I spent the better part of yesterday trying to get into the Christmas spirit by setting up a few spot lights outside, helping my honey setup the Christmas tree and then sitting down for a quiet scotch. I must tell you that I was happy to have all the things around me that I have and I was particularly grateful for everything I had worked hard for.
It was then that I got to thinking about those people who have been occupying a lot of public spaces hoping to get somebody to change their mind about something.
First of all, what was their purpose and what where they trying to accomplish. At first I thought it was all about taxing the rich. Taxing the rich was not a bad idea but who the hell is rich. How about this one. How about taxing nobody. I mean taxes are really what we should be talking about.
Take the middle class. You earn $49,000 and you pay 49% tax that means that you pay all most 1/2 of what you make in taxes. Gas taxes include provincial taxes and GST on provincial taxes, so again double dipping.
In most municipalities now you can't escape home ownership without paying taxes and school taxes. The average tax in a major urban city is $3000 per year or $250 per month. Add that to the $2500 you have left that you did not give to the feds and then take off 13% of every dollar you spend for GST and provincial tax and you have now given another $325 to the tax man.
That means your $49,000 dollar salary is now worth $25,000 less $3500 for municipal taxes, $700 for school taxes and $3900 for GST and provincial taxes.
That now leaves you with $18,500 for the year or $1541 per month. Out of that I need to pay rent or a mortgage say of around $900, my car insurance of $150, my home insurance of $50 and now I have over priced hydro ( another government tax grab) at $150 per month and I am up to $1250 per month in costs so I have $289 left for food and entertainment.
So I think based on this scenario its probably a whole lot easier to go live in tent somewhere and collect welfare. At least I would get free dental, doctors, eat at the mission and have unions donate power, shitters and electricity and I could be a television star to boot.
Its not that I have anything against people that don't work and protest all the time but I think they are protesting against the wrong guy. Its governments man, check it out -- tax the governments and give it to the middle class, they are the guys that really need it. Yes - so what do I do. I sit back and wonder, maybe I should be occupying something and protesting the taxes I pay.
I turn on the television and what a bunch of people living for nothing, contributing nothing and see my tax dollars supporting nothing, what does that say. Anyway - there is not much I can do unless I can get a bunch of others to join me or get those guys protesting to do it for me.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Conservatives Miss Great Opportunity in Ontario Election
Well this week I am about to see a great opportunity for a political party go down the drain due to a poor election strategy. I am always amazed that political parties are the last ones to use real marketing in their campaigns. I mean advertisers are used to calling their strategies when implemented campaigns. Why is it that political parties don't call their campaigns, advertising?
Lets look at 5 reasons the Conservatives under Tim Hudack will go down in flames this week after having a pretty convincing opportunity to sweep this election from the Liberals and Dalton McGinty.
1. Not understanding your audience - here the conservatives failed to understand what it was their audience wanted. Rather that talk about specifics, the conservatives used negative advertising throughout failing to get the real message of their campaign across. Having seen the same ad complaining for the past 4 weeks, I too was sick of it and lost interest in the message and the party. The audience wanted real meat. Simple, tell us who you are and what your committed to.
2. Poor creative - never got to know the leader or anyone in the party. People buy from people, we never did get to know who Timmy boy was and what he was all about. Even when he had real opportunities to talk like a human being while being interviewed on T.V. and radio he spouted the same boring messages from the commercials Surely his fart catchers could have given him some coaching on being human and telling us who he is.
3. No real concrete messages - who are you and what are going to do, give me some real benefits for voting for you, all I know is you are hammering away at your competitor and forgot to tell me who you are and why I should vote for you.
4. I did not feel the love - here you may not like the other guy, but you have to give me a reason to love you. Based on what you tried to feed me, I had no relationship with you, I have a better relationship with the NDP because I love Andrea. Don't like her politics and we will be poor if she gets in ( or when she gets in I should say) because I could feel the love. If I could feel it, then you can be rest assured that thousands of others do as well.
5. Not capitalizing the weakness of your competition - even car companies and breakfast cereals have this down pat. Capitalize on the weakness, exploit the loop holes, here the conservatives had a real opportunity to talk about the record of their opponent and say how they would make it better. All you need to do is compare the mileage and the price, we got neither.
So Timmy my boy, it looks like you are destined to be a latecomer once again and although handed a golden, yes golden opportunity to the Teflon man or the real nice lady in the orange suit.
Lets look at 5 reasons the Conservatives under Tim Hudack will go down in flames this week after having a pretty convincing opportunity to sweep this election from the Liberals and Dalton McGinty.
1. Not understanding your audience - here the conservatives failed to understand what it was their audience wanted. Rather that talk about specifics, the conservatives used negative advertising throughout failing to get the real message of their campaign across. Having seen the same ad complaining for the past 4 weeks, I too was sick of it and lost interest in the message and the party. The audience wanted real meat. Simple, tell us who you are and what your committed to.
2. Poor creative - never got to know the leader or anyone in the party. People buy from people, we never did get to know who Timmy boy was and what he was all about. Even when he had real opportunities to talk like a human being while being interviewed on T.V. and radio he spouted the same boring messages from the commercials Surely his fart catchers could have given him some coaching on being human and telling us who he is.
