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2006 - Issue 53 |
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The Chinese Market
The word "China" makes people
think "opportunity" these days, but doing
business with this market commands some real attention
to planning. In fact, many small and medium sized businesses
find that once they start looking closely at China,
there isn't necessarily a fit for them. It takes a great
deal of time, money and patience to do business in a
new market, so reduce your risks by identifying as many
of the considerations as possible. Join Export Link
on November 8th for our new seminar entitled
"Preparing to do Business With China".
Find more information at www.exportlink.ca
or call
1-888-811-1119. Export Link is a special initiative
of The Business Link.
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Privacy Policy Generator
Developing a privacy policy can be one of the more
difficult stages of developing your business website.
One strategy is to look around at what others have posted
and using that as a template to get started. However,
you may miss out on things that they have chosen to
omit. OECD, the Organization for Economic Development
Co-operation and Development has a great tool for getting
you started. The OECD privacy policy generator walks
you through a questionnaire that produces a draft privacy
policy for you to download. The downloadable privacy
policy is fully editable so you can make any necessary
changes.
For more information on the generator and related resources
available on the E-Future Centre website click here.
To check out the generator go
here. You can contact The Business Link's
E-Future Centre at 1-800-272-9675.
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eBay - often described as the world's
largest online auction service - is used daily by countless
private sellers and buyers, as well as by many businesspeople
whose enterprises range in scope from small, part-time
trading to sizeable and sophisticated virtual storefront
operations. Because eBay enables quick and easy access
to a vast global marketplace, online entrepreneurs of
every description find lucrative opportunities to buy
and sell innumerable products and services.
While the basics of e-biz on eBay aren't too hard to
pick up, it's the tips and tricks learned from the pros
and veterans which can really maximize the potential
for profit.
At The Business Link Library, we recognize
that eBay is of interest to many entrepreneurs - whether
it might only serve to supplement a hobby or sell some
homespun products, or whether it becomes the foundation
that allows a dream to grow into a full-time career
business.
Here's five new books for eBayers that we've just added
to our shelves. eBay - read all about it!
20 Questions to Ask Before Selling on eBay /
by Lissa McGrath.
Building Your eBay Traffic the Smart Way: Use Froogle,
Datafeeds, Cross-Selling, Advanced Listing Strategies,
and More to Boost Your Sale on the Web's #1 Auction
Site / Joseph T. Sinclair.
Shooting for Dollars: Simple Photo Techniques for
Greater eBay Profits / Sally Wiener Grotta and Daniel
Grotta.
PayPal for Dummies / Victoria Rosenborg.
Fundraising on eBay: How to Raise Big Money on the
World's Greatest Online Marketplace / by Greg Holden
and Jill Finlayson.
These resources are also available through the Regional
Lending Library, if are not in the Edmonton area.
Get Your Library Membership
Library membership entitles you to borrow from our
large collection of business books, videos, CDs, DVDs
and audiotapes. For $12.00 per year, you can have access
to the most current information on small business and
leadership. Stop in at The Business Link library
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9 AM - 5 PM and
Thursday 9 AM - 8 PM, or call 780-422-7780 for more
details.
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The Fall 2006 season for the Guest
Advisor Program began on September 25, 2006,
with a variety of areas of expertise available from
Monday to Friday, 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. If you
ever wondered how a management consultant, lawyer,
accountant, financial representative or e-business
expert could help your business, feel free to connect
with one of our professional volunteers to discuss
your business concerns. Through this program, you
can receive:
- Confidential, one-on-one consultation over
the phone, in person or via video conference.
- Service provided without obligation, free
of charge.
- An introduction into the variety of business
services available to you within the private
sector.
- Insight into how working with a professional
can assist in the development of your business.
- The opportunity to discuss your business situation
with a professional in a neutral location.
Again this Season, the Guest Advisors are located
in Edmonton and are available to you by phone
at 1-800-272-9675 or
email. Another unique option is to use video
conferencing; this is available at select
centres throughout Alberta. A listing of centres
can be found at here.
