Why people become entrepreneurs

You’re frustrated, tired and stressed. You’ve realized that your boss is only interested in squeezing more work out of you and that your career prospects in the company are almost nil. You have always dreamed about making it on your own and taking control of your destiny – your own success and failure.

You’re not alone! There are thousands of others who have decided to take the plunge towards entrepreneurship, and in these times of uncertainty more and more people have also decided to take matters in their own hands.

Here are a few more reasons why people decide to become business owners:

1. Becoming financially independent

Although a majority of new businesses fail within the first three years, those that succeed can become very profitable. Starting your business is the first step towards gaining financial independence and achieving the security that you want. Being an entrepreneur allows you to get an income stream that is dependent on your efforts and not on the whims of others.

2. Better career prospects

Sometimes people become frustrated as they feel that their career path is not going the way they want. By starting their own business they’ve decided to take control of their personal and career goals. Alternatively, sometimes entrepreneurs see a better way of doing things in their industry and act on it, providing much needed innovation that is lacking.

3. Looking for personal achievement

There are those who are interested in setting big challenges and striving towards it. These entrepreneurs are goal-oriented and gain satisfaction from accomplishing big things. This is a common trait amongst many entrepreneurs – especially motivated by risking everything on their ideas and overcoming big challenges.

4. Pursuing their own ideas

Certain people see opportunities in areas that are often missed by others -entrepreneurs can see new markets, create new products or improve upon a service. Whatever the reason is, the opportunity to innovate and create is what drives them. Their satisfaction comes from the successful creation of a business and validation of their ideas by the market.

Even though entrepreneurs work more hours, have higher stress and sometimes lower pay than non-entrepreneurs, many have a greater feeling of satisfaction in their work. There are many reasons for starting a business, but a true entrepreneur is someone who gets excited by setting big challenges and works towards overcoming them. Also, the act of building a lasting company is a validation of their ideas, and they gain a deep sense of pride from its successful implementation. So if you’re ready to jump in to the chaotic world of entrepreneurship, know that you’re part of the few that are willing to take charge of their destiny.

Awesome gifts for the entrepreneur on the go!

With the holidays around the corner, it’s time to do some late Christmas shopping. Trying to come up with the right gift for the entrepreneur in your life is difficult as their needs are more practical. Take a look at the list below to help you choose something that your favourite tycoon can appreciate.

A solar-powered electric gadget charger: This is an excellent gift for someone who carries a lot of gadgets – (i.e. iPhone, camera, tablet). So, instead of carrying multiple bulky chargers to charge them while travelling, you can just take one. And it’s all powered by the sun!

The GPS navigator: A great gift for the frequent traveller! They will never get lost on their way to the important business meeting and the best ones can be used for many countries. You should be able to find a good one in electronic retail stores.

Bluetooth headset: With many cities banning talking in cell phones while driving, it makes sense to use a hands-free headset so you can speak on your cellphone while in the car. Not only is it safe, they also look cool. If your favourite entrepreneur lives in their car, make sure they stay safe with this headset.

Smartphones: Regardless if you choose an iPhone, a Samsung, or Blackberry – a smartphone is a great tool for the entrepreneur on the go! They can respond to emails, store files and access the internet while still talking on the phone...This multi-purpose tool is perfect for someone who needs to keep in touch with their business while travelling.

Personal assistant service: A small business owner rarely has any free time between managing their business, making sales calls, dealing with client issues and overseeing employees. It’s no surprise that many of them do not have time to manage their personal affairs such as picking up the dry cleaning, cleaning their house, or groceries... By getting them a personal assistant or concierge you help them with the most valuable commodity – time. With the free time, they can focus on their business.

iPad: One of the most groundbreaking technological gadgets made, Apple has created this for both the business and regular user. Light, powerful and filled with features that the most jaded technologist would love, it’s a great alternative to lugging a heavy laptop. And its compact shape makes it perfect to be used for client presentations and poring over the reports at night in your hotel room.

Setting goals for the new entrepreneur

Setting goals is very important for a business – especially a new one. As an entrepreneur you have so many fires to put out that it’s easy to get lost in the wrong things. By setting long term, quarterly and daily goals, it can help you focus on the priorities that will help your company grow. Your goals set your priorities and serve as a tool to measure your company’s progress .

