trust professionally dealing with accounts receivable.”
Bryan Smith, president of Bluetrain Inc., bluetrain.ca
Sean Rayner, CEO of VETS Group (vetsgroup.com) says honesty and communication are important. “Keep in touch with your suppliers. If you’re honest and reliable in your communication they will be more flexible with you when times get tight. A company that normally pays in 30-45 days can often stretch 60-80 for a short time if you’re honest and keep your commitments.” P H O TO BY: S E A N R AYNE R
With political and economic uncertainty, the marketplace can evolve rapidly and that often means a business owner needs to focus on their core priority to sustain growth in times of economic unpredictability. That’s got Janet Riopel, CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce CEO, curious to hear from you: How do you grow your business during economic uncertainty? 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 21st. The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce is proud to sponsor Small Business Week 2015 - running from October 19-23. Small Business Week 2015 events focus on needto-know information for seeking stability and prosperity in a rapidly changing marketplace. For more information, visit edmontonchamber.com
Business owners helping business owners
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“Pay bills immediately or in advance to get them off your books and secure the future, and treat any changes in the flow with caution. Income maintains most of its power only when in your possession.” Douglas Dollars, project manager of Fort Cozy fortcozy.co
YOUR TURN TO ASK THE QUESTIONS Do you have a question for the Capital Ideas community? Pose it at capitalideasedmonton.com/ask.
These answers are in response to a question posed by Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business. Here’s his take: “Maximizing your cash flow is always important, but even more so when things are tight. Here are a couple simple suggestions that are obvious, but you might be surprised how few entrepreneurs actually exercise this way of thinking. First of all, don’t be afraid to ask your suppliers for better terms. Your suppliers want to keep your business and they are often willing to provide more time to pay than you might realize. If you have 15 days, ask for 30. If you have 30, ask for 60. You’ll be surprised how often they’ll say yes. Secondly, if you are in a business where offering terms is normal (usually not true for retail), don’t automatically assume you must offer all of your customers terms. You might just find that they’ll often pay cash or make payment in just a few days. Wait for them to ask before extending anything more than cash terms – you might find many of your customers are happy to pay now instead of later.” 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 “The CEO, executive assistant or the hired help?” by Sharon A.M. MacLean, president at WorldGate Media (worldgatemedia.com):
From “Taking your business social” by Alexandra Kulas, programs facilitator at Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (awebusiness.com):
From “Dropping the crystal ball” by Leanne Brownoff, business coach at Leanne Brownoff Consulting ( leannebrownoff.com):
“Studies increasingly report that executives (76%) would rather work today for a social CEO. MBA Central also found that 3 in 4 customers say a company is more trustworthy if its high-level leadership participates in social media.”
“Any great online strategy includes focusing on social media. The issue with many business owners and decision makers is how to actually use social media in the most effective way to reach their target audience.”
“So, something happened this week, something that really frosted my parsnips, and it wasn’t the dip in the overnight low. I picked up a scent in the air that literally took my breath away. It was the acrid odor of defeat.”
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