Special Features - Small Business Week 2015

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BUSINESSBUSINESS

Knock Down Barriers. Dare To Grow.

OCTOBER 18–24

SMALL SMALL

WEEK WEEK

2 RED DEER EXPRESS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Gary Smart

Kory Stonehouse

Kelly Grant

Nathan Cottenie

Garland Jones

Allen Bachor

Jordan Courtright Jeff Warriner

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Doug Maygard

David Hawes

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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Every year during BDC Small Business WeekTM, we recognize Canadian entrepre-neurs and small and medium-sized enterpris-es (SMEs) from coast-to-coast.

During the third week of October each and every year, we take a step back to take stock of the important role they play in creating overall prosperity.

This is of even greater importance in times of economic instability.

Daring to grow is absolutely never an easy task.

Inevitably there are barriers that need to be knocked down as entrepreneurs navigate the path to success.

Confronting challenges is essential if they want to play in today’s global competitive en-vironment.

It is not only about having the will, but also about having the tools and resources to do so,

both fi nancial and non-fi nancial.Join us and use BDC Small Business WeekTM

2015 — a time to acknowledge the important impact of Canada’s entrepreneurial community — to encourage them to knock down barriers and dare to grow.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015 RED DEER EXPRESS 3 SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

BDC- Small Business WeekOctober 18-24

‘Knock down barriers. Dare to grow’

It gives me immense pride to be the incoming president of the Red Deer & District Chamber. As a long time resident, small business owner, and Chamber member I’ve gained a keen understanding of the role the Chamber plays in this commu-nity and I plan to cement and continue to improve upon that role over the next year.

As I assume my tenure as pres-ident, Central Alberta business-es are facing many challenges. We’re facing considerable polit-ical uncertainty thanks to the election of our new provincial government.

The effects of weak energy prices are rippling throughout the economy. The cost of doing

business has seen a sharp in-crease thanks to higher taxes, increase to minimum wage, and the impending environmental regulations.

During a time that has this many changes, it is important for business to have pillars of stability that they can count on. For the next year as president of the Chamber I will strive to provide the supports Central Alberta business needs to suc-ceed and remain prosperous during these challenging times.

We will provide you the net-working opportunities to make new contacts, events with top-ical and informative speakers, the benefi ts that save you money and the collective voice needed

to advocate on the behalf of small business.

In closing I want to share with you my excitement to be work-ing with the local business com-munity in the capacity of presi-dent of the Chamber.

The purpose of the Chamber is to provide a framework that allows people to work together and there is no more important resource during a challenging time. I am confi dent that while the year is sure to bring many challenges, we will see many more successes as local business use their work ethic, resources, and ingenuity to rise to the oc-casion.

Thank you,Bradley Williams

President’s message for Small Business Week

CHAMBER PRESIDENT - BRADLEY WILLIAMS

Small businesses make up a large part of Red Deer and Central Alberta’s economy, and it’s important to acknowledge their dedication and range of services to the region.

Small Business Week is an excellent time to recognize the contributions of our local busi-ness community. Each year at this time, this designated week is the perfect opportu-nity to highlight the differenc-es these companies make to Central Albertans on a day-to-day basis.

We are very pleased to again team up with the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce to bring our readers the annual Small Business Week feature.

The feature includes stories of local small businesses on a variety of relevant topics. There are also practical arti-cles about enhancing business strategies from the Business Development Centre.

We want to thank the Red Deer and District Chamber of

Commerce for the opportuni-ty to bring this feature to our readers. We would also like to extend our thanks and appre-ciation to the local businesses that participated.

As your community news-paper it is our responsibility to keep readers informed on local news, sports and enter-tainment within our City. As well, our paper is a vital tool for marketing and we strive to successfully assist in pro-moting local businesses. Their success is our success too.

Publisher’s message

TRACEY SCHEVEERS

Recognizing small businesses in Central Alberta

“We are more than just copies ...and we succeed when you succeed.”


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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Central Alberta Lighting works to put customers fi rst

When it comes to the latest in fi nding the fi nest in lighting features to enhance a home’s decor, Central Alberta Lighting staff are certainly ready to help.

“We wanted to give Red Deer and Central Alberta another option for lighting selec-tion,” said Barry Whitlaw, general man-ager and owner of the business, which offi cially opened last January. There is a wide selection of lighting choices for not just homes, but businesses as well.

“It gives us the opportunity to work with some of the big commercial builders in Red Deer as well. We can basically turn all of their fl uorescent lighting to LED which is defi nitely lighting of the future. It’s been a great opportunity to work with people on both ends - residential and commercial,” he said.

Central Alberta Lighting is attached to Central Alberta Tile and Rave Designers as well.

For Whitlaw, the lighting business has been a new venture personally but he’s enjoyed every minute of it. “I was co-own-er and general manager of Gasoline Alley Harley-Davidson for 12 years.”

There are all kinds of examples of ev-erything from bathroom vanity lighting, wall sconces and chandeliers to direc-tional lighting that will enhance the mood and atmosphere of any home or offi ce, he said.

Knowing so many people from the com-munity via that working experience, com-bined with the folks his business partners have connected with as well, meant that

Central Alberta Lighting was pretty much on a fi rm footing from the word go.

“We’ve had great support in Red Deer and we are really looking forward with everybody that we’ve had the oppor-tunity to work with both in residential and commercial,” he said, adding that he describes lighting as ‘the jewellery of the home’.

He also pointed out that his staff brings extensive industry experience to the business as well.

“Without your staff you are nothing - there is no doubt about that. You hire great people and those people help to make you successful,” he said, adding that one of his employees has an impres-sive 20 years in the industry.

“I’ve got great staff behind me, and half of them are home interior decorators as well. So honestly, I shadow those people everyday, I listen to them. And when they tell me the lighting is indeed the jewellery of the home, I listen to that,” he said.

Besides all of the rooms in a house that require various types of lighting, there is also a need for outdoor lighting options as well - from backyards to decks to pati-os. “Every time I turn around I really learn something new,” he added of the growth of the industry over the years, too. “There is so much in the lighting world. I’ve been in business for a long time with various companies, and I’ve never been in a com-pany that changes as fast as the lighting industry does.”

Whitlaw said that whatever the need, Central Alberta Lighting offers both the variety and the quality of service that fi ts with a range of customers’ requirements.

“When people walk into our store, they often want and need input. They have an idea of what they want, but they are looking for vision. I think with the years of experience that my staff have, they can offer that. Being a small business - hav-

ing the service behind you and backing that up - it’s about saying we are here for you and we are here to give you ideas. Our service is the biggest thing I stand behind.”

[email protected]

BRIGHT IDEAS - Owner Barry Whitlaw is eager to help his customers with a variety of styles and information to suit their needs at the Central Alberta Lighting store, which opened offi cially in January of this year. Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015 RED DEER EXPRESS 5

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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK


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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Community involvement important to Wrenchmasters

Wrenchmasters Autopro has been a fi xture in the Red Deer community for more than 20 years and they’re still going strong. The independent auto shop and tire store opened its doors for the fi rst time in Red Deer in 1994 and has since become an in-tegral part of the commu-nity.

“We don’t focus on the dollars here, we focus on the people,” said Jeff Roberts, who owns the shop.

Roberts, who has lived in Red Deer since he was three years old, has been working as a licensed mechanic for the past 26 years.

“Red Deer’s a great com-

munity. It’s a great place to raise a family. It’s a great place to do business,” he said.

Wrenchmasters is an independent car service provider, meaning that they are not affi liated with any of the big car manufacturers. Instead, Wrenchmasters fl ies the NAPA Autopro fl ag, which, according to Roberts, is a pretty big deal.

“They don’t just let any-body fl y that sign,” he said, adding that NAPA Autopro is the largest chain of inde-pendent stores in Canada.

According to Roberts, Wrenchmasters is set apart by their experienced staff and their expertise and knowledge.

“We have some very, very highly skilled and compe-tent people working here,”

said Roberts.“In fact in regards to the

bad boys in the back, our shop foreman Ken, there’s absolutely nothing he has not been able to fi x all these years.”

Roberts first started working with vehicles when he was 13 years old, when he worked at a gas station.

“I always had a bit of a mechanical aptitude,” he said, adding that because his grandparents were farmers, he got into me-chanics at an early age.

Beyond their longstand-ing relationship with many of their custom-ers, Wrenchmasters has become involved in the community in a charitable sense.

Roberts currently sits on both the local and provin-cial apprenticeship com-mittees and his company has been involved with Red Deer’s annual Outdoor Winter Classic hockey tournament since its in-ception.

The tournament was started by one of Roberts’ friends and, at the time, both of them had kids playing hockey at the Midget level.

“At the Midget level, when you have kids play-ing at a level less than the elites, the kids playing the ‘B’ hockey they kind of get forgotten,” said Roberts.

So the idea was to start a special tournament that is strictly for non-elite level players to give them a memorable send-off from

minor hockey.“I’ve got a soft spot for

the kids in our commu-nity so I prefer to sup-port events that involve our youth for the simple reason that the busier that we can keep our youth doing productive things, the less time they have to be getting into things

they maybe shouldn’t be getting into,” he said.

Wrenchmasters is also one of about 30 Autopro stores in southern Alberta who chipped in to pur-chase a barbecue trailer, which they use to support community events.

“We like to be involved.” [email protected]

FRIENDLY FACES - Jeff Roberts, centre, owner and operator of Wrenchmasters Autopro in Red Deer poses with members of his team. Zachary Cormier/Red Deer Express

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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Your step-by-step acquisition strategy:how to buy the right company

Acquiring a company can be a smart way to expand your business - especially in markets where it’s hard to gain a foot-hold. But acquisitions can turn sour for a variety of reasons, including poor target selection, weak integration and inappro-priate fi nancing.

A critical element often ignored by en-trepreneurs is making sure that buying a business is the right growth strategy for your company.

