Best Industries for Starting a Business Right Now

The Brampton Enterprise Centre doesn’t create a list of exactly what business a client should open, although it is a frequent question. Choosing a business that is right for you definitely is impacted by profit potential (financial feasibility and market demand), but also on passion, skills and education, industry and work experience, and of course, access to capital, all of which are unique for each aspiring entrepreneur. Still, there are analysts in the business world who can give us a general idea of which industries are expected to see growth. Below is a sampling from Inc. Magazine’s annual list.

Little Luxuries – For example, candy, a luxury that many people, even during a recession, can afford.

Smart Phone Apps - Apple has processed more than a billion downloads; enough said!

Health Care Technology – Streamlining patient care via digital medical records.

Home Health Care - An increasingly popular alternative to nursing homes, home health-care services tend to offer patients lower costs while affording them the dignity of being able to remain in their homes.

Yoga Products & Services - Doctors and therapists are increasingly recommending yoga to their patients

Fast-Casual Dining – The fast-casual segment, which falls between fast food and full-serve restaurants, continues to shine.

Green Construction - The overall green building market is expected to more than double by 2013, according to a report from McGraw-Hill.

Niche Consulting - Corporate layoffs have spawned a wave of professionals who are trying to repurpose their skills in the consulting realm. While the competition is fierce in this space, the barriers to entry are low.

Education Technology – i.e. whiteboard technology

Government Services – Opportunity to bid on projects that involve transportation, broadband technologies, and clean water, among others.

Accounting Services - Small and independent firms that help companies manage cash flow by keeping on top of accounts receivables are increasingly in demand. No one goes into business just to keep their books (except accountants!)

Repair Services - Companies that provide repair services, ranging from the home-improvement sector to the auto industry, are seeing an uptick in revenue as more people opt to fix their existing possessions, rather than to buy new.

Self Improvement – Billions are spent each year on self-improvement products and services, including motivational-speaker seminars, networking and wealth-building instructional DVDs, and spiritual guidance books.

Energy - These companies run the gamut from dealing in solar energy to alternative fuels. Due to growing consumer demand to save on energy costs, companies that install efficient lighting systems or cut down on heating costs by installing solar panels are well positioned for future growth.

See Inc. com’s full slide show at:
http://www.inc.com/ss/best-industries-for-starting-a-business?partner=newsletter_Success#0

Entrepreneur Magazines’ list:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217508

Profit Magazine’s approach focuses on redefining the buying behaviour of consumers and businesses:
http://www.profitguide.com/article/7749--what-to-sell-in-a-sluggish-economy

What established businesses have enough growth that they need to hire? Looking at it from a different angle, Kelly Employment Services also has a list:
http://www.kellyservices.us/web/us/services/en/pages/careertips_march2010_fastest_growing_industries.html

Whether you’re thinking of starting a business, or considering diversifying your product/service line, there are tips, cautions and inspiration in the resources listing above. Happy Brainstorming!

Doing a Little Good for Others

This December, even small businesses can be a big part of “doing good” for others. Ninety-five percent of businesses in Canada, and Brampton, are small. If each contributes even in a small way, it will have a big impact. 7500 small Brampton businesses donating just $100 each to charitable organizations could contribute three-quarters of a million dollars by year-end, an extraordinary amount of money! Why leave it to the big firms, when there is so much aggregate potential in the small business sector?

There is so much need in the world, both locally and internationally, that it can be a little overwhelming to choose a charity to donate to. There are many worthy causes; you can’t contribute to all of them, so just pick one, and trust that your fellow small business owners are doing the same. Together, the small business sector can make a substantial difference.

Everyone has their favourite charities; locally, I choose United Way (http://www.unitedwaypeel.org/ways-to-give.html). Internationally, World Vision’s “Equipment to Start a Business” / “Help a Family Start a Business” program resonates well with the staff and clients at the Small Business Enterprise Centre. (https://catalogue.worldvision.ca/Gifts/Forms/Gift.aspx?giftId=2949 )

There is no need to do anything elaborate. It can be as simple as making a one-time, on-line donation from corporate funds; it takes just moments. But if you like co-ordinating promotions or events that have a closer tie to your business, here are a few ideas:
• If you have a business with walk-in clients, collect loonies and toonies throughout the month of December from customers at your front counter.
• Host an open house or other simple event with non-perishable food for your local food bank as an admission fee.
• If making a larger contribution, encourage your suppliers and industry affiliates to match your donation.
• When invoicing, request an optional $5 donation that you will collect and forward on behalf of all of your clients.
• Hold a special sale from which 5% or 10% of the sales revenue becomes a donation.
• Include brief information about your good corporate citizenship on your website, flyers and other marketing pieces

Please don’t feel that you are too small to make a difference. Just do what you can, and know that it will accumulate in a very generous way. Start in a small way this year, and make it a tradition that grows as your business grows.

