Are you thinking about starting your own business? If so, then you are certainly not alone. According to Fundsquire, a global startup and scale-up funding network, Canada’s startup scene has been growing exponentially in the last few years. In fact, Canada has been ranked as the world’s fourth most influential startup hub, trailing only the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom. (https://startupstash.com/canada-startups/)
It is important to keep in mind that before you begin purchasing supplies or registering your company, you must devote time and effort to developing a business plan. Taking the first steps toward launching a new business may seem intimidating to you, but fortunately, there are excellent resources to help you with this, such as the London Small Business Centre (https://www.sbcentre.ca/). This not-for-profit organization provides training and support to starting and growing businesses. Plus, they make it simple to find programs, services, resources, and support for all aspects of your business.
So, are you eager to launch your own startup? Here are three tips to consider as you get started:
1. Finance
A budget has numerous components that must be determined before you begin your business. This includes your own financial investment required to get started. Depending on your business, you’ll probably wish to purchase office equipment and furniture, a computer, printer, supplies, etc. One especially important aspect of your budget to keep in mind is your marketing plan expense.
You should plan to open a separate business bank account to avoid mixing your personal and business income and expenses and to keep a clean set of books. Consistent and diligent record-keeping is essential, so start from the beginning with a bookkeeping plan. Canada Revenue Agency’s rules and regulations, including whether to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), must be considered as well.
2. Marketing Plan
Marketing your startup is critical to its growth and to distinguishing itself from competitors. Having a marketing plan will help you as you begin identifying potential customers, channels, and the best ways to target the people you wish to serve.
While there is no set template, components of a solid marketing plan may include – but are not limited to – the following:
Networking (Face-to-face or virtual)
Referrals
Digital marketing: setting up social media accounts (Facbeook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.), social media ads
Print/magazine ads
Mailings
Radio and/or television advertising
3. Website
Opening and running a business, even a brick-and-mortar one, without a web presence is no longer feasible. As we’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, consumers use the internet for everything from researching products and services to finding a store’s location and operating hours. A well-designed professional website can certainly give you an advantage in your industry, while helping you easily and efficiently expand your business.
As you begin envisioning your startup’s website, you’ll need to first determine its primary purpose. Based on this, you will then need to consider whether you need a brochure site, an interactive site, and whether your clients need a secure sign in portal or downloadable forms.
We are here to help!
With skill and experience in the areas of bookkeeping, social media management and website design, our team is dedicated to our clients’ success, whether they’re just starting out or already established. MYOB can help you mind your own business better!
We have three other tips for startups coming up in our next blog post!
“Don’t talk to strangers!” Parents have warned their children for decades. Evil often comes packaged in beauty and charm. And so, obedient children have refused to be lured by candy.
Today’s online lures are clever, disguised and not obvious in many cases. Now that we are used to the emails from a Prince in a faraway land who wants to send us money and avoid the demands to “click here to enter banking information”, the scams are getting more sophisticated and aimed straight at our emotions. Let’s look at some common scams that are online today, targeting our curiosity, fear, sympathy or even love and connection.
Curiosity
Shocking social media announcements about a scandalous situation with a celebrity or sudden news that someone has died can be enough to make you click for more. Be aware that not all websites are created equal. False information is everywhere on the internet. Before you click share to be the first to tell your friends, you can verify news via scam-checking websites like https://www.snopes.com/
Fear
Have you received a recorded call on your cell phone telling you that you have violated rules with Revenue Canada and there is now a warrant for your arrest? Or perhaps a huge alert appeared on your computer screen, seemingly from the RCMP saying they have detected child pornography on your computer? These terrifying messages are followed by demanding an immediate response from you. Cell phones ask you to press 1 and computers ask you to click a link for help. Stop. If you’re worried about Revenue Canada, call them directly. If you’re worried about a virus on your computer, call an IT company to help you.
Sympathy
There have been numerous fraudsters trying to collect money on group funding websites, or phone calls from a charity. They all tell a sad story with an urgent need. Because this has happened too often, the sites are now tightening up the regulations. To help avoid unwanted cold calls, you should register to be on the “Do Not Call List (DNCL). https://lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/en Let common sense be your guide. Check the story and the source before sending money.
Love
With the rise of popularity and success of online dating, there’s also a rise in catfishing online. Our human need for love and validation, opens the door to the hearts of all ages of people in all walks of life. These clever scammers know how to win trust and what magical words to type so that the victim becomes comfortable. Often it is months before a crisis occurs and a request for money is made. There are signs to look for: never meeting via Skype or Zoom or in-person, outlandish stories about impossible situations or professing undying love forever when you’ve never met. If you suspect this is happening to you or someone you know, search the internet for profiles of this person to see if they are consistent. You can also upload any images you’ve been given to reverse Google image search, or to a website like Tin Eye (https://tineye.com) to request matches elsewhere on the internet. If the images you have been given are actually stock photos, you’ll see that in your results.
Connection
If you have spent time on social media, being social with your “friends”, you’ve seen the fun quizzes asking for your favourite colour, your favourite vacation spot, your pet’s first name, your favourite band or the name of your high school. These sound like familiar security questions, don’t they? Of course there may be other harmless questions in there too, but think about the personal information that you’re handing out to the internet and not just your “friends”!
Have you ever received a friend request from someone you thought you were already friends with online? This is another way hackers try to invade your personal accounts. If you think there’s even a chance you may be friends with that person already, double check before clicking accept!
Are you making your accounts easy to hack? Identity theft is a nightmare.
At the end of the day, “Don’t talk to strangers!” is still a solid piece of advice for us all. Beware. Be smart. Be careful, verify and fact check before you click.