“Analyze what new value you could add to your company,” says Enes Kula, director, Growth & Transition Capital, BDC Capital. “Then, ask if you have the inter-nal capability to create that value. If you don’t, then an acquisition could expedite the process.”

Choose the right targetThe next step is choosing the right ac-

quisition target. List strategic criteria the target company must meet and stick to them. Businesses often get caught up in the excitement of shopping for acquisi-tions and make the mistake of buying companies that aren’t a good strategic fi t.

Once you’ve narrowed your choices, it’s vital to do due diligence on your potential acquisition, investigating everything from its gross margin to working capital and inventory turnover.

“One danger when buying a business is paying too much, especially when

shopping in a hot market,” Kula says. “Overpaying reduces your fi nancial re-turns and increases your risk.”

Swish Maintenance CEO Shane Mahoney’s patient approach to buying a company has been a proven winner for the cleaning products manufacturer, distributor and retailer. Mahoney has em-barked on an ambitious growth strategy at Swish that includes acquisitions.

Swish had previously paid for acqui-sitions with traditional bank loans, ad-vances from the owners and cash fl ow. However, when it came time to fi nance its purchase of S.K. Sanitary Specialities Manufacturing, Mahoney turned to BDC and mezzanine fi nancing. It’s a debt prod-

uct with fl exible repayment terms tai-lored to suit particular situations, includ-ing acquisitions.

The acquisition gave Swish a solid an-chor in western Canada and, with sales up signifi cantly, the company was well positioned for more growth.

Dedicated project managerWhen Swish next acquired White River

Paper in Vermont in 2014, Mahoney ap-pointed a full-time project manager to oversee the integration for the fi rst year. The result is, “A much higher level of em-ployee engagement on both sides.”

Mahoney also decided to keep the White River brand, widely recognized in New England, and to rename Swish’s entire U.S. division Swish White River.

As well, White River’s employee bene-fi ts were superior to those at Swish while costing the same amount, so Mahoney adopted those benefi ts for Swish’s ex-isting employees. The moves built trust

and morale on both sides, and reassured White River staff that the acquisition wasn’t a cold-hearted corporate take-over.

“It’s emotional for all staff,” Mahoney says. “There’s always a sense of insecuri-ty. If you are inclusive and give employees the feeling they have a say in the future business, you get much higher commit-ment.”

Four tips for a smooth acquisition1. Consider various fi nancing options

- it’s important to consider a fi nancing structure that maximizes your repay-ment fl exibility and reduces personal risk. Useful options include vendor and mezzanine fi nancing.

2. Get an outside evaluation - entrepre-neurs may overestimate the value of their company, complicating an acquisition. Seek professional third-party advice on their valuation.

3. Appoint and reward a project man-ager - a project manager can oversee the acquisition. Compensation should be, in part, based on the performance of the acquired company.

4. Adopt best practices - look for best practices at the acquired company that you can adopt throughout your entire business.

- supplied by the Business Development of Canada

“ANALYZE WHAT NEW VALUE YOU COULD ADD TO YOUR COM-

PANY. THEN, ASK IF YOU HAVE THE INTERNAL CAPABILITY TO CREATE THAT VALUE. IF YOU DON’T, THEN

AN ACQUISITION COULD EXPEDITE THE PROCESS.”

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8 RED DEER EXPRESS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Business of the Year Finalists 1 - 10 employees

It’s no surprise that Platinum Homes and Developments was named the 2014-2015 Small Volume Builder of the Year by the Canadian Home Builder’s Association – Central Alberta, the most recent in a long line of awards.

After all, from the time the company started in 2008, Partners Terry Loewen and Sam Wong knew they wanted to build their business on a commitment to quality.

“Giving our clients the best experience possible throughout the building project is our number one driver,” says Loewen. “To make that happen, we work with the best people in Central Alberta.

“There are as many as 52 different com-panies collaborating on a single home build. We surround ourselves with great people and great companies, and we have great clients.

“All this works together for success.”Platinum Homes takes that focus and

commitment and translates it into com-munity building, too. They’ve been involved over the years in a number of charities and initiatives, such as the SPCA, The Celebrity Dance Off for the Red Deer Hospice Society, school benevolent funds, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, the CNIB and the MS Society.

One of their proudest accomplishments, says Loewen, was spearheading the project to rebuild Camp Alexo, the Boys & Girls Club of Red Deer summer camp. “We took a group of people out there for three days and got it done,” he explains.

“Donating about $700,000 worth of labour. It would have taken ages for the Boys Club to raise that kind of money.

“We’re proud to say that because of our involvement, a 15 year plan was completed within two years.

“Platinum Homes is proud to be a home builder, and a community builder in Central Alberta.”

Delivering the best product with a stress-free experience

Right from their start in 2009. Safetracks GPS Canada knew their goal was to revolutionize the Electronic Monitoring (EM) industry in Canada. The Alberta Government created a pilot pro-gram to utilize their ankle bracelet technology for monitoring offenders of serious domestic violence in Red Deer, as well as focusing on high risk offenders in Edmonton and Calgary. Soon after, an idea to use the technology to support victims of domestic violence was born.

“The victim of domestic violence is often afraid to leave their secure environment, be-cause they might be vulnerable to their offend-er if they venture out,” explains Owner and Founder Vince Morelli. “Wearing the device we developed means they can regain their indepen-dence. They have instant access to emergency services through the press of a button, who can immediately identify the victim’s location and can quickly dispatch responders. It gives people their lives back.”

A community taskforce comprised of local judges, RCMP, and agencies such as Central

Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter (CAWES) was formed to assess the best way to implement the initiative in Red Deer. The taskforce played a key role in the success of that program and product, says Morelli. “Launching that program was huge! We could not believe how the com-munity came together and worked collectively toward a common goal. They really cared.”

From there Safetracks developed an entire product suite of GPS devices to give peace of mind to family members and caregivers by monitoring individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia, autism, as well as seniors. These de-vices can also be used by mobile nurses, real es-tate agents and more. The products have gained national attention, and the company recently placed a representative in Toronto to expand their presence in central and eastern Canada.

“These are proactive safety solutions,” says Partner Bob Aloisio. “And we’re not done! We’re still innovating, constantly thinking of new ways to improve the safety and security of our communities.”

Safetracks GPS aims to give people back their lives

With all of the innovative programs, such as Nature School, a Positive Parenting Program Research, Learning Stories, Alberta curriculum-based Pre-K and Kindergarten prep, all in a castle-themed space, it’s hard to be-lieve Tiny Toes Castle Daycare has only been around for fi ve years. And they’re not done yet; exploring, improving, expanding and adding new program ideas is an ongoing and continual part of their business.

“We’re always thinking of more ways to provide our children with a great experience,” says Owner and Director Alvina Zaidi. “We realize that parents are the child’s and most important educators. We want to fi nd ways to support parents, augment their efforts, and partner with the community. It re-ally does take a village to raise a child!”

Sisters Annie and Alvina Zaidi, along with their mother Faiza, own and op-erate the business with a great deal of passion and enthusiasm, striving to incorporate lofty values such as

optimism, equality, appreciation for diversity, dignity, self-worth and char-acter-building into their daycare at-mosphere, so that an optimal learning environment supports children to de-velop to their full potential.

“We believe in, and practice, learning through play,” says Annie. “We use cre-ative spaces, art, nature, and child-di-rected interactive play and learning experiences to support children in their social, cognitive, emotional and physical needs.”

The Zaidi’s chose Red Deer for their business because it is a growing city with a shortage of child care spaces. They say the close-knit community offers families and caregivers a strong support network, so necessary when raising children in today’s busy world. They are proud to be part of the com-munity, and that they can contribute to the community by creating jobs and child care spaces and through offering Red Deer’s children exposure to unique learning experiences.

There is no shortage of big ideas at Tiny Toes Castle


Business of the Year Finalists 11 - 20 employees

Even though DLC Regional Mortgage Group has been in business since 1997, growing to a partner team of fi ve with 13 agents in Red Deer and 19 across the province, it still man-ages to stand out from the crowd as unique. Partners Scott Bourke and Pamela Pikkert, say there are a couple of reasons for that.

“First of all, many mortgage brokerages operate as home-based businesses. DLC Regional Mortgage has invested in Red Deer, with a local offi ce established in the down-town core,” says Pikkert.

“We have agents onsite and available every day.”

Pikkert says clients appreciate both the pro-fessional approach and the personal touch their team offers.

Additionally, the company provides many other services people may not expect to fi nd in a mortgage brokerage. Scott Bourke explains, “In 2014, we purchased a Canadian First Financial Branch, which means we now offer much more than mortgages.

“We have every day banking solutions, in-

cluding lines of credit, GICs, RRSPs and RRSP loans. Clients fi nd it refreshing and helpful to have these extra options available to them.”

Along with a great product line comes a great team.

Three of the company’s brokers are listed in the top 20 in Canada, and three have also been acknowledged as Women of Infl uence through the Canadian Mortgage Association.

“We are a very tight group,” says Pikkert. “We babysit each other’s kids, help each other out in work and in life, and volunteer togeth-er. It makes working fun and helps us all suc-ceed.” DLC Regional Mortgage Group has been involved in Golf/Build a Kid to Cure, the Kids Cancer Foundation, Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter, Bikes for Kids, and the breakfast programs in seven schools.

Their good work is getting noticed, too, with a Canadian Mortgage Association Award for community service, and a nomination for broker of the year.

“We love the community, and appreciate the community’s trust in us,” says Bourke.

In business since 1997, company offers more than mortgages

In 1981, KeyAg Ventures set up shop in the Riverside Industrial Area, selling fer-tilizer to farmers. Then they moved into air seeders. Thirty-four years and a cou-ple of moves later, they have morphed into a Kubota equipment dealer, serving the agriculture and oil and gas industries, as well as acreage and residential forest and garden products.

Owner Harv Schimke attributes the company’s longevity to, fi rst and fore-most, the ability to adapt.

