Register Your Non-Profit and Donate to the Canadian Cancer Society!

Many of us have known someone who has been diagnosed with cancer and have an understanding of the strength and perseverance needed to battle this disease. Statistics show that 40% of Canadian women and 45% of men will develop cancer during their lifetimes. However, 62% of Canadians will survive at least five years after a cancer diagnosis compared to 56% a decade ago. Much of the reason for this increase can be attributed to the hard work that organizations like the Canadian Cancer Society have provided not only to help with preventative measures, but to also give encouragement and support to those who are living with cancer.

Between April 23^rd and May 4^th you can start your own non-profit or charity and help fight cancer.

April is the Canadian Cancer Society’s Daffodil Month and CorporationCentre.ca wants to give back by donating $25 for every non-profit incorporation or charitable status application ordered through our services. Donating to the Canadian Cancer Society provides much needed funding towards research, advocacy, prevention and support for cancer patients and their treatment.

Simply click here to find out more information on non-profit incorporation and applying for charitable status and to proceed with placing your order. A donation of $25 from each order placed between April 23^rd and May 4^th will then be given to the Canadian Cancer Society in support of Daffodil Month.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Customer Service at 1-866-906-2677.

Twitter’s New Small Business Guide - A Summary

Can you sell your business in a 140 characters or less? That is the question many business owners are asking themselves as they consider jumping into the Twitter universe. As with the social networking giant Facebook, Twitter is a way for users to follow friends, celebrities and businesses to keep connected, find out news and information, and take advantage of deals and promotions. The hook is that a “Tweet” can only be 140 characters.

The good news is that Tweet can also contain a link back to a website, product photos or other types of information that can be a huge benefit to a business who is looking to build up its customer base. Sensing the need to help small businesses with the tool, Twitter released a Small Business Guide available as a free download.

 Here are some of the highlights from the guide:

1)      Back to Basics

This guide is a great resource for companies who are just starting out on Twitter and a reminder to all current users. The first chapter is a Twitter tutorial which includes explanations about:

·         Hashtags

·         Mentions

·         Retweets

·         Replies

·         Direct Messaging

·         Followers

·         Pasting Links

2)      Building a Business Personality

It also delves into the issue of a business developing their own personality through their tweets. As they explain: “Business styles vary. As you keep using Twitter, you’ll find your voice.” To that end, they encourage businesses to respond to customer reviews and or complaints. The caution is that you don’t want to start a “Twitter war.” Sometimes it might help to take certain discussions offline and find a way to speak to a customer directly about their particular complaints.

3)      Learn to Listen

Not only should you be following your customers but your business Twitter account should also follow businesses that are similar to yours. And even your competitors! This is a great way to stay on top of the competition. Due to the speed of the Twittersphere, you can respond immediately to any of your competitor missteps and capitalize on them. You could be inspired by a competitor’s tweets as to which direction to take for your own tweets.

Listening on Twitter also means tracking what your followers are interested in. Your tweets don’t always have to be about the hard sale but about building up a brand by creating a positive experience for your Twitter followers.

4)      Answer FAQs

Another positive benefit for small businesses Twitter accounts is the ability to answer frequently asked questions. These are the perfect type of tweets to link back to your company website. Keep in mind that you don’t have to wait for actual customers to ask those questions. You can create a dialog all your own.

5)      Build Up Your Followers

The Twitter guide recommends that follow news organizations and professional bloggers/reviewers who might be interested in your business. Retweeting their posts could help spread out your own tweets across the Twitter universe. It’s all about building up that online network.

Is Pinterest a Must Have for Your Small Business?

Have you pinned your business yet? Many small businesses are turning to Pinterest as brand new way of effectively marketing their goods and services. Yes, it’s yet another social media network to manage but the difference is that Pinterest is simplified and direct. Basically, you’ll have the chance to tell the story of your company in pictures. In some cases, it might even prove to be a stronger resource than Facebook or Twitter because of its visual appeal. By some estimates, there are around 12 million visitors to Pinterest each month. That is certainly a great potential customer base that you can tap into.

How Does Pinterest Work?

The best way of thinking of Pinterest is to consider it like a huge visual bulletin board. Just as you would use a bulletin board in your office to post inspiring photos or images, you can use your Pinterest page to post product pictures, photos of your business or staff and even customer submissions. Pinterest is a true image generated site - if a picture is worth a thousand words then Pinterest is speaking in volumes!

Like Facebook, Pinterest users have the option to “follow” your page or re-pin that page. By doing that, they’ll be notified of every new post you “pin” up. It’s a way of instantly announcing new products, special sales or other important company news. The great thing is that the service is free. The only investment you make is in the images you create for that page and it’s a great way to build a community revolving around the visual topics.  

