Business & Personal Finance

Sales Techniques for the Small Business Person

Enterprise Toronto is hosting a workshop on Wednesday June 6th at the Scarborough Civic Centre, entitled "Sales and Marketing Techniques to Get Your Business Off the Ground". The session is described as follows:

"Getting your sales and marketing right is crucial to the success of your business. Creating a marketing  strategy will help you identify potential customers and target them with appropriate products or services. Using the correct sales techniques will help you turn interest in your product or service into customer orders." 

The session is free!

The library has many books on the subject of sales. Here are just a few:

 

Small Message, Big Impact	Pitch Anything	Ask Questions, Get Sales

You don’t close a sale, you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise.
-Patricia Fripp
 

Retirement planning

Are you ready to retire? How much money do you think you will need? Or do you still have another 20 years or more before retirement? According to the experts, it's never too early to start making retirement plans.

Barbara Hawkins, long-time writer for MoneySense magazine, recommends 6 steps to a wealthy retirement. 

1. Create a "must-have" list.  Estimate how much you spend in all areas and then deduct things that you will no longer have to pay such as child care costs.  You should also deduct luxuries you can do without such as a second car, as well as items that you will no longer need to purchase such as work clothes and the cost of commuting.

2. Next, Hawkins says you should create a "nice-to-have" list containing things such as a special vacation. Keep things within reason.

3. Then, remember that you can count on the government. Hawkins says that despite what fearmongers say, the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age security are in fine shape.

4. Some people are lucky enough to have a defined benefit pension others have RRSPs to which they have been contributing.  These things need to be considered when calculating your overall wealth.

5. Make sure your porfolio is diversified, Hawkins says, by having 30%-50% of your assets in various fixed-income investments such as GIC's  and the remainder in a wide variety of stocks from Canada and other countries.  There are no guarantees, though, since markets are volatile and you may end up retiring right when markets can take a plunge like they did in 2008.

6. Finally, Hawkins recommends treating your "must-have" list and your "nice-to-have" list differently.  The "must-have" portion should represent a 4% withdrawal rate from your portfolio while your "nice-to-have" portion could be treated with more freedom, in particular in the early years of your retirement when you have your health and are more active. Keeping these  two portions separate within your portfolio will ensure that your "must-have" needs are well-covered later on in your retirement.

Planning for retirement may be time-consuming but it will literally pay off in the end making your golden years truly golden. 

 

Here are some great books to help you start your on retirement planning:

 

Economist Jeff Rubin - Author Talk on May 14, 2012

Jeff Rubin, economist and winner of the 2010 National Business Book Award for his title Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller, is going to give an 'Author Talk' at the Toronto Reference Library. 

In a follow-up to his award winning business book, Jeff Rubin will discuss "why the end of cheap oil means the end of growth, and what it will be like to live in a world where growth is over."  With Metro Morning Business Columnist Michael Hlinka.

Details for the program are:

Jeff Rubin
Mon May 14, 2012
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
90 mins
Toronto Reference Library Bram & Bluma Appel Salon
789 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario

Doors open at 6 p.m.

Tickets are required for admission to all Appel Salon events. Tickets are now SOLD OUT for this event.

As most Appel Salon events are free of charge, it is our policy to overbook. In the case of a full program, your free reservation may not guarantee admission.

Unclaimed reservations will be released to standby customers ten minutes prior to the start of the program. We recommend that you arrive early.

For more information on this program, visit the Appel Salon Programs web page.

For those unable to attend, the following title by Jeff Rubin is currently available at the Toronto Public Library: 

Print Format	eBook Format

The book is available in both Print and eBook formats.  To access online in eBook format, an active Toronto Public Library card is required. 

2012 National Business Book Award Finalists

The National Business Book Award is an annual award given to the author of a pre-eminent business-related book published in Canada.

The award has come to be "recognized as one of Canada's most prestigious literary awards. It continues to gain attention from not only the Canadian business world, but also publishers, authors, journalists, academics, economists, politicians and business leaders around the world."

The $20,000 award is presented to the author of the most outstanding Canadian business-related book published in 2011.

The finalists for the 2012 National Business Book Award were recently announced on April 26, 2012.  The three finalists are: 

Print Format	Print Format	Print Format
eBook Format	eBook Format	eBook Format

All three books are available in Print and eBook formats at the Toronto Public Library.  To access online in eBook format, an active Toronto Public Library card is required. 

The five key criteria used in evaluating eligible nominations is provided at the National Business Book Award web site.

Jury members consist of prominent individuals from the business and academic sectors.  This year's jury members are:

• Roger Martin, NBBA Jury Chair and Dean of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
• Jane Cooney, Founder Books for Business
• William A. Dimma, Chairman Emeritus, Home Capital Group Inc.
• Peter Mansbridge, Chief Correspondent of CBC Television News
• Deirdre McMurdy, Adjudicator; and
• The Hon. Pamela Wallin, Senator.

Congratulations to the three finalists!

The winner of the National Business Book Award will be announced on May 28, 2012. 

 

Red Rocket Coffee Visits TRL's Small Business Network

Hold on to your hats, because Red Rocket Coffee is blasting into the Small Business Network on Tuesday May 8th, 6pm - 7pm!

Liako Dertilis and his business partner Pamela MacDonald will be talking about aspects of starting and running their coffee shops (now in three locations in Toronto). The talk will be fifteen minutes long, after which there will be ten minutes for you to ask questions. Then we will have our networking time.

The Small Business Network is for anyone who is dreaming of starting a small business, or is in the process of starting one, or who is actually a small business owner. All are welcome.

Come join us and discover the wealth of knowledge, wisdom and experience that the group can offer.

Meet at the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, 3rd floor, Business, Science and Technology Department. It's free - don't miss it!

