12. Two minutes with... Rachale Cavanagh 9. Three creative ways

Transcription

7. Long-term horizons,
current income and
diversification drive
investment decisions
Wealth management advice.
VOLUME 10 / ISSUE 6 / AUGUST 2015
HAMILTON
/////////////////////////////////////
PLEASE FORWARD TO:
OWNER
9. Three creative ways
for small businesses
to keep employees
healthy
Boost workplace morale.
SALES MANAGER
MARKETING DEPARTMENT
12. Two minutes with...
Rachale Cavanagh
A quick look at what makes
the owner of Graphic in
Traffic tick.
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
PURCHASING DEPARTMENT
Buying
Local
Can your hard-earned dollars really
make a difference by supporting local
businesses? You better believe it.
BY SCOTT LESLIE The Business Link
H
ere’s a scenario that might sound familiar.
Your children are all sitting around the kitchen table,
waiting for their dinner to be served. You start doling out
the dinner plates, one by one. Now it’s time to ladle out the
stew. But instead of feeding everyone, you only feed one of
your kids. Over time, the one child continues to eat and get
bigger and bigger while the others get smaller and smaller.
Would you let that happen in real life? Of course you
wouldn’t. And yet it’s something many of us do every day
when we spend our money at chain stores, franchises and
internet firms.
That’s also why Hamiltonians need to get into the practice of supporting locally owned businesses, and buying local
products and services in our community.
Continued on page 11
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CONTENTS
8
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CO - P U B L IS HE RS
Jim Shields, Adam Shields
D IR ECTO R OF ADVE RTISING
Dave Martineau
CO N T R IB U T IN G WRITE RS
S. Leslie, L. Massow, M. Wallace, B. Leleux
B. Sloan, D. O’Neill, B. Meadows, R. Galloway
W. Williams, T. Graves
CIRCU L AT I ON
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Hamilton via Canada Post.
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+ Also inside
4.
5.
6.
8.
9.
10.
15.
Online
Ask The Expert
Leadership Roles
Sharing the wealth
Lessons from the Links
How to build a business system
Two Minutes with Mike Macaluso
40 Under Forty Showcase
INSURANCE
Preventing
Water
Damage
Why take a chance? Learn
where your home is most
likely to suffer water
damage, and what you can
do to help prevent it.
BY TOM GRAVES C.I.P., C.C.I.B.
D
amage from water is one of the leading
causes of property damage in Canada.
Water damage is not entirely avoidable, but
by taking preventive measures you can greatly
reduce the risk to your home or business.
Roof
■ Your roof should be in good repair, shingles
should lay flat and not curling. Missing shingles should be replaced and holes repaired.
Roofs over 20 years old should be inspected
by a qualified professional.
■ Eavestroughs and downspouts should be
cleared of leaves and debris at least once a year.
■ Ice damming may cause water to enter your
building by ice building up on your roof. This
can be prevented by ensuring that attics and
THE BUSINESS LINK HAMILTON HAMILTON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
overhangs are adequately insulated and ventilated. If necessary have a qualified professional to clear your roof of ice and snow.
Water Heaters
■ Water heaters as they age develop leaks and
may cause major water damage to your
property.
■ Water heaters over seven years of age should
be inspected and flushed annually to see if
replacement is necessary.
■ Watch for leaks and get repair work done as
needed.
Basements and Sewer Backup
To reduce damage caused by water in your
basement there are a number of preventive
measures you can take.
■ Professionally install a sump pump with a
battery or generator backup.
■ Backwater or check valves can help prevent
sewer backup and should be installed by a
plumber.
■ Keep basement drains free of obstructions.
■ Store items away from walls and off the
floor. Valuables or irreplaceable sentimental
items should not be stored in the basement.
■ If you have mature trees in your neighbourhood, make sure the sewer lines are not compromised by tree roots. Regular inspection of
the sewer lines in neighbourhoods with older
trees is necessary to avoid blockage.
Tom Graves  C.I.P., C.C.I.B. is the vice president
of operations for The Mitchell & Abbott Group
Insurance Brokers Limited. For more information
please call 905.385.6383, toll free 1.800.463.5208
These are only three areas to pay attention to in
order to reduce the possibility of water entering
your building.
I will discuss other areas of consideration to
prevent water damage in the future. BL
or direct at 905.381.4212. Have a question? Email
mail@mitchellabbottgrp.com or visit
www.mitchellandabbott.com for further information.
The Mitchell & Abbott Group Insurance Brokers Limited
is located at 2000 Garth Street, Suite 101 in Hamilton.
www.BusinessLinkMedia.com |
@thebusinesslink
AUGUST 2015
BETTER BUSINESS EXPO
The area’s largest business trade show and corporate networking function of the year.
AUGUST 25TH, 2015 | CARMENS (1520 STONE CHURCH RD. E. HAMILTON)
EVENT SCHEDULE
SOCIAL MEDIA SCHOOL
1PM - 3PM
70+ EXHIBITOR
TRADE SHOW
3PM - 8PM
PITCH PIT: ENTREPRENEUR
COMPETITION
4PM - 7PM
BIZCONX NETWORKING
5PM - 7PM
NETWORK WITH HUNDREDS OF BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE
BIZCONX NETWORKING ZONE
NETWORKING
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW
VISIT WWW.BETTERBUSINESSEXPO.CA OR CALL 905.581.2512 FOR MORE INFORMATION
AUGUST 2015
@thebusinesslink | www.BusinessLinkMedia.com
3
ASK THE EXPERT
ADAM SHIELDS
JUDY MARSALES / Broker of Record
ADVERTISING EXPERT
REAL ESTATE EXPERT
What makes a good ad?
Expectations Vs. Reality
T
his summer has seen very unpredictable weather patterns which seem
to parallel our real estate experiences. One
minute there is a flurry of activity and a
multitude of requests for more listings and
then the next minute we face questions
about why some homes are not selling.
