Unfortunate tragedies…

I was sitting around thinking about what I would write about next, when I received an unexpected e-mail. A former employer of mine who I now call friend, had disappeared off the face of the earth for the longest time! Lucky for me, he is one of the many employer’s I’ve had with great ambition and more importantly, a kind heart and great leadership. When I thought about him, I realized there is a lesson I can share with you that I learned vicariously from this great man.

A little trip back in time must be taken to share this with you. A few years ago, when I was still in University, I was hired to a great little socially responsible catering company. I say socially responsible because they had a division in the company that taught troubled kids how to become chefs and gain valuable skills to have a profession and stay away from trouble. This company had been started up by my former employer and his best friend.

Skipping all the in between, the catering company that was growing exponentially abruptly came to a halt. A bankruptcy claim was made and soon I was back to one job (I loved exploiting myself and working more than one job at a time while in school). I was puzzled and utterly confused. What had happened?

As we had become dear friends, my now ex-boss thoughtfully invited me for quick chat. He explained to me that his best friend and partner had been absconding company money behind his back for months! My former-boss who was a magnificent chef had been told by his best friend to deal with the cooking while he dealt with the administration side. Little did my poor boss know that while the growing company had worked hard to earn large and profitable contracts, his best friend had been purposely missing payments from every possible supplier, rental company, rent, contracts, etc.

My former boss had no other choice but to look for another job. Having spent much of his youthful years in his own catering company, he now had to compete with the younger chefs into finding a job that would be sufficient to cover his expenses. I was outraged and still to this day am quite angry at how such a terrible thing could happen to such a kind-hearted man.

The lesson is: The truth is that at work, you should consider your friend as a co-worker, and out of work, they can resume being just your friend. It is easy to forget that when you are doing business with a close friend yet alone a best friend or boyfriend/girlfriend. I know it sounds harsh, but I would not like anything like the above to happen to any of you. It doesn’t have to go as far as embezzlement but even being lazy, not accomplishing tasks that were required, and so on should not be tolerated because of their status in your social tree. Take care and good luck!

Learning to say no

When you start your own small business, a common mistake that most people do is taking whatever they can get.

A few days ago, a friend of a friend called asking for personalized robes. Her budget was almost unrealistic and it was obvious she was going for a cheap product rather than one with decent quality. The quantity she wanted was also ridiculously low! 15 units to be exact.

Being the request from a friend of a friend, I jumped at it and asked her the typical order processing questions. Sourcing the product within her price range was almost impossible. I have been debating buying them from certain low-quality stores just to fit her budget and required qualities. This would require me to drive to a store, buy 15 units, deliver the goods and take an almost non-existent margin.

It is time to say no. The truth is, although it is good to have always have orders keeping you occupied, all orders should be screened through the following formula: If amount charged is greater than amount paid including all expenses required to fulfill order, then it is a go.

Easy? Of course! Obvious? Yup! So why do you find so many small business owners taking on non-profitable purchase orders? It isn’t always so black and white when it stares you in the face.

You want to meet the expectations of friends and be known as reliable and helpful. However, remember that in business you have to assess if its worth your time. Be honest with your customers and lead them to a possible person that may carry them. In my case, she already had an alternative.

Remember, this ties into what was written last time. Don’t overwhelm yourself with things you may not have time for.

6 Ways You May Be Hindering Your Success

A little while back I got an e-mail titled “Are You Sabotaging Your Success?” It was quite interesting and I thought it would be selfish of me not to share this with you. Here are the points:

1. Being A Know-It-All

I find myself doing this sometimes. I tend to say “I know/knew that!” on topics that I heard about and immediately shut of my brain to indulge my ADD tendencies. There are a lot of things we know and have heard of but we just do not do. How many times has your mother told you to wash the dishes immediately after you use them so you don’t get lazy and leave them to rot? Are they in that kitchen sink right now? Don’t lie to me!

Truth is, you can’t really say you know something unless you are actually doing it. So try to stop yourself when you find yourself doing this and listen! Chances are even if someone is speaking of a topic you know about, they may have a different perspective or a bit of additional information you never knew about.

