Small Business in Canada Deidre and Sales win OCT 2017

A sponsored feature by Mediaplanet
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SEPTEMBER 2017 | INDUSTRYANDBUSINESS.CA
TOOL FOR MAKING THE SALE
Square Co-founder & CEO Jack
Dorsey discusses how local
businesses can thrive. p03
SAVE THE PAPER
Find out why restaurants
are leaving cash payments
behind. p04
WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK
American Express explains how
working capital helps grow businesses.
p08
SMALL
BUSINESS
IN CANADA
Technology and Innovation
are critical to the success of
Frank And Oak
Ethan Song
CEO & Co-founder, Frank And Oak
FRANK AND OAK
How To Dress
the New
Generation
Ethan Song, the CEO
and Co-founder of Frank
And Oak, an innovative
clothing company that
utilizes technology and
exceptional design,
discusses business and
development strategies.
1 What was the inspiration
behind Frank And Oak?
We realized that a lot of our male
friends wanted to dress better and
to feel more confident about their
choices, but without all the work
of shopping and knowing what to
wear. Young professionals have busy
and super-social lifestyles, so in effect
we became their style advisor.
2 How did Frank And Oak
create their identity?
Our identity was a reflection of our
community and first customers.
We have always been focused on a
more creative customer — young
professionals who work in marketing,
business, and technology. As
such, we shared values around being
entrepreneurial while being involved
in our local community. We
knew that our services had to be efficient,
yet personalized, and that
our products had to be authentic
and of good quality.
T:10.34”
3 How did Frank And Oak
stay ahead of the curve and
recognize the need for a
strong e-commerce angle?
We were able to stay ahead of the
curve by always focusing on our vision,
which is to help the creative
generation dress and live better. We
are always finding ways to create interesting
products or experiences
in order to save them time and help
them feel more confident. E-commerce
was a natural fit since our customer
is technology-centric, but also
because it allows us to deliver an experience
that is highly personalized
and efficient right in people’s home.
4 What roles do technology
and innovation play in how
you reach your customers?
Technology and innovation are critical
to the success of Frank And Oak
because they enable us to deliver
a more personalized and efficient
experience to our customers. It’s a
complex business — from product
design, to product recommendations
and content, to product delivery
— but owning all the steps also
enables us to innovate in ways that
others can’t, and to offer a truly differentiated
experience.
5 How is Frank And Oak’s
digital experience unique
among its competitors?
Our digital experience is based in
simplicity and us doing all the work
for our customers. We have a big
focus on personalization, and have
been working with various technologies
over the past few years to accomplish
that. We believe that over
time, we should be able to help our
customers find the right clothes
and accessories for them — not just
to save them time, but also to make
them feel better. We also have a big
emphasis on mobile with apps on
both iPhone and Android. This enables
us to be in our customers’ pockets,
and to act as an advisor at any
time of the day.
6 Frank And Oak really
strives to care for every customer.
What are some examples
of the personalized service
they receive?
Every touch point of our products
and services is personalized. From
the unique product recommendations
with Style Plan, our monthly
subscription service, to 24/7 access
to our style advisors, via our app’s
LiveChat function, all the way to
the personalized notes in every
customer order. We take great care
in learning about our customers,
and making sure that everything
is thought of — down to the smallest
of details.
Business
Banking
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Beyond
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2 INDUSTRYANDBUSINESS.CA A sponsored feature by Mediaplanet
IN THIS ISSUE
Going Global
There are many rules
to follow when small
businesses look to expand
in the United States.
p04
Infographic Showcase
What you need to know
about small business.
p07
Rise and Grind
For many Canadians, their
day doesn’t end at 5 p.m.
p08
Find out how much fi nancing your
small business qualifi es for today.
Apply online at ThinkingCapital.ca
or call Thinking Capital at
1-866-889-9412.
Photo | Štefan Štefančík / Unsplash
THINKING CAPITAL
Dedicated to
Helping Small
Businesses Grow
When the roof caved in last
year at Shelley Simon’s
Station 4 restaurant in
northwestern Ontario, she knew she
had to move to another location —
and fast.
She also knew she’d unlikely be
able to get her bank to lend her the
money to finance it.
Fortunately, by turning to alternative
financing, Shelley was able to not
only quickly access funds for the move,
but also afford the upfront labour costs
of extending the hours of operation of
her third restaurant in Thunder Bay,
The Scandinavian Home.
Alternative financing refers to financial
channels and instruments
that have emerged outside the traditional
finance system, or are offered
in collaboration with banks.
