Welcome to a new issue of E-News! from The Business Link. Whether this is your first time to receive E-News!, or you've been with us from the first issue, we hope you will enjoy this quick monthly e-newsletter. Our goal is to keep you informed of upcoming events and services at The Business Link and other items of interest to Alberta's small business community.

Your feedback is welcome at any time to help us improve and enhance our services for Alberta entrepreneurs. Simply use the "Feedback" function located on the toolbar at the top of E-News! to send us your views.

The Business Link's Spring 2003
Seminars and Brown Bag Presentations

Our economically-priced Small Business Seminars and FREE Brown Bag Presentations feature the basics of business from start-up to marketing to e-business...and more! All sessions are held at The Business Link at 100 - 10237 104 Street in Edmonton. Pre-registration is required for the seminars but not for the "brown baggers", however there is limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information on our Small Business Seminars and to register on-line, visit our web site at: http://www.cbsc.org/alberta/seminars.cfm. Details on the "Brown Baggers" are available at: http://www.cbsc.org/alberta/brownbag.cfm.

It's All About Opportunities - A Gathering of Aboriginal Entrepreneurs

The Business Link's Alberta Aboriginal Business Service Network is proud to present a two-day gathering to provide key resources and information that will help Aboriginal entrepreneurs succeed in the world of business.

This gathering, open to Aboriginal entrepreneurs and business service providers serving the Aboriginal community, will take place on May 5 and 6, 2003 at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre in Edmonton. From business basics to financing options, this event has it all: a choice of informative workshops on four different topics, practical business tools, advice from industry leaders to help you improve your business, opportunities to network with new and existing businesses, contact with service providers, insight into industry opportunities and inspirational keynote speakers.

For more information on this event and to register, contact Shalene Jobin, Conference Coordinator, at (780) 427-0563 or by e-mail at: jobin.shalene@cbsc.ic.gc.ca, or visit the Alberta Aboriginal Business Service Network's web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/absn.

Quality Council of Alberta Brown Bag Sessions

The Quality Council of Alberta (QCA) invites you to attend their FREE monthly Brown Bag Sessions, held at noon every third Friday of the month until June 2003. Bring your lunch and take in this series on "Performance". Attendees will examine and learn what organizational performance is, approaches to improve it, and challenges to maintain it.

This month's session on "Impact of Mergers & Organizational Performance" presented by Nancy McLennan and Bob Treidler from KPMG, will be held at The Business Link on Friday, May 16, 2003, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Seating is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information and to register for this event, contact Ann Beaque at the Quality Council of Alberta at 780-423-6878 or 1-800-224-0848, or by e-mail at: abeaque@telusplanet.net.

Edmonton Capital Region Innovation Centre Seminars

In keeping with its ongoing mission to provide you with information and events to encourage and promote advanced technology and research, the Innovation Centre of Economic Development Edmonton is pleased to present the following events:

Managing Your Human Resources - May 15, 2003
Time: 8:00 am (registration) to 4:30 pm
Location: Salon 3, Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton, Alberta
Cost: $40 + GST (includes lunch, coffee breaks and course materials)
Topics: HR Management: A systematic introduction to the discipline of HR management and to the available resources for help and information, and Leveraging Your Resources: An introduction to the existing support programs and resources, which can help companies in cost effectively building their teams.

Starting and Financing Your Technology Company - May 29, 2003
Time: 8:00 am (registration) to 4:30 pm
Location: Salon 5, Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton, Alberta
Cost: $75 + GST
Speaker: Ken Olsen, San Diego Angel Investor and "Tech Entrepreneur of the Year".

For more details or to register for these events, please visit the Innovation Centre's web site at www.innovation.ede.org, or contact the Innovation Centre at (780) 917-7666 or nwiebe@ede.org.

Failure Factors - Thirteen Common Causes of Business Failure
by Deborah Barrie MBA
ACTION International Business Development Coach
Helping You to be Great at Business

So what is business failure? How can you tell when your business is going to fail, and make corrective action? Business failure is the last stage of an organization's life cycle. Organizational decline, leading to failure is characterized by management who has become reactionary. The result is inadequate or nonexistent planning and inefficient decision-making. What I find to be the most common reasons for business to underperform (low productivity, low profits) or fail (bankrupt, cease being) are as follows:

1. Poor cash flow management.

2. Absence of performance monitoring.

3. Lack of understanding or use of performance monitoring information.

4. Poor debtor management. A combination of not paying your debtor on time and not coodinating payments with incoming cash flows.

