For the year 2011, 27 finalists were nominated for 9 category awards and 5 out of the 10 category award winners are immigrant entrepreneurs. That’s 50%! Surprised?

(l – r) front row : Pamela Gervacio, Laramie Tan-Amit, Dr. Cobi Slater, Judy Hamilton, Terryl Plotnikoff. (l – r) back row : Fabio Milano, Chris Zhang, Charles Baverstock, Sanjana Khaira, David Wong.
Photo credit: www.rosaportraitstudio.com

According to Statistics Canada, About 19% of micro-enterprise owners are not born in Canada. In Quebec, Manitoba/ Saskatchewan and the Atlantic region less than 10% of the entrepreneurs are immigrants. In contrast, in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia the percentage is 30%.

These statistics were evident at the Douglas College Annual Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2011 held on October 19, 2011. Several immigrant entrepreneurs were amongst the 27 finalists and award winners honored at the Douglas College EYA event. 5 out of the 10 category award winners are immigrants.

These include:

• Award winner of the Retail Category, Laramie Tan-Amit grew her accounting business at a steady pace during the first five years of business. In the last two years her strategies changed and the growth of the business accelerated, as she introduced Jeepney Mart, a retail business providing Philippine products, money transfers, tax returns and full accounting services to the Filipino community in the Coquitlam market area.

•Pamela Gervacio of Design2Print Company was thrilled to be awarded the Home-based category award. She has grown her business every year since its beginnings in 2006. In the early stages the majority of sales came from business card design and business card printing. Today her company publishes and prints GLEAN magazine, AFRI-CAN Magazine, Can- Hi-fi Magazine and many more. Design 2 Print Ltd. also prints newsletters for the Oakridge seniors’ society, Renfrew – Collinwood seniors’ society and the 4-11 seniors’ society.

•Sanjana Khaira was the winner of the Youth Entrepreneur category award. She credits the women predecessors who paved the way for her to succeed as a woman lawyer. Sanjana has a vision to be the premier law firm in providing effective, affordable and personalized quality legal services aimed at meeting the needs of our local population, specifically Indo-Fijians and local home and business owners. Sanjana Khaira Law Corporation is one of the only firms in the lower mainland that specifically caters to the needs of the local Indo-Fijian population.

•The Global award went to David Wong of DK Wong & Associates. David works with entrepreneurs in mergers and acquisitions, raising capital, public listings, helping companies in distressed situations and also provides professional business analysis and valuations. He takes great pride in accomplishing what was the most complicated and largest transaction valued at $3.4 million that prevented a 40 year old very well known Asian Noodle & Wuntun producer from being forced into bankruptcy and laying off over 50 employees. He was also actively involved in assisting Youthco AIDS Society host a charity fund raiser, our finalist, a Director in the society, was instrumental in promoting the event, increasing the attendance from 90 to 200 people in only 2 days and raised over $10,000 for the charity.

•Chris Zhang of Sager Education won the Consulting Award category. Sager Education Inc. provides after-school tutoring services for students from grade eight to twelve in Math, Science, Physics, Chemistry and Calculus. CEO Chris Zhang has worked hard to become recognized as a premier tutoring school, and to that end in only two years, the school has over 150 registered students. Sager Education Inc. has been approved by University Waterloo as a certified location to conduct a Math Contest and was most recently approved by The Mathematical Association of America, the biggest global secondary school contest, as the American Math Competitions (AMC) certified exam location.

One of the criteria for the award process was the philanthropic or charity activities of the finalists. All of the award winners have in one way or another contributed to charity as a way of giving back to the community.

This means that more mothers are looking for help with child care in all forms, whether it is full day care, drop-in day care, after school day-care, or extended hours day-care. This led to the increase of day care centers throughout Canada.

Canada Revenue Agency provides tax relief to working parents in the form of tax deductions for child care expenses that are incurred in order to work, carry on a business or undertake certain educational activities. See IT495R3.

All these factors contribute to the demand and the rise of day care businesses throughout Canada.

