Canadian Entrepreneur

Failure: What is it good for?

2013-04-18T21:52:00.000-06:00

I've long thought that society needs to change its attitude toward failure. It is only by trying new things that a person learns, a business grows, or a society advances. But trying new things means making mistakes. (The only alternative is to wait until you have every single fact and have worked out every possible scenario – which is a recipe for paranoia and paralysis.)

Earlier this month, Startup Canada ran a “startup chat” on Twitter about failure. Moderator Kelly McGregor’s guest was Laura O’Blenis, Founder of Stiletto Consulting in Fredericton, N.B. They agreed that many entrepreneurs don't like talking about failure, but pointed out that other entrepreneurs in the local ecosystem need to hear their stories; it’s the best way to share solutions and the valuable lessons learned.

You can read McGregor’s summary of the chat here. I like the part where O’Blenis says, “If you are not failing or making mistakes, taking wrong turns sometimes, you are not trying hard enough.” The interactive #startupchats audience agreed, adding that what differentiates winners from losers is not whether or not they fail, but how they deal with failure.

Sounds like common sense, but it’s the kind that’s not common enough.

McGregor writes: “Embracing failure can of course be a tiresome and expensive process. The focus for entrepreneurs is on ensuring you fail fast, and fail cheap. The concept of Minimum Viable Product comes into play here, as developing an MVP will ensure you have minimum investment in a product that is likely to change many times.”

Click here to read the entire summary.

Last Call for PROFIT 500 Ranking!

2013-03-26T09:18:00.004-06:00

PROFIT Magazine is putting out a last call for companies that want to be considered for its annual ranking of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies. But you have to enter by April 1!

For the 25th anniversary of this ground-breaking project, PROFIT is pulling out all the stops. This year it is celebrating Canada’s top 500 growth companies.

http://www.profitguide.com/microsite/profit500

The listing was known as “the Fastest 50” when it started. It then became the PROFIT 100, then the PROFIT 200. Now it is leaping ahead to 500, an undertaking that promises huge benefits to participating companies.

With 500 companies, PROFIT should have sufficient volume of entries to segment the national list into specialty rankings by region and by industry. Your company may be the 267th-fastest-growing company in Canada, but you may also be the 12th fastest-growing manufacturer or the top growth company in Manitoba. (These are just examples; the categories haven't yet been confirmed).

The benefits? Every PROFIT 500 company will be listed in PROFIT magazine, as well as on www.PROFITguide.com. This is PROFIT’s annual must-read issue, so your listing could go a long way. And those interested in personal exit strategies should know that many big companies consider the P200/500 to be Canada’s best shopping list.

PROFIT will also be profiling the top Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto companies in special supplements to be distributed the week of June 3. Quebec companies will get additional coverage in PROFIT’s sister magazine, L’actualité, and firms in Atlantic Canada will get coverage in Atlantic Business magazine.

All winners will be invited to the PROFIT 500 “CEO Summit” in Toronto on June 5. It’s an annual networking andprofessional development event that should blow the roof off this year with so many successful innovators in one place. PROFIT is also hosting regional events (in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary) in the fall for listed CEOs in those regions.

PROFIT has even changed the reporting criteria, to encourage more companies to enter. Companies are still ranked on five-year revenue growth. But for the first time, the listings will no longer refer to a company’s profitability. And private companies will no longer have to publicly disclose their revenue if they don't want to; they will be able to publish their revenue numbers as a range.

PROFIT insiders tell me that any company that has had five-year revenue growth of more than 50% has a chance to crack the listing.

Don't put if off any longer. Check out http://www.profitguide.com/microsite/profit500 now!

Rick’s comments: As the former editor and publisher of PROFIT (and the guy who named the PROFIT 100 and later expanded it to 200), I salute the plucky, hardworking PROFIT staff who are continually punching above their weight level. This is an ambitious leap forward that could have a huge impact on innovation and entrepreneurial success in Canada. You rock, guys. Good luck!

Stronger Startups and Angels' Wings

2013-03-11T08:41:00.001-06:00

I recently had the opportunity to meet with a group of young people taking an entrepreneurship course in the Jane-Finch area of northwest Toronto. I found them quite knowledgeable about business, engaged and curious. We had a good discussion about business successes and failures, and the traits that mark the best entrepreneurs. Part of that discussion turned up in my column in the National Post March 4, under the title “Do you have what it takes to run your own business?”

It’s a fairly basic look at entrepreneurship, but I heard from a lot of senior business people who said they liked it. The story features a list of the seven personality traits most required of startup entrepreneurs, as well as the seven biggest challenges they’re most likely to face. Here’s an excerpt;

Challenge No. 2: Communicating your unique selling proposition. Once you understand your competitive advantage, you have to articulate it. My advice is to create a three-part mission statement that clearly describes what you do, who you do it for and how customers benefit from dealing with you. Example: “I’m a technology consultant who helps manufacturers out-compete Asian producers.” When you know your audience and how you can help them, the right people will flock to your door.

