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Anyone who’s ever held a job is aware of hierarchy. You have a manager, your manager has a manager, their manager reports to someone, and so on.

The hierarchy is designed to promote accountability and generally keep the wheels turning and the lights on.

But the largest and most exciting companies today are leaving traditional business management behind.

Today’s business leaders are not only disrupting the industries they enter. They’re also disrupting traditional business management.

Leaving behind traditional hierarchies, bosses, and middle management, a new trend embraces the idea of a flat company structure – or as it’s also known, a holacracy.

As a new or prospective business owner, cash flow is probably one of the first things on your mind.

To run a successful business, a business owner has to be completely on top of where the money is coming from and where it’s headed. This is no easy task.

Late payments, a slow business month, and unexpected expenses all cut into your cash flow, and eventually, your profit margin.

But the good news is that none of these obstacles need to break your business. With a little forethought and planning, you can stay ahead of any issues and ensure a successful cash flow budget.

To get a head start, here are eight tips for managing your cash flow.

Coming up with a company name is one of those initial business steps that seems like it should be a short and simple process, but can easily turn into a lengthy and complicated one.

It can be difficult to capture, in just a few short words, the essence of your business. How do you encapsulate what your brand stands for, represents, and provides with only a few characters?

In today’s digital world, the questions become even more expounded. Now, domain names are another issue to contend with, and finding a unique one can leave business owners, especially small business ones, scratching their heads.

In fact, 46% believe they’re more likely to find a $100 bill on the sidewalk than to find a solid domain name still available. What’s more, 57% of them believe that finding a good domain name is more difficult than deciding on a baby’s name!

While the process should be thought-provoking, it doesn’t have to be difficult. Today, we’re breaking down how to come up with fitting, appropriate, and memorable company name ideas.

Ready to get started? Grab your pencil and let’s dive in!

In 2013, there were about 78,430 new businesses in Canada. Most these SME births occur in scientific, technical, construction, and professional sectors. On a negative note, about 83,240 new business died the same year, and the reasons are far and wide.

However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t start your own profitable business. Even with a crowded and buzzing marketplace, it’s possible to stand out and be a successful startup.

What you need is streamlined marketing objectives that work for your business.

For new business owners, following the best marketing practices is the key to growing a successful enterprise and overcoming challenges.

We’ve decided to make your start a somewhat effortless leap by showing you how to develop a robust marketing plan that works for your new business.

Ready? Let’s explore these tips together and learn more.

When starting a new business two things concern you most: product and growth. But you’re forgetting something.

In fact, you’re forgetting the core of your business, the customer. Neglecting proper care of your incoming and existing customers plummets your sales, profits, and in the end, your business.

Don’t make this mistake.

Many businesses struggle to champion customer satisfaction instead of profits. This mindset leads to their demise in today’s cutthroat business economy.

Why?

Starting a business today proves a simple process with few barriers to entry. This means more competition. To “make it” you must stand out to consumers.

Providing exceptional value to consumers remains a core tenant for successful businesses. To stand out you must consider your customer first.

“What is great customer service?” you ask?

In this article, we’ll answer the questions “what is great customer service” and “why is great customer service important to my business?”.

Let’s dive in!

The light bulb has gone off, so to speak, and you’re laying the groundwork to make the idea into a reality.

But you’re too young. And you lack professional experience. And you’re not mature enough to handle the responsibility of owning and operating your very own company.

That’s what some might say, anyway, when you tell them you want to form a company.

But don’t let the naysayers (or your own personal doubts) dissuade you from pursuing your dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

In this post, we’ll discuss all the reasons why you should form a company while in your 20s.

You’re excited about reaching customers globally.

You have solid, scaleable operations in place to meet customer needs in the local, regional or national marketplace.

You have people in positions to make connections and develop partnerships worldwide.

It sounds like you’re ready to take your Canada-based business global.

But what do you need to know about going global?

Take inventory of your strengths and evaluate your strategy as we dive into how to take your business global.

Not sure where to begin when it comes to content strategy? Content strategies can help you reach your business goals no matter your company size. Creating a content strategy remains a complex process. Content strategies take time to draft and execute. But if done...