Setting corporate goals require everyone’s input and should be communicated clearly to everyone. It provides your employees a benchmark to evaluate whether they’re on track and moving forward towards business growth. Without a measurement of progress, it can be difficult to determine what needs to be changed or improved upon.

To set goals for your company and yourself, here are some tips to follow:

1. Create long term goals and break them down.

As an entrepreneur, you need to provide the company vision and to do that is through providing long-term goals. Start by listing your long term goals and then work backwards by breaking these down into more manageable quarterly, monthly and weekly targets. Do you want to make $500,000 in one year? Then break your annual goal into quarterly objectives – $125,000 every 3 months. You should then break this down even further into monthly and daily goals.

2. Goals must be specific and measurable with a clear timeframe.

Like everything in business – you must be able to measure progress. Determine what metrics will be needed to see if you’re on track. For example, to achieve an increase in sales revenue, you must have your sales team make 200 calls/day, send out 7 quotes a day with 2 hours talk time.

3. Your goals should be achievable and realistic.

Make sure that the goals you create for yourself are attainable. Don’t aim so high that you don’t believe that you will achieve them. For example, if your company has never reached a target of $100,000, then setting a goal for a million dollars in revenue will not be believable. You must feel that you and your employees have the knowledge, skill set, and resources to successfully get there.

4. Review your goals regularly.

Make sure that your goals are communicated to all your employees and that they understand how to accomplish them. At the end of each month, review your annual goals to see if you’re on track or if you’ve lost your focus. Do not be afraid to change your goals if you find that they are not achieving your aims.

By defining your goals, it will help both you and your employees to work towards a shared outcome as well as manage expectations. Without these goals, employees may feel lost and lose their focus. Setting goals is like creating a roadmap for your business to progressively grow... Each step you take should be towards the success of your business.

The 3 challenges for a start-up

For many entrepreneurs, starting and growing a business is an exciting adventure – until you come across almost insurmountable obstacles that can break up your company. After speaking with a few entrepreneurs, investors and executives, here are some of the challenges that business owners face when growing their companies.

Not having partners to help share the load

There have been very few successful companies that have been started by just one founder. And those that have succeeded always attracted a good team who were there from the beginning. Why can’t a single founder start a company? Many entrepreneurs say it’s because starting a company on your own is just too much for one person. With daily pressures and multiple areas that you are responsible for, there are not enough hours in the day to deal with them. Even if you could do all the work yourself, you would still need a team behind you to vet ideas, strategies and opportunities. By working with partners you will be able to share the workload and be able to bring the final product to market quicker.

But most importantly, having multiple founders allow the team to help support each other through the most challenging times. When going it alone, trying to manage the daily stress will be difficult. Having a team around you to lighten things or spread the load is immeasurably beneficial.

Losing focus and spreading yourself too thin

This can be a big problem for companies who want to do everything for everyone. If your start-up is growing quickly, it is common for many founders to start adding new markets, and expand too quickly through acquisitions. Don’t try to solve problems that are not part of your niche as this will pull you away from what brought your company success in the first place – your core market. What you should do is tightly define who your target is, focus on what you can offer them and create an action plan that solves their problems.

Not enough cash

Cash is king. You’ve heard this before from various people, however, in a business environment it speaks volumes. How much cash do you have until you hit your next milestone? If your company is an idea, then how much money does it require to create a product/service? If you already have a product, then how much cash does it take to launch? So when you set your financial goals, make sure that you’ve accounted for how much cash it would take to get to the next step. Without sufficient cash flow, any downturn can end your business before it has a chance to fly.

With proper planning and foresight, you’ll be able to overcome any of these challenges and be well on your way to success!

How cloud computing can help your business

Technological advances have provided opportunities for small businesses that have previously been very expensive and only available to big companies with large IT departments. A great benefit for cloud services, which is any infrastructure, platform or software service that is Internet based, is that you can start your company with minimal upfront resources and can scale up as your business grows. For a business owner, cloud computing allows you to:

• save money,

• scale your business,

• increase your services

• and minimize risk.

This allows the entrepreneur to compete as a much larger company while still remaining small. Some of the benefits of cloud services for your small business go beyond just hosting your website and you will be able to take advantage of a myriad of services that allow you to run your business more efficiently. Some of these advantages are:

Price: One of the major advantages of using cloud services are savings in operating costs. You can reap the benefits of lower operating costs by not having any in-house IT infrastructure such as:

• expensive servers,

• networking equipment

• or even the need to hire IT staff.

