IDEAS—Winter 2015 Canadian Decorators’ Association
Winter 2015
Volume 1, Issue 2
Message From the Chair It’s that time again...time to say good-bye to 2014,
on its way in Alberta.
with all of its ups and downs, and hello to 2015 with all the excitement of new beginnings and the promise of greater things.
I would like to remind all of our members, that like Alberta, you too can start your own chapter! With
2014 was definitely a year of extremes! A winter that broke records for cold, an almost non-existent summer, gorgeous fall and now in the midst of a winter that feels like spring (I am not complaining on the last one)! For CDECA, we had many changes as well. We hired Becker Associates as our management company, built a new website, and held our first trial -run webinar (which was great). Now, we are looking forward to affiliates and individuals bringing us ideas for webinars to share with the membership. The website, while a great improvement, is still in its infancy stage, with changes and upgrades constantly taking place.
3-4 members, a desire to reach others, and help one another reach their potential, you can make a difference right in your own backyard. It is a process, and we at National can help you with it. We have a manual on how to begin a chapter and we are here to answer all of your questions. Becoming a member of CDECA has been the best thing I could have done for my career and being on so many committees and as President of my local chapter and now Chair of National has only added that much more. The friendships and contacts with local affiliates are by far the greatest gift that I have received by far! So here is to 2015 and all that it will bring!
Becker, themselves have proven to be a breath of fresh air, with communication and swift response time being something we have needed for quite some time. Thank you everyone there and special kudos to Seamus. We have also seen our membership numbers increase across the board and have a new chapter
One Question Survey... Where do you spend most of your social media time? Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram?
Click here to answer now!
In this issue:
National Board Updates: AGM, Awards, Volunteer of the Year, Partnership Memberships
2
Financial Success in 2015 Starts with a Look Back
3
Useful links for your business from around the web
4-5
Chapter Updates: TO, GTA West
6-7
It’s that time of year… Inside you’ll find helpful articles on: Wanda Vuignier Chair, CDECA
While you’re at it, why not follow us by clicking one or more of the icons below?
Financial Success
Doing your taxes
Tips on working smarter
N at i o n a l U p d at e s Canadian Decorators’ Association
Winter 2015
Volume 1, Issue 2
2015 AGM & Awards S how Save the date!
2015 Decorating and Design Competition is Now Closed We have closed on yet another exciting competition! CDECA is pleased to announce that 95 entries were submitted covering all of the 8 award categories. Our judging panels will now be convening to assess the results. The winners will be announced at CDECA's 2015 Annual General Meeting to be held at the Old Mill in Toronto. We look forward to seeing you there as we celebrate our award winners for 2015!
April 13, 2015. We’re going to Toronto’s Old Mill for our AGM and annual Awards Ceremony. Look for an email coming soon announcing a very vibrant and exciting guest speaker!
Vo l u n t e e r o f t h e Ye a r Award Nominations have been received for consideration by the CDECA Board of Directors for the 2014 Volunteer of the Year Award. The nomination period for the 2014 Award closed at the end of December 2014 and the Board looks forward to announcing the winner of the Award at CDECA's 2015 Annual General Meeting. Do you know of a CDECA member that is deserving of the Volunteer of the Year Award? If so, please get your nominations in for 2015! The nomination period is now open. Let's recognize our outstanding CDECA volunteers. The nomination guidelines can be found by clicking here (will need to be logged in).
C D E C A ' S f u t u r e i s p av e d in great par tnerships! The National Board is pleased to announce the new Partnership Membership. This new membership type is a reciprocal partnership which recognizes National colleagues that we commonly intersect with. We are excited to begin to craft our partners nationally and continue to reach out to other organizations that relate to our trade. Speaking of partnerships, CDECA National is happy to report on a meeting with the Association of Registered Interior Designer’s of Ontario. In December of 2014, Vice Chair Andria Cowan along with GTA West Chapter President Ed Phillips and Toronto Chapter member Michelle Mackenzie, met with the Greg Quinn, Chair, and Sherri Portelli, Executive Director, of A.R.I.D.O. In quick summary, the meeting went extremely well and CDECA was happy to see that we are a true stakeholder in A.R.I.D.O’s future movements. We will continue to work with A.R.I.D.O. and all other interior design associations across Canada.
