As a serial entrepreneur my passion continues to lay in the creation, nurturing and growth of new ideas, concepts and overall businesses.

To be an actual entrepreneur there are a number of traits I strongly believe one must possess and amongst those is the ability to finance and support your idea. This can range from loans, to grants to investments or stream from one’s own capital.

A study released by the Globe and Mail last year showed that Canada ranked number two behind the United States for entrepreneurship amongst the Group of Seven Countries. The issue however, was the sustainability of these new businesses.

The factor, similar to that which restricts many entrepreneurs from launching their new innovations or ideas, is not having the start-up funds in place to get moving.

Here at Wish Group I strive to continue to try and alleviate this barrier to entry and have been able to do so with a number of the companies that we have under the umbrella like the Mike Agency and The Streaming Network. Both co-founders had a great plan and concept in place and my belief in that was enough for me to invest personally in both.

Now, if you’re unable to find a holding company or silent investor to help take your dream to reality, there are tons of resources available. Taking the time to source these and go through the application process may seem tedious but will be a minor piece of the puzzle once you step back and look at the whole picture.

Grants and Loans for Young Entrepreneurs

A recent article by Canada One Magazine did a great job of outlining a range of opportunities for the young entrepreneur. Typically these are for business owners between 18 and 35 and can give any start up the jump start they need to take their idea to the next level.

Government Assistance

Perhaps you’re in your mid to late 30s or 40s and are finally ready to take a chance on an idea you’ve had for years. You’re over the typical nine to five, you’re ready to be your own boss and you have the time on your hands as far as familial responsibilities goes. Again the only thing stopping you is the financial nest egg you wished you had. The Canadian Government may be able to help. Based on various factors, you can get creative in finding ways to help find the right assistance for your particular business plan and perhaps get started with a little more ease than you thought.

Find the Right People

Another great way to help find the right investment for your new business is to get involved with support systems which are truly endless.

They can help to either provide you with valuable information and resources, put you in touch with other likeminded entrepreneurs for potential business opportunities or actually help to find the right investor for your business idea. Again, depending on your unique business plan, requirements, location and industry the right fit is just a few key strokes away.

It’s tried and proven – positive recognition of your employees accomplishments work to increase retention, productivity, work environments and overall profit.

Here at the Wish Group it is something very important to our culture and something that we have formally built in throughout the year. Four times a year we hold company-wide events to review the successes and goals for the quarter ahead and each is concluded with an awards segment. Definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of the day for both employees and management, it is a great time to showcase the efforts of team members in a public forum where other team members can also hear of the achievements of co-workers.

If you’re still working on building your rewards and recognition program there are a number of ways you can take a moment to let your valued team know what they mean to the organization in the meantime-all of which don’t cost you anything additional.

In The Moment Mentions

Meetings are meant to discuss progress, projects and issues overall. When an employee uses this forum to step up, make a suggestion or take initiative, it opens the door to you as the business owner to show immediate recognition. It may not be monetary based, but telling someone in front of their peers and in some cases managers that they had a great idea or that you are on board with their thought process, can do wonders. Not only will this make this person’s day but also show others in the organization that people are listening and appreciating their work and dedication. This in turn can lead to others also being motivated to do more and lead to higher productivity and new innovation.

You’ve Got Mail

If you’re not in the meeting and hear of an achievement made by someone on the team, or receive positive feedback from a customer or partner, use email to send along the pat on the back. When you’re opening up a mail box full of messages asking for answers, demanding delivery times, and requesting meetings, a positive email commending you on work well done provides a huge boost to employee moral while providing them with some additional work related documentation for their portfolios and resumes.

Announce It

Each month we also have an inter-office newsletter which provides a short update on the operations of each of the companies under the Wish Group for everyone in the company to read up on. Each business owner is encouraged to mention the efforts of a team member that went above and beyond or perhaps had a great sale. This has worked to create two positive changes in the company. One, employees know that they will get the immediate recognition for something they’ve achieved because they see it in action, and two, it has also created further dialogues amongst team members of different companies as they congratulate them on the task accomplished or new account won.

Overall, it doesn’t take a business guru to make the argument for positively reinforcing their staff but it does take a strong business owner to understand the importance for initiating, nurturing and growing this program throughout the organization for further success.

Best of luck keeping your stars shining!

Frank.

Smart business owners, especially those in the B2B space cannot continue to shelve the importance of content marketing. Since it is one of the most time consuming items on a company’s marketing list and one that requires constant dedication, content marketing unfortunately ends up on the back burner on a list of ‘to dos’.

