Business & Personal Finance

Starting a green business

 

 

I recently dropped off some clothes to be dry cleaned. I chose this particular dry cleaner because they provide chemical-free dry cleaning.  In fact, I try to seek out other green businesses such as organic lawn care and businesses that sell used building materials. This made me realize that there are probably other people out there who purchase goods and services in the same way  I do.

If you're an entrepreneur looking for a business idea you might want to consider starting a green business.  A green organization produces goods or services that are designed to minimize environmental impact.  In it's study Working towards sustainable development: Opportunities for decent work and social inclusion in a green economy, the International Labour Organization states that a greener economy could generate 15 to 16 million jobs globally over the next two decades. Whole new industries  are being created within the green economy and by figuring out what people need and would be willing to pay for, you'll be ahead of the curve.

For some green business ideas take a look at these books:

 

What type of tweet will you read?

Half a billion users generating 175 million tweets a day.  How does one decide what to read?  Who to follow?  Twitter has become such a dominant force in the social media tools that business uses, it pays to find out how you can use it to your full advantage to reach your customers.

The Harvard Business Review, May, 2012 (p36-37), has an interesting article with research done by Paul Andre of Carnegie Mellon University, Michael Bernstein of MIT, and Kurt Luther of Georgia Institute of Technology.  The article reported the results of a survey that was done asking 1,443 users to rate the quality of 43,738 tweets. 

The results, summarized below, show the type of tweets that generate a positive as well as a negative image for the person or company that posts it:

Best types:

• Random thoughts (funny, witty)
• Self promotion (links to one's work)
• Questions to followers (crowdsourcing by posing questions)
• Information sharing (for acquiring new information)

Worst types:

• Opinion/complaint (whining tweets)
• Me now (what are you doing right now?)
• Conversation (Preceding a quote or retweet with a personal response)
• Presence Maintenance ("Good afternoon")

And of course the literature is full of great information on how to improve your presence on Twitter.  Check out a few of these titles:

            

"The key is to be aware of one's audience and how different people's values may differ" says one of the study's authors.

 

Here's my number so call me, maybe? Energize your business card.

Entertainment Weekly has called it the song of the Summer of 2012 - a little ditty by our own Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen.  "Call Me Maybe" is a catchy little tune about a girl trying to get a guy's phone number and the lengths she goes to get it. 

The song has unintentionally inspired another whole side line - business cards with part of the lyrics on it. And while most people are using them as informal personal cards, it underlines the importance of having a card that stands out.

What makes a good business card?  According to Patricia Schaefer in her web post, Avoid The Nine Most Common Business Card Blunders  there are a few things to keep in mind when designing a business card.  They may seem like common sense, but little things add up.  She suggests:

• Leave your contact with a card that looks great.
• Use high quality paper stock in printing the card.
• Choose a logo that ties it and your business visually.
• Use a standard size card that will fit into a wallet or card holder.
• Choose an uncluttered design.
• Select a font and type that are readable.
• Make good use of colors.
• And finally, distribute them - don't let them stay in your desk drawer and gather dust.

Check out a few ideas in this series of titles available at TPL branches:

         

 Here's hoping someone calls you maybe!

Thinking Of Starting A Small Business? Get To Know blogTO!

The personal stories of people who have set up their own businesses can be very interesting, and there are many places in the media to find them. As just one example, Financial Post has a Young Entrepreneur's Spotlight that covers some of Canada's new business owners.

I also like blogTO - it's is a great place to find interviews with real businesspeople in Toronto.

BlogTo is "a web site about Toronto written by a group of obsessed artists, musicians, photographers, politicos, advertising and media types, dancers, tech geeks, food lovers, aspiring film directors, fashionistas and people for the ethical treatment of animals." Whew!

The blog often runs series based on particular themes. In the series Get To Know A Baker, pastry chefs and bakers are interviewed about their products and about their personal experiences in owning and running a bakery or pastry shop. Shops covered run the gamut from the very new (Bunner's Bakeshop) to the well-established (Wanda's Pie in the Sky).