The Benefits of Pinterest

For a small business, Pinterest can provide a much needed boost. However, to get the most benefits you’ll have to keep the content fresh. As like any social media page, you must put up relevant and unique content that attracts the attention of your readers. You can’t just put up a page and hope people will find it. Attract more followers by following other Pinterest pages. Also make sure that you promote your Pinterest account on your website, emails and even other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.  What you’re looking for is to be “re-pinned” by other users. This will help spread your message.

You can categorize your Pinterest page into specific groupings that might appeal to different types of customers. Because of the visual appeal of Pinterest, businesses that can show the results of their services or have appealing catalog shots of their products will benefit the most. It’s like ordering taste tempting treats based on a picture alone.

You can also educate your customers about your company through a visual presentation. The pages you set up can be as informative as you like. And you can drive all traffic back to your website through your postings.  As there is no expense with Pinterest, it makes sense to set up a page and keep it going just as you would with Facebook and/or Twitter. It’s another great way to reach out to your prospects online.

Small Business Focus – Shift Space Inc.

CorporationCentre.ca was established to help entrepreneurs and small business owners get their government and administrative filing done quickly and efficiently so that they have the time and energy to focus on growing their business. Over the years we've incorporated thousands of new businesses and have had a chance to watch them flourish and grow. Here is just one example of two entrepreneurs that incorporated their business with CorporationCentre.ca and have found great success with their company.

Shift Space Inc. is a Montreal- based communications company that gives people from various backgrounds the tools to communicate differently and effectively by providing workshops and services for individual and corporate development. Shift Space wants to focus on bridging the gap between the artistic and corporate worlds by teaching their clients new and creative forms of communication.

Shift Space was started 15 years ago by Lisa Kagan and Liz Valdez. They had been working at the local universities in Montreal, using their theatre-based training tools to help students develop their own communication skills.  Lisa recalls that their decision to go into business together was an easy one to make: “One day I just woke up and said ‘Liz – it’s time.’” After over 20 years of friendship the two women take a leap of faith, leave their jobs, and go off on their own path. And they haven’t stopped since.

Over time, Shift Space has grown from not only providing workshops and training sessions, but also by sharing a networking centre, bringing together groups from various communities, businesses, and fields. From this, Lisa and Liz are seeing new relationships growing in unexpected ways - musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, professionals and students are coming together to better human interaction and communication.

Much of what makes Shift Space so successful is the actual space it inhabits. An open and fluid area conveniently located in downtown Montreal, the “blank slate” space is designed to satisfy the needs of anyone using it, whether it be artists or professionals – or both!  Shift Space is continuously offering exciting programs and workshops targeted to anyone who wants to improve their communication skills in a new way. With their Montreal presence established, Lisa and Liz say that they are happy to travel to provide their services to those that can’t come to them.  They are striving towards setting the standard internationally for communication-based training – and they are well on their way.

For more information on Shift Space and their services, please visit www.shiftspace.ca.

How To Write A Press Release

A press release is an effective public relations tool that can be activated at any time to promote your business. Whether you want to announce a special sale or an expansion, a press release can be launched across several internet outlets at once, covering a wide portion of cyberspace. These press releases can also be picked up by the major search engines and any opportunity to improve your company’s search engine rankings is worth exploring. To put out a press release you’ll need to follow the industry standard. Here are the steps needed to write a press release:

1)      The Headline: This is the proverbial “attention grabber” where you need to tell the reader what this press release will be all about. The goal is not only to engage the average internet user but also any prospective journalist who might want to write a story using your press release as their foundation. That’s why your headline needs to stand out and be truly unique. A press release headline is formatted in title case which means the first letter of each word is capitalized.

2)      The Summary: Directly underneath the headline will be the summary. This is a paragraph consisting of a few sentences (5 at the most) that sums up the intent of your PR. The summary should highlight the unique features you’re trying to promote by utilizing the “who, what, where, when and how” of the situation.

3)      The Body: This is the bulk of your press release. The key is to craft a piece that hovers around 500 words with the most important facts presented in the opening paragraphs. Begin with a dateline which will include the city where the press release originates from. This is followed by the introduction paragraph. The introduction could be a reworking of your summary paragraph. Following up the intro paragraph you’ll expand on the details of your press release issue. Here you can include quotes from the relevant people. All of these details should support the key points stated in your introductory paragraph.

4)      The About: This is the final paragraph which is a brief company bio and tells the reader who is issuing the press release. This is the once section of a press release that can become standard and used for all subsequent PR.

5)      Contact Information: Finally, you need to provide contact information for anyone seeking out further details. If your press release is issued by a public relations firm then this will be their contact info. If you are generating your own press release, you can put up your own company’s website or phone number.

Keep in mind that a press release is always written in the third person. In other words, leave out the pronouns of “we, us, you and ours.” If you’re writing about your own company it will be referred to as “they, them or their.” Before writing your first press release, search out examples of other companies press releases to get a feel for how they are meant to be presented.

