| April
2006 - Issue 47 |
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Canada sometimes restricts trade through
sanctions with foreign countries.
To find out more, you may want to check
out the Canadian Economic Sanctions website at http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/trade/sanctions-en.asp.
The Area Control List (ACL) is a list
of countries of which Canada controls exports to. Permits
are required for exports to countries on the ACL (and
they are difficult to get). The only country on this
list at the moment is Myanmar (formerly known as Burma).
Take note when you are exporting US origin
goods, you will have to identify what sanctions the
US may hold with the export market.
For additional information on this topic,
please contact The Business Link's Export
Link at 1-888-811-1119.
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How can you turn your hobby into a business?
One way is to find a large enough market that you can
make a living doing what you enjoy.
The Internet may provide an alternative
to taking your products to markets or fairs and get
you access to larger markets. Setting up a website can
be expensive and getting traffic to your site can also
be a challenge. Using a third party online auction or
storefront such as eBay can be less expensive and provides
your products with high exposure.
If you are interested in learning more
about online auctions, see the The Business Link'E-Future
Centre’s info-guide on Internet
Auctions.
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April 26th has been declared World IP
Day, IP being Intellectual Property. IP includes copyrights,
patents, trademarks, industrial designs and integrated
circuit topographies.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is
the primary source of information on intellectual property
and is the agency to which one applies to protect their
original designs and products. Their website at cipo.gc.ca
is a very valuable source of information on legal requirements
as well as databases listing currently registered intellectual
property in Canada.
The
Business Link
Library has CIPO's five guides to the topics listed
above along with approximately 75 other resources on
intellectual property. Related topics such as how to
license technology, naming and branding your product,
licensing agreements, international intellectual property
rights and guides for inventors are also covered.
Scroll down to the top ten list in this month's
E-News! to find websites for intellectual
property resources around the world.
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Cliquez
ici pour accéder, ou vous abonner à
ce bulletin électronique en français. |
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The Business
Link
Business Service Centre
100-10237 104 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 1B1
Business Info Line:
780-422-7722 or
1-800-272-9675
Fax: 780-422-0055
E-mail: buslink@cbsc.ic.gc.ca
Website: www.cbsc.org/alberta
Click, call, or visit
us for your Alberta business information needs.
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Cash Flow is the term used to
describe how cash circulates in and out of your
business. It is involved with the timing of that
movement of cash.
Why should you know about
cash flow management? Cash is the lifeblood
of a business and having enough of it is essential
for your business to be healthy. Sales, in themselves,
do not necessarily mean your business will have
cash immediately available. Many businesses today
have credit sales that often take 30 days or more
to become cash in their account. In the meantime,
while they are waiting for those credit sales
to turn into cash, they have many bills that have
to be paid.
What are the most important
things you need to know in order to forecast your
Cash Flow?
- Your sales forecast on a month by month basis
- Your monthly amount of credit sales vs. cash
sales
- An estimate of the length of time your credit
customers take to pay you
- The amount of your ongoing operating bills and
when you pay them (e.g. rent and salaries)
- The amount of cash on hand at the beginning
of the forecast period
- The amount of all bank and other loan payments
that need to be made
- The amount and payment date of any irregular
payment requirements (e.g. insurance)
While a cash flow forecast can be prepared for
almost any period of time, the most common is
monthly. If you have the information you need,
it is easily done. For each period, you start
with the amount of cash on hand at the beginning
of that period, add in the amount of cash that
will go into your bank during the period, and
subtract everything that you pay during the period.
The Business Link has numerous
sources of information on this important issue,
such as various
publications in The Business Link's
Library, and an Accounting
Guest advisor (available between noon and
4 p.m. on Wednesdays) who you can contact by emailing
our office or by phone at 1-800-272-9675.
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The month of April brings with it some excellent
spring seminars and brown bag sessions. Visit us in
Edmonton to attend any of our FREE lunchtime
brown bag presentations which are video conferenced
to other sites across Alberta.
If you are interested in attending any brown bag
session or afternoon seminar and you are not near
the Edmonton area, please contact us and we can locate
the nearest centre offering this session via video
conference; you can also access this information through
the Entrepreneurship
Learning Centre (ELC) website.