More information on the Guest Advisor Program
is available at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/guestadvisor.cfm
October 15 to 21, 2006
Communities across Alberta will join the nation
in offering educational and networking events
to celebrate Small Business Week. The Business
Link works with the Alberta Chambers
of Commerce to provide you with an online
central source for event information, supplemented
by statistics, information and links of importance
to entrepreneurs. There are already over 170
events listed around theprovince!
To find out what's happening in your area, in
and around Small Business Week, check out
www.sbwalberta.ca, online until the end of
October.
Don't forget that we would love to hear your
story. Let us know how you have been able to use
The Business Link and how we have
contributed to your success. Click
here to Tell Us Your Story.
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October is a very busy month at The Business
Link. We're right in the thick of our Seminars
and Brown Bags, there's an Aboriginal Business Conference,
an Export Border Session and Small Business Week is
this month.
Plan to join us for one, two or more of these exciting
sessions! For more information or to register for an
event, contact The Business Link at 1-800-272-9675
or click
here.
All sessions are held at The Business Link
unless otherwise noted. However, through the Entrepreneurship
Learning Centre Network, many of these sessions will
be available across Alberta via video conferencing.
Visit www.elcnetwork.ca
for the site nearest you.
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 Video-Conferenced Event |
October Networking Event
The Business Link will be hosting
its Monthly Networking Event on Tuesday,
October 17th in Edmonton. This is an opportunity
for you to network, attend an educational session,
and make valuable entrepreneurial contacts. For more
information about this FREE event, contact
Darcen Esau at esau.darcen@cbsc.ic.gc.ca
or 1-800-272-9675.
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The Pan Western Regional Economic Development
Conference, being held
October 24-26, 2006 in Camrose,
Alberta will be attended by presenters and delegates
from across Western Canada, Yukon and the Northwest
Territories. Hosted by Alberta Economic Development,
the conference explores the dramatic changes taking
place in Western Canada's economy and how various
jurisdictions are responding to those changes.
Highlights include presentations from Canada
West Foundation President Roger Gibbins, Futurist
Jim Bottomley and TSI Terminal Systems President
Norman Stark. The conference will appeal to individuals
and organizations involved in labour force development
and regional and aboriginal economic development,
including business leaders, elected officials,
post-secondary education institutions, students
and human resource developers.
Registration fees: $395 regular
($350 early birds), $175 students and youth plus
GST.
To register or to become a sponsor please visit:
www.panwestconference.ca
or
call Jennifer at 1-800-296-8112 or email at jfilip@cre.ab.ca
VenturePrize, Alberta's Business Plan
Competition, is designed for individuals, companies,
faculty and students of post secondary institutions
who have high-growth business ideas. Through seminars,
tools, templates and the mentorship program, VenturePrize
will help you transform your idea into a solid
plan for growth!
The series of six weekly business plan seminars
start on October 25, led by Dr. Lloyd Steier of
the University of Alberta School of Business.
The seminars will be hosted in Edmonton at the
Stollery Business Centre on the University of
Alberta campus as well as at The Business
Link, and video-conferenced to locations
throughout Alberta.
You could be the next Fast-Growth grand prize
winner sharing in over $180,000 in prizes!
For further information and to register, visit
www.ventureprize.com.
As a federation of 127 Chambers of Commerce representing
22,000 businesses, the Alberta Chambers of Commerce
is a great supporter of Small Business Week.
Many Chambers across the province take time during
this special week in October to celebrate excellence
in business in their communities. The Alberta
Chambers of Commerce, however, hosts its marquee
awards event in February.
Nominations for the Alberta Business Awards
of Distinction opened in mid-September and
closes on November 14.
Businesses can be nominated in all the categories
for which they're eligible, and the 2007 awards
is more extensive than ever, with categories including
safety, Aboriginal relations, marketing, agriculture,
youth employment, ethics, diversity in the workplace,
and export.