“We knew we needed to set ourselves apart with innovation and inventiveness,” he explains. “We have patented three or four things through the years and not only survived, but grown, through a will-ingness to diversify. We are not afraid of change.”

Trust has also placed a key role in the company’s success. “We have worked hard to forge a relationship, a partner-ship, really, of trust with the public,” Schimke says. “We have invested in the

community. The result is that we are val-ued as a respected and important part of the community.”

Schimke also attributes the company’s sustainability and growth to the culti-vation of great workplace culture. “Our staff make a commitment to excellence, and a commitment to professionalism,” he says. “I want people to look forward to coming to work. We treat our team well, and pay for ongoing training. We challenge them to be their best, and the results speak for themselves.” Owners and staff contribute as a team to the community as well, participating togeth-er in community events and donating to important causes.

KeyAg recently moved to Burnt Lake Business Park, expanding from a 10,000 sq. ft. space to a 22,000 sq. ft. space. Schimke believes that KeyAg Ventures will continue to be a vital part of the Central Alberta business community for a long time to come.

Diversifi cation, trust and a strong team spell success for KeyAg Ventures

Leon Oosterhoff is very proud to say that All Service Insurance Brokers is one of the few locally and independently, owned and operated insurance broker-ages. “Most people aren’t aware that a lot of brokerages here are owned by large conglomerates, insurance companies or are branches of larger out-of-town bro-kerages,” explains Oosterhoff. “We are truly local.”

Focused primarily on commercial in-surance, Leon and his wife Connie start-ed the business Nov. 1st, 2000, just 10 months before 9/11, an event that had a major impact on the industry. Weathering that storm and two recessions since, all the while continuing to grow their business, makes celebrating 15 years in business a signifi cant milestone.

Both born and raised in Red Deer, it is no surprise that the Oosterhoffs have built a business that is heavily involved and invested in the community. “We love Red Deer,” says Leon. “The people of

Red Deer are down to earth, work hard and give back lots, and we are proud to be part of that kind of community.” All Service follows that model by supporting local charities. They have started hosting an annual community BBQ with proceeds to local charities. They also use creative means to raise money for charity: staff pay $2 to wear jeans on Casual Friday, which goes to support a World Vision child. Their Referral Rewards Program supports three different local charities every year.

The Oosterhoffs have worked diligent-ly to create a family atmosphere, and family-friendly culture within the staff team. Flex days, gain sharing, and spe-cial awards, that last year saw the entire team awarded trips for two to Vegas for meeting targets, are all part of the perks offered to the All Service Team.

“Our staff are amazing,” says Oosterhoff. “They take special care to give clients a good experience from start to fi nish.”

Local insurance brokers are committed to serving Red Deer


Business of the Year Finalists 21 plus employees

Abbey Master Builder has a motto - “We care and it shows”, a statement they keep front of mind in all that they do. Throughout its 34 years in business in Central Alberta commu-nities such as Red Deer, Sylvan Lake, Penhold, Lacombe and Blackfalds, and recently expand-ing into acreages, Abbey has maintained the ideal combination of quality, value and service. Owner Art Anastasi started his career as an electrical contractor, but found his real sat-isfaction was in the whole process of home building.

“I am always interested in stretching, learning, growing, and reaching higher,” says Anastasi. “Abbey was one of the fi rst to build an R2000 home, to use engineered fl oor systems, add return air to every bedroom, rough-in under-fl oor heating, just to name a few things. Abbey always aspires to be a leader and front runner in incorporating new technology and systems, to improve effi ciency, product and customer service.”

Trail blazing while maintaining high stan-dards of quality and service is no easy task.

Abbey succeeds at this because of its ‘extra mile’ philosophy. “Abbey is one of the few builders to have interior designers on staff to assist clients, at no extra cost, with their de-sign and decor selections,” explains Anastasi. “Our designers are with the clients from step one, throughout the build and long afterward, ensuring complete satisfaction.”

This commitment to the client and position on the leading edge has translated into many awards over 34 years. Abbey has won the 2014 Canadian Home Builder’s Association Alberta Award for Excellence in Housing, and silver award in the Best of Red Deer’s 2014-2015 Home Builder category, not to mention being award-ed the Alberta New Home Warranty Customer Service Award every year since 1990.

Anastasi attributes the company’s longevity to its commitment to excellence and innova-tion. “In today’s economy, Abbey clients can have full confi dence that their home will be completed to their total satisfaction. We’ll be here, continuing to lead the industry and take care of our clients, for a long time to come.”

Excellence and innovation are hallmarks of Abbey Master Builder

Whether it’s sod, trees, plants or peo-ple, the folks at Blue Grass Nursery, Sod & Garden Centre nurture growth with great care and attention.

In 1969, Bill and Gail McEwen purchased 155 acres of native pastureland and planted their fi rst crop of sod.

Today, still farming that same plot of land, sons Bruce and Bill have expanded the busi-ness to include 1,800 acres of sod, production of 80,000 trees, 800 acres of cereal grains, ag-gregate products, a three acre greenhouse, a mechanical shop, landscaping, snow remov-al, and fi rewood. Their business, their focus and their main concern is all about fostering good growth.

Being in the business of growth, and expe-riencing great business growth, the McEwens also concern themselves with growing good people. “We asked ourselves - how do we manage a large team but foster great cus-tomer service, a strong work ethic, and develop a solid team?” explains Bill. “We de-cided that the way to do all that was to grow

good people within the organization.”They take on young people, mentor them,

and teach them not only the skills to do their job, but teach them the business itself, and inspire leadership. They invest in education and training, encourage staff to embrace innovation, and offer their team members ample opportunity for personal growth. “Staff are given individual growth plans and held accountable for their role within the company,” says McEwen. “And we are right there, working shoulder-to-shoulder along-side them. This shows young people how to be true leaders.”

This commitment to nurturing growth in their people has paid dividends in terms of staff retention, with some employees re-maining with the company for many years. “Sometimes these teenagers go on to be-come local doctors, teachers, or even farm-ers,” McEwen says. “Sometimes they stay with us. Regardless, we are proud of our people and proud to contribute to the local skill base and the local economy.”

Blue Grass Nursery, Sod & Garden Centre grows with care

A provider of steam and heating products invests in communityOver its 25 years in business, Prime Boiler

Services has invested. As a leading provider of steam and heating products and services to the commercial, industrial and oilfi eld sectors in Western Canada, Prime Boiler has invested in a commitment to excellence.

The company is family owned and operated by Calvin and Jane Madsen, offering steam and heating solutions, sales and service to pulp and paper mills, petrochemical compa-nies, drilling rigs, churches, schools, and mu-nicipal facilities. They also have potentially the largest rental fl eet in Canada.

“Many people are relying on us for their heat,” explains Client Relations Manager Shawn Brennan.

“There are literally thousands of dollars at stake. We invest in long-term relationships with our clients. They know that they can count on us to come in on time, on budget, and get the job done right.”

The Madsens have invested themselves in their staff team, with a ‘together we can’ approach. “We work as a collective,” says

Brennan. “The leadership not only seeks input from the team, they take it seriously, taking quick actions on employee input.”

Ongoing training is an important part of the investment in talent development. The company is developing a partnership with Red Deer College on the power engineering program.

They have created a training facility within their 35,000 sq. ft. facility, where students can come and engage in hands-on learning in bonefi de business situations. “We’re investing in the skill and knowledge base in our region,” Brennan says. “It’s good for us and for the re-gion as a whole.”

Prime Boiler Services is a key contributor to the local economy, but also acts as a player in economic development, regularly showcasing their business, the community and the region to business connections and visitors.

Business is strong and the future continues to look promising, Brennan reports. “Our val-ues are evident in everything we do. Our val-ues are demonstrated in our growth.”


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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK


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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Ben’s Glass & Marble has always put customers fi rst

The staff at Ben’s Glass & Marble aim to provide the fi nest in attentive and thor-ough customer service. And that’s part of the reason for the business’s growth and success over the years as well, said owner/manager Ben Hermary. The busi-ness is located at 6829 - 52nd Ave.

Hermary fi rst began working in a glass shop here in Red Deer in the years prior to launching his own business. He also was able to wrap up his apprenticeship almost immediately as well at the time.

“Through that apprenticeship - I look back on it and think what an awesome opportunity it was to become quite ver-satile in the industry at that time - it was extremely busy and there was so much to learn and to do,” he explained.

The training laid a solid foundation for success, and the experience he has garnered since has provided him with the skills and know-how to offer per-sonalized service for custom glass and marble projects. He launched Ben’s Glass & Marble in 1994. “Custom built to suit framed and frameless shower door sys-tems and enclosures along with decora-tive or framed mirrors is our specialty,” notes the web site. “Everything from basic to the exquisite elite can be achieved as we take the necessary time to ensure customer satisfaction.

“With 37 years of experience you will be assured that all of your glass require-

ments will be fulfi lled by a qualifi ed and certifi ed journeyman.”

Owning his own business has always been a goal. “It’s something that has al-ways been important to me,” he said. They were originally located further north in the City, and moved to their current more spacious location in 2001.

As to the success of the business over the years, Hermary points to the quality of the work and the respect he and his staff have for the customers.

“Without that respect, you just go no-where,” he said, adding that those con-nections with customers are also what fuel the positive word-of-mouth across the community.

“We make sure we are one-on-one with our customers and we ensure they get exactly what it is that they are expecting.”

He refl ected on how the industry has continued to change over the years, and that includes the customer base.

“People have become more knowledge-able about what is available out there,” he said, adding that they are also looking for a specialty, customized product. “It gives us the opportunity to educate them and bring them up to a perfect understanding of what is available at our end of the industry,” he said. “They have a sense of their needs being met - we are going to look after them.”

As mentioned, the industry is continu-ally changing as trends come and go and tastes and styles shift. “We embrace that change by keeping up on the glass ‘news’. There are new concepts, new styles and

new products.“I like that there is something different

with each and every application.”Ultimately, it’s been and continues to

be an ideal industry to be involved with. Highlights include working with people and seeing the satisfaction they show after a job well done, he said.