“We use proprietary technology
to make lending decisions based
on how well a business is managed
rather than just the owner’s personal
financial and credit information,”
says Jeff Mitelman, CEO
at Thinking Capital, a leader in the
Canadian fintech industry with
offices in Montreal and Toronto.
“This innovative, technology-driven
approach means small business
owners, like Shelley, have a much
greater chance of securing financing
when they need it and fast.”
Managing cash-flow
challenges
Managing cash flow while keeping
up with customer demand or the
competition can be a big challenge
for small to medium-sized business
(SMB) owners, especially with seasonal
changes, local events, or big
holidays. For example, owners might
need to increase staffing, invest in
updated equipment, expand their
facilities, boost their marketing, or
face an emergency as Shelley did.
Gaining access to small business
loans from traditional banks typically
requires a personal guarantor
or personal collateral in the form of
a home or other assets, along with a
solid history of high personal credit
scores. With restaurants in particular,
“I think it is very hard to get
a loan from traditional banks because
the ratio of restaurants closing
all the time is not up to their
standards,” says Shelley. Add in the
long wait and approval times and
SMBs can have a hard time maintaining
or growing their business.
Helping Canadian small
businesses access credit
Thinking Capital is reinventing the
way small businesses access credit.
By combining industry experts
and technology, Thinking Capital
is transforming the opportunity for
business owners to obtain capital
to ultimately grow their business
through speed and convenience.
The firm offers two products — Flexible
Financing and Fixed Financing.
Flexible Financing offers a financing
solution that aligns with the cash flow
of a business with no payback time
restrictions on the payment schedule.
That way small business owners
can plan financing that works best for
them. Alternatively, through Fixed Financing,
small business owners also
have the option to pay back loans
within a set time period.
While interest rates for these types
of loans could be higher than those
from a traditional lender, they are still
quite competitive when compared to
other business loans and credit cards
used by business owners as an alternative
to bank loans — and faster
to obtain. Through a simple online application
process, applicants can get a
no-obligation quote within minutes
and funding in as little as 24 hours.
Alternative financing offers
more options to SMBs
When evaluating the best options
available, here are some things to
consider about Thinking Capital’s
Flexible Financing or Fixed Financing
products:
• It’s an option even if personal
credit is a challenge.
• It’s fast and convenient.
• Thinking Capital is trusted by
over 10,000 SMBs across Canada.
• Thinking Capital partners with
well-known companies such as
CIBC, Staples, Moneris, The UPS
Store, and Money Mart.
• Thinking Capital is a Canadian
business focused only on meeting
the needs of Canadian SMBs.
Anne Papmehl
Dan Kelly
President,
Canadian Federation
of Independent
Business
CFIB’s President Dan Kelly
Discusses Hot Topics
Surrounding Small Businesses
Mediaplanet What
classifies a company as a
small business?
Dan Kelly The most common definition
of small business is based
on the number of employees. Typically,
a small business is defined
as having 50 or fewer workers, and
a medium-sized firm has between
50 and 500. Given that the vast
majority of businesses are small,
more people suggest a small firm
has fewer than 20 workers. For us
at the Canadian Federation of Independent
Business (CFIB), 85
percent of our 109,000 members
have fewer than 20.
MP How important are
small businesses to
Canada’s economy?
DK Small business is big in Canada.
Of the 1.1 million businesses
with paid employees in Canada,
97 percent are small. In fact, it
often surprises Canadians to learn
that two-thirds of businesses have
fewer than five employees. From
an employment perspective, over
half of Canadians own or work in
a small or medium-sized business.
MP What are some
of the most pressing
issues surrounding small
businesses?
DK There sure are a lot these
days. Beyond the broader challenges
of NAFTA uncertainty and
low commodity prices, most of the
major problems the small business
community is facing are
caused by the federal and provincial
governments. Currently, the
small business community is on
red alert with proposals to fundamentally
change the small business
corporate tax structures
that have been in place for over
40 years. The federal government
has proposed some radical changes
to the way small firms can pay
family members in the business,
save for the future and transfer
the business to the next generation.
All three will significantly
increase taxes on small business
owner, including those with very
modest incomes. In my 23 years of
advocacy for small business, I’ve
never seen business owners become
so spontaneously angry at a
government as I have since these
proposals were announced.
MP What role does
CFIB play to help small
businesses grow and be
successful?
DK Everything we do at CFIB is designed
to help increase the odds of a
business owner’s success. That happens
in three important ways. One,
we provide specialized business resources
and help on topics ranging
from HR to government compliance.