As an entrepreneur, you have tons unique content, input and insight that can be used to develop content marketing pieces. We have focused a lot more of our efforts on this here at the companies under the Wish Group. Each new piece of content is not only aiding in achieving content marketing goals like becoming thought leaders and a key source for information to help move prospects through the buying cycle but is working internally to create a new stream of momentum and excitement within the teams. Sales teams are excited to have something new to share with their clients and prospects as well as on their social media. Marketing is motivated to continue putting out pieces that teams can get behind, and finally the business owners and managers themselves are inspired to review, and compile valuable content to share with the market.

A recent review of The Streaming Network, the virtual events specialists here at the Wish Group revealed a high performance year overall with some amazing numbers with regards to webinars run and engagement. The statistics were turned into an easy to read infographic which will become one of the new pieces of content for the upcoming website as well as something that can be shared by the Sales team s when speaking to prospects and clients.

If you’re still a bit behind on content marketing find the key people on your team that can help formulate the structure of your strategy. From there you’re going to need to start compiling and organizing useful, helpful and marketing related material to start sharing. There are a number of ways to do this, here are a few that have proven successful for us.

Infographics

Infographics are a great and simple representation of basic to very intricate statistics that otherwise may be overwhelming for your audience to engage with. I find that they are also great pieces of visual support for presentations used across the organization.

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/12-infographic-tips/

Case Studies

We use a lot of case studies for work at the Mike Agency where the information lends itself to the format. Showcasing our skill set at the agency by focusing on how we were able to take a client from step one to completion is another piece of content that not only serves its purpose for digital marketing but also for pitches and presentations.

Webinars

As you saw with The Streaming Network infographic, webinars are on the rise and Canadian companies are beginning to use them to deliver even more categories of content including training and corporate communications. Webinars are another popular form of content marketing for us here at the Wish Group.

Once you have your content, finding the right medium to deliver it with becomes an easier task. Good luck with starting, nurturing and growing your content marketing strategies and have a great week!

Frank.

Whether you’re an entrepreneurial start up or been in business for generations, having a clear, concise and easy to navigate website can be the deciding factor for a customer considering your product or service.
Now, I’m sure while many of you are likely thinking, “that seems pretty obvious”, the fact is that there are many businesses that continue try and get by without optimizing their sites whether it be with regards to SEO, mobile
compatibility or simple navigation.

The most common issue seems to still be relevancy and updating of sites. I’m not talking about changing an address or adding a new executive I’m talking about keeping up with changes in SEO, updates with social media platforms and the most important, ensuring your site is responsive to all devices including tablets and mobile devices.

Although having to keep a keen eye on your site can seem tedious keep in mind it is still your most effective tool when competing in today’s global environment. Here are some key reasons why.

Maximize Your Spend

There are limited surprises when it comes to the cost of your website and web updates. Unlike day to day business a quote on building your site or hours required by internal resources remain fairly steady once you’ve been presented with the work back plan and overall strategy. Further to that you can also cut costs with an effective website whether that is in marketing, sales, communications or HR by ensuring key messages are clear and concise and your SEO strategy provides high ranking in searches.

Never Close the Doors

While your business may close at some point each day, your website provides 24/7 visibility. This means that your company can be researched when a potential client is ready to find out more. If online sales are part of your strategy, you’re basically never closed and your overall increase in revenue is a direct result of your effective site.

Credibility

This is where transparency can lead to the credibility required to help increase your overall sales. You may have a stellar product with star sales and implementation staff but the problem could be as simple as website not telling this story effectively to the market.

As you all already know, word of mouth is a huge driver of business and your site is a great place to house this actual feedback from customers for other potential customers to read. Although it may take a bit of work, working with key clients to build testimonials and reviews for your site will help increase your credibility while also further helping to boost your online rankings.

Content Marketing

Right, so your Marketing department likely has tons of content. The trick becomes balancing this content with a budget and trying to get it into the hands of your potential client base. Your website however, provides an unlimited amount of space to share this content and also to garner leads with both gated and ungated content. Allowing visitors to share content on social media via your site can take your engagement up tenfold and in turn open the door to an even larger potential customer base. Blogs are also a proven tactic to help increase sales via content.

The Mike Agency, the design agency here at Wish Group continues to now work with clients on the next phase of blogs –vlogs.

According to GlobalWebIndex, 42% of internet users say they have watched a vlog within the last month with the majority of vlog viewers( 93%) watching them on YouTube.

All in all, it cannot be ignored. If you’re a business that wants to increase sales, you need an effective website. If you’re a business that wants to educate the public, they want to consume this information online. If you’re getting business in the door and feel that you don’t need a site, think about what you’re missing out on. The question is no longer “do we need a site?” but rather “how are we going to get the most out of our site?”

Have a great week!

Frank.

When speaking to new recruits what do you tell them about your company? While you may talk through structure, history, clients, products and services during your interview process, one of the main sections that seems to be left out is the discussion on culture. If someone is willing to make your business part of their lives, and spend the majority of their time in your offices, what can they expect to be walking in to?