3. No real concrete messages - who are you and what are going to do, give me some real benefits for voting for you, all I know is you are hammering away at your competitor and forgot to tell me who you are and why I should vote for you.
4. I did not feel the love - here you may not like the other guy, but you have to give me a reason to love you. Based on what you tried to feed me, I had no relationship with you, I have a better relationship with the NDP because I love Andrea. Don't like her politics and we will be poor if she gets in ( or when she gets in I should say) because I could feel the love. If I could feel it, then you can be rest assured that thousands of others do as well.
5. Not capitalizing the weakness of your competition - even car companies and breakfast cereals have this down pat. Capitalize on the weakness, exploit the loop holes, here the conservatives had a real opportunity to talk about the record of their opponent and say how they would make it better. All you need to do is compare the mileage and the price, we got neither.
So Timmy my boy, it looks like you are destined to be a latecomer once again and although handed a golden, yes golden opportunity to the Teflon man or the real nice lady in the orange suit.
It would be helpful next time to hire a marketing firm to help you run a campaign rather than some political hacks and fart catchers that are out of touch with the market. All I have to say farewell and good night Tim and the conservatives and I am a conservative that will wake up the day after the election and say... I told you so.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Great Headlines - Make it Pop!
This week I thought I would steal a page from www.marketingandsalesuniversity.com and talk about writing good ad copy. I have seen it over the years that companies spend lots of money on marketing only to wonder why their advertising is having little or no impact. Its important for advertisers to consider how to write good ad copy.
There are 5 major components to good advertising copy: (The order of these is essential to success)
• Command Attention
• Showcase Benefits of Products/Services
• Prove the Benefits
• Persuade People to Embrace the Benefits
• Call to Action
Advertising is sales in print. So, you need to think about the unique benefits your products/services offer and showcase that in a persuasive way. You need to emphasize results, not features.
Let’s take a minute to talk about each of these components:
1. Command Attention: This is usually accomplished with the headline. You need an attention-getter that makes people want to know more about your products/services. The best headlines give a vivid portrayal of the benefits or show how a problem can be avoided with your products/services. The headline is the advertisement for the advertisement.
2. Showcase Benefits: You have to showcase the benefits of your products and services and, more importantly, show how they will solve or prevent a problem. They need to know what’s in it for them. Include useful, factual and clear information to show precisely what the benefits are and how they are going to help the customer.
3. Offer Proof: This is where you prove what the advertisement is offering. You need to establish you have a method to deliver. Consider information that establishes credibility and past performance.
4. Persuade: You need to add compelling reasons for your potential customers to purchase your products/services. Use a hard sell approach and create scarcity. This will enact your potential customers to feel like they have to act now. Which leads into the last component.
5. Call to Action: You need to compel your potential customers to DO something. They need to check out your site, sign up for your newsletter, purchase your products, contact you about services…something. Offer a freebie-a booklet, sample, product, bonus, demo, consult, limited time price…the list goes on. There are lots of ways to get potential customers excited about ordering and help them feel like they are getting an amazing deal.
Good advertisements include all of these components and are not complete without any of them. You can sit down and think through any one of these components, then figure out how to best place them together for the most effectiveness. We can help you with this too.
For more information on this and to get more marketing advice than you ever wanted to know, check out www.marketingandsalesuniversity.com. or contact me at the email address below.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach at The Corporate Coachworkz Inc. located in Chelsea, Quebec. If you are interested in getting more marketing advice or just need a coach to help build your business contact Kensel today at kenselt@sympatico.ca
There are 5 major components to good advertising copy: (The order of these is essential to success)
• Command Attention
• Showcase Benefits of Products/Services
• Prove the Benefits
• Persuade People to Embrace the Benefits
• Call to Action
Advertising is sales in print. So, you need to think about the unique benefits your products/services offer and showcase that in a persuasive way. You need to emphasize results, not features.
Let’s take a minute to talk about each of these components:
1. Command Attention: This is usually accomplished with the headline. You need an attention-getter that makes people want to know more about your products/services. The best headlines give a vivid portrayal of the benefits or show how a problem can be avoided with your products/services. The headline is the advertisement for the advertisement.
2. Showcase Benefits: You have to showcase the benefits of your products and services and, more importantly, show how they will solve or prevent a problem. They need to know what’s in it for them. Include useful, factual and clear information to show precisely what the benefits are and how they are going to help the customer.
3. Offer Proof: This is where you prove what the advertisement is offering. You need to establish you have a method to deliver. Consider information that establishes credibility and past performance.
4. Persuade: You need to add compelling reasons for your potential customers to purchase your products/services. Use a hard sell approach and create scarcity. This will enact your potential customers to feel like they have to act now. Which leads into the last component.
5. Call to Action: You need to compel your potential customers to DO something. They need to check out your site, sign up for your newsletter, purchase your products, contact you about services…something. Offer a freebie-a booklet, sample, product, bonus, demo, consult, limited time price…the list goes on. There are lots of ways to get potential customers excited about ordering and help them feel like they are getting an amazing deal.
Good advertisements include all of these components and are not complete without any of them. You can sit down and think through any one of these components, then figure out how to best place them together for the most effectiveness. We can help you with this too.