Two, we leverage the strength
of our 109,000 members to negotiate
savings and benefits for small firms
with carefully selected service providers,
such as Mastercard, Scotiabank,
Chase Paymentech, and Payworks.
And three, we serve as Canada’s
top advocate for small business
concerns with governments and
policy makers. Business owners —
from a startup to a serial entrepreneur
— are set up for success when
they have a CFIB membership.
MP Do technology and
innovation give small
businesses a better chance
to succeed?
DK Technology and innovation
are critical for smaller businesses
and can be a huge competitive
edge. Technology has allowed
smaller firms with fewer staff to be
able to compete with some of the
big guys — particularly if the business
isn’t located in a big city. Innovation
has always been a strong
suit for smaller firms. While they
are often resource starved, smaller
firms don’t have the institutional
bureaucracies of big businesses,
so they can make changes far more
quickly to respond to customer
needs. But technology can also be
a challenge too. I think of Amazon
and other large eRetailers who are
putting pressure on the retail sector
in a big way.
MP What does the future
hold for small businesses in
Canada?
DK As I said earlier, governments
are sure not making it easy for
small business right now. I deeply
hope that this is a short-term phenomenon
and our political leaders
will self-correct and recognize that
the economic success of the middle
class is directly linked to small
business growth. But entrepreneurs
are optimistic by nature. Despite
the challenges, more young
people are opting for entrepreneurship
over a career as an employee.
This gives me great hope for
the future.
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Publisher: Aaron Rosin Designer: Wynn Yau Managing Director: Jacob Weingarten Production Director: Carlo Ammendolia Lead Designer: Matthew Senra Web Editor: Camille Co
Contributors: Randi Druzin, D.F. McCourt, Anne Papmhel Cover Photo: Richmond Lam Photo credits: All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise accredited.
Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve National Post or its Editorial Departments.

A sponsored feature by Mediaplanet
MEDIAPLANET 3
Find out About Simple Tools
Levelling the Playing Field
Jack Dorsey
Co-founder & CEO, Square
Square Co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey discusses how local businesses can thrive.
Mediaplanet What does Square offer
local businesses in Canada?
Jack Dorsey We launched Square five years
ago to enable anyone with a mobile device to
accept credit cards. Easy and affordable access
to card payments is the foundation of Square,
but that is only part of our story. Commerce extends
beyond payments, so we’ve added many
software tools over the years to help sellers in
Canada start, run, and grow their business.
MP What do businesses want when it
comes to accepting payments?
JD A reasonable expectation from business
owners is that they can get started in minutes,
take payments instantly, and get their
money as soon as the next business day.
This simplicity has been hard fought, but
we’ve delivered it. It’s also important that
payments tools are easy to use, accessible,
and convenient for business of all sizes,
whether you are an individual with a side
hustle or already have multiple brick-andmortar
locations.
MP What do you hear are the greatest
challenges that local businesses face?
JD I often hear that after the ability to make
the sale, the next most critical challenge is
organizing the business and making sure
it’s integrated. We looked at countertops and
saw businesses stitching together different
systems to handle basic business operations
like inventory, employee management, and
accounting. The problem is, these systems
aren’t connected and they don’t allow sellers
to make informed decisions. We saw
this as something we could fix, so we made
everything on Square digital and opened
our platform to connect with other key business
partners, such as QuickBooks. Our free
point-of-sale app gives sellers a toolkit that
includes invoices, digital receipts, analytics,
customer directory, inventory, and employee
management — all in one place.
MP How do you help local sellers
compete with big businesses?
JD One way we level the playing field is by offering
our sellers real-time sales data and analytics
so they can make informed decisions.
For example, we recently heard from Matthew
Senecal-Junkeer of Birds & the Beets in Vancouver,
who said that every time he refreshes
the app he’s refreshing his understanding
of his business. He’s come to understand what
the days after a long weekend will be like saleswise,
that rainy days mean a later coffee rush,
and that sunny weekends are slower than
rainy ones. By understanding the changing
demands of his business, he has been able to
make adjustments to prep levels, minimize
waste, maximize his staff’s utility, and ultimately
better serve his customers.
MP What type of businesses in Canada
use Square technology and tools?
JD Hundreds of thousands of individuals and
businesses across all provinces and territories
in Canada have accepted payments using
Square. We serve sellers from a diverse set of industries,
from contractors and professional services
to coffee shops and retail stores. Our sellers
also range in size from a single vendor at a
farmers’ market to multi-location businesses.
MP Take us back to where the idea of
Square came from.
