Free NUANS Report with Incorporation

Incorporate within 48 hours of ordering a NUANS report to get your money back on your NUANS with CorporationCentre.ca!

In order for you to register or incorporate your business, a corporate name search report is required by the Federal and the provincial governments to determine the availability of a corporate/business name. You need to make sure that no one else has registered the corporate or business name you would like to use for your business.

NUANS Reports are required for Canada (Federal), Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI and are an extra cost on top of the fees to incorporate in these jurisdictions.

To save you money, we are offering you a coupon code for your money back on your NUANS report if you incorporate with us.

After you order your NUANS report for any of the jurisdictions listed above, we’ll email you a coupon code to get your money back on your NUANS if you incorporate your business within 48 hours! Simply input the coupon code before placing your incorporation order on our website and we’ll automatically refund $25 from your order.

For more information on NUANS Reports and to place your order, please click here.

Finding the Right Small Business Lawyer

You need a lawyer. By now you've already embraced that fact as a way of moving your company forward. However, you don’t know how to find the right small business lawyer for your needs. Obviously, asking a friend or business associate for a referral is the best first step you can take. Just because someone you trust recommends an attorney, doesn't automatically mean that attorney will be a perfect fit. Here's what you need to think about when interviewing potential business lawyers:

Fees: Clearly, you need to know how much your new lawyer is going to cost you. Will there be a fixed retainer or will they bill you by the hour? Is every quick phone call going to cost you big bucks? Yes, you should look for fair rates but keep in mind that a lawyer with a hefty hourly billing rate might be a better investment. That's because with experience comes higher fees. That experienced lawyer can finish an assignment in a couple of hours while the new lawyer might take several days. What would you be saving then?

Attention: As a small company you might have small issues to deal with at first. Will your new lawyer devote the same level of attention to your concerns as they would to a bigger company? They'll probably tell you that won't be a problem. Yet, if you discover you're not getting the attention you need then it might be time to change it up.

Return Call Rate: Coinciding with the amount of attention you'll receive will be the return call rate. How fast will your lawyer get back to you? If you're waiting a day or more then there are some problems you need to work out.

Patience: You're not a lawyer otherwise you could handle your own matters. Will your new lawyer have the patience to explain the legalese to you? You should never feel like you're asking silly questions and your lawyer should have the ability to walk you through complicated contract issues.

Focus: You'll be able to tell a lot about your new lawyer by the way they handle that first interview meeting. Are they constantly being interrupted by calls? Are they checking their Blackberry for emails? If they can't focus on a simple meeting how do you think they can handle the big stuff? Are you being too demanding asking for their undivided attention? Absolutely not. That's what you're paying for.

Excitement: You're not going into business with your lawyer but that doesn't mean they can't be passionate about what you're trying to accomplish. Are they excited to work with you? They should be! 

How to Improve a Call to Action on Your Website

Are you getting the traffic to your website you deserve? You might have terrific visuals and engaging content but there is a key element that could be affecting your conversions. That would be the call-to-action.

This is where you encourage your potential customer to do what you want them to do – either to buy something, signup for an email newsletter or ask for more information.  It doesn't matter if you're selling goods or services a potential buyer always needs that extra little push.

You can improve your call to action by following these helpful tips:

Have an action button: Instead of burying your call to action within an article, why not have a separate free-floating button? Click here for more information. Buy now. Add to cart. Order today. Those are all wonderful examples of action buttons. Even something as simple as "Get a Free Quote" can provoke your customer into action. Besides, we all like pushing buttons!

Have the right color: You don't have time to test several shades of a color for an action button so you'll just have to rely on what has worked in the past. Orange, red and green have been shown to boost conversion rates. Don't ask for an explanation; just use them!

Have your CTA appear at the right time: Nobody wants to be hit over the head with a hard sale right out of the box. That's why your call to action needs to be properly placed within the customer’s buying cycle. Let your customer get some information before asking them to act.

Have a clear design: This is obviously more important with selling a product then a service. When you've got a tangible good to sell make sure the graphics lets everyone see exactly what they are getting. For instance, suppose you're selling a program that includes a DVD and a booklet. Show a picture of the box, the DVD and the booklet. The more visuals you can show, the stronger position you'll be into close the sale.

Give a freebie: Provide something for the new prospect free of charge so that they get a taste of what you offer. Remember, reduce the risk for your prospect to purchase.  