What can you learn? Ashley Wittig, co-owner of Bunner's Bakeshop, talks a bit about the road that brought her to baking for a living. Jessica Smith, co-owner of Cake Opera, describes her first bakery, "opened" when she was just seven years old! If you are dreaming of starting a small business, as you read the stories you begin to understand that small business owners are real people just like you. Let yourself be inspired by their success!

Another great series at blogTO is Get To Know A Startup. This series includes startups of all kinds. One of the companies showcased is Uniiverse, founded by Ben Raffi, Craig Follett and Adam Meghji. They talk about the biggest challenge in getting their site (which they describe a platform for collaborative living) off the ground, and where they see themselves and their site a year from now.

These posts are short but fascinating. They, and others like them on blogTO, will give you a glimpse into the hearts of entrepreneurs. There is a lot you can learn from the experience of others!

Speaking of getting to know small businesspeople, don't forget that you can meet small businesspeople  at the Toronto Reference Library's Small Business Network.

Christine Steiger, owner of Christine's Fitness & Personal Training, will be the guest speaker at our July meeting. Christine will speak for about 15 minutes, and then will take your questions.

The session will take place Tuesday, July 9th, 6-7pm, at the Toronto Reference Library. Meet on the 3rd floor at the Business, Science and Technology Department reference desk.

See you then!

The Centre For Social Innovation - And Your Small Business

(Please note that this blog post has been modified. The location of the Centre has been corrected.)

A few weeks ago my colleague and I were lucky enough to be invited to tour The Centre for Social Innovation on Bathurst Street in Toronto. Natasha Stephens, manager of the Regent Park branch (slated to open in the fall) showed us around this location in the Annex.

What is social innovation? It's a difficult concept to pin down, but the Centre defines it this way:

"Social Innovation refers to new ideas that resolve existing social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges for the benefit of people and planet. A true social innovation is systems-changing – it permanently alters the perceptions, behaviours and structures that previously gave rise to these challenges."

The Centre's goal is to support social innovators of all types: profit, non-profit and charities.

How does it work?

The Centre provides, for a fee, work space, meeting space and community space to support your business. The work spaces consist of anything from private office space to desks in open areas to "hot desks" that rotate on a reservation system. As you work to achieve your dream, you'll be surrounded by people like you: inspired, action-oriented and excited about how they can make a difference!

Right now, 33% of the organizations that are members of the Centre are social purpose businesses. The rest are non-profits and charities. To get a better idea of what sort of companies and organizations are involved, have a look at the list of companies and organizations that currently are members of the Centre.

The Centre hosts many great events, both large and small. Here's a list of what's coming up!

If you would like to keep up with what's happening with the upcoming Regent Park branch, check out Natasha's blog for updates and information.

The Toronto Public Library carries many books on social innovation. Have a look:

Rippling: How Social Entrepreneurs Spread Innnovation Throughout The World	Creating A New Civilization Through Social Entrepreneurship	The Social Entrepreneur's Handbook

Don't Like Delegating? Read On!

Are you a manager who has problems delegating work to employees? You are not alone. The library has many books which address this important topic. Here are a couple.

 

Marc Durio, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Boosting Employee Performance (chapter 19), outlines excuses that prevent managers from delegating, and looks at them in a logical light. I've paraphrased a few examples below:

"It's easier to do it myself rather than take the time to teach someone else to do it".

• But if you do take the time you need to train the employee, your time will eventually be freed up to do all the other tasks you have to do.

"What if my employees fail at the task I've given them?"

• There's no guarantee that you wouldn't have made mistakes as well. If you properly train, coach, and review performance, there is little likelihood of failure.

"I'll lose control over my business"

• To keep on top of things, remember to check in regularly with your employee, and provide feedback.

Harvard Business Press has published a book as part of their Pocket Mentor series, entitled Delegating Work. It has a very good section about how to delegate effectively. Some of their suggestions include:

• Delegate interesting work - not just tedious tasks.
• Delegate entire projects, not just small parts of them. This can increase a sense of ownership and motivation and commitment.
• Delegate high-visibility tasks that will allow the employee and their work to be noticed by high-level managers within your organization, thus enhancing their career prospects.