For more information on this and to get more marketing advice than you ever wanted to know, check out www.marketingandsalesuniversity.com. or contact me at the email address below.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach at The Corporate Coachworkz Inc. located in Chelsea, Quebec. If you are interested in getting more marketing advice or just need a coach to help build your business contact Kensel today at kenselt@sympatico.ca
Monday, August 22, 2011
Canada is a Great Place to Open and Own a Business
Canada is A Great Place to Open and Own a Business
This week’s article I thought I would talk about Canada and why it’s a great place to invest or to open up a business. With all the blood on the tracks in the great U.S. of A I thought I would brag a little about your neighbour to the north and discuss why Canada is doing well in spite of issues facing other countries throughout the world.
Here are the top 8 reasons why it makes sense to invest in Canada.
1. First of all Canada has a people advantage. Canada is a nation of intelligent, educated workers, ranking #2 in the OECD in higher education achievement.
2. The next is the business environment advantage: The Economic Intelligence Unit has rated Canada the #1 place to do business in the G7 for the next five years.
3. The economic advantage puts Canada as better placed than many countries to weather the global financial turbulence and worldwide recession
4. This one could be debatable since there are some better tax advantages in other countries. Canada however offers businesses low tax rates, boasting the lowest payroll taxes among the G7 countries.
5. The NAFTA Advantage advantage gives investors access to more than 450 million consumers and a combined GDP of US$ 17.1 trillion (PPP basis).
6. If you are considering doing business in Asia the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative (APGCI): takes advantage of Canada’s strategic location as the crossroads between the North American marketplace and the booming economies of Asia.
7. The transportation advantage gives Canada a sophisticated infrastructure and a highly developed transportation network.
8. Last of all the main reason we are all here in the first place is the life style advantage which gives Canada world-class universities, a universally acclaimed health care system, clean, friendly cities and spectacular scenery make Canada a great place to invest, work, live and raise a family.
There you have it, a simple and effective reason to invest in Canada. If you are thinking of opening a business, looking for good investment or want to move to stable democracy Canada for my money is the place to start hands down. Hope this helps you think about great places to live and invest.
Kensel Tracy is The Marketing Coach with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. a business coaching company located in Chelsea Quebec, and Ottawa Ontario. He is also the President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs opening up in every city throughout North America.
This week’s article I thought I would talk about Canada and why it’s a great place to invest or to open up a business. With all the blood on the tracks in the great U.S. of A I thought I would brag a little about your neighbour to the north and discuss why Canada is doing well in spite of issues facing other countries throughout the world.
Here are the top 8 reasons why it makes sense to invest in Canada.
1. First of all Canada has a people advantage. Canada is a nation of intelligent, educated workers, ranking #2 in the OECD in higher education achievement.
2. The next is the business environment advantage: The Economic Intelligence Unit has rated Canada the #1 place to do business in the G7 for the next five years.
3. The economic advantage puts Canada as better placed than many countries to weather the global financial turbulence and worldwide recession
4. This one could be debatable since there are some better tax advantages in other countries. Canada however offers businesses low tax rates, boasting the lowest payroll taxes among the G7 countries.
5. The NAFTA Advantage advantage gives investors access to more than 450 million consumers and a combined GDP of US$ 17.1 trillion (PPP basis).
6. If you are considering doing business in Asia the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative (APGCI): takes advantage of Canada’s strategic location as the crossroads between the North American marketplace and the booming economies of Asia.
7. The transportation advantage gives Canada a sophisticated infrastructure and a highly developed transportation network.
8. Last of all the main reason we are all here in the first place is the life style advantage which gives Canada world-class universities, a universally acclaimed health care system, clean, friendly cities and spectacular scenery make Canada a great place to invest, work, live and raise a family.
There you have it, a simple and effective reason to invest in Canada. If you are thinking of opening a business, looking for good investment or want to move to stable democracy Canada for my money is the place to start hands down. Hope this helps you think about great places to live and invest.
Kensel Tracy is The Marketing Coach with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. a business coaching company located in Chelsea Quebec, and Ottawa Ontario. He is also the President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs opening up in every city throughout North America.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Twitter Helps Small Business Grow and Prosper
Canada it is said is one of the most connected countries in the world and in spite of paying some of the highest rates for internet and mobile phone, social networking is continuing to grow. If you run a business and have an online presence, chances are you have heard about the potential value that Twitter can have as a business tool.
The usefulness of Twitter and other social media for promotion, marketing, interacting with customers and building relationships has been promoted by a number of social media pundits and business professionals in a wide variety of industries. However social media has proven to be much more difficult for small business people to get a hold of and building an active presence on Twitter can me more difficult than expected. With and estimated 200 million tweets a day being sent simply sending off tweets won’t prove very useful nor will starting a twitter account and letting it lay dormant.
So in order to take advantage of what Twitter has to offer it requires having a strategy.
Here are some quick tips on how to start, build and maintain and active and effective Twitter persona for your business.
First step is to understand why you want to start a Twitter account for your business. It is important to have specific goals in mind when creating any channel and ensure they goals are reflected as you setup your profile for you and your business. It’s also important to understand how you will achieve these goals. For example if you are trying to find new customers, make sure what you will say and to whom to attract people to find you on Twitter, subscribe to your messages and eventually visit your store, website or blog.