There are days when I wish I had a crystal
ball to answer all the questions. Statistically,
we are still in a seller’s market. However,
that does not mean that purchasers will pay
any price for any home. Purchasing patterns
are changing. We have a large baby boomer
population who potentially want to move
toward less maintenance and upkeep but
want to maintain some of their equity in
the process. Unfortunately, the new product
tends to be pricier than they anticipated relative to the reality of sales values and thus
the big question…do they stay put? The first
time home buyer loves the urban lifestyle
but not necessarily the updating needed in
the beautiful older homes. In many instances, this buyer does not have any experience
or knowledge of the mechanics of a home
and would prefer to walk into a “designer
home” and plug in. Again, reality is such
that the beauty of our heritage properties is
sometimes hidden by years of lack of maintenance or updating. Managing expectations
against the current real estate opportunities
is often enhanced by the years of knowledge and experience offered by real estate
professionals. Be prepared…get quotes for
potential work ahead of purchasing. Understand costs against potential value increase
with the improvements—this may be the
best investment you ever considered. Make
your home your castle not your dungeon!
Call our office for all the latest statistics
and information. BL
ANSWER
H
ere are seven tips you can try to make your ad
stand out from the rest.
1. Strong Headline – Make sure you have headline
that grabs the attention of readers. Always follow
the W.I.I.F.M. rule which stands for “What’s In It
For Me?” Make your ad speak to the reader.
2. A Clear Message – Be short and concise with
your ad copy. People are busy and don’t have a
lot free time to spare. They won’t be spending a
lot of time reading your ad so make sure you get
your message to them – and fast!
3. Dominant Illustration – Make sure you use a
photo that really stands out. Studies show that
an ad with a large image or photo will receive
35% more readers than an ad that doesn’t.
4. Colour – The use of colour can make readers
react in different ways. As a general rule, reds,
oranges and yellows are warm and inviting and
stimulate excitement while blues and greens
are calming and peaceful and give a sense of
dependability and integrity. By choosing the
right colour, you can influence people’s emotions, encouraging them to try out your product
or service.
5. White Space – The worst thing you can do is
clutter up your ad and fill every little space with
information. Readers will pass your ad by every
time. Using more open or “white” space will draw
attention to your ad – so keep it clean and simple.
6. Consistent Branding – Keep your branding
consistent across all your advertising / marketing materials. That way, you’ll create a
brand that’s memorable and easily recognizable with your target audience.
7. Call to action – Don’t forget to include contact
info and a call to action so people will act on your
ad. If you don’t ask people to “Call today!” there’s
a good chance they won’t. BL
tel: 905.646.9366
36 Hiscott St., Suite 200, St. Catharines
adam@businesslinkmedia.com
www.businesslinkmedia.com
Westdale: 905.522.3300
Ancaster: 905.648.6800
Locke Street South: 905.529.3300
www.judymarsales.com
ADVERTORIAL
4
@thebusinesslink
AUGUST 2015
LEADERSHIP ROLES
Five things you can do to support your sales
team’s efforts in improving their results
BY LISA VON MASSOW
A
re you responsible for the outcomes
of your sales team? If so, consider five
key improvement areas that are essential to
achieving sales success in any industry.
1
Have a Well-Defined, Effective Selling Process
If you haven’t already done so, install a
step-by-step selling process that identifies exactly what salespeople are expected to do. Then,
hold them accountable to doing it.
Ideally, the process should emphasize qualifying so salespeople are investing their time
and resources in opportunities that have a high
probability of closing. Stringently qualified opportunities progress more quickly. And, they
produce better-fit solutions, more focused presentations, and higher closing rates.
2
Focus on Salespeople’s Activities
Salespeople are experts in the art of constructive avoidance—engaging in contrived activities to avoid doing the real work of selling.
Some, for example, will waste an inordinate
amount of time updating, categorizing, and
alphabetizing a prospect list to avoid actually
picking up the phone and calling one of the
prospects on the list.
Hold your salespeople accountable to the
activities defined by your selling process—activities that keep the process moving forward.
Those activities should be focused on moving
opportunities into or out of the sales funnel—
identifying and qualifying prospects, and developing and closing opportunities.
3
Ensure that Salespeople Have the Necessary Skills
Having an effective and efficient selling process
is of little consequence if your salespeople don’t
have the essential skills to implement it. Working
hard is not an appropriate substitute for working skillfully. It leads to frustration, lacklustre
performance, and below-average sales results.
AUGUST 2015
Monitor the actual results of sales-process-directed activities against the intended
outcomes. Where there are shortfalls, identify
the deficient skills responsible for the result,
and make sure your salespeople receive the
appropriate training.
When you arrange for training, it’s important for you to be involved in it. After all, you
are responsible for seeing that the content of
the training is applied, and for helping your
salespeople refine their newly-acquired skills.
Finally, training and coaching are interconnected. Support the training with regular precall briefings, post-call debriefings, and ongoing coaching.
tance of developing their sales teams. Yet, many
say they simply don’t have sufficient time or
resources to train and develop their people. They
tend to be so focused on sales results that they
overlook the potential performance improvements that come from investing time to develop
their people. Don’t make the same mistake. BL
Lisa von Massow is the owner and principal of Sandler
Training—Endurance Partners Inc., located at 461 Green
Road, Unit 11 in Stoney Creek. For more information, call
905.963.1339, email lisa.vonmassow@sandler.com
or visit www.endurancepartners.sandler.com.
Follow Lisa on twitter @sandlerlvm and LinkedIn;
Lisa von Massow.
4
Help Your Salespeople Enhance their
Self-Esteem
Learning new strategies and developing new
skills will have little positive impact if your salespeople don’t have the confidence to implement
those skills. Lack of confidence (fear of failure)
is perhaps the biggest roadblock that prevents
salespeople from achieving greater levels of success. Providing encouragement, support, and positive feedback to your salespeople is as important
a function in your management role.
Your salespeople will never learn to skillfully implement a strategy or tactic by reviewing
their training class notes. The only way they will
learn to develop skill and confidence is by doing
the activity. Encourage your salespeople to step
outside their comfort zones and try something
new and give them “permission” to do so.
Along with giving your salespeople permission, you must also provide them “protection”
when results are less than optimal. Specifically, commend salespeople for their attempts.
