Description
Smallbusiness Beat Definition En-tre-pre-neur
DEFINITION:
EN-TRE-PRE-NEUR
DECEMBER 2006
ONTARIO
SMALLBUSINESSBEAT
VOLUME 3
“ENTREPRENEUR” IS A COMMON TERM IN
TODAY’S FAST-PACED, INNOVATIVE BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT. IT EVOKES THE IMAGE OF A
PERSON WITH IDEAS AND VISION—A GO-GETTER,
A DOER, A BUSINESS OWNER. ALL TRUE. BUT
WHAT REALLY DEFINES AN ENTREPRENEUR?
WHAT ARE THE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SKILL
SETS INVOLVED? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE
AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT? DO YOU HAVE
WHAT IT TAKES?
continued on page 2
Definition:
en-tre-pre-neur
> pages 1–2
Minister’s Message
> page 2
Trade Missions
to Strengthen
Ties with India
and Pakistan
> page 3
Investing in Young
Entrepreneurs
> page 4
Women
Entrepreneurs
on the Rise
> page 5
The
Entrepreneurial
Way
> page 6
Facing the
Dragons for
Venture Capital:
CBC’s New
Reality Show
> page 7
Tomorrow’s
Entrepreneurs
Today
A National Contest
Celebrates
Student Innovators
> page 8
Prepared to
Sacrifice
An Award-Winning
Global Trader Took
a “Calculated Risk”
> page 9
Successful Ottawa
Firm Got Its Start
Thanks to the
Entrepreneurship
Centre
> page 10
TurnAround
Couriers:
“Delivering More
than Packages”
> page 11
Open Door Designs:
Turning Doorways
into Theatres
> page 12
see page 4
Summer Company 2007—
Apply Now
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 2
continued from page 1
The word “entrepreneur” derives from the French verb “entreprendre,” which
has a principal translation of “to proceed” or more commonly “to undertake.”
And that is indeed the entrepreneur’s central characteristic. There are a lot
of people who think about building a better mousetrap; there are a lot of
people who dream about going into business. The entrepreneur is the person
who goes beyond the dreams. To paraphrase Nike: They do it!
Br yan MacKay has been coordinating the Entrepreneurship Program at
Thunder Bay’s Confederation College (www.confederationc.on.ca) for 17 years.
He defines an entrepreneur as one who sees the world in a unique way.
“Entrepreneurs can visualize opportunity. They look at an existing process
and envisage how it can be improved upon, or they come up with an idea for
a new product or service that could solve a particular problem,” he says. “But
they don’t stop there. They talk to the right people, conduct feasibility studies,
develop a plan, set up financing, and build all the resources necessary to put
their idea in motion and follow it through.”
This takes a special type of person and most successful entrepreneurs have
cer tain personality traits and skill sets in common. They are creative,
optimistic and adaptable. They embody conviction, passion and drive. They
are problem-solvers, decision-makers and achievers. Typically, they are highly
independent and risk-tolerant.
And when their idea becomes a business, their management skills come into
play. MacKay notes that while many entrepreneurs nurture and manage their
business successfully, others choose to bring in partners once the enterprise
is up and running and move on to the next profitable venture.
He also points out a clear distinction between being an entrepreneur and
being entrepreneurial. “Business ownership is not for ever yone,” MacKay
says. “But being entrepreneurial can be. It’s a mindset that is highly valued
by employers, and honing such skills as creative thinking, decision-making
and leadership translates ver y well into the workplace and to a positive
career path.” In fact, the term “intrapreneurial” has been coined to
recognize that people can be entrepreneurial within a corporate environment,
blending their skills with company resources to develop new products for
their employer or to initiate improvements in such areas as quality,
productivity or ser vice deliver y.
Can a person purchase or inherit a business and still be defined as an
entrepreneur? An entrepreneurial frame of mind is clearly evident in making
the leap to self-employment. And while the same level of innovation may not
be required up front with an established business, entrepreneurial skills are
required to operate a business successfully over time.
Another common definition of an entrepreneur is that of a small business
owner. These two terms are often used interchangeably and while it is the
usual association, many entrepreneurs do use their skills to build small,
profitable and successful businesses into medium-sized and often large,
global, firms.
To help measure entrepreneurial potential, self-assessment tests are widely
available on-line including through the Business Development Bank of Canada
at www.bdc.ca.
Entrepreneurs are the spark plug of Ontario’s economic
engine. They are the innovators, creators and risk takers
of the business world who pinpoint the gap between
what the consumer needs and what the market
provides; and use their considerable energy and
motivation to develop products and services to fill that
gap. Entrepreneurs challenge themselves and their
competitors to continually come up with new and better
ideas. Their successes lead to jobs, oppor tunity and
prosperity in communities across the province. And
anyone is eligible for membership!
What is the skill set required? If you are optimistic and
future-oriented, creative and decisive, adaptable and
persistent—you have the skills to be an entrepreneur.
Many entrepreneurs use these skills to start their own
business. Others become “intrapreneurial” employees,
bringing their ideas to life with the assistance and
resources of an employer. Our government is committed
to nurturing and supporting the entrepreneurial spirit in
ever y capacity. We recognize its unparalleled ability to
strengthen our people, our economy and our province.
This issue of Small Business Beat focuses on
entrepreneurship. It examines what it means to be an
entrepreneur and what it takes to embark on this fulfilling
journey. It looks at the ways in which our government is
promoting an entrepreneurial mindset in Ontario, and the
ways in which some colleges and universities are
integrating entrepreneurship into their curricula as a
means of teaching students valuable decision-making
and leadership skills. It looks at entrepreneurship as a
viable career option. We also meet some of the many
successful entrepreneurs across our province who took
a chance and realized their dream.
Our government’s commitment to entrepreneurship and
our belief in its importance was highlighted when Premier
Dalton McGuinty created our new ministr y to focus
specifically on small business and entrepreneurship.
As its Minister and as a former entrepreneur, I am
ver y familiar with the challenges, opportunities and
satisfaction involved in traveling this unique path. Our
government will continue to put the programs, services
and business climate in place to support entrepreneurship
and small business growth for the benefit of all.
Harinder S. Takhar
Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Minister’s Message
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 3
The Business Mission to India, organized by the
Government of Ontario, will visit New Delhi, Bangalore,
Mumbai and Chandigarh in India, after which the official
Ontario delegation will join the Canada-Pakistan Business
Council Mission to Pakistan. The official Ontario
delegation will visit Lahore and Islamabad.
The missions will build on the strong relationships
Ontario has already forged with these two growing nations
whose combined population exceeds one billion people.
Over the past five years, Ontario’s two-way goods
trade with India and Pakistan increased by well over
50 per cent, reaching $1.2 billion in 2005.
Key objectives for the missions include:
• raising Ontario’s profile as a producer of innovative
goods and services and a destination for investment
• introducing Ontario expor ters to the potential of the
Indian market and advocating on their behalf
• promoting collaboration between Ontario and India in
the area of research and innovation
• advancing educational linkages and cooperation
• promoting Ontario’s exper tise in the information
communications technology (ICT) sector in the Pakistan
markets
The India component of the trip will concentrate on the
infrastructure sectors including: transpor tation and
environmental technologies; research and innovation
collaborations, such as life sciences, including pharma;
information communications technology (ICT); financial
ser vices; education; and cultural industries including
new media.
The Pakistan por tion of the trip, organized by the
Canadian High Commission (CHC) and the Canada-
Pakistan Business Council, will focus on the Information
Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
The targeted sectors are areas in which Ontario
businesses, industries and organizations excel. They are
also ones that both India and Pakistan are now building
and strengthening as they grow and modernize their
economies. The mission is designed to give Ontario
delegates optimal oppor tunity to build networks and
partnerships that have the greatest potential to lead to
tangible business contracts.
In recent years, market confidence has reached its
highest level between Ontario, India and Pakistan,
creating an ideal landscape for growth and investment
for business. Those business, educational and research
organizations par ticipating in the 2007 trade missions
will learn how the booming research and innovation,
infrastructure, cultural industries and financial services
sectors of India and Pakistan can benefit their business.
“To compete in a global economy, businesses must
develop relationships, advance innovation and adjust
to change to remain ahead of the competition,” said
Minister Harinder S. Takhar. “We are building on
Ontario’s strong bi-lateral trade relationship with India
and Pakistan, to create impor tant oppor tunities for
Ontario’s small, medium and large-scale business to
expand and invest in a thriving market.”
For additional information on the missions, please
visit the missions’ website at www.sbe.gov.on.ca/
ontcan/indiapakistan/en/home_en.jsp.
In 2005, par ticipants in Ontario’s business mission to
China met over 600 Chinese business leaders and
signed over 30 agreements with Chinese partners.
Premier Dalton McGuinty, accompanied by Minister of Economic Development and
Trade Sandra Pupatello and Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Harinder S. Takhar, will visit India and Pakistan from January 14–26, 2007 to boost
trade and investment and build opportunities for Ontario businesses and
organizations. They will be accompanied by a delegation consisting of MPPs and
leaders in business, education and research.