JD Jim McKelvey, my co-founder, is a glass
artist. He was missing out on sales because he
couldn’t accept cards. He had a smartphone in
his pocket, so we built a hardware prototype
in 2009 to accept card payments on a mobile
phone, and it worked. We then started rolling
it out to neighbourhood businesses and the
company grew from there.
MP What’s next for Square in Canada?
JD We’re focused on delivering as many tools
as we possibly can to empower more Canadian
businesses to participate and thrive in the
economy. We have a lot more to come this year
— stay tuned!
SPONSORED
Small Businesses Use
ViewSonic’s New Line
of VP Monitors to
Increase Productivity
For more information on ViewSonic digital
display solutions for business, visit
www.viewsonic.com/smb.
When one of ViewSonic
Canada’s customers ordered
more than four dozen
VP monitors at once, general
manager Deidre Deacon
was delighted but not surprised. “The VP series
of monitors is the best professional monitor
line we’ve ever brought to market,” she says.
The line, which includes models and functionality
to cover the full gamut of needs, is ideal
for small businesses and creative professionals
looking to increase workplace productivity.
One of the most popular features of every
VP monitor is the exceptionally small
bezel, the frame around the outside of the
screen. It allows users to focus fully on
their work, utilizing the entire screen without
distractions such as logos and menu
control buttons.
The bezel is so small on each of these monitors
that when several of them are put together
they appear as a single screen, giving
the user a fully immersive experience. This
multi-monitor setup is ideal for group projects
and collaboration, when several employees
are working on the same image.
Another feature that has been well-received
by ViewSonic customers is the auto pivot,
which enhances users’ ability to review and
edit images. When a portrait-oriented photo is
displayed on a standard 23.8-inch monitor, it’s
reduced to a mere 13.3-inch viewing size, Deacon
explains. However, when the same image
is viewed on a monitor with auto pivot functionality,
the user can twist the screen to align the
monitor with the photo orientation. The entire
screen is utilized and the image appears much
bigger. This productivity feature allows users,
working alone or in groups, to pay the same
close attention to detail while working on portrait-oriented
images as they do while working
on landscape-oriented images.
Precise colour reproduction for colour-critical
applications
Not only can these monitors be pivoted, they
can also be swivelled and tilted based on the
user’s height and seating preference, saving
users from having to make constant adjustments
in the operating system settings menu.
The ViewSonic line of VP series monitors,
with state-of-the-art LCD panels providing vivid
colour and brightness, are calibrated at the
factory and come with individual colour calibration
and uniformity reports. The monitors
are ideal for businesses focused on creative design
— such as photographers, graphic designers,
engineers, and architects — that depend
on colour precision so that what they create
on-screen matches real life. Aware that calibration
is needed on an ongoing basis, many
users also invest in the ViewSonic Calibration
Kit, because it allows them to calibrate their
monitors regularly. This also ensures a reduction
in the degradation of screen performance,
enabling time and cost savings from having to
replace monitors sooner.
ViewSonic has received positive feedback on
all these features and on the monitors’ advanced
ergonomic design.
VP series monitors are available to be shipped
in packages that contain two monitors and no
stands — an ideal solution for environmentally
conscious customers who are looking for a multi-monitor
set-up.
Randi Druzin
Deidre Deacon
General Manager,
ViewSonic Canada
SPONSORED

4 INDUSTRYANDBUSINESS.CA A Sponsored sponsored Feature feature by Mediaplanet
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
HOW COULD YOU BE
SO CASHLESS?
With credit card
payments most
merchants get paid
within a day, with
that money going
directly into their
bank account.
There’s a great scene in the Wayne’s
World movie, where Mike Myers’
character, newly flush, strides
proudly into a music shop, picks
up the guitar he’s been coveting
and says “I think I’m gonna buy it. Do you accept...
CASH?” Whereupon he immediately
flourishes two handfuls of bills. The joke
played well in 1992, when cash was king, but
there’s a generation growing up today who
won’t get the punchline at all, expecting
the salesman to instead respond: “No, why
would we?”
People have been talking about a cashless
society for decades, but for a long time it always
seemed more science fiction than practical
idea. In the 25 years since Wayne’s World,
however, a lot has changed. Just ask restaurant
entrepreneur Mustafa Yusuf, founder
and president of Flock, one of Toronto’s hippest
eatery chains.
More cash money, more problems
“We’ve been open for two years with the Flock
concept and we see cash use dwindling,” says
Yusuf. “I had another quick service restaurant
previously and, when we first opened in 2007,
40 percent of our customers paid with cash.
Currently, at Flock, it’s only 5 percent.”