The full story is here: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/03/01/do-you-have-what-it-takes-to-run-your-own-business/

My column the previous week took an inside look at Halifax-based First Angel Network, a funding program that had been criticized by prominent tech entrepreneur David Crow for soaking clients with inappropriate presentation fees. My story looked at both sides and found… a few things that need changing.

Excerpt: Crow contends angel groups should maximize value for entrepreneurs, not middlemen and no company should pay hefty fees just to pitch. He doesn’t like to see what he calls “brokers,” especially those who have taken government funding to help source deals, taking a slice of equity at such an early stage: “The alignment of interests is not there.”

You can read the full story here: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/02/24/feathers-flying-as-maritime-entrepreneur-network-accused-of-conduct-unbecoming-an-angel/

Bonus story: A startup entrepreneur called me recently to ask how his company could reach more people with its online content. I dared them to think bigger.
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/03/06/can-a-small-web-company-think-bigger/

Groupon CEO: "I'm OK with having failed at this part of the journey"

2013-02-28T23:33:00.004-07:00

This is how you depart gracefully from a company.

Groupon founder Andrew Mason had just been fired from the innovative online marketing company, which faces a rocky road (despite outlasting most of its copycat clones). Here is the gracious letter he sent to reassure and inspire the troops he leaves behind.

(This is for Groupon employees, but I'm posting it publicly since it will leak anyway)

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. If you're wondering why... you haven't been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I'm getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we've shared over the last few months, and I've never seen you working together more effectively as a global company - it's time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.

For those who are concerned about me, please don't be - I love Groupon, and I'm terribly proud of what we've created. I'm OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I'll now take some time to decompress (FYI I'm looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I'll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

If there's one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what's best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness - don't waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,

Andrew

Here's what Forbes had to say about Mason's departure: "Mason left Groupon with the most powerful email marketing engine in the world, a growing income statement and a balance sheet with $1.2 billion in cash. The music major from Northwestern has been sprinting since 2007; now is probably a good time to rest."

" I will miss you terribly." How many CEOs have ever said that?

Win $10,000! Get feedback on your business!

2013-02-15T11:46:00.002-07:00

What could you do with an extra $10,000?

My column in the National Post this week looked at the New Brunswick entrepreneur who won 10Gs in a contest conducted by payroll giant ADP Canada. Amy Lapointe, founder of Amy’s Quality Care/Home Care, submitted a short essay on her business and how she would use the money as “payroll capital” to hire more homecare workers. Her windfall is good news for many people in New Brunswick’s economically depressed North Shore.

Excerpt: ‘Lapointe’s story is a touching slice of modern Canadiana — a success story carved out of an unforgiving landscape… From a staff of three last March, the company now has 25 employees and is looking for more. Lapointe is especially proud of the impact she’s having on her region. “This is 25 people in this area that might have had to go out West to find work. Now they can stay in their own community, and help their clients stay in their own homes.”’

Click here for the full story.

You can enter ADP's $10,000 contest until March 31st. For details: http://www.adpgrant.ca/

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Ever thought of hiring a business coach? In last week’s column, Oakville entrepreneur Kathrine Brown (AKA “Coach Kath”) sought feedback on her struggling weight-loss business from a local business advisory group. She got less insightful advice than she’d hoped for – but gained a new self-awareness that’s already paying dividends.

Except: “I interviewed Brown six weeks later for her thoughts on the consultation. She says she knew an “information marketing” business might be hard for more conventional executives to understand, but she appreciated the advisors’ questions, comments and concern. And she took responsibility for the information disconnect. “The quality of the experience you get from advisors depends on the information you give them. I came out of that meeting realizing I have to change the way I show up.”

Click here to read about Brown's epiphany.

How might you benefit from a coaching session with other experienced business people? How could you possibly lose?

A Time to Pause and Reflect

2013-01-02T14:39:00.002-07:00

New Year's is a traditional time to look back and look ahead. But successful people link "pause and reflect" all year long, with specific activities and achievable goals. In my column last week for the Financial Post, executive coach (and new author) Karen Wright explains how and why to pause and reflect.

Excerpt: “Taking the time to reflect on our experiences and redirect our forward movement is key to achieving our goals, both in business and in life,” Wright notes. “Life moves so quickly that without some conscious practices to ensure you are self-aware, on track toward what’s important, insulated from the daily noise of life, and learning from your experiences, you could end up in the wrong place at the end of it all.”

What are the useful applications of "pause and reflect"? I kind of like the private Sunday evening planning session, to finish up readings you missed during last week and prepping for upcoming meetings. Karen Wright suggests the following:

* Create a weekly plan

* Seek out silence

* Meditate

* Keep notes of your thoughts, ideas and feelings

* Join a peer forum

* Practice gratitude

For more, read the full article here:

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/24/take-time-out-all-year-to-reflect-on-direction/

What City is This?