And rather than focus on the outcomes, focus
on the lessons learned from the experiences.
5
Empower Your Sales Team
Most sales managers recognize the impor-
5
FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS
Sharing the Wealth
“You should treat your company in the same manner you would a child,
planning and saving for their future...”
BY MOIRA WALLACE
W
hen you own a family business, it’s
important to structure your company
to allow for income splitting and tax saving
opportunities. Setting up a company can be as
simple as creating one class of voting shares
and one class of non-voting shares as offered
by many online incorporation providers. Doing
so limits and prevents you from delineating
who can earn profits through dividends, when
those may be earned and the amount that may
be earned. It also does not allow you to create
a freeze on the price of the shares if you would
like to sell out your shares at a later date.
Having a lawyer incorporate your business
with the financial advice of your accountant can
save you money in the long run and keep more
of it in your own pocket. I always recommend
clients to incorporate with a share structure that
6
keeps the possible future in mind. One class of
voting common shares is generally sufficient for
purposes of designating who will be responsible
for operating and making decisions about the
company. If more than one family member is
involved in the business or you have a spouse
and/or children (regardless of their involvement),
it is best to create a number of classes of preferred
dividend bearing shares (“Preferred Shares”).
The ability to split the profit from your company among various members of your family
allows you to legally reduce your total taxes
payable to the Canada Revenue Agency. Small
Ontario incorporated businesses earning less
than $10-million are taxed at a lower rate than
large businesses and personal income earned
through employment. Despite however many
members of your family work in the business,
they do not necessarily need to earn employment income from the business. Instead, they
can be issued dividends from the after-tax dollars earned by the company, which will be taxed
at a substantially lower rate than employment
income, with the first $40,000 being tax free.
Any member of your family can own preferred
shares in your company without impacting how
it is run on a day-to-day basis. By setting up various classes of preferred shares, you can own one
class, your spouse can own another and each of
your offspring can hold their own class. Assuming the company derived a profit and depending
on the profit amount, the company can declare
dividends to all of the classes of preferred shares
or to just one class. If your spouse is not employed
or has a lower income, the company can issue
dividends to his class of preferred shares only
and pay your spouse. Essentially, the company
can pay out dividends to the shareholders who
will incur the least amount of taxes, keeping
more money in your pocket.
I also like to create a class of special shares,
which will allow an estate freeze on the sale of
voting shares sometime in the future. Through a
number of mechanisms, the existing shareholder
can sell or have his voting shares redeemed by the
company and receive special shares in exchange.
The value of the special shares is “frozen” at the
value of the sold shares. The successor purchases
common shares in the company, which have no
value and allows future growth in the company
to accrue to the successor’s common shares and
not those sold or redeemed by the previous owner.
By creating an estate freeze scenario, the
owner will not trigger immediate capital gains
on the transfer of his shares and also lock in
the value of the capital gains payable once the
special shares are redeemed. The owner can still
maintain voting control over the company until
all of the special shares are eventually redeemed
which may allow for a smooth transition to the
successors and creates incentive for the new
owners to grow the business. Because the value
of the company remains with the owner once
the freeze has been triggered, the successors can
only gain from any increase in the value of the
business and have an incentive to continually
grow and not let the business flounder.
When incorporating your business and considering how you would like it to contribute to
your family’s wealth, it is wise to talk to a lawyer and an accountant about the best structure
for tax saving and income-splitting purposes.
You should treat your company in the same
manner you would a child, planning and saving
for their future and figuring out the best way to
share the wealth among all of your loved ones.
You can use a cookie-cutter incorporator, but
in doing so, you may give away more of your
profits than you intended and have less to pass
on to your successors. For incorporating and
other family business needs, contact your Chief
Loophole Advisor at moira@wallacelaw.ca. BL
For more information, please contact Moira
Wallace BA, MA, LLB, Chief Loophole Advisor
and Notary Public at 905.575.0732, email
moira@wallacelaw.ca or visit Moira’s website
at www.wallacelaw.ca.
Follow Moira on twitter @loopholeadvisor.
@thebusinesslink
AUGUST 2015
INVESTMENT DECISIONS
SIGN
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You’ll receive tips, ideas, inspiration and advice
Long-term horizons, current
income and diversification
drive investment decisions
from success experts and contributers.
“Wealth management for me is a focus on maintenance
rather than rapid growth and mostly I prefer slow and
steady gains to risky investment opportunities.” As an added bonus, when you sign up for our
PLUS
newsletter, you’ll receive our e-book:
BY BENOÎT LELEUX
H
igh net worth individuals (HNWI) invest for three main purposes. Long-term capital
appreciation is the most important, current income ranks second, and gaining a level
of diversification comes in third. This at least was the findings of our extensive 2014
Global Family Business Survey. However, many HNWIs also seek to match their investment
choices with their expertise and experience in running companies—entrepreneurship and a
passion for business are also important drivers for HNWI investments.
High net worth individuals invest for three main purposes. Long-term capital appreciation is
the most important, current income ranks second, and gaining a level of diversification comes
in third. This at least was the findings of our extensive 2014 Global Family Business Survey. However, many HNWI also seek to match their investment choices with their expertise
and experience in running companies—entrepreneurship and a passion for business are also
important drivers for HNWI investments. Risk appetite
The desire for long-term capital appreciation is reflected in HNWIs’ appetite for risk. The majority (60%) of HNWIs canvassed said that they take a balanced approach to risk for investments
outside of their main business, searching for reasonable risk with reasonable returns. As one
German entrepreneur says: “Wealth management for me is a focus on maintenance rather
than rapid growth and mostly I prefer slow and steady gains to risky investment opportunities.” Nevertheless, there are HNWIs at both ends of the risk spectrum. One-fifth of HNWIs are
prepared to assume high risk investment strategies in a bid to generate high returns. A further
fifth are risk averse and will settle for low returns in exchange for low risk. A mere 3% indicated
that they are only likely to invest when capital will be fully preserved. This is good news for family businesses, as there are clearly investors across the spectrum
of risk appetites. BL
FEATURING ADVICE ON:
• Employee Management
• Leadership
• Problem Solving and Strategy
• Succesion Planning
• Personal Development
• Legal Advice
• Finances and more!!!
