Did you know it’s Small Business Week in Canada? This annual event has been supported by BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada) for 45 years. When I was first running my own business 20 years ago this was a big event in the entrepreneur calendar. Now it almost seems an afterthought at best. What’s happened? My guess is that 20 years ago we were very much more focused on ‘traditional… Read More »Are Small Businesses Being Ignored?
The storm that blew through Bruce County a few weeks ago left a trail of downed trees including 7 on my partner’s property. It’s always a shame to see any tree disappear because of the benefit they have on the environment and we will be replacing them x3 at least. What it did mean was a lot of lumber that needed cutting up, chopping and splitting. Of course, this wood… Read More »The Top Business Skill You Don’t Use Enough
Imagine standing at a local networking event and every second that passes, two more new people walked in the door. It would soon get packed!
This is exactly what is happening 24 hours a day on LinkedIn as 7,200 new members join ever hour. As the world’s largest professional network, with over 450 million members, LinkedIn offers a huge global business opportunity.
But can it be useful on a local level and can it help you build new relationships and grow your business or career? Yes!
LinkedIn is business focused unlike Facebook or Twitter where the lines are blurred. On LinkedIn it is understood that you are connecting for business purposes. Around 40% of LinkedIn’s 12 million Canadian members live in Ontario. A simple postcode ‘Advanced Search’ can connect you with people as close as a 15 km radius to your location or target area.
You can also search by industry, company, job title and specific keywords to accurately pinpoint the connections your business needs. It is important for you to be very clear about who you want to connect with and why.
With that in mind, here are my TOP TEN ways to use LinkedIn effectively;
Read More »10 Ways LinkedIn Can Help Build Your Local Business
The recent news that Bombardier (the Canadian transportation company) had a strategy around it's business development and lobbying activity should come as no surprise. In fact I was astounded that the tone of the Globe & Mail article and certain commentators seemed to perceive this as somewhat deceitful. The particular business activity that was being analysed was their eventual win of a $2 billion train and maintenance contract for South… Read More »Your networking is confusing me. Am I missing something or has the train left the station?