2012-12-17T15:40:00.002-07:00

Don't forget our regular "Name that City" game. What is the Canadian city in the new header photo?
And can you guess the month this picture was taken?
For extra points, name the river.

Seasonal confections and tactical connections

2012-12-17T13:54:00.004-07:00

During low-content month, please feel free to catch up on some of my previous columns for the National Post. It's been a busy couple of weeks!

* Today’s Column:
Year-round wrap-up: The best lessons from Rick’s 2012 columns – in handy quiz form. http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/17/rick-spences-10-best-lessons-in-business-from-2012/
Excerpt:
Question 3 of 10. Intuit Inc., maker of Quicken, became an innovation leader with its “Follow Me Home” philosophy, in which Intuit engineers and other staff go to customers’ homes and offices to watch them work and identify problems worth solving. In March I asked CEO Brad Smith if he still participates in this program. What was Smith’s answer?

A No, I’m the CEO and I’m too important.
B No, I don’t have time, though I wish I did.
C Yes, I give it 60 hours a year.
D Yes, I give it 6 hours a year.

(Click here for more questions and answers)

* Yes, manufacturing still has a place in North America. The most promising producers are those who make complex, customizable products “built to order.” Click here to see how to succeed in this challenging niche. http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/10/made-in-north-america-once-again-with-lean-manufacturing-strategies/
Excerpt: In a variable environment, the authors say, the pursuit of perfect will require trial and error, practise and full involvement. Your job is to ensure that continuous improvement becomes a corporate mission that is “felt, enjoyed and fostered by everyone involved.”

* Dreaming of a green Christmas: Make sure the holidays don't distract you from wringing all the sales you can out of the last crucial weeks of the business year. http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/14/im-dreaming-of-a-green-christmas/

* The Skid Row CEO: How Vancouver entrepreneur Joe Roberts went from homeless addict to successful executive – and the lessons he learned on that arduous journey. http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/03/from-skid-row-to-high-street-ceo-uses-past-experiences-to-become-business-success-help-others/
Excerpt: Roberts says he is often asked how a homeless addict could possibly become a business success. “I tell them: I wasn’t successful in spite of living on the streets; I became successful because I lived on the streets.”

The 7 People Every Business Needs in its Network

2012-12-04T20:33:00.003-07:00

In business, there's so much you need to know to get everything right. Yet, maybe you don't need to know it all. Maybe you just need to know the people who know what you don't.

That's the premise that led to this month's column in PROFIT Magazine: the seven people you need on speed-dial to make sure you get authoritative, objective answers when you need them.

Who are the Munificent Seven? The industry old-timer, a marketing guru, an exit specialist, and more. Click through to meet the whole gang. http://www.profitguide.com/?p=44771

I got a kick out of the illustration PROFIT commissioned for the piece (a nice piece of work by Marc Sullivan). Somehow, my name slipped onto the speed-dial menu, too.

Please don't call after 10 pm.

Five modest proposals for President Obama

2012-11-07T09:27:00.001-07:00

A few suggestions from north of the border for President Obama as he embarks on his second term victory lap.

Now that he is relieved of the need to be re-elected, which has consumed most of his time, energy and attention the past year, I hope he can get down quickly to the neglected business of accelerating the ailing economy. Here are a few things he should start doing immediately.

· Announce some objectives: Obama was silent throughout the campaign about how he would fix the economy. Time for a plan: how can his 150 million fans support his efforts if they don't know what he’s trying to do?

Is his plan to focus on job creation, economic stimulus, or deficit reduction? He should explain what challenges he wants to take on, and set some specific objectives, or targets, for the improvement he would like to see. Then he should announce how he is going to tackle the problem. He doesn't have to do this all himself: appointing prominent and committed citizens to get-’er-done task forces would focus attention on the problems and ignite a public dialogue on the most effective solutions.

· Be specific. I liked Romney’s shout-out to the “job creators" in last night’s concession speech. Start investing, start creating jobs. It was a clarion call to the people who can make a difference to start making one. The fact that he did it now, following the end of partisan campaigning, gave the issue (and Romney’s commitment to it) greater credibility.

· Tell people how they can help. From the start, Obama’s campaign has always been about a shared revolution. So he should harness the power of his followers and get them started fixing the issues he has identified as priorities. What can “we the people” do immediately to help jump-start the economy, create jobs, reduce demand on government services, or even preserve the environment? Give people some direction and watch them go.

· Do it now. Strike while the iron is red-hot. Obama’s win has revitalized his followers, and his victory speech ignited hope and emotion. Leverage that passion now; it's such a powerful resource. In a few weeks (possibly days) it will have dissipated into the usual daily apathy.

