• Upcoming Events
• Business Article
• Feature Web Site
• Regional Access Site in the Spotlight

Happy Holidays!

The Business Link's Holiday Schedule:

The Business Link and its staff wish you a happy holiday season!

An End of the Season
Thank you to the Guest Advisors

We would like to thank all the Guest Advisors who donated their time and experience to help small business people around Alberta.

The Guest Advisors will be available again January, 31, 2005. Be sure to check back then with all your questions.

Venture Prize

There is still time to submit a business plan to VenturePrize Business Plan Competition. One of the largest competitions of its kind in the country, it is designed for individuals, companies, and faculty and students of post secondary institutions from Edmonton who have high-growth business ideas. You can participate for FREE but you must register and submit your business plan before January 1, 2005.

For more information visit www.ventureprize.com.

Don't Forget to Renew Your Business Link Library Cards

If you do not have a library card or have never been to our library, you should consider dropping in. Our library is constantly being updated with new resources specifically designed to suit the needs of Alberta small business people. Our librarians are also available to speak with you and help you in your search for information.

Don't forget that even if you can not visit us in Edmonton, you can still borrow books from our library through our regional lending library. You can search the library's extensive collection by going to our online catalogue.

Did You Know?

From December 1997 to December of 2003, the number of small businesses (businesses that employ less than 50 employees) in Alberta increased 19%. This was the largest increase of all ten provinces; the national average was 5%.

For more sources of statistics, go to The Business Link's Statistics section: www.cbsc.org
/alberta/tbl.cfm?
fn=statistics.

Meet The Link

Al Boyd has been an Information Officer with The Business Link since its inception in February, 1996. Currently Al is the team leader for our direct delivery services which includes the info centre, library and client services areas. Al has a business administration degree from Simon Fraser University and started and ran two small businesses of his own. He has more than 30 years of business and government experience including commercial finance, commercial credit and specialized program delivery. As a senior information officer, Al can help you with your questions about start-up, financing, incorporating, marketing and general business.

Al can be reached by phone at 780-422-7767, calling toll-free at 1-800-272-9675 or e-mail at boyd.al@cbsc.ic.gc.ca.

Talk to Us!

Need assistance in finding information on our web site? Check out our web/voice support service, "Talk to Us".

Send to a Friend

Please feel free to forward E-News! from The Business Link to a friend or colleague. They can subscribe on-line on our web site.

Cliquez ici pour accéder, ou vous abonner à ce bulletin électronique en français.

Your Feedback is Important to us

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.

Welcome to a new issue of E-News! from The Business Link. Whether this is your first time receiving 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.

The Business Link's Fall 2004
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: www.cbsc.org/alberta/seminars.cfm. Details on the "Brown Baggers" are available at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/brownbag.cfm.

Video Conferencing
For the first time ever, our Thursday Brown Bag sessions will be accessible in various locations throughout the province through video conferencing. (see events marked with a ) For more information, and to see our video conferencing schedule go here: www.cbsc.org/alberta/search/display.cfm?Code=6105&coll;=AB_PROVBIS_E.

Don't Miss Out!
There are only a few more seminars and presentations scheduled before the end of the season. Make sure you take advantage of the remaining seminars.

December Schedule Date Time Topic Cost 02 12 noon - 1 p.m. International Shipping by Courier FREE 02 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Starting a Small Business $32.10 07 12 noon - 1 p.m. Financial Statements 101: What Every Business Owner Should Know FREE 09 12 noon - 1 p.m. Internet Auctions: Trends, Opportunities & Implementation Strategies FREE 09 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Web Sites and E-Commerce, Where Do I Begin? $32.10

Do you need to widen your business contacts? Then join us at The Business Link for an opportunity to Network! It is free and no registration is needed. Be prepared to exchange business cards and gain valuable contacts!

Join us on Wednesday, December 15, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Quality Council of Alberta Brown Bag Sessions

The Quality Council of Alberta (QCA) invites you to attend their Brown Bag Sessions at The Business Link in Edmonton and the Calgary Business Information Centre in Calgary. This year’s theme will be “Following the Roadmap to Excellence”. The QCA is offering a number of sessions, presented by noted Knowledge Management professionals, on using Knowledge Management to achieve organizational excellence. The sessions are free to members of the Quality Council of Alberta and $10 for non-members.