Have some whitespace: You don't need to clutter up your website with copy and graphics to get your point across. Perhaps placing your call to action in some open whitespace will actually draw more attention to it.

All of these tips are meant to be experimented with. Mix it up and track your analytics. The more you test, the better off you'll be to find the right call to action that converts well for your business. 

Email Subject Lines That Get the Most Open Rates

How many emails do you get in a day? More importantly, how many of those emails do you delete or read?

That is the same issue facing your customers when you send out an email blast. You want to entice them to open up that email and get at the contents. It all comes down to your subject lines. Are you doing what you can to get the most open rates? 

Try these steps to improve your subject line:

Step One: Use Your Company Name

This should appear in the "From" portion of the email. This approach can work both ways. If your company is new then the recipient might click on to see what this is all about. If you've already built up a relationship then you want your customer to know what you're sending has value. Remember you're in fierce competition when it comes to breaking through the average email inbox.

Step Two: Use Capitals

By now anyone who is familiar with online etiquette knows that when you type in capitols you are essentially using "exclamation." This doesn't mean you have to "scream" your entire subject line but break it up with capitals. For instance:

YOUR COMPANY NAME: Special offer for an amazing product

Step Three: Use a Follow Up

Often it will be helpful to follow-up an email with another email within the same week. The body can be the same but the subject line can change to reflect something current. Make it fresh and applicable to your customer's needs. Tell them upfront what you're offering in as few words as possible.

Step Four: Use an Invite

"Time is running out." Nobody likes to read that especially if it means we'll be missing out on a good deal. Your subject line can incorporate an invitation that makes it seem like a special arrangement just for that viewer. In many ways this can be an indirect call to action as you are setting a time limit on a response. That's a very clever and proactive way to increase sales.

Step Five: Use Spell Check

The worst thing you can do is send out a sloppy subject line. Make sure you've checked and double-checked for proper spelling and grammar. Let someone else check it before you sent it out. Once you hit that send button it's gone and can't be taken back.

You might find that a particular subject line works wonders for your conversion rates. That's great and you can certainly use a variation on that theme but always try to keep your messages fresh. If there is a way you can capitalize on what is trending on Google or Twitter all the better because you know that's what everyone is talking about for that day. 

How to Avoid Facing Burnout

Burning the candle at both ends. Burning the midnight oil. Burnout.

It's easy to find yourself working extreme hours and putting yourself under a lot of pressure as you get your new business up and running. Even though that hard work might be paying off in terms of your bottom line, that doesn't mean you'll be insulated from suffering burnout. As much focus as you have been pouring into your business you also have to pour into your personal life to avoid facing burnout. Here's how you can avoid the burnout syndrome:


Early Morning Workout

As you dive into your new business, one of the first things that get shot out the window is your health. Don't skimp on the workouts. If you find that the end of the day has you too wiped out than squeeze in an early morning workout. This doesn't have to be a marathon at 4:00 a.m., but just something that will get the blood pumping and allow you to plot out your day. FYI: the morning is the time when our body produces the most testosterone, so it's a good time to get pumping.

Take a Walk at Night

Just as you should fire up your mornings with a workout, you should cool down your day with a night stroll. If you have a dog this is easy and it kills two birds with one stone. Even without the dog, take the time for a leisurely stroll, maybe after dinner. This is the perfect way to decompress after a day of being in demand.

Read Best Sellers

Or any other type of fiction. Give your mind a rest from the pressures of your business by escaping into a good book. Taking in a couple of chapters before falling to sleep each night could actually help your brain shut down and reboot like it does. It can also put you in the mood for sleep if you're not constantly going over in your mind all the stuff related to your business.

Take Up a Hobby

"I don't have time for pottery class!" Make time to try something new that piques your interest. Perhaps there is a hobby you've always wanted to start. Throwing yourself into that kind of project allows for a very Zen-like approach to relaxing. Even if all you're doing is building a jigsaw puzzle, it's still a way to accomplish something that isn't related to your business.

A Real Day Off

The late actor Larry Hagman made it a rule not to talk on Sundays. Literally. Everyone around him knew he wasn't going to be saying a word. For him, that was a way to re-energize for the week to come. You should take one day when there will be no business calls, no business emails, no business meetings. Hopefully, you can do that once a week. Be sure to let your staff know you're off limits!