How to Create a USP - Your Unique Selling Proposition

How does your business stand out in a competitive marketplace? Whether you’re selling cupcakes or carpet cleaning services the answer to that question becomes your company’s unique selling proposition or USP. A solid USP goes hand in hand with elevating your company’s brand. Do you know what is “the greatest show on earth?” Do you know which take-out pizza will “deliver to you in 30 minutes or less?” Do you know what soft drink is “the real thing?” Those are all the USP for Ringling Brothers Circus, Dominos Pizza and Coca-Cola respectively. They’re also perfect examples of the type of effective marketing strategy you should be striving to develop in terms of creating your own USP. Here are some ideas about how you can create a powerful USP:

·         Define Your Target Audience

The more specific you can be with your marketing campaign the stronger your return on investment will be. Simply put, there are some products or services that are going to appeal to just a specific segment of the population. Research who your audience is and find out what their needs are. That’s where you need to target your USP development.

·         See What Works

It’s hard to find a truly unique business or product. Consider how many dry cleaners, nail salons, garages etc. there are in your own community. No matter where you start your business you’re entering into a crowded arena. The first step you should take towards developing your USP is to check out the competition. Have they got an effective marketing campaign in operation? Perhaps you can become inspired by their efforts to develop your own plan. Better yet, you might find a way to improve on their USP by making it your own. Fast delivery and special discounts are two ways to accomplish that task.

·         Solve A Problem

The best USP is one that solves a problem even when a problem doesn’t necessarily exist. You might not need to send an overnight package out every day but when you do chances are you’ll think about FedEx because they promise to deliver when your package “absolutely has to be there overnight.” If you can translate your goods or services in a way that solves a problem, you’ll be creating a USP that can gain traction among your potential customer base.

·         Make a Promise

In practical terms your business USP is a promise to your customers. This goes hand in hand with solving a problem. To accomplish this, you need to make sure you can live up to keeping those promises. Domino’s Pizza was only successful when it first developed a way to cook pizzas very fast in order to deliver them within 30 minutes or less. In other words, don’t make a USP promise you can’t keep.

·         Less is More

When it comes to an effective USP, less is more in terms of words in a slogan. You might have to finesse, massage, cut and rewrite your USP to hone it down to the basics. It’s all part of the process and can yield positive results.

Video Series - BOSHnewmedia Communications

BOSHnewmedia Communications - Trademark and Business Referral

Dawn Boshcoff had good foresight to change her career path 10 years ago by studying New Media Journalism and subsequently founding BOSHnewmedia Communications, which provides creative and innovative messages for brands to better position themselves online. Now, with the rise of social media, search engine optimization and other growing online marketing outlets, BOSHnewmedia has positioned itself to be a strong contender in the competitive marketing communications industry.

When Dawn was looking to register a trademark she quickly came across CorporationCentre.ca online and, after careful research, she applied for her trademark through the CorporationCentre.ca filing services. After finding the process to be easy and worry-free, with great customer service, Dawn continues to refer her clients to CorporationCentre.ca for all their business needs. As the saying goes, the best marketing is always word of mouth. Thanks Dawn!

To find out more about BOSHnewmedia Communications, visit her website at www. boshnewmedia.com.

Helpful Hints to Avoid Procrastination

If you're reading this article then it's probably because of two reasons: you want to find ways to avoid procrastination or you’re actually procrastinating at this moment. Procrastination is that habit many people often fall into that prevents them from getting something done, whether it's a business proposal, a trip to the gym or spring cleaning.

If left unchecked, a bad procrastination habit can actually be a deterrent to advancement in a career or getting good grades in school. In the realm of independent consultants, procrastination can lead to a loss of business. No employer wants to wait for a project that has passed the deadline. There are some very helpful hints when it comes to avoiding procrastination. How quickly can you make these a part of your daily routine?

·         Make a Commitment: This is a lot like accepting a deadline, but it's also more about your own personal responsibility. When you commit to finishing a project by a certain date then you are pretty much putting your reputation on the line. Even if it's a small matter of returning an e-mail or phone call within 24 hours, it's still a commitment that you can make to yourself. Staying true to that commitment can go a long way towards improving your business relationships which equates to success.

·         Prioritize: If you have a list of several small assignments and one big task, don't let the little jobs get in the way. You need to prioritize your tasks by level of importance and deadline. This can be done at the beginning of every morning as you set out plans for your work day.

·         Utilize the Morning: Speaking of the morning, that is a perfect time to accomplish tasks that are due by the end of the business day. It's simply a matter of figuring out how long a particular task will take and then setting aside those hours in the morning to do the actual work. In many cases this goal could be reached by lunchtime!