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and clicking the subscribe button!
Benoît Leleux (PhD, INSEAD) is the professor of entrepreneurship and finance at IMD and director of the
IMD-Lombard Odier Global Family Business Award.
Article courtesy of KPMG Family Business.
AUGUST 2015
7
BUSINESS ADVICE
2
Lessons from the links
“There are countless lessons that you can take from the golf course…”
BY BRANDON SLOAN
I
love golf. I’ve been playing the game since
the age of three. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that it’s a game
that you never truly master. It’s filled with
ultimate highs and pretty disheartening lows.
I’ve always wondered why the game has been
so closely associated with business activities
and events. Whether it’s taking out colleagues
for a round, hosting a corporate tournament
or inviting a potential client out to the links,
there really isn’t any other sport that is used
more in the business world than golf.
As I was pondering this I came to the realization that golf is quite like the business world.
You have your good shots and your bad shots.
Sometimes you feel like nothing can stop you
while other times you feel like anything can.
However, the key to golf is to never give up and
to learn from your mistakes. All of this sounds
eerily similar to the business world. Sometimes
everything is going well; your employees are
executing tasks efficiently, clients are recommending your work and you’re receiving
more leads than you can handle. Then the next
minute one of your employees calls in sick,
something goes wrong with a client and you
can’t find a lead if it were right in front of you!
8
Such is life in the business world. However, here are a few things to keep in mind
to ensure that you achieve higher highs and
shallower lows.
1
Preparation
In golf, it’s always important to be prepared
for anything, especially the worst. It’s the exact
same in business as it is imperative to be prepared for anything that may be thrown at you.
A potential client asks about your process during
the initial meeting? Here’s our information sheet
that explains who we are, what we do and how we
do it. An employee needs to be brought up to speed
about a certain project? Luckily, you always tell
your employees to save all of their project notes.
A client is coming in to talk to you about how they
can’t afford your payment plan? Good thing you
have a list ready for the meeting of all the creative
ways that you can make it work for both parties.
If you don’t come to the office every day with a
mindset of preparation then how can you expect
to maximize your success? It’s like showing up to
golf without having all 14 clubs in your bag! You’re
just going to end up hitting roadblocks later on
because you weren’t fully prepared.
Consistency
I used to play competitive golf and I had a
pre-game schedule that I would follow to a tee
before every tournament. Even when playing,
I would go through a step-by-step pre-shot routine that would guarantee I was comfortable
before each swing. Similarly in business, you
should ensure that everything in your company
is consistent—from your writing style to your
marketing mix to how you respond to emails
and even to how your employees answer the
phone. All of it should represent and communicate to people who you are as a company
because if you can’t consistently relay that to
consumers then how can they trust you to consistently deliver your services?
There are countless lessons that you can take
from the golf course and transfer over into the
business world and these were just two examples that show why businesses have been so
keen on using golf as a way to do business for
decades. Be sure to keep that in mind next time
you hit the links and maybe you’ll learn a few
more lessons of your own! BL
Brandon Sloan is a sales and marketing assistant
at Symetric Productions located at 196 King Street
in St. Catharines. For more information, please call
905.933.4910, email info@spcan.com or visit
www.symetricproductions.com.
Follow Brandon on twitter @spcan.
www.facebook.com/symetricproductions
@thebusinesslink
AUGUST 2015
HEALTHY WORKPLACES
BUSINESS STRATEGY
HOW TO BUILD
A BUSINESS SYSTEM
BY DENNIS O’NEILL
Y
our business system operates as a system of
systems.
You need a marketing system to bring you qualified
prospects. You need a sales system to communicate
value to the prospect and lead them through to a decision to buy. You also need systems for accounting,
human resources, customer service, production system, quality control system and so on.
1. Start with the end in mind. What outcomes do you
require from the system? Those outcomes need
to be predictable. The system must produce the
outcome every time, all the time, without exception. Specifically, what outcomes? What must the
system produce to ensure customer satisfaction?
What must the system do to ensure your firm is
profitable? How much? What must the system do
to ensure that your team gains job satisfaction in
order to keep them long term? What else? System
is not by accident or by wishing and hoping.
Three creative ways for small businesses
to keep employees healthy
PROVIDED BY NEWS CANADA
E
mployees are an organization’s greatest asset. Therefore, identifying ways to
keep them happy and healthy is central to
the success of any business.
As a small business owner, there are simple, cost-effective changes you can make that
will boost workplace morale and help you
retain qualified staff.
Offer a group benefits package. If you want
your organization to stand out, give your employees access to a group benefits package.
Doing so will help minimize turnover and
increase overall job satisfaction.
“Employees truly value these benefits, so
organizations should encourage employees
to provide feedback on whether they are
happy with their coverage and try to adjust
plans accordingly,” says Stephen Redmond,
an employee benefits expert with Western
Financial Group.
Redmond also explains that employee ben-
AUGUST 2015
efits are a useful tool for retaining and attracting employees. In fact, a Western Financial Group study found that 61% of Canadians
identify employee benefits as very important
to their decision when considering a new job.
Promote a healthy workplace. Formal
group benefits aside, employers can also
promote a healthy workplace culture.
Providing healthy snacks at the office or
organizing lunch hour activities like fitness
and yoga classes are just a few examples of
how employers can keep their workforce active and employees’ minds sharp.
Businesses should also look to promote
positive mental health in the workplace.
Actively managing issues such as stress,
depression and anxiety can greatly improve
the work environment. Providing employees with the flexibility to balance their work
and personal responsibilities and offering the
necessary support to deal with mental health
issues will help ensure that you are creating
a healthy culture.
Make work-life balance a priority. Limit
how often employees take work home and
ensure that you encourage your staff to use
their vacation time.
“Companies need to promote their worklife balance policies year-round,” says Redmond. “Positive communication of benefits
reinforces your organization’s commitment
to helping workers achieve balance and
gives employees the feeling that it’s okay
to live a little.”