Registering Your Trademark in Canada

Standing out from the crowd is important for small businesses to get ahead and grow their customer base.  A great way to do that is to come up with a distinctive word, symbol, or design to brand your company.  But how do you keep that distinctive identity that differentiates between you and your competitor?  Trademark it.

A registered trademark legally protects your intellectual property from misuse and imitation.  But keep in mind that if you register your trademark in Canada, it is only protected by law in Canada.

A good trademark consists of distinctive terms which are often arbitrary and fanciful, rather than suggestive, descriptive or generic. Maximize the likelihood of registration by trademarking something completely invented or that makes only the slightest reference to the nature of the wares or services provided.

A trademark will not be registered by law if it is:

• the name or surname of a person (e.g., "Jane Smith");

• clearly descriptive of the wares or services in relation to which it is used (e.g., "Perfectly Clean" in relation to dry-cleaning services);

• a word in another language which describes the wares or services (e.g., "Gelato" - the Italian term for "ice cream" - in relation to ice cream products);

• deceptively mis-descriptive (e.g., "Air Courier" in relation to ground transportation services); or

• an official symbol, coat of arms, badge, crest, emblem or name (e.g., the Canadian flag, the letters "R.C.M.P.", the name "United Nations", the symbol of the Red Cross).

If there is a design component, you may wish to register both the language and design separately to get maximum legal protection.

Be prepared to wait for response to your registration application.  In Canada, the process can take up to 8-10 months to complete.  If there is opposition, the process can take much longer.  Fees are $250 for each trademark request and non-refundable, so make sure your trademark is distinct and original in order to have a successful registration.

For more information on trademarks, please visit CorporationCentre.ca!

Corporate Annual Returns – What You Need to Know

Just one of the many responsibilities that an incorporated company faces is making sure the annual return is done properly and submitted on time to keep your corporation in good standing. The annual return is separate from your tax return – it is provided by corporations to keep the government informed on any internal changes made during the previous fiscal year. 

The costs and timeline for filing your annual return is dependent upon the jurisdiction of incorporation.

The purpose of the return is to update your corporate records, which can include:

• name of corporation
• registered office address
• corporation number
• financial year end
• description of type of business
• registered office
• corporate directors
• date of last annual meeting

If a corporation does not file its annual return within the time frame allowed (or at all), penalty fees can be applied. If said corporation repeatedly fails to file its return (generally for two consecutive years) the government department or agency in the corporation’s jurisdiction can remove the corporation from government records.

For not-for-profit corporate returns, every registered charity must file an annual information return within 6 months after the end of the charity’s fiscal year.

Similar to the corporate annual return, the annual information return for charities provides the government up to date information on the charity’s records.  However, the annual information return also requires more in-depth reporting on financial information including financial position, compensation, non-cash gifts, assets, liabilities, revenues and expenditures.  

Please contact CorporationCentre.ca to file your corporate annual return. We're happy to help!

Why Isn't Your SEO Campaign Working?

How is your SEO working for you? If your response is, "What is SEO?" Then we're off to a bumpy start. Search Engine Optimization or SEO refers to how well your website content copy attracts a search engine. 

The goal is to get as close to number one status on that first search page as possible. To accomplish that you need to make some specific choices with regard to your SEO campaign.

 Top on the list of important SEO concerns should be:

• Finding the right keywords specifically geared for your business.
• Writing alternate title tags and Meta descriptions for all of your web site pages. Yes, all!
• Fold the perfect keywords into all your titles, subheads and links. Yes, all!
• Develop a plan to attract back-links to drive traffic to your site. Here's a hint: link out to other sites that have similar content.
• Develop a social media plan to share your content and increase link-building.
• Stay on top of your analytics to make current adjustments.

A strong SEO campaign isn't about programming technology. Instead, it should be about focusing on the following areas:

Informative Content

The foundation of all your website copy should be to inform your customers. That's what search engines will be on the prowl for because they want to inform their customers. There shouldn't be a scatter shot approach to your content. Instead, plot out an editorial calendar for each month. This can help you focus on informative themes and allow you to set consistent deadlines for updating that content.

Tracking Traffic

If it looks like that your online marketing strategy isn't attracting traffic, change it. That's why you're following your analytics! A simple test is to play the role of customer. Type in your target keywords and see what comes up. Why is one website above another? What are they offering their customers? Can you do the same?