In the past, businesses had to manage their own internal computing resources, which created huge overhead costs that were insurmountable barriers for small business owners. However, with cloud computing and the myriad of services that you can choose from such as:

• marketing automation,

• project management,

• accounting

• and CRM applications,

Business owners can now lower the upfront costs of running their businesses and provide great value for their customers.

Scalability: One of the benefits of cloud computing services is the ability to purchase services according to your business needs. Many cloud service providers offer a pay as you go pricing, allowing you to manage upfront costs. You only pay for what you need, and as your business grows so does your usage. There is also is the option to integrate their services with other platforms through open APIs.

Flexibility: Cloud services allow you to automate a lot of your operations, freeing you to focus on your business. You can try new business strategies with minimal risk quickly and see if it works. You will be able to work more efficiently and at a lower cost without having to be tied down to services that you don’t need.

For your small business to grow, you need to be able to scale quickly and at low cost. Cloud technology allows you to do that without the need to have an expensive in-house IT team or hardware. With cloud services, you can be more competitive against larger companies by being flexible, responsive and accessible.

Register your Canadian Trademark in the U.S.

We may be in Canada, but nothing stops us from celebrating U.S. Thanksgiving!

Did you know that registering a trademark with the Canadian Trademarks Office protects the rights for that trademark in Canada only? That means that while your trademark is legally protected in Canada, there may be no legal limits to prevent a U.S. company from infringing on your trademark in the U.S.

Now you can protect your intellectual property in the United States by registering your Trademark in the United States with CorporationCentre.ca. On November 24th and 25th CorporationCentre.ca will be offering $100 off all U.S. Trademark application filings. Simply enter the Promo Code CCUSTMTNX2011 in your shopping cart.

CorporationCentre.ca has established a strong relationship with a U.S. Trademark Agent, providing you with the same quick and personal customer service experience, while maintaining compliance with all United States Trademark requirements.*

Click here for more information and to place your order. If you have any questions or need help with your order, please call 1-866-906-2677.

*CorporationCentre.ca cannot guarantee that your Trademark Application will be approved. Please note that CorporationCentre.ca does not provide legal advice to clients.

How to get publicity for your small business

As a small business getting publicity is difficult when you don’t have the big budgets and resources of your larger competitors. So what do you do to get that PR buzz and that word-of-mouth that drives traffic? Here are some steps you must take to get the buzz:

Make sure you have something to talk about

Even though you think that your company, product or service is the best out there, what’s important is the perception of your clients and media. You have to make sure that the media perceives your product or service to be so unique that it stands out from the crowd.

Journalists are always looking for something new or a unique angle to a story that hasn’t been covered before. Here are some ways that you can get journalists to cover your company:

• You have just launched a unique, breakthrough product or service that isn’t found anywhere else. This product stands out because it kicks ass and you’re so proud of it that you’ll give any reporter a free product for them to try for their story.

• You can tie your product or service into the latest news trend of the day. Try to tie in your product to trends such as organic or environmentally friendly issues. Or link it to highly political situations... So whenever you notice a trend coming up, figure out how does your company fit in with it?

Pitch your story to the right person

Do your research before you start sending our press releases. Find out what the editorial calendar is for a particular publication. Determine which topics are going to be covered in the next few issues and tailor your pitch towards their schedule. Find out which reporter or editor is responsible for your industry and approach them only. You should also approach media that cover only your industry, product or business.

Some ways to find the right contact in a media outlet are:

• Read their masthead

• Do a search on their website

• Contact the media outlet by phone

When you pitch the reporter, add reasons as to why your business should be covered by the media outlet.

Follow up afterwards

Just like sales, you must consistently follow up with your contacts. If they have expressed an interest in covering you, make sure that you keep in touch with them and provide them with as much information they need. Send them a thank you note once you’ve received media coverage. The more organized and responsive you are to a reporter’s needs; you’ll be favoured with a higher chance of getting a story published.

The Benefits of CRM Software

Having customer relationship management (CRM) software offers you a lot of advantages in running your business. As a small business, you need to take advantage of every tool that will help you deliver great service to your customers and using a CRM can provide that. Choose your CRM software wisely, however with the right choice, you will be able to jumpstart your business’s ability to maintain long term relationships and eventually drive sales. Some of the benefits of having a CRM are:


1. Creating a customer database: A CRM will allow you to create an in-depth database of your customer. You will be able to track everything from their purchasing habits to their personal interests. It will allow you to predict when the customer is ready to buy and being able to personalize any contact with them.