This steep decline has made it harder and
harder to justify accepting cash at all. “There
are security concerns in terms of handling
cash, and extra labour for the staff reconciling
every day, going to the bank, having to get
change,” says Yusuf. “It’s a lot of work for collecting
a few hundred dollars a day in cash.”
As cash use declines as a percentage of business
across many sectors, Flock is not alone
in feeling this crunch. The less cash a business
handles, the more expensive each cash
transaction gets for them. “Whether you handle
a hundred dollars or a million dollars per
day, many of the costs of handling cash remain
relatively fixed,” explains Iain McLean,
Senior Vice President of Market Development
at Mastercard in Canada. “This means that
as merchants see non-cash transactions increase,
the cost of cash on a unitary basis increases
as well.”
So what’s changed to cause cash transactions
to decrease so dramatically in such a
short time? “Card acceptance generally has
been very prevalent for a number of years
now, but what has really changed is the proliferation
of technologies like contactless
transactions,” says McLean. “Also, with card
payments most merchants get paid within
a day, with that money going directly into
their bank account. So they don’t have to
worry about accepting the money, counting
it, accounting for leakage, and then taking the
money to a branch.”
Acceptance and confidence
The magic formula is merchant acceptance
plus consumer confidence. And they are two
sides of the same coin. For merchants, the
value of credit card acceptance becomes clear
almost immediately. “Research shows that
new credit card acceptors see a 10-15 percent
increase in their average transaction amount,
and that overall consumers unrestricted by
cash spend four times more at checkout,”
says McLean. Like physical cards, acceptance
of digital wallets like Masterpass and mobile
payments like Android Pay and Apple Pay
continues to grow. As acceptance grows, says
McLean, so does consumer confidence. “Consumers
feel very confident that in most places
they can pull out a card or mobile device, tap
or scan, and move through the queue quickly.”
All these factors combined have led businesses
like Flock and Ottawa-based restaurant
chain Mad Radish to take the plunge
and go cashless. Mad Radish has gone cashless
at both their locations and it has been a
completely smooth transition. “I think most
of North America is ready for cashless,” Mad
Radish founder David Segal told the CBC. “It’s
one of these things that five years from now,
won’t even be a topic of conversation.”
As for Flock, they are going cashless from
day one at their newest location, opening this
fall in the MaRS Discovery District near the
University of Toronto St. George Campus. It’s
a sort of trial balloon, and one in which their
confidence is high. “We’re looking at this location
as a test,” says Yusuf. “If it goes well we’ll
be rolling it out at our three other quick service
locations in the new year. We’re very excited,
and the staff is very excited. The staff
wants to have more interaction with the customer
rather than counting change.”
These restaurant chains may be part of
the vanguard in the cashless revolution, but
they aren’t going it alone. The cashless mindset
has already infiltrated a relatively large
segment of the gig economy — the growing
workforce of temporary workers and independent
contractors. For new startups, the
balance has tipped to the point that digital payment
only is a more desirable path than cash
only. Of particular importance is the transition
that has happened recently with very
small value transactions. Whether it’s a pack
of gum or cup of coffee, transactions that used
to be completed with cash are now being performed
with tap or mobile payment solutions.
Mobile devices in particular make it easier
than ever for consumers to shop whenever
and however they want, which also means
that retailers can attract consumers in-store,
online, and in-app. And with today’s digital
payment technologies, even the smallest
business can turn a smartphone or tablet into
a mobile payment terminal.
“Electronic payments are the great equalizer,”
says McLean. “They give smaller businesses
access to the credit and tools they
need to compete with larger players, and allow
Canadian businesses to reach consumers
around the world online.”
For both merchants and consumers, the
advantages of going cashless are increasingly
clear. There is one downside though:
Wayne’s World has gotten a little less relevant.
It’s sad to see a good joke die, but
progress requires sacrifice. And Wayne’s
World still has plenty of timeless laughs.
D.F. McCourt

A sponsored feature by Mediaplanet
MEDIAPLANET 5
Electronic payments are quickly replacing cash because
they deliver tremendous value to merchants and
consumers, who are spending 4x more at checkout
when unrestricted by cash.
47% of Canadians
wish they had greater access to
mobile payment options, such as
Apply Pay or Android Pay
50% of Canadians
are ready to get rid of
bank notes and coins
77% of Canadians
wish that more of the small business
they frequented had tap to pay
88% of Canadians
will choose to support a
local business when possible
90% of Canadian
payments were made through
non-cash methods (2013)
Sources: Mastercard (Cashless Journey, 2013); Payments Canada; Royal Bank of Canada
Tariq Al Barwani &
Mohammed Bin Yahya
Plentea
When small businesses thrive, so does Canada.
