tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33836595210707730862024-02-22T13:58:15.529-08:00Zak's CornerFinest Expressionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00253093658917548098noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383659521070773086.post-79962028638601599452012-12-12T17:03:00.002-08:002012-12-12T17:03:32.014-08:00Canadian Small Business Resources<br />
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When we started our small business five years ago, we came
across some excellent resources. From where to start your research to how to
start your small business, we appreciated all the help we got from these
amazing sites! Here are a few of my favourites:</div>
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<a href="http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/subjects/business/index.shtml">Service
Canada</a>: This site works great because not only does it have tonnes of
information on starting a small business, but it also has forms and applications
you need to get started. It gives you information on how the government can help
you with your small business as well. </div>
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<a href="http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/">Canada Business
Network:</a> Another useful government website that talks about how to get
permits, licences, find grants and financing, service standards for Canadian small business and more. It has
checklists and guides for starting your own business as well as business
planning tools. </div>
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Canadian Bank Websites: One of the biggest tasks you will
undertake when starting your own small business is writing the business plan.
The Canadian bank websites have excellent tools that you could use: </div>
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<a href="http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/small-business/windocs.jsp">TD
Canada Trust</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bmo.com/home/small-business/banking/resources/business-resources">BMO
Bank of Montreal</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.cibc.com/ca/small-business/article-tools/business-planning.html">CIBC</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,588,00.html">Scotiabank</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.cibc.com/ca/small-business/article-tools/business-planning.html">Royal
Bank of Canada <o:p></o:p></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bdc.ca/en/Pages/home.aspx#.UMkn0m9peJo">BDC</a>:
So much useful information on this site! You can go through it yourself to see
how much they have in their article bank. However, my favourite is the <a href="http://www.bdc.ca/EN/advice_centre/ask_professionnal/previous_answers/Pages/previous_answers.aspx#.UMkhBG9peJo">Ask
a Professional</a> section. Every month they have a different consultant that
answers questions on different topics. For example, this month’s topic is Tips
on driving qualified traffic to your website. There is also an archive of
previous questions that you could refer too. This is an excellent free resource
for Canadian small business owners. </div>
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<a href="http://www.chamber.ca/index.php/en/join/"><o:p></o:p></a></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.chamber.ca/index.php/en/join/">The Canadian Chamber of
Commerce</a></span>: This is a good site to go to if you are looking for available
loans for your small business. They help you seek financial help at different stages
of your business cycle. The have local chambers who help you stay connected
with others small business owners in your community. The site offers resources
as well for planning and expanding your business.<u><span style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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There are so many more brilliant resources available online
for your Canadian Small business. But these have been my favourite go-to ones.
Check them out and and post your comments below! </div>
Finest Expressionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00253093658917548098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383659521070773086.post-44751366872507859962012-12-12T14:54:00.000-08:002012-12-12T14:54:25.337-08:00Holiday Greetings From Zak's Corner! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Finest Expressionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00253093658917548098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383659521070773086.post-6028317877983778142012-12-12T14:36:00.000-08:002012-12-12T14:37:33.223-08:00Do you have the personality to be an Entrepreneur? <br />
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Some say being an entrepreneur is in your genes. Could it be
true, just the same way you are born a salesman? Recently, I came across a book called
Instinct by Thomas L. Harrison. You can read up on Mr. Harrison’s background
and related works <a href="http://www.instinctdna.com/">here</a>. I haven’t
finished reading the book, but the premise so far is that you have to take
inventory of your personality traits. Once you have completed that portion of the
exercise, you are to determine which are inherited traits and which have to be
further developed. Combined is what I assume makes you a successful
entrepreneur. Through out the book, you will find exercises that help you with
the process.</div>
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I don’t know about genetics and their role in you being an
entrepreneur. Maybe I will form a firm opinion after finishing the book. However,
I do believe that different personalities suit certain professions. There are quizzes
you can take to help you determine if you are suited to be an entrepreneur.
