Starting a business in Ontario

posted in: Business

Many people find themselves with a great idea for a product or service. Even though the prospect of starting a business seems daunting at first, many attempt it. The learning curve is long and difficult, however, success is always at hand.

The most important thing to keep in mind when starting your business, is a clear understanding of your product or service and how you plan to market it, in other words, how you plan on getting the word out so that people come to you.

In any case, below we give you some basic pointers to consider when starting your own business in Ontario:

  1. Time and effort are the two biggest tools of an entrepreneur. Starting a business and running it can be a lot of work. Take time to consider all it will take and your willingness to work for it. Are the risks associated with business’ ups and downs something you can manage?
  2. Structure. What will be the structure of your business? Will if be a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation?
  3. Marketing. Consider a budget for marketing. Many businesses are started without any consideration for marketing, it is important that you take some time to research the potential and evaluate the best marketing options. Who are your competitors and what are they doing? Why should a customer prefer your products over the competitions? Do you need a website?
  4. Financing. How much money do you need to start? Plan your budget realistically and decide whether you need financing. Keep in mind your overhead, every cost including staff, office/store space, marketing, tools and operating budget. Can you support your business and yourself for at least 2 years? Most businesses only find out if they succeed after the second or third year, the first one is usually the hardest one when starting.
  5. The Law. Learn about taxes, licensing, health and safety regulations, etc. Understanding your local and federal legal obligations is important, particularly taxes.

This is a primer of what you should think about when starting a business in Ontario. It is by no means an exhaustive exploration of each element and each one deserves special attention and consideration. Take your time to plan and work hard, good planning and resilience  are trademarks of successful business owners.

A picture from a road in La Mancha, Spain
The road ahead

Another complexity is if you are trying to start a business in Ontario (register it), but that operates at another location outside of the province. When we were asked by Water Dreams Costa Rica to do their web design, we faced an interesting situation. They provide surf camps in Costa Rica and wanted to attract people interested in surfing and SUP. Their main customers are in Canada and particularly from Ontario. Their marketing had to consider several law complications, licensing matters in two countries and business structure and management. A simple idea of having a surf school where people can learn to surf and do SUP, became quite complicated. Fortunately, they were able to sort through the complications and people are enjoying great surfing experiences through the Water Dreams team.

When you are considering starting your business, look at all angles before opening the doors. Digital marketing can do a lot for your business, but do not rely on it to make your business, it is still marketing and as such it is just one component of a much more complex endeavor.

How to install Gnome Shell themes in Ubuntu 11.10

posted in: Stuff

As easy as just two simple steps. Of course, this assumes you have already installed the Gnome Advanced Settings panel (gnome-tweak).

First add Satyajit repository by openning your terminal and typing (or copying from here) the following command:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:satyajit-happy/themes

Once the repository is added, just install the Gnome-Shell User Theme Extension:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions-user-theme

This last command will enable an option in the Gnome Advanced Settings panel go to “Shell Extensions” and enable the “User Themes Extension”. Logout and log back in. At this point there should be a new “Shell Theme” option that allows uploading of new gnome-shell themes which can be found at GnomeLook.org.

Easy!

How to add Facebook Videos in your Website

posted in: Stuff

Facebook allows for videos to be uploaded to any account and it is easy and convenient for many users. However, Facebook does not offer a simple way  to embed them in your web pages or website like Youtube, Vimeo or other video sharing sites do. Facebook does not officially provide an embedding code, so for people who want to embed a Facebook video on their blog post or web page, there is no readily available way to do it. (more…)

Adding Youtube videos in Joomla 1.7

posted in: Stuff

Sort of gave the trick in the title. Inserting Youtube videos in Joomla 1.6 or Joomla 1.7 (sort of our flag systems along with WordPress), the only thing that needs to be done is clear all the filters from the content editors on the articles manager options. (more…)

SEO… what?

posted in: SEO

We online marketers and web world people like to think our language is as universal as music. However, majority of people, even people who use the internet fairly regularly, have difficulty understanding the whole concept of “online marketing” or ideas like “SEO“. But what are these concepts really? (more…)

Should you get SEO for your website?

posted in: SEO

Don’t wait until your competition out-ranks you, get SEO right now!

Really. SEO is an extremely important element for your website. Back in 1994, when there were a handful of websites, SEO was meaningless (doubt if it even existed beyond getting the proper domain name). In 2011, launching a website that is not search engine optimized with clean code, proper tagging, well written, etc, will only mean you are spending money to have a pretty brochure that only the people you give the domain address will see. Its not bad, you can use it in your printed materials to give people more information online. However, most businesses want their websites to be a strong sales tool that gets them prospects and customers. (more…)

So… what’s the offer? Or strategies for a downward market

posted in: Web Design

image

Took it while shopping for groceries the other day, this is a great offer no one can resist. 1 pack of wieners for $3.49 or 2 for $7!

As a matter of fact, most of the store was offering “discounts” and “special offers”. I’ve noticed that in this particular store, they normally have a rotation of offers to keep products circulating. (more…)