To learn more about the Alberta Awards of
Distinction, visit www.abbusinessawards.ab.ca,
or contact Tracy Elofson at 425-4180,
Ext. 2.
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Are you an Aboriginal entrepreneur thinking
about starting a business or looking for
innovative ways to grow your operations?
If so, you can't afford to miss the chance
to learn and network at "It's All
About Opportunities".
For the fourth year in a row, The
Business Link's Aboriginal Business
Services, with the support of our generous
sponsors (see list below), is presenting
this two-day Gathering of Aboriginal
Entrepreneurs from across Alberta. It's
all happening in Edmonton this October
23 & 24 at The Coast Edmonton Plaza
Hotel.
Throughout the two days, you'll be able
to learn from qualified professionals, network
with fellow business owners and meet service
providers for the Aboriginal business community.
You'll hear from successful Aboriginal
business owners who will share stories of
the challenges they faced, and the successes
they have achieved in today's competitive
world.
This year we are proud to have Miss Indian
World 2006/2007, Violet John as one of our
keynote speakers!
To register or for more information please
visit www.cbsc.org/alberta/absn/conf
or call
1-800-272-9675.
It's All About Opportunities
is made possible with the support of:
Government of Alberta
Oteenow Employment and Training Society
CBC Radio-Canada
Scotiabank
Indian Business Corporation
Syncrude
Shell Canada Limited
Apeetogosan Métis Development Corp.
RBC
Canadian Youth Business Foundation
EnCana
The Edmonton Urban Aboriginal Accord Initiative
SAIT
Alberta Indian Investment Corporation
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Many small and medium sized companies these
days are feeling the strains of a hot economy
and subsequent labour shortage. As a result,
exporting is not on the forefront of many
people's minds. There are other ways, however,
that international trade can help your business.
For example, outsourcing. Importing
some of your materials can offer several
advantages.
First, it can help mitigate the impact that
exchange rate fluctuations have on your
firm. If you were importing from the US
when the Canadian dollar rose for example,
you wouldn't have been hit so hard in terms
of your US export profits. Second, importing
some of the components of your final product
may allow you to reduce production costs,
and frees up local labour that can then
be used for other parts of the manufacturing
process, those that require higher skill
or detail levels. Finally, doing business
with another market now can create opportunities
for you later.
It's really about preparing for the future,
as firms start looking for export opportunities,
those with contacts already established
in-market will be more successful. Just
remember that choosing the market and firm
with which to outsource requires careful
consideration. To discuss your options further,
contact Export Link, a special initiative
of The Business Link, at 1-888-811-1119
or exportlink@cbsc.ic.gc.ca.
Alberta Learning Information Service
(ALIS) is Alberta's on-line gateway for
career, learning and employment information
and services. The website is supported
through a provincial government partnership
of Alberta Human Resources and Employment,
Alberta Education and Alberta Advanced
Education. Be sure check out their website
at www.alis.gov.ab.ca.
There are many interesting tip sheets
on this website for Alberta Employers.
With today's high turnover rates, retaining
employees is a HOT topic. Check out "How
to Find and Keep Valued Employees"
here.
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- Choose the right networking group or event.
The best results come from attending the appropriate
events for your particular industry.
- Be Genuine; networking is about building trust
and relationships.
- Ask open ended questions. This promotes discussion
and shows you're interested in the other person.
- Develop a great handshake, approach people
with a natural, genuine smile and make good
eye contact.
- Make a powerful impression by asking them
what they do before talking about yourself or
your business.
- Develop a quick 30-second infomercial that
will encourage the other person to ask for more
information.
- Follow up with your contacts as soon as possible.
- When mingling, don't stay too long in one
place. After eight to ten minutes, excuse yourself
with a pleasantry such as, "It was nice
meeting you ... "
- When attending networking functions, go by
yourself or at least communicate to those you're
with that you should all fan out to really get
to meet different people.
- Become a volunteer; as you get yourself out
in the public eye, your company will become
more visible.
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