Thank you for sponsoring our fund-raiser!

It was essential that we established some outstanding partnerships with businesses and networked with business people!

Our heart-felt thanks to over 50 business partners, including the following sponsors:

Pink Lime Salon & Spa

Trademark Clothing

Stormtech Clothing

Mr. Nassim Abboud

Elegant Beauty

Pro-Star Auto

Starbucks

Tropical Corner Restaurant

Angel

Broken Plate Restaurant in Kensington

Mimos Portuguese Restaurant

Kelly & Flo’s Restaurant

Create your own solo business - paper or plastic...

Entrepreneurs Who Go It Alone — By Choice

By Kristina Dell 

Monday, Oct. 24, 2011

In the fall of 2007, Marco Arment was working as lead developer at Tumblr, the social network and blogging platform, when he noticed that he kept losing the links to interesting stories that he didn't immediately have time to read.
So one evening at home, after a frustrating search for an article he vaguely recalled, Arment spent five hours creating a simple web application that would allow him to quickly and easily save links and follow up on them later. "It didn't need to do that much and there was so much value right there," says Arment. "I put in about an hour a week on it and it took almost no effort because it was so simple."
Arment showed the website to a couple of friends and they loved it. Six months later, when Apple announced it was creating an app store for the iPhone, Arment thought he could expand his idea. He liked reading articles on his subway commute home, but the Manhattan trains lacked an Internet connection. What if he could create an iPhone app that would let people read saved links offline? Arment spent his evenings developing Instapaper to do just that. (See the 25 best financial blogs.)
Three years later, Instapaper had grown to a million users and, despite the tanking economy, was making Arment enough money to live on — even as he maintained his job at Tumblr. Revenue came from sales of the $4.99 app, ads on the website, and a purely optional website subscription fee of $1 a month. "The iPad was a huge boon to the service because it's designed for reading," he says. Instapaper was taking off but at the same time was demanding more of his time, so in September 2010 Arment left his job to run Instapaper full time.
Today, Instapaper is a profitable one-man operation, having garnered 1.8 million users. They include Jared Keller, an associate editor for TheAtlantic.com, who uses the service on his Droid Incredible during his 40-minute commute. "It's as close as I can get to print without lugging around a stack of magazines," says Keller. "It is one of those things I can't live without." And Instapaper is the perfect recession-proof business because the overhead is low and Arment, 29, has no employees to pay or investors to please. "Investors want to see growth and a return on the investment," he said. "It would lead to the kind of job that I don't want right now."
It's a sentiment felt by a growing number of solo entrepreneurs. The notion that companies must solicit investments and keep expanding in order to survive isn't always the goal anymore, especially during tough economic times. Web-based tools have helped level the playing field by lowering overhead costs so that a one-man operation can compete against million dollar corporations and thrive.
A few years back something like Instapaper would have been dismissed by venture capitalists as a mere "feature," not a stand-alone product — let alone a profitable business. "But it turns out people will pay for features," says Paul Kedrosky, senior fellow at the Kansas City, Missouri-based Kauffman Foundation, which fosters entrepreneurship. "The tools required to run a company, and how expensive it is to market it, have all declined so dramatically in the last decade that there is a real hope for people who declare themselves one-man organizations to stay this way."

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http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2094921_2094923_2094924,00.html

Marketing Presentations

Brilliant Marketing Mix (PPPP) and SWOT Analyses!

Our teams analyzed the marketing efforts of the following businesses:

• Guess Clothing,


• Home Depot retail stores,


• Westside Leisure Centre,


• and Calgary Transit.

Best articles to read for your business...

Top 3 most read articles of 2007

Most popular articles, as voted by avangate.com readers during 2007

This is a list featuring top 3 articles of each section on our site. We are very pleased to see that articles dedicated to Internet Marketing, Website Usability, Software Business and Affiliate Marketing have grown substantially during the past year, proportionally with your interest for this field.
This list was made up according to the traffic received for each section in part. What follows are the top 12 most popular Avangate articles during 2007. We thank you for your interest and we will do our best for 2008 in order to provide you with quality content.

A. Internet Marketing

1. 68 Online SEO Tools and Resources
   May 30, 2007
   A compiled list of free online Search Engine Optimization tools to check and use for your current web site in order to improve your rankings in the search engines. Feel free to check and use them. [ read full article ]
   
2. 50 Press Release Submission Websites
   April 26, 2007
   This is a list with the most important websites where you can submit your press releases. There are 50 free and fee-based websites through which you will improve your awareness online. The list is ordered by Google PageRank and the links lead to "Add/Submit a Press Release" or "Register" page. [ read full article ]
   
3. Top 50 Free Blog Directories
   August 27, 2007
   In order to promote your business, gain more exposure and increase targeted traffic, we created a list with the best blog directories where you can submit for free your blog. The first classification criterion is Google PageRank followed by Alexa Ranking. The blog directories are listed with links to "Submit blog" or "Register" page. [ read full article ]
   

B. Website Usability

1. Choosing the Right Colors for Your Web Site
   March 21, 2007
   How to choose the right colors for your website in order to keep visitors browsing the pages? Read some tips to keep in mind when defining the color scheme. [ read full article ]
   
2. 50 Online Accessibility and Usability Tools
   June 15, 2007
   Usability and accessibility go hand in hand with conversion rates, customer satisfaction, targeted traffic and the list can go on. A list providing 50 useful online tools to check your web site usability and accessibility. [ read full article ]
   