· Stay in touch. We have become accustomed to seeing you on TV every day. Take a few days off to recharge, but don't be a stranger. Americans reacted warmly to the confident, re-energized winner they saw last night on TV. They liked it when you spoke of climate change and “straight or gay” – clearly, the pre-election fetters are off and you can be yourself again. So often you have been accused of being aloof and distant. Last night you re-engaged with the electorate: stay hungry, stay passionate, stay casual and confident, stay in touch.

When leaders and followers are engaged like that, anything is possible.

2012-11-02T13:05:00.004-06:00

The word for today is “Accelerator.”

My column in the National Post this week (Oct. 29) looked at JOLT, the “accelerator” for startup tech companies run by Toronto’s MaRS innovation centre. Last week, six promising new companies pitched for investor attention at the program’s high-spirited Demo Day. My article summed up the companies and the accelerator dynamic – and then deflated the whole thing by quoting an unnamed investor who wasn’t very impressed.

You can check out the story here: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/28/jolt-graduation-who-will-sink-who-will-swim/

The previous week’s column offered several brilliant and original ideas for super-charging your business, from the experienced mind of U.S. executive and consultant Bob Prosen. Check out his "Business Accelerator" framework now to amp up your 2013 business planning.

Excerpt: Prosen prescribes a better way to document progress toward your goals. On every report you receive, ask that those metrics on or over target be coloured green, and those below expectations be red. (No yellow, he says. Yellow just yields excuses.) When discussing underperformance with team members, keep your questions simple: “When will this turn green?” and “What do you need from the rest of us for that to happen?”

Read the full story here: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/22/fast-moving-ideas-to-implement-now/

Want to really accelerate your business? Read how a Kingston Ont. boatbuilder teamed up with the No. 1 company in its industry. My column from the November issue of PROFIT. http://www.profitguide.com/opportunity/rules-of-engagement-42334

Tweeting FEI Small Business conference

2012-09-25T22:48:00.003-06:00

So hard these days to find time for blogging!

But here's yet another creative workaround: a collection of my tweets from the 2012 SME Conference held by FEI Canada, which I hosted today (Sept. 25.) in Mississauga, Ont. Retrace the following tweetstream and you'll meet new friends and at least one old one. And maybe learn something, who knows...?

Note: Most of the links will take you to a front-row photo of the speaker in question. A few others connect to more detailed information. Such are the ways of Twitter.

@rickspence

PROFIT 200 winner Ty Shattuck at FEI Conference: "Both innovation and leadership are forms of art" http://yfrog.com/ny2kutfj

@rickspence

At FEI conference,Michael Cangemi leads charge for "continuous monitoring" to cut costs, manage risk http://yfrog.com/j2s6kkdj

@rickspence

From Ruth Bastedo, here's your social media Strategy Roadmap. From FEI SME Conference http://yfrog.com/esm5jvej

‏

You too can be a Dragon!

2012-09-14T21:11:00.002-06:00

With the season premiere of Dragons' Den looming (Sept. 19), CBC publicity is pulling out all the stops. This show is one of their biggest hits ever, so it's fun to see how they ramp things up every year.

Check out what they're saying now:

For the first time ever, people at home will have the chance to have their say in the Den. By visiting www.cbc.ca/dragonsden, viewers at home will be able to play along with the show, and have their activity displayed back on TV - in real time. This kind of social TV integration is the first of its kind in the world to occur live, in each time zone.

Become an Armchair Dragon and play along while you watch Dragons' Den on CBC with an interactive platform that allows you engage with the broadcast in real-time. For the best experience, participate using your mobile device or PC by visiting www.cbc.ca/dragonsden during Dragons' Den Wednesday evenings at 8 PM.

Also, this season there's another new Dragon in town. Replacing the ever-popular Robert Herjavec is David Chilton, aka "The Wealthy Barber." Here's his official bio from the CBC (believe it or not). Read it with tongue firmly in cheek:

David Chilton is an economics graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1985, he won the award for the highest mark in the country on the Canadian Securities Course. Cheating was never proven but widely suspected.

In 1989, he released The Wealthy Barber. It went on to sell an astonishing two million copies in Canada. After milking his one and only good idea for years, Dave left the personal-finance field to home-school his children. His daughter escaped after a few months, but his son served out his entire sentence of three years less a day. Both children somehow overcame the experience and are now attending university.

Over the years, Dave also published the bestselling cookbooks Looneyspoons, Crazy Plates and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! along with authors Janet and Greta Podleski. Adding no value but taking a third of the profits, guilt finally overwhelmed Dave and he left the sisters' business in 2007. They just recently noticed.

His true professional passion, however, remains the field of personal finance, where he tries to mix humour and common sense to help people handle their money more wisely.

The morning I attended a taping last spring, David was pretty quiet. But I hear rumours that he didn't stay that way...