For those who are interested in running a day care business, we recommend the following books:
1. The Day Care Starter Kit – This e-book provide step-by-step guide on how to run a day care business and includes 40 forms, worksheets and procedures such as:
*Childcare Agreement and Registration Forms
*Policies and Procedures
*Daycare Safety Checklist and Safety Quiz
*Emergency Authorization/Contact Information
*Medication Permission Forms
*Injury and Incident Reports
*Weekly Menus
*Payment Receipts
*Late Payment Notices
*Sample Evacuation Plan
*Child Pickup Authorization
*And over 30 more worksheets, forms, and letters!

2. Day Care Start-up Kit - is another worthwhile reference book. It includes tips on writing a business plan, a set of professionally designed Daycare Forms Series that are ready to print. These include registration forms, medications, allergies, special needs, menu planning, interview guides and more.

” Consumers tend to stick to what they know when it comes to online shopping, according to Nielsen. 60 percent of online shoppers say they buy mostly from the same site, proving that online shoppers are uniquely loyal. “This shows the importance of capturing the tens of millions of new online shoppers as they make their first purchases on the Internet. If shopping sites can capture them early, and create a positive shopping experience, they will likely capture their loyalty and their money,” said Carson.
In selecting sites on which to shop, one-third used a search engine or just surfed around to find the best online store. One in four relied on personal recommendations. “Recommendations from fellow consumers – whether they are people they know or fellow online shoppers – play an enormous role in the decision-making process. The explosion in Consumer Generated Media over the last year means that this reliance on word of mouth, over other forms of referral, looks set to increase,” said Carson.

On the other side of the globe, In Asia, a different type of coffee house, themed cafes are springing up as a way of differentiating themselves from Starbucks which can now be found in all major Asian cities. One of them is a CAT CAFE. A cat cafe is a theme cafe whose attraction is cats that can be watched and played with. Patrons pay a cover fee, generally hourly, and hence cat cafes can be seen as a form of supervised indoor pet rental.

The world’s first cat cafe opened in Taiwan in 1998.The Taiwanese cat cafe, located in Taipei, eventually became famous in Japan and began to attract many Japanese tourists as well as domestic visitors. In Japan, the first cat cafe opened in Osaka in 2004.

Cat cafes are quite popular in Japan, with Tokyo being home to at least 39 cat cafes. A pioneer is Cat’s Store (猫の店 Neko no Mise?), by HANADA Norimasa, which opened in 2005. The popularity of cat cafes in Japan is attributed to many apartments forbidding pets, and to cats providing relaxing companionship in what may otherwise be a stressful and lonesome urban life; other forms of pet rental are also common in Japan.

There are various cat cafes. Some cat cafes feature specific categories of cat such as black cats, fat cats, rare breed cats or ex-stray cats. A cat cafe must obtain a license and comply with the strict requirements and regulations of the Animal Treatment/Protection Law.

Japanese cat cafes feature strict rules to ensure cleanliness and animal welfare, in particular seeking to ensure that the cats are not disturbed by excessive and unwanted attention, such as by young children or when sleeping. Many cat cafes also seek to raise awareness of cat welfare issues, such as abandoned and stray cats.

Cat cafes have now spread to Seoul, South Korea where parents can come to the cafe and relax while their children play with cats in a supervised play area.

Other themed cafes let customers offer a good library of books and magazines, play board games such as Scrabble, Chess, Monopoly, get their nails and hair done, have their fortunes read…. imagination is the limit.

Whether the economy is booming or in a recession, self-employment or entrepreneurship becomes an option either by choice or necessity. How does one learn from the experience of others who have done it? How about reading a book? This book has 8 chapters written by different authors on the subject of entrepreneurship. Beginning with the basics of writing a business plan, this in-depth guide moves on to cover sophisticated topics such as navigating the world of venture capital funding and turning technological innovations into successful marketplace realities.

Several examples or case studies of successful businesses make the book a really interesting read. Whether you are a new start-up or growing business, there are practical tips to guide entrepreneurs on all aspects of business including writing business plans, finance, marketing, human resources, and operations. A must have book for all business entrepreneurs from the Harvard Business School Press.

Short excerpt:
“Seven principles are basic for successful startups; Get operational fast; look for quick breakeven, cash generating projects; offer high value products or services that can sustain direct personal selling; don’t try to hire the crack team; keep growth in check; focus on cash; and cultivate banks early.”

With today’s technology and social media tools, it is never been easier to start your own online retail business. By leveraging the available resources around you, and striking up alliances with established companies, you can start an online business with very little start up capital other than your own labor.

