Dragons' Den Wants You

It's the third exciting season of CBC-TV’s Dragons’ Den and they are looking to audition contestants for the show. It is not quite American Idol but if you have a business idea or business needing money, it is well worth entering. Get used to the Dragons' fiery breath because they are actually very generous in saying what they think. Once you've licked your wounds, you will realize you just got the best advice and it was for free. Maybe you will get the money or even win $50, 000 like Trent Kitsch of SAXX who was assisted by Loewen & Partners.

In Ontario:

April 12th at The Accelerator Centre London, ON

April 16th at Richard Ivey School of Business

Money Magnet: Attracting Investors to Your Business

Time to pop the champagne - I finished the final editing of my book Money Magnet with the great editorial team at Wiley. Since this is my third book, I am asked why I choose to go with an old technology publishing house rather than post as an e-book or do it myself with a vanity press.

Well, because Wiley is firmly planted in the 21st century and knows its place is no longer the gate keeper of authors clamoring to get their work out to their adoring public. What they are doing is helping experienced writers like myself learn the new technology cyber ropes. They are building my book website and have done a superb job of editing my book with not one, not two by three editors who have cut my ramblings to a sporty, fast read.

The bigger job I have is fitting Money Magnet to my company, Loewen & Partners as the client base for our company are business owners with companies making more than $10M revenues and Money Magnet is definitely a broader readership. Any advice?

Would You Think Agriculture Was the Next Bubble?

The housing bubble helped us get out of the mess from the tech bubble bursting and so now begins the next bubble - alternative fuels.

Loewen & Partners was invited to listened to Mayo Schmidt, the charming and erudite CEO of Viterra which is Canada's fastest growing agricultural company - their tag line is "Leading Canadian Agriculture." Mayo is one of those mid-West men with the folksy trustworthiness but he is probably the sharpest tool in the shed. He blew me away with first of all his company's earnings and future vision, but also reminded me of how fast the world is switching away from oil. Mayo says that Brazil has converted more than half their fuel needs to sugar cane and other cellulose fuel. This land use and conversion of agriculture away from food to energy use will bring challenges as the world population is expected to keep escalating.

While I was in South Africa, I met with one of the investors from the Dubai Fund who are busy buying up land in South Africa where the property rights are still stable - no crazy Bob Magabwe types taking land.

Here's a quick list of fuel prices around the world:
Prices are quoted in US dollars per gallon for regular unleaded. March 1, 2008
Oslo, Norway $6.82
Hong Kong $6.25
Brussels, Belgium $6.16
London, UK $5.96
Rome, Italy $5.80
Tokyo, Japan $5.25
Sao Paulo, Brazil $4.42
New Delhi, India $3.71
Sidney , Australia $3.42
Johannesburg, South Africa $3.39
Mexico City $2.22
Buenos Aires , Argentina $2.09

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia $0.09
Kuwait $0.08
Caracas , Venezuela$0.12

Does writing a business plan have power?

Starting your own business makes you rich, right?

Unfortunately, that fairy tale does not always end happily. You are probably aware of the statistics on just how many companies fail before reaching their five year mark. It is just not true that owners take home the big bucks. Too often they are paying everyone else first and when it’s time to pay themselves, they find the cupboard bare.

Many entrepreneurs also discover that a mortgage, a pension plan, a medical plan or other long-term benefits provided to employees, are not available to them because of their status as “self employeed”.and also out of reach of their budget. After a couple of years of that reality, the entrepreneur stops dreaming and decides that working for “The Man” looks pretty good, particularly if it entails union wages or a government pension plan.

Business entrepreneurs are crucial for the future wealth of our country but are often given little thought (look at the last Ontario provincial election – need I say more?). Now with the alarming question of “Is this a recession?” even the news headlines have turned away from Hollywood celebrities and toward the economy” – although CNN did still make Heath Ledger’s death their top story the same night that every stock market on the globe was falling off a cliff. But what the heck, I enjoyed looking at Anderson Cooper’s blue eyes and his combination of Wall Street pinstripe suit with purple and gray striped tie!

With this incoming tsunami of trouble, our provincial governments are turning their attention to SMEs and pondering how to help them. If you buy the life-boat theory - you cannot save everyone from drowning - you need to answer the question of just who does get to climb into the life boat. Rather than encouraging any and every start up, government can focus on assisting industries with high growth potential. If you start a computer industry-based company, your chances of growing far exceed those of starting a hotel, a clothing store or a consulting company.

What is missing in the economy are those growing companies finding a financial investment of $1M to $10M. Supporting those investors ploughing money into growth companies would be a smart move. Venture capitalists and private equity funds investing amounts under $10M tend to excel in filtering out which businesses and owners are most likely to grow our Canadian economy.

