Atlantic Canada's Small Business Blog

I am "CA" Atreya (PMP, MBA), the author of this blog. I help businesses in Atlantic Canada achieve their BHAG successfully. You may subscribe to this blog using a feed reader (RSS). Note: We have moved the blog to a new domain to better reflect this blog's objectives.

As the Nova Scotia premier mulls over the best course - no read that - the survival course of action against Ottawa over the Atlantic Accord, Ontario Teacher’s fund plans bid on BCE and Telus and BCE talk merger, we bring you the eighth edition of Carnival of Small Business Issues.

As always, I will consider submissions received after the Sunday midnight deadline for next week’s carnival.

I trust you will enjoy this edition and support the carnival by linking to it.

— ooOoo —

Trade

• Ashton Udall at Product Global is no stranger to this carnival. A number of his posts are featured in prior editions. In his post Small Business Sourcing in China: What Wave Are You Riding?, he talks about SMEs evolving their China operations. “… as mid-size and small businesses follow suit in sourcing globally, what wave are they riding? Paddling for? Sitting on the beach watching? …”

Comment: Ashton, recently China has received some really bad press. I wrote about it in one of my earlier posts Tainted drugs from China and about the lead content on the toy trains. We raise a hue and cry when Nike employs cheap labor (including women and children that, incidentally, may have been their major opportunity to economic growth) to manufacture its shoes, but there does not seem to be any mass movement to catch the culprits in China. So it is business as usual. What are your thoughts on this?

Economics

• Amish Parashar presents What Big Oil can stand to learn from Google by Chris Harris. Chris is the co-founder and President at Inventure Global. Chris is an author and inventor; and is an invited guest speaker at prominent technology symposiums. “… when you’re thinking about how to handle your next price raise, negotiation or partnership consider the fact that no matter what the hard realities are, people have a deep desire to be treated fairly and with respect and will go out of their way to punish you if you don’t respect that …”

Comment: Great article Amish/Chris. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it and, I am sure, so will our readers.

Finance

• Trusted Advisor Charles Green. I look forward to reading Charles’ post. I wish I could write like him. There are few blogs that make you think and Trusted Advisor is one of them. He also hosts the Carnival of Trust and you might be interested in submitting your post. Flipping the Company or Flipping Beliefs is about the changing face of entrepreneurship “When creating a new business, one of the key decisions is deciding whether you plan on flipping it fast or sticking around … if we’re going to critique trust in new businesses, we need to be careful to distinguish the core elements of trust from the ways in which trust happened to be manifested in the past …”

Comment: There are the builders and then there are the managers. There are very few people who are both; i.e. who can build AND manage. With technology brining down barriers to entry we are going to see more of such entrepreneurs who want to build and sell; not build and manage. In fact, they build to sell. That’s their sole motive. But I am speaking technology. Does this hold true in other non-technology related industries? I am not so sure.

Marketing

• Edith Yeung at edithyeung.com spent 9 years in software and consulting with companies like AT&T, Cisco, Ariba, etc. She is also working on her book “30 Days to Power” and will be out in October this year. She presents 7 rules of networking made easy. “… the true definition of networking is building relationships and rapport with new friends while being yourself anywhere anytime …”

Comment: Pleased to meet you Edith. I enjoy reading your posts. A lot of people do not network when the going is good and suddenly find they have no relationships to depend on when they need help. I made that mistake once long time ago. I also agree when you say “Networking is about offering help.” The Carnival of Small Business - Edition 5 has a great post authored by Brennan Ryan. Networking is also about connecting people - would you not agree, Edith?

• Brad Shorr is a sales and marketing consultant who blogs at Word Sell. He helps companies develop marketing plans and programs “for the real world, not the ivory tower”. In his post How to Overcome Fear of Strategy, he presents some suggestions for small businesses to get started on planning. “… often the key to successful strategy is not new ideas, but turning around what you already know into an actionable plan …”

Comment: Brad, I believe the attitude and background of the small business owner is very important when it comes to strategy planning. I once worked with a SME whose CEO said in our first strategy meeting, “… CA has brought me kicking and screaming and pleading over the last 3 months to this meeting. It better be worth it …” The other problem with trying to talk to such individuals is that they think they know everything and do not outside help. Such planning and execution needs discipline that, sadly, many SMEs lack.

Operations

• Regular readers of this carnival will know Michelle Cramer from GreatFx Business Cards. She shares some tips on using customer service to differentiate your business in Differentiate your business with quality customer service. “… smaller businesses have the capacity to more easily guide their employees in the best way to handle client problems and complaints because things are on a smaller scale and more visible … what you can do to provide quality customer service and make your business stand out in the crowd.”

Comment: Great post Michelle. I have leveraged superior customer service as a part of my product specialist role in the past to garner more clients. However, I have found it takes the right people, with the right attitude, to get this part of the business down to a science.

Entrepreneurship

• CapForge.com’s goal is to provide a complete range of startup help and information anyone starting a business might require. How lessons from Starting a $10 million Doggie Day-care Business Apply to Your New Business. “… it isn’t that they have such an amazing concept. although they have planned well, it is just that they are moving while everyone else is standing still …”

Comment: What a valid lesson in entrepreneurship! It just goes to show that there is still a huge scope for innovation in “non glamorous” ventures.

HR

• Linda Talley is a professional speaker and executive coach. She’s also the author of The Daily Win, Business Finesse: How to say the right things at the right time ampng others. She is also the guest author at The Freestyle Entrepreneur. “… no one is probably surprised by the rude behavior using phones in stores, post office, etc. but one would think that when it came to business, most people would smarten up …” Phone Etiquette in the Workplace.

Comment: It annoys me to no end when I am in a meeting with someone and s/he uses her communication device to check emails or other stuff. Not only is it distracting, but it wastes time. What can be accomplished in 10 minutes now takes 20. I have a rule when I attend meetings: I turn my communication devices off and request other participants do the same and no laptops for the meetings (unless you are the presenter and need it for the presentation.)

• Tupelo Kenyon is an avid student and teacher of personal development. “Celebrate life and streamline small business relationships through the creative power of your word”, says he. Communication - Friend or Foe is about the importance of ensuring clear communications. It sets the right expectations among all parties involved.

• Learn to Invent and Reinvent Your Future is by Randy Nichols. “… with the ultra-wealthy model, it takes money to make money. With an inventing model, all it takes is a good idea and comparatively little time and money …”

Comment: Nicely written article, but sadly lacking an About page. So we can’t get to know you, Randy.

• Money Walks is a personal blog authored by Andy where he talks about his own “twist of experience with debt and finance.” Managers: How to avoid employee lawsuits talks about 5 tips to protect your business from employee lawsuits. “The key is to combine good intentions with the necessary legal/management skills … “

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