Obviously, you will not base such a big decision on a personality quiz, but its
interesting place to get the ball rolling. Here are some quizzes I came across:</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.success.com/articles/581-entrepreneurship-quiz"><span style="color: windowtext;">Quiz: Are You Tough Enough?</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/personalityquiz"><span style="color: windowtext;">Quiz: Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur?</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 19.0pt;"><a href="http://www.bdc.ca/EN/advice_centre/benchmarking_tools/Pages/entrepreneurial_self_assessment.aspx#.UMj9lYNpeJo"><span style="color: windowtext;">Entrepreneurial potential self-assessment</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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Inc.com had an interesting article on<a href="http://www.inc.com/michael-gerber/4-personality-traits-all-entrepreneurs-must-have.html">
4 Personality Traits All Entrepreneurs Must Have</a>. It talked about how you
can break down the basic entrepreneur personality traits into four categories. </div>
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The Dreamer: Unlike daydreaming, The Dreamer proposes a
dream that should be in every entrepreneur’s heart. He/She dreams big and has a
purpose that is bigger then the materialistic components of life. </div>
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The Thinker: Asking questions is The Thinker’s job. Where
the dreamer dreams, The Thinker asks practical questions that help make the
dream possible. They work well together to make a business successful. </div>
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The Story Teller: Telling their dream to others and looking
for motivation defines this trait. It’s essential to have positive
encouragement at any stage in your business, especially when you are starting
something new. </div>
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The Leader: Every
Entrepreneur has to be a leader. Taking ownership and responsibility, the
Leader takes all of the above traits and moves the business forward. </div>
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Another article I read on the subject was from About.com called
<a href="http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/development/a/personality.htm">The 9
Personality Types of Entrepreneur</a>. It’s a little different as it doesn’t
discuss what personality you should have but talks more about how your personality
impacts your small business. It discusses in brief, 9 types of personalities
and how that determines the way you run your business. For instance, The
Improver focuses on using their business for the betterment of the world. It
then gives you a little blurb on the negative impact of this personality type. I.e.
how this might make you more of a perfectionist and over critical, especially
with your employees. It even gives you
an example of a famous entrepreneur. </div>
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Research is essential when you are thinking of starting your
own business. You have so many questions that need to be answered but you could
end up dealing with information overload! Take it one step at a time and ask yourself,
is this really for you? Find your answers before taking the big step. I assure
all your research will be worth it! </div>
Finest Expressionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00253093658917548098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383659521070773086.post-2627264846050018632012-12-09T14:17:00.001-08:002012-12-12T14:37:08.594-08:00An Introduction...<br />
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Hello readers,<o:p></o:p></div>
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My very first post on
Zak's corner and I'm Über excited! A little bit about myself. I’m a co-founder
of a gifts & novelties e-boutique called Finest Expressions. I started this
small business venture in September, 2007 and I've worked with my partner into
making it what it is today. I thoroughly enjoy having my own small business and
spend every day, striving to make it even more successful. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There is a myth that running your business means only perks such as
being your own boss, sometimes working out of your home office, telling people
what to do, etc. I still have people ask me if I change out of my pyjamas when I’m
working from home! It does have perks; there is no denying that fact. However,
running your own business is not easy. Research a little and you will learn
that everyone can’t do it successfully. <span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">About 96 percent of small
businesses (1–99 employees) that enter the marketplace survive for one full
year, 85 percent survive for three years and 70 percent survive for five years.</span>
There are lots of factors that have to come together to run a successful small
business. For example, your personality, type of business, skill sets, your
vision, resources available etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">When you start your research
before opening your small business or at any point during your business life
cycle, it could become overwhelming. It took me sometime but over the years I
learned to effectively research and narrow in on a few good resources for my
small business. My experience has taught me where to look for guidance and how
to apply it to my business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">After five years of running my
own successful online boutique, I felt that it was time for me to give back to
the small business community. To share with you what I have learned and
hopefully it will help you make informed decisions for your small business. The
objective of this blog is to assist you, an aspiring small business owner,
freelancer, artist into making business decisions that work for you. Even if
you are an existing small business owner, I hope the blog will help with your
everyday queries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">I don’t have an MBA or any
extensive formal business training. What I’ve learned is through my experience running
my own business. I’m not an expert. I have made mistakes and probably will
continue to make new ones. But I try to learn from them as best as I can. My
intentions are to give you practical and useful advice that will help you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I will post a weekly round-up of resourceful articles and
blog posts. So you will find an interesting mix of information to work with all
in one place. I will cover various topics for your small business including administrative,
marketing, sales and human resource management. From how-to blog posts to tutorials, I hope to
give you a motivating blend of reading that you will enjoy while gaining practical
business knowledge. </div>
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So let’s enter the exciting world of small business and
entrepreneurship! </div>
Finest Expressionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00253093658917548098noreply@blogger.com0