·         Get Prepared: A common theme for procrastinators is that they're never ready. This goes back to that issue of staying organized. As a freelance consultant, if you're working on a project that involves a certain amount of research then you should conduct that research all at once and assemble it in a single file or group. That way you'll have easy access to that information when it's time for you to disseminate it. There's no excuse for poor prep work.

 

·         Remove the Distractions: Ironically, the very thing you are reading this article on is probably the biggest contributor to procrastination. That would be the Internet. Today, we use the Internet to communicate with friends, read news and conduct business. While it's easy to get lost in the world of YouTube or Facebook, those activities should be regulated for off work hours. Perhaps you should look at spending time on those personal sites as a reward for a job well done. Don't let the Internet drag you down!

Now that you've read some helpful tips about avoiding procrastination, it’s time to get back to work!

CIPO Now Accepting Sound Trademarks

A ground breaking federal Court of Canada decision has allowed for the trademarking of sounds. CIPO (Canadian Intellectual Property Office) has been resistant to sound trademarks and, up until this point, only allowed words or designs to be trademarked, even though many other countries have already allowed for sound to receive the same protection.

The decision has come from a long and drawn out court case between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios and CIPO. In 1992 MGM applied to trademark the sound of the lion’s roar that viewers hear before any MGM movie. CIPO, after years of delays, eventually denied the trademark application for MGM’s lion roar and MGM appealed the decision.  The case made its way at the federal Court of Canada where MGM won. Because of the ruling, CIPO announced that it will now be accepting sound trademark applications.

Sound trademarks can be considered a kind of “aural brand” in that the sound you hear can instantly trigger the thought of a brand. Besides the MGM lion’s roar, other sounds that have been trademarked by brands in the US include the NBC chimes, the Intel Pentium chord sequence, the 20^th Century Fox music and the Harlem Globetrotter’s theme music. However, in Canada the sound trademark does not extend to longer sounds like songs, which would instead be protected by copyright.

To submit a sound mark in Canada, your application must include:

a.      a statement that the application is for a sound mark registration;

b.     a visual depiction that graphically represents the sound;

c.      a description of the sound; and

d.     an electronic recording of the sound in MP3 or WAV format or on CD or DVD (5 MB max.)

The recording should not contain any looping or repetition of the sound. Types of media other than listed above, hyperlinks, or streaming locations will not be accepted.  New applications for sound marks can only be submitted through a paper application, and not by CIPO's online filing system.

For more information on sound marks visit the CIPO website.

Mistakes To Avoid When Owning A Franchise

On many levels a franchise business can be considered a “turnkey” type of business. In other words, a lot of the important work has already been done in terms of establishing a brand and providing for quality assurance of selling a product or service. However, just because you are investing into a franchise doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed 100% success. To optimize your return on your franchise investment be aware of these common mistakes and try to avoid them at all costs:

1)      Not Reading the Fine Print:

A common mistake is when a new franchise owner doesn’t understand or even has knowledge about their responsibilities to the franchise and may learn the hard way. Before you sign on to any franchise business, understand that there has already been a team of lawyers who have gone through every detail pertaining to that business, protecting the interests of the parent company. They have outlined every step including your role as a franchise owner. There should be no doubt about what you’re buying into. Remember, it’s all spelled out in the contract - that’s why not only should you read the fine print but you should also go over every line of the contract with a qualified attorney.

2)      Not Talking With Current Franchise Owners:

Buying into a franchise means you are buying into a network of like-minded business owners. These are the perfect resources you should tap into as you get your business up and running. You’re all on the same team and it stands to reason that the success of one franchise is good for all the franchises. You’re sure to have many questions to ask but make sure you go beyond the potential franchise owner you might be buying from. Seek out other owners in your community to assess their experiences with operating the business and their relationship with the parent company.

3)      Not Having the Right Amount of Capital:

Any type of franchise business is a serious investment that goes beyond the initial purchase price. You also need to have enough capitol on hand to cover the pre-opening costs and other business budget items. Just as you need to have a cushion of several months worth of savings set aside for your family, you should also have enough capital on hand to insure you can survive any potential lean times with your new business.

4)      Not Researching the Neighborhood:

Suppose you are looking to invest in a franchise business selling hamburgers. You’ve got a great location and plenty of parking but what if the majority of your neighbors are vegetarians? That probably won’t happen but you can see by that example how important it is to research the community you’re going into with your franchise. You might have a robust business during the week but will be hard pressed for customers on a Sunday. You could also find out that there is a late-night crowd on the weekends which can provide a boost to the business. It all comes down to a question of doing the right research.

5)      Not Working With the Parent Company:

As a franchise owner you’ll have access to all information and benefits provided by the parent company. While it is true that the day-to-day operation will fall on your shoulders, that doesn’t mean you can’t tap into your field reps for help. Take full advantage of those company representatives; that’s what they are there for!