Connecting small businesses to digital payments makes life simpler, safer and more convenient.
At Mastercard, we work with merchants, consumers, banking partners and government
to create a country where digital payments help people connect to what matters.
We salute the over one million small businesses driving the Canadian economy forward.
Learn more at mastercard.ca/tools
® MASTERCARD is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

6 INDUSTRYANDBUSINESS.CA A sponsored feature by Mediaplanet
GOING GLOBAL
How to Break Down
International Border Barriers
For international support from a UPS small business ambassador and
to save 40 percent on shipping, join the small business program at
ups.com/mybusiness.
Canadian small business owner
Colleen Dyck, of GORP Clean
Energy Bar, provides her
experience and insights to help
make going global easier.
Global logistics has a complex language all
its own. It can be a daunting experience, even
for veteran exporters, but fluency means entering
new markets flawlessly — and penalty-free.
To ensure smooth international expansion,
business owners should be aware of
the three most common errors:
1 Assigning the incorrect value to goods
2 Misclassifying goods
3 Misstating the country of origin on a
product shipment
Incorrect value
Assigning the incorrect value to goods is
a common error, since different countries
have different definitions of value. Companies
sometimes think a different value can be
used for shipping goods to a subsidiary, as
opposed to a customer, but the predominant
rule is that the same value should be applied.
To further complicate matters, different
countries have different rules on whether
the cost of packaging and transportation
should be included in the valuation. Colleen
Dyck, founder of Good Old Raisins & Peanuts
(GORP) Clean Energy Bar, knows first-hand
the opportunities that could be missed when
goods are delayed at the border.
Launched in 2012, GORP is a small business
based in Niverville, Manitoba that began
as an alternative to traditional energy bars
that have high fructose corn syrup, cheap
vitamins, and bad aftertastes. GORP bars are
sourced with the best ingredients to ensure
there is no junk, fake sugars, or preservatives.
In September of 2016, Colleen made plans
to present her Manitoba-made products in
the Celebrity Luxury Gifting Suite in Los Angeles,
which was happening on the Saturday
before the Academy Awards, February
25. Colleen shipped her GORP bars via UPS 10
days before the event, but the shipment was
seized in Kentucky by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). Upon investigation, Colleen
realized she had assigned the incorrect
value of her product, listing the wholesale
price instead of the actual price.
As a member of the UPS Small Business
Program, Colleen contacted her UPS Small
Business Ambassador, Jackie Keast. Jackie
worked with Colleen one-on-one and discussed
a tailored solution, while also providing
her with total visibility of her shipment.
Once the paperwork was revised, and
the proper value was assigned, the packages
were released and Colleen’s GORP bars were
on their way to Hollywood.
“My bars are sold in retailers across Canada
and parts of the U.S., so this wasn’t my
first time shipping outside the country,”
says Colleen. “This experience taught me
the importance of understanding valuation
regulations, and how essential it is to work
with a logistics expert that can help you
overcome your supply chain challenges before
they may happen.”
Misclassifying goods
Like assigning incorrect values, misclassification
of goods is another common mistake
that new and experienced exporters make.
For example, suppose you classify an optical
instrument that is something other than a
binocular as a binocular. The binocular is duty-free,
whereas the other item has duties of
six percent. At the very least, you have to pay
back duty plus interest.
Country of origin
Declaring a country of origin sounds simple,
but in today’s global manufacturing environment,
it can be tricky. For instance, a technology
manufacturer may source components
from multiple countries and assemble those
components in yet another country. Is the
point of assembly the country of origin? It
really depends, but in most cases, 50 percent
of what makes up the product typically determines
the country of origin.
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RBC
MEDIAPLANET 7
Photo | RawPixel.com / Unsplash
Easy-Pay Options and Getting Social
Are Key for Small Business Loyalty
Canadians willing to pay more to shop local but demand convenience and engagement.
Small business owners often stay
awake at night worrying about cash
flow and growing revenue. But
whether you run the local bakery,
flower shop, or dentist office,
one of the most important decisions you
can make, to encourage repeat business and
profitability, is to offer customers a convenient
way to pay, and a chance to connect
with you online.
These were some of the findings from the
RBC 2017 Small Business poll, which revealed
that Canadians are quite passionate
about their small and local businesses. The
majority, 88 percent, say they would choose
to support them when possible. In fact, as
many as 57 percent of Canadians would pay
more for a product or service offered by a local
business. However, they are also demanding
something in return for this premium:
more payment choices, and the opportunity
to engage online or through social media.
