I presented an interesting lecture Thursday at the Burnaby Public Library. Sponsored by SUCCESS Employment Services, I was asked to speak to new immigrants about ‘Doing Business in Canada’ and give them another option to job seeking; self employment.

It was less interesting from a lecture point of view than the attendees. About 50 entrepreneur wannabe’s showed up for the two hour lecture to hear my realistic no-holds barred approach to starting and doing business in Canada. The group was predominantly from mainland China and most spoke little English. Read the rest of this entry

Get an Edge
Your Unique Selling Proposition is that special thing about your business that totally differentiates you from the competition. Sometimes it‘s the quality of your product that is outstanding compared to the others, sometimes it’s service above and beyond the call. Rolls Royce is known for its supreme quality of its vehicles, and yes the price, of course. It is also renowned for its outstanding service. My friend’s Rolls broke down on a remote place in the country. Rolls Royce sent a limo to pick him up and be with him until the factory mechanic and assistant flew in direct from England within hours to deal with the problem and fixed his car. Read the rest of this entry

All my life I’ve heard the pitches;  follow the ‘secret’, the law of attraction, increase your motivation, find your motivation, find your inner strength, gain self confidence and a plethora of other non tangibles. Oh and let’s not forget the warning they give you if you don’t buy their snakeoil – ‘miss this opportunity and you’ll be a loser forever’.

I’m telling you forgetaboutit.

I am so sick and tired of listening to the pitches to ‘make you the man you always wanted to be and get rich by following my simple techniques to improve your mental state’ and other methods to take advantage of the weak and gullible. Read the rest of this entry

There are many considerations when choosing a name for your new company in Canada

When naming your new business, you have to take into account cultural differences, phonetics, spelling and accents that may affect how your customers find you or relate to your business.

I tell my clients to be very careful when choosing their business name. A good friend of mine told me of his new company name, Dubble Exxpress Go. Anyone would have trouble finding this business in the phone book because the spelling is unusual for those words no matter how bad a speller you may be. Read the rest of this entry

The Vancity Board of Directors election will take place from February 28 to March 27, 2010 by mail ballot and from March 19 to March 27, 2010 in select branches.

There will be three 3-year positions available in 2010 and candidate’s information will be posted to vancity.com mid February. The Election Bulletin will be mailed to all eligible voting members. If you vote for more than three candidates, your ballot will not be valid.
Member voting requirements

Please note that the cutoff date for the 2010 voters list was January 22, 2010.

You must be a member in good standing i.e.

1. over 19 years of age;
2. not be delinquent in any obligation to Vancity; and,
3. have at least $5.00 in your membership share account as of January 22, 2010.

To check your status, please contact any branch, call 604.877.7000 (toll free 1.888.Vancity), or call a Governance Officer at 604.877.6548.