3. How to Make your URLs SEO Friendly
   April 27, 2007
   URL rewriting can bring you on the right track in the race for Search Engine Optimization (combined with other techniques that you may use for this purpose). The other strong reason for URL rewriting would be the increase in usability for web users, and in maintainability for webmasters. [ read full article ]
   

C. Software Business

1. Cross-sell, Up-sell, Boost Your Software Sales
   February 09, 2007
   How to increase software sales, cross-selling, up selling, selling technique that brings up to the customers' attention products or services complementary to the ones they intended to buy in the first place. [ read full article ]
   
2. Getting Ready to Participate at a Software Conference
   October 19, 2007
   Software Business Conferences are a great opportunity of establishing connections and meeting face-to-face clients you already have but have never had the chance to personally talk to. If such an event might have seemed rather difficult to prepare, you weren't far from the truth. Software conferences need as much preparation as any other conference. But all your efforts will be rewarded. [ read full article ]
   
3. How to Name a Software Product
   November 08, 2007
   The name of the software product is an introducing element, the best way to make your business appear in the SERPs and the differentiating element from competitors. An article regarding the steps that any software producer has to take in order to choose the most suitable name for his product. [ read full article ]
   

D. Affiliate Marketing

1. Make your Download Portal a Successful Affiliate Business
   May 03, 2007
   Most download portals nowadays are built on automatic content feeders, the so-called PAD files. Obviously, importing 20-30k products automatically might be a good way to start a download portal, but then again, most download portals look and work the same, just because of that. Find out how to make your download portal different with a blog. [ read full article ]
   
2. Mistakes in Affiliate Programs
   March 28, 2007
   Affiliate marketing does not qualify as a "get-rich-quickly" scheme. Here are the most common 10 mistakes that are usually made when joining affiliate programs and advice about how to avoid them. [ read full article ]
   
3. Don't Overpay for Selling your Products. Use Affiliates
   March 16, 2007
   One way to sell online your products is by having affiliates program. Find out more about affiliates program and what the benefits of having your affiliates program are. [ read full article ]
   

Sales and better business...

The 10 Most Popular Business Articles of 2006

About Small Business Canada’s Most-Read Business Articles

By Susan Ward, About.com Guide

Filed In:

1. Small Business: Canada

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The most popular business articles of the last year cover the gamut, from business plan outlines and best business opportunities through secrets of customer service and selling on eBay. Learn something new or revisit a favourite business article with this top 10 list.
1. The Business Plan Outline
This business plan outline lists the sections of the business plan in the order in which they will appear in your completed business plan with a brief explanation of each section. Better yet, there’s a link to an article that provides details for researching and writing each section of the plan to guide you through the writing a business plan process.
More: The Quick-Start Business Plan
2. Top Digital Voice Recorders
I suspect this business article is so popular because ideas tend to pop into your head at the most inconvenient times – especially good ideas. With a digital voice recorder, you have a much better chance of capturing the thought. This piece presents my picks for the best digital voice recorders that have the ability to transfer voice files to your computer.
More: Top Digital Recorder Transcribers
3. Best Business Opportunities 2006
Like all of my Best Business Opportunities articles, this one focuses on small businesses that I feel have big potential – the potential for sustained profitability. If you’re interested in starting or investing in a small business, you’ll want to have a look as all of the opportunities I present in this business article are still great choices.
More: Best Business Opportunities 2007
4. 8 Rules for Good Customer Service
Ask any customer what good customer service is and they’ll tell you they know it when they see it. It’s easy to recognize because it is a truly simple thing. If you apply the eight simple rules presented in this article consistently, your business will become known for its good customer service – and draw new customers as well as increase your repeat business.
More: 4 Ways to Provide Customer Service That Outshines Your Competitors
5. 7 Tips for Selling on eBay
eBay has become such a phenomenon that instead of asking who’s selling on eBay you have to ask, who’s not? It’s no surprise then, that eBay is such a popular business model. But whether you’re selling a few items to test a product’s sale potential or thinking of using eBay as a full scale eBusiness, these tips will show you how to sell on eBay successfully.
More: Selling on eBay Case Study
6. How to Invoice
When I first started my business, I thought I knew how to do this. But then I discovered that there are certain things that have to be on an invoice and I was missing some of them! Besides laying out exactly what your invoices have to have, this business article includes a sample invoice that you can use.
More: Using Invoices That Encourage Action
7. Top 10 Home Business Opportunities
Want to start a home-based business but don’t know what you might do and wondering what sorts of home businesses might have the best chance of success? Then this is the article for you. Like my other best business opportunity pieces, I’ve chosen these business ideas because of their potential right now and because there's going to be an even greater demand for these products and or services over the next few years.
More: How to Start a Home-Based Business That Will Succeed
8. Steps to Starting a Business
This is the start up guide on the site; if you’re starting a business in Canada, this one business article will lead you through the process step-by-step – and links to many other articles with more detailed information if you want it.
More: How to Create a Winning Business Name
9. 5 Secrets of Good Customer Service
Albert E. Schindler rarely advertises, yet he enjoys about 80 percent of his town’s sign and display business – because, he says, of good customer service. Here he shares the customer service secrets that have made his own business such a success, secrets that any small business can apply.
More: Customer Service Lessons From Two Top Retailers
10. Starting a Business Quiz
Many people dream of starting a business - but are hesitant to start a business of their own because they don't know if they're the right sort of person or are worried that they'll start a business and fail. By taking this quiz and learning more about what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, you’ll find out whether the time is right for you to start your own business.