Twitter takes some understanding to use it effectively. It’s important to understand that Twitter is pull technology and not a push approach to promoting. Traditionally you needed to force people to read your messages by buying some form of media or sending bulk emails to prospects. On Twitter, people need to follow you or opt in to read your messages therefore you need to make sure you saying something that is relevant or interesting to people vs. trying to achieve your goals.
Nobody is going to read a feed full of advertising. This media is called social media for reason as it puts the audience as part of the conversation. Most good case studies show that the most effective use of social media are those in which creative topics are created that are of interest to your potential audience. It’s therefore important to create creative ways to respond, reach out and respond to other individual messages too.
First of all, remember that Social Media can be used for more than just marketing. The key to any marketing program is understanding your customer, their likes, dislikes and interests. Once you have this profile, ensure that your Twitter messages are following these interests (for example, if you own a unique restaurant, tweet about food, preparation, recipes and equipment). Again, Twitter is an opt-in channel, so make sure what you say is something that your customer would want to read out of interest. Be as conversational as you can. In the restaurant example above, ask people what types of food they like and how they cook. Watch for the tweets of people you follow, and when they tweet about food, don't hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts in a friendly way.
Also, understand that tools are rarely effective in isolation. Mention Twitter in conversations, and link to it from your website. Perhaps even mention it in your other marketing materials.
Twitter can be a very effective marketing tool but needs to be used correctly. The key is get the conversation going, build credibility with your business approach or business focus, give information to your audience they want to read and be a source of inspiration and knowledge which will give you an advantage and help you build followers. Also look for key influencers in your industry and follow them on Twitter.
There following may also be your customer then you have a good chance of participating in a conversation with a variety of people that may also be interested in what it is you are saying. Remember, quality information, valuable knowledge, unique and key learning will help you grow your Twitter reputation and help others seek you out and develop a better understanding of what it is you do and what it is you have to offer.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach, Senior Partner for the Corporate Coachworkz and Managing Director of Stratejis, Results Based Marketing Solutions. He is also the President of Business over Breakfast Clubs in North America now opening up in every city in North America.
The usefulness of Twitter and other social media for promotion, marketing, interacting with customers and building relationships has been promoted by a number of social media pundits and business professionals in a wide variety of industries. However social media has proven to be much more difficult for small business people to get a hold of and building an active presence on Twitter can me more difficult than expected. With and estimated 200 million tweets a day being sent simply sending off tweets won’t prove very useful nor will starting a twitter account and letting it lay dormant.
So in order to take advantage of what Twitter has to offer it requires having a strategy.
Here are some quick tips on how to start, build and maintain and active and effective Twitter persona for your business.
First step is to understand why you want to start a Twitter account for your business. It is important to have specific goals in mind when creating any channel and ensure they goals are reflected as you setup your profile for you and your business. It’s also important to understand how you will achieve these goals. For example if you are trying to find new customers, make sure what you will say and to whom to attract people to find you on Twitter, subscribe to your messages and eventually visit your store, website or blog.
Twitter takes some understanding to use it effectively. It’s important to understand that Twitter is pull technology and not a push approach to promoting. Traditionally you needed to force people to read your messages by buying some form of media or sending bulk emails to prospects. On Twitter, people need to follow you or opt in to read your messages therefore you need to make sure you saying something that is relevant or interesting to people vs. trying to achieve your goals.
Nobody is going to read a feed full of advertising. This media is called social media for reason as it puts the audience as part of the conversation. Most good case studies show that the most effective use of social media are those in which creative topics are created that are of interest to your potential audience. It’s therefore important to create creative ways to respond, reach out and respond to other individual messages too.
First of all, remember that Social Media can be used for more than just marketing. The key to any marketing program is understanding your customer, their likes, dislikes and interests. Once you have this profile, ensure that your Twitter messages are following these interests (for example, if you own a unique restaurant, tweet about food, preparation, recipes and equipment). Again, Twitter is an opt-in channel, so make sure what you say is something that your customer would want to read out of interest. Be as conversational as you can. In the restaurant example above, ask people what types of food they like and how they cook. Watch for the tweets of people you follow, and when they tweet about food, don't hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts in a friendly way.
Also, understand that tools are rarely effective in isolation. Mention Twitter in conversations, and link to it from your website. Perhaps even mention it in your other marketing materials.
Twitter can be a very effective marketing tool but needs to be used correctly. The key is get the conversation going, build credibility with your business approach or business focus, give information to your audience they want to read and be a source of inspiration and knowledge which will give you an advantage and help you build followers. Also look for key influencers in your industry and follow them on Twitter.
There following may also be your customer then you have a good chance of participating in a conversation with a variety of people that may also be interested in what it is you are saying. Remember, quality information, valuable knowledge, unique and key learning will help you grow your Twitter reputation and help others seek you out and develop a better understanding of what it is you do and what it is you have to offer.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach, Senior Partner for the Corporate Coachworkz and Managing Director of Stratejis, Results Based Marketing Solutions. He is also the President of Business over Breakfast Clubs in North America now opening up in every city in North America.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Millionaires on the Rise in Canada by 38%
If all you ever thought about Canada is that it’s the land of ice, snow, oil, wood and hockey it’s time to think again about doing business in Canada. For example, number of millionaire households in Canada is set to surge 38% and total wealth will more than double, according to a new report.