Required Reading

2012-09-14T20:47:00.003-06:00

My column in the National Post this week looks at the new book, Insanely Simple: The Obsession that Drives Apple’s Success. Written by Ken Segall, who did a lot of creative work with Apple and coined the name "iMac," it examines the constant conflict in every business between Simplicity and Complexity. And of course it offers lots of great advice on how to champion Simplicity in your own company.

Here's the money quote:
"The simpler way isn’t always the easiest. Often it requires more time, more money and more energy. But more times than not, it will lead to memorably better results.”

Here's the link: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/10/take-steve-jobss-lead-and-think-simple/

My column in this month’s PROFIT Magazine looks at the advantages of "Lean" production, from the perspective of Canadian fashion icon Linda Lundstrom.

Excerpt:

"You can apply the principles of lean to any size company, in any sector," says Lundstrom. "You identify what the customer wants, and eliminate waste as you deliver what the customer values most." Although lean has been around since the 1980s, Lundström believes it's the way of the future—and could even reverse the decline in Canadian manufacturing.

The future is here: http://www.profitguide.com/opportunity/the-unlikely-guru-of-lean-40272

Keeping up with the Next 36

2012-08-24T22:28:00.004-06:00

Jane Wu, valedictorian of the Next 36 cohort of 2012

Someone (yeah, it was me) once called the Next 36 “the most intense, hot-house effort to force grow entrepreneurs ever attempted in Canada." It’s a fascinating social experiment: take 36 undergrads – bright, driven, and proven leaders – give them capital to form companies, and expose them to the best business thinking from successful entrepreneurs and innovative academics from the U.S. and Canada. The goal: to encourage a new generation of high-impact entrepreneurs who will understand opportunities, risk and resources, and will never think small in their lives.

I've been a big fan of the program, which has just finished its second year. It’s got Bay Street and the Canadian Establishment rubbing shoulders with the new app/Meetup/lean/startup/incubator/accelerator economy, and that alone is an amazing feat. Plus, the program has turned many accomplished entrepreneurs into experienced, thoughtful mentors, and that could also pay dividends for years to come.

I've been writing quite a bit about the program recently, mainly for the Post, so here’s a recap and some links to get you caught up with the Next 36’s world of frenetically modified entrepreneurs:

· Driving home the importance of the pitch – in which I sit through a class with the Next 36 on a hot summer afternoon, and watch Next 36 co-founder Reza Satchu doehis best to make his charges as uncomfortable as possible.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/08/12/driving-home-the-importance-of-the-pitch-and-how-zipcar-failed-the-test/

· How Facebook Canada keeps in fighting trim – a sort of sequel to the above story, since Facebook’s Jordan banks was the guest speaker in the class I attended. He had some cool points to make about Facebook culture that I thought all entrepreneurs should hear (not just the Next 36).

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/08/14/how-facebook-canada-keeps-in-fighting-trim/

· Why the Next 36 matters for all Canadian entrepreneurs –summing up my thoughts on the Next 36 experience during “Venture Day,” the venture fair-cum-graduation exercise that marked the formal end of the program for the class of 2012. Excerpt:

“The Next 36 isn’t about the seven new app-based companies that pitched their business plans at last week’s graduation ceremony in Toronto. The Next 36 is a bet on the long term: that 10, 20 or 30 years from now, these kids will find ways to shake things up, whether they’re on Bay Street, in their own businesses, or in academia, the arts or non-profits. “

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/08/20/why-next-36-matters-for-all-canadian-entrepreneurs/

Next 36 co-founders Reza Satchu & Claudia Hepburn,
with Rackspace chairman Graham Weston (centre)

· Entrepreneurship Lessons From Graham Weston – A final letter from Venture Day, written for PROFITguide.com, covering the thoughts of guest speaker Graham Weston, chairman and cofounder of web hosting upstart Rackspace. Again, his comments were too good to limit them to just the overachievers of the Next 36. "Entrepreneurship is about being famous for something very specific—something you do for your customers,” says Weston. And yes, Rackspace owes all its growth and success to that one simple idea.

http://www.profitguide.com/manage-grow/leadership/entrepreneurship-lessons-from-graham-weston-39641

What will your company be famous for?

The Next 36 is now inviting applications for its 2013 program. For more info, click here.

Catching up on a Busy Summer

2012-08-10T08:17:00.007-06:00

I hope you're having a great summer. It's been quiet around this blog because I've been so busy. Let’s catch up on some of my recent National Post columns.