“We are a family owned and operated business and we pride ourselves in mark-

ing our work with excellence. We expect nothing less of ourselves and we express it through the work that we do for our customers.

“I also think what is unique about us is that loyalty to our customer base be they contractors, home builders or individuals. We are loyal to them right from the start through to the end of the project.”

[email protected]

SERVICE WITH A SMILE - Ben Hermary of Ben’s Glass & Marble aims to provide the fi nest in attentive and thorough customer service. Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express


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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Organizing needs met at Canadian ClosetA small business which

has been open in the Red Deer area for 18 years con-tinues to see success in the local marketplace.

Terry and Lisa Hollman opened Canadian Closet in Red Deer in 1997.

Canadian Closet offers a wide range of organiza-tional tools for both the home and offi ce.

“We specialize in clos-et organization for new home construction as well as renovations.

“We have subsequently branched out to offer or-ganizational products for every room in the home,” said Terry.

“The old adage of a place for everything and every-thing in its place – you know where your socks are or your tools are in the garage because you’ve organized them with the proper organizational products.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s your kitchen utensils or your screwdrivers in the garage – you need to have the proper product to store

them efficiently,” said Terry.

“Our most popular prod-uct that people come in to see us for is probably closet shelving.

“There are a lot of ineffi -ciencies with the way that the majority of people’s closets are.”

There are a wide variety of products to organize a homeowner’s closet, kitch-en pantry, laundry room and garage on hand for customers to choose from.

“With fall here, people are starting to consider storing all of their garden tools and organizing them to keep them off the ga-rage fl oor so they can park their car in their garage,” said Terry.

“People are not only now starting to store their bikes and golf clubs, but they are starting to have their skis, snowboards and hockey gear organized so they are easy to grab when they need it.”

Canadian Closet also of-fers Murphy beds that they build in their own off-site cabinet shop.

A Murphy bed is a custom wall bed that is

housed vertically against the wall and can be pulled down for use.

“Everyone just assumes we do the wire shelving but we actually have our own cabinet shop where we are able to build top of the line products,” said Terry.

“We also do really nice high-end custom wood closets.

“The problem with hav-ing a spare bedroom is that it can only really be used as a bedroom.

“Whereas if you have a Murphy bed in, it allows you to use the room for more multipurposes - you can have an offi ce, an ex-ercise room - and when company comes you pull down the bed.”

Canadian Closet also works with the majority of homebuilders in Central Alberta.

“That is how we start-ed out, by providing that service to homebuilders,” said Terry.

Canadian Closet also of-fers free in-store consul-tations where customers can come in and sit with staff to see what products

and systems best meet their needs.

“We can help custom-ers plan their space out and see what their options are.”

In addition, Canadian Closet is also the Central Alberta distributor for Phantom Door Screens.

“The Phantom Door Screen company is the original company that started the retractable screen,” said Terry.

“Those are very popu-lar and they are great for keeping the mosquitoes out and the house stays cool with the breeze.”

Meanwhile, Terry said there are many benefi ts to being a small business in the Red Deer community, but it also comes with its challenges.

“It can be challenging be-cause a lot of people are tempted to go to the big box stores to solve their problems.

“By shopping locally and supporting locally-owned businesses, you are keep-ing that money in the Central Alberta communi-ty,” he said.

[email protected]

NO CLUTTER - Terry Hollman, owner of Canadian Closet, takes a moment to show one of the store’s closet vignettes.

Zachary Cormier/Red Deer Express

BY ERIN FAWCETTRED DEER EXPRESS

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Carnival Cinemas has been an accessible, afford-able cinema in the City since the doors opened in 1996. Now, owner Bill Ramji is looking to celebrate the future while appreciating the cinema’s past.

“I have been in Red Deer for 34 years and all the 34 years I’ve been here, I’ve been with a small business. Carnival, of all the things I’ve done, has been the most satisfying,” he said.

“This is simply because when we fi rst started it, we accessed a niche in the marketplace. That niche is families, seniors, people with physical disabilities - people who may not gen-erally be the movie goers. They can afford and enjoy our facility here and that’s been very gratifying. It’s a fun kind of business.”

With the City’s redevel-opment of the Riverlands area and Cronquist Business Park, changes have been on the horizon for Ramji for a number of years. Currently, the the-

atre is undergoing reno-vations to the interior and exterior, with work expected to be complete sometime in November.

Ramji said he has been working closely with the City of Red Deer to ensure a timely construction process and he is looking forward to the fi nished product.

“With the Riverlands Area Redevelopment Plan, we can see that there are some nice developments coming into this area. For the last 10 years we’ve been told that this area will require some changes, so we’ve been aware of it. In the last two or three years it became more fi -nalized,” Ramji explained.

“Essentially we did a land swap with the City so that they can bring the Alexander Way road straight into Cronquist Business Park, com-plete with two new sets of lights. In order to see the development through, they have to create an-other street through our current parking lot so that people can access our new parking lot.”

Carnival Cinemas con-tinues to remain open during the renovation pro-cess. Upon completion, there will be a new main north side entrance with a secondary entrance to

the south. There will be a new parking lot with new street access, and a total of six theatre auditoriums.

Carnival is known for its affordability and variety of show times. Additionally, Ramji said that one of the facility’s strengths is the amount of control the owners have over content that is shown here.

“When you’re a family with two or three or four kids - we fi nd that it is more economical to come here than the larger cine-ma. That’s not to say those families don’t go to the larger theatres, but it gets expensive,” Ramji said.

“We also have the advan-tage of playing art fi lms that don’t run in the fi rst-run theatres - we get to have special showings for those. Many times we get distributors who ask us to do special screenings

of movies before they go to the larger cineplex. For example, a recent movie was Ricky and the Flash. The Interview was screened here, as well.”

As a move-over the-atre house, fi lms are often brought into Carnival after they have been shown at the Galaxy Cineplex. Ramji ex-plained although there can be a waiting period to bring these movies to Carnival, this arrangement is able to keep the price point afford-able and consistent.

“There are times when people don’t want to spend that little extra to watch a certain movie so when it comes to Carnival, it becomes much more af-fordable. Sometimes there are distributors that re-quire a two week waiting period, so we follow that rule, however by and large, we can get a lot of product

immediately,” he said.Multiple matinee shows

are something that Ramji is proud to offer at Carnival. He said for peo-ple who are not able to see evening shows, these mat-inees give them the oppor-tunity to still participate in the movie going experi-ence. He hopes more peo-ple will utilize this service.

For other services, the theatre auditoriums are available for rental use.

“We also do a lot of au-ditorium rentals for meet-ings, gatherings, private DVD screenings and sem-inars. Plus, we do a lot of on-screen advertising,” Ramji said.

As the facility renova-tions are complete, guests will be able to enjoy a new Subway restaurant, debit access and a fresh new feel to the cinema.

[email protected]


Changes on the horizon for Carnival CinemasCurrent renovations are expected to wrap up this November

BY KALISHA MENDONSARED DEER EXPRESS

EXCITED FOR CHANGE - Bill Ramji has been the owner of Carnival Cinemas since its opening in 1996. The facility is undergoing a major renovation that will modernize the exterior, re-arrange the parking lot and entrances as well as bring in a new eatery. Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express

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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

How to improve your cash fl ow managementCash fl ow management

can be one of the most complex challenges facing a business owner.

That’s because it takes place on several levels at once - everything from accounts receivables and payables to inventory and expense control, to even bigger questions about your business model.

“Good cash fl ow man-agement starts with mak-ing fi nancial projections and then closely moni-toring your actual fi nan-cial results,” says Sophie Gauthier, director, busi-ness restructuring unit at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

“To prepare fi nancial pro-jections, you should fi rst think about your plans for the coming year - especial-ly big-ticket expenditures such as buying equipment or acquiring a business,”

she adds. “Based on these plans,

you should then come up with a projected income statement, balance sheet and monthly cash fl ow forecasts.”

Consider different sce-narios (optimistic, most likely and pessimistic) so you can plan for the im-pact of each.

Understand the nature of the fi nancing you seek

Your projections should also indicate your fi nanc-ing requirements for the coming year.

With those in hand, you can approach your bank-ers to arrange credit lines or term loans.

It’s important to avoid the common mistake of trying to pay for lon-ger-term assets with your everyday cash.

This can lead to a cash shortage if revenues dip or your business keeps grow-ing.

You’re better off taking a term loan.

“As the year progress-es, compare your projec-tions to actual results on a monthly basis in order

to understand the cause of variances and react prop-erly,” Gauthier says.

“For example, if sales are lower than expected, you could cut expenses, delay discretionary outlays or ask your suppliers for some breathing room.”

Investigating the cause of variances will help you zero in on where things are going off the rails and how to get back on track.

Profi t margins often the culprit

Poor profi t margins can quickly lead to cash fl ow problems.

Entrepreneurs often fail to account for all overhead costs or simply charge too little for their products or services to produce an ac-ceptable level of profi t.

That’s just what hap-pened at Bonté Foods, one of Atlantic Canada’s largest deli-meat manufacturers. The company had to put in a huge effort to overhaul its cash fl ow management and restructure operations after running into trouble in 2007.

“We learned to watch our cash very carefully,” says

Michael Whittaker, presi-dent of both Bonté Foods and Trucorp.

“We manage our receiv-ables, payables and inven-tory much more tightly.”

Eyes on the prize

The company carefully studied why its cash fl ow problems had started in the fi rst place. That review led to a restructuring of its operations. The com-pany improved its profi t margins by unloading low-er-margin divisions. “We narrowed our vision to a laser-like focus on meats, our core competency,” Whittaker says.

Realizing its pricing didn’t refl ect its higher costs after an expansion and acquisition, Bonté also approached custom-ers to ask for substan-tially higher prices. Most accepted.

The fi rm also hired an outside consultant to study its operations and help it get leaner.

