Why Your Business Needs A Website?

Do You Need A Website?

First Published: Dec 21, 2010 EntrepreneurJourney.com

As an entrepreneur, one of the most common things you will be asked is whether or not you have a website. This is a common question because people want to know so they can get information on your company, yourself and more. While many business owners will set up a business right away, especially if they work from home, there are some who do not see the need for it. This is a problem because in today’s world, you need to have a website that you can use to reach your customers and that you can have your customers reach you at.

Here are just a few reasons why a website is so important within your business:

1. It allows customers to talk directly to you and to learn about your company. There are many, mostly younger than 30, who feel that if you do not have a website, then you are not a legitimate company. You do not want to fall in this category. Even if your business has nothing to do with computers, merchandise or anything connected with the internet, then you want to have a website just to show that you are legitimate to the people who care about websites.
2. It allows you to see who your customers are. When you have a website, it usually comes with software that gives you the ability to learn where your customers are coming from, how they are finding you and what they are looking at on your website. That is important because that type of marketing information can go a long way in helping ensure that you are successful with your business.
3. Having a website will raise your productivity because your customers won’t have to call you and ask where you are, or find out what you sell. They can just go to your website and learn what they need to know. That frees you up to do business, rather than dealing with phone calls of a minor nature.
4. Your customer base can literally increase from hundreds to millions. Right now, there are roughly 1.5 billion people on the Internet. That means that you have the potential to reach all of those individuals. That is an immense opportunity for you and it is something that you need to take advantage of. If you do not, you are not doing your business any favors.

The Internet is not a fad; it is not something that is going to fade away. It is a world changing technology that has changed the world more in 15 years than most technologies do in 100 years. Even if your business does nothing on the Internet, doesn’t use computers and has no need for them, you need a website. A website is like an employee who works for you and helps to ensure that your company stays viable and profitable for many years to come. It is an essential technology these days, so do not do without it.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Credit Card

Scotia’s New Travel Credit Card Miles Ahead of Competitors

Previously, if you were on the lookout for travel credit cards issued by major Canadian banks that do not charge foreign currency transaction fees and offer free lounge access, you were out of luck. You could find cards that offer free lounge access, such as the BMO World Elite MasterCard, but getting one with both free lounge access and zero foreign currency fees was out of the question.

However, it all changed when Scotia Bank launched its Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Credit Card offering both free lounge access and zero foreign currency fees. Better yet, this card even has a lower annual fee ($140) than BMO World Elite MC ($150) and giving more free lounge entrances (6 vs BMO’s 4) via the Priority Pass program.

Scotiabank placed itself as a leader and miles ahead of other major banks by offering a zero foreign currency conversion fee with no conversion mark-up and 6 free lounge visits. Canadians have long been waiting for this type of card. Since Chase Bank pulled out its 2 zero foreign currency credit cards from Canada, the vacuum in this segment of the credit card market grew and Scotia realized faster than other banks that there was a great opportunity there.

Of course, the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Credit Card is not a perfect travel credit card and it has its flaws. For example, it does not offer accelerated points for travel spending and all the travel insurances this card offers are not usable because the 3rd party provider makes it difficult to fulfill claims based on countless Internet reviews, ratings, and complaints.

But still, Scotia took a step in the right direction by offering the first no foreign currency fees credit card issued by one of the major Canadian banks and by lighting the path for other big Canadian banks.

Toronto And The Programs To Help Entrepreneurs

Resources For Toronto Entrepreneur

First Published: Nov 14, 2010 EntrepreneurJourney.com

Toronto is the largest city in Canada, the cultural centre of the nation and the place where many businesses get their start. With 2.6 million people in the city, it is the economic engine of the country and the place where many businesses, the largest in the country, operate out of. While Canada has many programs in place to help entrepreneurs, there are also specific programs and services in place to help entrepreneurs in Toronto get their start. Here are a few to help you know what you have available to you.

Youth MicroLoan Pilot

This program was put in place by the city council of Toronto as a way of giving young entrepreneurs from west end neighborhoods the ability to start their own business. Currently, this is just a pilot program that is going to run for a year to assess how well it works. This means that if you are a young entrepreneur from the west end, then you will want to take advantage of this immediately.

The program is funded by the City of Toronto and is in partnership with the Toronto Community Foundation, Toronto Community Housing and Alterna Savings. It provides young entrepreneurs with skills they can use in life, business development training, mentoring in business and access to loans of up to $5,000. In addition, as part of the program, those who apply will get post-loan support, access to resources, networking opportunities and much more.

The concept of the program was actually planned back in 2007 and 2008 when Enterprise Toronto created a series of workshops in 13 neighborhoods called Youth Biz, as a way of urging younger individuals to start their own business and develop their own self-employment opportunities.

So, what do you need if you want to take part in this program? To participate in the program, the youth must have an idea and no access to any other sort of business or enterprise funding. The youth must be between the age of 18 and 24, no longer be in school and in a high priority neighborhood. These neighborhoods are:

• Jane and Finch
• Weston-Mt. Dennis
• Jamestown-Rexdale
• Lawrence Heights
• Westminster Branson

In addition, the youth must be unemployed and not receiving any sort of employment insurance. To apply, contact the UrbanArts Community Arts Council at 416.241.5124 or e-mail info@urbanartstoronto.org.

Enterprise Toronto

A one-stop source of services and programs for Toronto entrepreneurs, Enterprise Toronto helps to meet the needs of those who want to start a business within the Toronto area. Enterprise Toronto assists in training and helping new entrepreneurs make good decisions to ensure that their business keeps growing. The organization has the goal to help entrepreneurs who are at the initial growth stage of their business by giving them training on business decision making, management, finding information for marketing, leadership solutions and securing sources of financing. The organization wants to help entrepreneurs in Toronto reach their full potential and have their business succeed.