One event in each of Edmonton and Calgary will be held this month. "Planning Focus" will be held at the Calgary Business Information Centre on Thursday, December 2 and at The Business Link in Edmonton on Friday, December 3. The sessions are held 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 these sessions, contact Ann Beaque at the Quality Council of Alberta at 780-423-6878, 1-800-224-0848 or by e-mail at: abeaque@shaw.ca.

It’s that time of the year where everyone is counting the number of shopping days, better yet selling days until the holidays. While it’s important that your shelves are stocked, stores well staffed and the displays festive, the difference between a good and a great season lies in your stocking and pricing strategies.

Traditional methods for pricing, that link price strictly to their cost and associate overheads must be used with caution. Technology and the Internet have made the world a smaller place. With just a few mouse clicks, potential customers can easily find out what an item sells for next door or across the continent.

View this not as a challenge, but rather as an opportunity to confirm your position in the marketplace. As a retail location, how can you compete? Consider your strengths. What extra value can you offer to your clients beyond price? Do you have a better warranty/exchange, financing or delivery program? Many consumers still look at overall value rather than just price. Your price needs to be competitive, but competitive is a relative term in many consumers’ minds.

When planning your strategies, remember the lead up to the holidays and the frenzy of Boxing Day, a time when people are extremely motivated to buy. Take the opportunity to clear slow moving merchandise, especially those that are seasonal, timely or perishable. You won’t be able to sell 2004 calendars next fall. It’s better to make some profit and move stock off the shelves than have no profit at all. Don’t fall in love with your inventory. In fact, if you feel you are overstocked in some areas, consider having your sale start earlier, last longer or perhaps offer items at a higher discount.

By implementing a strategy of smart pricing and value-added seasonal promotions, you’ll move product, which will in turn increase your cash flow, and yes ultimately improve your profit picture. Consider the cost of holding onto that inventory, which will likely depreciate over time.

A bit of planning can go a long way in keeping your sanity…and your operations in the black.

To access more marketing resources, visit The Business Link's web site at: http://www.cbsc.org/alberta/tbl.cfm?fn=marketing.

With the holiday season upon us, you may be required to hire some temporary staff, or some staff to expand your business in the New Year. An excellent source for human resources management information is the Government of Canada's Human Resources Management web site.

The site contains information on hiring, benefits and compensation, training and development and many other topics. On the site, you will also find links to resources that will help you: find new employees by using the job bank; calculate payroll deductions; find the appropriate forms; and get information and help with other useful human resources related functions.

For more useful links to additional sources of business information, visit our web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/tbl.cfm?fn=weblinks.

All the Regional Access Sites around the province offer a wide range of services designed specifically to meet the needs of the new entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business people in their area. The services can include financing, a wide range of resources to help small business people and many training programs and seminars.

Alberta Community Futures Development Corporations celebrated best practices and successes at their 2004 Gala Awards Banquet held Friday October 29, 2004 at The Westin – Edmonton.

Presentations included the 2004 Ev Arlidge Unsung Hero Award presented to Raymonde Zbeetnoff of Tawatinaw CFDC, Westlock. Jack Lawrence General Manager of West Yellowhead CFDC at Hinton won the 2004 Laura Swan Memorial Staff Recognition Award while Bud Miller of Lloydminster won the 2004 Laura Swan Memorial Volunteer Recognition Award.

The Community Futures Network of Alberta (CFNSA) outgoing Board member Roxanne Harper received recognition for her three years of service on the CFNSA Board.

Ken Albrecht was presented with the first ever Alberta Community Futures Pioneer Award, for dedicated leadership and service to the CF movement at the local and national levels.

Western Economic Diversification’s Deputy Minister Oryssia Lennie was on hand to present the Minister’s Silver Award for Excellence and Innovation award to Lamont-Two Hills CFDC for their Innovative Agriculture Workshops project and the Minister’s Gold Award for Excellence and Innovation to West Yellowhead CFDC for the community leadership that CFDC provided in the design and successful implementation of their Socio-Economic Diversification project for the Hinton/Grande Cache area of the province.