As a bonus, when the sun is shining and
the weekend is calling, let your employees
head out early. Many organizations use this
as an opportunity to build employee satisfaction by developing formal policies that give
employees Friday afternoons or every second
Friday off. BL
2. In every business system, the first part of the system requires that you define. Who do you want
to do business with? In every industry the 20/80
rule applies—20% of the customers will do 80% of
the dollars. Who are the 20%? All the other steps
depend on best serving that 20%.
3. The system must be “self-correcting.” That is you need
yellow caution lights to come on when something is not
performing as it should. When a yellow light comes on,
the system is telling you to take corrective action.
4. A system needs a dashboard where the yellow
lights can be seen. The dashboard shows all the
key performance indicators just like the dashboard
on your car. Have we got enough gas to get to the
destination? Is the engine overheated? Key performance indicators are the proof of the system.
5. To achieve the desired outcome every time you require
all the necessary steps. You must determine what
those are. Then polish each step to get it perfect.
6. Once you get all the steps worked out, have you got
them in the best sequence?
7. The parts in a system inter-connect. That makes the
system different from a process. The interconnected parts form a loop or cycle. The system should
feed the satisfied customer back into the loop as a
repeat customer and/or they tell their friends about
it. That way the loop is closed and feeds back into
the system for growth.
If you get stuck, I’m here. BL
More information on employee benefits plans
for businesses is available at www.westernfinancialgroup.ca.
Dennis O’Neill is The Business Growth Coach. For
more information on how to grow your business
www.newscanada.com
please visit www.dennisoneillcoach.com.
9
SALES TACTICS
Call Reluctance
“…remember to believe in yourself, motivate yourself to take action,
and visualize the success that will come.”
BY BRETT MEADOWS
I
was going to follow up with the prospect, but… “I was going to call that prospect, but my
couch grew arms and kept me there during
all the T.V. reruns last night. It was horrible,
I swear…”
“I was going to call the prospect for a decision
but I ran out of time—I’ll call him tomorrow first
thing as long as something else doesn't come up…” “I have called the prospect three times and left
three voice-mails and he hasn’t returned my call.
I don’t want to seem like I'm pressuring him or
being a pest. I will wait for him to call me back.” Excuses. The reality is you can have excuses or you
can have results but you can not have both. Call reluctance is a disease that seems to infect
salespeople and the major side effect is excuses. Is call reluctance even a problem? Or is it just
covering up things like fear of rejection, or lack of
belief in you or your product? Those are real problems. I think call reluctance is a bunch of crap. Here are a few ways to overcome this wallet
crippling condition: ■ Wake up a half hour early and get out your
sales books. Just read for 30 minutes first
thing in the morning and learn one new
technique and try it out as soon as you
learn it. Sharp skills and new ideas lead to
the confidence to pick up the phone and call
someone new. ■ Convert their information to a few ideas you
think they can use. When you walk in their
door with questions and answers, you convert the fear energy into positive energy. ■ Make time and set the time. Make a time to
make calls from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. every day.
Set minimum standards for success (make
one appointment each day, make four follow–up calls, make one sale), and don’t quit
until you achieve them. ■ Pay yourself for each call. If you plan on making
four cold calls that day, put four five dollar bills
in your pocket and for every cold call you make
(really make) move one five dollar bill to your
wallet, for every call you don't make donate it
to a charity right away go to any Tim Horton's
and put it in their Tim Horton's Camp for Kids. ments, permission to send something before
the visit, anything that is "yes." Think you
will and you will get what you’re thinking.
The "little engine" did. ■ Keep "no" in perspective. Think of "no" in new
ways. Position "no" in your mind as "not right
now” or “no” is the gateway to “yes.” Keep in
mind that the average salesperson takes 8-10
attempts to make one live contact, so don’t
give up! ■ Reward yourself every day. Keeping your
goals front and centre in your mind, and
reward yourself when they are achieved.
If you feel call reluctance creeping in, remember to believe in yourself, motivate yourself to take action, and visualize the success
that will come. Remember past successes to
give yourself self–confidence, and to ensure
your future success. Call reluctance is a symptom, not a problem.
If you want to get over it, you need to find
out what’s causing it and fix it fast. Getting
over it will lead to more sales and a bigger
bank account. BL
Brett trains, coaches, and speaks to salespeople all over
the country. For more information on seminars and
training, please visit www.brettmeadows.com or contact
the friendly folks at Meadows Performance Sales and
■ Think “yes” instead of fearing “no.” Get a
small “yes” by thinking you will. Appoint-
Strategy via email at info@brettmeadows.com or by
calling 289.696.3605.
2 MINUTES WITH…
MIKE
MACALUSO
CARSTAR AUTOMOTIVE CANADA
Nickname: Mac
Where are you from? Hamilton, born and raised! Where did you go to school? St. Thomas More CSS and
Western University in London, Ontario. Favourite Food? I love Italian food, especially pasta
and pizza.
What do you love best? Spending time and having a
nice meal with family and friends. Taking holidays
with my family.
What do you believe? I believe in the golden rule—treat
others the way you would like to be treated, and nothing beats hard work.
Your dream: To give my kids the best possible life and for them to be happy and successful.
Favourite quote: “Stay hungry and stay humble.”
Your top three characteristics: Leadership, strategic, listening.
Your strengths: Honesty, openness, decisiveness and intuition. Your favourite activity: Playing with my kids.
Other interests: Travel, sports, and exercise. BL
For more information, please contact Mike Macaluso, COO of CARSTAR Automotive Canada
at 905.388.2264 or visit www.carstar.ca.
10
@thebusinesslink
AUGUST 2015
COVER STORY
Buying Local
“All of us can do our part for the community by frequenting our friends’
and neighbours’ businesses and buying their products and services.”
Continued from page 1
B
uying local shouldn’t be regarded as an act
of charity—or something that will make
us feel good about ourselves at the end of the
day. Supporting our local companies should be
automatic because it can have an enormous
impact on our lives and our communities.
Okay…Why should we bother spending our
hard-earned dollars on local businesses?
Read on and find out…
Money Matters
Here’s something that everyone’s interested
in—the bottom-line: “How can spending more
money locally make me more money?”