F e at u r e d A r t i c l e Canadian Decorators’ Association
Winter 2015
Volume 1, Issue 2
Financial Success in 2015 Star ts with a Look Back By Dean Einarson, Co-Founder DesignDocs As the owner of an independent decorating firm, you know how important it is to review the business periodically and to set goals and financial plans for the year ahead. If you haven’t already made plans for 2015, now is the time! It’s not too late. Here are our tips for financial success –
1. Develop a high level financial plan for 2015. Start by looking at your total sales, cost of goods, total expenses, and net income from last year, and consider where you would like those numbers to be this year. 2. Important reports to review would focus on sales. For fees, look at total hours and dollars by project, including all the hours not billed – you should track your non-billable hours so you can see how much you are leaving on the table. Doing this will enable you to see what projects work better than others for you, so you can try to target those. It may also reveal opportunities to correct any internal procedures or sourcing decisions that might have led to a disproportionate share of unbillable time. This is the time to consider questions like am I really billing all the time I work? What would be the impact if I increase my rates, even a little? Also look at all the time worked generally in the business that was not billed to clients – you should track how much time you spend attending seminars, blogging etc. 3. After analysing fees, have a look at the goods side of the business. Specifically, review your sales, cost of sales, and gross profit by project, by supplier, and by product category. Each of these will help you decide if you want to make changes in 2015. For starters, it will show you the type of project that has the best impact on your business and that can affect your marketing decisions. It can also reveal plenty about your suppliers which
could lead to tightening ties with some and loosening with others. Lastly, conduct an analysis of your overhead expenses to see if anything can be reduced in 2015. A key consideration here is whether costs that really relate directly to projects and should be passed on to clients are slipping into your overheads. It’s surprising how quickly that can add up. A simple plan and an annual review like this can get you motivated to grow the business in the coming year. You will be surprised at the impact that small changes can make. Having annual targets also keeps you focussed – so, be sure to keep that focus by checking in on your progress as the year unfolds. Dean Einarson, CPA, CA has 23 years of experience in business with a focus on process improvement and software development. He co-founded DesignDocs, and is a sought-after business consultant specializing in transitioning design firms onto a path of growth and increased profitability. Keen to learn more and start 2015 off right? Dean will be speaking on the topic of Financial Management at a CDECA event at Gresham House on Feb 11th. To attend the event in person, please RSVP via e-mail to RSVPToronto@cdeca.com. If you would like to learn more about DesignDocs please contact Karen Gastle karen@designdocs.com, Account Manager at DesignDocs. DesignDocs is a fully integrated Project Management and Accounting Software built specifically for interior design professionals. It was developed through a unique partnership between an accounting professional and an interior designer who were motivated to create a software that was keenly insightful to the business challenges facing the interior design industry today.
From The Web... Canadian Decorators’ Association
Winter 2015
Volume 1, Issue 2
6 H o m e B a s e d B u s i n e s s Ta x D e d u c t i o n s Yo u D o n ' t Wa n t t o M i s s By Susan Ward, Small Business Canada Expert Original article can be found here Running a home based business in Canada is just like running any other business when it comes to income taxes. Assuming you have an income to write it off against and you follow the rules, you can deduct a host of business expenses, lowering the amount of income tax you have to pay. One of the advantages of running a home based business is that there are additional income tax deductions that you can claim. Remember, like everything else related to taxes, meticulous records are a must; all your deductions need to be documented with receipts. But if you have a home based business, these are tax deductions you don’t want to miss.
1) Automobile Expenses Many Canadian home based business owners use their personal vehicles as business vehicles. That's all right tax-wise; you can still claim a raft of automobile expenses. Besides deducting the costs of fuel and oil, licensing, insurance and maintenance and repairs as a home based business owner, you can also deduct interest on money you borrow to buy a motor vehicle, automobile, or passenger vehicle you use to earn income.
