The 7 Best Green Business Ideas

Saturday, February 4, 2012
As someone thinking of starting a small business, starting a green business has two advantages over starting any other kind of business. First, interest in being green and patronizing green businesses is growing so you will be starting a business targeting a growing market. Second, starting a green business can be particularly satisfying as you get to make your own contribution to making the world a better place. Here are what I think are the best green business ideas. Even More Business Ideas ...
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Extreme Startups Accelerator Accepting Applications

Friday, February 3, 2012
Extreme Startups is a new small business accelerator program just launched in Toronto. From now until March 1st, 2012, applications are being accepted for five startups to participate in the first Cohort, a 12 week incubation program. Read Full PostExtreme Startups Accelerator Accepting Applications originally a ...
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Blow Your Own Horn

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Never underestimate the importance of self-promotion. Especially if you operate a service business, you are your business. To keep your business strong and growing, you need to be able to tell other people about what you do well and what you've accomplished. Clients are not attracted to the meek and downcast. Yet so many of us find it hard to speak up when we're the subject. Here's how to blow your own horn - gracefully and well. This article is part of the ...
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BMO Earmarks $10 Billion for Canadian Small Businesses

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The Bank of Montreal (BMO) has announced it will raise its credit available to small and medium-sized businesses by C$10 billion ($10 billion) over the next three years, representing a 26 percent increase over its current C$38 billion book of loans to the segment (Rueters). "We are seeking to boost lending in every region of the country by actively reaching out to entrepreneurs, including women, and aboriginal entrepreneurs. We are also connecting with younger entrepreneurs..." , said Frank Techar, president and CEO of personal and co ...
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How to Invoice in Canada

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
How to invoice the customers who buy your products and services depends on your Canadian small business's tax situation. Because of the different tax requirements of various provinces and the rules surrounding the goods and Services Tax (GST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), an invoice from a business that qualifies as a Small Supplier in Alberta has different requirements than an invoice from a business in Ontario that doesn't. So I've put together a collection of invoice templates that provide models of the different invoices that different tax scenarios require. Just pick the one that matc ...
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Social Coupons - Good for the Small Business?

Sunday, January 29, 2012
As consumers we love great deals, but do the social coupon offers  make sense for small businesses? For most businesses they are tempted to buy into social coupon sites like Groupon and Living Social. I've seen so many small businesses walk away after they have bought into the "social coupon craze" realizing they may have not only lost money, but diluted their brand....Read Full Post ...
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Ten Ways Restaurant and Entertainment Industries Can Use Social Media to Market

Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Many businesses are trying to figure out how to use social media to grow their business and increase their revenue. The industries of restaurants and entertainment is no different. I'm always surprised at how many of these businesses are not using social media marketing, but for most, it boils down to the lack of knowledge on how to use this new medium to create commerce in their businesses. Commerce won't come overnight; that I can guarantee you, but by getting involved and adopting social media as a way to engage and interact with your customers and patrons you will find that commerce will come sooner than later....Read Full Post ...
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Content Marketing - Understand the Why and How

Friday, January 20, 2012
Are you using content to market your business? Content is king. I know, you've heard it and if you haven't I'm afraid you've had your head in the sand and it's time to dig it out. It's true content is very important when it comes to marketing and I'm going to show you why....Read Full Post ...
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5 Steps To a Winning Social Media Strategy

Sunday, January 15, 2012
Are you frustrated with the results that you are seeing from social media marketing? Did you ever stop to consider that maybe you are doing it wrong? Over the last few years I've seen companies sign up for a Facebook account, a Twitter account, put their profile on LinkedIn and sign up for Google+ and they can't figure out why the sales are not pouring in.... ...
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What Impact Will Google's "Your World" Have on Search Marketing?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Are you ready for Google to bring Your World to your search results? I hope so, because that's what they announced today. Your World marks the third major move toward social search. Google's goal is to transform the search engine into a tool that not only understand content, understands people and relationships....Read Full Post ...
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5 Ways to Predict a Trend

Friday, February 3, 2012
Spotting a trend ahead of the competition can give you a big leg up. But how do you know what a trend is before it develops? Here are five ways you can spot trends while they are still on the horizon. ...
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The Winning Game Plan for Your Home-Based Business

Friday, February 3, 2012
To make your home business successful, you need a game plan. Start your home business on the right foot with a plan that addresses these three issues. ...
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3 Steps to Crafting Your 2012 Marketing Plan

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Does your business have a marketing plan? You can probably survive without it, but if you really want your business to surge ahead, you're going to want to create one. Learn these three basic steps for creating a marketing plan. ...
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The Most Important Force Behind Change