To put it simply, money spent in the community stays in the community. Experts estimate
that if you spend $100 on a local business, approximately $68 of that money will stay in the
local economy. On the other hand, if you were
to spend the same amount on a chain store
which is associated with an outside firm, only
$43 would remain in the ecomony.
It’s no surprise why the economic impact is so
substantial. According to a recent 2013 study by
the Business Development Bank of Canada, the
economic impact of a locally owned business is
2.6 times higher than that of a franchise because
a local business is more likely to do business
with local suppliers, whether it’s accountants,
lawyers, building contractors, insurance brokers, IT consultants or what have you. (Out of
town corporations use minimal products and
services at the local level with most of their
work being done at their head office.)
In addition, local business owners are more
than generous when it comes to supporting local charities and causes. On average, local businesses give out 350% more funds to non-profit
agencies than nationally owned chains do.
Why? The reason is simple. Local owners typically invest their life’s savings into their businesses and automatically have a greater interest
in the long term health of their community.
Better Service, Better Selection
Local business owners often hire people with a
solid understanding of the products they’re selling and take more time to get to know customers. It’s not just a fact. It’s a necessity. Since local
business owners can’t always compete when it
comes to pricing, their success often depends
on providing better service. If they don’t provide it, their customers won’t come back. Local
businesses also provide other extra services like
making special orders, arranging deliveries or
providing customization of their items.
When you’re buying local products, you can
even get your questions answered live and in
person, rather than emailing an online vendor
or being put on hold with a call centre.
As an independent business, small business
owners choose their inventory based on the
needs of their customers—rather than a national sales plan. That gives their customers
AUGUST 2015
a more varied selection of product to choose
from. National chains on the other hand are
often restricted to product lines that are dictated by their corporate office.
Decisions, Decisions
The majority of franchises stick to policies
made by corporate offices located outside the
region. Local ownership ensures that important decisions are made here in Hamilton by
locals who live in the community and feel the
impact of their decisions directly.
At the same time, if you run into a problem or issue, a local owner can make a snap
decision to resolve things—rather than going
through the hassle of calling head office.
Being Green
Local businesses sell a high percentage of products made by small manufacturers and local
companies. Subsequently, they use less gas to
transfer goods from place to place. (If you buy
your food from a national chain for example,
the average meal travels over 2,400 kilometres before it reaches your plate.) Eliminating
unnecessary transportation and delivery also
means that the product doesn’t need as much
protective packaging. And less packaging equals
less waste—and less demand on our landfills.
Furthermore, locally owned businesses are
often found in the city or downtown core. As
a result, shopping with local merchants can
result in a number of green benefits including less urban sprawl, habitat loss and traffic
congestion—not to mention fuel conservation.
Location, Location, Location
Supporting your local business is casting a
vote for community and diversity. That means
promoting the intangible aspects like lively
downtown cores and storefronts with unique
characteristics.
But there’s another reason why you might prefer to support local businesses—they’re reliable.
As members of the community, local business owners are committed to their location
and are firmly rooted in place. However, chain
stores are very mobile and often abandon their
locations and communities when head office
feels they aren’t meeting expectations.
Keeping Our Kids
It’s no real secret to anyone who lives in Hamilton. Our community has lost many of its traditional industries in recent years—businesses
that used to keep our young people employed
for a lifetime. Consequently, graduates coming
out of school are forced to leave the region to
find secure employment. How can we expect
to compete when our young talent is leaving?
And who will carry the tax burden of our infrastructure and municipal services?
Fortunately, with the loss of major manufacturers and employers, Hamilton’s firms are
becoming smaller by necessity. And that’s also
the case right across Canada.
According to July 2012 Industry Canada statistics, small businesses are responsible for
42% of Canada’s private sector gross domestic
product—and employ 48% of the private sector
labour force. (Local businesses also typically
provide better wages and working conditions
than large retail chains or internet firms.)
With our local business owners having taken
up the slack of the large traditional employers
and hiring more local labour, it’s even more
important for us to support Hamilton’s small
businesses. If we don’t, our young talent will
continue to move away to seek greener pastures.
In Conclusion
All of us can do our part for the community by
frequenting our friends’ and neighbours’ businesses and buying their products and services.
By doing that, these locally owned and operated
businesses pump their dollars back into the local economy by paying taxes and payrolls, and
making purchases. That means more money
for roads and schools, and much needed jobs
for our community.
So the next time you’re thinking about
spending your next dollar at a chain store instead of a local business, take a moment to
consider the impact your decision will have
on your community—or even your own pocket. The short term gain of saving a few dollars might lead to long term pain somewhere
down the road. BL
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11
2 MINUTES WITH…
BUSINESS LAW
RACHALE
CAVANAGH
GRAPHIC IN TRAFFIC
Nickname: Cavanagh
Where are you from? Originally from St. Thomas but
lived in Edmonton for seven years and Vancouver for
five years. Where did you go to school? Parkside Collegiate in St. Thomas, Fanshawe College in
London, and Guru Digital Arts College in Edmonton. Favourite Food? Everything. Strawberries. I can eat a whole basket in one seating.
What do you love best? Socializing. I love amazing people who inspire me or are just awesome.
What do you believe? I go by: Desire. Ask. Believe. Receive.
Your dream: I’m living it now. Great career, amazing partner in my life, expecting first
child in August. I have new dreams all the time and go after them.
Favourite quote: “Take chances. Take a lot of them. Because honestly, no matter where
you end up and with whom, it always ends up the way it should be. Your mistakes
make you who you are. You learn and grow with each choice you make. Everything is
worth it. Say how you feel, always. Be you and be okay with it.”
Your top three characteristics: Enthusiastic, energetic, optimistic.
Your strengths: Self-disciplined, persistent, goal-orientated. Your favourite activity: Playing outdoor games with company in the summertime,
yoga and working out.
Other interests: Abstract artwork, playing the guitar. BL
Rachale Cavanagh is the owner of Graphic in Traffic. For more information, please visit
www.graphicintraffic.com.
Is it time to form a
partnership?