2. Being A One-Man-Team

I am proud to say I have overcome this obstacle through excruciating amounts of forced group projects during my time at UBC. There is much satisfaction when you see projects that were self-completed and there is nothing more simple than only having to listen to one boss: yourself. However, as much as I know you are smart and knowledgeable it is impossible for you to know everything.

They say “two is better than one” for a reason. Others may know things you don’t and provide you with alternate perspectives. Working with others will allow you to create synergies to accomplish more complete and exhaustive results than if you do it yourself. In addition, you can share the stress and annoyance rather than simmer to yourself or complain to your friends who really don’t know what you are talking about.

3. Being Scattered or Unorganized

This is one that I never really had a problem with. I am quite a neat freak. However, during exam times, things in my room can get out of hand and occasionally it may look like a hurricane passed through it. Bills go unpaid and homework remains undone. When I get down to serious business though, I HAVE to clean up before I do anything. There is nothing like having a clear area to do you work to maintain a clear and focused mind. Not only will you find yourself more productive being organized but you will save money from unnecessary interest and you will be able to maintain better credit!

Also, does it seem like the time flies by and realize you really haven’t done much? Do you feel like everyday your task list grows longer and longer? Remember that a big deterrent to progress is taking on too much and feeling overwhelmed. Make your goals reasonable and attainable. If you feel like you can’t make it or don’t have the time for it, don’t add it to your schedule! In the business world, if you don’t follow through with your commitments you may lose credibility and trust. It is much better to not commit than to break a promise. Trust me!

4. Being Fearful

Fear can manifest itself in various forms such as finding yourself holding back from accomplishing certain things, procrastinating and so on. A way to overcome fear is to always have in mind what the bigger picture is. Make sure you have your big dreams and visions constantly nagging you in the face. What I do sometimes for my partner is stick a large piece of paper on his bathroom mirror so he can remind himself of why he is doing what he does. When you have a vision in mind there is just no time to be afraid.

5. Being A Perfectionist

For those who know me, this is a big one for me. It is both a huge asset and liability. I drove my friends crazy when I would spend hours and hours of useless time perfecting minor discrepancies between flow chart alignment or font sizes. I will sometimes call my suppliers a couple of times to make sure everything is turning out exactly the way its supposed to. I have also found myself refraining from submitting certain documents because I don’t feel they are perfect or up to my standards.

The truth is, although perfectionism is good to a certain extent, it holds you back from accomplishing many things. Embracing a not so perfect world or self allows you to try more and do more. If you read success stories, you will find many stumble open success in not so perfect ways

6. Being Your Best Asset
My partner’s biggest weakness! If you are like him, you are one that tries to take care of all your tasks except yourself. If you work absurd hours, have minimal sleep or eat at irregular hours you definitely have a problem. You have to keep in mind that YOU ARE YOUR BEST ASSET! Have you heard of the saying “You have to invest money to make money?” In a similar sense you have to invest in yourself in order to give it all you got.

Giving yourself enough sleep, healthy meals, exercise and mental stimulation (such as classes to learn more or develop new skills) allows you to give the best performance in all the tasks you do. You can think of it as investing in your ability to succeed.

Trip to City Hall

Today after class I went to the Vancouver City Hall located on 453 West 12th Avenue (Cambie & 12th). I had been postponing my trip to get my municipal license for PGTC because I had just recently started up and did not think it was immediately needed. However, having registered my business through OneStop, the quickest way to start a business known to mankind, I received an e-mail saying, “It’s time to register or else…” As you may all know, my fear for pissing off the government led me to flee to the warzone that the Canada line has created along Cambie.

When I got there, there was a LOT of traffic! The best place to try to park is one street east of Cambie (I am not sure what that street is called) where it is much quieter. If you take the east entrance to the building (which is where I always enter from due to my choice of parking), take a quick right and take the elevator to the second floor. Once you are there, take a left and go straight down the hall. The receptionists for municipal licenses should be to your left.

Please remember to take your photo ID (and an additional piece just in case, although they rarely ask), your business number (if you are a sole proprietorship or partnership) or incorporation number (if you are incorporated), and a proof of address of where you live (for home-based businesses) and where your business is or will be located. For those of you who registered your business through OneStop, remember to bring the sheet that they e-mailed you to print out. For others who went another route, the nice receptionists will give you two sheets to fill out that should only take about 5 to 10 minutes. In most cases, after the whole process is done, they will print and give you the municipal license on the day of.

