Welcome to E-News! from The Business Link. We hope you enjoy this quick monthly e-newsletter 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 Fall 2002
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; no registration required 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.

Quality Council of Alberta Brown Bag Sessions

The Quality Council of Alberta (QCA) invites you to attend their FREE monthly Brown Bag Sessions, held every third Friday of the month at noon from September to 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 "Organizations' Values & Their Impact on Performance" will be held at The Business Link on Friday, November 15, 2002 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 session, 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.

According to a recent study published by CIBC World Markets, "Small Business: Today and Tomorrow", Alberta has seen the fastest growth in small business formation during the 1999-2001 period, with the number of small firms (less than 50 employees) in the province rising by 6.4%. That is more than three times the rate of growth observed in the nation as a whole. By city, the fastest rate of small business formation in Canada was in Calgary (+ 7.3%), followed closely by Edmonton in third position (+ 5.8%).

Small business activity is cyclical in nature, usually outpacing the overall economy during periods of an economic recovery and under-performing the economy during periods of economic weakness. However, the recent cycle was somewhat unique. The small business sector has shown remarkable resilience during the 2001 economic slowdown, and was quick to capitalize on the recent improvement in the economic environment. This was largely due to the fact that in 2001, consumer spending remained relatively strong. Small business activity is projected to remain strong in the coming twelve months, supported by low interest rates, continued healthy consumer spending and further outsourcing activity by large firms.

For more information on the current state of the small business sector in the Canadian economy and the major forces that will shape its nature in the coming decade, read "Small Business: Today and Tomorrow" on CIBC World Markets web site. You can also find Alberta Economic Development's latest statistics on Alberta's small businesses on our site.

Team Canada Inc is a network of more than 21 federal government departments and agencies working with provinces and territories and other partners to help Canadian businesses succeed in world markets. Team Canada Inc's web site ExportSource.ca is the first stop for Canadian businesses en route to the information, skills, counselling, market entry support, financing and in-market assistance they need to make export venture a success.

This online resource for export information offers a wide range of tools designed to help Canadian companies become export-ready, expand their export potential or break into new markets. On ExportSource.ca, Canadian entrepreneurs can find the best sources of export information and services, including the Roadmap to Exporting and the popular Step-by-Step Guide to Exporting which will walk them through the exporting process. They can also research new markets on-line by accessing market reports and customs information on foreign countries, identify useful contacts in their target market or prepare their own export plan with the Interactive Export Planner.

It's exporting made easy. For more information, visit www.exportsource.ca or call Team Canada Inc's toll-free Export Information Service at 1-888-811-1119.

The Business Link works in partnership with 34 Regional Access Sites located throughout the province, plus the Calgary Business Information Centre (CBIC), to provide information and resources to Alberta entrepreneurs. One of these Regional Access Sites is the Red Deer and District Business Development Corporation.

The boundaries of the Red Deer and District Business Development Corporation include the following communities: Alhambra, Bearberry, Benalto, Bergen, Betula, Bowden, Campaign, Caroline, Cline River, Condor, Cremona, Crump, Dickson, Disdbury, Doan, Eckville, Elkton, Harmatton, Innisfail, James River Bridge, Leslieville, Markerville, Nordegg, O'Chiese Band, Olds, Penfold, Pine Lake, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House, Shawtz, Spruce View, Stauffer, Sunchild First Nation, Sundre, Sylvan Lake, Water Valley, Wessex, Westward Ho.

The Centre is committed to doing everything possible to put the odds in your favour, to help people build businesses. The organization offers services to potential and existing entrepreneurs, including: counseling for startups and follow up management assistance to financial clients; a non-lending library to help you research business ideas and write a business plan; financial assistance to individuals starting or expanding a small business; financing and assistance for entrepreneurs with disabilities through the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP); financing and assistance for young entrepreneurs through the Youth Entrepreneur Program; a Youth Entrepreneurship Camp; as well as seminars and workshops. The Centre also recently included a mandatory training package with each loan approved.

For more information, contact the Red Deer and District Business Development Corporation at:

4815 - 48 Street
Red Deer, Alberta T4N 1S6
Phone: (403) 342-2055
Fax: (403) 347-6980
Toll-Free: 1-888-343-2055
E-Mail: cbd@rbcdb.com
Web site: http://www.rdcbd.com

November 2002
Issue 6

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

Over 120 events to celebrate Alberta's entrepreneurial spirit!

October proved to be a very busy month across the province, as Chambers of Commerce, Business Development Bank of Canada offices, and other business organizations held networking, educational and awards events in celebration of Small Business Week.

For the first time, The Business Link hosted a web site during the entire month of October featuring a calendar of events held in celebration of Small Business Week in Alberta.

The web site available at www.sbwalberta.ca was a success, providing information and contacts for over 120 events held in various locations throughout the province.

We hope each event was a success and look forward to providing the same tool for next year's celebrations.