5. Overborrowing. The company is overleveraged and debt is not being reduced.

6. Over reliance on a few key customers.

7. Poor market research leading to an inaccurate understanding of the target customers wants and needs.

8. Lack of financial skills and planning.

9. Failure to innovate.

10. Poor inventory management.

11. Poor communications throughout the organization.

12. Failure to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses.

13. Trying to go it alone. Trying to do everything yourself and not seeking external help. Whether this external help be as simple as hiring additional staff or going to professional services such as a lawyer, accountant, banker or business coach.

Do you have any of these issues or challenges in your business? Don't panic. However, you need to act quickly to remedy the situation before it is too late.

Copyright © 2003 Deborah Barrie

Whether you are planning on suing somebody, being sued yourself, looking for past judgements or simply curious, you can find a wealth of information on the various courts of justice in Alberta, by visiting Alberta Courts at: www.albertacourts.ab.ca.

This site explains the role of the different courts of Alberta, allows you to download forms and publications and offers useful resources such as a fully searchable judgment database, Alberta courts' locations and calendars, virtual court tours, video clips on the mediation process and links to other sources of information.

For more legal web links and other useful links to additonal sources of business information, visit our web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/tbl.cfm?fn=weblinks.

The Business Link works in partnership with 33 Regional Access Sites located throughout the province, plus the Calgary Business Information Centre (CBIC), to provide information and resources to Alberta entrepreneurs. To find the closest Regional Access Site in your area, visit our web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/regional.cfm.

One of these Regional Access Sites is the Southwest Alberta Business Development Institute.

The Southwest Alberta Business Development Institute is committed to doing everything possible to put the odds in your favour and help you build your business. This organization assists businesses that require extensive work on a business plan or consulting work in a specific facet of their operations, including strategic planning, marketing, operations management, finance, human resource management and product and service design.

The Southwest Alberta Business Development Institute has a large lending library of resources to guide you on finishing your business plan or on improving your current operations. Financing for small businesses is offered through its General Business Financing Program, the Western Youth Entrepreneurship Program, and the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program. The Southwest Alberta Business Development Institute also trains new and potential entrepreneurs through its Self-Employment Program and various workshops and seminars of interest to entrepreneurs or individuals thinking of starting a small business.

For more information, contact the Southwest Alberta Business Development Institute at:

659 Main Street
P.O. Box 1568
Pincher Creek, Alberta T0K 1W0
Phone: (403) 627-3020 or 1-800-565-4418
Fax: (403) 627-3035
E-mail: entrepreneur@swbizdev.com
Web site: www.swbizdev.com

May 2003
Issue 12

In this Issue... Upcoming Events Business Tip Feature Web Site Regional Access Site in the Spotlight

Annual Guest Advisor Program Interruption

On May 2, the Guest Advisor Program will conclude for the season in order to give our volunteer Guest Advisors a much needed break!

We look forward to their return in October 2003 when we launch a new season of the program. Please feel free to access this valuable service at that time.

In the interim, you may also wish to review the document on our site called "Selecting Professional Services" or speak with any of our business officer for further information.

Young Entrepreneur Awards 2003

Each year for the past 16 years, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has paid tribute to exceptional young entrepreneurs representing every province and territory through its Young Entrepreneur Awards.

This year again, thirteen young Canadian entrepreneurs (one from each province and territory) will be selected by a jury made up of businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, Chamber of Commerce members and BDC representatives to receive this award, which will be presented to them during the National launch of Small Business Week on October 20, 2003 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Winners are also eligible for two other prizes: the Export Achievement Award and the Creative Mind Award, each consisting of a $15,000 grant for their business, and will be invited to attend the 2^nd BDC Forum, where they will meet with senior BDC management officials and university representatives, as well as business leaders who have distinguished themselves in a specific sector of the business world. In addition, the BDC Consulting Group will hold information sessions for the new winners.

To be eligible, candidates must reside in Canada, be between 19 and 35 years of age on December 31, 2003, and must have had at least 2 years of experience as entrepreneurs. If you are eligible, you can submit your own nomination for the award, or you can be nominated by someone else, an association, an organization, or a provincial or municipal government. The deadline for receipt of nominations is June 6, 2003.

To apply, download the nomination form on BDC's web site and fill it out, or obtain a form by calling 1 877 BDC BANX (232-2269) free of charge, or by contacting the BDC branch nearest to you.