The idea of all work and no play is best left to scary movies while the thought behind what makes your organization unique, attractive to new prospects and a great place to work for your current teams is something that should be addressed if not already.

Flexibility

One of the most competitive factors for recruitment in the past few years has been flexibility. Things like summer hours or working from home have been around for years but the bar has risen once again. The most recent example of flexibility has come from companies like Netflix with regards to maternity and paternity leave. Aside from making huge splashes in the media and garnering new recruits through no additional costs, the company also made a large statement about what it means to work at the company and how they value their employees and their families. With collaboration services, like the ones offered here at Evolve Collaboration, one of the Wish Group companies, joining calls from the road, vacation, or home are a no brainer and where required video conferencing is also available. Offering the right tools to allow for increased flexibility can work together to create a very distinct cultural change for an organization.

Professional Development

I remember about ten or so years ago when getting your company to pay for your MBA or professional accreditation was a huge incentive to join an organization. In today’s environment there are a number of other ways to also build professional development into your culture. Showing the importance of developing your teams speaks volumes both internally and externally and can create a powerful team of loyal team members in the company. Some great ways to do this include lunch and learn series’, employee presentations, paid external workshops and also taking advantage of membership perks from associations the company is part of that may be offering up similar learning opportunities.

Social Responsibility

One of the main reasons for anyone staying with an organization is the personal pride they feel when telling others where they work. Social responsibility is huge here at Wish Group and plays a big role in bringing the team together outside of work related projects. I had posted about our Holiday Wish initiative in December which is just one example of how employees can get involved in something bigger that ends in a positive feeling that is created from working together. You can go as small as organizing a day of volunteering at a local food bank or not for profit event, to raising funds as a team for an upcoming marathon to building out a full not-for-profit arm of the business.

Your organization is like a country and your employees its citizens. We’re proud to be Canadian for number of reasons and unique for those same reasons. Similarly in your companies, I think that it is critical to foster the same identity allowing for not only a balanced environment that encourages growth, competition and rewards but also one that provides an additional level of personal pride for coming in and contributing to the vision day in and day out.

Until next week.

Frank.

The strength of video has been ever present, but it is only in the last few years or so that I began to actually see the powerful presence that video holds with regards to social media marketing and promoting a brand, company or service.

While I find videos generally interesting as a medium to share life stories I began to really get interested in how video was able to boost my business here at the Wish Group. The reports and surveys that have been done by various market experts continue to surprise as not only do videos continue to prove to be effective with B2C businesses but are just as important to B2B businesses.

It seems like a no brainer given the accelerated ramp up of Youtube and advertising spend on the online property but I am constantly floored by the number of colleagues that I talk that either haven’t embraced the power of video or like many, may understand the need for more video content but don’t know where to get started.

It has been this trend and growing popularity that led to the recent launch of our newest endeavour here at the Wish Group, specifically with The Streaming Network. The Streaming Network Studio was built to provide these short format videos to businesses looking to address a number of video content needs. Aside from being a full production house that can take clients from concept to production and final product in about 48 hours, they also provide a the full experience at one flat rate making this a hugely budget-friendly option for any business.

Cisco recently reported that by 2017, video will account for 69% of all consumer Internet traffic and that consumers who view video ads on a mobile device are 3 times as likely to click through. When considering video in your business the question is no longer if you can afford to create good video content, it’s more about how and when can ensure to get this done?

Aside from these growing trends there are a number of other facets that video content can address for a business.

Testimonials

Word of mouth has always been the best source of business. I actually have business partners and contacts that rely almost entirely on referrals to drive their small businesses. Taking it to the next level can be done with video testimonials and focus on what one single person truly enjoyed about your particular service or product. Reading a 300 word post will receive much less attention than a 30 second video that is easier to digest as well.

Social Media

All of the social media platforms allow for video and there’s a reason for that. Again there is a huge benefit available to businesses that get on board.

A Great Way to Tell A Story

While the market place will be seeing a lot more video content coming from the companies here at the Wish Group I have been using the tactic in segments to tell the market about what we do here and have seen a much higher engagement than when I send out an email campaign or create a post.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8JhE84f11Y&w=560&h=315]

I also use video internally to share the month’s review and key notes with the entire team –making it easy for employees to catch up on what’s happening across the company without having to read through a 500 email. In the last six months of introducing this to the teams we’ve seen an instant increase in open rates and engagement!

The numbers clearly speak for themselves, and clearly they are not to be ignored. If there’s one thing I want to stress this week it’s to really think about building a video content strategy into your business and when considering budget, don’t bulk this into marketing alone. There is so much more value available here. From recruitment, to public relations to building corporate culture and social media value there are endless opportunities to grow your business with the power of video.