On Aug. 6 I wrote about a fascinating entrepreneurial bootcamp for Canadian Armed Forces personnel and retirees who want to start their own businesses. The veterans had the time of their lives, and they all stood in a circle and held hands at the end. (True story that I didn't have room to print.)
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/08/06/canadian-forces-mean-business/

On July 30 I offered some ideas on how to build an online community around your business. It’s the future of business, you know.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/07/30/how-to-build-a-community-to-boost-your-business/

And on July 23 I shared some key impressions from my Newfoundland entrepreneurship tour with Startup Canada. Sample observation: when the industrial heart of a smaller community fades (say, the local mine or pulp mill closes down), smart entrepreneurs refocus on the remaining economic driver – which may be the regional hospital, or even a Walmart. How could your business partner with local institutions to supply complementary services?

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/07/23/entrepreneurial-insights-from-startup-canada/

And on July 27, I penned an online-only piece called “Lessons from the Olympics: Own your own podium.” Read it now before the 2012 games are history.http://business.financialpost.com/2012/07/27/lessons-from-the-olympics-own-your-own-podium/

Bottle Cove, Nfld (near Corner Brook). Photo by Ron Taylor

Can we become the world leader in supporting entrepreneurs?

2012-07-06T11:56:00.006-06:00

We get occasional letters here at Canadian Entrepreneur. Here's a question from a startup entrepreneur in B.C.:

Dear Rick:

I recently read your article, "Don't bank on getting a loan," which was on the Startup Canada website. I have had the same troubles trying to get financing from banks and other lenders. I was just wondering you if you had any information or recommendation on where I could go for startup financing?

I've pretty much asked every avenue I can think of, just to be let down because I don't have the 10% needed to invest. Any help is better than none.

My recent Startup Canada tour re-sensitized me to the need to do something more about enabling more financing for entrepreneurs. But in the meantime, there's not a lot of cash out there for brave startup folks without other collateral. So my response was fairly short:

Have you tried the CYBF? They offer loans (and even better, mentoring) to entrepreneurs under 35.

If that doesn't work, you just have to keep trying. Look for local friends, neighbours and professionals who have been successful in business, and ask them to invest or loan you money. Give them a business plan and some transparency into how you're running the business.

This is the hard part. There are no easy answers, from banks or government. Your network is what counts.

Best of luck. Let me know how it goes.

Rick

I think it's time we started a national discussion about how to get more capital into small business - growth firms and startups. Is crowd-funding the answer? How can VCs and private equity step up? What's the right role for government? What other constituencies (if any) are getting this right?

Leave a comment if you have a thought on this conundrum. For high-cost, slow-to-innovate Canada is to prosper, we have to become the world leader in motivating and supporting our entrepreneurs.

Why does Canada need more startups?

2012-06-13T23:45:00.000-06:00

Last week while I was touring Alberta with the founders of the new non-profit, Startup Canada, some friends in Calgary asked what we were trying to accomplish. Why was I donating my time to this cause? I explained that Canada needs more entrepreneurs.

They replied, “How do you know?”

What a great question! And it's one I hadn’t really asked myself. So it seems fair to explain how I know we need more entrepreneurs – even in Alberta, where the economy is booming and just about anyone can get a well paying job.

Across Canada (with the possible exceptions of Alberta and Saskatchewan), our unemployment rates are too high. Our innovation record is dismal. And our export efforts are still pitifully dependent on raw resources rather than processed goods. In many cities, even in Alberta, our downtowns are dingy and depressed. Many of our biggest corporations are scaling back jobs and operations in Canada, and many growth industries, such as retail and services, offer lower-paying jobs in their place.

The Conference Board of Canada rates us 14th out of 17 in a survey of innovation performance among comparable economies. Young people today in most provinces can't find summer jobs, let alone full-time work. Meanwhile, health care and public service costs are soaring, and the demographics say that in a decade or two there will be too few workers to pay the bill.

In short, our fundamental ability to fund a decent lifestyle and a prosperous economy for all is at serious risk across Canada today.

But there is hope. Lots of it. The motto of Startup Canada is “Entrepreneurship Empowers Everything.” We believe that if Canada can become more entrepreneurial, we can solve all the problems the world economy can throw at us. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about running a business – it’s an attitude. A way of thinking.

Entrepreneurs see opportunities where other people see problems. They're visionaries with practical purpose. Entrepreneurship is about analyzing problems and devising innovative solutions that create new value for others, reaching out to diverse groups – whether it’s partners, bankers, suppliers, advisors or customers – and persuading them to believe in your dream, marshalling resources to solve a problem, doing more with less, leading with confidence, leveraging technology, committing yourself to constant learning, and never being afraid to change course when the times require it.

These are the attributes of great entrepreneurs. When they exercise their abilities, they create jobs, bring new economic vitality to the deepest corners of our towns and cities, spin off new businesses, and infuse others with entrepreneurial spirit. And of course entrepreneurship is not confined to business. We need more infusions of entrepreneurial thinking and innovation in government, in health care and education. We are certainly already seeing more and more entrepreneurs committing their time to other causes, such as charities and public service. And a new breed of social entrepreneurs is changing the way businesses calculate success and erasing the line between doing well and doing the right thing.