Check the Toronto Public Library's catalogue for more books like this. Many books on leadership also include sections on delegation.

About.com has a great little article called The Top 7 Steps For Effective Delegation. There are many other articles on delegation that can be linked to from this one. Take some time to read them all!  

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." --General George Smith Patton, Jr

 

Finding Canadian Company Histories in Print

In two previous blogs, Finding Company Histories dated April 12, 2012 and Finding Company Histories at UWO's Web Site dated June 7, 2012, electronic resources were reviewed in relation to finding elusive company histories.

For those interested in finding Canadian company histories in print, there are a number of resources available in the Toronto Public Library system that may be of assistance in addition to the electronic resources.

They are:

1.
Business Information Centre, Toronto Reference Library.  Company Files Index.  Toronto : Toronto Reference Library, 20--. 

Uncatalogued.  Please ask for assistance at the Business, Science & Technology Department's Information Desk, 3rd Floor, Toronto Reference Library.

Approximately 300 files containing Canadian corporate ephemera are available in the Business, Science & Technology Department at the Toronto Reference Library.  Each file is unique.  These files may contain pamphlets with historical information. 

For example, the file on General Motors Canada Limited includes:  "History of the Automobile", "GM in Canada : The Early Years", "75 Years of Progress", "My Eighty Years on Wheels by R.S. McLaughlin as told to Eric Hutton", "GM of Canada War Album", and more.

2.
Grant, Tina, ed.  Canadian Company Histories.  New York; Toronto : Gale Canada, c1996.

Includes 80 of Canada's "most important companies".  Provides information on the founding, development, key events, significant people, historical performance, and future direction of the listed companies.  An Index to Companies and Persons as well as an Index to Industries are available.

3.
Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Researching Older Canadian Companies at the Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Toronto : Metropolitan Toronto Library Board, Reference Division, Business Dept., 1984.

This is a guide intended to help locate information on older Canadian companies that are no longer in existence or for which annual reports are not readily available.

4.
Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Dept.  Business Articles Index.  Toronto : Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Department, 19--.

Uncatalogued.  Please ask for assistance at the Business, Science & Technology Department's Information Desk, 3rd Floor, Toronto Reference Library.

Citations to articles are listed on catalogue cards.  Coverage is from pre-1965 to 1975.  Articles are indexed from selected magazine sources.  Catalogue cards are organized by subject, company name, and personal name.

5.
Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Dept.  Newspaper Clippings and Pamphlets : Pre-1978.  Toronto : Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Department, 19--.

This publication is an index to newspaper clippings and pamphlets on approximately 750 Canadian companies.  The clippings and pamphlets are on microfiche and are located in the Business, Science & Technology Department on the 3rd floor of the Toronto Reference Library. 

6.
Newcomen Society of the United States.  Index of Publications : The Newcomen Society of the United States.  New York : The Society, v.

The index covers company histories published from 1933 (Publication # 1) to 1984 (Publication # 1234).  Canadian company histories are included.  

The Toronto Reference Library's holdings are from 1948 (Publication #103) to 1998 (Publication # 1516). But, TPL's holdings are incomplete.  Please ask for assistance at the Business, Science & Technology Department's Information Desk on the 3rd floor of the Toronto Reference Library.

7.
Toronto Public Libraries.  Early Canadian Companies : A Guide to Sources of Information in the Toronto Public Libraries on Selected Canadian Companies over 100 Years Old.  Toronto : Toronto Public Library, 1967.

The sources of information include annual reports, clippings, pamphlets, books, and articles.

Also, remember to search the Toronto Public Library catalogue for books or other materials on the company; i.e. search by author and subject. 

 

Finding Company Histories at UWO's Web Site

Johnston Library's staff at the University of Western Ontario have developed a very useful and impressive web page on Books About Companies.  It includes links to:

1.
Business and History at Western:  A Guide to Selected Resources in the UWO Library System (1992).
This bibliography is designed to direct the reader to the considerable resources in the University of Western Ontario Library System that are related to Business History generally and the histories of companies specifically.  If there is a title of interest, check the Toronto Public Library catalogue to determine if it is available in the TPL system.  If not, go to a local library branch and request an Interlibary Loan for the desired item.