A study carried out by the Deloitte Centre for Financial Services of 25 countries found that the number of millionaire households in Canada will jump from 1.74 million to 2.4 million in the next nine years according to a report on Global Wealth. This study also found that Canada’s total wealth will rise from $3.35 billion to $6.77 billion. This is great news for a population of some 35 million but still a drop in the bucket in comparison to the U.S.
For example, the total wealth projected in the millionaire households world-wide will grow from $92 Trillion in 2011 to $202 Trillion in 2020. For my American friends who think that their economy is still on the skids, they should be a whole lot more optimistic now because the study also found that the U.S. is likely to remain the world leader in terms of total wealth followed by Japan and Italy.
For example any American worried about the U.S. economy should be investing heavily in real estate, stocks and or bonds since the same study predicts that 43% of the world’s millionaire households are predicted to be in the United States and also the number of millionaire households in the United States is projected to increase from an estimated 10.5 million in 2011 to 20.6 million in 2020.
While this news is good for Canada right now, it’s projected that even with this impressive growth Canada is likely to slip in wealth status to 8th world-wide since China is expected to make huge gains in the next number of years and is currently in 12th place.
The study also showed that wealthy Canadians have the biggest portion of their money in cash and other categories, which accounts for 28% of their total holdings. Canadian millionaires also tend to hold equal shares in real estate and domestic stocks at about 21% and over 11% in foreign stocks.
Meanwhile with the bloom off American real estate in the short-term (except for those Canadians investing in warm climate states like Florida and California) the ownership of property still accounts for 51% of millionaire household assets in Italy, compared with 45% in Spain and 35% in Hong Kong.
This study also shows that Canada is still a safe haven to do business, start a new lifestyle or just continue doing what we have been doing since the economy is maintaining a steady growth and there is also strong projected future growth.
This is also a great message for my American friends who can now start to change their attitude slightly and view their economy as one of the best in the world and see that it’s time for America to start to rebuild its business base, its cities, its real estate and its stock market. Even with the current downturns the U.S. it is still the leader in the number of millionaires world-wide.
So even though you think that Canada is that northern white spot on the map north of the 49th parallel remember there are millions of dollars up here waiting for investors and new products and Canada represents a great market for any type of business.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach, Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. and President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs currently opening in every city and town in North America.
A study carried out by the Deloitte Centre for Financial Services of 25 countries found that the number of millionaire households in Canada will jump from 1.74 million to 2.4 million in the next nine years according to a report on Global Wealth. This study also found that Canada’s total wealth will rise from $3.35 billion to $6.77 billion. This is great news for a population of some 35 million but still a drop in the bucket in comparison to the U.S.
For example, the total wealth projected in the millionaire households world-wide will grow from $92 Trillion in 2011 to $202 Trillion in 2020. For my American friends who think that their economy is still on the skids, they should be a whole lot more optimistic now because the study also found that the U.S. is likely to remain the world leader in terms of total wealth followed by Japan and Italy.
For example any American worried about the U.S. economy should be investing heavily in real estate, stocks and or bonds since the same study predicts that 43% of the world’s millionaire households are predicted to be in the United States and also the number of millionaire households in the United States is projected to increase from an estimated 10.5 million in 2011 to 20.6 million in 2020.
While this news is good for Canada right now, it’s projected that even with this impressive growth Canada is likely to slip in wealth status to 8th world-wide since China is expected to make huge gains in the next number of years and is currently in 12th place.
The study also showed that wealthy Canadians have the biggest portion of their money in cash and other categories, which accounts for 28% of their total holdings. Canadian millionaires also tend to hold equal shares in real estate and domestic stocks at about 21% and over 11% in foreign stocks.
Meanwhile with the bloom off American real estate in the short-term (except for those Canadians investing in warm climate states like Florida and California) the ownership of property still accounts for 51% of millionaire household assets in Italy, compared with 45% in Spain and 35% in Hong Kong.
This study also shows that Canada is still a safe haven to do business, start a new lifestyle or just continue doing what we have been doing since the economy is maintaining a steady growth and there is also strong projected future growth.
This is also a great message for my American friends who can now start to change their attitude slightly and view their economy as one of the best in the world and see that it’s time for America to start to rebuild its business base, its cities, its real estate and its stock market. Even with the current downturns the U.S. it is still the leader in the number of millionaires world-wide.
So even though you think that Canada is that northern white spot on the map north of the 49th parallel remember there are millions of dollars up here waiting for investors and new products and Canada represents a great market for any type of business.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach, Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. and President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs currently opening in every city and town in North America.
Monday, April 18, 2011
It Still Costs Less to Live in the U.S. Even with a Rising Canadian Dollar
As luck would have it for the average Canadian consumer travelling to the United States, it still makes a lot of sense to spend more dollars state-side than in Canada. Having recently returned from a holiday in California I was quite happy to spend as many dollars as I could in the old U.S. of A since like me, many Canadian consumers are still paying more for goods and services at home even though the Canadian Dollar is now worth $1.04 U.S.