Growth Strategies for 2011

In the most basic of business models, there are just four ways for a business to increase its revenues:

• Sell more product to existing customers: “Do you want fries with that?”
• Sell more frequently to existing customers: i.e. book the next appointment before your customer leaves from the current one
• Increase prices (with much research and caution!)
• Find new customers to sell to: develop new customers

Some growth strategies that your business can consider for 2011 are:

1.Develop new target groups – tap into secondary and tertiary target customers you didn’t approach or focus on before (new messaging, pricing strategies etc. will need to be investigated)

2.Increase and enhance your marketing budget and efforts, keeping in mind these marketing principles:
•Know your target market – don’t try to sell to “everyone”
•7X Rule – you need to get your brand/message out seven times before it’s remembered (because of the overload of messages coming at us every day) therefore marketing efforts must be repetitive
•Marketing Tools: utilize at least 15 tools / year, including a variety of print, in person, electronic and promotions
•Marketing budget benchmark : During start-up year(s), plan to spend a minimum of 9-12% of your annual sales goal on marketing activities. Once established, spend 6-9% of annual sales goal on marketing. This is a very broad “rule” – adjust for your market, sector, customer, competitive situation etc.

3.Focus on high payoff products & services; reduce or eliminate efforts on low-margin items

4.Focus on high payoff customers; reduce or eliminate efforts spent on unreliable customers

5.Expand your geographical market, focusing on your primary customer types and best-sellers

6.Develop new uses for your product so you can sell more ie. bicycles are just for pleasure riding, but for exercise, commuting, courier services etc.

7.Leverage your existing customers by expanding your product/service line with new, related products/services

8.Develop strategic alliances so you don’t have to say “No, sorry, we don’t sell/do that” to potential customers
•Contra-marketing
•Subcontracting
•Paying commission on referrals

9.And finally: hire staff or subcontractors to perform routine tasks so you can focus on sales, marketing and other business development activities best in the hands of the business owner.

The Most Effective Marketing Tools in your Toolkit

Marketing specialists generally encourage businesses to use a great variety of marketing approaches spread throughout their fiscal year. “Hit and Miss” marketing approaches are typically a lot more miss than hit, meaning they can be costly with poor results. Marketing is about strategic repetition and perseverance, and then patience. Use the list below to ensure that you are using at least a few key tools from all of the general marketing categories. Is each in development, currently in use, or proven effective for your business?


BRANDING
• A name for my business that is instant, positive promotion
• A logo that reflects the personality of your business
• A tag line that communicates your competitive advantage in seven words or fewer
• A 30-Second Commercial or “elevator speech”
• A jingle – for radio ads or other auditory promos


ATTRACTION TOOLS
• Newsletter
• Booklets or Special Reports
• Free Trials
• Take-ones
• Networking
• Referrals
• Contests
• Speaking Engagements


ADVERTISING
• Classified ads (online or off)
• Display/space ads
• Advertorial
• Yellow pages ads
• Directory listings & ads


DIRECT MAIL – WHICH IMPLIES A CUSTOMER/PROSPECT DATABASE
• 1 page letters
• Long form sales letters
• Post cards
• Flyers
• Faxes


OTHER PRINT TOOLS
• Business Cards
• Tear pads
• Coupons
• Gift certificates
• Inserts (used in joint venture)
• Proposals


ONLINE TOOLS
• Website which is attractive and user-friendly
• Social Networking profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter etc.)
• Email marketing tools (i.e. e-bulletin)
• Banner Ads
• Search Engine Optimization
• Email Signatures


TELEPHONE TOOLS
• Telephone script for outgoing calls
• Voice-on-demand system (“press 1 for hours of operation…”)
• Cold Calling
• Effective use of voice mail


PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE/MEDIA KIT
• Biographical profile
• Biographical feature story
• Business description & history
• Brochure(s)
• Fact Sheet/Product-Service Description
• Notice of event/Tip Sheet
• News Release/Media Advisory
• Testimonials


OTHER TOOLS
Contact the Brampton Small Business Enterprise Centre for more lists of tools your business can consider to incorporate into your strategic marketing plan.

