BMO Bank of Montreal and PROFIT Magazine Business Coach Podcast

What is corporate culture other than a very popular buzz word within modern management circles? Although its definition varies, it is widely agreed that corporate culture is a crucial variable in the formula for business success. The challenge for business owners then is to control that variable. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Mark Wardell, founder and president of Wardell Professional Development, a management consulting firm specializing in growth oriented companies.

People will always take better care of things that they own versus the things that they don't. Then entrepreneurs would do well to cede some ownership in their firms to their staff. Employee share ownership plans offer one way to turn staff into shareholders. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Perry Phillips. Perry is the owner and president of Toronto-based ESOP Builders Inc. which helps companies develop employee share ownership plans.

A lot of people get into business for themselves because they want to be their own bosses or achieve a higher standard of living. But in the back of their minds, they're probably also thinking of the day that they will sell their successful business cashing out on their own terms and on their own schedule. If only more of those dreams would come true. The reality is that many business owners feel forced to sell at a time or a price that is less than ideal. So what are their options? In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Doug Robbins, the founder of Robbinex Inc., a Hamilton-based business broker and consultant that aids the buyers and sellers of private companies.

October 17th marks the start of small business week, 2010. So it's a good time to reflect on the legislative environment for small businesses in Canada. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Catherine Swift, President and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Franchised outlets number more than 78,000 in Canada, employing more than a million people. It might be added that a significant number of franchisees encounter some unwelcome surprises in franchise ownership, and that's often because they are not aware of key terms in their franchise agreements which are those contracts that dictate the rights and obligations of the franchisee and the franchisor respectively. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Blair Rebane, National Leader of the Franchise and Distribution Group at Borden Ladner Gervais.

Labour Day has come and gone and we are now at the beginning of what many people call the start of the real business year. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Doug Porter, the Deputy Chief Economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto about his Fall economic outlook.

So you want to start your own business but aren't convinced you have a million dollar idea? That's alright because someone else does. Franchise concepts run the gamut from fast food restaurants to sophisticated business services and one of them might be right up your alley. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Steve Iskierski, Senior Manager of National Franchising Services for BMO Bank of Montreal about franchising opportunities.

The legal issues for small and mid-size businesses are varied and they can put your company at great risk. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Rubson Ho, a partner at Cognition LLP, about the legal issues affecting start-ups and growth companies.

Business valuation is a hot topic in the days following the recession and leading up to the retirement on mass of baby boomers who will need to sell their companies. Given those factors, do you know what your business is worth today? In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with is Sue Loomer, a Chartered Business Valuator and a partner at BDO Canada, about this question and more.

Expansion is the dream of many business owners but wanting and doing are two very different things. So how can you grow your business smartly and successfully? In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with Ken Tencer, the CEO of Spyder Works, a growth strategy and design firm based in Mississauga Ontario, about these questions and more.

Online social media is everywhere these days and it continues to grow in popularity and importance among consumers, if not also businesses. Social media also continues to evolve quickly which makes it a big challenge for companies of all shapes and sizes. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast Ian chats with well-known technology journalist, public speaker and entrepreneur, Amber MacArthur about the power of social media.

If you want to learn how to run and grow a business, there is no better teacher than other successful business operators. Entrepreneurial peer advisory or peer mentoring groups were founded on that principle. However, just a tiny fraction of business owners belong to peer advisory organizations. Why is that? And what are they missing out on? To help answer these questions, Ian chats with Mike Desjardins, longtime member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and owner of Virtus, a business coaching and consulting firm that conducts peer advisory sessions for entrepreneurs and executives.

Angel investors form a crucial yet underappreciated part of the entrepreneurial financing market in Canada. They are also becoming more effective and easier to find. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast, Ian talks to Bob Chaworth-Musters, who is the founder of the Angel forum, a semi-annual event where entrepreneurs pick their opportunities to prescreen Angel investors.

What is your company's competitive advantage? Every business owner should know the answer to that question and the vast majority of business owners would say that they do. But nothing could be further from the truth. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast, Ian talks to Jaynie Smith, the founder and principal of Smart Advantage Incorporated. She is also the author of Creating Competitive Advantage: Give customers a reason to choose you over your competitors.

Listen to your customers is one of the golden rules of effective business management, but how many companies pay more than lip service to it? Even if you are listening to your customers, you could probably be doing it better, not to mention the tricky task of turning feedback into action. In this episode of the Business Coach Podcast, Ian talks to Tyler Gompf. Tyler is the cofounder and CEO of Winnipeg based Tell us About Us Incorporated, which helps companies get feedback from their customers.