World Wide Brands is a organization with over 8,000 verified wholesalers and dropshippers of all types of goods. Online retailers who are members of World Wide Brands have access to the entire list of wholesalers and dropshippers thereby reducing hours of research work. World Wide Brands also offers free ebooks and free articles educating and training the online retailer on how to choose a niche product line and effectively market their products online.

Thrift stores can specialize in different areas. Examples are vintage clothing stores, antique collectibles, used furniture stores, used book stores, vintage jewellery stores, or used department stores that sell everything.

It is a common misconception that thrift stores are not-for-profit organizations.  This is not true at all.  In fact, the best know thrift store called “Value Village” is aggressively expalnding, and as of June 2008, it has a total of 215 stores (each averaging 25,000 square feet) in Canada and the USA.  In September of 2010, Value Village opened the doors to their 250th outlet which represents a 16% increase in just over 2 years.

Under Value Village’s business model, the company partners with local non-profits by purchasing and reselling donated items. The non-profits collect and deliver donated goods to Value Village, which pays them for the items at a bulk rate regardless of whether they ever make it to the sales floor. Donations are also collected at stores directly, and the company makes payments to its non-profit partners when it receives goods this way. Value Village has more than 160 non-profit partners throughout the United States, Canada and Australia, which it pays more than $117 million annually.

Items deemed resellable are displayed for purchase in stores. Value Village also has a recycling program and attempts to recycle any reusable items that cannot be sold at the stores, as well as any items that do not sell over a period of time to make room for fresh merchandise. Savers has buyers for its recyclables throughout the world and attempts to keep as much donated product out of the waste stream as possible.

Find out more about How to Start a Second Hand Thrift Store.

The smart hanger idea was actually conceived by Leigh Meadows’ son, Jacob.   He questioned the rationale behind throwing out wire hangers from the dry cleaners and asked two questions: “You can’t throw them away?, we’re recycling them!” and “Why don’t we make them out of paper?”.  This is “The Jacob Story” behind the invention.

Thus, the Smart Hanger concept was born.   Doubly smart because the story goes on.  This is actually a 2-Business in one Model.   Leigh Meadows conceived the idea of using the Smart Hanger as a cost effective advertising platform with print advertising using vegetable-based ink.   This then allows the company to give the hangers free of costs to hotels, dry cleaners, and even retail clothing stores.   The hangers come in all kinds of configurations to fit all types of clothing, ie. pants, children’s clothes, etc.

The Smart Hanger won 2nd place in the CBC Dragons Den Greenvention contest, it almost won first place because of its strong message.

Anyway, our best wishes to Leigh Meadows for her Smart Hangers, and oh yes, thanks to Jacob!

Related Articles/Useful sites:
1. The Smart Hanger Entrepreneur – Leigh Meadows
2.  CBC Dragons Den Greenvention Contest
3.  Nursery Natural Baby Wipes – Andrea Gregg-Aylott

Here is a list of online resources for the work-at-home moms and mompreneurs, with information on government grants, funding, loans, as well as general business topics such as marketing, time management, writing business proposals….

1. Entrepreneurial Moms International – www.entrepreneurialmoms.org – a growing global family of networking communities built by local mompreneurs.

2. Mompreneur Club – www.mompreneurclub.com – offers advice and networking tips to help women succeed at raising their children and building their businesses by providing a place to connect, network, market and promote themselves. Proving once and for all that you really can have it all!

3. Western Economic Diversification – Women’s initiative Enterprise -  provide a variety of unique products for women entrepreneurs including advisory services, training options, networking opportunities, business loans and referrals to complementary services.

4.  Ladies Who Launch – an online and offline social network that provides opportunities for women to move their businesses and personal goals forward.

5.  Business Development Bank - offers government resources for the women entrepreneur.

6.  Centre for Women in Business – offers advice, skills training and business opportunities for the woman entrepreneur.

With so many business books in the bookstore, it can be a chore to pick something to buy or borrow from the library.  Here is one that is a self-help book but reads like fiction – hilarious and fun. Great way to spend an evening.   Tips that can make you a better marketer.

