Small Business

Hi fellow Oakville Networking members

In a survey conducted about 10 months ago, results show that the top three problems facing entrepreneurs in Halton  were:

1. isolation,

2. lack of meeting space and

3. difficulty getting good referrals to get the best help for themselves and their businesses.

I personally know this to be true as a home-based entrepreneurial coach for the last 5 years.

Sitting in my home office certainly has its perks but boy, there were some unbearable days where I had to pack my files and laptop and GET OUT as I could not stand the loneliness of being at home anymore.  I also know that I frequented too many Starbucks stores to name (hence my slight, ok, major addiction to soy chai lattes) because I had no place to meet my clients.  On top of it all, I have had my share of feeling lost and making poor choices when it came to outsourcing for help because I didn’t know where to go for a good referral.

Any of these feel familiar?

Well, that’s why I created the e-Spotâ„¢…. a much-needed community for entrepreneurs.  I just knew that if I was surrounded by energetic, creative, entrepreneurial minds, had a flexible, fun yet professional space to work and have meetings in and could get the help I needed, all in one spot, I would grow as a person and by extension, so would my business.

As many of you have heard me talk about over the last few months, the e-Spotâ„¢ is a membership-based community for entrepreneurs for the Halton and Mississauga area, located at 353 Iroquois Shore Road in Oakville (just off Trafalgar, north of the QEW) on the 2nd floor.  We are in the midst of designing this unique space that is unlike anything in the vicinity complete with gorgeous interior brick, an exposed, loft-style ceiling, an energy bar, and the most dynamic staff you’ll meet – this 3000 square feet space calls out “creative, cool and competent” and will WOW you and your clients.

Opening in December 2009, we are already gaining lots of interest from a HUGE entrepreneurial community.  I am writing you today to invite you to come and find out all about this new community.

We are hosting a short information afternoon on Friday, November 13th from 1 – 2pm.  I’d love to meet you and give you an overview of the opportunity so you can see for yourself whether this would be a good match for you and your business.

The meeting will be held at the location of one of our neighbours, The Little Gym (for whom we are very grateful for offering us space while our space in under construction!). It is located at 355 Iroquois Shore Road, Unit 2B, in Oakville.  Please RSVP to our e-Spot™ Manager, Elaine Geroche at elaine@e-spot.ca or by calling 289-291-5304 by Wednesday, November 11th to secure a spot at this information event.

And please feel free to forward this to anyone you know who you think might be interested in coming.  In the meantime, you can check out our blogsite at www.e-spot.ca

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Warmly,
Grace Yvonne Attard, Creator of the e-Spotâ„¢

If you enjoy business networking then the annual Summer Networking Bash in Toronto is the place to be. It is hosted by Unleash PR for the 7th year in a row.

This year’s event is poised to be the largest ever, with 500+ confirmed guests — business owners, solopreneurs, sales professionals and entrepreneurs, just like you. The main purpose of this event is to facilitate connections between business owners.

Several sponsors have contributed to making this the networking event of the summer, and among them will be your webmaster, Boris Mahovac, representing Better Business Networking, a new type of networking idea.

As a member of this networking group you can attend for free! I have a limited number of tickets to hand out, call me at 905-844-4247 (first-come first-served). Tickets are available online for $22 ($40 at the door).

If you’re interested in helping me out you can join me at my table to share your experience with being a member of this group. I have a few T-shirts and baseball caps to give to those who help me out.

When: Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Time: 5pm – 9 pm
Where: All Canadian Self Storage, 1 Laird Dr, Toronto

View Larger Map

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

iBizAcademy - Online Marketing For Small Business

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

Let's connect:

Did you know that 70% of all sales now start as research on the Internet – are your ideal clients finding you?