The Loonie ( as Canadians affectionately call the dollar) has now risen 30% from its levels just two years ago fuelled by investors seeking the stability of Canada’s financial system and booming demand for the nation’s commodities.
BMO Chief Economist Doug Porter says that it’s because of more moderate inflation performance vs. other countries overwhelmed by the surge in currency. As a result says Porter “the cost of a basket of goods, adjusted for today’s exchange rate, has bolted higher in Canada relative to the U.S”.
Having lived in Toronto growing up, it was not uncommon in the 60’s and 70’s to make the trip to Buffalo N.Y to shop and to pick up Lee Jeans, and Penny loafers ( once all proudly carrying the Made in USA sticker) and bring them back to Canada every chance you got. The U.S. dollar could be purchased for as little as $.70 cents Canadian and it made perfect sense to purchase goods at lower prices in the U.S. with higher Canadian dollars.
Over the years that has all changed. The Loonie fell behind the U.S. dollar and Free Trade had so much impact in that it became attractive to start to sell your goods in the U.S. at margins 25-40 percent higher due to the fact that the Canadian dollar was trading in the $.60-$.70 cent range for one U.S. dollar. The U.S. economy was booming and everything from lumber to pork bellies was in demand.
This helped Canada in the export market because goods bought with U.S. dollars gave manufacturers a comfortable margin just with the exchange rate. Now however, some companies have had to learn how to adapt to being more competitive in sales, quality, delivery and performance based on the rising Loonie.
Now another thing is happening with the a the rising Canadian dollar, consumers are still paying more for comparable products in Canada than our friends south of the border. For example, check out the price of books and food. The U.S. price is still lower for a book in comparison to Canada even if the book is printed in Canada and there are no shipping costs.
Running shoes in the U.S. can be had for a low buy one pair for $69.00 get the second pair at ½ price. In Canada the same shoes cost $147.99 Canadian for one pair. Golf balls have an 11% price difference in Canada than in the U.S. Gap Cargo shorts are 15% more expensive and an IPod Touch costs $249.00 in Canada and $200.89 in the U.S.
The cost of gas and alcohol is also cheaper in the U.S. due to lower government taxes. For example a gallon of gas in Canada costs $5.62 cents (at $1.25 a liter) and a six pack of beer is around $10.99 plus deposit. I recently bought a case of 12 Becks beer in California for $11.99 and a dozen Budweiser’s for $6.99. The price of gasoline was less than $4.00 a gallon.
The BMO says that the lofty Loonie is here to stay so that it will appear that many more Canadians will be taking their vacations State-side this year and Canada will see less U.S. tourism based on the higher price of goods and services and the need to have a passport to cross the border.
This does not favour good long-term growth for tourism related industries or those exporters and those who ship the majority of their production to the U.S.
It should however give Canadian politicians some food for thought about reducing corporate taxes, reducing the taxes on gas and decreasing consumption taxes such as the HST and GST to make Canada more competitive with our friends to the south.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach and is Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz in Chelsea, Quebec.
The Loonie ( as Canadians affectionately call the dollar) has now risen 30% from its levels just two years ago fuelled by investors seeking the stability of Canada’s financial system and booming demand for the nation’s commodities.
BMO Chief Economist Doug Porter says that it’s because of more moderate inflation performance vs. other countries overwhelmed by the surge in currency. As a result says Porter “the cost of a basket of goods, adjusted for today’s exchange rate, has bolted higher in Canada relative to the U.S”.
Having lived in Toronto growing up, it was not uncommon in the 60’s and 70’s to make the trip to Buffalo N.Y to shop and to pick up Lee Jeans, and Penny loafers ( once all proudly carrying the Made in USA sticker) and bring them back to Canada every chance you got. The U.S. dollar could be purchased for as little as $.70 cents Canadian and it made perfect sense to purchase goods at lower prices in the U.S. with higher Canadian dollars.
Over the years that has all changed. The Loonie fell behind the U.S. dollar and Free Trade had so much impact in that it became attractive to start to sell your goods in the U.S. at margins 25-40 percent higher due to the fact that the Canadian dollar was trading in the $.60-$.70 cent range for one U.S. dollar. The U.S. economy was booming and everything from lumber to pork bellies was in demand.
This helped Canada in the export market because goods bought with U.S. dollars gave manufacturers a comfortable margin just with the exchange rate. Now however, some companies have had to learn how to adapt to being more competitive in sales, quality, delivery and performance based on the rising Loonie.
Now another thing is happening with the a the rising Canadian dollar, consumers are still paying more for comparable products in Canada than our friends south of the border. For example, check out the price of books and food. The U.S. price is still lower for a book in comparison to Canada even if the book is printed in Canada and there are no shipping costs.
Running shoes in the U.S. can be had for a low buy one pair for $69.00 get the second pair at ½ price. In Canada the same shoes cost $147.99 Canadian for one pair. Golf balls have an 11% price difference in Canada than in the U.S. Gap Cargo shorts are 15% more expensive and an IPod Touch costs $249.00 in Canada and $200.89 in the U.S.