 

The rise of the department store

(Le Bon Marché, Paris, 1867)

Can you picture a world without Walmart, Zellers or The Bay? It's hard to believe that there was a time when people bought what they needed from local markets, small shops and even directly from craftsmen and street vendors.  During the Elizabethan age shopping was about acquiring basic necessities, not self-indulgence.  By the eighteenth century shops became more elaborate allowing customers opportunities to browse and to be enticed by artistically displayed goods.

During the Industrial Revolution people started to earn more money and a middle class began to emerge.   This, in addition to cheaper factory-produced goods, created an expanded consumer demand that could no longer be met by small retail outlets. In fact, the department store introduced people to the fine arts and to new styles and ideas. Up until the 1830's shops tended to be specialized but when Aristide Boucicaut founded Le Bon Marché in 1852 in Paris, now considered to be the world's first department store, retailers everywhere sat up and took notice. Le Bon Marche inspired the growth of department stores around the world with names like Macy's, Marshall Field's, Strawbridge & Clothier, Lewis's of Liverpool, Eaton's and many others. Over the years department stores have provided a wide range of consumer goods from fabrics to plants and automobiles to airplanes. Although the recent recession has taken its toll on department stores, they show a determination to survive by continuing to reinvent themselves.

To read more about department stores, check out these books:

 

Deciding on what business to start now..

For a number of years in the mid to late 1990's, every other person who came to us in the Business Department was looking to start up a business relating to pets.  Consumers, it seemed, had lots of money to spend on their pooches or cats. 

What a difference a few years makes.  An article that recently appeared entitled "Pet love on the cheap: Downturn takes bite out of pet product market, once thought recession-proof"  by Matthew Boyle (Toronto Star, March 4, 2012, p A13), indicates that owners who once lavished their pets with customized pet food and deluxe services, are now, because of the down turn in the economy, shopping at discount chains such as Wal-Mart and Target. 

So how does someone, who is considering starting their own business, decide what type of business to start?  One of my favorite sources that I refer people to is Profit Magazine's annual issue entitled "The Next Big Thing"  This issue, which usually appears in the magazines December/January issue each year offers up the best bests for start-up and expansion. North York Central and Toronto Reference Library both have previous years issues (as we all know, everything old is new again) for more ideas.

Some ideas from this issue include:

• Services to the stay at home consumer
• Development of apps for small business
• Tapping into the "buy local" movement

And once you have decided on a business to go into, try searching the catalogue for books on that particular business.  The library has a number of books in different series.  There is a "How to start a home-based" type of business, as well as "How to start and run" type of business and "How to start and operate" type of business. 

And have a look at a couple of titles from TPL:

    

And while it is important to have a business that is timely, being passionate about whatever business you go into is equally important.   Good luck pursuing your dream!

 

 

 

Why we are mad for Mad Men

The wait is over.  It was a long 17 months, but Don Draper and the staff of Sterling Cooper is back for a 5th season. I may be crazy, but I think most people are interested in the creative process involved with advertising.  How do you take a product and make people want to buy it? 

Of course while the show focuses on the business and personal lives of the people in the firm, it also is a snapshot into what perhaps was the golden age of advertising.  The U.S. was experiencing a post war surge in the economy and consumers had more disposable income and were wanting to spend it. 

But why is the show so popular?  Here are a few theories:

• Watching the creative process – and the business of advertising.  While Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce is a fictional ad agency, references are made to older advertising agencies that are still around – Young and Rubicam, Ogilvy & Mather.  Some of the events referred to are fictional, some true. 

• The commercials – seasons 1-4 had advertising history trivia before each of the commercials for products still around from the 1960’s.  It is one of the few shows that I hung around specifically to see the ads.

• The office – secretaries, typewriters, people talked on the phones, no computers.  The office politics - that hasn't changed. And of course the fashions - did people really wear these clothes?

• Watching the times change.  The 1960s were such a period of upheaval, socially and politically that it is interesting to see how events affected people and the advertising business.

• Great quotes from Don Draper on advertising:

"Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay. "

And best of all, it has created a resurgence of interest in advertising.  Check out a few of these titles available at TPL:

        

     

Enjoy season 5 - I know I am!

A Few Books About Managing Your Small Business Finances

The careful day-to-day management of your small business finances is a major factor in the success of your enterprise.

As always, the Toronto Public Library has resources to help! Here are just a few of the books in the system about how to manage your finances properly:

Finance For Non-financial Managers	Financial Management 101: Get a Grip On Yor Business Numbers	Small Business Financial Management Kit For Dummies

Before you can really start setting financial goals, you need to determine where you stand financially.
- David Bach

Blogging Your Business

When thinking about social media and small business, don't forget about blogging!  It's another great way to share current information about your company. Blogs and blog responses are the beginnings of conversations, and conversations are the beginning of a sense of community between you and your customers.

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging is a great book to read to get you started. It includes information on all kinds of blogs, not just business blogs, and includes sections on finding your voice, getting noticed, and creating and building community. When I began blogging, this was the first book I read. I highly recommend it.

The book also has lots of advice from Huffington Post bloggers of all types. Perhaps most importantly, the book will whet your appetite for blogging, and get you excited about giving it a try.

Here are some of the Huffington Post's key principles to blogging:

• Blog often
• Perfect is the enemy of done
• Write like you speak
• Know your audience
• Write short

Each one of these points is explained more fully in the book. Have a look.

Also, have a look at What A Blog Can Do For Your Business, at About.com. This article includes specific examples of business blogs.

Once you've found the enthusiasm to blog and you understand its value, read up on how to do it! The Toronto Public Library has lots of books on this subject, including video blogging: 

 

Content Rules	Blogging to Drive Business	Get Seen

 

Don't overlook this great business tool.