Get ready! Get set! Get started!
And you’re off to follow a business plan and your hopes and dreams for building your company. It is Small Business Week and no matter what your age, starting a business is usually a daunting task.
The Ottawa Board of Trade, a rallying force for small business success, provides links to resources for small business owners to help with the planning, and measured growth of your business. And with the Ottawa Business Journal as co-host, today’s event at The Westin was an excellent mixture of corporate guidance and family-owned business success stories. All provided advice on the steps you need to take to get the results you want.
The Small Business Summit brought in experienced business people from TEC Canada, BDC, Keynote Group, L-SPARK, Ross Video, and many more. Coupled with small business owners involved in special education, coffee roasters, soap making, wine-making and burgers and fries, the lessons shared were key in generating ideas, providing direction and challenging the group to say -you can do it too- as long as you are prepared to work hard at doing what you need to do to grow.
While many in the audience were already entrepreneurs, the lessons of the morning resonated with steps to take your business from zero to as far as you wat to go. The key messages are clear:
- Start with a clear vision and know your goals
- Identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can build on what you are good at and work on those things you are not
- Create a business plan so you have a roadmap to follow
- Use the services of specialists such as a lawyer and accountant to ensure you are have guidance in those key areas
- Seek help with other business experts in other financial areas for loans and to develop a plan for success
- Use social media to help with marketing and spreading the word about your product or service
- Use the many resources at Invest Ottawa and other business leaders
- Attend networking events such as offered through The Ottawa Board of Trade
And always remember:
- People are your strength
The shared stories were a confirmation that there are many successes accomplished through starting with a vision, an idea, and those with desire to own their own business, a desire to work in a family enterprise, or with a compelling need to fill a void in services in a particular field.
Move forward, take that first step. If you want it there is no time like the present to get your business off to a start.