Celebrate Your Small Business!

There are just over 1 million small businesses with employees in Canada. In fact, ninety-eight percent of businesses in Canada have fewer than 100 employees. Between 2002 and 2006, 130 000 new small businesses, on average, were created in Canada each year.

In October of each year, the government of Ontario recognizes the contributions that entrepreneurs and small businesses make to the economic well-being of the province. Ontario’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make a significant contribution to this province in terms of jobs, investment, trade, innovation and prosperity. The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade (MEDT), through its network of 57 Enterprise Centres, conducts events throughout October to salute small business owners.

In Brampton, there are a number of ways to celebrate being a small business, through this partnership between MEDT and the Brampton Small Business Enterprise Centre (full details at www.brampton-business.com)

Start-Up Stories inspiration and networking event, Tues. Oct 5th, 9:30-11:30 a.m., hosted by the Brampton Library, 65 Queen St. East. Hear motivational launch stories and network with other small businesses. FREE.

Lunch ‘n Learn seminar series, a different topic each day, noon – 1 p.m., October 18-22nd. Bring along your lunch. FREE.

Energize! professional development event, Thurs. Oct 28th, 7:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Holiday Inn Select, Peel Centre Dr. Continental breakfast, networking, round table experts (12+ topics) and keynote speaker Sunjay Nath on his 10-80-10 principle. Sponsored by Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. FREE.

Business-to-Business Trade Show, immediately following the Energize event, 12:30-3:30 Thurs. Oct. 28th. An affordable marketing tool and great networking opportunity. Sponsored by Rider Enterprises. Full table $75, shared table $50. Visitors – Free.


Reward yourself! Celebrate with the Small Business Enterprise Centre by registering (905-874-2650) for one or all of these free events. Meeting with others, talking about your mutual challenges, hearing best practices and sharing successes is a great way to re-discover your vitality. You’ll be refreshed and motivated to take on the next big thing, whether it’s balancing the books or reinventing your strategy. And while you’re there, give yourself a big pat on the back for a job well done!

Turning Customer Complaints into Repeat Business

Turning Customer Complaints into Repeat Business

Small business owners must, at their core, want to satisfy their customers, if they are truly passionate about their business. “The Customer is always right,” may or may not be true, but I do believe that keeping an established customer is much easier than finding a new one. Keeping a customer happy is also a lot less stressful and time-consuming than undoing the damage that can be caused by one who is unhappy. Whatever way you look at it, customer loyalty is essential for business success.

Here are a few tips for triumphing through customer complaints:

1. Recognize them as opportunities for market research i.e. products’ features and benefits, customers’ psychographics, your company’s competitive advantage.

2. Listen to your customer without becoming defensive. Stay patient, hear your customer out and don’t try to solve it in this moment.

3. Acknowledge the customer’s emotions (anger, frustration, confusion) to reinforce that you are truly listening. Empathizing is kind, builds trust, and doesn’t imply your ownership of the problem (this can come later.)

4. Summarize the situation to ensure you have understood, and ask any questions you need for clarity.

5. Thank the customer for bringing the problem to your attention. This is NOT the time to state return/refund policies; the customer is asking for a unique solution. With sincerity, assure them that your company values their business and that you intend to rectify the situation.

6. If the solution is simple, propose it, outline steps, and ask if this will solve the problem for them. If the solution is more complicated, state a course of action toward resolution, time required, and when they can expect the process to begin.

7. It (almost) goes without saying…follow through with your promises.

It takes practice not to take a complaint personally, particularly in a very small business; but becoming insulted or otherwise hurt will not get you closer to a solution. How should you proceed depends largely on the nature of your business, as well as the severity of the customer's complaint. Negotiate fairness, both for the customer and you. Be polite but firm; you do not want to be taken advantage of any more than they do.

Often, customers will begin a complaint process expecting the worst, and you can come out of it looking like a hero if you go just a little above and beyond the call of duty. The result: a very loyal client.

Call for Entries: Start-Up Business of the Year Award

Are you Brampton’s 2010
Start Up Business of the Year?

