Seven tips for starting a successful small business or start-up
The biggest fear of starting a small business is failure, but there are things you can do to limit your chances of failure and increase your potential for success. While most of the advice here is not new, we are going to remind you of them and try to put a new angle on them so they make more sense. Have passion for your work. Having passion for your work does not mean that it is your only calling, but you need to be excited about it to the point where others see your passion. Starting a small business is not easy, and if it seems too easy, you might be doing something wrong. It is important that you enjoy what you are doing, because it will take a lot of work and personal energy to ensure that your small business venture has a chance of being successful. There are […]
Adjusting to a business centre from a home office
That time has come that your business has outgrown your home office and you need real office space (even if it is shared or only part-time) that has a professional business address. Your best choice is a downtown office business centre that has several options. When we talk about office space options at a business centre, three primary ones come to mind: Private offices, semi-private offices and shared office space/coworking offices. For the purposes of this article, we will be talking about adjusting to shared office space/coworking offices – since that will probably be your best option when you first move out of your home office. Shared office space is also your best option in terms of flexibility regarding when you can utilize the space. Why? You pay only a small monthly fee for unlimited access during regular business hours. With coworking, you become a member and choose from various […]
Seven tips for successful small-business and start-up owners
What you know today about your business may not be what you will know tomorrow. So, learning from experienced business owners will help you to learn from their experiences. After years of running a small business, owners inevitably gather many lessons about how to grow and run a business more effectively. Here are some tips that will save you taking years of learning and help you today. Be specific with your goals. Most entrepreneurs and small business owners have goals, but usually they are generic and not very specific. If you want to increase sales, set a number that you want to reach. If you want to increase employee productivity, tell them how many units you expect them to sell in a specific amount of time. The key to setting and achieving specific goals is to break your goals into multiple and small achievable portions. Build a support network. Being […]
Five common mistakes business beginners make
So you decided to take the plunge and start your own business. I bet you are really excited and cannot wait to get it off the ground. You will need all the excitement and enthusiasm you can gather, because you are going to encounter a lot of challenges. Some of the challenges will not be that hard to work your way around. But you want to make sure that the challenges you encounter are not made more difficult because of your your own actions. The mistakes you make could cost you a lot of money and even cause your business to fail. Here are some mistakes that are common for a new business owner: 1. Do not open a new business expecting it to be profitable overnight. Outside of a few fluke businesses that hit the business lottery and become a media darling on day one, do not expect to […]
The Many Benefits of Virtual Offices
At Telsec, we not only offer office space, we also have a variety of virtual office solutions that can help to efficiently manage your business regardless of your physical location. But what are the actual benefits of virtual offices? Technology now allows people to work from anywhere, so much so that many companies realize that they do not need to be paying rent on office space that they do not utilize. When a small business needs a professional business address without needing physical office space, virtual offices are the best solution for that particular business. If you have a home-based business and want to engage a virtual office solution, a virtual office provider can give you a physical address without having to rent a physical office. And your home address will remain private. Business centres that offer virtual office solutions can also provide you with a phone and answering service, […]
How small business owners can benefit from dog parks!
