I spoke to a student at the beginning of her schooling to become a registered massage therapist. She feels there are many opportunities for her because there is a demand for her services in the marketplace. Employers recognize the importance of massage from a registered massage therapist in the workforce as it reduces stress, promotes a healthier body, encourages relaxation, and more. Some health benefit plans pay for it and employers control the types of benefits paid to their employees and set the benefit limits. We know that the healthier the employee, the better the performance, which creates a better return.
How to start Marketing your start up business
I agree with her intentions and wish to support her endeavors, so I shared some ideas with her. Since she is just starting out and won’t be in business for a few years, it would be challenging to have interest from the public because people would be looking for treatment she can’t do yet, however it is important to start a web presence and have followers. She already had friends on Facebook and Instagram. These are her friends and family and this is a good start.
These are my recommendations:
1. Pick a name that is personal and enjoyable. Make it classy, respectable, and usable for many years to come. All the efforts you make will promote this name so you don’t want to change it or throw it away. It is changeable but you lose the work put in building it. There are many things to consider:
a. Do you wish to have a legacy? Using your last name will create that. i.e. Ford
b. Do you wish to build a larger business to sell later? Create perhaps a more generic name to sell to anyone who wishes to keep the name. i.e. Capital Foundations Inc.
c. Do you wish to keep it simple and have it for only a few years? You can use your own name. i.e. Julia’s Gourmet Dog Treats
d. Select and create a name that fits. Do research on the name and ensure that the name is not already registered to another business. i.e. Apple
2. Create a website with that name. This is inexpensive to create and keep but it has value. In today’s technological presence, we all need a website for our business. If nothing else, have your contact information and location if applicable. People go to the web to find you.
3. Create a Google page and make sure you are visible on their maps (if applicable). I’m not sure of the other maps but I’m sure they are good too. You want people to find you.
4. Start Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any other reasonably easy to update social media. Write often and regularly even if it’s a simple post. Write blogs on your progress in school for example or on something, you just learned that fascinated you.
5. Get followers and start by asking your friends and family because they will be most likely your first customers.
I wish you luck and good fortune. This is brought to you by your friendly neighborhood accountant.

In my career, I’ve seen many people struggle with understanding their role in their business; that’s because I believe there are 4 types of roles and one person cannot do all four. Some of the roles can be personality traits; a dreamer struggles with detailed activities while a detailed person struggles with exploring new concepts and ideas not experienced yet. In my opinion, these needed roles are in all types and sizes of businesses.
Roles of people in a business
To me, we can break down these necessary roles like this:
1. Visionary – Generally, the owner is the dreamer, but doesn’t have to be. All businesses need a dreamer. Someone who wants to take risks and wants to explore areas of the industry not yet attempted. This provides growth and ambition for the business.
2. Manager – This would be the CEO or the President. Their role is to manage the day-to-day stuff, to make sure we are following the dream, and make policies and procedures. Without this person, there is chaos and waste.
3. Craftsman – These are the professionals who understand the true depths of their field, like accountants and engineers. Hire these people on a part-time bases or as a consultant but without expertise, we risk failure and unnecessary errors.
4. Doers – These are the front-line people. They could be sales clerks, assembly line workers, servers, cooks, and more. All businesses need this.
Since we need all of these roles, the owner/operator has to do all of them. Since we don’t possess all these traits, we struggle with doing some of them, but there is hope; we can hire the individual people eventually or we can sub-contract some of the roles, even and especially part time. In the meanwhile, be creative, manage your business, hire the expertise as needed, and do the work until you can hire your replacement.
Brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood accountant.
Keep things simple!

A wealthy man entertained me with his thoughts on how we can make our millions. This prospect intrigued me, so I listened intently. The concepts to becoming wealthy are quite simple, buy low and sell high, surround yourself with like minded people, take action, be confident and decisive, know your stuff, do your research, and the list goes on. I wish to share the starting of a business from his perspective.
Where to start when you don’t have a desired product or service
His first recommendation is to reach out to a business development center in your area. I know of these, there are many, and I believe that most cities and towns have them. Some towns and cities have multiple types of these resources. Meet with the business development center and ask what is the most needed business or ask them if there is a clear gap in the marketplace for services offered in the city. Asking this identifies what buyers need or want. The center will have a large database to draw from. Alternatively, determine the fastest growing segment in the area and see if that is something that would interest you.
Once you determine the top 3 potential business types, meet with them to see what is involved. Whatever it is, you’ll have to master the business even if you hire someone to fill the knowledge gaps. For example, if you believe opening a Vietnamese restaurant is in high demand, make sure you understand how to run a restaurant even though you won’t be cooking or perhaps have someone manage it. Surround yourself with people who understand your new business venture.
Gather the needed information to start this new venture. Yes, do the research; there is no way around this if you wish to start your own business. Once you collect the necessary information, raise the capital if you don’t already have it. Some businesses, such as a variety store, only need the cost of inventory and rent. Ventures like this are the easiest to start but not very profitable.
Have fun! Brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood accountant.
Keep it simple!