This improved both pro-duction efficiency and management of accounts receivable and payable. It also led to adoption of

just-in-time inventory management.

The future is bright

“The changes spurred a 36% jump in sales and saw the company’s gross profi t margin go up by 6 per cent,” Whittaker says. “This left Bonté ready to handle unexpected diffi -culties.

“Now we’re a healthy company with a bright fu-ture.”

Five steps to better cash fl ow management

Collect receivables as quickly as possible, even if you have to offer custom-ers a small discount.

Keep a close eye on your cash fl ow through the month and compare

month-end and quarterly totals to projections.

Use term loans, not working capital or your line of credit, to pay for capital assets such as equipment, machinery or real estate projects.

Seek to extend payment terms, but remember it takes two to tango. Work on improving your suppli-er relationships.

Arrange fi nancing ahead of time — not when cash gets tight.

To fi nd out more about cash fl ow management and read real-life entre-preneur stories, download your free copy of BDC’s eBook Master your cash fl ow: A guide for entrepre-neurs available at bdc.ca.

-supplied by the Business Development Bank of Canada

Altalaw LLPBARRISTERS, SOLICITORS, NOTARIES

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5233 - 49th AvenueRed Deer, AlbertaCanada T4N 6G5www.altalaw.ca

Of ce 403.343.0812Direct 403.356.2376

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“Knock Down Barriers”. The Cambridge dictionary defi nes this (in part) as: to improve understanding and communication between people. The Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce perennially does an amazing job of facilitating this improvement through the wide and varied business focused events and activities offered including this year’s Business of the Year Awards. 2015 has been a year of challenging business barriers yet the businesses showcased this year have proven they have what it takes to knock down all barriers in way of success. They are now being rightfully recognized as being the best in our

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This year, TD is celebrating business and entrepreneurs throughout the entire month of October.

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· Throughout the month of October, TD will be sponsoring, hosting and participating in a number of activities and events across the country.

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· TD is committed to the continued support of local businesses in Canada. And this October we are proud to be a part of the National and local celebrations.

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Aspire Natural Medicine uses the benefi ts of both natural and traditional treatments


Dr. Shane Johnson at Aspire Natural Medicine takes a different approach to health that utilizes both natural remedies and tra-ditional medicine - a trait that separates his clinic from other naturopathic practices.

With a mixture of sci-entific testing, natural remedies and an in-depth understanding of underly-ing issues, Johnson and his

team are able to address a client’s issues. Johnson said he and his team like to work with other doc-tors and specialists to de-termine an appropriate treatment that works with one’s body.

“One of the things that makes us different from other naturopathic clinics is a very thorough history check and understanding of the concern. Then, we use appropriate testing that leads us to very specifi c nat-ural treatments that lead to a higher success rate be-cause of scientifi c research,” Johnson explained.

“It really comes back to treating an underlying cause - it’s not just about giving something to cover up a symptom. We do an in-depth analysis so that we can get to the under-lying cause of a person’s issues and that makes us different. We have a lot of testing options that aren’t necessarily available in other naturopathic places.”

Johnson’s method is to

fi rst do an in-take process where he and the patient will go through all previ-ous medical history, which will help to determine which analysis tests are appropriate for the client. From there, Johnson said he works with a patient’s current medications and applies natural remedies that work with the per-son’s body and other medi-cal treatments.

“There is always explicit information from us that says, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is what you’re taking and here is the rea-soning behind it.’ When a person goes home with an herbal combination, they are very clear as to what the expectation is and what it’s supposed to be helping,” he explained.

“Oftentimes, patients will do their own addi-tional research and fi nd out more about the herbs. It’s not just about taking things and hoping they work - it’s about having some evidence and clinical

reasoning behind it.”Some of the most com-

mon issues addressed at the clinic include skin con-ditions such as eczema, digestive issues, asthma and allergies and hormon-al imbalances. Treatments that are available at the clinic include Intravenous (IV) Therapy, which is an injection of vitamins, min-erals and amino acids, as well as botanical and ho-meopathic medicines.

Additionally, the clin-ic offers physical medi-cine such as therapeutic massage when required and even has a pro-gram to address Allergy Immunotherapy. Dr. Jennie Johnson is a registed child and teen psychologist who practices at Aspire as well.

“Aspire is a clinic where

we’re trying to blend sci-ence and natural medicine together and that’s proba-bly one of the biggest dif-ferences with our clinic to others. We do a lot of objec-tive, scientifi c testing that includes hormone testing, food intolerance testing, allergy testing and more. That allows us to fi nd a treatment plan that is re-ally more specifi c to a per-son’s needs,” Shane said.

“Instead of having some-one come in with a concern, and just throwing an herbal combination their way in hopes it works, we do appro-priate testing fi rst and allow that to infl uence what our best approach could be. We try to target things as specif-ically as we can and use as much evidence-based med-icine as possible.”

Consultations are open for all ages and are meant to address a person’s health in an inclusive manner, regarding their current medications and past medical history.

“I’ve found that the peo-ple of Red Deer have been responsive and enjoy our clinic because we’re not anti-conventional medi-cine at all,” Shane said.

“We work with medical doctors in town and we work with specialists - our goal is to really be part of a team of medical pro-fessionals that works with our clients. We are one of the pieces of the puzzle to their health team. For us, that’s more of our style - integrating modern and natural medicine.”

[email protected]

“I’VE FOUND THAT THE PEOPLE OF RED

DEER HAVE BEEN RESPONSIVE AND ENJOY OUR CLINIC

BECAUSE WE’RE NOT ANTI-CONVENTIONAL

MEDICINE AT ALL.”

DR. SHANE JOHNSON A NATURAL APPROACH - Dr. Shane Johnson of Aspire Natural Medicine seeks to use natural herbal remedies in conjunction with traditional western medicine to provide a com-prehensive health plan specifi c to each patient’s needs.

Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express

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McBain Camera offers insight, experience and selectionFamily run business is enjoying success in the Central Alberta market

McBain Camera is a sta-ple shop for any Central Alberta photographer due to its wide selection of products, incomparable knowledge of staff and helpful atmosphere.

The local McBain Camera store is part of a larger family-owned business based in Edmonton. The stores have been under the same ownership since 1949 when it opened. Local manager Collin Orthner said he admires this fam-ily model and translates this closeness into the op-eration of the Red Deer location.

“It is a family-run busi-ness, and it has been since it opened. It’s always been the same owner, so we’re always dealing with the same people. I tend to run this location with that family mentality as well. Everybody here is like a lit-tle family - it’s not like we just show up to work and leave. We all know each other very well,” he said.

“Everybody that works

here is passionate about photography, and if you add up our years of ex-perience in the industry, there is over 100 years’ worth of experience, so we know quite a bit. With that combined knowledge, we can help people out pretty easily.”

McBain carries a lot of specialty equipment that isn’t accessible in other photography accessory stores in town. There are customized and high-end photo bags, specialized shooting equipment and even a wide variety of fi lm available.

“What makes us a spe-cialty store is the huge range in our products. We have the fancy camera bags, $7,000 lenses - things that a mom and pop shop won’t have, and even big chain stores,” Orthner said.

“We have access to huge amounts of product that might not even be in the store, but that we can bring in. We have a huge ware-house in Edmonton that we can access, plus we are part of a large buyers group across Canada that

we can get product from as well. We can access just about anything out there, outside of private, special-ized online things. If you put that together with our

knowledge base, it starts to come together.”

Orthner said often times they are able to bring in specialty products very easily and will work to bring in specifi c requests.

“Being a specialty shop, we carry a ton of stuff right from beginner gear to high-end pro products. We try to keep a lot of it in stock so people don’t have to look far. They can get it in their hand and play with it be-fore they buy it,” he said.

In addition to a broad range of items for sale, there are also other ser-vices available at McBain. The team can issue pass-port photos and do large format printing on fi ne art papers, custom prints and ready to hang canvas wraps. As well McBain of-fers a fi lm development service, and card corrup-

tion recovery services.The space is also used for

some photography classes, taught by local photogra-pher Dwight Arthur.

“Also, Dwight Arthur is one of our pros in town and he runs a class right here in our building. He renovated the space and teaches photography courses here. He sets it up through his web site, but you come in here to reg-ister. When people have questions with him, he can point them to us. Also, we can lend him a bunch of tripods or macro lenses or things like that for his classes. We work together to make sure that people get their hands on those things and get to play with them,” Orthner said.

As well, members of the Central Alberta Photography Club are able

to access discounts on cer-tain items.

Meanwhile, Orthner said the store also remains competitive with gear pricing.

“We are not here to gouge, we’re here to get people what they need. Sometimes we beat out others on price, and some-times they beat us but we can always try to price match items. There are a few limits to that, but we can do it,” he said.

Orthner said it is a won-derful time to be a pho-tographer, with all kinds of new technologies and techniques becoming ac-cessible. He said he has enjoyed seeing the indus-try grow and change and welcomes both aspiring and professional photog-raphers to the store.

[email protected]

PRIDE IN PRODUCTS - Collin Orthner, manager of the Red Deer McBain Camera store said he and his team are confi dent in their knowledge, experience and products and this allows them to provide top notch service in the store. Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express


Many Canadian companies are naturally drawn to the U.S. when they decide to export or set up operations abroad.

It’s also a proven launching pad for expansion to high-er-growth developing countries.

But for too many entrepreneurs, a U.S. expansion ends in costly failure. That’s because Canadian companies often expand to the U.S. without making the necessary preparations.

“Entrepreneurs tend to underestimate the challeng-es of expanding to the U.S.,” says Carl Gravel, direc-tor of Global Expansion—Consulting at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). “The U.S. actually has many different markets. There are 50 different ways of doing things, depending on the state.”

The fi rst step to a successful U.S. expansion is to thoroughly research your market. Contact industry as-sociations, research competitors and ask the advice of industry insiders.

“U.S customers will ask: ‘Why you?’” Gravel says. “What are you bringing to the market? What is your unique value proposition?”