Trade Missions to
Strengthen Ties with
India and Pakistan
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 4
Investing in Young Entrepreneurs
he spirit of entrepreneurship often appears
at an early age. Whether it’s a childhood
lemonade stand or a lawn-cutting ser vice,
most successful entrepreneurs will tell you
that they caught the bug at a young age. To ensure that
Ontario taps the great potential of its young people, the
government is investing in a variety of programs that
encourage and nurture the young entrepreneur.
“An investment in our youth is an investment in
Ontario’s future,” says Minister of Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Harinder S. Takhar. “Our young people
have the talent, the energy and the fresh ideas to make
this province grow and prosper.”
The government recently contributed $1.723 million to
the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF)
to give 282 young people loans to star t up new
businesses. The par tnership with CYBF will suppor t
these new businesses through seed financing and
mentoring. CYBF estimates that the
program will generate an estimated
3,500 jobs in Ontario and produce more
than $50 million in gross revenues.
“The government is demonstrating its
commitment to our young aspiring
entrepreneurs,” says Vivian Prokop, CEO, Canadian
Youth Business Foundation. “This makes a very tangible
difference to the Ontario economy and the dreams of our
most important resource—our youth.”
Giving young people the knowledge they need to
pursue those entrepreneurial dreams is the goal of
Future Entrepreneurs, a Ministr y of Small Business
and Entrepreneurship (MSBE) program that introduces
an entrepreneurial mind-set and skills to students in
Grades 7 and 8. The interactive curriculum program
raises awareness of entrepreneurship as a career option,
and helps students develop the creative, planning and
risk-taking skills they will need as entrepreneurs.
Two other MSBE youth programs attracted record
numbers in 2006. The Summer Company program, which
provides hands-on business training and awards of up to
$3,000, helped 370 young entrepreneurs star t and
manage their own businesses. The Secondar y School
Business Plan Competition attracted over 850 entries.
Students across Ontario competed for cash awards that
can be used for educational and career pursuits.
In June 2006, the government announced funding of
$673,000 to suppor t six projects across the province
with Youth Entrepreneurship Partnerships grants. These
funds go to not-for-profit organizations to help provide
youth with educational and entrepreneurial opportunities
and programs. Suppor ted projects range from a house
painting business that develops entrepreneurial skills
in disadvantaged youth to an interactive web-based
simulation that teaches business skills in the classroom.
“All of our youth programs have the same ultimate goal,”
says Takhar. “We want to show the government’s
confidence in Ontario’s next generation of entrepreneurs
and help them create new opportunities.”
The Ontario government is making a series of
targeted investments in young entrepreneurs
that will pay off for many years to come.
T
There are a limited number of awards. Apply NOW at
www.sbe.gov.on.ca/summercompany and be
an entrepreneur next summer.
The Summer Company 2007
Application Process Is Now Open!
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 5
Bastedo took a few years off to star t a family, but in
2005 she jumped into entrepreneurship again, founding
another company, Continuum Media Inc., an E-learning
company, this time on her own.
Bastedo is one of a fast-growing number of successful
women entrepreneurs in Ontario, women who aren’t
afraid to take risks—and take charge.
Some, like Bastedo with her new venture, choose
to establish their companies on their own. Others,
like Janis Grantham, President and COO of Ottawa-
based Eagle Professional Resources, with par tners.
Still others, like Linda Hasenfratz, President and CEO
of Guelph-headquar tered Linamar Corp, take over
family businesses.
Whatever their route to entrepreneurship, women now
own or co-own one out of every two small and medium-
sized businesses in Ontario and head four out of five
new businesses.
Why are more and more women choosing entrepreneurship?
According to Kristina Depencier, National Manager, Small
Business and Women’s Markets for RBC Royal Bank, it’s
par tly because women are more confident than ever
before and par tly because they’re looking for a way to
balance the demands of work and personal life.
“They also see that there can be more rewards in self-
employment,” she says.
Bastedo, who, in addition to heading her own company,
is also President of Women Entrepreneurs of Canada
(WEC), agrees. (WEC is a national organization that
champions and facilitates women’s entrepreneurship.)
“Research shows that women are also motivated to start
their own business for the same reasons as men: a
desire for independence and the oppor tunity to pursue
more meaningful work,” she says.
The number of women entrepreneurs has jumped a
phenomenal 200 per cent in the last 20 years and
according to Depencier—who notes that RBC has had
a dedicated focus on women’s markets for well over a
decade—it shows no signs of slowing down. If anything,
it’s gathering momentum.
“There’s definitely a wave afoot,” she says. “At the local,
provincial and national levels women entrepreneurs are
connecting and networking, and as they see the
opportunities that entrepreneurship presents—and that
women can be just as successful at it as men—more
and more are taking the plunge.”
As Bastedo points out, research shows that, while many
of today’s women entrepreneurs are young women just
star ting their careers, there’s a substantial contingent
of highly educated, senior-level women with good jobs
who’ve decided to strike out on their own in their late
30s and 40s.
Research is also revealing that women entrepreneurs differ
from their male counterparts in a few important ways.
“Over whelmingly, women tend to establish one-person
businesses and they’re less inclined than men to
expand,” says Bastedo. “Too many women entrepreneurs
are not on a growth trajector y with their businesses
and we need to do more research to determine why
this is because it has important implications both for the
economy and for the individual entrepreneurs themselves.”
Adds Bastedo, “It will also help organizations such as
ours better support their continued growth.”
In 1997, Ruth Bastedo and four colleagues
started Medium One, a web design firm in Toronto.
By the time they sold it just four years later, it
had 50 employees, a client list that included
such big names as RBC, PBS, Cinar, Microsoft and
Alias Wavefront, and a value of $10 million.
Women
Entrepreneurs on the Rise
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 6
“Our program is aimed at anyone who
wants to start a small business in the
future,” says Bob Walpole, Business
Professor at Canadore College in
North Bay. “We find that one-third of
our graduates go on to star t a small
business, one-third go into their family
business, and the remainder go into management
positions with existing organizations. In all cases, they
are using the skills they learn here.”
Walpole notes that since many of the students are
young, they often delay the start of their own business
as they accumulate capital and experience. “We’re really
planting the seed for entrepreneurship,” he says. “The
planning skills that are required for a manager are very
similar to those that are needed for an entrepreneur. The
overlap is tremendous.”
Canadore (www.canadorec.on.ca) has 21 students enrolled
in its Small Business Management Co-op program for the
2006 school year. The small number of students means
that Walpole, who has run the program since 1989,
knows all of his students personally. With its unique
characteristics, Canadore attracts students from across
Ontario. Along with start-ups and family businesses, many
graduates have built careers as economic development
officers in cities and towns across the province.
“We’d rather keep it small for all the advantages that
offers,” he says. “We do a lot of things we other wise
couldn’t do. There’s a strong co-op component, where
students spend two summer terms in a work placement.
And in the last semester, all of the students start up and
run their own small business for eight weeks. They do
feasibility studies, develop a business plan, and make
a presentation to ACE Canadore (an entrepreneurship
club) for funding. In 15 years of running the program, we
have never had a student business that failed to pay
back its initial financing.”
The university approach is different, but aims to produce
similar results. The Institute for Entrepreneurship at
the Richard Ivey School of Business (www.ivey.ca/
entrepreneurship) offers a Certificate in Entrepreneurship
to Honours Business Administration (HBA) and Master
of Business Administration (MBA) students. Business
students receive the cer tificate after completing
coursework, attending various seminar and networking
events, and fulfilling a summer internship or equivalent
work experience. Executive Director Eric Morse says
the program provides students with the knowledge,
skills and attitudes they need to succeed in any
entrepreneurial environment.
“There’s great interest in the program, and we cap
enrolment at 50 students,” says Morse. “The students
are all high achievers in many areas, and they are
motivated to succeed.”
Like the program at Canadore, Ivey’s entrepreneurship
program strives to balance classroom and practical
components, to produce well-rounded graduates who are
ready for the real world of business. In addition to course
work, students usually work on a new venture with the
Ivey Client Field Project, write a business plan for the
school’s competition, and join the entrepreneurship club.
The school provides Entrepreneurs in Residence who
serve as mentors.
“There are some fairly strong distinctions between our
HBA and MBA students,” says Morse. “MBAs often come
in with a fair bit of experience in either an industr y or
market, and they are often ready to venture out after
graduation. We encourage the HBAs to get a grounding in
an industry or market before going out in a new venture.
We try to build a portfolio of knowledge and experiences
while they are in the program, but just as importantly, we
try to help them build a road map of what knowledge and
experiences they need to gain before launching.”
Morse estimates that about 10 per cent of the Ivey
entrepreneurship students launch their own business
upon graduation, with about 25 per cent launching over
the longer term. The school is now collecting data to
track the number of new businesses it helps create.
“Developing entrepreneurial expertise takes a lot more
than just classes,” says Morse. And entrepreneurship
education is cer tainly not just learning how to write a
business plan. You need a broad spectrum program to
produce real entrepreneurs.”
Both Canadore and Ivey, and the many other colleges
and universities across Ontario who offer similar
programs, are doing just that, ensuring that Ontario’s
future entrepreneurs are equipped with all of the tools
and experience they need to succeed.