Invest 3 hours and I guarantee I will teach you how to:

	Attract Contacts (Generate Leads) creating a powerful online presence what makes a good web site: basics of design, layout and content search engines: basics of SEO or how to build a Google-friendly site web site is not enough – what else you need online attracting visitors (contacts) with relevant and useful content blogging article writing participating in online forums, etc. online networking (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter) entice visitors to sign up to receive more information about you and your services or products with discount coupons special reports or whitepapers on your topic of expertise regularly published email newsletters how to integrate all your online efforts
	Build Relationships (or, How to Get Prospects to Know, Like and Trust You) follow up with automated and semi-automated messages, delivering your expertise via email create communities, followers and friends engage with your audience in a meaningful conversation once they know, like and trust you they’ll be ready for the final step
	Close Deals (or, How to Convert “Friends” to “Raving Fans”) use gentle email marketing tactics to introduce your services or products to your contacts close deals on line or off line – depending on your business model finally reach your business goals in 2009 – regardless of the state of the economy

As a member Oakville Networking click here to SAVE 30% OFF the tuition

I am interested in starting a mastermind group in the Oakville, Burlington or Mississauga area in August. My business is Executive Sales Support and I would like to start a mastermind group with 5 or 6 other local business entrepreneurs to meet say once a month.

We could cover for example projects we are trying to launch, problems we are trying to solve, business books we are reading. Whatever we decide.

Maybe we could start a plan to put on teleseminars together, interview each other, cross promote and fill a room!

Anyone interested?  Contact me Cheryl at Executive Sales Support.com

I network a lot. I attend meetings both within groups and over coffee with individuals. I look for business development opportunities for my own business Executive Sales Support and also for opportunities to help my network through my expertise, or passing along opportunities I think might be a fit for others.

One of my network groups is HAPPEN in Mississauga, Halton and Peel Professional Executive Network. There are many wonderful professionals “in transition” in HAPPEN. They are a great group that offers help while they are looking themselves and also after they land. One member, in particular, who helped me through his public relations efforts, is Hugh Black from HMB Communications Group. Contact hughblack at cogeco.ca.

Within HAPPEN, conversations are around finding full time employment and within my business networking groups, the conversations are around finding new business development opportunities. Over the past months, I have noticed a difference emerging between the two groups. On one hand full time traditional employment seems to be going the way of the dinosaur and on the other hand, the members of the small business group are as busy or busier than before Christmas.

Yesterday, all the random pieces of networking came together. I had been networking with Hugh Black, putting forward my point of view that people were choosing self employment,  then the new Canadian statistics for unemployment in April 2009 showed that unemployment stayed the same and there was an increase in the self employed numbers.

As a result of Hugh Black’s efforts; I was interviewed as an example of someone who had successfully transferred their skills and started their own business,  Executive Sales Support. My business helps sales and business professionals get out of the office to see more clients and close deals. As a result of this interview, I was mentioned in an article on the front page of The Toronto Star’s Business section on Saturday May 9, 2009.

Yahoo, networking pays off for business development!

If you want to network with me I have a linked in profile. I look forward to helping you.

Here is the link to the article “Self-employment: The ‘do-it-yourself recovery’ Jobs increased last month, largely through people embracing self employment. The Toronto Star’s Business section on Saturday May 9, 2009.

Are you a sales professional or business owner, who wants to maximize your business development and triple the prospects in your sales funnel?

Every business I have ever worked with wanted to generate more prospect leads for their sales pipeline. My clients tell me this all the time. The disconnect occurs when I investigate the process used to process new prospect leads gathered at trade shows, networking events etc.

As a Sales Support Specialist, many times I find marketing is generating so many prospect leads that sales is cherry picking and choosing to follow up only the hot leads. Hot is defined by sales as leads they believe will close within the near future and contribute to this month’s target. Sales does this because they have monthly and quarterly targets to hit. Does this practice sound like what is going on at your business?

The question I asked is “What happened to the remaining cold and warm prospect leads?” Usually I find they are stacked on a desk or lost in a folder somewhere. No one is following up and talking to them. You have to wonder about lost potential.

When sales prioritizes the hot leads they are harvesting only the low hanging fruit to reach short term goals for this month’s or next quarter’s sales target. Continuing this practice plays only your A team and does not develop your farm team. How much money are you leaving on the table for the competition who offers a similar product or service and is communicating with every prospect?

