9 Feb 2010

The faces of entrepreneurship

In the tiniest space, the most obscure corner and with the most unusual location – entrepreneurship flourish. With all gender, ages and sales tactics – their enthusiasm and smiling faces is a great reminder for me to keep on trying even in the hardest time.

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23 Dec 2009

Preparing your small business for your vacation

Want to skip town so you can go home and visit with some family? Maybe you’re feeling a little burned out and need to get away from it all? Whatever the case, burgeoning entrepreneurs are just as entitled to vacation times as their counterparts who receive biweekly paycheques. However, small business owners have to make some more complex preparations ahead of time.

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18 Dec 2009

The easiest way to get client referrals

While it is certainly valuable to invest in other marketing techniques, one of the greatest sources for new customers and clients is through referrals. This word-of-mouth advertising is particularly impressive because it doesn’t have to cost you a penny, quite unlike the promotional tactics that you may employ in a local newspaper or in online advertising.

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16 Dec 2009

The infrastructure needed for a home business

There is a definite appeal to working from home. It means that you don’t have to fight rush hour traffic or put on your fancy three-piece suit, since the commute to the home office is a short and casual one. However, working at home is not without its shortcomings. For instance, it means that you’ll need to invest in the right infrastructure to have a functional home office.

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11 Dec 2009

The Britney Spears approach to small business

Well, we probably can’t give all the credit back to Miss Spears, but there are several lessons that small business owners can learn from Britney’s career. Entrepreneurs may more typically look up to people like Ted Turner, Donald Trump, and Steve Jobs, but there is still inspiration to be gained from looking at the success of pop stars too. Britney epitomizes this sentiment.

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9 Dec 2009

What business owners can learn from Jay Leno

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons that can be derived from this story is the value of work ethic and tenacity. Rather than disappear, Jay Leno continued to seek out opportunities to grow and to get himself back on television.

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8 Dec 2009

My experience with event marketing

Tools such as Craigslist, event websites and even Facebook group/event invites were just awareness tools; it was the people who were believers that made that extra push – from awareness to engagement… We put flyers in coffee shops, libraries, bars and cross-promoted with different entrepreneur clubs (this was our guerrilla marketing effort). Do we use these tactics anymore?

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4 Dec 2009

Should you have set business hours

What happens, then, if your business is primarily online or you operate on a “by appointment only” basis? The assumption that many people seem to have about freelancers and other similar professionals is that they are always “on the clock” and, as such, they are always available to be contacted by current and prospective clients.

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2 Dec 2009

How to use Twitter for Business

When using Twitter for business, it is important to pay attention to what your customers have to say. This can come in the form of replies and mentions, which are usually messages directed at your company or messages regarding your company.

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1 Dec 2009

A tribute and a long overdue thank you to a mentor

She lived with HIV but she never let it stop her from living. She made a huge impact on my life and the lives of others. She never expected anything in return for her kindness and her generosity. She was all about making a difference through her actions. She had once told me, “Minna if someone asks you for help please don’t deny them.” I took it to heart and made it my motto in life. I am sure she was with me in spirit when I graduated from university and she was smiling big. I do visit her once in a while in my dreams and when I sit by the Vancouver AIDS Memorial in Sunset Beach to find her name.

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