2) Insurance
Home based business insurance is essentially commercial in nature and is entirely separate from a person's home insurance. (In fact, if you are running a home based business and don’t have home based business insurance, you’re running the risk of not being covered at all if something happens, because running a home based business that your insurer is not aware of may invalidate your home insurance policy.)
3) Office Expenses Even if your office is just a part of a counter in the kitchen, your home based business will have office expenses to claim. The catch here is to distinguish between office expenses (things such as pens, stamps and paper clips) and depreciable assets (things such as filing cabinets, printers, and other equipment which fall under the rules of Capital Cost Allowance and must be depreciated over time).
4) Mortgage Interest & Property Taxes If you are carrying a mortgage on your home and running a home based business, you can claim a portion of your mortgage interest and property under Business-use-of-home expenses. If you are renting, you can deduct the cost of your rent. There is a catch, however; you can only deduct a portion of these expenses, dependent on how much of your living space and time is actually devoted to business use.
5) Other Business-Use-ofHome Expenses Besides mortgage interest, property taxes and/or rent, there are other expenses that home based business operators who qualify for business-useof-home deductions can claim. Some of the most common of these are: Heat, Water, Maintenance, Cleaning materials, Telephone, Internet connection, etc. Remember, you can only deduct the portion of these expenses related to business use and what you claim here can’t be claimed elsewhere.
6) Carry Forward of Unused Work Space in Home Expenses You can’t use business-use-of-home expenses to create or increase a loss for your business. So if you end up with having more expenses than income for your home based business, you will have what the CRA calls unused Work Space in Home Expenses which you can carry forward into the next year.
From The Web... Canadian Decorators’ Association
Winter 2015
Volume 1, Issue 2
Seeking Balance? Wish you had more time in t h e d ay ? H e r e a r e a f e w o u t - o f - t h e - b ox w o r d s o f a d v i c e f o r t h o s e o f u s t r y i n g t o w o r k s m a r t e r, not harder in 2015 Excerpt from Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself by Daniel H. Pink Make a “to don’t” list. Prepare a list that contains all the things you shouldn’t waste your time on – useless tasks, unnecessary meetings, worthless phone calls, and so on. Then place it next to your “to do” list – and stick to it. Carry a notebook and pen. Thomas Edison did it. Virginia Woolf did it. And so did Charles Darwin. They toted a notebook with them everywhere and wrote down ideas that popped into their heads… Page through the notebook occasionally. Spend 10 minutes today laughing out loud. Turn on The Comedy Network, read a funny book, look at photographs of yourself from high school. Laugh. Fully. Establish an opening ritual. Try to begin your day the same way. If you work at home, maybe take a short walk before you go to your office. Have a cup of tea or read or meditate before starting your work. An opening ritual will ease
your mind, body and soul into the day. Establish a closing ritual. Know when to stop working. Try to end each work day the same way, too. Straighten up your desk. Back up your computer. Make a list of what you need to do tomorrow. Take a “Sabbath.” Choose one day during the week when you don’t work… Respecting your own “Sabbath” will be good for your soul – and better for your business. See more tips here
Toronto Chapter Canadian Decorators’ Association
Winter 2015
Volume 1, Issue 2
Message from CDECA Toronto Chapter President, Nita McCown Market in North Carolina. During this trip, our members were treated to exclusive events and showroom access all thanks to our continued partnership with SOFA and their connection with Glen Peloso and Jamie Alexander. We hope
to deliver this wonderful trip again and encourage all members to attend. "Energizing and inspiring, I wish I had gone sooner!" says Rhonda West-Shepherd, Founder and Principal Decorator of RW Interiors. At the AGM Luncheon, we were also able to form a new Board of Directors, a team of dedicated volunteers who have offered to contribute their time to advancing our mandate with programs to benefit all members. The new Board of Directors held its first meeting in January 2015 and is off to an exciting start. “I have enjoyed being a part of moving the chapter along in its initial two years and look forward to passing the mantle to an enthusiastic new board,” says Sharon MacIntosh, CDECA Toronto Chapter Past President. Ewa Fisher and Paddy Singh, our Co-Program Directors, have started planning a full slate of programs for 2015. They will work in conjunction with our Affiliate members to provide informative and leading edge seminars. One of our most anticipated highlights will hopefully be a return of last year’s successful trip to High Point
Furthermore, CDECA National has launched a new website and as expected with new technology, we have experienced a few hiccups. Should you notice any content materials not working properly, please provide your feedback so that we can continue to improve this important membership service. In addition, this website is your link to potential clients; therefore, all members should look to confirm that their contact information is up to date on the website. To conclude, the CDECA Toronto Chapter Board of Directors is very excited to work with you this upcoming year! We encourage all members to participate and provide input on the kind of events we can plan for you, so that we can present programs that are relevant to your business and ensure your membership with us is as valuable to you as possible!