The cost of gas and alcohol is also cheaper in the U.S. due to lower government taxes. For example a gallon of gas in Canada costs $5.62 cents (at $1.25 a liter) and a six pack of beer is around $10.99 plus deposit. I recently bought a case of 12 Becks beer in California for $11.99 and a dozen Budweiser’s for $6.99. The price of gasoline was less than $4.00 a gallon.
The BMO says that the lofty Loonie is here to stay so that it will appear that many more Canadians will be taking their vacations State-side this year and Canada will see less U.S. tourism based on the higher price of goods and services and the need to have a passport to cross the border.
This does not favour good long-term growth for tourism related industries or those exporters and those who ship the majority of their production to the U.S.
It should however give Canadian politicians some food for thought about reducing corporate taxes, reducing the taxes on gas and decreasing consumption taxes such as the HST and GST to make Canada more competitive with our friends to the south.
Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach and is Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz in Chelsea, Quebec.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Canadian Companies Face Different Challenges than U.S. Counterparts.
I came across an interesting discussion this week online by Paul Ricketts where he put a question out on his blog about the differences that Canadian companies face in comparison to those starting up in United States.
Many of my American business friends and I discuss this on a regular basis especially now that the world is getting smaller every day and Canada’s small business environment is growing especially now that we have a solid economy, great standard of living and a highly educated workforce. Yes, in many parts of the country that goes with 6 months of winter, but Canada is still a great place to start a business.
However in spite of all the good things about doing business in Canada, Ricketts brief survey addressed some of the issues affecting Canadian start-ups. For one, Canada has a small domestic market which is further fragmented by inter-provincial barriers and regulations. This is especially true for tangible goods. Many products are regulated provincially forcing many Canadian companies to seek markets offshore or in the U.S. quicker than developing the Canadian market. For many start-ups this means that many companies are doing business in foreign markets quicker than their U.S. counterparts and this leads to increased costs and marketing issues as companies are forced to tackle markets outside of their home country.
Canada also has a much smaller VC market and angel capital pools are smaller. This means that investors are required to be less patient in there need for returns which forces a lot of smaller companies to grow much more quickly to satisfy investors forcing in some cases quicker expansion and higher risk taking. This is not all bad, however but if you have a product that requires good long term patient investment it can be difficult to find the right investors in Canada.
Because of the size of the market only 30 million people, there is a lack of diversity of industry clusters and sub-clusters and fewer companion companies within those clusters, so a lot of start-ups are forced to go alone or go a long way from home to find companion products and companies that can use their products. Canada also suffers from a lack of large major home grown companies and has limited national and global players with a major presence to act as catalysts for new ideas and to grow management talent. This does not mean there isn’t any real talent there is, just not enough.
Ricketts also thinks that Canadian business owners have a bad case of “ sell-out-itis “ which forces Canadian companies too often to take the big cheque sell out too early or plan a business with short-term or limited thinking where the entire business strategy is predicated on finding an exit.
With that being said, a stable economy, solid work force and a growing market Canada is still a great place to consider starting a business. There are a large number of government business incentives and safe environments. The only thing that we really need is a better climate in general, because sometimes you just don’t need 6 months of winter.
Kensel Tracy, The Marketing Coach is a Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. located in Ottawa and Chelsea, Quebec and is also the President of Business over Breakfast Clubs of North America now opening in every City. If you have a story that you think on doing business in Canada, he can be reached at kenselt@sympatico.ca.
Many of my American business friends and I discuss this on a regular basis especially now that the world is getting smaller every day and Canada’s small business environment is growing especially now that we have a solid economy, great standard of living and a highly educated workforce. Yes, in many parts of the country that goes with 6 months of winter, but Canada is still a great place to start a business.
However in spite of all the good things about doing business in Canada, Ricketts brief survey addressed some of the issues affecting Canadian start-ups. For one, Canada has a small domestic market which is further fragmented by inter-provincial barriers and regulations. This is especially true for tangible goods. Many products are regulated provincially forcing many Canadian companies to seek markets offshore or in the U.S. quicker than developing the Canadian market. For many start-ups this means that many companies are doing business in foreign markets quicker than their U.S. counterparts and this leads to increased costs and marketing issues as companies are forced to tackle markets outside of their home country.
Canada also has a much smaller VC market and angel capital pools are smaller. This means that investors are required to be less patient in there need for returns which forces a lot of smaller companies to grow much more quickly to satisfy investors forcing in some cases quicker expansion and higher risk taking. This is not all bad, however but if you have a product that requires good long term patient investment it can be difficult to find the right investors in Canada.
Because of the size of the market only 30 million people, there is a lack of diversity of industry clusters and sub-clusters and fewer companion companies within those clusters, so a lot of start-ups are forced to go alone or go a long way from home to find companion products and companies that can use their products. Canada also suffers from a lack of large major home grown companies and has limited national and global players with a major presence to act as catalysts for new ideas and to grow management talent. This does not mean there isn’t any real talent there is, just not enough.
Ricketts also thinks that Canadian business owners have a bad case of “ sell-out-itis “ which forces Canadian companies too often to take the big cheque sell out too early or plan a business with short-term or limited thinking where the entire business strategy is predicated on finding an exit.