The Entrepreneurial Way
A look at entrepreneurship education at Canadore College in North Bay
and the Richard Ivey School of Business in London reveals two different
programs with the same overall goal: producing well-rounded graduates
ready for success in a variety of entrepreneurial environments.
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 7
Facing the Dragons for Venture Capital:
CBC’s New Reality Show
It was to audition for the Dragons’ Den, a new CBC reality
show where entrepreneurs get the chance to pitch their
business ideas to five Canadian moguls, who, in turn,
decide whether or not they want to invest.
For the first season, which has just ended, auditions were
held in 17 cities across Canada, six of them in Ontario.
More than 1,700 entrepreneurs applied and 800 were
selected for auditions. In the end, 110 got to present their
business idea to the Dragons, MacDonald among them.
Her company Cenabal (www.cenabal.com), which makes
organic salad dressings and bread dipping oils, was at
a critical point and MacDonald needed financing to take
it to the next level.
“Going into ‘The Dragons’ Den,’ I was ver y prepared,”
says MacDonald. I knew my business plan. I’d done my
pitch to the CBC producers and refined it based on their
feedback. Still, just before I walked in I was so nervous
that I barely remembered my company name!”
It’s hardly surprising, given that the Dragons are
all successful entrepreneurs who’ve made millions
building their businesses—and their endorsement can
help make or break a star t-up. They include: Laurence
Lewin, co-founder and president of La Senza Corp;
Jim Treliving, owner of Boston Pizza; Rober t Herjavec,
head of one of Canada’s fastest growing computer
companies; Kevin O’Lear y, businessman turned
investment superstar on ROB TV’s “Squeeze Play;” and
cattle executive Jennifer Wood.
Together they put at least $1 million of their own money
on the line.
In the first six episodes, the Dragons were pitched
ever ything from Jennifer’s salad dressing and oil to an
electric tractor, a floating foam log, a por table hand
sanitizer, a super powered binocular and a floor to ceiling
body shower brush. The youngest entrepreneur was a
19-year-old business student from the University of
Western Ontario; the oldest, a 77-year-old man from
Brighton, Ontario.
“Invention, creation and inspiration are alive and well in
Canada,” says Lewin, who agreed to become a Dragon
after seeing the U.K. version of the show. “There are a
lot of people with good ideas, they’re just not sure how
to develop them. The Dragon’s Den coaches them on
preparing a business plan and a pitch.”
Jennifer’s pitch won out over five others on the first
episode to get $200,000 to invest in her business.
“I was ready to offer them 40 per cent if they said they’d
invest,” says Jennifer. “When Jim and Jennifer said they
wanted 50 per cent, I had to make a quick decision—
and I went with it. I still own 50 per cent of my company
and I’ve raised much needed capital in the process.”
Adds Jennifer, “It’s a confidence booster to know that
such successful entrepreneurs think my business is
worth investing in.”
If you’ve got a promising star t-up—or the next great
business idea—and need financing, check out the
websitehttp://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/ on how to apply
and how to prepare your pitch.
When Strathroy entrepreneur Jennifer MacDonald got an
email from the London Small Business Enterprise Centre
giving her a heads-up about a novel financing
opportunity, she didn’t have to think twice about it.
Robert Herjavec
Owner of the Herjavec
Group
Kevin O’Leary
Co-host of ROB TV’s SqueezePlay
and High Profile Investor
Jim Treliving
Owner of Boston Pizza
Jennifer Wood
President and CEO of
Two Cattle Companies
Laurence Lewin
Co-founder and President
of La Senza.
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 8
Some people are born entrepreneurs—they just don’t
realize it. Take Jen Kluger, the co-founder of Foxy
Originals, the Toronto company which now sells its “funky
and affordable” jeweller y throughout Nor th America
and counts Nelly Furtado, Sienna Miller and Paris Hilton
among its customers. In 2001, when Jen and her par tner,
Suzie Orol, were selling their creations to family and
fellow students at the University of Western Ontario, their
business was mostly a hobby. Then, the two young
women overcame tough competition to win the Advancing
Canadian Entrepreneurship’s (ACE) national Student
Entrepreneur Award.
“Getting that award gave us the confidence to realize we
had a viable business,” says Kluger. “The credibility and
positive feedback from winning allowed us to take our
business to the next level.”
The annual award is one of the core programs for ACE
(www.acecanada.ca), a not-for-profit organization founded
in 1997 to encourage the principles and values of
entrepreneurship among university and college students.
ACE donors are all from the private sector with Magna,
John Dobson, HSBC, CIBC Small Business, TD Financial
Group and Nortel as the lead supporters. In particular,
CIBC Small Business has a primary focus on supporting
the Student Entrepreneur Program.
To be eligible for the competition, the student
entrepreneurs must be running their business while they
are attending classes, full time, and the company has to
be at least six months old. The program is now active on
48, or more than two-thirds, of the countr y’s university
campuses. College par ticipation is not as strong,
but growing.
The national winner must first succeed on the provincial
and regional levels before the top two businesses in
each of the three regions move on to the finals. “But it’s
not at all like Donald Trump’s The Apprentice,” says
Kimberly Dickinson, director of the Student Entrepreneur
Program. “No one’s fired, and the judges (CEOs and
past winners) are usually blown away by the quality of
the presentations.”
Competitors are assessed on five criteria:
• Determination and perseverance
• Ability to effectively communicate a vision
• Business fundamentals such as financial performance,
ethical standards and evidence of innovation
• Lessons learned
• Growth and future plans
Last year’s winner was University of Waterloo student
Joseph Fung for his Web development company,
Lewis Media, which allows website owners to easily
update their sites without the ongoing cost of a Web
master. Based in Waterloo, the company has grown into
a 14-person operation that has received national
media publicity.
Another recent Ontario winner to benefit from the award
is Ben Barr y Agency, a modelling agency that built a
niche representing models of all ages, races and sizes.
Since winning the competition in 2002, the former
University of Toronto student’s models have been
featured on the covers of leading Nor th American
fashion as well as other magazines. Barr y now employs
50 people in his Ottawa and Toronto offices.
For Dickinson, Fung and Barry are the perfect embodiment
of an entrepreneur. “They think big—and don’t see
any limitations.”
ACE also fosters entrepreneurship through a Students in
Free Enterprise (SIFE) program that encourages students
to help disadvantaged groups such as prisoners and
aboriginals learn entrepreneurial success skills
and become financially savvy. SIFE is an integral part of
ACE’s mission to emphasize broader corporate social
responsibility. Says Dickinson: “We want students to
achieve full potential through helping others reach theirs.”
Promoting entrepreneurship among students is seen as
helping the students grow as individuals as well
as strengthening Canadian society. “We believe the free
enterprise system provides the best environment for
individuals to realize their full potential,” Dickinson
says. “Entrepreneurial activity fuels economic and
social progress.”
Tomorrow’s
Entrepreneurs
Today
A National Contest Celebrates
Student Innovators
Foxy Originals
founders Jen Kluger
and Suzie Orol
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 9
Prepared to Sacrifice
An Award-Winning Global Trader Took a “Calculated Risk”
Oz Optics Limited (www.ozoptics.com) is celebrating its 21st
birthday this year, but despite its relative youth, Oz is one of the
world’s oldest companies in the revolutionary fiber optics
industry. The recipient of three Ontario government Global Trader
Awards in the spring, Oz Optics started in 1985 in the basement
of Omur Sezerman’s home.
Today, it boasts thousands more leading-edge products
than employees, more than 10,000 customers in
60 countries and occupies a 24-acre head of fice
complex in Ottawa that includes tennis and basketball
courts, an indoor pool with a fully-equipped gym, along
with outdoor and indoor soccer fields.
One of Sezerman’s latest innovations is a new product
that uses fiber optics—the high-speed transmission
of enormous amounts of digital information through
strands of pure glass about the diameter of a hair—
to remotely monitor transmission facilities such as
pipelines and telecommunications lines. This remote
sensor, which won a silver Global Trader Award for
innovation, dramatically reduces maintenance costs and
makes economical the measuring of heat and stress
throughout the entire length of these lines.
Next year, Sezerman expects to package some of his
products in value-added system designs for his blue-chip
clients that range from the U.S. Homeland Security
depar tment to the world’s top pharmaceutical firms.
He expects that breakthrough alone could double or
triple his current annual sales of $25 million in two to
three years.
“The competition is ourselves,” Sezerman says, noting
that new products in the rapidly evolving fiber optics field
last a decade, at most. “How fast can we make it—
and how fast can we improve it.”
Sezerman arrived in Canada from his native Turkey
in 1978 to do graduate work in physics. “Coming to
Canada is the best thing I ever did,” says Sezerman.
While studying for his PhD, Sezerman developed an
inexpensive coupling device to capture light and transmit
it to a fiber. The coupling had been done before, but the
challenge of doing it economically had defied engineers
around the world. Sezerman knew that his life now faced
a critical turning point.
“I could finish my PhD, but lose the window of
oppor tunity because others would soon duplicate my
work, or I could apply for patents and go into business.”