2.
Alphabetical List of Related Companies
After 1992, more company-related books were discovered at UWO and many more were published.   A lengthy list of company histories is available by scrolling to the bottom of the Books About Companies web page.  Company histories that are often found in reference works or in books about industries are included.

In addition to printed company histories, annotations in the lists may include reviews of the books and short bibliographies, links to articles that have been scanned by staff in UWO's Business Library, and obituaries of individuals who were important in relation to a company.  Most of the obituaries are for Canadian business persons.

For example, under the heading Alphabetical List of Related Companies, click on:

A and go to the entry for Arnold Brothers, a Toronto company.  There is a link to a full-text article about this company.

H and go to the entry for Harris Steel Group.  There is a notice for Milton Harris, the company's founder with a reference to a thorough obituary.

3.
Basic Indexes

Johnston Library's staff have also created some basic indexes.  They are:

3a.
Index by Industry
Choose an industry and see what related company historical information has been found.

3b.
Company and Industry
See what industry a company is associated with.

3c.
Canadian Company Index
Companies which are seen to have, or have had, a significant Canadian connection.

There are also links to:

4.
Company Historical Profiles from the Canadian Register of Commerce and Industry (1959)
This title included profiles of several hundred Canadian commercial and industrial companies.  Some of the profiles were scanned and were added to the alphabethical lists of company histories produced by UWO's Business Library.  A print copy of the Canadian Register of Commerce and Industry is available at the Toronto Reference Library. 

5.
Company Historical Profiles from Industrial Canada (1967)
In May 1967, the Canadian Manufacturers' Association published a special centennial issue of the periodical Industrial Canada.  The issue included 100+ profiles of Canadian companies that were over 100 years old.  These profiles were scanned and can be found in the alphabetical lists of company histories produced by UWO's Business Library.  A print copy of the special issue is also available at the Toronto Reference Library.

It is noted "none of these lists or indexes are exhaustive and we are sure we have missed some companies". But, this web page does provide excellent tools and references for those interested in finding company histories; especially Canadian company histories.

 

Buying real estate in the U.S.

Investing in a property south of the border is a dream many of us have. Who wouldn't want to escape our cold, dreary winters to live in a place where you can go swimming, golf or laze about every day?  Current economic conditions and the strength of the Canadian dollar have made it easier than ever for Canadians to purchase real estate in the U.S.  Dale Walters, author of Buying Real Estate in the US: The concise guide for Canadians, says that before taking the plunge, however, you need to do your research and get proper advice from a professional with cross-border experience.

 Walters says that there are five important things to think about before buying U.S. real estate:

1. Taxability is determined by residency or citizenship and where the business activity takes place.  If you rent out your property in the US the income is taxable in the US.  As a resident of Canada you are also subject to tax on your worldwide income. You can use the foreign tax credit to reduce you Canadian tax by the amount of the US tax paid.

2. It's not a good idea to own US real estate in your Canadian corporation, Walters says.  Profits are subject to double tax in the US and you will lose special tax treatment of long-term capital gains at 15 per cent. All income in a corporation will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates, which can be as high as 38%.

3. Even if you only rent to Canadians who pay in Canadian dollars you will still need to pay tax in the country in which the income is earned and in the country in which you live. You can use the foreign tax credit to prevent double taxation.

4. The non-resident estate tax system is set up to tax only US assets at the time of death, Walters says. You do not have to let US tax authorities know about other assets. However, it is usually beneficial to report your worldwide assets because of the exclusion from US estate tax allowed under the US-Canada Treaty.

5. Currently there is a flat 35% estate tax on assets over $5 million.

The following books will give you additional invaluable information on what you need to do in order to make your dreams come true. But remember that, in addition to educating yourself, you also need to seek out knowledgeable and experienced professionals.