2. Automating marketing tasks: You can automate many of your marketing tasks such as reminders, documentation or email newsletters, saving you time and effort. It also allows you to keep all your marketing communication templates in a central place and use them to send to clients during any transaction. And finally, you can keep track of your marketing campaigns, evaluating their effectiveness and also measuring long term customer value.


3. Make strategic decisions quickly: You will be able to access data and make strategic decisions without wasting time. CRMs allow you to build dashboards that give you a snapshot of where your business is at any point of time.


4. Strengthen your customer relationships: A CRM allows you to communicate with your customer at all times, choosing the right message to send at the right time. By improving your customer communications, you strengthen your relationship with them and increase customer retention. A big advantage for CRMs is the ability to create personalized communications with thousands of your customers more efficiently.


5. Customer service operations are more efficient: Your customer service functions will improve as you can provide better service. You will also be able to keep track of any customer service issues and follow-up without losing track of where you are. With a CRM, sales, marketing and customer service can now be integrated as each department would be able to obtain a deeper picture on a client, thereby targeting and servicing a client according to their needs.


A CRM allows you to keep track of your customer data throughout the entire purchasing lifecycle. This gives you a great snapshot of what is happening in your company in real-time, helping you make the best strategic decisions quickly and profitably.

Prepare your Shareholders Agreement

Protect the future of your corporation with a Shareholders Agreement*

One of the first steps after forming your corporation is to decide how your business will be operated and managed. For corporations that have 2 or more shareholders, ground rules should be laid out from the start to ensure that your business maintains good corporate governance. These rules are generally set with a Shareholders Agreement.

So, from November 9th to the 11th CorporationCentre.ca is reducing the price of our Shareholders Agreement from $99 to $50 for our valued customers.

Visit our Contracts Page from 9 am on November 9th to 5 pm on November 11th to get your Shareholders Agreement for only $50. The agreement is prepared through our online Easy Contracts system, which builds the document based on the information entered by you. It’s quick, easy and all online!

Click here for a detailed checklist of the information you’ll need to prepare your Shareholders Agreement. Make sure you have all the necessary information to complete the agreement before you begin.

If you have any questions please feel free to call us at 1-866-906-2677, we’d be happy to help.

* Please note that the Shareholders Agreement provided through our system is not intended to replace the services an attorney who can review your particular circumstances and advise you accordingly. We are not a law firm and do not offer legal advice or legal services. This Shareholder Agreement should not be taken to be appropriate for all circumstances. Please note that this Shareholder Agreement cannot replace a lawyer or their advice, particularly in complex or intricate situations or where opposing interests may exist. Contracts are in English only.

How an accountant adds value to your small business

Many business owners see an accountant as someone who keeps track of accounts payables and receivables, and makes sure that the business taxes are paid. However, a good accountant can be so much more. They are like a business partner, where they help your business become more financially efficient and take advantage of tax laws.

An experienced accountant is very valuable as they can help you make the right business decisions by providing strategic and financial advice while reducing your risk for your company. An accountant can be someone who wears many hats for your business, such as:

Business analyst: An accountant is trained to identify specific business challenges and provide solutions. By understanding your business and industry they become valuable as they can provide you with advice on the best financial strategy to take. They will help you create accurate financial information which will help you in analyzing your business performance. You can also assess what you have achieved as well as provide accurate forecasting for future growth.

Financial operations: An important part of an accountant’s job is to set up an accounting system including providing you with financial analysis and data. But, most importantly, your accountant can provide you with financial advice that can help you manage your business better - such as budgeting and cash flow forecasting.

Tax advisor: No matter how good you are with your company’s financial operations, there will be times when you will need the help of an expert. By taking advantage of an accountant you can be better prepared to deal with the complexities of small business taxation. They would be able to provide your business with advice and help restructure your business operations so that you can minimize your taxes and increase your profits.

A professional accountant adds tremendous value to your business through finding ways to:

• save money,

• lower your tax rate,

• increase profits

• and provide you with the financial information so that you can grow your business.

They can also help you analyze the numbers and use them to make more strategic decisions. Unfortunately, many small business owners fail to realize that working with an accountant is one of the most important business decisions that they should make - and not only during tax time.