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Whether you're a big corporation or small business, getting employees to embrace change doesn't come easy. Find out what skills a leader needs in order to implement changes with less resistance. ...
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5 Ways Small Businesses Can Improve Their Ads

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Small businesses don't have the luxury of being able to test numerous marketing campaigns since they are usually working with a very tight budget. These five tips can help small businesses improve their advertising techniques without spending a lot of money. ...
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Grow Yourself: Attend One of These Small Biz Events

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Every two weeks we put together a list of key events for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The following Small Business Events Guide contains worthwhile events for those wanting to grow their businesses: * * * * * Small Biz Success Summit 2012 February 1 – 23, 2012 – Online Presented by Social Media Examiner, this mega-event is designed to help you grow your small business using social media. There’s no travel! You simply attend this online event fromRead MoreFrom ...
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Get Ready To Shake The World

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Have you noticed that there is a whole new personality and a new way of being to successful entrepreneurship?  Just compare the successful entrepreneurs from one hundred years ago and those of today ? there is a subtle difference about how Andrew Carnegie built his business and how Larry Page and Sergey Brin built Google. This new theme of being successful is what James Marshall Reilly (@reillytweet)  explores in his book Shake the World: It?s NotRead MoreFrom Small Business TrendsGet R ...
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Cautious Optimism For Small Business

Friday, February 3, 2012
Jobs.  What’s more important to an economy (and a household for that matter) than for people to be working?  Of course there’s many factors but no matter who you are, employment and jobs are right up there at the top of the list of what is needed for a healthy and vibrant economy.  That’s why I am rejoicing at today’s jobs report. The jobs report that came out today said that unemployment is at a 3 yearRead MoreFrom Small Business TrendsCautious Optimism For Small Business ...
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How One Company Spent Zero on Marketing

Friday, February 3, 2012
That one company mentioned? It happens to be mine. Early on, much wasn’t being spent on marketing simply because the funds weren’t available. Some dabbling was done with the usual suspects: the Yellow Pages, online ads, etc. None seemed to do more to build my brand online. So now, five years later, surprisingly nothing is being invested in marketing yet enough was earned to profit and expand. Intrigued? Read on. Unfair Advantage I’m a big proponent ofRead MoreFrom Small Business TrendsHow One Company Spent Zero on Marketing ...
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Matt Trifiro of Desk.com: Meeting Customer Service Expectations in a Social World

Friday, February 3, 2012
The Rolling Stones proudly sang, ?Time is on my side, yes it is.? These days, time seems to be an adversary that everyone is fighting, especially when it comes to social media and small business. Unlike large corporations, small businesses do not have the ability to hire teams of individuals to monitor and respond to customer service issues on social media sites. So what?s a small business to do? Matt Trifiro joins Brent Leary to offer a solution. *Read MoreFrom Small Business TrendsMatt Trifiro of Desk.com: Meeting Customer Service Expectations in a Social World ...
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The Accidental Business Consultant, or Not

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Q: What is the largest expanding industry in America today? A: Private Consulting Not only are there more small companies than at any time in American history materializing, but an... Read more » ...
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How to Lower Small Business Health Insurance Costs

Friday, February 3, 2012
One of the biggest expenses for small businesses is offering health care benefits to employees. You can offer health care to employees of your small business by purchasing a group... Read more » ...
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Top 10 Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

Friday, February 3, 2012
I believe that entrepreneurship can be taught. Here are some entrepreneurial traits you need to acquire and master in order to be a successful entrepreneur… 1. Communication: If you can’t... Read more » ...
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The Main Online ERP Providers for Small and Medium Businesses

Thursday, February 2, 2012
If you’re new to the exciting world of running your own business, you might find it a challenge just to tackle the everyday things. It’s understandable; running a company –... Read more » ...
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Gallup Poll Finds Worker Job Engagement Nears All-Time Low

Thursday, February 2, 2012
A recent Gallup Poll survey on employee engagement in the workplace produced some very disturbing results, especially to those of us who work in the field of employee recognition and... Read more » ...
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Weekend Favs February Four

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Weekend Favs February FourThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Weekend Favs February FourThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is ...
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Does Your Marketing Make the Grade

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Does Your Marketing Make the GradeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Does Your Marketing Make the GradeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Laura Fitton (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen) A number of years ago Hubspot created something called the Website Grader, a tool that ...
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What Say You About Scheduled Tweets

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
What Say You About Scheduled TweetsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing What Say You About Scheduled TweetsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Yesterday’s post about using a tool called Buffer to schedule Tweets throughout the day had some folks cheering and some folks suggesting that scheduled Tweets ruined the conversation on Twitter and were kind of bot like. What’s your thinking on this. Take the quick ...
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How and Why I Use Buffer

Monday, January 30, 2012
How and Why I Use BufferThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing How and Why I Use BufferThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing One of the services I believe marketers should provide their followers and community members these days is that of filtering and aggregating good, relevant content. I subscribe to over 100 blogs and I hear over and over again how much some of the folks ...
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Weekend Favs January Twenty Eight

Saturday, January 28, 2012
Weekend Favs January Twenty EightThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Weekend Favs January Twenty EightThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post ...
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Floor Safety OK Announcing Even Better GREEN Product Line!