BY ROBERT GALLOWAY
S
tarting a business can be a daunting task.
There are many questions which need to
be answered and procedures that must be put in
place. But before you can move forward setting
up your business, you must first decide what
form of business organization and structure
suits your needs and allows you to flourish.
Where you and a group of like-minded individuals are beginning your endeavour together, you
will likely choose to either form a partnership
or incorporate your business. This paper will
discuss partnerships, how they are formed and
the advantages and disadvantages of operating
your organization as a partnership.
Partnerships are a basic form of business
organization founded on a relationship of
trust. Like all business structures, there are
advantages and disadvantages to creating a
partnership including:
Advantages
■ Simple to start up. Lack of formality in creating your partnership.
■ Preferential tax benefits. In the early stages of the business where income is low or
there are losses, the partners of the partnership can include your share of the partnership in your individual tax returns.
■ Share in costs, profits, losses, management,
and assets. Partners can share early startup costs and losses such that they do not
bear the entire burden themselves.
Disadvantages
■ Unlike corporations, partnerships are not
legal entities. As such, partners cannot hide
behind the partnership to protect themselves from liability. Your personal assets
can be used to satisfy business debts.
■ You are bound by the decisions of the other
partners.
One of the most appealing features of a partnership is its flexibility and ease of creation.
Legislation and common law have created a
series of default rules which govern partnerships, but these rules to not implement any
formal steps in forming a partnerships, nor
do they require the partners to enter into a
contract or register the partnership under the
provincial legislation (Partnership Act).
Although not required by law to enter into
a partnership agreement, it is in the best
interests of all involved parties to draft a
contract to establish the terms of your business and protect yourself in the case of disagreements or dissolution of the partnership.
Typically, the partners will ensure that the
terms, structure, management, rights, and
obligations of a partnership are all determined and defined through an agreement.
These terms include, but are not limited to
how profits and losses are to be distributed,
how the partnership is dissolved, and prohibited contracts and actions.
Where no agreement exists, the terms of
the provincial partnership statute govern
the partnership and act as template partnership agreement. In the absence of a written agreement, partners are bound to the
provisions in the partnership statute. These
provisions are not a complete code though
and individuals are permitted to vary and
amend the rights and duties of the parties.
Additionally, the rules of equity and common law pertaining to partnerships apply
so long they are not inconsistent with the
legislation. Continue this article online at
www.businesslinkhamilton.com. BL
As a part of the Lancaster, Brooks & Welch
■ Each partner is an agent for all other partners
and the partnership in matters regarding the
partnership business. As such, each partner
is unlimitedly liable for the debts and obligations of the partnership and its partners.
12
Corporate and Commercial team, Rob Galloway
can assist you in all aspects of your business
legal needs. He may be contacted at 905.641.1551,
rgalloway@lbwlawyers.com.
@thebusinesslink
AUGUST 2015
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13
TRANSITION PLANNING
comfort in knowing that your plan is in
place and that you have the time needed
to effectively implement it. In addition, it
is a great opportunity to step away from
the day-to-day operations to objectively
consider how you would like the future
to unfold, design that future, and provide
yourself with a better work/life balance.
“AS A BUSINESS
OWNER, THE
GREATEST
CONTRIBUTION
YOU CAN MAKE TO
YOUR BUSINESS IS
TO GIVE YOUR TIME
AND ATTENTION
TO TRANSITION
PLANNING.”
A business assessment today makes for a
brighter tomorrow
Before you know where you are going, it’s
important to understand where you are
today. A complete business assessment
includes the following:
■Business valuation - What is your business worth and what are the value
drivers?
■Corporate structure - What is your current structure?
■Tax review - When was your last tax review with a CPA-CA?
■Existing Business Processes - Do you
have adequate reporting systems? How
does information flow? How is value
created?
■Risk Management Plan - Do you have a
corporate strategy and is it working?
■Human Resources Audit - What are the
skills and performance levels of your
key team? Can you step away from the
day-to-day activities?
■External Review - Have you received input from your customers? Do you have
a customer advisory board?
■Strength Assessment - What do you do
well today? What are your sustainable
differentiators in the market place?
When do you plan
to retire?
BY WALTER WILLIAMS
With half of all small and
medium-sized business
owners set to retire over
the next decade—transition
planning has never been
more important.
O
ver the next decade, a wave of baby
boomers are reaching retirement age
and we are going to see a surge of financial activity like never before. In fact, an
estimated $1.9-trillion in business assets
are poised to change hands over the next
14
five years—$3.7 trillion over the next 10
years. This will represent the greatest
transfer of business control in Canada
on record.
While half of all small and mediumsized business owners are set to retire
over the next decade, surprisingly, most
business owners aged 55 to 64 have yet
to even start discussing exit plans with
their family members or business partners. Subsequently, they may soon discover that although they may be ready
for retirement, their businesses are far
from ready.
One of the most strategic investments
you can make today as a business own-
er is to prepare your company for future
transition.
What a transition plan can do for you
■Enhance business value and maximize
your return.
■Manage risk and protect existing value.
■Provide a view of the future and the
time to implement actions and goals.
■ Deliver peace of mind and a better quality of life to the business owner.
By developing objectives and strategies
with a longer term perspective, you can
set the future you want for your company. You will enjoy a greater sense of
Retirement planning for you and
your business
After assessing where you are, the next
step is to determine the vision for your
future. Contrary to popular belief, tomorrow does come and you have the power
to determine what it’s going to look like.
You can then work back to the present,
assess where the gaps exist, and take the
actions required to obtain your strategic
objectives. This information becomes the
basis of your transition plan.
As a business owner, the greatest contribution you can make to your business is
to give your time and attention to transition planning. Your unique skills are why
the business was conceived and will be a
critical factor in growing and transitioning
your business in the future. You and your
trusted team of advisors can get your house
in order and get it ready for a smooth and
profitable transition down the road. BL
Walter Williams, CPA, CA, CBV, CIRP, CEPA is
a partner at Vine and Partners LLP located
at 1 Hunter Street East in Hamilton. For more
information, please call 905.549.8463, email
walterw@vine.ca or visit vine.ca.