He went for the patents, first in Canada and the United
States, and then in Europe, Australia and Japan—and
the rest, as they say, is history.
Sezerman made the gutsy move to abandon his studies
and a lucrative job of fer in California because of his
entrepreneurial spirit. “You have to be prepared to take
a calculated risk and you have to be prepared for
sacrifice,” he says. In Sezerman’s case, the sacrifice
meant working alone in his Ottawa basement for
three years supporting a wife and child at less pay than
he could earn as a student.
“Entrepreneurs are no smar ter than anyone else,”
Sezerman says now. “In fact, they’re usually of average
intelligence. But they are prepared to seize an
oppor tunity. If you believe in something, work hard
and don’t give up. If you’re a skeptic, you can’t be
an entrepreneur.”
Omur Sezerman of Oz Optics
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 10
Not that many of them send thank-you letters—especially
not a decade later.
But that’s what Ron Jette did not long ago. Ron is a
partner in Adams Jette, an Ottawa-based marketing and
communications firm.
Eleven years ago, he found himself out of a job. He’d
been doing public relations and advocacy work for a
national health agency, which had let him go when their
budget tightened.
Ron thought that perhaps he could do well as a
freelance writer.
“I had some contacts, thanks to the work I’d done with
the health agency, and it didn’t take long before I was
working steadily,” he says. “I also discovered that I
really enjoyed working on my own.” A job interview for a
full-time position convinced him it was time to be his
own boss.
That’s when he went down to the Entrepreneurship
Centre in Ottawa, one of a network of 44 Small Business
Enterprise Centres across the province.
“I knew the marketing end because of my previous work,
but I needed help establishing my business and the
Entrepreneurship Centre was the right place to go,” he
says. “I was assigned a counsellor and he walked me
through the process, step by step.”
The result was Tristan Creative Writing Inc., Ron’s first
company. He assembled a group of dependable sub-
contractors and supplied writing ser vices—ever ything
from speeches to articles to annual reports—for an ever-
growing list of clients that came to include a number
of government depar tments, Bell Canada, The Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Canadian
Plastics Sector Council.
“Tristan developed into a ver y successful company,”
says Ron.
Then, a year ago, over lunch with Brenda Adams, a client
who was working for a local design firm, it became
apparent to both of them that, as a team, they could
have more impact. He and Brenda formed a partnership
and in August 2006 they launched Adams Jette, a full-
service marketing and communications company.
“There are all sorts of decisions to be made when you’re
starting a new business,” he says. “I realized that I was
applying the principles I’d learned a decade ago at
the Entrepreneurship Centre when I star ted my first
company. That’s why I wrote to thank them.”
The new company combines Ron’s writing and marketing
skills with Brenda’s client ser vice and design abilities
and it’s a combination the par tners are convinced will
set them apart from the competition. They’ve also got a
team of 14 editors, translators, graphic designers,
researchers and photographers they can call on.
“It’s all about selling and moving people to action,” says
Ron, “and that’s something we excel at.”
Successful Ottawa
Firm Got Its Start
Thanks to the
Entrepreneurship Centre
Stephen Daze, the Executive Director
of the Entrepreneurship Centre in
Ottawa, knows that over the years he
and his staff have helped thousands
of entrepreneurs succeed.
Brenda Adams and
Ron Jette
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 11
ive years ago Richard Derham was
making a good living as a management
consultant to For tune 500 companies.
But he felt something was missing. He
wanted to run his own business—and he
wanted it to be meaningful.
“When I walked home from work at night I used to pass
by a lot of homeless teenagers and young adults,” says
Derham. “Many of them struck me as being smart and
articulate. I couldn’t help but wonder if all they needed
was an opportunity they weren't getting.”
Derham decided that giving them that oppor tunity was
what he wanted to do. In October 2002, he star ted
TurnAround Couriers, a “social enterprise” that employs
at-risk youth as bike couriers in downtown Toronto.
Like most social enterprises, it operates like a typical
business, but its focus is as much on social change as
it is on the bottom line.
“A business can have a social agenda and still make a
profit,” says Derham. “The two ideas are not mutually
exclusive. We’re a successful business and over the
past four years we’ve helped 76 young people change
their lives.”
John Saunders is one of them. Just 23, he was living at
Covenant House when he was referred to TurnAround.
He was hired in July 2005 as a courier. Two months
later he became the office manager.
“This job has given me a future,” says Saunders. “After
six years of living on the streets, I’ve got an apartment
and a family of my own. I’m taking accounting and
business management courses in my spare time and I’ve
got a goal. I want to open my own social enterprise.”
According to Derham, Saunders is typical of the majority
of TurnAround employees whom he recruits from social
agencies that work with youth. “They go on to other jobs
in the economic mainstream.”
TurnAround is obviously working for at-risk young people,
but what about the company’s clients?
There are more than 350 of them, including the Royal
Bank and George Weston/Loblaws. And they clearly
feel they’re getting good value for their money, while
supporting something worthwhile.
“We were among the first to sign with TurnAround,” says
Domenic Porfido, Office Services Supervisor for George
Weston/Loblaws. “We needed a courier company with
expertise in delivering in downtown Toronto and Richard
assured me his firm could deliver. I also thought it would
be great if we could help the community while we fulfilled
our own needs.”
Adds Porfido, “Richard’s couriers are great young people.
They’re quick, reliable and polite. I wouldn’t hesitate to
recommend TurnAround.”
Derham is quick to point out that his enterprise is a
business, not a charity. He doesn’t take public money.
“We have great rates and excellent service, so when you
hire us, you get your packages delivered and you support
an innovative company with a social conscience. Oh, yes,
and we donate 50 per cent of our profits to charity.”
TurnAround Couriers:
“Delivering More than Packages”
F
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 12
T
The focus of this newsletter is on business—successes, news,
trends, opportunities, challenges and issues affecting Ontario’s
small and medium-sized business climate. Information is drawn
from ministries and agencies across government and from
other public sources believed to be reliable. All efforts are
made to ensure timeliness and accuracy.
Ontario Small Business Beat
Ministry of Small Business
and Entrepreneurship
Communications and Public Affairs Branch
Eighth Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M7A 2E1
Telephone: (416) 325 6666
Facsimile: (416) 325 6688
www.sbe.gov.on.ca
ONTARIO
SMALLBUSINESSBEAT
It’s called Open Door Designs and its flagship product is
the portable puppet theatre Bigham originally designed.
Ingenious in its simplicity, it consists of a simple fabric
panel the width of a door way that’s held in place by a
tension rod, making it adjustable to any height. The
puppeteer stands behind the panel, pulls on a cord and
a roman-style blind rises to reveal the stage.
“I thought my idea was unique,” laughs Bigham. “But I
later learned that the concept of putting a theatre in a
doorway has been around for centuries.”
While Bigham does have competition, mostly from
mass-producers, her business has been growing
steadily since she launched it in 2001, in part, she
thinks, because she’s about the only custom-made
puppet theatre on the market.
All her puppet theatres are limited editions. They range
from $80 for whimsically printed cotton to $150 for the
deluxe models, made from rich velvets, brocades and
silks and trimmed with tassels, baubles and beads.
Open Door Designs also makes custom theatres for
pass-throughs and double doors.
And because there’s no such thing as a puppet theatre
without puppets, Bigham offers a full range of cute and
quirky puppet characters, designed to spark children’s
imaginations. They range in price from $10 to $50 and,
like the theatres, they’re washable.
In addition to parents and grandparents, her market
includes educators and therapists.
“Puppets have a way of removing a child’s inhibitions,”
says the Toronto-based entrepreneur, “which is why my
theatres are so popular with professional educators
and therapists.”
Bigham’s latest product—the result of a commission
from Toronto’s Cardinal Car ter Academy for the Ar ts—
is a freestanding, portable theatre suitable for child or
adult per formers. It can be assembled in less than
10 minutes and fits in a wheeled carrier bag big enough
to fit all the puppets as well.
“I think this is going to be a major par t of my future
business,” she says.
What’s been Bigham’s biggest challenge in growing
the business?
“Communicating the concept,” she says. “It’s not easy
for people to visualize the doorway theatre.”
Bigham seems to be rising to that challenge, though, as
escalating orders and sales show. And now she’s ready
to take the business to the next level by expanding her
markets and generating new products.
“Open Door Designs allows me to do what I enjoy most,
which is designing for children,” says Bigham, who spent
six years on the road with children’s entertainers Sharon,
Lois and Bram as a designer and props person before
starting her business.
“Knowing my customers and finding out what they want
has helped me stay creative—and build my business.”
When a friend asked her to design a puppet theatre that
could be taken to schools and libraries, Joanne Bigham
agreed. An accomplished painter, sculptor and printmaker,
she never imagined doing that favour would lead to a
successful small business.
Open Door Designs:
into D
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Minister: Honourable Harinder S. Takhar
Deputy Minister: Fareed Amin
Editor: Robert D. Mikel
E-mail: [email protected]
La version française du Ontario Small Business Beat
est disponible sous le titre Coin des petites
entreprises de l’Ontario.
We want to hear from you.