Looking for new ways to have fun and make more money? Searching for innovative new ventures or ways to accelerate your current business? Based on more than three decades of experience, Bill Bishop takes you on a hilarious and insightful adventure across an often weird but wonderful business landscape. Learn the special technique Bishop used to win a waitering contest by selling more than 1,400 lobsters. Discover how to get a new venture started by overcoming First Member Trap, and how to sell more and increase your profit margins by using The Three Boxes. Learn how to develop stronger business relationships and discover how to develop The Big Idea, which will get more people interested in your company.From entrepreneurs looking for inspiration to business people looking to kick-start new ideas, How to Sell a Lobster will change the way you think about business.

The company’s tag line is “Coco cookies bring the taste of the tropics to your mouth”.    And this proves true.  The taste and the smell of roasted coconut flakes, soft and chewy can really transport your imagination to the imagery of  a tropical beach, the sand under your feet, the heat of the sun, the sound of the ocean, the smell of the sea, and the taste of COCONUT. – All that for less than $1.50 a piece.

This is exactly the experience that Ramon Varela, a Canadian immigrant entrepreneur wants you to experience.  He and his wife, a nutritionist operates AGA Foods, manufacturer of COCO cookies and other delightful treats.

Ramon Varela is an industrial engineer by training.  Seven years after he immigrated to Canada, Ramon enrolled in the Douglas College Self Employment program where he learned sales, marketing and the financial skills necessary to run his business.   Starting a new business from ground zero is not for the faint of heart.  It takes courage, vision and hard work.   Ramon and his wife, Gladys find the task challenging, but they are not afraid of hard work.

What makes COCO so special is that it is wheat free, dairy free, kosher, and consist of all natural ingredients.  This is good news for many Canadians who have food allergies.

The company being new, still has no official website.  It is in the works, along with a planned online store that allows loyal customers to order online, for party, celebration and company events.

It is Ramon’s vision to bring COCO cookies to every corner and neighbourhood stores in all of CANADA.  So far, he is warmly received and had absolutely no difficulty getting orders.  Canadians love COCO’s cookies.

What about the secret recipe?  Ramon Varela is guarded about the recipe, which has been handed down from generations within the family.  It takes the right combination to make COCO soft and chewy and not brittle.    For more information about AGA Foods, click here.

Weddings are thought to be a once a lifetime event and the organizers of a wedding (the couple and their families) are often willing to spend a considerable amount of money to ensure it is organized as perfectly as possible. Wedding disasters can be quite painful.

This has given rise to professional wedding planners in several countriesand communities. They attempt to ensure that the planned events occur as expected. These wedding planners take extensive certification courses and require superior business skills

Some wedding planners charge either a fraction (perhaps 5-10%) of total the wedding cost, or a flat fee. In USA and Canada the fees typically range between $1500 to $5000 depending on the services provided.

Wedding Planners are particularly helpful when planning a destination wedding as it is critical to help especially with documentation handling. It is to be taken into consideration that any country where a wedding is celebrated needs different procedures depending also on the nationality of bride and groom.

The services can include:

* Interviewing the couple and the parents to identify their needs.
* Budget preparation
* Planning detailed checklist (from about a year in advance to a few days after the wedding)
* Attendee list preparation
* Identification of event venues (hotels, wedding manor etc)
* Identifying and hiring of wedding professionals and service providers (caterers, photographers, videographers, beautician, florists, bakers etc), and preparation and execution of contracts.
* Coordination of deliveries/services on the wedding day.
* Have a back-up plan in the event of a disaster.
* Assist and prepare legal documentation and translations – especially for destination weddings

Related Articles:
Mixed Wedding Traditions- Blending of the East and West
The Master Wedding Planning Guide
Becoming a Wedding Emcee

Statistics Canada reports that Canadian households spent an average of $541 on pet related expenses in 2008.  These expenditures continue to rise by about 10 percent each year.  With aging demographics and empty nesters, it is expected that the pet industry will continue to grow.

If you love pets or primarily dogs, you can easily get into the dog care business through any of the four businesses listed below.  In fact, this is a four-in-one business idea, and one can mix and match the different services or offer all of them by being a one-stop doggie care business.

Dog Walking
Dogs need exercise.  Dogs–particularly puppies and young dogs–have a lot of energy, and if they don’t get the chance to burn it off, destructive behavior is often the result. If you ever wonder why your dog dig holes, chew shoes, bark a lot, or pee everywhere, it is likely that your dog is not getting enough attention and exercise.  Urban home dwellers and double income families face the situation where their dog is locked in the house and have no space to run and exercise. They need to be taken out for a walk.

