Design. Charity. Life.

Small businesses make up 99.8% of all companies in Canada. Advances in technology, changing demographics and the global recession have shaped new consumer behaviours. For Small Business Week 2013, BDC put together 5 Trends that are shaping the future of Canadian business.

About BDC Small Business Week

BDC Small Business Week is a Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) trademark. Its origins date back to 1979, when BDC business centres in British Columbia’s Lower Fraser Valley pooled their resources to organize a week of activities for entrepreneurs. This first event and one that followed in 1980 were so successful that BDC officially launched Small Business Week across Canada in 1981. The initiative was quickly adopted by Canada’s business community. In 2012, more than 200 activities across Canada attracted close to 10,000 businesspeople to BDC Small Business Week.

SAGE Canada’s first Semi-Annual Conference is coming up on October 26. The conference theme is Making a Change, and it hopes to provide youth entrepreneurs with the proper education and resources needed to start their venture.

SAGE has invited me to give a Keynote Speech at the event, where I will discuss my experiences with ACCESS and Now Creative Group. The conference will consist of various workshop topics including crowd-funding, social innovation/entrepreneurship, and a story from one of our past youth entrepreneurs discussing their business venture and the impact they were able to create.

The conference will end with an Idea Consultation, where each participating high school will be pitching their venture to a panel of industry professionals. I have the opportunity to be part of the panel, which includes past directors, members of the Digital Media Zone, and successful youth entrepreneurs. As a judge, we will be able to provide constructive feedback to entrepreneurs, in hopes of helping them improve their businesses.

Don't forget to register for SAGE's first conference, "Making a Change": http://t.co/kWUkSpEdTR #SAGEconference

— SAGE Canada (@SAGECanada) October 11, 2013

GO Transit has been running a pilot project with IMA Outdoor to provide free WiFi internet access to customers at select GO Stations.

Even though this sounds like great news, they have gone ahead and listed all the “constraints” and challenges this would bring.

The text below is written by the GO & IMA team. More details are on the GoTransit website, here.

What are the constraints of WiFi on GO Trains, specifically?

Substantial Infrastructure Changes

WiFi on trains relies on cellular modems that use the same networks as smart phones. While coverage of the cellular network is fairly strong along our rail corridors, accommodating the volume of 2,000 passengers during rush hour requires an increased numbers of Wi-Fi access points, cellular modems, and other infrastructure on the train, which can be very complicated and expensive.

Low Quality Service

Even with a significant dedication of resources, it may not be the high-quality customer service experience GO wants to provide. The WiFi signal could be poor and slow with frequent disconnections, and it would be difficult for us to provide technical support.

Installation & Maintenance Challenges 

The logistics of installing and supporting WiFi could also prove challenging. GO currently operates 560 train coaches at a highly specialized facility, which is operated jointly by our partner Bombardier. Installing WiFi equipment on our rail coaches could interfere with the routine maintenance and repair of the train fleet. In order to meet our objective of minimizing impact on GO operations, an installation schedule for WiFi could take up to two years to fully implement across the fleet. It could also result in an inconsistent experience for customers.

Technological Evolution 

At the rate in which mobile internet technologies are developing, the equipment installed on trains could be out-of-date by the time they are fully phased in.

No Supporting Business Model 

GO consulted industry experts and examined media coverage on other transit agencies that have implemented Wi-Fi programs. From this research, it was difficult to identify any other transit agency in North America that has provided reliable and high-quality WiFi on trains with a sustainable, cost-recovery business model and at no cost to the customer. This has led to many other transit agencies to spend a significant amount of money on on-board WiFi networks that still often fail to meet customer expectations.

Be Good Be Social Toronto is taking place on October 17. It’s all about Social Media for Social Good.

Now in its third year, the conference will focus on intermediate and advanced strategies, from selecting partners to work with, balancing internal and external communication demands, recognizing corporate partners, and taking risks with new platforms.

I will be one of the speakers at this year’s event in my role as Executive Director of ACCESS, on the topic, Tweet by Example: When Non-Profit Leaders Get Social.

Everyone is welcome to attend Be Good Be Social Toronto. This year specifically, sessions will be focused on more intermediate topics, since more strategic discussions are not happening elsewhere in this sector. Sessions are suitable for fundraisers, communications staff, and executive staff looking to advance their social media thinking, and hear from leading and innovative nonprofits in the city.

Previously hosted at CSI, this year’s event is at a tech-enabled space at CI Financial right by Maple Leafs Square. George Brown College Continuing Education is the leader sponsor, providing nonprofit peers the chance to attend for FREE.

Join us for a range of talks, a Q&A panel session and of course drinks and food.

You can Order Tickets online here. For more, follow @BeGoodToronto or connect to their Facebook page.

Be Good Be Social Toronto is organised by non-profits and for non-profits in Canada. Thanks to the awesome committee members including Claire and Clare! It’s an honour to be part of this event.

Scott Stratten, known on Twitter as @UnMarketing, just launched a podcast called, of course, UnPodcast.

I’ve been following Scott for a few years now, and saw him speak live at Canada 3.0 in Stratford, and of course Toronto before he was such a “big deal on a fairly irrelevant social media site” (as his Twitter bio explains).

The first episode is live online with a summary at TheUnPodcast.com.

Scott’s books, both of which I recommend, are UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging and The Book of Business Awesome / The Book of Business UnAwesome. There is also the soon to be released QR Codes Kill Kittens: How to Alienate Customers, Dishearten Employees, and Drive Your Business into the Ground.

Topics on the podcast will include important things like, why QR codes kill kittens, trademark infringement, how to handle false accusations about your brand, the importance of good reviews on your site, when to walk away from a problem customer, trolls vs. complaining customers, and way more, including the dumbest move host Scott and Allison have seen on the Internet, ever.

You can watch the video of the UnPodcast recording below, or subscribe to the regular audio version here on iTunes.