Comments and contributions are welcomed. Please
write us by mail, fax or e-mail.
doc_992283195.pdf
Smallbusiness Beat Definition En-tre-pre-neur
DEFINITION:
EN-TRE-PRE-NEUR
DECEMBER 2006
ONTARIO
SMALLBUSINESSBEAT
VOLUME 3
“ENTREPRENEUR” IS A COMMON TERM IN
TODAY’S FAST-PACED, INNOVATIVE BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT. IT EVOKES THE IMAGE OF A
PERSON WITH IDEAS AND VISION—A GO-GETTER,
A DOER, A BUSINESS OWNER. ALL TRUE. BUT
WHAT REALLY DEFINES AN ENTREPRENEUR?
WHAT ARE THE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SKILL
SETS INVOLVED? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE
AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT? DO YOU HAVE
WHAT IT TAKES?
continued on page 2
Definition:
en-tre-pre-neur
> pages 1–2
Minister’s Message
> page 2
Trade Missions
to Strengthen
Ties with India
and Pakistan
> page 3
Investing in Young
Entrepreneurs
> page 4
Women
Entrepreneurs
on the Rise
> page 5
The
Entrepreneurial
Way
> page 6
Facing the
Dragons for
Venture Capital:
CBC’s New
Reality Show
> page 7
Tomorrow’s
Entrepreneurs
Today
A National Contest
Celebrates
Student Innovators
> page 8
Prepared to
Sacrifice
An Award-Winning
Global Trader Took
a “Calculated Risk”
> page 9
Successful Ottawa
Firm Got Its Start
Thanks to the
Entrepreneurship
Centre
> page 10
TurnAround
Couriers:
“Delivering More
than Packages”
> page 11
Open Door Designs:
Turning Doorways
into Theatres
> page 12
see page 4
Summer Company 2007—
Apply Now
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 2
continued from page 1
The word “entrepreneur” derives from the French verb “entreprendre,” which
has a principal translation of “to proceed” or more commonly “to undertake.”
And that is indeed the entrepreneur’s central characteristic. There are a lot
of people who think about building a better mousetrap; there are a lot of
people who dream about going into business. The entrepreneur is the person
who goes beyond the dreams. To paraphrase Nike: They do it!
Br yan MacKay has been coordinating the Entrepreneurship Program at
Thunder Bay’s Confederation College (www.confederationc.on.ca) for 17 years.
He defines an entrepreneur as one who sees the world in a unique way.
“Entrepreneurs can visualize opportunity. They look at an existing process
and envisage how it can be improved upon, or they come up with an idea for
a new product or service that could solve a particular problem,” he says. “But
they don’t stop there. They talk to the right people, conduct feasibility studies,
develop a plan, set up financing, and build all the resources necessary to put
their idea in motion and follow it through.”
This takes a special type of person and most successful entrepreneurs have
cer tain personality traits and skill sets in common. They are creative,
optimistic and adaptable. They embody conviction, passion and drive. They
are problem-solvers, decision-makers and achievers. Typically, they are highly
independent and risk-tolerant.
And when their idea becomes a business, their management skills come into
play. MacKay notes that while many entrepreneurs nurture and manage their
business successfully, others choose to bring in partners once the enterprise
is up and running and move on to the next profitable venture.
He also points out a clear distinction between being an entrepreneur and
being entrepreneurial. “Business ownership is not for ever yone,” MacKay
says. “But being entrepreneurial can be. It’s a mindset that is highly valued
by employers, and honing such skills as creative thinking, decision-making
and leadership translates ver y well into the workplace and to a positive
career path.” In fact, the term “intrapreneurial” has been coined to
recognize that people can be entrepreneurial within a corporate environment,
blending their skills with company resources to develop new products for
their employer or to initiate improvements in such areas as quality,
productivity or ser vice deliver y.
Can a person purchase or inherit a business and still be defined as an
entrepreneur? An entrepreneurial frame of mind is clearly evident in making
the leap to self-employment. And while the same level of innovation may not
be required up front with an established business, entrepreneurial skills are
required to operate a business successfully over time.
Another common definition of an entrepreneur is that of a small business
owner. These two terms are often used interchangeably and while it is the
usual association, many entrepreneurs do use their skills to build small,
profitable and successful businesses into medium-sized and often large,
global, firms.
To help measure entrepreneurial potential, self-assessment tests are widely
available on-line including through the Business Development Bank of Canada
at www.bdc.ca.
Entrepreneurs are the spark plug of Ontario’s economic
engine. They are the innovators, creators and risk takers
of the business world who pinpoint the gap between
what the consumer needs and what the market
provides; and use their considerable energy and
motivation to develop products and services to fill that
gap. Entrepreneurs challenge themselves and their
competitors to continually come up with new and better
ideas. Their successes lead to jobs, oppor tunity and
prosperity in communities across the province. And
anyone is eligible for membership!
What is the skill set required? If you are optimistic and
future-oriented, creative and decisive, adaptable and
persistent—you have the skills to be an entrepreneur.
Many entrepreneurs use these skills to start their own
business. Others become “intrapreneurial” employees,
bringing their ideas to life with the assistance and
resources of an employer. Our government is committed
to nurturing and supporting the entrepreneurial spirit in
ever y capacity. We recognize its unparalleled ability to
strengthen our people, our economy and our province.
This issue of Small Business Beat focuses on
entrepreneurship. It examines what it means to be an
entrepreneur and what it takes to embark on this fulfilling
journey. It looks at the ways in which our government is
promoting an entrepreneurial mindset in Ontario, and the
ways in which some colleges and universities are
integrating entrepreneurship into their curricula as a
means of teaching students valuable decision-making
and leadership skills. It looks at entrepreneurship as a
viable career option. We also meet some of the many
successful entrepreneurs across our province who took
a chance and realized their dream.
Our government’s commitment to entrepreneurship and
our belief in its importance was highlighted when Premier
Dalton McGuinty created our new ministr y to focus
specifically on small business and entrepreneurship.
As its Minister and as a former entrepreneur, I am
ver y familiar with the challenges, opportunities and
satisfaction involved in traveling this unique path. Our
government will continue to put the programs, services
and business climate in place to support entrepreneurship
and small business growth for the benefit of all.
Harinder S. Takhar
Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Minister’s Message
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 3
The Business Mission to India, organized by the
Government of Ontario, will visit New Delhi, Bangalore,
Mumbai and Chandigarh in India, after which the official
Ontario delegation will join the Canada-Pakistan Business
Council Mission to Pakistan. The official Ontario
delegation will visit Lahore and Islamabad.
The missions will build on the strong relationships
Ontario has already forged with these two growing nations
whose combined population exceeds one billion people.
Over the past five years, Ontario’s two-way goods
trade with India and Pakistan increased by well over
50 per cent, reaching $1.2 billion in 2005.
Key objectives for the missions include:
• raising Ontario’s profile as a producer of innovative
goods and services and a destination for investment
• introducing Ontario expor ters to the potential of the
Indian market and advocating on their behalf
• promoting collaboration between Ontario and India in
the area of research and innovation
• advancing educational linkages and cooperation
• promoting Ontario’s exper tise in the information
communications technology (ICT) sector in the Pakistan
markets
The India component of the trip will concentrate on the
infrastructure sectors including: transpor tation and
environmental technologies; research and innovation
collaborations, such as life sciences, including pharma;
information communications technology (ICT); financial
ser vices; education; and cultural industries including
new media.
The Pakistan por tion of the trip, organized by the
Canadian High Commission (CHC) and the Canada-
Pakistan Business Council, will focus on the Information
Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
The targeted sectors are areas in which Ontario
businesses, industries and organizations excel. They are
also ones that both India and Pakistan are now building
and strengthening as they grow and modernize their
economies. The mission is designed to give Ontario
delegates optimal oppor tunity to build networks and
partnerships that have the greatest potential to lead to
tangible business contracts.
In recent years, market confidence has reached its
highest level between Ontario, India and Pakistan,
creating an ideal landscape for growth and investment
for business. Those business, educational and research
organizations par ticipating in the 2007 trade missions
will learn how the booming research and innovation,
infrastructure, cultural industries and financial services
sectors of India and Pakistan can benefit their business.
“To compete in a global economy, businesses must
develop relationships, advance innovation and adjust
to change to remain ahead of the competition,” said
Minister Harinder S. Takhar. “We are building on
Ontario’s strong bi-lateral trade relationship with India
and Pakistan, to create impor tant oppor tunities for
Ontario’s small, medium and large-scale business to
expand and invest in a thriving market.”
For additional information on the missions, please
visit the missions’ website at www.sbe.gov.on.ca/
ontcan/indiapakistan/en/home_en.jsp.
In 2005, par ticipants in Ontario’s business mission to
China met over 600 Chinese business leaders and
signed over 30 agreements with Chinese partners.
Premier Dalton McGuinty, accompanied by Minister of Economic Development and
Trade Sandra Pupatello and Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Harinder S. Takhar, will visit India and Pakistan from January 14–26, 2007 to boost
trade and investment and build opportunities for Ontario businesses and
organizations. They will be accompanied by a delegation consisting of MPPs and
leaders in business, education and research.