High Point Market Trip attendees at the
Mike Hetherman, President and CEO of
Willis, delivering a presentation at CDECA
Christopher Guy showroom
The CDECA Toronto Chapter wrapped up a successful 2014 with an engaging AGM Luncheon and Networking Event. For this event, we were very fortunate to have Mike Hetherman, President and CEO of Willis – a North American distributor of world-class building materials – lead a presentation on new design trends and the effects of surfacing materials on the acoustics and reflectivity of a space. The presentation also aimed to educate CDECA members on how to choose the right decorative surfaces for clients. Those of you who have had the opportunity to listen to Mike speak in the past, will know that he is a wealth of practical information and he has once again outdone himself!
G TA W e s t C h a p t e r Canadian Decorators’ Association
Winter 2015
Volume 1, Issue 2
News... Presented by Jeannette Wisby, VP, GTA West Chapter The GTA West Chapter has had a busy and information packed fall commencing with our September meeting which was held at Speers Road Broadloom. Carl and Dale blew us away with the event by having somewhere in the amount of 15 flooring suppliers who did presentations on some of the latest products in flooring world. This was almost a mini trade show and we all came away with much more knowledge than going in.
Of course there were great treats and giveaways from Speers Broadloom as well as the suppliers. We took our October meeting to a new affiliate, Sescolite Lighting in Burlington. This was a great way for us to learn about the newest developments in the world of lighting as well as enjoying a showroom tour of the beautiful fixtures and lamps. With all the changes in lighting this was a most appropriate event to keep up current and able to offer advice to our clients. In November we held our fall PD Day with the Toronto Chapter. This was a full day event and a great success. All of the topics and presentations were geared to a survey sent to our members in advance so that we could offer exactly what they are interested in. In an industry that is ever evolving, it is vital for interior decorators to not only stay on top of the latest design trends and industry news, but to also learn new technologies, master new design techniques, conquer
internet marketing, and expand our knowledge in all areas of running a business. The annual PD Day was the chance to do all of that - plus mix and mingle with your amazing peers during a jam-packed day of learning, networking, lunch and prizes! The Agenda covered a presentation by three award winning CDECA Members on “How to Win Awards and How to Get Published” This was presented as an interactive panel discussion The second presentation was on Photography, by photographer to the local celebrities, Larry Arnal, who shared his knowledge of what it takes to create beautiful images for portfolios and magazines. Fay Splett, Associate Publisher & Editor of the Ontario Design TradeSource book and Homes Publishing Group was also on hand to offer information and advice. After a lovely lunch we were given a presentation on “Marketing your Brand – From Insight to Website” by Jason Bouwman, Principal & Creative Director of Compass Creative which focused on the components necessary to effectively market your business in the digital era. Our final session was presented by Michael Stein, a member of the Community Team at Houzz and a zealous Houzz user for many years. Michael revealed how to improve business efficiency, reach new prospective clients and streamline communications through Houzz.
CDECA is your connection to decorating and design in Canada. We offer our members a wide range of benefits from discounts on insurance and legal services, networking opportuni10 Morrow Avenue
Phone: 1-866-878-2155
ties and exposure to consumers through our
Suite 202
E-mail: office@cdeca.com
website.
Toronto, ON M6R 2J1
www.cdeca.com