Don't Stuff Your Content

There are plenty of so-called SEO experts trolling around who promise to optimize your content. Merely stuffing keywords into a couple of paragraphs is an attempt to fool the search engines. It's not going to work. SEO isn't about technology as much as it is about quality. Along with content, give you customers the chance to post positive reviews. Often those reviews are what pops up first.

Your website is your storefront. If you had an actual brick and mortar business you'd greet your customers as they come in the door, ask them what they are looking for and volunteer to help them find that. Now transfer that attitude to your web business. That's what will make for a successful SEO campaign. 

Success Is All About Attitude

Can the success of your business really come down to a matter of a positive attitude? According to many professionals the answer is an unequivocal yes!

Call it optimism. Call it enthusiasm. Call it "glass half-full."

Whatever you call it, having a positive attitude is also extremely infectious. This kind of attitude can have an impact on your customers and your staff. Who do you want to work with? Who do you want to do business with? How can you have a positive attitude? Consider these insights:

You Create Your Attitude

Believe it or not, the power to cultivate a positive attitude rests within you. No matter what might come your way, you have the opportunity to frame your reaction. Think about opening presents on your birthday. You could say, "That's not what I really wanted." Or "It's about time you got me a present." Or you could say, "I'm really touched that you thought about me." Here's a hint: the last option is framing that event with a positive attitude. The next time a crisis happens at work, no matter how big or small, stop before you react and figure out what would be the positive approach to that situation. By doing that you're taking charge of your attitude.

Focus on the Positive

What do you surround yourself with as you start your day? Is it the local news full of disasters? Is it websites with divisive commentary? Take a break from the negative and choose to focus on the positive. Even something as simple as a daily affirmation calendar can put you into a good mood. If all else fails, spend time watching cartoons with the kids. You can't really get angry if SpongeBob is starting your day.

Shut Down the Complainers

Do you know someone who can suck the energy out of a room with their negative attitude? Clearly, those folks need to read this blog post! Short of that, you might want to try and avoid those negative persons. At the very least you should only take them in small doses. As a manager is it your responsibility to stop that negativity before it can spread like a disease through the rest of your staff.

Choose The Right Words

What is your first response when someone asks, "How are you doing?" Is it, "I'm hanging in there" or a "meh?" That's not a positive response. Next time somebody asks them them, "Outstanding" and mean it! Yes, it can be as simple as flipping a switch. Change your attitude and watch your business change for the better. 

Getting the Most Out Of SEO

There you are, finally ready to launch your online business. You went through weeks of planning with a web designer and got everything worked out and tested.

Then, finally, your website goes live. And you wait. And wait.

Where are the customers? Where's the traffic? That's when you'll hear the word SEO for the first time. It's a word you should make your new best friend!

Search Engine Optimization is what can put your site at the top of search page rankings. But how can you get those high rankings? Fortunately, there are many wonderful resources available online to help you beef up your SEO. The goal is to choose the right SEO services and make sure that you get the value for your marketing money.

Here's what a good SEO company should be providing:

Knowledge and tools to research strong keywords. Everything starts with the keywords. This is what the typical customer will use to type into the search engines. Finding the right combination of keywords is, well, key. Keywords or phrases should be based on your understanding of your customers’ buying cycle. A comprehensive keyword search includes keyword popularity, competitive research and product-related searches. There are some keywords that appear to rank high but might make no sense in terms of being added to content. Your SEO expert needs to decipher the difference.

Ability to create engaging copy. Once you've got the keywords locked down you then have to fold them into your content. This is what will be picked up by the search engines. Working them into headlines is easy but it's the copy that really matters. Search engines are becoming extremely sophisticated - they can sniff out "spam copy" and penalize you for it. Don't depend on an IT guy crunching algorithms or a web designer to be able to entice your customers with the written word.

Up-to-date information. Google is still the reigning champ of search engines but it is getting plenty of competition from rivals Bing, Yahoo and a whole range of other players. Your SEO expert needs to be on top of all of the search engine parameters because they are constantly being upgraded. You want someone who will be staying far ahead of the technology curve. Ask them when the latest update to a search engine was and have them explain to you how it can affect your website. 

As you look for an SEO expert don't hesitate to shop around to find one that best suits your needs. Obviously, you should start with the ones that have the highest rankings themselves. You know they're doing something right.