CAPITAL IDEAS UPCOMING EVENTS DECEMBER 9: N A I T A L B E R TA B O O ST R WORKSHOP Get a crowdfunding 101 from Alberta BoostR, hosted by the NAIT New Venture team. ■■ Where: NAIT (11762 106 St N.W.) ■■ When: 5:30 p.m. ■■ Admission: :Free. Details at albertaboostr.ca
COMMUNITY QUESTION
HOW DO YOU DECIDE IF IT’S TIME TO DIVERSIFY? Entrepreneurs talk about whether to expand products and services “With our limousine business there are opportunities to diversify into industries like wedding planning, photography and DJ services. Being a mom and pop business with a love for what we do, we have concentrated on limousines and keep them number one. In our opinion we stick to the industry we do best and choose not to offshoot. Our industry is time-consuming and you need to focus on it to be successful.” Suzan Burtic, president of Legends Limousine, legendslimousine.ca
“Once you’ve developed processes and systems that enable you to deliver your core offering more efficiently and profitably, that’s a good sign you may be ready to successfully diversify. We’ve focused on planning and designing weddings for the last several years, and we’re now looking at broadening our scope to corporate and social events via a brand extension: ‘Jennifer Bergman Events.’”
JANUARY 12: IMPACT LUNCHEON 2016 EEDC president and CEO Brad Ferguson shares the vision for Edmonton’s continued success as the driver of Alberta’s growth. ■■ Where: Shaw Conference Centre (10310 Jasper Ave. N.W.) ■■ When: 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ■■ Admission: : $120. Details at eedc.ca/thinking/ impact
Jennifer Bergman, president of Jennifer Bergman Weddings, jenniferbergmanweddings.com
“I think that any diversification strategy will depend primarily on your cash flow position and secondly whether or not you possess significant liquid assets that could be considered for new business growth. It’s also important to know that any new business expansion does not guarantee success. As a result, not making the right decisions could be disastrous for your core business. Small business expansion needs to be seamless and cost-effective.” Joe Wasylyk, founder of the Seniorpreneur Project, seniorpreneur.ca
“The best way is to make sure you’re listening to your customers. One will often times hear off hand remarks like ‘I wish your company had this’. If you hear that often enough, it may be time to do your homework and make it happen. The other option, is to ask. Do a market study and gauge what kind of support your new product or service would have.”
C A P I TA L QUESTION
Is it true the customer is always right?
Illarion Shulakewych, founder of High Stick Vodka, highstickvodka.com
“Before any formal surveying, when you think something new might work, ask a select group of advisor and clients for feedback before launching. You will likely make a sale in the process. That’s the true test of potential profitability.”
Mary Lou Gutscher, business acceleration coach at Magnetic Business Solutions, magneticbusinessoolutions.com
Everyone knows the old saying “the customer is always right”. But with so many changes in business and technology since it became a popular saying, does it still hold the same meaning today? Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business, is curious to hear your take on this famous business phrase: Is it true the customer is always right? 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 December 9.
“If diversifying complements your existing business and allows you to gain market share by selling more to existing clients and winning new clients then it may be a viable choice. Before investing, you’ll want to assess upcoming industry trends and the general market direction to identify key risks. The time and effort to diversify could be substantial and you will need to plan how your current business can run smoothly without your full attention.”” Manuel Caceres, partner at Grant Thornton LLPm, grantthornton.ca
Marnie Ashcroft, founder of Glow Juicery (glowjuicery.ca), combined passion and opportunity to diversify. “We had a passion for raw food and the opportunity to open in a much larger space than we needed right in the heart of Edmonton. Through consideration, collaboration and research, we decided to launch our Raw Food Café brand which is now the model for all Glow locations opening across Canada.” P H O TO S U P P L I E D BY: M A R NI E AS H CROF T
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 from Renee Majeau, co-owner of City MiniMix Concrete Inc. City MiniMix Concrete Inc. was recently recognized as one of the top three most promising startups in Canada in the national Small Business Challenge contest. More details on this growing business can be found at cityminimix.com.
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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 “How to tailor your coaching to the employee’s style” by Marie Gervais, CEO of Shift Management Inc. (shiftworkplace.com):
From “Defining Remarkable Customer Service” by Kevin MacDonald, CEO of L6S Business Consulting Inc. ( l6sbc.ca):
“A skill all managers need to learn is how to appropriately coach their employees. The ability to pick up on clues your team members are showing you about how they like to learn is essential to good coaching.”
“During uncertain economic times, it is a common notion that sales and marketing budgets are slashed. There are some smart companies that have kept their sales and marketing budgets constant knowing that this is an opportunity to take away market share from competitors.”
From “Why the best leadership lesson is over your head!” by Leanne Brownoff, business coach at Leanne Brownoff Consulting ( leannebrownoff.com):
“What if I told you that the best leadership course is available now for a limited time only? Intrigued? What if I also said this course is absolutely free? A tilt of the head and an eyebrow raised suggests you want to hear more, but you hold a skeptical view.”
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