Trade Missions to
Strengthen Ties with
India and Pakistan
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 4
Investing in Young Entrepreneurs
he spirit of entrepreneurship often appears
at an early age. Whether it’s a childhood
lemonade stand or a lawn-cutting ser vice,
most successful entrepreneurs will tell you
that they caught the bug at a young age. To ensure that
Ontario taps the great potential of its young people, the
government is investing in a variety of programs that
encourage and nurture the young entrepreneur.
“An investment in our youth is an investment in
Ontario’s future,” says Minister of Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Harinder S. Takhar. “Our young people
have the talent, the energy and the fresh ideas to make
this province grow and prosper.”
The government recently contributed $1.723 million to
the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF)
to give 282 young people loans to star t up new
businesses. The par tnership with CYBF will suppor t
these new businesses through seed financing and
mentoring. CYBF estimates that the
program will generate an estimated
3,500 jobs in Ontario and produce more
than $50 million in gross revenues.
“The government is demonstrating its
commitment to our young aspiring
entrepreneurs,” says Vivian Prokop, CEO, Canadian
Youth Business Foundation. “This makes a very tangible
difference to the Ontario economy and the dreams of our
most important resource—our youth.”
Giving young people the knowledge they need to
pursue those entrepreneurial dreams is the goal of
Future Entrepreneurs, a Ministr y of Small Business
and Entrepreneurship (MSBE) program that introduces
an entrepreneurial mind-set and skills to students in
Grades 7 and 8. The interactive curriculum program
raises awareness of entrepreneurship as a career option,
and helps students develop the creative, planning and
risk-taking skills they will need as entrepreneurs.
Two other MSBE youth programs attracted record
numbers in 2006. The Summer Company program, which
provides hands-on business training and awards of up to
$3,000, helped 370 young entrepreneurs star t and
manage their own businesses. The Secondar y School
Business Plan Competition attracted over 850 entries.
Students across Ontario competed for cash awards that
can be used for educational and career pursuits.
In June 2006, the government announced funding of
$673,000 to suppor t six projects across the province
with Youth Entrepreneurship Partnerships grants. These
funds go to not-for-profit organizations to help provide
youth with educational and entrepreneurial opportunities
and programs. Suppor ted projects range from a house
painting business that develops entrepreneurial skills
in disadvantaged youth to an interactive web-based
simulation that teaches business skills in the classroom.
“All of our youth programs have the same ultimate goal,”
says Takhar. “We want to show the government’s
confidence in Ontario’s next generation of entrepreneurs
and help them create new opportunities.”
The Ontario government is making a series of
targeted investments in young entrepreneurs
that will pay off for many years to come.
T
There are a limited number of awards. Apply NOW at
www.sbe.gov.on.ca/summercompany and be
an entrepreneur next summer.
The Summer Company 2007
Application Process Is Now Open!
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 5
Bastedo took a few years off to star t a family, but in
2005 she jumped into entrepreneurship again, founding
another company, Continuum Media Inc., an E-learning
company, this time on her own.
Bastedo is one of a fast-growing number of successful
women entrepreneurs in Ontario, women who aren’t
afraid to take risks—and take charge.
Some, like Bastedo with her new venture, choose
to establish their companies on their own. Others,
like Janis Grantham, President and COO of Ottawa-
based Eagle Professional Resources, with par tners.
Still others, like Linda Hasenfratz, President and CEO
of Guelph-headquar tered Linamar Corp, take over
family businesses.
Whatever their route to entrepreneurship, women now
own or co-own one out of every two small and medium-
sized businesses in Ontario and head four out of five
new businesses.
Why are more and more women choosing entrepreneurship?
According to Kristina Depencier, National Manager, Small
Business and Women’s Markets for RBC Royal Bank, it’s
par tly because women are more confident than ever
before and par tly because they’re looking for a way to
balance the demands of work and personal life.
“They also see that there can be more rewards in self-
employment,” she says.
Bastedo, who, in addition to heading her own company,
is also President of Women Entrepreneurs of Canada
(WEC), agrees. (WEC is a national organization that
champions and facilitates women’s entrepreneurship.)
“Research shows that women are also motivated to start
their own business for the same reasons as men: a
desire for independence and the oppor tunity to pursue
more meaningful work,” she says.
The number of women entrepreneurs has jumped a
phenomenal 200 per cent in the last 20 years and
according to Depencier—who notes that RBC has had
a dedicated focus on women’s markets for well over a
decade—it shows no signs of slowing down. If anything,
it’s gathering momentum.
“There’s definitely a wave afoot,” she says. “At the local,
provincial and national levels women entrepreneurs are
connecting and networking, and as they see the
opportunities that entrepreneurship presents—and that
women can be just as successful at it as men—more
and more are taking the plunge.”
As Bastedo points out, research shows that, while many
of today’s women entrepreneurs are young women just
star ting their careers, there’s a substantial contingent
of highly educated, senior-level women with good jobs
who’ve decided to strike out on their own in their late
30s and 40s.
Research is also revealing that women entrepreneurs differ
from their male counterparts in a few important ways.
“Over whelmingly, women tend to establish one-person
businesses and they’re less inclined than men to
expand,” says Bastedo. “Too many women entrepreneurs
are not on a growth trajector y with their businesses
and we need to do more research to determine why
this is because it has important implications both for the
economy and for the individual entrepreneurs themselves.”
Adds Bastedo, “It will also help organizations such as
ours better support their continued growth.”
In 1997, Ruth Bastedo and four colleagues
started Medium One, a web design firm in Toronto.
By the time they sold it just four years later, it
had 50 employees, a client list that included
such big names as RBC, PBS, Cinar, Microsoft and
Alias Wavefront, and a value of $10 million.
Women
Entrepreneurs on the Rise
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 6
“Our program is aimed at anyone who
wants to start a small business in the
future,” says Bob Walpole, Business
Professor at Canadore College in
North Bay. “We find that one-third of
our graduates go on to star t a small
business, one-third go into their family
business, and the remainder go into management
positions with existing organizations. In all cases, they
are using the skills they learn here.”
Walpole notes that since many of the students are
young, they often delay the start of their own business
as they accumulate capital and experience. “We’re really
planting the seed for entrepreneurship,” he says. “The
planning skills that are required for a manager are very
similar to those that are needed for an entrepreneur. The
overlap is tremendous.”
Canadore (www.canadorec.on.ca) has 21 students enrolled
in its Small Business Management Co-op program for the
2006 school year. The small number of students means
that Walpole, who has run the program since 1989,
knows all of his students personally. With its unique
characteristics, Canadore attracts students from across
Ontario. Along with start-ups and family businesses, many
graduates have built careers as economic development
officers in cities and towns across the province.
“We’d rather keep it small for all the advantages that
offers,” he says. “We do a lot of things we other wise
couldn’t do. There’s a strong co-op component, where
students spend two summer terms in a work placement.
And in the last semester, all of the students start up and
run their own small business for eight weeks. They do
feasibility studies, develop a business plan, and make
a presentation to ACE Canadore (an entrepreneurship
club) for funding. In 15 years of running the program, we
have never had a student business that failed to pay
back its initial financing.”
The university approach is different, but aims to produce
similar results. The Institute for Entrepreneurship at
the Richard Ivey School of Business (www.ivey.ca/
entrepreneurship) offers a Certificate in Entrepreneurship
to Honours Business Administration (HBA) and Master
of Business Administration (MBA) students. Business
students receive the cer tificate after completing
coursework, attending various seminar and networking
events, and fulfilling a summer internship or equivalent
work experience. Executive Director Eric Morse says
the program provides students with the knowledge,
skills and attitudes they need to succeed in any
entrepreneurial environment.
“There’s great interest in the program, and we cap
enrolment at 50 students,” says Morse. “The students
are all high achievers in many areas, and they are
motivated to succeed.”
Like the program at Canadore, Ivey’s entrepreneurship
program strives to balance classroom and practical
components, to produce well-rounded graduates who are
ready for the real world of business. In addition to course
work, students usually work on a new venture with the
Ivey Client Field Project, write a business plan for the
school’s competition, and join the entrepreneurship club.
The school provides Entrepreneurs in Residence who
serve as mentors.
“There are some fairly strong distinctions between our
HBA and MBA students,” says Morse. “MBAs often come
in with a fair bit of experience in either an industr y or
market, and they are often ready to venture out after
graduation. We encourage the HBAs to get a grounding in
an industry or market before going out in a new venture.
We try to build a portfolio of knowledge and experiences
while they are in the program, but just as importantly, we
try to help them build a road map of what knowledge and
experiences they need to gain before launching.”
Morse estimates that about 10 per cent of the Ivey
entrepreneurship students launch their own business
upon graduation, with about 25 per cent launching over
the longer term. The school is now collecting data to
track the number of new businesses it helps create.
“Developing entrepreneurial expertise takes a lot more
than just classes,” says Morse. And entrepreneurship
education is cer tainly not just learning how to write a
business plan. You need a broad spectrum program to
produce real entrepreneurs.”
Both Canadore and Ivey, and the many other colleges
and universities across Ontario who offer similar
programs, are doing just that, ensuring that Ontario’s
future entrepreneurs are equipped with all of the tools
and experience they need to succeed.