@thebusinesslink
AUGUST 2015
3RD ANNUAL 40 UNDER FORTY WINNER SHOWCASE
Lavender
Morantz
Claire
Morrison
L
C
avender Morantz is a leading success and
wealth strategist. She’s a serial entrepreneur, the founder of SwankPad—a residential
design firm, a freedom junkie, and the co-founder of the Wealthy Moms Club. She’s also a
business and lifestyle coach, a mentor, an international speaker, a published author, a Certified
Nutrition & Wellness Specialist, and a very proud
mom. Lavender’s mission is to help people create
the freedom, purpose and joy that they desire in
their lives through leadership, coaching—and a
simple proven system for unmatched success.
COMPANY
Lavender Morantz
Wealth & Success Strategist
TELEPHONE
416.805.6473
WEBSITE
www.lavendermorantz.com
laire is the Marketing Manager at FreshInsights Consulting—a unique program that
recruits top graduates from local universities
and pairs them with professional mentors to
work on business consulting projects for companies across the Golden Horseshoe area. Claire
is responsible for leading the development and
implementation of FreshInsights Consulting’s
marketing and communication plans. She joined
the program as a consultant in 2013, but was
brought on permanently this past March to help
manage and grow the program. She completed
a Master’s Degree in cultural analysis and social
theory at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2012.
Scott
Newport
S
S
COMPANY
Lavandula Wellness Centre
TELEPHONE
905.531.0614
WEBSITE
www.lavandulawellnesscentre.com
Fresh Insights Consulting
TELEPHONE
905.634.6500
WEBSITE
www.freshinsightsconsulting.ca
Stephanie
Muir
tephanie successfully completed the Registered Massage Therapy program in early
2009 and continued on to flourish in her massage
therapy practice. Stephanie currently owns and
operates Lavandula Wellness Centre located at 46
King Street West in Dundas. Lavandula serves the
community of Hamilton, Dundas and surrounding
areas. She decided to open her own health and
wellness centre to start changing the lives of her
clients on a holistic level. Stephanie has a passion
for educating her clients and mentoring other
young entrepreneurs to be successful.
COMPANY
cott works out of the Burlington office of
Durward Jones Barkwell & Company LLP (DJB)
where he provides business, financial, and tax
consulting services to owner-managed businesses. This includes audit and assurance services to
businesses throughout the Halton, Hamilton and
Niagara regions. Scott qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2008, after graduating from McMaster
University in 2006 with an Honours Bachelor of
Commerce degree. Scott began his career in DJB’s
Hamilton office and was promoted to Manager
in 2013. Scott currently serves as Treasurer for
Burlington’s Sound of Music Festival—Canada’s
largest free music festival.
COMPANY
Durward Jones Barkwell
& Company LLP
TELEPHONE
905.681.6900
WEBSITE
www.djb.com
Now accepting nominations for the
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15
Manufacturers turn to Niagara College’s R&D team
to stay competitive in today’s marketplace
PROVIDED BY RESEARCH & INNOVATION
NIAGARA COLLEGE CANADA
K
eeping the manufacturing sector in
southern Ontario competitive is a key
motivator for the team of the Advanced
Manufacturing Innovation Centre.
Located at the Welland Campus of Niagara College, the Advanced Manufacturing
Innovation Centre provides small and medium-sized regional manufacturers access to
needed facilities, equipment and technical
expertise—including 3D technologies such
as Computer-Aided Design (3D CAD), additive
manufacturing (3D printing) and co-ordinate measurement (3D scanning) of objects
as small as a dime and as large as a whole
factory—and serves to assist them in product
development, technology adoption, expansion
into new markets and commercialization.
These services help reduce production
costs and minimize production time, and
bring the talent and expertise of Niagara
College’s students and faculty members together with local industry.
Thanks to funding from regional, provincial and federal funding sources, the
team has recently been able to broaden its
offerings including everything from quick
turnaround, one-time technical services to
full innovation projects.
Many businesses have already experienced the benefits first-hand. For example,
the Brauweiler Group turned to the research
team after designing an all-metal foldable
medical compression stocking donner, a
device used to help people with mobility issues. The challenge was to reduce the cost
per unit on the product.
The college’s student-faculty research
team improved the design and reduced
the cost per unit by more than 36%. The
research team also produced a folding,
injection-molded donner prototype that
could further reduce the price-per-unit,
along with engineered drawings and a 3D
printed working prototype that Brauweiler Group can use to showcase to potential
distributors.
“It has been truly inspiring working with
the research team,” noted Ted Beaudoin of
the Brauweiler Group. “They have shown
us a lot of impressive techniques and abilities from which we have gained valuable
knowledge on product design and how to
improve our product.”
Niagara Falls-based Easily Moved Equipment (EME) is the only crane fabricator
that offers a five-tonne aluminum gantry
crane. Faced with increasing demand for
a 10-tonne aluminum gantry crane, they
tapped into the expertise and resources of
the college’s research team. Using the existing five-tonne gantry crane as a benchmark, college faculty and student researchers worked with the company to design a
new 10-tonne aluminum gantry crane that
incorporates many of the parts currently
used in the five-tonne model.
College researchers also provided engineered drawings for new parts, along with
stress analysis reports for the new crane,
validating its usability and safety. Thanks
to this work, the company has secured a
purchase order for a new crane and hired a
new staff member.
“We now have the sense that we have a
resource with the Innovation Centre. We
can have confidence that when we build
the prototype, it will work the first time,”
said company president Mike Flynn. “It’s
not seat-of-your pants any longer for us.
The team was professional, they were open,
and when they said they were going to do
something, they did it. And the results speak
for themselves.”
The centre will soon have the capability to
expand its capacity to serve even more businesses when construction is complete on an
addition currently being built at the Welland
Campus. The addition to the Rankin Technology Centre was made possible by $4.2million in funding from the Province of
Ontario, and it will be named the Walker
Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre
in honour of a major gift to the college by
Walker Industries Holdings Ltd. BL
For more information,
visit niagaracollege.ca/research.

12. Two minutes with... Rachale Cavanagh 9. Three creative ways

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