Canada is A Great Place to Open and Own a Business

This week’s article I thought I would talk about Canada and why it’s a great place to invest or to open up a business. With all the blood on the tracks in the great U.S. of A I thought I would brag a little about your neighbour to the north and discuss why Canada is doing well in spite of issues facing other countries throughout the world.
Here are the top 8 reasons why it makes sense to invest in Canada.
1. First of all Canada has a people advantage. Canada is a nation of intelligent, educated workers, ranking #2 in the OECD in higher education achievement.
2. The next is the business environment advantage: The Economic Intelligence Unit has rated Canada the #1 place to do business in the G7 for the next five years.
3. The economic advantage puts Canada as better placed than many countries to weather the global financial turbulence and worldwide recession
4. This one could be debatable since there are some better tax advantages in other countries. Canada however offers businesses low tax rates, boasting the lowest payroll taxes among the G7 countries.
5. The NAFTA Advantage advantage gives investors access to more than 450 million consumers and a combined GDP of US$ 17.1 trillion (PPP basis).
6. If you are considering doing business in Asia the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative (APGCI): takes advantage of Canada’s strategic location as the crossroads between the North American marketplace and the booming economies of Asia.
7. The transportation advantage gives Canada a sophisticated infrastructure and a highly developed transportation network.
8. Last of all the main reason we are all here in the first place is the life style advantage which gives Canada world-class universities, a universally acclaimed health care system, clean, friendly cities and spectacular scenery make Canada a great place to invest, work, live and raise a family.
There you have it, a simple and effective reason to invest in Canada. If you are thinking of opening a business, looking for good investment or want to move to stable democracy Canada for my money is the place to start hands down. Hope this helps you think about great places to live and invest.

Kensel Tracy is The Marketing Coach with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. a business coaching company located in Chelsea Quebec, and Ottawa Ontario. He is also the President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs opening up in every city throughout North America.

Canada Is Rebounding While the U.S. Falters

It’s the dog days of summer and I was reviewing the difference in attitudes in between Canada and the U.S. in business. The Canadian market is holding its own. I recently tried to do a joint-venture partnership with a company in the U.S.

I was surprised that the people I was trying to work with were negative and down on the economy in the U.S. and I was also surprised how fragile they were in taking risks. As a business person who has consistently worked throughout North America for the past 30 years I was surprised that Americans were sounding like Canadians in the 70’s and Canadians were sounding like Americans in the 80’s. Canada is on the rebound and there are a number of reasons.

Canada's economy has consistently outperformed that of the United States since the beginning of the financial crisis. And while it's showing signs of slowing down, Canada's pending decline will be far shallower than that of the United States, and its rebound more dynamic.

Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 6.1% in the first quarter of the year - the highest rate of growth among developed nations - and the country is expected to lead Group Seven (G7) nations in economic growth for at least the next two years; why ? Well there are many reasons.

Canada’s banking system is sound, banks stayed out of the mortgage business and while granting credit made it flexible for Canadians to get into the mortgage business but did not get that involved in the sub-prime game. Canadians look at the word market and not just at their own market. This has allowed them to make huge gains in Far East, North and South America and Europe. The country has bountiful resources including: lumber, oil, raw materials, water and land, much of it undeveloped.

Canada’s economy is moving into a service-based economy more that it’s been in the past. Health Care, education, knowledge and a highly educated work force also have an impact. Compared to the U.S. corporate interests have less influence over government policy and we have far less government debt.

The Canadian economy grew at a 2.0% annualized pace in the second quarter of 2010, shy of the 2.5% gain expected by forecasters. The increase was slower than in the previous two quarters in large part due to a 3.0 percentage point (ppt) net export drag. Inventory rebuilding and increasing domestic demand offset the weight from trade. The first-quarter growth rate was revised to show a 5.8% annualized gain from 6.1% previously.

Both consumer spending and business fixed investment rose in the second quarter although consumption slowed to a 2.6% annualized pace from the strong 4.3% rise recorded in the first quarter. Investment spending posted a healthy 9.1% annualized gain with spending on machinery and equipment rising by a solid 29.7% annualized pace. Residential investment slowed in the quarter, rising 1.2% although this followed two quarters of very strong increases. Spending on non-residential structures eked out a mild 1.0% increase, contrary to expectations for another decline.

Gains in these areas contributed to decent growth in the final domestic demand of 3.5% building on three quarters of very strong gains. The contribution from inventories was smaller than expected in the second quarter, adding 1.8 ppt and matching the first-quarter's revised contribution. The rise in domestic demand in recent quarters suggests that this inventory rebuilding in large part was desired.

The strength in domestic spending also contributed to imports rising at a rapid 16.4%annualized pace. Export growth was milder at 6.0% resulting in net exports subtracting 3.0 ppt in the quarter. Our expectation was that this component would cut 3.8 ppt off the quarterly growth rate.
While the overall growth rate disappointed forecasters, this report confirms that domestic conditions in the economy remained strong.
Let’s hope our friends to the south will start spending money, investing in real assets and remember that they are still one of strongest countries and economies in the world.

You just need to get Americans to start thinking like Canadians – for years we had to do it the hard way and with 1/10th of the population of the U.S. it should be easier for the U.S. to rebound. As good neighbours I hope things will improve for our southern cousins soon. We are beside you in Afghanistan, terrorism and we will be behind you as well in helping your economy rebound.
Kensel Tracy is a business coach and Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz in Chelsea, Quebec Canada.

Having a Good Sales Plan Does Not Have to be Complicated

As a small business coach, it quite amazing to meet owners of companies that have businesses that could be more successful if they had a plan. Without a plan, you are basically casting your fate to the wind and hoping your customers will show up.

A plan does not have to be complicated and can be a simple as knowing how many sales you want to get this year, your gross margin, ( sales less costs and operating), who your main targets are for customers and five simple sales steps for attracting the customers you want. The bottom line is you need to be selling new customers everyday and always be closing some form of new business for your company to be successful. Sales should be the most important part of your plan. Customers make companies work.

A very successful company that I know has developed three simple steps for getting customers. They want to have the best product in his industry, be an authority in their industry and they over respond to every enquiry to their company no matter how small.

The owner plans is to be the best in his industry and tell everyone that he is. His goal is to talk to ten new customers a week and to treat his existing customers like they are gold. He also tries to pay is suppliers first and tells them that he expects the same treatment from them as he gives his customers. To date this company is a leader and has more business then it can handle and most of it's sales come from referrals from current customers.

Your task this week is to review your business and consider your plan. If you have one, make sure its working for you, if you don't have a plan, get one fast, and if you need some help with the discipline, think about hiring a coach. As one of my old sales managers used to say; son, you should always plan your work and then work the plan.

Kensel Tracy is a business coach and Senior Partner in The Corporate Coachworkz. Inc.
see www.corporatecoachworkz.com