“Given the choice, it’s clear that Canadians
do want to support their small and local businesses,”
says Jason Storsley, Vice President,
Small Business at RBC. “By simply meeting
the consumers’ needs for convenient payment
options and online engagement, owners and
operators can cultivate a loyal customer base
that helps drive revenue.”
Plastic is king
Like it or not, people are doing away with cash
and are showing a strong preference for other
convenient payment methods. While cash
is still popular for anything less than $25, the
majority of Canadians prefer to pay by credit
or debit, regardless of the purchase amount.
In fact, almost 70 percent of Canadian consumers
would spend more at a small or local
business if it accepted more than just cash as
a payment option, and 77 percent of Canadians
wish that more small businesses offered
tap to pay. With phones now ubiquitous, nearly
half (47 percent) wish they had greater access
to mobile payment options, such as Apple
Pay or Android Pay.
“In today’s digitally connected world, there
are many tools and resources available to
small business owners that can get them online
and engaged with their customers,” says
Storsley. “Taking advantage of these tools,
from sales to online marketing, to payments
and social media connections. They will allow
businesses to profit and grow.”
Online is no longer an “option”
And if you’re thinking that you don’t need a
website, or are too busy to get involved with
social media, think again. You’re missing out
on opportunities to increase sales, not to mention
the “word of mouth” support and brand
awareness that comes from your customers
through social channels. The poll shows that
a full 70 percent of Canadians would be more
likely to purchase from a business if it had an
online presence, while almost half (45 percent)
engage with businesses through social media.
Given the chance, 61 percent would support a
local business through social media.
These numbers are even higher when it comes
to millennials. Three out of four would
support a local business by helping to promote
them on social media. In fact, 66 percent of
millennials engage with small businesses through
social media — more than 20 percentage
points higher than any other age group. Not
surprisingly, millennials are also demanding
emerging payment options: 80 percent wish
more businesses that they frequent had tap
to pay, and 60 percent wish more of them had
mobile payment options.
There’s no doubt that small businesses are
the driver of our local Canadian economies. To
position yourself for success and profitability
in today’s (and tomorrow’s) digital society, make
sure you consider how you can take advantage
of these opportunities for your business.
DID YOU KNOW?
There are over 1 million
small businesses in Canada.
Over 97% of
businesses in Canada
are small businesses
77% of all
private jobs
created in Canada
are small businesses
Small businesses employ over
8 million people
in Canada every year
That’s
70%
of Canada’s
labour force!
Small businesses have between
1 and 99 employees
150,000
new small
businesses
are created in
Canada annually
50%
of small business owners
are 50-64 years old
Canada has over
950,000
female entrepreneurs
Sources:
CornerStone Dynamics Inc. (Key Small Business Statistics, June 2016);
GoForth Institute (Six Statistics About Small Business and Entrepreneurship in Canada, April 2015);
Statistics Canada (Business Register, December 2015)

8 INDUSTRYANDBUSINESS.CA Brought to you by PayPal
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
Enabling Canadian
Entrepreneurship
Through E-Commerce
Paul Parisi
President, PayPal Canada
Alethea Robinson was working
full-time when she launched a
marketing consulting firm and
her personal blog See Girl Work,
an online community for entrepreneurially-minded
women, in her spare time.
While Robinson was passionate about
marketing consulting and supporting likeminded
female entrepreneurs, she wasn’t
ready to turn her passion project into a full-time
business at the time of launch. “I was confident
my consulting business had potential,
but I needed time to find the right business
model and to explore the viability of self-employment,”
says Robinson. After a year of hard
work building her brand, network, and business
by leveraging online tools, Robinson felt
ready to take the plunge — committing fully to
life as an entrepreneur.
Before making the switch to full-time entrepreneurship,
Robinson was one of an increasing
number of Canadians managing and
running a small business in their after-work
hours. According to Statistics Canada, in the
past 40 years, the number of Canadians working
multiple jobs has quadrupled of which
nearly half operate their own business after
their regular work hours. Looking to become
their own boss and for extra cash flow to
help pay the bills, these entrepreneurs — termed
5-9ers or side-hustlers — are giving rise to
a culture of entrepreneurship across Canada.
What are the catalysts for a rising tide of
5-9ers in Canada? Paul Parisi, President of Pay-
Pal Canada, believes there are several factors
enabling the 5-9er phenomenon in Canada,
and chief among them is the thriving spirit of
entrepreneurship among Canadians, and the
easy availability of technology and e-commerce
solutions. “E-commerce enables people like
Alethea to pursue their passion projects in
their spare time on their own terms, whether
that’s in the morning before they start their
working day or after they’ve put their kids to
bed,” says Parisi.