Running a business is difficult when there are multiple responsibilities and needs to be addressed.

Finding and managing funds for a startup is time-consuming. Once you pile on the need for logistical oversight, employee management, marketing, business strategy, and all the small details, it can be overwhelming.

Many people try to simplify the issues by taking on partners. How do partnerships work? These are people who have some ownership in the business and often contribute to the workload.

This is a great way to divide up the major responsibilities of running the business, but it can also present new challenges. Especially when you don’t know the people you’re working with.

If you have wondered how partnerships work, this article is for you. We are covering all the technical and personal aspects of setting up or running a partnership and how to deal with partners you don’t have experience with.

Being creative is more than just thinking outside the box.

Creativity without a roadmap, especially in business, can lead to ideas that can’t be executed or don’t fit with your business goals.

In this article, we’ll break down the mystery of creativity, how you can become more creative, and when you should use ideas or throw them in the trash bin.

Congratulations, you’re a small business owner! You’re now a part of the 1.14 million small business owners in Canada. That’s nearly 98 percent of all businesses in the country.

Owning a business is great, but it’s not always enough financially. This leads to business owners looking for alternative ways to make more money. The internet has opened the door to various income opportunities. And you can take advantage of them no matter what industry you’re in.

If you’re a small business owner and want to increase your income, then here are some ideas you can try online and offline.

Ready to register your own business?

Congratulations! Becoming a business owner is a huge step.

It’s often thought that starting your own business is too hard. Some entrepreneurs get caught in the trap of thinking they don’t have what it takes to make it.

However, if you have a creative mind, a good idea, and enough financial backing to get started with, you do have what it takes to start a viable company.

Still, there’s a lot to do to make your business successful. You’ll need to focus on gaining clients, getting your name out there, and putting your business on social media, for starters.

You shouldn’t have to stress about the basic process of getting your business registered on top of the rest. Instead, use this guide to help you figure out how to register a company.

As of December 2015, there were over 1.1 million employer businesses in Canada.

If you are planning on becoming one of the million businesses in Canada, you may be wondering where you should start.

There are steps you’ll need to take to start an Ontario business. And it won’t cost you a whole lot of cash if you’re not in an ideal financial situation.

If you are not sure where to start, we’re here to help.

Read on to find the steps you’ll need to start your new business venture.

If you’re looking to get your business off the ground and keep it there, a good business credit score is a must.

Similar to a personal credit score, though vastly different in some aspects, a business credit score is essential to protecting your company’s financial assets.

From trade capital to financing approval, a solid score is required for a myriad of business transactions and tells others that you’re financially healthy and trustworthy.

Building your credit score can seem daunting at first. Yet, the good news is that if you’re just getting started, you’re in a great position to put into practice some key steps now, so that in the future, your numbers will be where you want them.

Interested in learning more?

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If you’ve never owned a business before and are thinking of starting one, you’ve probably heard a lot about your “brand,” but do you really know why it’s so important?

There are over 1 million small businesses in Canada, and many new business owners get caught up in their product or service. After all, that’s what really matters, right? Well, it certainly doesn’t hurt, but you also need to place an emphasis on your brand.

Branding your business is certainly an important aspect of achieving business success, and you should know the real reasons why. Once you know why it’s so important, you’ll be able to shape your brand to meet your own goals.

Your brand is more than just the symbol you choose to represent your business–it’s all your marketing and advertising efforts, your communications, what you represent, and the overall experience that you want your business to convey to the public.

Here’s what you need to know.

You’ve decided to take the plunge and become your own boss. Good for you! You already know it won’t be easy, but you’ve wanted this for years and are ready to go.

Now that you’re going to be a small business owner, you need to know about small business management. Chances are you’re already an energetic, highly motivated, well-organized person–so this will be right up your alley.

2017 is in full swing, which means many businesses are scurrying to adapt and adopt the latest business trends of the year. There’s still a ways to go before the year ends, but if you are like many Ontario businesses and want to get on board the trendy bandwagon, now’s the time.

What does the year have in store for us? In short, a lot. This year’s business trends continue a long march towards technology, social media, and the need to adapt to these changes in order to survive.

If you want to learn all about the top 10 business trends for 2017, read on.