Monday, August 1, 2011
Are you wondering how YOU can help to create a safer tomorrow?  By telling everyone you meet, everyone you know about the remarkable products that are available for use that will not harm the environment.  Why continue to use caustic, harmful cleaning products that merely add to our precious earth's demise?   We cater to large industries and their commercial janitorial needs for chemicals that truly work in various markets such as Hospitals, Schools, Shopping Centers, Assisted Living Centers, Airports, and other markets too numerous to name here.   Among our GREEN cleaning line are products such as:   --our green anti-slip floor treatment that prevents wet floors from being slippery once applied   --our multi-purpose enzymatic cleaner (extremely effective for odor control, degrading organic wastes, and the perfect solution for pesky fruit flies too! plus many other uses!)  --our very ec ...
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Ottawa Classic - an OPA event

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
This weekend (Saturday April 30th) I will be competing in The Ottawa Classic. This is an Ontario Physique Association (OPA) event. To learn more visit  http://www.physiqueassociation.ca/node/110 .   This is my first event and I am very excited and a little nervous. I have posted a few pictures in my gallery to show you how far I have progressed with my training. I will be sure to let you know the results of this event.   See you all at your next class.   ...
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New Website Launching Soon!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011
We are just about to launch our new website. Keep visiting www.brighterblinds.com and you will soon be browsing our new, dynamic and interactive web presence. ...
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Ryerson University - Women's Volleyball

Monday, November 8, 2010
Just went to Toronto for the weekend, to watch my daughter play volleyball for the Ryerson University volleyball team. Congratulations on a well fought match against Ottawa University on Saturday. Game Video 1 Game Video 2 Sunday's match against York was a Breast Cancer fun raising event and I was thrilled to see both Ryerson and York sporting pink (jerseys, socks, ribbons) in honour of this event. As a breast cancer survivor, I am so touched when I see all the efforts that go into raising funds to find the cure. Thank you Haley and all your team mates. ...
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eWee - New CMS

Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Great news! Our new eWee CMS will soon be launched. You will be amazed at this Content Management System; one of the most complete full featured CMS out of the box. You love its ease of use, ability for custom design, and incredible list of features, such as; - site mode > live or hidden- mobile messaging- coupons- social feeds- calendar/events system- audio player- video player- photogallery- blog- downloads- site rating- side bar widgets- header image - header slideshow- background colour- background image- text control- drop down menu (sub menus)- scroll bar colour- dimming pop-up opacity- dimming pop-up background- web page translation (Google)- share/email/bookmark- tag clouds- google map with directions - quick contact- and much more! And now here i€™s the MOST EXCITING FEATURE. When you build y ...
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Impressive Portfolio

Thursday, January 19, 2012
You'll want to check this out. We have updated our portfolio and launched live so you may now take a look at some of our amazing productions. Take a look at site design, graphic design, photo manipulation/3D PLUS some of our green screen studio pictures.If you have any questions, please do give me a call at 613 216-2417 or contact me via our contact form and I would be happy to chat with you.Thanks very much and enjoy our impressive portfolio. ...
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Welcome to 2012

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
As we begin 2012 we would like to wish to all a very happy, healthy and safe 2012. We just launched eWee v6.0 so take a look at all the updates/additions via our Change Log. Call me if you have any questions at all, and for those of you who are not yet using our eWee system...take a look at our testimonials ... you will be amazed. Whether you are starting a business, updating your online presence...our eWee website management system is the ideal solution for you.  Let's talk.  ...
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Time to Dust!