It’s also important to remember to seek out reliable local partners such as distributors, sales agents or joint-venture partners to help you gain a foothold in the U.S. You can use the extensive services of govern-ment organizations such as BDC, Export Development Canada, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Canadian business owners should also beware of U.S.

tax laws. They are complex and enforced at the federal, state and even municipal levels, meaning a Canadian entrepreneur aiming to do business in several U.S. states could be in for a tax headache.

One entrepreneur’s successful experience:When Noel Asmar founded her apparel company back

in 2002, she had no idea most of her business would come from the U.S. To avoid incurring major start-up costs, Asmar focused her sales strategy online, launch-ing Spauniforms.com in December 2002.

Her fi rst orders came from south of the border and pre-sented immediate challenges and opportunities. “I was really small and stocked goods in my home, dropping items at the post offi ce personally,” she says.

The company has since experienced average annual growth of over 25%, with about 80% of sales coming from the U.S.

“Doing business there can be challenging, so you need good advice,” says Asmar, a BDC client.

One important challenge for Asmar was logistics. As her company grew, it became imperative for Asmar

to deliver in the U.S., in an effi cient and affordable way.She outsourced logistics—setting up distribution in the

U.S. through a third-party fi rm to avoid customs delays and fees. The move allowed her to cut costs, improve customer service and reduce her stress levels.

Currency fl uctuations can have a major impact on a Canadian business’s bottom line.

Asmar’s response to a rising Canadian dollar was to begin hedging, and it’s now a central part of her inter-national strategy.

Her most critical piece of advice on how to succeed in the U.S. is to build a strong brand with an equally robust digital presence.

“Be prepared to spend at least 15% to 20% of your cap-ital on building your brand,” she says.

“Regardless of whether you’re in a niche market, you need to set yourself apart in the U.S.”

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Companies need to make sure they make the needed preparations


Pet resort puts animals’ care and comfort fi rstUnderstanding that the

four-legged members of a family are just as im-portant as the two-legged members, is what one local pet boarding facility takes to heart.

Piper Creek Pet Resort, which began nearly nine years ago, offers dog and cat boarding as well as pet grooming.

“We are a very small boarding kennel so there is a lot of person-al care and attention to all of the animals that we have here,” said Brenda Wyntjes, owner/operator of Piper Creek Pet Resort. “We can only have eight cats, 12 small dogs and 14 large dogs at a time. This allows us to take care of

animals with high needs - that need medications, that need injections, need special care and attention.

“I just saw a need for this type of facility. I had two dogs of my own and I didn’t see a place that made me happy. I went to school to become a vet tech and I knew I always wanted to do something with animals - I just saw this as a need.”

Clients who wish to book a space for their animal at Piper Creek Pet Resort will have a meet and greet with the staff at the facility. “We like for people to come out and see our facility. We don’t want them to feel stress about leaving their pet here because their pet feels the stress and emo-tion of their owners.”

To help reduce stress,

Wyntjes said staff at Piper Creek Pet Resort try and keep the routine of the pet as close as possible as if they were at home.

“We try and give them their food at the same time as they would get at home so they feel more comfortable.

“We’ve done every-thing from making meals for dogs that have cus-tom diets, to feeding raw.” Wyntjes said for a pet to stay at the facility, they

have to be up to date on all of their vaccinations.

Piper Creek Pet Resort is specifi cally designed to house animals so there is a heat recovery ventilation system which ensures

clean air throughout the building.

The fl oor is also heated and there is music playing in the facility for the ani-mals as well.

Dogs have access to

indoor/outdoor runs throughout the daytime and they are exercised at least twice a day as well. At night the dogs are kept in their individual kennels.

[email protected]

“I JUST SAW A NEED FOR THIS TYPE OF

FACILITY. I HAD TWO DOGS OF MY OWN AND I DIDN’T SEE A PLACE THAT MADE ME HAPPY. I WENT TO SCHOOL TO BE-COME A VET TECH AND I KNEW I AL-

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BRENDA WYNTJES

FURRY FRIENDS - The staff at Piper Creek Pet Resort pose at the facility with some of their beloved pets. Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express

BY ERIN FAWCETTRED DEER EXPRESS

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A long tradition of service at Wei’s Western WearBY MARK WEBERRED DEER EXPRESS

Wei’s Western Wear has a long and proud history of serving Central Alberta.

“First of all we are local-ly owned since the mid-1950s,” explained Marilyn Mah, who along with her husband Steve are co-own-ers of the successful downtown establishment with other family mem-bers. “It started off with just shoe repair. My father-in-law started it as a one-man businesses where he repaired boots. And it just grew from there - we got into the retail sector and started with western wear, boots, clothing and extended it to work wear and now various fashions.

“We now have a 10,000 square foot downtown store - at the original lo-cation. We have also ex-panded to another north location which is almost the same square footage,” she said, adding that addi-tional location opened in the mid-1990s.

Over the years, the store’s commitment to quality customer service has vaulted them to the top of the pack ever since.

“What we are very proud

of is that not only do we carry quality merchandise, but quantity also,” she said, referring to the extensive lines of product that are featured throughout the store.

Their cowboy boot selec-tion alone is staggering, and includes the top most pop-ular brand names around today. There is everything from the more classic, tra-ditional design to others that wield a more modern look.

But back to those early days - it was in 1956 that Wei Mah fi rst opened the business in Red Deer. “When Red Deer still had gravel roads,” she added with a laugh.

In about 1960, the busi-ness settled in its current downtown location (5115 – 50th Ave.) and, as men-tioned, branched into exten-sive lines of western wear.

For the family, the se-cret of success stems from keeping generations of customers happy with what the store offers. When customers drop by, they will most likely fi nd what they need because there is simply so much to choose from.

There are loads of cow-boy boot styles to peruse, plus blue jeans, cowboy hats, belts, western shirts and the accessories that go with it all.

Wei’s Western Wear has also broadened what they offer over the years as well to keep pace with Central Alberta’s brisk economy. Work wear including steel-toed boots and coveralls are also carried these days.

Staff also stay on top of the latest fashions in

western wear by attend-ing industry events both in Canada and the U.S. as well. Events throughout North America offer plenty of ideas about the hottest trends, and staff at Wei’s are eager to bring them to their customer base. “We go to all the major buy-ing events,” she said. And speaking of staff, there are many who have worked at Wei’s for lengthy periods. “We have staff that have been here 25-plus years,” she said. “We’re not just about the great merchan-dise - we are also about the people. I think every-one here enjoys the people that come in - the variety of people who come in and the personalities - it’s fun.

“That’s what I like the best - we know people by their fi rst names and they know us.” The family’s pet dogs, Winston and Bernie, are also on hand to offer customers a friendly hello as well.

Meanwhile, making sure customers leave the store

pleased with the service they’ve received brings even more satisfaction to their busy schedule.

“We are also very com-munity-oriented,” said Marilyn, adding they con-tribute to and help support events as diverse as local rodeos, the chuckwagon

races at Westerner Park to the annual Agri-Trade ex-hibition. “We are big spon-sors of many functions and charities.

“We are very proud members of Red Deer going way back.”

[email protected]

“WE ARE VERY PROUD MEMBERS

OF RED DEER GOING WAY BACK.”

MARILYN MAH

PROUD OWNERSHIP - Marilyn Mah, co-ower of Wei’s Western Wear, happily shows off some of her favourite cowboy boots among a wide selection of cowboy attire and accessories. Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express


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Top notch lawn and yard care with Green FreaksAfter a very hectic sum-

mer, staff at Green Freaks Lawn Service are busy these days getting local residents’ yards ready for the winter season.

From early April until November, there’s plenty to do in keeping a growing list of clients pleased with how their yards look and it boils down to hard work, very reliable and friend-ly service, said Jerrod Nasewich who co-owns the business along with his wife Julie.

“It’s the consistent ser-vice and the high quality service.

“We also always use the commercial grade equip-

ment, so it’s a higher qual-ity type of equipment.”

Whether customers re-quire weekly scheduled or one-time mowing, the couple offers top quality, affordable mowing of res-idential/acreage, commer-cial or rental properties.

Jerrod launched Green Freaks Lawn Service in the spring of 2014 after a career with the provincial government that stretched back about 20 years. “I de-cided I wanted to expand on another business that we already had going,” he explained, referring to a commercial cleaning busi-ness the couple was oper-ating as well.

“Once we were happy with the way that was going, I wanted to add a lawn care service into the mix and basically go from there. I have always en-joyed cutting lawns and maintaining properties. It really took off from there.”

Green Freaks Lawn Service offers a number of services including sched-uled weekly lawn mow-ing, acreage mowing, and one-time lawn mowing for vacationers; core aeration which helps reduce soil compaction and allows

air, water and fertilizer to enter the soil which leads to a healthier lawn and dethatching/power raking which is recommended for early spring or late fall to allow grass to recover.

Jerrod also offers exten-sive spring and fall clean-up, power brush/brooms, leaf/debris removal, prun-ing/branch trimming, landscape bed mainte-nance, shrub and hedge trimming, over seeding (described as an ideal way to bring drought-in-jured lawns back to life again), sidewalk and drive-way edging, and mulching which also helps refresh landscapes in general to a vibrant, healthy state.

And the services don’t stop with the end of the fall season – Green Freaks also offers residential and commercial snow removal as well.

“We offer a affordable snow removal service that won’t leave you spinning your tires trying to leave for work.”

For Jerrod, there really couldn’t be a more pleasant and fulfi lling line of work.

“I enjoy meeting new people, and I like to see their satisfaction and how

happy they are with the work that I do,” he ex-plained. “I also love work-ing outside.

“People ask me how long I’ve been doing this, and I

always say that I’ve been doing it basically all of my life but as a job for two years now,” he added with a laugh. Over the years, he always enjoyed taking care of his

own properties and all that entailed. “It’s always been something that I’ve natu-rally enjoyed and now have pursued it a little further.”

