Welcome to a new issue of E-News! from The Business Link. Whether this is your first time to receive E-News!, or you've been with us from the first issue, we hope you will enjoy this quick monthly e-newsletter. Our goal is to keep you informed of upcoming events and services at The Business Link and other items of interest to Alberta's small business community.

Your feedback is welcome at any time to help us improve and enhance our services for Alberta entrepreneurs. Simply use the "Feedback" function located on the toolbar at the top of E-News! to send us your views.

The Business Link's Spring 2003
Seminars and Brown Bag Presentations

Our economically-priced Small Business Seminars and FREE Brown Bag Presentations feature the basics of business from start-up to marketing to e-business...and more! All sessions are held at The Business Link at 100 - 10237 104 Street in Edmonton. Pre-registration is required for the seminars but not for the "brown baggers", however there is limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information on our Small Business Seminars and to register on-line, visit our web site at: http://www.cbsc.org/alberta/seminars.cfm. Details on the "Brown Baggers" are available at: http://www.cbsc.org/alberta/brownbag.cfm.

Alberta Business Connects - E-Business Seminars for Businesses

Register now for the Alberta Business Connects half-day e-business seminars held in Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Lloydminster and Medicine Hat during the month of April! These seminars are a joint initiative between The Business Link's E-Future Centre and four of our regional access sites.

The half-day events will cover cost-effective ways to take your Internet presence to the next level. We will look at three business cases and how e-business can be applied to reduce costs, better serve clients, and improve efficiencies. In addition, we will discuss best practices in e-business and Alberta success stories.

Quality Council of Alberta Brown Bag Sessions

The Quality Council of Alberta (QCA) invites you to attend their FREE monthly Brown Bag Sessions, held at noon every third Friday of the month until June 2003. Bring your lunch and take in this series on "Performance". Attendees will examine and learn what organizational performance is, approaches to improve it, and challenges to maintain it.

This month's session on "Safety at Work and its Impact on Organizational Performance" presented by Barbara Semeniuk from Purcell Enterprises Ltd, will be held at The Business Link on Friday, April 25, 2003, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Seating is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information and to register for this event, contact Ann Beaque at the Quality Council of Alberta at 780-423-6878 or 1-800-224-0848, or by e-mail at: abeaque@telusplanet.net.

Employabilities - Tapping Local Talent

In collaboration with The Government of Canada, EmployAbilities invites you to Tapping Local Talent, an event designed to increase the human resource potential of your business, which will be held in Edmonton on Wednesday April 30, 2003 at EmployAbilities (5th Floor, 10909 Jasper Avenue).

Who Should Attend?
Small business owners, managers, supervisors, labour representatives, human resource personnel, and industry leaders.

Why attend?
- Hear from Manpower, Finning and Boston Pizza on their success in employing individuals with disabilities.
- Learn enhanced human resource strategies on:
Risk: Is there increased risk in employing individuals with disabilities?
Legalities: Can you discharge an employee with a disability?
Recruitment: How can you develop targeted recruitment strategies, including candidates with disabilities?

For more information and to register for this event, contact Trina Johnson at (780) 945-4633 or by e-mail at: trina@employabilities.ab.ca, or go online to www.employabilities.ab.ca/tlt.

The Top 10 Ways to Create a Sustainable Workplace^TM (excerpts)

So many companies today have been downsized without comprehending the long term implications for ongoing corporate success or even survival for those left behind with vastly increased workloads and for those simply left out. Ensure that your company is more than a survivor but a leader, a model of continuing high profitability and inspired staff.

1. Spend your time on the big picture and delegate everything else to
incredibly capable subordinates.

2. Have a well developed corporate mission and vision expressed around
ethical values.

3. Have all your executives, managers and supervisors trained as coaches or work with their own coach.

4. Know the amount of work to be done monthly in your company, and the
number of people necessary to do it and hire them - the best!

5. Tell the truth.

6. Acknowledge your staff.

7. Actively promote team building.

8. When something goes wrong, start by assuming the best.

9. Pay fairly.

10. Be a responsible corporate citizen.

Copyright 97, 98, 99, 00, 2001 CoachVille
This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright, contact, and creation information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit context. For other uses, permission in writing from CoachVille is required. Questions: email topten@coachville.com.

To access the full version of this article, visit The Business Link's web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/tbl.cfm?fn=tip3.

The Online Small Business Workshop (OSBW) is a free web-based workshop designed to provide you with techniques for developing your business idea, starting a new venture and improving your existing small business. The OSBW will help you visualize the start-up process and develop your business. When appropriate, it will also provide you with links to provincial information. It is organized in five sessions, each focusing on a different area of business:

• Session 1 - Starting with a Good Idea
  
• Session 2 - Marketing Basics
  
• Session 3 - Financing Your Business
  
• Session 4 - Planning Fundamentals
  
• Session 5 - Basic Regulations for Getting Started
  

The Business Link works in partnership with 33 Regional Access Sites located throughout the province, plus the Calgary Business Information Centre (CBIC), to provide information and resources to Alberta entrepreneurs. To find the closest Regional Access Site in your area, visit our web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/regional.cfm.

One of these Regional Access Sites is the Fort McMurray Regional Business Development Centre.

The Fort McMurray Regional Business Development Centre is committed to doing everything possible to put the odds in your favour and help you build your business. The organization provides many services to the Wood Buffalo area: small business counselling, small business loans, financing for young entrepreneurs through the youth entrepreneurship program, entrepreneurs with disabilities programs, information services and community and economic development.

For more information, contact the Fort McMurray Regional Business Development Centre at:

#102, 9816 Hardin Street
Fort McMurray, Alberta T9H 4K3
Phone: (780) 791-0330
Fax: (780) 791-0086
E-mail: bdc01@ccinet.ab.ca
Web site: www.fmrbdc.com

April 2003
Issue 11

In this Issue... Upcoming Events Business Tip Feature Web Site Regional Access Site in the Spotlight

It's All About Opportunities

The Business Link's Alberta Aboriginal Business Service Network is proud to present a two-day gathering to provide key resources and information that will help Aboriginal entrepreneurs succeed in the world of business.

This gathering, open to Aboriginal entrepreneurs and business service providers serving the Aboriginal community, will take place on May 5 and 6, 2003 at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre in Edmonton.

Don't miss this opportunity to attend educational sessions on business development, marketing and sales, money management and legal and operational topics. There will also be panel discussions on financing options and industry opportunities. It's an excellent way to network, share ideas and make professional contacts.

For more information and to register, contact Shalene Jobin, Conference Coordinator, at (780) 427-0563 or by e-mail at: jobin.shalene
@cbsc.ic.gc.ca, or visit the Alberta Aboriginal Business Service Network's web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/
absn.