Scotiabank “SUBY” Award Competition Call for Entry

~PRIZES, RECOGNITION, MEDIA ATTENTION~

Applicant Criteria

· Launched in 2009 or 2010
· Brampton-based
· Wholly new business - not a franchise or resale
· 10 or fewer employees
· Brampton Small Business Enterprise Centre client

Application Deadline

· Monday, October 4th , 4:30 p.m. deadline

Business Overview – 70%, Finalist Interview – 30%
Full information, application and Business Overview Template available at
www.brampton-business.com or call Cassandra Baccardax at 905-874-2667.

Trade Show October 28th

Brampton can be a challenging market to advertise in. TV and radio is priced to reflect the fact that the stations cover the entire GTA, and this can be unaffordable for a start up business. One very affordable tactic is the SBEC Fall Business-to-Business Trade Show (B2BTS), taking place Thursday October 28th at the Holiday Inn Select (Dixie & Queen). Full tables are just $75; shared tables only $50.

Trade shows are a terrific tool to add to your marketing toolbox. Face-to-face interaction gives vendors the chance to educate and inform, as well as make that all important first impression on potential customers. They are also a terrific way to gather market intelligence; vendors can ask market research questions within a casual conversation to glean important psychographic information about their target customers.

Below is a link to a brief clip from our spring B2BTS - check out the great energy and vibe! Thanks to Jason at Phoenix Gate Pictures for the videography and production.

If a trade show sounds like a good marketing tactic for your business, contact Susan Vasey at the Brampton SBEC at 905-874-3630 for full details and to reserve your table.

http://www.youtube.com/user/PhoenixGPictures#p/a/u/0/e39iAK1gfn0

Before you Approach a Lender

(first published May 2010)

When you are approaching a lender or potential partner for start-up funding or a loan to fuel business expansion, there are important issues of feasibility to consider. Of course, lenders always look at the current financial health of your business utilizing your business credit rating, net worth and various accounting ratios that give clues to the stability of your business (or personal financial stability, in the case of a start-up.)

If the window of opportunity is open right now, and there isn’t time to prepare a full business plan, below is a checklist of what to put into a mini-plan to ensure your readiness.

Your launch/expansion proposal must:

1. Clearly and concisely communicate the vision for the business as well as its keys to success
2. Describe a marketable idea – and explain the marketing strategy
3. Describe how the product offers customers a long-term benefit
4. Target a clearly defined market, with enough size & purchasing power to generate robust sales
5. Describe a competitive edge, which will lure customers away from your competitors to you
6. Show the company’s ability to control production, delivery & quality
7. Show that owners & employees have the required skills & experience to make this a success
8. Show that owners have made a personal investment (and therefore, commitment)
9. Lay out a clear, sensible, workable strategy with a timeline for getting the business/expansion off the ground
10. Contain realistic financial projections, covering not only the most-likely but also pessimistic and optimistic scenarios
11. Show good profit potential
12. Demonstrate an idea that is not overly complex

A full business plan is always best for eliminating as much risk as possible when entering into a new venture, but even this abbreviated feasibility checklist will put a foundation under your business concept that will be a key factor in the success of your launch/expansion.

Young Entrepreneurs Launch their Summer Ventures

The City of Brampton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC) has announced the successful entrepreneurs for its tenth annual Summer Company program. Summer Company, a program funded by Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and delivered locally by the SBEC, helps enterprising young students, 15 to 29 years old, start up and run their own summer business.

Summer Company entrepreneurs receive business skills training as well as coaching and mentoring from local business leaders who will help make their Summer Company viable. Each entrepreneur receives up to $1,500 to put toward start-up costs and up to an additional $1,500 upon successful completion of the program.

Please support these creative and industrious young people!


