Your Business StageYour Business Stage
How to Turn a Good Idea into a Great One
It’s a common sentiment that ideas are a dime a dozen, and that proper execution is what truly makes a small business successful. While there is some truth to this, polishing your idea before putting it into action will make it that much easier to turn your concept into reality.
Pros and Cons to Keeping Your Business in the Family
Family businesses play an integral role in Canada’s economy. According to the Globe and Mail, 80% of all Canadian businesses are owned by families, though only 30% last into a second generation. Deciding whether to keep a business in the family when the owner retires, and navigating the potentially thorny issue of who to leave it to, can require some careful planning and consideration of what’s best for you, your family and the business.
Start Planning Early for Business Succession
It can be difficult to think about the end of your business’s life span when you’re still working to get it off the ground. Succession planning is an often overlooked – though extremely important – aspect of most business plans: barely a third of business owners have a formalized succession plan. This can mean big problems when it comes time to hand off your business to someone else.
Define Your Business Vision
Having a business plan is important, but committing your business plan to paper isn’t enough. You should also know – and be able to articulate – your business vision.
Town Hall with Arlene Dickinson
Watch the Town Hall with Arlene Dickinson, Scotiabank Business Champion as she shares her experiences and lessons learned as a successful entrepreneur and business leader.
To view more tips to help you with your success, visit The Centre for Business Success
How to protect your business idea
Starting a business begins with a great idea so it’s quite natural to worry about someone stealing it. But can an idea be protected?
How to sell more to current customers
As a mature business you may be less interested in chasing new customers and more interested in earning additional money from your existing ones.
Competing as a mature business
Experienced business leaders understand the importance of innovation to gain competitive advantage, especially as a strategy to boost the mature business. That innovation can take the form of diversification, market expansion, cost reduction, or, in some cases, price increases.
How to get your practice up and running
Starting a business can seem intimidating because there is so much to do. Yes, you’ll eventually need to tend to things like marketing, production, administration and finance.
Types of bank financing
Your plan for your new business likely includes raising some money to finance start-up.
Saving to start-up
You know how to save for big purchases like a new car, a dream vacation or kitchen makeover.
Ready to sell: Building value in your business
What does a buyer want from your business? Transferable assets.
Life after your business
Whether you sell your business to a buyer or transition it to family, you should start making financial plans to support your lifestyle after business ownership long before the sale is concluded.
Negotiating with a business buyer
Negotiating a deal to sell your business is very exciting. Naturally, it can also be very stressful. Consider these suggestions to help guide you through the buy/sell negotiation process.
Removing yourself from your business
While you are an asset to your business now, you may actually be a liability to a buyer.
Signs it’s time to sell your business
The best time to sell a business is different for each entrepreneur.
Sell your business to family, or strangers? Decide soon
There will come a day when you’ll pass your business to a buyer. That day may be near or it may be far.
Unique supplier deals
Your business is built on vendor relationships. While some vendors are mission-critical suppliers of products and services essential to your output, other vendors may play more of a supportive, quieter role by providing things that make your business hum behind the scenes.
Where start-ups spend their money
Like renovating a house, it’s easy for new business owners to get caught up in the excitement of the project and exceed their start-up budget.
Why you should embrace your competitors
Every entrepreneur occasionally dreams about what it would be like to run a business without competition.
Tips: Affordable business space
Whether you are starting or growing your business, you’ll need some space to operate. And, naturally, you’ll want to save money on whatever space you inhabit.
Registering a business name in Canada
By Roger Pierce,
Like naming a new baby, it’s fun to think up names for your new business.
Is your business on the right path?
Keeping your business running on a daily basis requires you to pay close attention to a lot of details. However, for long-term success you also need to look at the big picture and make adjustments to your plan as necessary. A good idea is to regularly revisit your business plan to help ensure that you are on the right path.
Small Businesses, Big Exporters
According to the latest survey from Industry Canada, only 9% of small and medium businesses are involved in exporting goods or services. However, that 9% has a big impact.
Is your business a marketable asset?
Your business is valuable to you, but is it a marketable asset? Not necessarily. According to John Warrillow, author of Built to Sell: Turn your business into one you can sell, only 1% of businesses in Canada are sellable.
Finding and Training Your Successor
If you are considering retiring from your business, the choices you make now will affect the financial security for yourself, your family and your employees. In addition to growing the transferable value of your business, setting a timeline for retiring, and ensuring your post-retirement income, a key step in successor planning is finding the right successor for your business. Here are some guidelines.
Starting a home-based business? Here's what you need to know
Starting a home-based business is a dream shared by many. The rewards include the flexibility to set your own schedule, a chance to watch your children grow up, and the opportunity to follow your dreams. But it can also bring new risks, such as the possibility of social isolation and the loss of a regular paycheque and benefits.
Strategies for small business success: A case study
Entrepreneurs start businesses for many reasons, and the freedom, flexibility, and chance to realize a passion rank high on the list. But along with the rewards come challenges. Preparing to meet those challenges will put you in a better position to follow your dreams. Here’s how to get started.