To develop hot prospects for tomorrow when today’s hot prospects are gone, you need to implement a follow up strategy today. That way, you can leverage the numbers, triple the prospects in your funnel and maximize the potential business development brings to your doorstep. A follow up strategy puts in place a system to not only organize, build and manage a prospect database but also communicate and educate to build future sales. Implementing a long term follow up strategy gets those cold and warm prospects, currently lost to follow up, into the sales funnel and a chance to bake from cold through warm to hot. Hot and ready for you to close that deal tomorrow.

The result? Minimization of the feast and famine cycle you may have been experiencing in your business. By adding cold and warm prospects to your sales funnel you triple your prospects. Following up with EVERY prospect allows you to mine incremental growth and revenue that can be added on top of your current business.

Here are 5 simple things you can do today to start building your follow up strategy and a system to leverage your time and information.

• Put every business card you currently have into a database.
• Start marketing and educating about what you offer and how your solution can help solve problems.
• Insert hyperlinks directing prospects back to your website where they can find more information.
• Commit to communicating on a regular basis and ask for feedback.
• Utilize drip marketing to communicate over time.

Once you get going you can optimize your time and money by expanding your system and utilizing automation and email marketing to reach even more prospect leads.

Let’s review how your prospects are processed with a sales funnel optimization consultation. Discover the hidden road blocks that are preventing you from cashing in on the opportunities already on your doorstep.

Contact me at Cheryl [at] Executive Sales Support.com.

Networking in person is a good way to stay in touch with business developments on a local level. If your business allows it, you should also be networking online for greater exposure to both partners and potential clients.

Are you looking to grow your business? Business networking site Linkedin.com has over 36 million users world-wide. Join Linkedin and start building you virtual business team and start generating leads.

• Manage the information that’s publicly available about you as professional
• Find and be introduced to potential clients, service providers, and subject experts who come recommended
• You can use it to build your reputation by asking your clients to endorse you.
• Be found for business opportunities and find potential partners
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals

Check out my latest blog post on how I use Linkedin to grow my list of qualified prospects!

Interested in blogging for business? Growing your email marketing list? Join me, Boris Mahovac, email marketing consultant, as I interview a couple of world-class experts on the subject!

Blogging for Business – a candid interview with the BlogSquad!

Blogging for your business is not an option anymore, but does it work better that email marketing?

The real questions actually is: How do you make these two marketing strategies work together to create a powerful tool to boost your small business or professional practice?

Our Patent Lawyer Camilla Nielsen has a remarkable story to share. Make sure you read about how OakvilleNetworking’s blog made a difference in her business!

I’ll be asking Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman some tough questions on how to use business blogging to build credibility and visibility on the Internet, and how to generate leads and prospects.

This is a FREE educational event, but you need to register.

Register for the tele-seminar today even if you can’t attend the live call, because a recording will be available after the call.

When: Wednesday, Feb 11, at 3 pm ET
Where: the comfort of your home or office – via tele-conference
Why: to learn about the power of blogs from the experts!

Have you ever participated in a tele-seminar? A tele-seminar is an educational event delivered in the form of a tele-conference call, using a phone line. Lately, webinars are becoming popular, too, where the same type of content is delivered over the web.

I am trying to figure out the best time to host my upcoming tele-seminar series on e-marketing and your experience/preference would be very much appreciated. If you’re interested in participating, I will be hosting a free tele-seminar on blogging, on Feb 11 at 3 pm. My guests will be blogging superstars Denise and Patsi of the BlogSquad.

Please, take 2 minutes to answer my anonymous survey on the best day and time to attend a tele-seminar, or post your comments here.

Thanks

Register your business (incorporated or not) with Industry Canada’s Canadian Company Capabilities program.

This is one of those things I call “one more fishing line in the pond” activities, so do it today. You can register it for free in under 10 minutes, it’s worth the investment of time.

Why Register?

• Registration is FREE!
• Add your profile to the searchable database of over 60,000 Canadian companies.
• Over 500,000 domestic and international companies browse the database per month looking for Canadian businesses.
• Gain free access to 100s of domestic and international business opportunities.
• Exhibit your products and services to a global audience.