Robinson, whose business operates entirely
online can attest to this. “I wouldn’t have
been able to work full-time and simultaneously
successfully grow my business without
e-commerce tools,” she says. “I work with
clients all over the world. As PayPal is a trusted
global payment brand, I invoice my clients and
get paid quickly which makes my side business
profitable.”
Starting a successful small business from
scratch can take a lot of time. Online marketplaces
like Etsy, eBay, and Kijiji, and digital
payment solutions like PayPal offer convenient
solutions to entrepreneurs who want to
sell their products or services within Canada
or to international customers. These tools also
offer a platform to launch a lucrative side business
with relatively few barriers to entry.
Platforms like Uber are revolutionizing
the way people approach how they work. In
the last few years, a swath of freelance mobile
apps and platforms supporting a wide
range of industries — from legal services
all the way to dog walking — have popped
up, enabling almost anyone to supplement
their primary income on their own schedule.
“The workplace of the future will be
shaped by people’s growing demand for increased
flexibility in where and how they
make their money,” says Parisi. “Canadian
businesses that want to retain top talent
with an entrepreneurial mind-set should
find ways to support and embrace a rising
5-9er trend.”
D.F. McCourt
Jay Klein, Founder & CEO of The PUR Company Inc.
WORKING CAPITAL
The Missing Link in Your Business Growth Strategy
The secret weapon your business
has been looking for to kickstart
its growth strategy might already
be sitting on your balance sheet.
When the time comes for businesses
to look for the necessary funding to
accelerate growth, outside sources of capital
such as overdrafts, loans, and venture capital
tend to be the first places they look.
But the truth is, working capital can be one
of the lowest-cost sources of cash, providing
your business with a strategic asset to fuel
growth, and enabling you to secure competitive
opportunities that might have once
seemed out of reach.
How important can working capital
be to your business?
Consider the case of Jay Klein, the founder
and CEO of The PUR Company Inc., the
world’s leading manufacturer of aspartame-free
gum and mints. Klein was looking
for a way to grow his business quickly,
in order to move into strategic new markets.
Accessing the working capital within his
own organization enabled him to optimize
his days payable and improve cash flow.
Having access to that cash quickly gave
him the confidence he needed to make
quick decisions. For Klein, a crucial source
of capital came through his use of business
charge cards. As an inventory-based business,
PUR was always having to balance
using capital to expand and to buy the inventory
the company needed to get product
onto store shelves. As the company grew,
having flexible access to cash meant the
company didn’t have to choose between a
product or a marketing initiative.
It was no longer about one or the other,
it was about having the purchasing power
to do both.
Strategic asset to fuel growth
“At American Express we understand the
strategic value working capital can have on
the financial well-being of a business,” says
Paul Roman, Vice President and General
Manager of Global Commercial Payments
at American Express Canada. “When Cardmembers
use our payment solutions, their
expenses can be interest-free for up to 55
days, enabling them to unlock hidden capital
so they can put that cash to work in the
interim — where it’s needed most.”
This working capital is widely recognized
for its power as a source of funding for
growth and securing competitive opportunities,
but also for giving a shot in the
arm to purchasing power — giving businesses
the flexibility to help carry expenses
and free up cash where it’s needed most.
Building relationships
But working capital isn’t just about flexibility;
it can also play a major role in improving
relationships with partners and suppliers. For
example, when a business can leverage an extended
grace period, it can then achieve the
strategic balance of keeping vendors happy
with swift payment while conserving cash to
use for strategic purposes.
These kinds of practices can spur better relationships
with suppliers, and might even
enable management teams to build more collaborative
relationships with supply partners,
leading to bigger deal volumes and preferential
treatment.
“When used effectively, this underused
form of capital can have a significant impact.
Businesses should start looking at cash flow
not only as a source of growth capital but as
a strategic lever for maximizing payment arrangements,”
says Roman. “Optimizing cash
flow using charge cards and other payment
solutions can lead to process improvements
across the board, giving businesses the financial
flexibility they need to grow.”
You’ve already got the secret weapon
you’ve been looking for, you just have to unlock
its power.
Paul Roman
Vice President and General Manager,
Global Commercial Payments,
American Express Canada
Businesses should
start looking at cash
flow not only as a
source of growth
capital but as a
strategic lever for
maximizing payment
arrangements.
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