This is where professional pet sitters come in.  Professional pet sitters take dogs out for their daily walks.  Some families will hire a pet sitter on a daily basis, or a few times a week, relieving the busy owner to do other work.  Pet sitters are also great for vacation relief, when the owners go out of town.

Usually, pet sitters are bonded and insured, as pet owners may leave their house keys with the pet sitter while the owner goes away for holiday or business trips.

Be sure to do some research before you launch your pet sitting business.  Volunteer at your local SPCA to gain more insight and get some experience working with different types of dogs.

Doggie Day Care
Another lucrative business is a doggie day care business.  A Doggie day care needs lots of open indoor and outdoor play areas, as well as a back room where dogs can take a nap in toddler beds, on pillows, or couches.   Take some ideas from McDonald’s children’s play area.  Use a rubberized floor area to make a soft play area for canines to traipse around indoors when they play on the jungle gym.

Pet Grooming, Pet Spa and Pet Accessories
Doggie Day care businesses can also simply add a pet boutique which features different types of accessories and pampering goodies for pets including leather or customized dog collars, sweaters, life jackets, raincoats, toys, pearl necklaces and tiaras as well as treats such as healthy cookies, organic pet foods or rawhides. The spa for dogs features baths, haircuts and body massages.

Dog Training or Obedience School
Dogs are social animals and without proper training, they will behave like animals. They will soil your house, destroy your belongings, bark excessively, dig holes in your yard, fight other dogs and even bite you. Nearly all behavior problems are perfectly normal canine activities that occur at the wrong time or place or are directed at the wrong thing.  Obedience Training is one of the best things an owner can do for his/her dog or puppy.  Obedience training doesn’t solve all behavior problems, but it is the foundation for solving just about any problem. Training opens up a line of communication between the owner and his/her dog. Effective communication is necessary to instruct a dog about what the owner wants it to do with common instructions like SIT, STAY, GO.

Useful references:
Starting your own Doggie Daycare and Dog Recipes
Doggie Day Care and Pet Sitting Ebooks
Dog Training Home Study Course
How to House Train and Potty Train Any Dog

Canada has 5% of the total international student market, falling behind Australia at 10% and the USA at 21%.

Instead of shipping logs to Japan or mining ore to Indonesia, Canada can choose to promote higher education as asource of revenue.  The South Koreans already spend more money on Canadian education than Canadians spend on South Korean cars.

Career colleges and ESL Schools pay generally a 10% finders fee for foreign student recruiters.  To do this business, negotiations will need to be made with the local schools and alliances established in the foreign countries to attract students.

International students coming to Canada need English proficiency minimum score of 550.  Many foreign students come to Canada to work on the Toefl score prior to higher education.  ESL tutoring is therefore another potential business startup idea.

Related Articles:
China Grant Canada Approved Destination Status

A “Homestay host” is someone who rents out spare room or rooms in their home.  Homestay is a great home-based business that enables Canadians to make extra income. Renting out those spare bedrooms can be profitable and rewarding if managed properly.

A Homestay business can be a part-time or full-time job depending on the number of rooms for rent, and range of services offered.  The Homestay business include providing a room, 3 meals, and can also offer additional services such as ESL lessons, cultural tours, airport transfers, orientation tours.

An entrepeneur can choose to run a homestay business or be a homestay agency, which coordinates host families and students for a fee.

International recruitment is a high priority at most Canadian post-secondary institutions as a mechanism to generate revenue and create diversity on campus. As a result the number of international students choosing to obtain higher education in Canada is steadily increasing. More than 130,000 students come to study in Canada every year and even more come to Canada to learn English or French.  These numbers include both secondary and post-secondary education.  In the 2004-2005 academic year, 72, 500 international students attended Canadian universities. According to the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) approximately 30, 000 international students graduate from post secondary institutions every year.

Homestay Programs provides students from all over the world, the opportunity to improve their English, experience Canadian Culture, meet wonderful new people and build friendships that can last a lifetime. This is also their chance to experience Canadian life.

Interesting Links
Vancouver Homestay Directory