The idea for this blog came from one of our office-space tenants who has networked at dog parks for the past few years and has established some great business contact that way. This past week, he invited a number of those dog park contacts (most of which work downtown) into one of our large meeting rooms and treated them to lunch to talk about setting up a formal networking group. If you take some time out of your office space and spend a few hours observing “the off-leash,” you will learn a great deal about how dogs play and behave in a pack. But more importantly, you will learn about how their owners behave when they let their pets off the leash. You will notice that most owners come to the dog park, unleash their pet and immediately turn to their mobile phones or chat with other dog owners. […]
Small business and start-up time management tips
Everyone always say that “Time is Money” when it comes to your small business. But you need to know how to manage it so that your time is used wisely and productively. You cannot get time back that has been lost, so we compiled some tips that will help you to identify and rectify the way you spend your time. Audit your day by creating a time log. We are not suggesting that you log every minute and hour of every day. You just need to create a log that sets a benchmark for a how your time is used on a typical day. This may require you to log your time for a few days if your schedule is different over those particular days (eg. Monday is spend in the office, Tuesday is spent on the road, Wednesday is spent in the factory or warehouse, etc). Once you have […]
Building the ideal community for your business
It’s not that SEO is dead or that links are obsolete, but building an online community around your business is a great way to increase your online visibility to search engines. If you build a community around your business, you’re putting the focus where it belongs – on your business. If your business’ online plan is continually chasing the Google algorithm, you’re putting all of your power in what Google’s going to do next. Building an online community for your business is one of the best ways to weather Google’s algorithms. Besides, building a strong company and brand through building a community isn’t something that Google can take away or change. One of the Internet’s greatest strengths is its ability to bring together people with similar interests in online communities. Online user communities can be a powerful force for businesses . Businesses with active communities focused on their products or […]
Small business and start-up growth tips
Start-ups and small and medium-sized business owners are always looking for new ways to make sure they stay ahead of their competitors – and growth is the way that most experts see as the best answer. They want to stay competitive with other small business, but they also want to stay competitive with larger global brands. Growth can come in many forms, but the top ones currently are: Expansion into new markets Building your online presence Automating the processes within your company Do not just attend networking events or training seminars – create your own Expansion into new markets. Canadian companies should look outside their borders for new markets, but not before tapping into good growth markets at home. Once those Canadian growth markets are exhausted, then they need to explore U.S. markets that closely resemble the make up their best Canadian markets. They need to look at the demographics […]
Small business and start-up budgeting tips
When you have a great business idea and you are ready to create your business plan, the most important part of your plan is your financial strategy. That being said, most entrepreneurs do not know a lot about finances and budgets. One of the top reasons some small businesses fail is because their funds were not managed properly because of poor planning. Let us share some tips that can help you better plan and manage your business finances. One of the first mistakes made by many entrepreneurs is procrastinating when it comes to daily bookkeeping and putting them off for another day. The trick to ensuring that you do your bookkeeping is to make it simple for yourself – because trying get your mind around it will just make you procrastinate more. If you break down your bookkeeping into smaller, more manageable categories, the job will not look as challenging […]
When does a home-based business need a location?
If you have to work for 80 hours a week just to keep your business afloat, then you are not profitable. Some entrepreneurs blow through the earliest stages of their company’s growth by putting all their energy and time into their businesses at the expense of their own health and personal relationships. Part of the reason for this is that they are working from home – and the line between home time and work time often becomes blurred. The fact remains that two out of three companies begin in a spare bedroom, garage, basement or sometimes even a bathroom (we did not ask about this one when we were told about it). Sometimes the choice of operating your business from home is taken away from you by zoning bylaws. Many cities and many counties have zoning ordinances that limit, to one degree or another, whether you can operate a business […]
Can a business centre replace a virtual assistant?
With your social media activities and administrative tasks, it’s hard to focus on the most important aspect of your business – serving your customers. So how can you devote your energy to that service without dropping the ball on your other chores? By hiring virtual assistants to take on those tasks that keep you away from your core responsibilities. As we mentioned in a previous blog “Virtual Office or Virtual Assistant?” the terms virtual office and a virtual assistant are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are differences. The term virtual assistant (VA for short), refers to a person who is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients remotely. The term virtual assistant can also refer to software that helps you keep organized and automates tasks for your business. But for this blog, we will be talking about the human VA. Our topic today is can […]
Canadian small business tax tips
Tax season is upon us and we all know that tax time can be stressful for most – but especially for small business owners who have limited time to spend on preparing their tax returns. Having a plan and being informed can help to alleviate some of the pressures of doing your business taxes. So what can you do throughout the year that will help make tax season easier? Here are some suggestions: Keep up with your record keeping. Not to sound like “Captain Obvious,” but keeping records of all your expenditures throughout the year will add up. It can be as simple as putting all your loose receipts in a shoe box. But it will much easier at the end of the tax year if you had a system to sort and organize your receipts sorted by month or type of expense and placed in an accordion-type folder. If […]
