Make More Sense of the Census

Need census stats written in plain English (or French) in order to build your market profile? Don't have the time or skills to do the analytical work required to make sense of the census data?

As a followup to my last post, click here for a link to a free copy the winter 2007 issue of Statistics Canada's Canadian Social Trends. This free, monthly publication contains analytical articles presenting some of the census data in words with supporting tables, graphs and charts. Based on 2006 census data, this issue provides census snapshots of Canadian urbanization, population (age and sex) and families. The issue also contains articles on trends in transitioning with young adults, home ownership and young adults, and re-accreditation and occupations of immigrant doctors and engineers.

More Potential Canadian Customers! Demographic Profiling

The Canadian population is now above 33 million people. Think about it: more people = more potential customers!

Click here to see the December 19, 2007 population estimates release from Statistics Canada. This release details which provinces showed the most and least growth due to births over deaths, immigration and interprovincial migration.

Demographic Profiling

That's great, you say, but how can someone build a business based on other demographic information? Do you want to find out who lives where: adults, teenagers, children, male/female? How can you find out the languages that are spoken in a particular community? How can you slice and dice the available demographic data to target a specific audience for your business' products and services?

Statistics Canada is always a good place to start and 2006 census data is now in the midst of being released, much of it for free. To quickly create a demographic profile of a community, go to:

1. Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.ca/ and select either English or French.
2. Click on the "Community Profiles" link, type in the desired place name with the appropriate province and click on the Search button.
3. Click on the match to your place name and the next page that appears in the "All Data" default. This provides details of your place name with male/female data compared to its corresponding provincial data: population and dwelling counts, age characteristics, marital status, dwelling data, family and household characteristics, language, immigrant and citizenship status, generation status and mobility status.

Demographics at the Postal Code Level!

Should you require more specific data, say to a particular postal code level, you can use Census Tract profiles. Using census tracts, you can target customers in specific geographic areas with populations from 2500 to 8000 people. There are three different ways to get to these small slices of demographic data, one being using postal codes. Click here to do this.

Language Data

Statistics Canada census data is released over time so check the releases periodically; some data is free and some is not. Some of the language data was released on December 4, 2007, much of it free and containing some excellent detailed data. Click here for access to this data.

By viewing/downloading a particular table (click on the numbered product), you can view such things as language knowledge by the population in a specific city. To do this:

1. Click on one of the catalogue product numbers i.e. Cat. No. 97-555-X2006016
2. Click on the "View/download this product" button
3. Click on the "Geographic index" link
4. Scroll down the page and click on your target geographic area's name
5. View or print the page or download the data in various formats (i.e. comma-delimited to use with Excel)

As an example, click here to show language knowledge in Oakville, Ontario.

Canadian Business Licences and Permits

Do you know where to go to get Canadian business licences or permits? Which ones do you need to start or grow your business?

Believe it or not, federal, provincial and local levels of government are working together to make this easy for you via BizPal, the Online Business Permits and Licences Service.

Here’s how you get started:

1. Go to www.bizpal.ca, select English or French and then click on the "BizPal for Entrepreneurs” link.
2. At the bottom of the next page, click on the “click here” link to get started.
3. Select your local government’s name. Note that if your municipality or town/city is not listed, you will need to contact your local government office (i.e. town hall).
4. You will be asked a variety of questions about your current or proposed business.
5. At the end of the questionnaire, you will get a customized list of potential permits and licences that you may require from all levels of government.
   
   
   

Use Podcasts to Promote Your Business

My last post was on why you might listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Have you ever thought about using podcasts to promote you, your products and/or your business? Why not?

Here's a list of the basics of what you need to do to create your very own podcast:

1. Choose your content, decide how long your podcast will be and write a script.

2. Make sure you have the right equipment: a Mac or PC and an inexpensive microphone will do (like the one that came with your computer). Serious podcasters might consider more expensive microphones, a preamp, a digital recorder, headphones and sound-editing software.

3. Open your sound recording software (e.g. Audacity which can be downloaded free) and create a new project.

4. Record, save and edit your podcast.

5. Export your podcast to MP3 format and edit the ID3 tags (for identifying information).

6. Create an RSS feed (using something like Feedburner) to distribute your podcasts to listeners. Upload your RSS feed to a (your?) website and get it listed on a podcast directory (do this for great exposure to lots of potential customers).