[email protected]

FEELING GREEN - Jerrod Nasewich, owner of Green Freaks Lawn Service, takes some time from a busy day of caring for clients’ lawns in Red Deer. Zachary Cormier/Red Deer Express


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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

Step by step: how to innovate incrementallyEntrepreneurs have to innovate to survive and thrive.

However, innovation often doesn’t come easily. Let’s face it. It’s the rare business that strikes it rich with some mind-blowing high-tech invention or cool new won-der-product.

In fact, that’s not the kind of innovation that has the most impact in the small business world, says Michael Selci, senior vice president, Finance and Consulting, at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Much more important is something called incremental innovation—small, manageable improvements in your business.

They might not be as sexy as a fancy new product that makes a big splash in the news or revolutionizes an in-dustry, but they’re the bread and butter of most highly innovative businesses, Selci says. And given the limited R&D resources at most small companies, incremental innovation probably offers the best payoff for entrepre-neurs over the long-term.

“If you don’t innovate, you risk falling behind,” Selci says. “But radical innovation isn’t the answer for most businesses. Small incremental steps are what they need to work on to help their business grow.”

Rob Read of Bison Fire Protection agrees. His company, which supplies fi re protection products and services, is growing at an impressive clip, with sales shooting up 20% each year since 2001. Bison has ranked as one of Canada’s top 500 fastest-growing companies two years in a row.

What is Bison’s secret? Constant improvement, Read says. “I think if you’re not innovating, changing or trying things, you’re dying.

If you think business is done the same way as 10 or even fi ve years ago, you’re wrong,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be the clouds parting and light beaming down. And we’re talking doable things - little changes on a regular basis.”

Read recently brought in an outside consultant to audit his business processes and look for effi ciencies. He had

noticed some of his employees were overworked, so he wanted to fi nd ways to make their lives easier. “If you’re running a marathon every day, you’ll lose a lot of your people,” he says.

The expert recommended some simple streamlining measures, such as processing paperwork more effi cient-ly and improving scheduling and inventory manage-ment. It sounds like simple stuff, but these innovations made a huge difference.

“That marathon turned into a walk in the park. People are less stressed.

“We’re getting better production with the same people and lower costs,” Read says. “The staff have repeatedly come to me and said, ‘Thank you.’”

Another recent innovation was to start having weekly meetings to brief sales people and project managers on the status of various jobs. That’s resulted in better pro-ductivity and customer service, Read says.

One more innovation: hiring a supervisor for each of Bison’s three divisions.

Thanks to these managers, employees are now get-ting better support and training. Bison has also started investing more in its people by offering weekly staff training sessions.

And Read’s not done. Upcoming plans include a customer survey and anoth-

er outside audit in a year or two. “As we grow,” he says, “I’m continually looking at ways to innovate.”

Many entrepreneurs shy away from innovation. “They view it as something complex or revolutionary that only the big guys can take on. Or they’re so busy trying to manage day-to-day operations and customers that they say they don’t have time for it and are fi ne as is,” Selci says.

However, innovation can be tackled in small steps that are easy to manage. Here are some tips:

1. Constantly review your processes and products to see what you can improve. Seek advice from an indus-try expert or an external consultant with expertise in functional areas such as human resources, lean man-agement or information and communication technology. Talk with suppliers and listen to customers to get new ideas.

2. Form partnerships with universities and colleges to cultivate ideas and potential employees.

3. Shorten your idea-to-market cycle. Quickly see whether there is market interest in your idea. Test a new product inexpensively by promoting it on eBay or YouTube.

Gauge market reaction, and innovate based on the feedback.

- supplied by the Business Development Bank of Canada

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Partnerships formed at Success 4 Business ExpoThe third annual Success 4 Business

Expo was back and bigger than ever this year, much to the pleasure of Event Organizer Brenda Kolasa.

Kolasa created the expo in 2013 after realizing that the community needed a place for entrepreneurs and business owners to have all or most of their ques-tions answered at once. Her solution was an exposition that allowed for interper-sonal relationship building and to bring awareness to business resources.

This year, the expo was held on Oct. 8th at the Westerner Grounds Harvest Centre.

“Basically, this expo caters to entrepre-neurs, business owners and managers that want to better their business. It’s all about learning, getting new resources and making new connections,” Kolasa said.

“In my other business, I was getting a variety of clients asking a ton of ques-tions like, ‘How do I do this?’ or ‘Where do I go to fi nd this?’ - people who were start-ing businesses or expanding, and I just couldn’t answer everything. I thought, wouldn’t it be great to have this informa-tion all under one roof? And that’s when I started Success 4 Business.”

The Success 4 Business expo happens once a year, but a collection of resources have been compiled online at www.suc-cess4business.ca. Kolasa said the value of this web site lies in the volumes of information available and the ability to connect directly with other colleagues, new clients or experts.

“The online Success 4 Business offers a whole bunch of resources for small businesses. The expo is done once a year and it brings everyone together tangibly under one roof. There are a lot of connec-tions being made, a lot of learning oppor-tunities and the resources here are phe-nomenal. The experts are such a value to people,” Kolasa said.

This year, the expo was bigger than ever before.

“We have increased our attendance by about 75 per cent - it’s huge this year.

The fi rst year we had 80 attendees, last year we had 120, and this year we are registered for over 225. What’ll show up through the door is probably closer to 175 to 180. It’s been very successful so far,” Kolasa said.

The event includes seminars, discus-sion areas, meeting opportunities and of course, a networking haven. Attendees are able to interact directly with exhib-itors and business owners are able to develop personal relationships.

Additionally a Startup Entrepreneur Award is also given out. This year’s win-ner of the Startup Entrepreneur Award was Red Shed Malting.

Kolasa said a vital part of the expo is giving people an opportunity to create possible partnerships or mentor connec-tions.

“We have a beautiful mentoring lounge, where there have been lots of mentoring sessions going on. Every small business needs a mentor - I have several of them helping me out on a monthly basis at least. We have certain mentors on the list and we have mentors online as well,” she said.

“Every entrepreneur needs a mentor - a good mentor. We also have our B-to-B sitdowns, which is a space for people to actually have business meetings and get business done here at the expo. This was our fi rst year of trying that. It is a great opportunity to book with a featured busi-ness and actually sit down and do some business.”

Kolasa said the most important thing about business is the relationships formed and she looks forward to seeing relationships grow and develop through Success 4 Business.

“I think all business starts with relation-ships, and then they just fl ourish from there. That relationship could be with a mentor, a new client, a colleague - what-ever,” she said.

“As an entrepreneur, you are continu-ously learning. I hope people come here and develop those relationships but also take away learning opportunities.”

[email protected]

BUILDING BUSINESSES - Brenda Kolasa, creator of the Success 4 Business Expo, takes a break in one of the mentoring lounge areas at the expo, a space for business members and potential mentor relationships to fl ourish through one-on-one discussion.

Kalisha Mendonsa/Red Deer Express



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Providing top quality DJ services in Central Alberta

Ever want to host a party that’s played by profes-sional radio DJ’s?

Juiced Audio is the offi -cial mobile DJ service of L.A. Radio Group Inc. It’s owned by Dennis Allan, who is also the program director at Kraze 101.3 and they’re available for hire.

“We do anything that re-quires mobile audio pro-duction, sound and light-ing,” Allan said during an interview.

Allan started the busi-ness when he moved to Red Deer in 1998.

The company, said Allan, is made up of about eight people, most of who are subcontractors to Juiced Audio.

“I do a lot of the ad-ministration and a lot of the back end and then we have other DJs that we would send out.

“We usually use the an-nouncers at Kraze and Sunny, the ones who are experienced at doing that kind of thing,” he said.

Juiced just fi nished a very busy wedding sea-son, Allan said, and are

now moving into a period where they start to see more school dances and Halloween parties.

But, Allan said his com-pany prides itself on more than good customer ser-vice.

“We really pride our-selves on trust - that’s the number one most import-ant thing for us,” he said.

The company also does a lot to support local chari-ties and non-profi t groups.

“We have quite a reach as far as our coverage area. What we like to do is offer discounts to every non-profi t group, every fundraiser,” said Allan, adding they will occasion-ally champion one or two causes throughout the year that they can donate their time to.

“There’s so many great things that happen in Central Alberta that are worthy of assistance but there’s only so much of us to go around.”

Allan noted the compa-ny decided a long time ago that they want to make their services accessable for anyone who needs that support.

“Our biggest problem is

we’d like to do all of them,” he said.

The group also does vol-unteer work outside of their DJ services.

According to Allan, they’ve volunteered for events by just helping out behind the scenes.

“It’s something that we really enjoy doing.

“We’re in some of the schools as much as we can. There’s never a bad opportunity to do some-thing like that,” he said.

“Juiced Audio is hon-oured to be able to work with so many great causes and organizations; many events recurring annually. It’s extremely rewarding to

be in a position to help out the community through sponsorships, volunteer-ing and donations.”

On top of all that, the DJ service also prides itself on the trust that their cli-ents grant them.

“What we get out of it the most is that relation-ship we build with the

people we work with,” he added.

“It really is rewarding when you’re doing some-body’s wedding and their faces just light up and they come up and ask for a hug in the middle of their dance, it’s a feeling that I can’t explain.”

[email protected]

A GOOD TIME - Juiced Audio, a local DJ service, can bring the party to you. photo submitted



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Couple brings new gambling experience toCentral Alberta area via ‘Vegas Nights’

What do you get when you cross a pair of professional dealers with a bunch of portable casino tables?

The answer to that question is ‘Vegas Nights’, the local mobile casino company owned and operated by April and Gordon Massie. “We bring the casino and the entertainment to you, so we’re like an entertainment company,” April explained.

The Massies fi rst had the idea to start their own gaming-based business when they created a casino game together for a local facility.

Since then, though, the pair saw an opportunity to create something unique in the Red Deer area; a mobile fun casi-no business that is available for hire for fundraisers and corporate events.