Do you know how your business can increase your presence
online through the use of search engines? If not,
this upcoming seminar is for you. You will learn how
you can optimize your website to increase your ranking
with the search engines. Please come and join us at
The Business Link 100-10237 104 St,
on Thursday, April 20, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. for a 3 hour
seminar, there is a fee of $32.10 to participate;
you can pre-register for
this session or other seminars on our website
if you wish.
REGISTER NOW FOR SEMINARS!
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 Video-Conferenced Event |
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Discover a world of opportunity beyond borders...The
Business Link's Export Link with the support
of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce presents: Beyond
Borders...Your Passport to Exporting, the Second Annual
Conference for Alberta businesses exploring global
markets.
This one and a half day conference will:
- Explore current issues affecting exporting
- Provide a forum to facilitate export questions
- Present networking opportunities with service providers
and Alberta businesses
For more information or to register, please contact
The Business Link's Export Link at 1-888-811-1119
or visit http://www.exportlink.ca/beyondborders.
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Supported by RBC Financial Group, the National
Award for Small Business Skills Development recognizes
outstanding achievement in developing employees'
skills in small business environments. The national
award winner will be a small business that helps
its employees develop the skills and competencies
that will enable them to contribute to growing
the small business in which they work. The winner
will receive a $5,000 cash prize and will be honoured
at a gala dinner at the Workplace Education and
Learning Conference, December 5 and 6, 2006, in
Toronto. Enter the 2006 National Award for Small
Business Skills Development and be recognized
as one of Canada's leading employers.
For more information, please contact Cindy MacBride
at macbridec@conferenceboard.ca
or call 1-888-801-8818 ext. 383. Please visit
the website for additional information at: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/education/awards/.
Are you bored with the same old group of people
standing around talking about the same old stuff
and no business being done? Do you groan at the
thought of working a room for contacts, cold drink
in hand?
The Alberta Women Entrepreneurs and the Art Gallery
of Alberta have partnered to bring you their
FIRST Speed Dating for Business event in Edmonton.
Who: Women and men interested in growing their
businesses
When: Tuesday, May 9, 2006 @ 6:30 pm
Where: Art Gallery of Alberta
2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta
Cost: $20 (Complimentary nibbles, Cash bar)
To register: www.awebusiness.com
Questions: Call (780) 422-7784 or 1 (800) 713-3558
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Discover Canadian Aboriginal communities
and Aboriginal tourism businesses through
the Virtual Tour of Aboriginal Canada. This
online tool permits you to search Aboriginal
communities by province, and then by region.
After selecting your specific region of
interest, you can then choose a Métis,
First Nations or Inuit community to learn
more about. The site will then give you
a page featuring either a community website
page or a detailed community description
page.
For more information on this
online research tool, please visit
the Virtual
Tour of Aboriginal Canada document
on the website of
The Business Link's Alberta Aboriginal
Business Service Network.
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The success of your business is important
to you. Think of all the blood, sweat and
tears you put into running the business
to make a profit, to make a difference.
One thing you may not be thinking about
is preparing for the time you may no longer
want to be involved in the business. That's
what "succession planning" is
all about.
In simplest terms, three key things need
to be considered: You. Your Business.
Your Successor.
You. You're currently working
hard to ensure your business runs smoothly,
and are enjoying its successes. Looking
to the future is really looking at making
more time for you. So, to secure your
financial future - to allow you to retire
comfortably, or pass on your wealth to
your heirs - your needs and your goals
have to be reflected in your succession
plan. It really is all about you.
Your Business. Many business owners
really want to see their business succeed
into the future. But is your business
healthy now? If it is, what will you do
between now and the time you pass the
torch to the next owner to ensure its
viability? If it isn't, what measures
can you take now to improve its health
before you retire or try to sell the business?
Positioning your business as a profit
centre and a viable part of your community
is an important component of your succession
plan.
Your Successor. Do you have someone
in mind or do you have to search for a
successor? Perhaps one of your family
members may be interested in taking over
the business, or you might entrust a valued
employee to assume your role when the
time comes. Your succession plan needs
to consider the person or persons best
suited to lead your company in terms of
know-how, personality, ability and financial
support.
With these three basic concepts in mind,
begin planning your exit strategy now.
It's a strategy for your future success
and the future success of your business…and
it will ultimately affect your community's
and Alberta's economy.
Next issue: Resources to help
you prepare a succession plan.
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