The Entrepreneurial Way
A look at entrepreneurship education at Canadore College in North Bay
and the Richard Ivey School of Business in London reveals two different
programs with the same overall goal: producing well-rounded graduates
ready for success in a variety of entrepreneurial environments.
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 7
Facing the Dragons for Venture Capital:
CBC’s New Reality Show
It was to audition for the Dragons’ Den, a new CBC reality
show where entrepreneurs get the chance to pitch their
business ideas to five Canadian moguls, who, in turn,
decide whether or not they want to invest.
For the first season, which has just ended, auditions were
held in 17 cities across Canada, six of them in Ontario.
More than 1,700 entrepreneurs applied and 800 were
selected for auditions. In the end, 110 got to present their
business idea to the Dragons, MacDonald among them.
Her company Cenabal (www.cenabal.com), which makes
organic salad dressings and bread dipping oils, was at
a critical point and MacDonald needed financing to take
it to the next level.
“Going into ‘The Dragons’ Den,’ I was ver y prepared,”
says MacDonald. I knew my business plan. I’d done my
pitch to the CBC producers and refined it based on their
feedback. Still, just before I walked in I was so nervous
that I barely remembered my company name!”
It’s hardly surprising, given that the Dragons are
all successful entrepreneurs who’ve made millions
building their businesses—and their endorsement can
help make or break a star t-up. They include: Laurence
Lewin, co-founder and president of La Senza Corp;
Jim Treliving, owner of Boston Pizza; Rober t Herjavec,
head of one of Canada’s fastest growing computer
companies; Kevin O’Lear y, businessman turned
investment superstar on ROB TV’s “Squeeze Play;” and
cattle executive Jennifer Wood.
Together they put at least $1 million of their own money
on the line.
In the first six episodes, the Dragons were pitched
ever ything from Jennifer’s salad dressing and oil to an
electric tractor, a floating foam log, a por table hand
sanitizer, a super powered binocular and a floor to ceiling
body shower brush. The youngest entrepreneur was a
19-year-old business student from the University of
Western Ontario; the oldest, a 77-year-old man from
Brighton, Ontario.
“Invention, creation and inspiration are alive and well in
Canada,” says Lewin, who agreed to become a Dragon
after seeing the U.K. version of the show. “There are a
lot of people with good ideas, they’re just not sure how
to develop them. The Dragon’s Den coaches them on
preparing a business plan and a pitch.”
Jennifer’s pitch won out over five others on the first
episode to get $200,000 to invest in her business.
“I was ready to offer them 40 per cent if they said they’d
invest,” says Jennifer. “When Jim and Jennifer said they
wanted 50 per cent, I had to make a quick decision—
and I went with it. I still own 50 per cent of my company
and I’ve raised much needed capital in the process.”
Adds Jennifer, “It’s a confidence booster to know that
such successful entrepreneurs think my business is
worth investing in.”
If you’ve got a promising star t-up—or the next great
business idea—and need financing, check out the
websitehttp://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/ on how to apply
and how to prepare your pitch.
When Strathroy entrepreneur Jennifer MacDonald got an
email from the London Small Business Enterprise Centre
giving her a heads-up about a novel financing
opportunity, she didn’t have to think twice about it.
Robert Herjavec
Owner of the Herjavec
Group
Kevin O’Leary
Co-host of ROB TV’s SqueezePlay
and High Profile Investor
Jim Treliving
Owner of Boston Pizza
Jennifer Wood
President and CEO of
Two Cattle Companies
Laurence Lewin
Co-founder and President
of La Senza.
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 8
Some people are born entrepreneurs—they just don’t
realize it. Take Jen Kluger, the co-founder of Foxy
Originals, the Toronto company which now sells its “funky
and affordable” jeweller y throughout Nor th America
and counts Nelly Furtado, Sienna Miller and Paris Hilton
among its customers. In 2001, when Jen and her par tner,
Suzie Orol, were selling their creations to family and
fellow students at the University of Western Ontario, their
business was mostly a hobby. Then, the two young
women overcame tough competition to win the Advancing
Canadian Entrepreneurship’s (ACE) national Student
Entrepreneur Award.
“Getting that award gave us the confidence to realize we
had a viable business,” says Kluger. “The credibility and
positive feedback from winning allowed us to take our
business to the next level.”
The annual award is one of the core programs for ACE
(www.acecanada.ca), a not-for-profit organization founded
in 1997 to encourage the principles and values of
entrepreneurship among university and college students.
ACE donors are all from the private sector with Magna,
John Dobson, HSBC, CIBC Small Business, TD Financial
Group and Nortel as the lead supporters. In particular,
CIBC Small Business has a primary focus on supporting
the Student Entrepreneur Program.
To be eligible for the competition, the student
entrepreneurs must be running their business while they
are attending classes, full time, and the company has to
be at least six months old. The program is now active on
48, or more than two-thirds, of the countr y’s university
campuses. College par ticipation is not as strong,
but growing.
The national winner must first succeed on the provincial
and regional levels before the top two businesses in
each of the three regions move on to the finals. “But it’s
not at all like Donald Trump’s The Apprentice,” says
Kimberly Dickinson, director of the Student Entrepreneur
Program. “No one’s fired, and the judges (CEOs and
past winners) are usually blown away by the quality of
the presentations.”
Competitors are assessed on five criteria:
• Determination and perseverance
• Ability to effectively communicate a vision
• Business fundamentals such as financial performance,
ethical standards and evidence of innovation
• Lessons learned
• Growth and future plans
Last year’s winner was University of Waterloo student
Joseph Fung for his Web development company,
Lewis Media, which allows website owners to easily
update their sites without the ongoing cost of a Web
master. Based in Waterloo, the company has grown into
a 14-person operation that has received national
media publicity.
Another recent Ontario winner to benefit from the award
is Ben Barr y Agency, a modelling agency that built a
niche representing models of all ages, races and sizes.
Since winning the competition in 2002, the former
University of Toronto student’s models have been
featured on the covers of leading Nor th American
fashion as well as other magazines. Barr y now employs
50 people in his Ottawa and Toronto offices.
For Dickinson, Fung and Barry are the perfect embodiment
of an entrepreneur. “They think big—and don’t see
any limitations.”
ACE also fosters entrepreneurship through a Students in
Free Enterprise (SIFE) program that encourages students
to help disadvantaged groups such as prisoners and
aboriginals learn entrepreneurial success skills
and become financially savvy. SIFE is an integral part of
ACE’s mission to emphasize broader corporate social
responsibility. Says Dickinson: “We want students to
achieve full potential through helping others reach theirs.”
Promoting entrepreneurship among students is seen as
helping the students grow as individuals as well
as strengthening Canadian society. “We believe the free
enterprise system provides the best environment for
individuals to realize their full potential,” Dickinson
says. “Entrepreneurial activity fuels economic and
social progress.”
Tomorrow’s
Entrepreneurs
Today
A National Contest Celebrates
Student Innovators
Foxy Originals
founders Jen Kluger
and Suzie Orol
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 9
Prepared to Sacrifice
An Award-Winning Global Trader Took a “Calculated Risk”
Oz Optics Limited (www.ozoptics.com) is celebrating its 21st
birthday this year, but despite its relative youth, Oz is one of the
world’s oldest companies in the revolutionary fiber optics
industry. The recipient of three Ontario government Global Trader
Awards in the spring, Oz Optics started in 1985 in the basement
of Omur Sezerman’s home.
Today, it boasts thousands more leading-edge products
than employees, more than 10,000 customers in
60 countries and occupies a 24-acre head of fice
complex in Ottawa that includes tennis and basketball
courts, an indoor pool with a fully-equipped gym, along
with outdoor and indoor soccer fields.
One of Sezerman’s latest innovations is a new product
that uses fiber optics—the high-speed transmission
of enormous amounts of digital information through
strands of pure glass about the diameter of a hair—
to remotely monitor transmission facilities such as
pipelines and telecommunications lines. This remote
sensor, which won a silver Global Trader Award for
innovation, dramatically reduces maintenance costs and
makes economical the measuring of heat and stress
throughout the entire length of these lines.
Next year, Sezerman expects to package some of his
products in value-added system designs for his blue-chip
clients that range from the U.S. Homeland Security
depar tment to the world’s top pharmaceutical firms.
He expects that breakthrough alone could double or
triple his current annual sales of $25 million in two to
three years.
“The competition is ourselves,” Sezerman says, noting
that new products in the rapidly evolving fiber optics field
last a decade, at most. “How fast can we make it—
and how fast can we improve it.”
Sezerman arrived in Canada from his native Turkey
in 1978 to do graduate work in physics. “Coming to
Canada is the best thing I ever did,” says Sezerman.
While studying for his PhD, Sezerman developed an
inexpensive coupling device to capture light and transmit
it to a fiber. The coupling had been done before, but the
challenge of doing it economically had defied engineers
around the world. Sezerman knew that his life now faced
a critical turning point.
“I could finish my PhD, but lose the window of
oppor tunity because others would soon duplicate my
work, or I could apply for patents and go into business.”