“We realized that there was a demand in the City for this type of entertainment,” said Gordon, adding since they worked their fi rst event in the spring of 2013, the company has taken off.

They built a couple of portable tables that could be set up and taken down easily and started marketing this new branch of their business, which they called Vegas Nights.

“These fun casino events, it’s all for fundraisers. They don’t play for cash or anything like that,” April said.

In the two years since, they’ve worked everything from corporate events to Christmas parties to birthday parties and everything in between. While they run Vegas Nights as a side job, the Massies both work full time. April spends her days as a student at Red Deer College’s Donald School of Business while Gordon works as a mechanic. The couple also has three kids.

“It’s fun because there’s no pressure. It’s gambling and people aren’t getting mad at you because it’s pretend money and it’s great,” April said.

According to April, one thing that makes their business stand out is the fact they have professional dealers deal all of the games, including both her and Gordon.

“We have blackjack, poker, roulette, of course our game Cash Crib. We have al-most anything that you could fi nd in a casino,” said April.

In fact, the pair now have a total of 22 tables, all of which Gordon built in their garage using felt that they imported from Las Vegas.

“All of our tables are very nice. They’re properly bumpered and we have felt.

“And we have professional dealers,” said April.

The couple actually started out by build-ing a couple of full-sized portable tables, but they have since reduced the size to be able to fi t them in the trailer.

“We’ve reduced the size by probably a foot and a half but it still fi ts the same amount of players. We have cup holders for the players and there’s enough room where they just hold their ‘money’ in their hands,” Gordon added.

Now, after a couple of years in business, the pair are focusing on recreating the

Vegas experience with their fun casino nights. “We’ve been adding quite a bit to it with ordering some decorations and stuff now,” said Gordon.

“We try to give them the most realis-tic casino experience while having fun,” April added.

[email protected]


ENTERTAINING - From left, Gordon Massie and April Massie pose in front of one of the portable tables used by their fun casino business ‘Vegas Nights’. The Massies started their business in the spring of 2013. Zachary Cormier/Red Deer Express

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Blue Grass Nursery, Sod & Garden Centreis a proud member of the community

Blue Grass Nursery, Sod & Garden Centre’s new lo-cation at the old Dentooms Greenhouses is an impres-sive sight. The interior of the main greenhouse is huge. The front portion of the building is taken up by the Garden Centre itself. The retail store has every-thing from weather vanes to garden gnomes to seeds. Anything that someone might need to grow their own garden. The truly in-credible sight, however, is the nearly three acres of fl oor space covered in ta-bles which hold everything from tropical plants to an-nual fl owers.

The space was fi lled with row upon row of Poinsettias, each of them in an individual pot and preparing to be the cen-terpiece at someone’s Christmas dinner table.

The company was start-ed in the late 1950s in Manitoba by Bert McEwen, and originally focused on harvesting sod. In 1969, Bert’s son Bill Sr. moved the business out to Red Deer after buying 155 acres of pastureland, eventual-ly cultivating it until the entire property was being used to grow sod.

In the 45 years since then, Blue Grass’s Red Deer loca-tion, which is now owned and operated by Bill Sr.’s son Bruce McEwen, has grown into a big business. The company now grows 1,400 acres of sod at their Red Deer location during their peak season.

The company also has a full-time garden centre and tree nursery in Balzac,

which is run by Bruce’s brother Bill Jr.

“We have a turf farm, we have a Caliper tree nurs-ery, we do landscaping, we have trees and shrubs, and now we’ve added a full service garden centre,” Bruce said during an in-terview.

In July of this year, Blue Grass expanded their op-erations again with the purchase of Dentoom’s Greenhouses, which is lo-cated on Hwy. 11A. The move has allowed Blue Grass to offer customers in Red Deer a full-time gar-den centre similar to the one offered in Balzac.

“We’re doing retail local-ly then a big area of our production goes to Calgary and in the past few years we’ve started to do a lot of supplying down to Edmonton as well,” said Doreen Dillabough, who helps manage the business.

She added that the com-pany also now has the opportunity to grow and produce their own annu-als and hanging baskets, which they weren’t able to do in the past. “Further diversification locally is the company started doing commercial snow removal and then we have a heavy-duty mechanic shop,” Dillabough said.

The goal, she said, is to give residents of Red Deer access to a Mega Landscaping Centre where they can buy all of their outdoor products in the same place.

Blue Grass is also a mainstay in the Red Deer community.

“One of the unique things about Red Deer is it’s an amazing place. It was such a good decision 45 years

ago for Mr. McEwen Sr. to start operating here. It’s a really nice business com-munity,” Dillabough said, adding the City is also a central location between Calgary and Edmonton, making it an ideal location for a company that needs to ship to both of those cit-ies. “We also feel that we have a small town feel still and that’s an important part of our company. So we fi t in really well to this local, strong and thriving economy.”

The company also makes contributions to the com-munity through donations of money and services.

In 2013, Blue Grass spon-sored the City’s planned Splash Park project in Rotary Park. Now, the Blue Grass Sod Farm Central Spray and Play is a pre-mier destination for Red Deerians on a hot sum-mer day. The company also still hosts an annu-al barbecue at the Spray Park every summer. They also support a number of local causes and the staff volunteer for a variety of community events.

“This community has been good to Blue Grass and we really feel an eth-ical responsibility to give back to our community,” Dillabough said.

According to Dillabough, the company also prefers to hire local youth during the summer.

“One of the things that I’m really proud of is since Blue Grass started here, since Bruce was eight years old and working in the fi eld, he’s worked alongside local kids. A big part of the business and something that is really important to us is to share

our values and teach the next generation,” she said, adding that they like to instill a strong work ethic in their employees.

“Our company is really built on old fashioned val-ues. The same values that

would have been instilled in us as children growing up in Red Deer are the val-ues that still exist within the business.”

This year, Blue Grass was one of the nominees for the Red Deer Chamber

of Commerce’s annual Business of the Year Awards, and McEwen said the own-ership couldn’t be happier.

“It’s very nice to be rec-ognized by your commu-nity,” he said.

[email protected]


GROWING TOGETHER - Bruce McEwen, owner of Blue Grass Sod Farms, and Doreen Dillabough checked on the plants at their new location at Dentooms Greenhouses in Red Deer. Blue Grass purchased the greenhouse in July of this year. Zachary Cormier/Red Deer Express

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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

How DIVE Networks became a global technology successToronto’s DIVE Networks

made a big splash at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year.

In collaboration with Google’s ‘Think with Google’ on-line platform for market-ers, DIVE unveiled its media net-work.

DIVE’s plat-form is all about data, and bringing big data to heel. It makes real-time mar-keting intelligence acces-sible, fun and entertaining for marketers all over the world, giving them new levels of insight into their audiences, brands and competitors.

The company, led by CEO Deborah Hall, secured funding from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) at a far ear-lier stage than most com-panies in its shoes.

“BDC’s role is to provide fuel to capable entrepre-neurs like Deborah,” says Jasmin Ganie-Hobbs, man-ager, major accounts at BDC.

“One of our objectives is to help companies like DIVE go global and achieve

success, but they have to show us they’re prepared. We do not have nearly enough companies that are doing this.”

Nor, she added, are there enough women entrepre-

neurs like Hall who are serv-ing as role m o d e l s for young w o m e n consider-

ing a career in technology.

Your preparedness checklist

Like any other lend-er, Ganie-Hobbs needs to see that a company has a fi nancial reporting and management strategy that is clear and precise and that illustrates the com-pany’s revenue trajectory from inception to exit.

Still, she was so im-pressed with Hall and her team that she made the decision to extend fi nanc-ing at an earlier stage of DIVE’s growth than she typically does with clients.

Why? Because Hall and her

team had the right at-tributes that allowed Ganie-Hobbs to check off

all the boxes that matter to an investor or lender: industry experience, sales traction, a solid revenue model that featured early engagement with pros-pects, a great manage-ment team capable of ex-ecuting and a fi rm grasp of sound fi nancial modeling and management.

Prior success with an-other venture

“Deborah and her team had the credibility to be among that small minority of companies that I fund at an early stage because they were already far along on this learning curve and had the results to show for it,” Ganie-Hobbs says.

“If you want to impress a commercial lender, these are the sorts of milestones you must achieve in your business.”

DIVE Networks thought global from the start

“From the outset, the DIVE Networks team was thinking global,” says Hall.

Her team took advantage of existing industry rela-tionships to engage with other companies in the Toronto area that were al-ready working with major brands.

“This served as a point of entry to broker key dis-cussions, engage potential customers to help drive and refi ne the develop-

ment of DIVE Network’s platform, and secure early revenues.

“From the beginning, we were thinking about how brands use content in real time, and we were think-ing, ‘Let’s apply this to the biggest brands and dream as big as we can at the out-set’,” she says. “We want-ed to have our technology power the best brands.”

Lessons learnedFor DIVE Networks, the

keys to going global on a lean budget, and making itself an attractive invest-ment target at an unusual-ly early stage, boil down to the following: fi nd and en-gage with prospective cus-tomers at an early stage of development. “Networking is crucial—talk to people,” says Hall.

Keep it simple. DIVE Networks refi ned

its business model for its customers with a consum-er-marketing approach.

“We made it easy for cus-tomers to get started and

see results from our plat-form quickly,” says Hall.

Be able to scale for a broad audience. “We didn’t let the development team get sidetracked by bells and whistles that didn’t appeal to a large user base,” says Hall.

Find great business part-ners.

“Mike Girgis, Jake Neiman and I bring differ-ent skills and insights to the table.

“This has had a huge im-pact on our ability to solve problems and to position the company for continu-ous growth. Having a great leadership team with complementary skill sets makes for a better product overall,” says Hall.

Ganie-Hobbs adds one more tip.

“From a leadership per-spective, it’s important to stay focused on clear mile-stones and don’t try to be all things to all people.”

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SMALL BUSINESS WEEK


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Special Features - Small Business Week 2015