I was watching a program on television the other day that spoke of being successful in your financial life. The concepts were complex to me. I listened and watched but nothing seemed to make sense, so I thought I’d write this blog to help my clients work towards their financial successes.
Are you winning the game of financial success?
Like any sports game, to win the game, we need good defense and offense strategies. In finance, I would define defense as your spending habits and earning money as your offense.
Let’s start with a good defense.
• Know your expenses; understanding your expenses helps with preventing unexpected costs. Anticipate and save for expenses such as a new roof or the replacement of an old, used car. Create a budget.
• Share your goals with your family so they can help in reducing costs such as turning off the lights, not wasting food, walking instead of getting a ride to the corner, etc…
• Stay strong to your convictions of keeping your spending on track. Avoid unnecessary expenses such as, “Do you want to upsize the fries with that?”
• Pay attention to your bills to ensure there are no surprises such as unexplained fees, increase in rates without a new contract, and reduce or eliminate items you don’t need or want anymore.
• Take advantage of cost savings whenever possible such as coupons, waiting for sales, timing your expenses, reducing debt faster even for a couple of days.
With a good defense, we need a good offense.
• Find opportunities to earn extra money such as working overtime but save it or use the extra income to reduce debt. It’s nearly impossible to find an investment that will pay more than the interest rate of debt.
• Create passive income such as the following:
o Rental income from a house, a car, equipment, etc.
o Borrow money then lend it out at a higher interest rate
o Run a business and make it self-sufficient
o Get contracts and sub-contract the work
o Investment income such as GIC’s and mutual funds
• Invest in yourself such as schooling that will provide additional pay.
• Work another job but put the money to good use.
If you are working harder now than you did before to maintain your current lifestyle, I think it’s time to revisit your lifestyle choices. Brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood accountant.
Keep things simple

I have many solicitors trying to connect with me and because I don’t want or need their products or services, I feel bombarded. It is often because they use high pressure sales techniques and that they aren’t listening to what I really want. When I am interested in their products or services, I feel like most of them don’t care about me, they just want to make a sale. Most solicitations are not wanted because I don’t want or need the product or service. This situation happens to me so frequently that I’m accustomed to the sales person’s pressure to buy; when this happens, I simply tell them I’m not interested and if they continue to sell, I definitely will not buy from them. It shows a lack of respect.
Sometimes, you may need to speak to the person who makes the decisions while doing business and there are a few techniques that can help you achieve this. Set yourself apart from the crowd with the tips below, as most salespeople don’t move beyond their script.
How to break down the front door?
The doorkeepers can be an assistant, a receptionist, or the decision maker pretending not to be there. Here are a few ideas and concepts that might help you break through the front door.
1. Be respectful to the decision maker’s needs and constraints. Once you disrespect someone, you lost him or her for life. I personally will not speak to anyone who will not respect my time or answer my questions. Be prepared to go off the script to answer the few basic questions a future customer might have.
2. Build a relationship and be trustworthy. Many don’t buy from people they don’t know or trust.
3. Be respectful to the person answering the phone. Even if they are not the decision maker, they have influence. I know if my assistant or colleagues say that the salesperson was disrespectful once they found out who they were, I will not return the call or entertain their requests.
4. Determine the clients true needs and wants. You have an opportunity to learn what a client wants or needs by asking questions. Once you fill that need, they want you to fill another need.
Having a script works and for most people, it’s needed, but be prepared to deviate from the script when the situation calls for it. Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood accountant.
Keep things simple!

The lack of a business plan is the biggest error most business owners make, in my opinion. As an accountant, here in Hamilton, I see many clients get frustrated because they are not achieving results. Business Plans don’t need to be complex or out of reach, but they are the measuring stick for business owners to evaluate their successes.
Business Planning
A simple business plan is much better than no plan at all; I highly recommend creating one even if you start small and lack specific details. Let’s look at the simplest parts of a plan to help you create one:
1. Key Success Factors – What are the key things that you must do to be successful? Write these down and make sure that these are the core of your business! Example: Each customer must leave with a smile, etc.
2. Marketing – How are you going to generate sales? What do you need to do to bring customers through the door? Design your image, get a web presence, figure out what you need to do to generate leads or sales.
3. Sales flow – Write out the forecasted sales and be realistic; there is no sense in fooling yourself! Trying to achieve riches without knowing how to generate the sales create chaos. Know your sales, and when and where they will come from.
4. Profitable – Make sure your sales are profitable. Calculate the costs and see what you are selling your product or service for and then see if you should adjust your prices. Selling a pencil for $100 when no one will buy it is futile while selling the same pencil for $1.00 when it costs $2.00 is self defeating. Know your costs.
5. Create your projected profit and loss statements and your cash flow. Each of these are critical to know and it’s just as important to know when you are going to be short. This will allow you to plan when to get more money to cover the shortfalls. This will also help you to know if you can pull money out for yourself.
This is a simple plan but necessary to start. I hope for your success. Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood accountant.
Keep things simple!