I find the service quite quick and efficient. Most of the ladies I have encountered were all very nice and helpful. For those of you who want to know how much a business license will run you, on average it will be around 110 to 150. I believe it depends on where your business will be located. This fee will have to be paid annually.

So in conclusion, I forget why I postponed the task for so long! It was so quick and simple that I should have had it dealt with as soon as I could. For any of you who still have to deal with this issue, do not be afraid! Just get the task over with and you will have one thing less on your to do list.

It’s Payroll Time (Part III)

Alrighty! So as promised, I asked around in search of the two questions: “How do you interpret deductions remittal dates?” and “Is vacation pay mandatory?“

The answer to interpreting deduction remittal dates, I pretty much realized was a silly question. For new or regular remitters, your deductions should be in the hands of the cra on or before the 15th day of the month AFTER the month you made them (confusing sentence but I swear I got it from a government site). That means, that if the next 15th is May 15th, you should be submitting your April 01 to April 15 and April 15 to April 30 pay periods (If you work with biweekly pay periods starting at the beginning and middle of each month). You are also able to apply for different periods such as quarterly or accelerated. For those who pay out a lot of salary, they usually opt for the accelerated option.

Is vacation pay mandatory? After much much interrogation of just about everyone I knew, I resorted to calling the CRA at 1 800-959-5525. However, their line is pretty much busy 100% of the time. A better place to call with friendly service is the Employment Standards Board or ESB at 1 800-663-3316. They offer 24 hour service on all sorts of questions. So what was the answer? It is YES. Even if you are employing a part-time working, vacation pay is absolutely necessary and should start to accrue after 5 days of employment. So there you go! Thanks to my helpful friend Elaine at ESB, that is the information I pass on to you. Happy payrolling!

What makes you different?

So I guess this is a little bit of old news, but on April 24th, I sent my poor partner (which I love to boss around) to an event called ”Marketing Essentials For Small Business Owners” which is hosted by a success coach named Sue Clement. She always gives out good advice and the time I got a chance to meet her, she was really sweet and kind. Anyway, it was an opportunity to learn and to network so, naturally, I sent my social butterfly of a partner to go in my stead since I had class at BCIT that day.

The content was nothing out of the ordinary and nothing my partner and I had not heard during our time at the Sauder School of Business at UBC. The networking was also a bit hard to do, considering most people came in groups and rarely detached themselves to mingle.

However, there was one thing that really got imprinted in my head. At one point my partner text messages me and asks, “What makes us different?” My brain scrambled to use marketing jargon in fancy sentences that sounded important but were really not. Apparently, this question had been posed to my partner by a curious man that had sat beside him during the lecture. My partner obviously had learned well from our commerce program and regurgitated the exact same senseless but fancy sentences that made the other nod in satisfaction and return to the ongoing lecture by Sue. It was then that I realized Jive had been so desperate in getting new clients that it really had no direction.

Our only competitive advantage at the time is low cost, however, as most business men know, this is not a sustainable way of differentiating yourself amongst competitors. For new businesses like mine, you must remember that no matter how desperate you are at trying to find clients, you have to have a direction, otherwise all your efforts that are directed at no particular audience will seem like a lot of work for little results.

Never underestimate the power of a good target audience and a sustainable competitive advantage. As for Jive, my partner and I sat down and re-thought about our vision and mission statements as well as our competitive advantage. We figured something out, but it’s definitely a secret. You can also never underestimate the power of first mover advantage .

It’s Payroll Time (Part II)

Finally! I got bored after a few days of consecutively checking the website, so I waited until the weekend to check it once again. It seems like the PDOC is working perfectly now and boy am I glad I waited! The PDOC is payroll calculating heaven! For a company like mine, where I am just paying myself and don’t require benefits or bonuses, all you need know is your gross income for the pay period in question. The remaining portions that you need to fill out are self explanatory.

The only thing I couldn’t really find on the net was, “Is Vacation Pay mandatory?” I don’t believe it is, specially in a situation like mine in which I don’t necessarily need to give myself this extra bit. I sent an e-mail to a former boss and friend of mine to see if he could help me out with this question. I will let you all know when he gets back to me. However, for the sake of completing the forever pending CRA form, I went on the safe side and decided to calculate vacation pay anyway. This is one calculation that the PDOC does not do for you. For those of you who DO want to include vacation pay, it is quite simple. The rates of vacation pay differ for each province and can be found here. For British Columbians, the rate is 4% of the paid amount for that period.