Thursday, December 8, 2011
Just a quick reminder to all...your computer does require cleaning periodically. Computer fans are there to keep your system cool. If they become clogged by dirt, dust, pet hair etc, they cannot spin adequately. As a result of poor ventilation/cooling you risk over heating and damage. It is just like your car, you need to keep your 'engine' cool...heat is a problem for your computer's hardware. A clean computer runs faster and will operate more efficiently.I suggest doing this outdoors to keep dust from spraying all over your room. While turned off, open your PC case, by removing the side panel. You can remove the dust by spraying with condensed air (canned air) or with a compressor (if you have the small tools necessary to direct to specific areas). There are various YouTube videos that will walk you through the process.[VIDEO_LINK * url_"www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZ8j46GB2w", title_"Computer Cleanin ...
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Top Ten Articles of the Week

Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Here are the top ten articles of the week. Be sure to catch them before they're gone!1. How to Cut Down On Holiday Stress2. 6 Sure Ways to Increase Sales3. Drafting Your Marketing Calendar for 20124. Marketing Success - 7 Time Saving Tools I Use5. 5 Ways To Make An Email Newsletter Your Best Sales Tool6. Do the Things Others Aren’t Willing To Do7. Small and Medium Businesses in the Cloud8. Waiting for Rank: How Time Affects your Google Ranking9. Why Your Small Business Should Hangout on Google+10. Ranking small business in Google placesVisit our News Feeds section to read these and more. ...
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Capolavoro Renovation Launches eWee Site

Friday, November 25, 2011
Congratulations to Capolavoro Renovation Inc. (Owner - Alan Grieco), www.capolavororenovation.com, for the launch of their upgraded Website, utilizing our eWee Web Management System.  Capolavoro Renovation is an Ottawa construction company with professional tradesmen specializing in exterior/interior residential and commercial renovations.Alan has taken full advantage of many of eWee's amazing features and his new site is dynamic, interactive, informative and very easy to navigate.         ...
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New Trend: Stand-Up Meetings

Friday, February 3, 2012
WSJ: Atomic Object, a Grand Rapids, Mich., software-development firm, holds company meetings first thing in the morning. Employees follow strict rules: Attendance is mandatory, nonwork chitchat is kept to a minimum and, above all, everyone has to stand up. Stand-up meetings are part of a fast-moving tech culture in which sitting has become synonymous with ...
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Watch Out For Fake Facebook Stock

Friday, February 3, 2012
If you do construction work on someone’s home and they offer to pay you in Facebook stock — before the IPO — it might not be a good idea to accept it in lieu of cash, as one Wisconsin man learned last week. Marianne Oleson, 46, made her initial appearance in Winnebago County court Wednesday ...
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Video: Augmented Reality Business Card

Friday, February 3, 2012
Maybe there is a future for the lowly business card after all. PSFK: Advertising agency JWT London has used image-recognition app Blippar to create a unique and innovative new business card that lets people view their showreel and receive directions to their office. Video below. ...
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How To Find Your Luggage in a Sea of Black Suitcases: Coverlugg

Friday, February 3, 2012
Next up in our series of interviews with Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contestants is Greg Sanchez, inventor of the Coverlugg. What product did you submit to Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contest? Our product is called Coverlugg. It is a unique neoprene cover that simply slides over the top of your existing luggage that ...
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Japanese Entrepreneurs Dream Of Silicon Valley

Friday, February 3, 2012
Manufacturing.net: Small but growing numbers of Japanese entrepreneurs are jumping into the startup scene in northern California, particularly since the earthquake and tsunami last March. They include Naoki Shibata, who took the plunge by giving up the sort of life many Japanese in past decades spent their lives trying to attain. Only 30, Shibata had ...
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Small and Medium Businesses in the Cloud

Thursday, July 14, 2011
Although the term “cloud” is seeing increasing use, it’s necessary to clarify what portion of “the cloud” is of interest to a particular audience. For small and medium businesses (SMBs), there are generally two areas of relevance in the evolution of IT services to the cloud. The first is the application layer, commonly referred ...
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Security for Public and Private Clouds

Friday, May 20, 2011
According to Gartner analysis, $150 billion in cloud-related revenues is expected by 2013. The move of company data towards ?the cloud? is not slowing, and more companies are wrestling with the ?is the cloud secure?? question. While those in IT will certainly tell you no environment will be completely secure, there are measures you can ...
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Waiting for Rank: How Time Affects your Google Ranking

Wednesday, February 2, 2011
By Melissa J Luther Older Web sites seem to have an advantage when it comes to search engine rankings, but a site?s age alone is not a primary factor in its ranking. A well-designed new site can rank well within a few months, if you focus on those things that give the older sites their advantage. Related ...
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Business Intelligence in 10 Minutes a Week

Wednesday, January 26, 2011
by Melissa J Luther You are collecting analytics data on your Web site, but there?s just so much of it, and you have so little time to analyze it. Understanding your analytics data can help you grow your business, so make the most of your limited time by focusing on those reports that provide you with ...
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QR Codes and Mobile Technology

Wednesday, January 19, 2011
By Melissa J Luther Have you seen those little square images, made up of more little squares, that have been showing up in magazines, newspapers and on Web sites? These are QR codes, and they?ve become the newest way to provide potential customers with additional information about you and your services or products. Related Products Hybrid Microsoft® Exchange Choose ...
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