Enterprise Toronto is offered and managed by the City of Toronto Economic Development and Culture Office, which provides services and programs in area of small business.

Youth Entrepreneurship Program

The YMCA Business Centre offers a program that is designed for those between the age of 15 and 30, who are not in school, are living in the York region and are not collecting employment insurance, but who want to start their own business. Offered and funded by the Government of Ontario, this is a very important program that can help a lot of people make the important decisions when they are beginning their business venture.

Some of the programs that the Youth Entrepreneurship Program offers including:

• Leaning how to start a business.
• Gaining access to financial help.
• Developing a business plan.
• Attending workshops.
• Mentoring and coaching
• Business planning
• Internet marketing
• Financial forecasting
• Networking with business owners
• Using the business resource library.

If you are interested in this program, you can contact them at ybc@ymcagta.org or by calling 905.948.9622

Step Ahead

As a woman, sometimes it can be hard to find the help you may want to run a business. Thankfully, there are organizations in place to give you a hand. Step Ahead is a not-for-profit volunteer business mentoring organization that matches women entrepreneurs who want to build their business with experienced mentors. They have the motto of “Women business owners mentoring for growth”

The program involves a 12-month Step Ahead Mentoring Program that can begin at any time during the year, and it includes 10 educational workshops and one-on-one mentoring relationship that runs for a year.

Begun in 1992 by a group of women entrepreneurs, they wanted to address the problem they saw of female entrepreneurs finding the process of growing a business difficult while juggling other duties.

Toronto Business Development Centre

Established in 1990 as an initiative of the Toronto Economic Development Corporation and the Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade, this organization has helped over 4,000 businesses in the Toronto area since it opened its doors. The organization is committed to helping entrepreneurs make their business successful by offering several resources. These services include:

• Business incubation
• Planning a business
• Seminars
• Business mail services
• Entrepreneur forums

As well, the Toronto Business Development Centre also offers programs including:

• Ontario Self-Employment Benefit
• Ontario Works Self-Employment Development
• BIZ Futures
• Summer Company
• Canadian Youth Business Foundation
• Community Outreach

Toronto is a huge city with much to offer, but with so much there it can seem overwhelming to start a business there. You may feel like there is no way to compete but you won’t know that unless you start your own business. The programs and groups mentioned here will help you get your business off the ground and, most importantly, give you the training you need to make your business successful. There is nothing saying you have to go it alone in business.

The Joy of Not Working – A. Dawn Journal Book Review

The Joy of Not Working - ADJ Book Review

First Published: Aug 28, 2008 ADawnJournal.com

I recently mentioned Ernie Zelinski's the Joy of Not Working.  The interview with Ernie is still to come, but it is now time for a proper review of the book.

The book's central theme is the enjoyment of leisure, and the author spends a lot of time teaching you how to go about achieving it.  This concept is deceptively simple, which is apparent after reading a few chapters of the book.  There are too many people who are completely consumed by working a regular 9-5 job they don't like. They put very little time and effort into doing things they enjoy.  Some do not even know what those things are. The book is essentially a guide to finding out what you like doing, then changing your lifestyle to become a person that enjoys a life of leisure. 

The author peppers his writing with biographical anecdotes, scientific studies, diagrams, cartoons, and fan mail to create an interesting mix that will keep you hooked from cover to cover. Some may find the writing to be more verbose than necessary, but I did not have a problem with it since I like the author's writing style. He criticizes work, praises unemployment, teaches you how to live with less money, and drives home the concept that you will never be truly happy with your life until you have learned how to use your leisure time.

I am giving The Joy of Not Working a "Must Read."  I recommend it highly, especially if you are tired of being trapped in the regular nine to five schedule.

I am happy to announce that Ernie Zelinski has agreed to an interview request.  The interview will be conducted sometime next week, and I would like to offer my readers the opportunity to ask him some questions.  Please email me your submissions over the next few days.  I will pick a few of the best ones and include them in the interview. Also, I will be doing a review of The Joy of Not Working shortly.To submit your questions, you can email me through contact page, or you can leave a comment right underneath my postings.

CIBC Got This Right! (After Publishing CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite)

CIBC Reached Out to Me

Recently, I published my experience obtaining a CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite credit card that took almost a month. The experience was mainly negative. You can read about by clicking the links provided below.

But what happened after these posts went online went beyond my expectations. CIBC actually reached out to me and made things right by doing a few things. That’s what I will talk about today.

In this age of Internet and social media, it’s hard to ignore when something is up and people are talking about it. That’s what makes the difference when companies are paying attention or not. Here are the things that CIBC got and did right.

Keeping an Eye Open – CIBC was keeping an eye on the Internet and social media. That’s what everyone should do if they care about their reputation and customers’ feedback.

Reaching Out – Not only were they keeping an eye open, but CIBC also reached out. By contacting me, CIBC shows that they are willing to exchange ideas to make things right and makes things better.

Taking Responsibility and Making Customers Happy – CIBC took responsibility for what happened and acknowledged that they are aware of the issue and will work to improve it. Better yet, they offered me 5000 bonus miles, which was beyond my expectations.

CIBC did not have to do any of these things, but in doing so they proved that they are willing to go that extra mile to keep their customers happy and make everything right. That’s how other big banks and credit card companies should act, but that regrettably does not happen most of the time.

I mentioned before that CIBC customer service is not available 24 hours and if you get stranded in foreign countries or anywhere after hours, there is no help. CIBC corrected me, mentioning that you can call their 24-hour emergency line for any reason. Their regular customer service is the one that’s not open 24 hours.

NB – This is not a paid or affiliated post. All articles or videos on AhmedDawn.com or YouTube.com/ADawn channel are non-affiliated, unbiased, and honest.