Ah! Satisfaction! I have finally completed the Statement of Account (PD7A) which I now realize was super easy. However, I realize there is yet another problem. The way that they state the remittance due date is quite confusing.

“We must receive deductions made during the month or quarter by the 15th day of the following month” – from the back of the PD7A form

So if the pay period is May 01 to May 15, would the payment be due by June 15? This sounds like a stupid questions, I know, but when it comes to government issues I am always extremely nervous and careful. I believe the answer to the above question is “Yes”, but I will confirm with the CRA tomorrow. Happy “payrolling” to the rest of you for now.

It’s Payroll Time (part I)

So the other day, I decided I was much too broke to endure working for absolutely no monetary compensation. My bank account is quickly becoming non-existent and my stress levels are reaching an all time high. It is time to take some money out of PG (since it is the company that has high profit margins)! The problem is… I recall obtaining a payroll account number… but I have no idea what to do with it! Until now, I have been postponing dealing with the constant letters that are sent to my office by calling into the “telereply” and selecting the “I have no paid employees at the moment” option. All I need to do to make my pay legitimate is to complete a “simple” form that the Canadian Revenue Agency sends monthly. I say “simple” because looking at the calculations for EI, CPP, etc and all the other considerations that must be taken into account, calculating payroll deductibles is not an easy task! For those of you like me who do not have a software that can do this stuff for us or have any real accounting experience, “PDOC” becomes our saviour. PDOC or Payroll Deductions Online Calculator is a quick, easy and accurate way of making all payroll deduction calculations. Great, right? Actually, it is not so great when you realize the page takes an eternity to load! I am pretty sure I “agreed” for an hour! When I finally was able to access it and clicked on “Calculate Gross Income” the page was not found! Talk about professional government site! I needed my money so I called tech support and reported the broken link. The very nice woman put me on hold for about 15 to 20 minutes as her page loaded as well, agreed that there was a possible problem with the site and finally claimed she would get it looked into. That was fine with me, I have a few dollar bills to get me by.

Today, I groggily got ready for class (as usual) and somehow managed to drag myself to school with properly matched shoes and relatively coordinated attire. “Time to get my money!” I thought to myself during the whole morning’s class. Little did I know that what was waiting in store for me was not a lovely properly working site, but a site that was a lot less functional than the day before. I have been trying to get passed the “I agree” a couple of times with the school’s network (which I have been told is actually quite speedy) without avail. When I miraculously get passed the “gateway of hell” I am faced with a new obstacle… an Apache server failure. Great. I am sure I won’t be starving anytime soon, but if the site is still completely disfunctional by tomorrow, I will have to call tech support again and give her a piece of my mind! And for those who know me, giving the lady a piece of my mind pretty much means I will politely ask her to look into it again. Ahh!! Let’s just hope that I can get some money soon, if not, I will be resorting to Mac Donald’s for the next few days for lunch. Who can argue with Mc Deal Meals!?

Hello readers!

What my teachers at UBC never told me was that I would barely use half of what I learned during my four excruciating years there. I graduated eagerly expecting to be making a comfortable salary and have employers fight to have me in their company. Little did I know, fancy titles and high salaries are not easy to come by when you don’t have “connections”. I soon started working for a great little company that I enjoyed very much, but found myself starved for more knowledge and responsibility. I couldn’t bare sitting at a small desk all day doing simple repetitive tasks and making less money than I was making in a catering company before I even graduated. It was time to take action! I decided to start a company. With my super smart and funny UBC friend as my partner, Jive Promotions started. Essentially, the company is a promotional product distributor that serves all of Canada. In the meantime, my dad thought it would be a good lesson to make me start a company with him. In this case, it is an import/export business of machinery. Little did I realize how hard having your own business would be; let alone two businesses! There is so much to learn and so little room for error! With my diminishing savings account and barely any time to work (as I decided to further my artistic abilities by attending BCIT), this blog is meant to share with others not only the struggles and hardship, but also the fun and excitement that comes with starting your own business.