With the holidays ramping up, here is a little seasonal business whimsy from Byron Richards, as it first appeared in our inaugural issue. (J.T.)   Another holiday season is quickly coming upon us and some mysteries remain unsolved. How does Santa stay in business? Sure he has awesome brand awareness, the kind that we all [...]

Learning Business From Nature This piece originally appeared in the summer 2010 issue of Mingle. We particularly like the way Geoff uses nature to illustrate his ideas and challenge his readers to stretch the way they look at their business’s cycles. (J.T.) Since summer is the best time of year to vacation, play and be [...]

Make the most of it. The relevance of face-to-face time with prospective clients cannot be understated.  A strong relationship with clients and prospects does many things: It helps to solidify your brand presence in the marketplace with positive word-of-mouth. It increases client retention. It encourages referrals. The question is, how do we create trusting, long-term [...]

Yoga has hit the mainstream in North America. We have fallen in love with yoga; in fact, we’ve gone a little yoga crazy. Yoga studios are everywhere, and yoga spinoffs are abundant. Multimillion dollar clothing companies (think Lululemon) with clever concepts, designs and branding have turned erstwhile sweats into “yoga pants”- daywear of choice for [...]

Mingle publisher and partner of Apeeling Orange, Harm Geurs, put together these thoughts on effective branding for our March/ April 2010 issue. With talk of more economic doom and gloom, knowing how to use your marketing budget effectively is key. (J.T.) Do any of these scenarios seem familiar? Scenario 1- You’re in a large room [...]

This article by HRpros’ Tanya Seliakus outlines the advantages of diverse staffing. As immigration to Atlantic Canada continues to be encouraged, our markeplace is changing. Reflecting the needs of its changing faces through hiring strategies is not only ethically correct, it creates new business opportunities. (J.T.) Diversity and inclusion are principles which enrich our lives.  [...]

Sewing the CEEDs of Entrepreneurship What if you were to turn the concept of entrepreneurship upside down? What if it wasn’t an end- something you worked toward and hopefully attained- but a means to an end? And what if that “end” meant something very different for everyone involved? Welcome to the Centre for Entrepreneurship and [...]

Basic tips for moving receipts out of your wallet and into time-saving order. Talk to your accountant. Make sure you are clear about what is expensible in your business area. Keep all your receipts! Credit card and bank statements are not enough if your are audited. When you get a receipt, indicate what and/or who [...]

Are You Doing it? People are any business’s greatest assets and businesses with the highest calibre people, committed to the organization and its goals, have that advantage. Interestingly enough, while many businesses prepare a formal business plan, few have a written human resources (HR) management plan as part of their overall business strategy. But if [...]