Here are some links with excellent podcasting "how-tos" and tips:

IPodder.org: http://www.ipodder.org/
Podcast Central: http://www.podcastcentral.com/
Podcast.net: http://www.podcast.net/
Podcast Alley: http://www.podcastalley.com/
Podcasting Tools: http://www.podcasting-tools.com/
Podscope: http://www.podscope.com/
Podcast about the Podcast: http://reelreviewsradio.com/archives/2004/12/27/podcast-about-the-podcast/

By the way, as a followup to the last post, here's a link to a directory of some more business podcasts:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/link_10.htm

Should you wish to read some books about podcasting, try your local public library. Many of these books have great appendices which list podcasting-related websites. At the bottom of this post is a link to the results of a title search that I did at the Oakville Public Library. Some of the interesting and informative book titles included:

1. Secrets of Podcasting: Audio Blogging for the Masses by Bart Farkas, 2006
2. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting by George Colombo and Curtis Franklin Jr., 2006
3. How to Do Everything with Podcasting by Shel Holtz with Neville Hobson, 2007
and, of course, a Dummies book:
Podcasting for Dummies by Tee Morris and Eva Terra, 2006

Here's the link to the book search: http://cat.opl.on.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=B1X63658524O2.137007&menu=search&aspect=subtab13&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ma&ri=3&source=%7E%21oakville&index=.TW&term=podcasting&aspect=subtab13&x=7&y=8#focus

Give it a try!

Audiobooks and Podcasts: Listen to the Latest Business Topics

Between going to the bank for financing, commuting, checking into suppliers and driving around town looking for a great franchise location, you are spending a lot of time in your car and you're tired of listening to the top 40. Or maybe you just want to sit back, relax and listen to something relevant to your business startup. Consider listening to business audiobooks or podcasts.

AUDIOBOOKS

We've all heard about audiobooks: books on CD or in digital files (e.g. for use with an MP3, iPod or Windows Media Audio). You may have purchased them at your local Chapters store or downloaded them from audible.com. Did you know that you might also be able to access them for free from your local public library? What a great way to keep your business and personal costs down! Generally, all you need is a library card from a library that offers this service. For example, click on this link and then go to "Business & Careers" to download business audiobooks for free from a group of libraries in Ontario:

http://librariesonthego.library.on.ca/4A240BF2-5E33-48D3-8BB1-504668F0E2B3/10/310/en/Default.htm

PODCASTS

What's a podcast and why would anyone use one? A podcast is a digital media file which is distributed over the Internet and played on a personal computer or a portable media player. Podcasts generally range in length from 5 minutes for quick daily or weekly updates to a half or full hour "show". Here's a list of some great business podcasts:

Canadian Business Online:
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/entrepreneur/ and go to the Podcast section. Also check this site's Technology section for podcasts about social media, etc.

Financial Post's Daily Podcast:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/podcast/index.html

Entrepreneur:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/podcast/index.html

New York Public Library's Small Biz How-To Business Seminars and Podcasts:
http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/smallbiz/video.html

BusinessWeek:
http://www.businessweek.com/search/podcasting.htm

Wall Street Journal Online:
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/8_0018.html?mod=topnav_0_0012

Time:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1184688,00.html

Kiplinger's Personal Finance:
http://www.kiplinger.com/podcasts/

Harvard Business Review's IdeaCast:
http://www.harvardbusinessonline.com/

Free Access to The Wall Street Journal Online is Coming!

The word is out that online access to The Wall Street Journal may soon be free; here's the link to the PC World blog that discusses this:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/005920.html

You may already know that the New York Times ceased charging for its TimesSelect online service in September 2007.

Looking for Free Software and Web Design Templates for your Small Business?

Like most small businesses, you are likely running your company on a tight budget. You might want to check out Downloadpedia: The Software Encyclopedia. It is a web-based, free content software encyclopedia project a la Wikipedia. It has links to tons of free stuff: office software (e.g. OpenOffice, PDFCreator, Zilla CD-DVD Rip'n'Burn), system utilities, image and video editing, animation and 3D modeling/CAD, photo editing, anti-virus software and much more. Here's the link:
http://downloadpedia.org/Main_Page

How will a strong Canadian dollar affect small business?