In this digital age, having a website for your company is essential. However, keeping your website and its content up to date is equally important. Your website is, without a doubt, a representation of your company. In fact, it may be the only part of it that some people see. As such, keeping your site updated and relevant will go a long way toward generating a positive impression on both current and potential customers.
Here are a few reasons to keep your website up to date:
Your website can help your business generate revenue, increase brand recall value, promote goodwill among clients and target audiences, plus deliver powerful marketing messages around the clock, 365 days a year!
Keeping your website’s material current contributes to the development of relationships between you and your customers, which ultimately helps to build trust and credibility in your company. Customers are most likely looking to your site for relevant information that helps them stay in-the-know.
Customers are likely to feel comfortable using your services when your company has a high-quality website. Plus, your website can help its visitors feel confident that they will have a positive experience in all aspects of your business.
Because search engines like Google place a strong emphasis on local results, having a website is even more important if you are a local business. More people are using the internet to find local businesses than ever before so if you don’t have a website, they may be unable to contact or locate your company.
When your company has an updated website, you will have an increased ability to communicate with customers in real time. This is especially true when your website’s content and social media are integrated. Your social media pages all work together to increase your website traffic and boost revenue.
The ability to attract new customers is one of the most compelling reasons to invest in updating your website. Since the visitors to your site will be at various stages of the sales process, including researchers, comparers, and buyers, you’ll want to make sure you have offerings for them all. The goal is to convert website visitors into leads, so speaking to their needs and providing them with a clear action plan to take the next steps will help make the process smoother.
Let’s get started.
We build WordPress websites for our clients and provide them with two hours of training after launch to teach them how to make minor changes on their own. We recommend WordPress because it is customizable and user friendly.
Are you ready to talk about your website design and management? Fill out our contact form and we’ll get in touch!
Let’s face it… when you’re a small business owner, you have more important things to do with your time than gathering your bank statements, credit card statements, receipts, and deposit information for a bookkeeper. Not only is doing so quite tedious, but it also sounds really boring, don’t you think? But you know what’s even worse? A Canada Revenue Agency Audit!
When you think about it that way, organizing and staying on top of your finances doesn’t seem so bad! And although audits are unavoidable, having the right bookkeeping service can help make the process less stressful in the long run. If you’re considering hiring a bookkeeper, here are two valid reasons to do so.
1. Hiring a bookkeeper can assist small business owners in cutting costs.
Many people, for example, discover that they save money on accountant fees during tax season because their books are neat and in order.
One big lie we all tell ourselves is that we don’t need to write something down because we’ll remember it later. Or we’ll find those receipts for business expenses and/or dinners because we’d never throw something like that away, right? Why take that risk?
One reason you should keep accurate and up-to-date records of your revenue and expenses now is that you are more likely than not to forget three years from now – which could certainly come back to haunt you if you’re selected for an audit. So having your bookkeeping in order makes an audit go much more smoothly.
2. When your bookkeeping is organized, government filings can be kept up to date and deadlines can be met.
Filing on time is the law. Understandably, some businesses struggle to pay their HST obligations at certain times of the year due to a lack of cash flow. However, hiring a bookkeeper who oversees and keeps your financials up to date on a monthly or even quarterly basis helps small business owners make smart decisions about purchases, staffing, raises, and so on. This also includes liabilities such as how much HST they owe or payroll remittance they will have to pay. It is also important to note that there are penalties for late payment, but the law requires the HST report to be filed ON TIME. At Mind Your Own Business, we work with our clients and communicate with them regularly as we maintain their books and ensure that all government filings are completed on time.
Are you ready to get started? Great! Although you are always welcome to bring your bags, boxes, and folders of receipts for us to sort through, we also have a secure online portal where people can upload digital files! We are very customer-focused, and we are open to receiving your information in any way you prefer. Also, some clients prefer to do their own invoicing and/or payroll and we do the rest – but, once again, we can provide a customized service package based on what YOU require.
Establishing social media marketing goals is an important step in growing your business. Having an active and engaging social media presence is an important tool to invite customers to contact you. Social media platforms play a role in identifying and directing interested potential customers to your website and that is invaluable to any growing business.
Here are three major reasons why social media should be a non-negotiable component of your business’ marketing, brand communications, and online presence strategy:
1. Social media provides the same opportunity for brand visibility, regardless of the size of your company.
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from social media’s leveling effect. Each is given the same amount of online space, as well as the same options for using appropriate and successful keywords, verbiage, eye-catching images and ads to reach their audiences online, regardless of its size or revenue.
By making it easy to display your brand and offerings online, social media platforms provide one of the most effective marketing and communications strategies for your business. What’s even better? Social media is an inexpensive and convenient way to highlight a company’s online presence. This is especially good news for smaller businesses with limited marketing resources. When users are asking their social media community for recommendations, your business is easy to find, to tag and to recommend!
2. Let’s Talk About Social Listening
Businesses that use social media to listen online rather than only broadcasting all the time will find the platforms are extremely beneficial. Social Listening helps a company gain firsthand knowledge of the issues that are important to their audience and future clients. This information then helps them make decisions, take effective action, and make a positive impact.
As well, businesses are more likely to gain their audience’s trust and loyalty when they remember that social media communication requires both engaging with and listening to their audience! Businesses that consistently concentrate on developing genuine relationships with their followers may end up closing more deals than they would have done by sales calls and advertising alone.
3. Social media improves your company’s visibility, both online and off.
Every day, social media assists companies in enhancing not only their online presence but their offline presence as well. In many cases, a large percentage of consumers conduct online research on potential purchases before making a final purchasing decision. If you want to attract these potential customers, you must strengthen your online presence by creating and maintaining your business social media platforms.
Are you ready to incorporate social media into your business’ marketing strategy and improve your brand’s marketing and communication strategies?