Business tips inspired by Barbara Corcoran
Barbara Corcoran is the real estate contributor for NBC’s TODAY Show where she regularly comments on trends in the real estate market. But most people know her as one of the sharks on ABC’s reality hit show Shark Tank. If you really want to question her business knowledge, consider that she turned a $1,000 loan and parlayed that loan into a $5 billion real estate business. Then in 2001, she sold that business for $66 million. This shows that she knows a little about building a business. Here are some of her best tips for small-business owners from an article on the Forbes website (followed by our comments): “Don’t be afraid to make big mistakes. All the best things that happened in my business happened on the heels of failure. Don’t be afraid to fail; it’s proof that you are meant to be a successful entrepreneur. The only difference between people who […]
How to promote a networking event
Whether you’re planning a charity event, business networking cocktail hour, reception or educational conference, getting the word out about your meeting can be a big challenge. To adequately promote an event, planners need to target potential attendees using a variety of media. While your networking events may not need its own website, people need one place to check for information about what’s coming up next, or how they register to attend the event. You can use anything from a Facebook group to a Meetup group or even your own website. Whatever you choose, you need to make it a priority and keep it updated. Without a high level of consistency, your past or future attendees won’t be able to keep up or let their own networks know about your events. You want to make it easy for your converted audience to share your event. You need to find what appeals […]
The differences between a mail-forwarding service and a P.O. Box
P.O. Boxes are usually offered by either the Post Office or a “CMRA” which stands for Commercial Mail Receiving Agency. It all depends on the services offered by the Post Office or CMRA that you are working with. A mail-forwarding service is typically offered by an office business centre that rents office space to small businesses and also offers virtual office solutions. The difference between a mail-forwarding service and a P.O. Box The first real differences between a mail forwarding service and a P.O. box is that a mail forwarding service provider offers you a real street address. This is ideal, especially if you are a running a small business that needs a more professional image than a conventional P.O. Box number. Another factor is that a P.O. Box cannot accept packages for you, especially when they are being delivered by a third-party courier company that requires a signature. A […]
How to find and rent downtown Toronto office space within your budget
Finding and renting a downtown Toronto office space that is within your budget is not as difficult as you think. Just follow some simple steps. Step 1: Estimate your budget This step may sound like a no-brainer, but some people skip this step and end up with office space that they eventually find out that it is beyond their budget. By establishing your budget, you will save yourself a great deal of time during your search. Part of establishing your budget is deciding if you are looking for raw office space that will require you to purchase office furniture and equipment, or if you want to rent a serviced office space that comes with office furniture. Step 2: Figure out how much space you need Do you need a small 500-square-foot office or do you need 5,000 square feet of space? Calculating how much office space your business needs is […]
Stop thinking of drones as toys and start thinking of them as business opportunities
Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), have exploded in popularity in the past few years, especially with millennials and YouTube film makers. I am not talking about the drones that are flown by the military and drop bombs, but the ones that many people refer to as “toys.” The so-called toys are proving themselves to being a major asset to business and the economy, especially the high-end drones that are very effective tools. Yes, it is true that many drones are being purchased by hobbyists, but many of those hobbyists that are now finding ways of making money with their drones. Let’s talk about a few business ideas that you can start with a drone. 1 Aerial photography. More and more thousand-dollar drones are being used to replace expensive, million-dollar helicopters to get aerial photographs and videos. But they are also much safer to fly in populated areas […]
Time-management tips for making outgoing business phone calls
In our previous blog Time management tips for inbound business phone calls, we shared some techniques for saving time and money on telephone calls that you might not be expecting. But what about those calls that you need to make and not waste time while making them? Managing your outgoing business calls is just as important and managing your incoming calls; it just takes some different techniques. It is too easy to find yourself wasting time making calls to clients, suppliers and associates – especially when you have multiple numbers to reach them at and just as many voice mails that you need to leave to get a hold of them. This is further complicated when you do not have the right number when you are away from your office. 1. Keep your contacts centralized and available wherever you are. There are a vast number of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) […]
Can’t find a networking event that suits you? Create your own networking event business!
So you have gone to a few business networking events and they did not turn out to be what you expected. Maybe you ran into the challenge of being taken seriously by more seasoned business people. Here is an idea: host your own networking event and build up your credibility. By planning and sponsoring a networking event, you’re suddenly transformed into a business leader in the community. You are bringing entrepreneurs and small business owners together to talk shop – and many believe that only a leader does that. The added bonus is that you also bring extra exposure to your business and brand. Here are some tips on how to pull off successful networking events: 1. Choose your event venue wisely. You do not want to choose a venue that is not easy to get to and not centralized. Many people will suggest you host your networking event at […]