Dwijen Bharad
Sunshine WindowCleaning
dwijenb@gmail.com
647-962-1234

Carly Cameron
KC Swim School
kcswimschool@gmail.com
905-880-1162

Jesse Cottrell
JC Photography
jcottrel@uoguelph.ca
416-668-4411

Stephanie Hillier
Abundant Life Fitness Solutions
s_hillier@live.ca
905-965-7043

Deniece James
Hart Door Art Camp & Classes
deniece.james@alumni.utoronto.ca
416-357-5071

Jacqueline Schoemaker
5 Elements Body Art
info@5elementsbodyart.com
647-293-5227

Alana Clark
Yoga Sprouts
alanaclark110@hotmail.com
647-206-1827

Kiron Clarke
Athletic Showcase
kironclarke_23@hotmail.com
647-388-1706

Hasanali Rajabali
Woody Woodworks Carpentry
woodywoodworks@yahoo.ca
416-728-0392

Chaitanya Shah
Kinergy Fitness
cshah@kinergyfitness.com
416-568-7148

Ishan Tikku
Pro Ball Goalie
proballgoalie@gmail.com
905-216-9291


For further details, contact Jennifer Vivian, the program co-ordinator, at 905-874-2632.

A Simple Proposal Template

In many industries, responding to tenders or submitting written proposals to land contracts is an everyday part of doing business. Service companies, consultants, even custom manufacturers need to be able to write compelling business proposals as an essential part of their sales process.

The first step in successful proposal writing is to have a base template at the ready. Often, opportunities are discovered at the eleventh hour. A shoddy proposal will harm your company’s professional reputation, or if you do manage to land the contract, could be disastrous because of scope and cost miscalculations. Having the bulk of the proposal ready to go so that you can focus on the quoting component will mean you quote more frequently and with more accuracy.

A business proposal typically contains these core components:

>> Background – a restatement of the customer’s issue

>> Scope – your specific, recommended solution to the issue

>> Deliverables – an exact list of tangible results your solution provides

>> Personnel – the qualifications of your team members assigned to the project

>> Timetable – start and end dates with success markers along the way

>> Fees – your fee, and what expenses/stages are covered; don’t forget taxes, shipping and other hidden costs

>> Other Expenses – clarity on who pays for sub-contractors, time & materials sub-projects, etc. that are not a part of the outlined fee

>> Terms – billing details such as due dates, installment agreements etc.

>> Appendices – any details that add value to your proposal, for example company history if you are well-established, a customer list that demonstrates similar project experience, or strong references.

The quote is key: too high and you don’t land the project; too low and you make no profit, or worse - do it at a loss. Successful proposal writing is based on knowing the operations of your business very, very well. Consider smaller projects for you first proposals and be prepared to learn through mistakes.

In the proposal, communicate your strengths and uniquenesses, and build trust through sound business practices, professional writing and excellent presentation. Keep a focus on the customer’s needs so that they know you are there to serve them, and you’ll land more contracts.

New EI Measures for the Self Employed

Dear Clients & Colleagues:

We have just received this message from our federal partner, Canada Business. While we were aware of the positive changes in the EI Act for self-employed persons, we were not aware of the wait periods/deadlines. We want to bring the deadlines to your attention.

If you believe that you may be in a situation where EI benefits for maternity, parental, sickness or compassionate care situations would be valuable to you, please investigate further via the links below, become informed about the costs involved and be aware of the deadlines to apply.

Cheers
CB


Information on the new EI Measure for Fairness for the Self Employed Act (Bill C-56)

[From: Service Canada - the Government of Canada's one-stop service delivery network.]

This Act provides access for self-employed people to all EI special benefits: maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care. Agreements must be in place for one year before there is any eligibility to benefits. However, as a transitional measure for the first year, Self Employed persons who register on or before April 1, 2010 may be eligible to file for benefits as early as January 1st, 2011. If they register after April 1, 2010, they will have to wait 12 months to access any benefits.
The deadline of April 1, 2010 is fast approaching and we would like to increase awareness of this benefit and would request that you forward this email to as many of your membership who would have interest in this information.
Information on registering for the program as well as more details are available on our website by accessing the link below.
Here is a link to the program.: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/ei/self_employed_workers.shtml
as well as a link to FAQs: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/ei/faq_self_employed_workers.shtml

Ontario minimum wage increases March 31

Ontario will raise its minimum wage to $10.25 on March 31, the province announced on Friday. Annual increases to the minimum wage were initiated in 2003, rising from $6.85 in 2004 to $9.50 in 2009. Last year business leaders representing small enterprises urged Premier Dalton McGuinty to reconsider scheduled increases in the minimum wage. They said the increases could result in reduced hiring. The major industries employing minimum wage earners are: accommodation and food, retail trade, and agriculture.

http://www.windsorstar.com/business/Ontario+minimum+wage+rise+March/2645921/story.html