myRetailer.ca

Using a TFSA can help get retirement plans on track

Joanne Lyttle is a typical small business owner. She devotes 60 to 70 hours a week to her consulting practice, and relies on her assistant to get her financial records to her accountant each month. Once a year, she signs her tax forms. And the only other time she thinks about her financial future is when cash flow gets a little tight.

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A little venture capital goes a long way

In a Web 2.0 world, many businesses don’t need a fortune to get started. 

When BlackBerry Partners Fund invested in a mobile game developer called SocialDeck, they decided to think small.

Instead of the millions of dollars venture capital firms used to throw at promising technology industry startups, the fund wrote SocialDeck a cheque for $250,000.

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An opportunity to grab uncontested market share

A strategy to win over the ‘un-customer’. Amid fierce competition, owners of small and medium-sized businesses who get inventive about broadening their market stand to come out at the top of their sector once the economy recovers; their normally threatening rivals preoccupied with licking their wounds will take months to recoup lost ground and catch up.

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Sweet Success

Starting a business during a recession takes nerve but two young pastry chefs are now getting a large piece of the action on Queen St. Launching a small business during a recession may seem like kayaking through rapids without a paddle. But some Torontonians didn’t let the recession stop their plans for self-employment. Here is how two adventurous entrepreneurs navigated rough economic waters to find success.

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Holiday sales are just around the corner. Is your store ready for the season? Here are five simple steps to help you succeed this holiday season. 

1. Show value in your product offering.  The economy is rebounding, slowly but surely, but most of us are still suffering from a bit of a tough year.  Now more than ever, you need to demonstrate value to your customers. You don’t have to be the cheapest in town, but the product must show value for the price you’re charging.
2. Watch your competition closely. After coming off a tough year, consumers are more price sensitive than ever before. Watch your pricing. As an independent, you can afford to be slightly higher than your competition, but not too much. Watch your pricing, especially on your known-value items. (more…)

My 2009 Holiday Retail Outlook

The outlook for the 2009 holiday season looks positive. Early indications from all the feedback that I’ve received indicates that the season is starting out very strong this year, especially compared to last year. 

Here are a few points to consider.

• Leading into Christmas 2008, retailers bought heavily, expecting a good solid season. The economy was strong the first half of 2008 and everyone expected it to continue.
• In October 2008, the markets tanked. That was the time when most baby boomers received their statements in the mail from their investment managers showing how much they had lost in just a few short weeks. As a result, the purse strings tightened and the wallets stayed in the pockets.
• Because spending took a nosedive and retailers were sitting on a lot of inventory, Boxing Day and clearance sales started very early last year.
• In the end, no one had a great holiday selling season in 2008 even if overall sales were slightly up.

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Chip Wilson’s lessons in retailing

Award shows success can be achieved in Canada. Six hundred of Canada’s retail and business elite and up-and-comers were on hand last month at Edmonton’s Shaw Conference Centre to applaud the 18th winner of The Henry Singer Award: Chip Wilson, chairman and chief of product of the yoga-lifestyle apparel company lululemon athletica.

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Beware Costly Surprises in Your Contract

An increase in first-time franchisees, many of which are laid-off workers who’ve received a golden handshake in the past year, is causing some experts to warn potential franchisees about exactly what they are getting into.

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Job Well Done? Small Businesses Use Credit Card Points To Reward Staff

Programs are becoming a way to keep staff happy and productive. In Edmundston, N.B., every time one of the 200 agents at Primus Telecommunications Canada’s call centre convinces a customer to add an additional service to their existing package they do not just get a pat on the back. They also get anywhere from five to 15 Air Miles reward points.

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Want Good PR? Think Bold

Look at where you fit within your industry, then step-out and stand out. We’ve all asked ourselves this question: “What would I have done differently if I knew then what I know now?” Imagine the companies you’d invest in, or the opportunities you’d have pursued.

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Choose Your Market – Choose Your Competition

Is your business a sexy one? Does your market attract a lot of people? Is your industry easy to break into? If so, then be ready for lots of difficult competition. 

I heard a speaker a couple years ago at The Retail Experience, an industry education series put on by Green Profit Magazine (a division of Ball Publishing). He was part of a panel discussion about profitability in the garden centre industry. He mentioned something in passing that really got me thinking. When asked about profitability in the industry, he stated something to the effect that; “Hey, you guys chose the horticulture industry. No one gets rich in horticulture.” 

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