As an entrepreneur, you know economic change is upon us. You no longer have time to point the finger at China, India or our government policies. Right now, you need to make decisions to get ahead of the global crowd. Scott Shane, professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University and author of The Illusions of Entrepreneurship, says, “the typical entrepreneur makes decisions that lower the chances for success. Part of it is that they're in a hurry and don't have time. So to give you a good example -- a business plan. We have lots of evidence that all kinds of performance measures of startups are enhanced if you write a business plan” [www.businessweek.com, 1/7/08]. Why doesn’t the average owner write a plan? Besides being busy, owners just don’t see the benefit.

If you want your business to be more than a lifestyle, write that plan. Take this weekend to break out your laptop, Google “business plan” and you will find a plethora of templates to use. Then share it. If your only employee is your dog, tell your mother. “Tell everyone,” says Tony Griffiths, one of Canada’s top investors in growing entrepreneurial companies. Tony, who invests in growing companies, recalls how years ago, while he was watching his wife play tennis, a young man sitting next to him struck up a conversation. The subject moved to business and the young man shared his business plan with such enthusiasm. Tony made the decision there and then to become an investor.

The young man had no idea that there was private equity interested in his size of business, but since he had completed a step toward a higher level of success – writing a business plan – he accidentally gained access to capital. According to Tony, the company went on to grow all the way to a public listing on the stock exchange. The young man is now much older and does own a mansion. One answer to surviving the looming economic storm is remembering the fundamentals: make sure your business plan is in great shape and perhaps you will reach the level of entrepreneurship that earns you the big money.

Six Ways to Say “Yum!”

If you want to dazzle the people at your next dinner party with your marketing knowledge, spend time with your teenagers while they plug into the computer. Book an evening at home with your children telling you what they learn from TV and the computer and you will be a big brand expert in the surprising new ways to connect with the market.

1. Traditional TV blended with Web

Notice how your daughter watches Dr Who on TV while peering at her laptop, checking out the website for in-depth, full length stories, usually through an online video ad. Hopefully, she is not also accessing your VISA card to book her trip to London’s BBC studios. Be aware of interactive social media as strong marketers are learning to use this new technology without backlash.

2. Engage Your Customer

Email allows for one-on-one conversations: for example, Rogers emails you a movie discount coupon, which you print out and then rush to the video store. At Loewen & Partners, we email our list of entrepreneurs and fund managers with personalized messages. Check out your kids’ summer camp on-line rating sites. I was intrigued by one camp with several postings saying that the counsellors were too busy making out with each other to organize activities. Bet that won’t be happening this summer!

3. Globalize Your Message

You may have noticed that the world has come to Canada, particularly Toronto, offering perhaps the biggest challenge for marketing. Technology is causing barriers to crumble and the impact will probably continue over the next twenty years. What does this mean for marketers, and for women, both in the office and at home? Americans embrace the saying, “drastic change requires drastic action” and are busy hiring non American CEOs to smash their corporate cultures and traditional marketing plans. PepsiCo, the world’s fourth largest food and beverage company, awarded their CEO position to an Indian woman, Indra Nooyi, who wears a sari to work. How’s that for a take me as I am attitude? Which brings me to my next trend (no, it’s not The Spice Girls who, incidentally, do know how to market because even Rex Murphy dedicated a column to their branding success).

4. Add Girl Power

PepsiCo asked: How could their marketing gain fresh energy and momentum? What is different, unique and special? When you put "fresh eyes" on the question, change happens, and Indra Nooyi is doing just that for PepsiCo’s revenues. Meanwhile, Pier One’s earnings are limping along, perhaps because they have no women on their Board? I know women in Oakville who’d be delighted to help out and would talk marketing plans for the price of a cup of coffee.
Marketers who support the new reality that girl power is here - and it’s not just Scary Spice being cheeky - will be ahead of the pack. I just spent my weekend holed up with high testosterone Bay Street money men judging the Ivey Business Plan competition. Once again, the $20,000 top prize went to a female-led team and as I sat with the Venture Capitalists, they recalled the previous year’s female winner saying, “What a fire cracker!” I have no doubt these fellows would hand over twenty thousand cool ones to any woman who demonstrated she could bring in a sustained revenue stream of $5M. If women want to get ahead in Canada, they need to make the decision from a very young age to live, breath, and die for business.

5. Nod at Career & Mothering

Let’s be honest, many women self-select out of the work world to be mothers. “Where are they now?” articles on MBAs show that even career-oriented women may choose to be at home with their children. The smartest woman in my MBA class is now at home with her two boys and even my sister-in-law went home within months of returning to her Morgan Stanley job after childbirth. Shrewd marketers will understand this female angst over work and babies just as Dove channelled women’s feelings over the media’s use of perfect female bodies.

6. Be Gutsy

If Indra Nooyi can call PepsiCo’s new division Yum!, think of the marketing you could do.
This blog also appears in The Women's Post.