Here are a few good links about the effects of a strong Canadian dollar on small business:

This Toronto Star article from Oct.11/07 written by Thulasi Srikanthan discusses the competitive pressures brought on by the rising loonie:
http://www.thestar.com/Business/SmallBusiness/article/265052

Below is a TD Economics report, also from Oct.11/07, that reviews the outlook for five key external factors impacting the health of Canadian small business: the prospects for sales, competition, labour markets, non-labour costs and the climate for investment. The report, authored by Craig Alexander, is called Small Businesses to Benefit from Solid Domestic Demand, but Challenges Call for Innovative Thinking. Here's the executive summary and press release: http://www.td.com/economics/special/ca1007_sb_pr.pdf

Here's the full report: http://www.td.com/economics/special/ca1007_sb.pdf

Harvard's Extension School: Understanding Computers and the Internet

Need to brush up on your understanding of your computer (hardware, software, security), the internet, multimedia and website development? David J. Malan, an instructor at Harvard College (the arts and sciences school at Harvard University), has posted lecture notes, videos, slides, MP3 files and podcasts here:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~cscie1/

Are you LinkedIn yet?

This MSN "Your Biz" writer, Eve Tahmincioglu, discusses the benefits to small businesses in using social networking tools, like LinkedIn.
http://yourbiz.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/26/427228.aspx

Here's the link to LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/

Consider using Facebook or MySpace too. Reach out to valuable contacts and customers. Did you know that the Toronto network has 925,804 members as of today (Nov.1, 2007)?

Need a Place to Host a Business Meeting?

Do you find yourself searching for the perfect place to host a business meeting or hold interviews? An obvious choice for many are local hotels and coffee shops. But sometimes hotels are expensive and coffee shops do not offer enough privacy. Try your city's local public library or recreation centre. Some coffee shops also have rooms for rent for a fee (e.g. $10-$15/hour). Another alternative is a professional office facility that rents meeting rooms and offers business services like wifi, copying, printing, scanning and faxing.

Here are some typical rates that you might encounter at a library:
http://www.opl.on.ca/RoomRentals.PDF

Here are some typical types of rooms available for rent at a recreation centre:
http://www.oakville.ca/11944.htm

Places like The Coffee Office, with locations in Windsor, London, Burlington and Toronto, may offer a membership-based business club with meeting spaces, business services and onsite cafe:
http://www.thecoffeeoffice.com/index.htm

Understanding Facebook Opportunities

This is a link to a blog entry about the benefits of how businesses of any size might benefit from using Facebook to reach their target markets. The post is written by Ricardo Covo from Web Nodes - Software Development.

BDC Small Business Week

BDC (Business Development Corporation of Canada) kicks off Small Business Week on Oct.14, 2007. The theme this year is "A World Without Boundaries, Open to New Markets". Click on this link to read more... http://www.bdc.ca/en/about/events_publications/small_business_week/default.htm

Using Web 2.0 Tools to Communicate with Customers

Good article from BusinessWeek (Aug/Sept. 2007) about using Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, podcasting, YouTube video ads, social networking) to communicate with customers more effectively:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_36/b4048441.htm?chan=smallbiz_special+report+--+doing+business+online+2007_doing+business+online+2007

Google Apps and Webauthing

This article by Barry Cornelius at Oxford University Computing Services (June 2007) discusses Google Apps including Webauthing; be aware that the article is a bit on the technical side for most end-users.

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/oucsweb/gapps/2007-06-22-ucisa/normal.pdf

Google Docs Beats Office Live Workspace?

Check out this article with discussions on one author's opinion as to why Google Docs beats Office Live Workspace:
http://www.crn.com/software/202103930

Google Apps and Microsoft's Office Live: SAAS (Software-as-a-Service)

This article from the New York Times (Oct.1/07) discusses Microsoft's Office Live application which will allow users to store, access and share documents online using Microsoft's office software that they've already purchased:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/technology/01soft.html?ex=1348977600&en=9b6fd950b8859753&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

This is the link to Office Live:
http://www.officelive.com/
Here's the link to Office Live for Small Business:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/FX101465131033.aspx

This article from Macworld (Sept.18/07) discusses Google's Google Apps and Google Docs service as well as Microsoft's which bundles online applications like a word processor, spreadsheet, email, calendar and instant messaging:
http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/09/18/googleapps/index.php

This is the link to Google Apps:
https://www.google.com/a/

This is the link to Google Docs:
https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=writely&passive=true&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&followup=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&ltmpl=homepage&nui=1

Interesting IT Blog for Small Businesses

Check out this blog: discussions about social networking tools, wikis, wireless, laptops, VoIP, data backup, etc.

Entrepreneur.com

This is a great site for small business startups as well as for small business expansion.