Best of all, when you embraces entrepreneurial values, you take responsibility for your own life, your own career. You no longer sit around, as so many of our young people do, waiting for someone to take care of you, or just offer you a job. You accept responsibility for your own future – and thus encourage others to do the same.

The global economy will only get more competitive. The businesses that survive and thrive will have to be formidable competitors and endless innovators. Because only people with entrepreneurial values will succeed by finding new ways to create value for others. And in doing so, they will create economic activity, jobs and hope for all Canadians.

Canada is fortunate to have an abundance of natural resources. But as pioneers such as K.C. Irving, Ted Rogers and Mike Lazaridis have proven again and again, our greatest resource is our people, and their ability to think and serve, entrepreneurially.

(Adapted from my presentation to the launch event/press conference in Lethbridge: June 7, 2012)

Only as solo as necessary

2012-05-20T20:22:00.000-06:00

Entrepreneurs are famed for being solo achievers, pursuing singular visions. In reality, however, successful entrepreneurs operate only as "solo" as necessary.

My most recent column in the National Post stemmed from a discussion with an entrepreneur whose idea of business development was spending way too much time doing research solo on his computer instead of talking to players in his market.

My rant continued...

"Google is an unmatched business reference tool. But there’s a limit to the help you can get from other people’s websites. Sean should spend less time on the computer, and more time seeking help from real live business people in his market who can answer his questions.

I’ve met lots of entrepreneurs like Sean, filled with passion for their business ideas, but hesitant to bounce them off other people. That’s exactly the wrong attitude. Keeping a great idea to yourself is like buying a beautiful bouquet of roses and locking it in a closet. Ideas are made to be poked, prodded and improved. Get them out in the open. Like flowers, they shrivel and decay in the dark..."

You can read the rest of the column here....

What City is That, Anyway?

2012-05-14T10:39:00.001-06:00

For the rest of May 2012, this blog will be headed up by a photo of the dynamic skyline of a certain Canadian city. As often happens, it's on my itinerary for this month.
Can you guess what city it is? If so, please share in the comments.

May 18 Update: Time to put you out of your mystery. The city is not Edmonton, not Richmond Hill, but..

Windsor, Ontario!

Readers offer marketing suggestions for iconic clothing supplier

2012-05-11T16:12:00.001-06:00

How do you build a brand in a category that no one knows exists?

That was the challenge I put to National Post readers two weeks ago. And in my column this week, the readers strike back, offering their suggestions for how adaptive-clothing producer Silvert’s can grow not just its business, but consumers’ awareness of the entire category of east-to-wear clothing for infirm seniors.

My challenge drew lots of responses, and some great new ideas – many of which could be applied to businesses in other industries. Maybe even yours. Here’s a sample of the advice received:

“Susan Yates of Richmond Hill, Ont., recommends Silvert’s 'galvanize' caregivers into a sales force, through a representative-sales model such as Avon’s. 'Put the catalogues into the hands of the caregivers and incent them with a commission on sales.' (She suggests caregivers sell to the seniors’ adult children, not their charges directly.) Yates also suggests Silvert’s get its products into other catalogues, through retailers such as Sears.”

Click here to read the full story.

Or click here to read the previous week’s profile of Silvert’s.

Think Small, Dream Big

2012-04-28T12:36:00.003-06:00

A friend recently discovered Seth Godin's classic 2005 blogpost on "Small is the New Big" and loved it. In this rant, Godin traces the growth of "big business" and why size is no longer an advantage.

"Big used to matter. Big meant economies of scale. (You never hear about “economies of tiny” do you?) People, usually guys, often ex-Marines, wanted to be CEO of a big company. The Fortune 500 is where people went to make… a fortune.

"There was a good reason for this. Value was added in ways that big organizations were good at. Value was added with efficient manufacturing, widespread distribution and very large R&D staffs. Value came from hundreds of operators standing by and from nine-figure TV ad budgets. Value came from a huge sales force."

Then the world changed. Technology empowered individuals and small teams, and consumers came to value the merits of service, function, originality and discovery over the low, predictable costs of mass production and mega-retail.

So Seth goes on:

"Small is the new big because small gives you the flexibility to change the business model when your competition changes theirs.
"Small means you can tell the truth on your blog.
"Small means that you can answer email from your customers.
"Small means that you will outsource the boring, low-impact stuff like manufacturing and shipping and billing and packing to others, while you keep the power because you invent the remarkable and tell stories to people who want to hear them.
"A small law firm or accounting firm or ad agency is succeeding because they’re good, not because they’re big. So smart small companies are happy to hire them."

My friend, who has newly entered the world of entrepreneurship, asked my thoughts on this essay. Here is what I told her:

I think Seth is exactly right. Although I don't think he has explored the concept of "bigness" enough - both its advantages and disadvantages.