With that being said, a stable economy, solid work force and a growing market Canada is still a great place to consider starting a business. There are a large number of government business incentives and safe environments. The only thing that we really need is a better climate in general, because sometimes you just don’t need 6 months of winter.
Kensel Tracy, The Marketing Coach is a Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. located in Ottawa and Chelsea, Quebec and is also the President of Business over Breakfast Clubs of North America now opening in every City. If you have a story that you think on doing business in Canada, he can be reached at kenselt@sympatico.ca.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
What's Really Ethical in Government
I recently got an email from a disgruntled conservative that said that he did not sign on at being a conservative to have the current government give a government employee especially a senior manager that gets fired for doing a lousy job a
$400,000 golden hand shake.
I wonder how all those guys being hounded by revenue Canada, the hard working man on the street, that is trying to get ahead feels when he spends 24 months fighting a court case over some grey area with Revenue Canada only to have $400,000 of those dollars be given to an government employee that does lousy work.I think our world is completely upside down.
In government we reward people for doing a bad job. This sends all the wrong messages. One you can't be fired so don't worry do a bad job. If you have work too hard, well go on stress leave and if you stay on it long enough, retire early because of all the holidays you have saved up while you were on stress leave, er a holidays while getting paid.
I don't want this to take away from those hard working government employees only that there is too much of this lining the pockets of too few people who have places the work force where government entitlement is getting out of hand.
Take that other dude, the other ethics type government guy that left the
Federal government for another job with the City as Ethics Manager and got $500,000 in benefits from his new employer to top up his pension or take those employees that went from collecting Provincial taxes when the HST was implemented who left work on Friday, went to the same job and the same desk on Monday, started collecting the same taxes with a different name only more of those same taxes and they got vacation pay and retro active pay because they were doing the same job with a different name.
Sign me up for a job like that. I will do the same job today and call it something else tomorrow , where is my cheque? Revenue Canada is this legal, especially with a corporation. Does this mean that I can increase my salary and not have to pay taxes since its the same job I had the day before.
So ethically, I guess, it only means you take what is given, and if government types have negotiated the gold hand shake for any type of change, you can still do a pretty shitty job and get paid " big time" as long as you hang around long enough and occupy a desk.
So my ask today is ... what's really ethical in government anymore? Does anyone know, all I know is the taxpayer is wondering and sighing and steaming and wonders who he should call. Oh -- I forgot nobody knows who to call all the phones have busy signals and no one is in charge, you will have call back.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Canada's Cities Dominate on World Stage
As a Canadian and a business owner it was great to find out this week that based on research provided the by the Economist Intelligence Unit that three of the top-ten most liveable cities in the world were in Canada and that Vancouver ranked as the number one most liveable city in the world.
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world's leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis. Like The Economist, it is an independent of all governing bodies and corporations, leaving it free to deliver accurate and impartial business intelligence. The report provided livability rankings for 140 cities. Each city was assigned a score for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories which included, stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Australia had four cities in the top ten and Vienna, Helsinki and Auckland New Zealand rounded out the top-ten group. A big disappointment for my American friends was that the highest ranked city was Pittsburg at 29, and that Los Angles ranked at 44 and New York ranked at 56.
Why are these rankings so important? Well as a business owner, a highly livable city allows you the opportunity to define the best places to setup and run a business and it is important to know what cities have the greatest potential.
For Canada to have three cities, Vancouver ranked as number one and Toronto and Calgary as four and five respectively it’s quite an accomplishment. It shows that low interest rates, coupled with good government, limited risk, vision, stability, infrastructure and commitment are all important in growing an economy and a city. Canada has managed to build the infrastructure in order to make its major cities as appealing places to live and as such, great places to start and grow a business.
Canada has also weathered the economic downturn quite nicely.Our business growth is strong and emerging and our banking system is also strong. Although we take a lot of flak from our neighbors to the south and sometimes throughout the world in regards to Canada’s commitment to national health care and high taxes which are in some cases perceived as detrimental, Canada continues to lead all of the G8 countries in economic growth. Combine that with high livability rankings and you have a country that is well positioned in regards to providing opportunities for business for the future.
This study also shows that if quality of life can be sustained then businesses can also grow and prosper in these environments. An educated work force and a highly livable city are usually tied into a strong economy and significant business growth.
As a Canadian I am proud of the fact that Canada is the land of opportunity. Yes it may have cold weather, 15% of the population that speaks French, higher personal and business taxes, the HST (sales taxes) and higher municipal taxes, but now Canada should have no inferiority complex on both the world stage and in the business world.
Lowering our national debt and continuing to provide lower corporate taxes, rebuilding our education system and ensuring a high standard of living will ensure that Canada is a good place to invest and build a business. These are the things that hopefully we can teach the world. Combine that with mutual respect for our fellow humans throughout the planet and you have a winning formula for business success.
For more information on the study and to register free for additional information checkout http://www.eiu.com/ at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Kensel Tracy is The Marketing Coach and Senior Partner with The Corporate Coachworkz Inc. and a Senior Consultant with the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing in Ottawa. He is also the President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs now opening in every city in North America. If you have something of interest he can be contacted at kenselt@sympatico.ca
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