Getting Organized

The wind is howling around the house, the streets slick with ice, it is snowing again, the car is a frozen metal hulk that just might warm up while I shovel. Cabin fever has me muttering to myself. I have family in Jamaica, friends in Florida, and a sister in Victoria who send their sympathies. So what am I doing here? Bad planning is all I can think of at the moment.

Flooding, forest fires and even mudslides – like those that recently happened in eastern British Columbia – can unfortunately be a frequent occurrence in various Canadian regions leading up to and during the summer months. These situations take both an emotional and financial toll on those who live and do business in those areas. However, such events are proof of the strength of those who are able to overcome such chaos and serve as a reminder that it’s important to be as prepared as possible for adversity. A recent study of Canadian small businesses owners conducted by Sage North America showed that Canadian businesses may not be sufficiently prepared for a crisis. While 98 per cent of respondents said they back up their financial data, 71 per cent of surveyed owners said they do not have a formal emergency or disaster preparedness plan in place. Respondents cited that they haven’t had any issues in the past that influenced the decision to develop a plan (41%), they hadn’t thought about it (33%) or they don’t think it’s important for their business as reasons for not having a plan.

As women entrepreneurs, I know that we give our 'all' to our business! I do that – and I know I'm not alone. When I was going through my separation and divorce (and the many other 'life challenges' that happened at the same time), I was so...

Does September feel like the beginning of a new year to you? Here are three lessons we can learn from what students are doing this fall to help move our own careers forward...

As someone who does a lot of social networking, both online and in-person, I receive a lot of requests for meetings. When I first started my business I said yes to everyone, and I wasted a lot of my time because I didn’t properly qualify what the meeting was going to be about. As a result, only rarely did these meetings result in any new business. I had to learn how to say no while making sure I didn’t upset the requester and hurt my reputation. As your reputation grows, more people will want a little piece of you. They will want to have coffee, talk on the phone, or chat over email or via social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. If you say yes to every request you will not have time to get anything done.