He went for the patents, first in Canada and the United
States, and then in Europe, Australia and Japan—and
the rest, as they say, is history.
Sezerman made the gutsy move to abandon his studies
and a lucrative job of fer in California because of his
entrepreneurial spirit. “You have to be prepared to take
a calculated risk and you have to be prepared for
sacrifice,” he says. In Sezerman’s case, the sacrifice
meant working alone in his Ottawa basement for
three years supporting a wife and child at less pay than
he could earn as a student.
“Entrepreneurs are no smar ter than anyone else,”
Sezerman says now. “In fact, they’re usually of average
intelligence. But they are prepared to seize an
oppor tunity. If you believe in something, work hard
and don’t give up. If you’re a skeptic, you can’t be
an entrepreneur.”
Omur Sezerman of Oz Optics
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 10
Not that many of them send thank-you letters—especially
not a decade later.
But that’s what Ron Jette did not long ago. Ron is a
partner in Adams Jette, an Ottawa-based marketing and
communications firm.
Eleven years ago, he found himself out of a job. He’d
been doing public relations and advocacy work for a
national health agency, which had let him go when their
budget tightened.
Ron thought that perhaps he could do well as a
freelance writer.
“I had some contacts, thanks to the work I’d done with
the health agency, and it didn’t take long before I was
working steadily,” he says. “I also discovered that I
really enjoyed working on my own.” A job interview for a
full-time position convinced him it was time to be his
own boss.
That’s when he went down to the Entrepreneurship
Centre in Ottawa, one of a network of 44 Small Business
Enterprise Centres across the province.
“I knew the marketing end because of my previous work,
but I needed help establishing my business and the
Entrepreneurship Centre was the right place to go,” he
says. “I was assigned a counsellor and he walked me
through the process, step by step.”
The result was Tristan Creative Writing Inc., Ron’s first
company. He assembled a group of dependable sub-
contractors and supplied writing ser vices—ever ything
from speeches to articles to annual reports—for an ever-
growing list of clients that came to include a number
of government depar tments, Bell Canada, The Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Canadian
Plastics Sector Council.
“Tristan developed into a ver y successful company,”
says Ron.
Then, a year ago, over lunch with Brenda Adams, a client
who was working for a local design firm, it became
apparent to both of them that, as a team, they could
have more impact. He and Brenda formed a partnership
and in August 2006 they launched Adams Jette, a full-
service marketing and communications company.
“There are all sorts of decisions to be made when you’re
starting a new business,” he says. “I realized that I was
applying the principles I’d learned a decade ago at
the Entrepreneurship Centre when I star ted my first
company. That’s why I wrote to thank them.”
The new company combines Ron’s writing and marketing
skills with Brenda’s client ser vice and design abilities
and it’s a combination the par tners are convinced will
set them apart from the competition. They’ve also got a
team of 14 editors, translators, graphic designers,
researchers and photographers they can call on.
“It’s all about selling and moving people to action,” says
Ron, “and that’s something we excel at.”
Successful Ottawa
Firm Got Its Start
Thanks to the
Entrepreneurship Centre
Stephen Daze, the Executive Director
of the Entrepreneurship Centre in
Ottawa, knows that over the years he
and his staff have helped thousands
of entrepreneurs succeed.
Brenda Adams and
Ron Jette
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 11
ive years ago Richard Derham was
making a good living as a management
consultant to For tune 500 companies.
But he felt something was missing. He
wanted to run his own business—and he
wanted it to be meaningful.
“When I walked home from work at night I used to pass
by a lot of homeless teenagers and young adults,” says
Derham. “Many of them struck me as being smart and
articulate. I couldn’t help but wonder if all they needed
was an opportunity they weren't getting.”
Derham decided that giving them that oppor tunity was
what he wanted to do. In October 2002, he star ted
TurnAround Couriers, a “social enterprise” that employs
at-risk youth as bike couriers in downtown Toronto.
Like most social enterprises, it operates like a typical
business, but its focus is as much on social change as
it is on the bottom line.
“A business can have a social agenda and still make a
profit,” says Derham. “The two ideas are not mutually
exclusive. We’re a successful business and over the
past four years we’ve helped 76 young people change
their lives.”
John Saunders is one of them. Just 23, he was living at
Covenant House when he was referred to TurnAround.
He was hired in July 2005 as a courier. Two months
later he became the office manager.
“This job has given me a future,” says Saunders. “After
six years of living on the streets, I’ve got an apartment
and a family of my own. I’m taking accounting and
business management courses in my spare time and I’ve
got a goal. I want to open my own social enterprise.”
According to Derham, Saunders is typical of the majority
of TurnAround employees whom he recruits from social
agencies that work with youth. “They go on to other jobs
in the economic mainstream.”
TurnAround is obviously working for at-risk young people,
but what about the company’s clients?
There are more than 350 of them, including the Royal
Bank and George Weston/Loblaws. And they clearly
feel they’re getting good value for their money, while
supporting something worthwhile.
“We were among the first to sign with TurnAround,” says
Domenic Porfido, Office Services Supervisor for George
Weston/Loblaws. “We needed a courier company with
expertise in delivering in downtown Toronto and Richard
assured me his firm could deliver. I also thought it would
be great if we could help the community while we fulfilled
our own needs.”
Adds Porfido, “Richard’s couriers are great young people.
They’re quick, reliable and polite. I wouldn’t hesitate to
recommend TurnAround.”
Derham is quick to point out that his enterprise is a
business, not a charity. He doesn’t take public money.
“We have great rates and excellent service, so when you
hire us, you get your packages delivered and you support
an innovative company with a social conscience. Oh, yes,
and we donate 50 per cent of our profits to charity.”
TurnAround Couriers:
“Delivering More than Packages”
F
Sma l l Bu s i n e s s Be a t De c e mb e r 2006 p a g e 12
T
The focus of this newsletter is on business—successes, news,
trends, opportunities, challenges and issues affecting Ontario’s
small and medium-sized business climate. Information is drawn
from ministries and agencies across government and from
other public sources believed to be reliable. All efforts are
made to ensure timeliness and accuracy.
Ontario Small Business Beat
Ministry of Small Business
and Entrepreneurship
Communications and Public Affairs Branch
Eighth Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M7A 2E1
Telephone: (416) 325 6666
Facsimile: (416) 325 6688
www.sbe.gov.on.ca
ONTARIO
SMALLBUSINESSBEAT
It’s called Open Door Designs and its flagship product is
the portable puppet theatre Bigham originally designed.
Ingenious in its simplicity, it consists of a simple fabric
panel the width of a door way that’s held in place by a
tension rod, making it adjustable to any height. The
puppeteer stands behind the panel, pulls on a cord and
a roman-style blind rises to reveal the stage.
“I thought my idea was unique,” laughs Bigham. “But I
later learned that the concept of putting a theatre in a
doorway has been around for centuries.”
While Bigham does have competition, mostly from
mass-producers, her business has been growing
steadily since she launched it in 2001, in part, she
thinks, because she’s about the only custom-made
puppet theatre on the market.
All her puppet theatres are limited editions. They range
from $80 for whimsically printed cotton to $150 for the
deluxe models, made from rich velvets, brocades and
silks and trimmed with tassels, baubles and beads.
Open Door Designs also makes custom theatres for
pass-throughs and double doors.
And because there’s no such thing as a puppet theatre
without puppets, Bigham offers a full range of cute and
quirky puppet characters, designed to spark children’s
imaginations. They range in price from $10 to $50 and,
like the theatres, they’re washable.
In addition to parents and grandparents, her market
includes educators and therapists.
“Puppets have a way of removing a child’s inhibitions,”
says the Toronto-based entrepreneur, “which is why my
theatres are so popular with professional educators
and therapists.”
Bigham’s latest product—the result of a commission
from Toronto’s Cardinal Car ter Academy for the Ar ts—
is a freestanding, portable theatre suitable for child or
adult per formers. It can be assembled in less than
10 minutes and fits in a wheeled carrier bag big enough
to fit all the puppets as well.
“I think this is going to be a major par t of my future
business,” she says.
What’s been Bigham’s biggest challenge in growing
the business?
“Communicating the concept,” she says. “It’s not easy
for people to visualize the doorway theatre.”
Bigham seems to be rising to that challenge, though, as
escalating orders and sales show. And now she’s ready
to take the business to the next level by expanding her
markets and generating new products.
“Open Door Designs allows me to do what I enjoy most,
which is designing for children,” says Bigham, who spent
six years on the road with children’s entertainers Sharon,
Lois and Bram as a designer and props person before
starting her business.
“Knowing my customers and finding out what they want
has helped me stay creative—and build my business.”
When a friend asked her to design a puppet theatre that
could be taken to schools and libraries, Joanne Bigham
agreed. An accomplished painter, sculptor and printmaker,
she never imagined doing that favour would lead to a
successful small business.
Open Door Designs:
into D
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Minister: Honourable Harinder S. Takhar
Deputy Minister: Fareed Amin
Editor: Robert D. Mikel
E-mail: [email protected]
La version française du Ontario Small Business Beat
est disponible sous le titre Coin des petites
entreprises de l’Ontario.
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Comments and contributions are welcomed. Please
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