Capital starts with risk and ends with rigidity. As the decision-making gets farther from the consumer, and more insulated from the market, it gets confused. Management no longer knows what the right thing is to do, so they become more and more dependent on "big" solutions such as consultant recommendations (which are usually ill-informed), restructuring, massive consolidation/integration projects (so they can measure results better, but reduce those same results by demotivating front-line people), and wholesale acquisitions and divestitures (which rarely pay off).

With few exceptions, I think big businesses are ultimately dysfunctional, which is why so many are replaced or taken over by new companies (ABC by Disney, Motorola by BlackBerry, Apple & Android... And of course in retail, K Mart by Walmart, Sears by Target, and all of them by Amazon). Occasionally big companies can still be winners (I think Disney, Apple, Home Depot are still well run and doing right), but I think that's the exception, and it depends on keeping a laser-like "founder's focus" on the overall business. Steve Jobs was a terrible CEO (to some) because he always acted like a monomaniacal entrepreneur - but that's exactly why he was so successful.

I agree totally on the benefits of small. The freedom to act on opportunities, to interact daily with customers, to leverage the best part of a growing market by focusing on one niche: it's what makes small business beautiful. Imagination and great execution are more important now than capital, and that's why Wall Street and Bay Street are so irrelevant to so much of business today. And it's a mighty good thing.

Seth said it best and first: "It's no longer about access to cash. Now it's about choosing the right model and being remarkable."

You can enjoy Godin's original post here.

The Future is Now

2012-04-27T16:46:00.001-06:00

Have you considered how lucky we are to be alive at this time, when so much is being done to advance the fields of human knowledge, exploration, communications, medicine and global diplomacy? A time when consumer goods have never been less expensive, nor services (wireless, facebook, e-commerce, couriers, tele-medicine) more plentiful.

These are heady times to be in business – or even just alive. When else were so many frontiers falling to human curiosity – or did opportunities so abound?

As one observer points out: “At no point of the world’s history has life been so full of interest, and of possibilities of excitement and enjoyment.”

If you look around, he writes, you can see around you “the play of vaster forces than have ever before been exerted, working, half blindly, half under control, to bring about immeasurable results.”

What a wonderfully evocative description of the pace, and power, of innovation today.

That bold, enthused observer?

Theodore Roosevelt. In 1894.

The End of RIM?

2012-04-24T16:44:00.004-06:00

From the Huffington Post, here is one of those cool infographics tracing the decline and fall of Research in Motion.

Most people believe RiM was done in by its own short-sightedness. It's a sad verdict for such visionary entrepreneurs. I continue to hold out hope that the company will survive. But I always thought it was a takeover candidate - though not at $13.

Click here to see the infograph of broken dreams.

Meet B.C.'s top innovators

2012-04-04T21:54:00.002-06:00

BC Business magazine has just released its 2012 list of British Columbia’s 20 Most Innovative Companies - organizations that have put new ideas into practice that have had a profound impact in their field.
It’s a terrific list. Check out who made it:

BroadbandTV Corp.
Helping content owners unlock the value of their online videos.

Saltworks Technologies Inc.
Turning saltwater and wastewater into potable H2O.

Tsawwassen First Nation
Setting a new precedent in First Nations governance.

SendtoNews Video Inc.
Changing the way newsrooms connect with content.

Awesense Wireless Inc.
Helping Canadian utility companies isolate and correct losses in the electrical distribution grid.

Brookside Foods Ltd.
Patented candy-making technology that caught the eye of Hershey Co.

Summify
Two "hacker entrepreneurs" take on the curation of social-media data.

Cascadia Windows Ltd.
Doubling buildings' insulation efficiency with one little clip.

Idea Rebel Interactive Inc.
A cost-saving environmental agenda and a new way to empower clients.

Adbusters Media Foundation
The “buy nothing” magazine that sparked the “Occupy” movement.

Wow-1day! Painting Inc.
Overturning the prevailing and inefficient house-painting model.

Endurance Wind Power Inc.
The quietest and most efficient small wind turbines.

Blenz Coffee Ltd.
Doing more for customers than stimulating their taste buds.

Debrand Services Inc.
Tapping a plump vein in the world of branded corporate waste.

Wifarer Inc.
Bringing wayfinding inside with interactive building maps on your smartphone.

Hire the World Enterprises
Taking crowd-sourcing to a new level.

Pure Freedom YYoga Wellness Inc.
Bringing rigorous business principles to a 5,000-year-old practice.

Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd.
An environmentally friendly solution for boaters worldwide.

Curious Mind Productions Inc.
A "book club on steroids" for the 21st century.

EnWave Corp.
A faster, greener and more economical dehydration alternative.

For more info on the magazine's Innovators program, click here: http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/innovations/2012-innovators-panel-methodology