BMO Bank of Montreal and PROFIT Magazine Business Coach Podcast

What is sustainability, and what does it mean to your business? In this episode of the Business Coach podcast, Ian is joined by Canadian author and sustainability specialist Robert Spence. The two discuss corporate commitment, how to keep our planet habitable, growing populations and environmental stress.

The H1N1 virus captured the attention of the world this spring by spreading rapidly around the globe, infecting tens of thousands and killing hundreds of people through July. This has many entrepreneurs and small businesses wondering what impact H1N1 will have on Canadians when the traditional flu season returns this fall. In this episode, Ian talks to Gilles Rhéaume, Vice-President of Public Policy for the Conference Board about pandemic planning. You can also visit BMO's Guide to Business Continuity Planning online at http://www4.bmo.com/bmo/popup_template/0,2284,35490_15171277,00.html?pChannelId=46646.

Privacy rights are increasingly a matter of public debate and companies are legally required to protect the privacy of those they do business with. Despite these facts, most business owners would place privacy protection far down their list of concerns and, in doing so, they could be putting themselves at significant risk of legal censure and reputational damage. In this episode, Ian talks to Nicholas Chung, Principal of Assurance Services Development for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and co-author of "The Canadian Privacy and Data Security Tool Kit for Small and Medium Enterprises" about privacy for small business.

Over the past five years, Canada's fastest growing companies recorded revenue growth rates ranging from 323% to more than 8,000%. Learn more about how they achieved such phenomenal growth in the second of two episodes dedicated to conversations with the leaders of three of Canada's fastest growing companies. Join Ian as he speaks with the President and Co-founder of Inbox Marketer Randy Litchfield, the President of Arte Roofing and Construction Boaz Shilmover and the President and CEO of Dyadem International Kevin North.

PROFIT recently released a 24th Annual PROFIT 100 ranking of Canada's fastest growing companies and despite the recession, these entrepreneurial overachievers are doing just fine. What makes these companies stick so well and what can you learn from them? In part one of a two-part episode, Ian discusses these questions with President and Co-founder of Inbox Marketer Randy Litchfield, President of Arte Roofing and Construction Boaz Shilmover and President and CEO of Dyadem International Kevin North.

Now entering its fourth season on CBC television, Dragon's Den mixes business with game show, with reality television in a show that delivers lots of drama and even a few lessons in the area of raising capital. In this episode, Ian talks to Sean Wise, managing partner of Wise Mentor Capital, online host and industry advisor to Dragon's Den, about some of the lessons he's learned during the screening of entrepreneurs and their investment pitches for the nation-wide Dragon's Den auditions.

For celebrity starlets like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, any publicity is good publicity. But for your business, the only good publicity is, well, good publicity. In this episode, Ian talks to Susan Summers, president of Susan Summers and Associates, a Marketing and Media Relations consultancy based in Toronto, about how businesses can build relationships that can lead to positive media coverage. Susan is also the author of a new book entitled building media relationships.

As an entrepreneur, how do you equip yourself to cope with recession? In this episode, Ian talks to Frank Wilson, president and co-founder of TES, The Employment Solution, about some of his best lessons from hard times. Frank has managed through several downturns and his Toronto based staffing agency has come out stronger after everyone.

Most businesses are feeling the pinch of recession these days and that means they can't always find the cash to support their business plans or simply to meet their various payment obligations. Who can help them and what can they do to help themselves? In this episode, Ian addresses these questions with Larry Ginsberg, president of GinsOrg International, a management consultancy based in Toronto. In addition to running his full time consulting practice, Larry lectures at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto in strategic management, family businesses and entrepreneurship.

Most businesses are feeling the pinch of recession these days and that means they can't always find the cash to support their business plans or simply to meet their various payment obligations. Who can help them and what can they do to help themselves? In this episode, Ian addresses these questions with Larry Ginsberg, president of GinsOrg International, a management consultancy based in Toronto. In addition to running his full time consulting practice, Larry lectures at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto in strategic management, family businesses and entrepreneurship.

You have to spend money to make money is an adage most entrepreneurs would agree with until the economy tanks. When recession hits, managers across the business spectrum begin to question the value of any investments that don't benefit the bottom line in the short term. But by doing so, they could be sacrificing the long term competitiveness of their companies and maybe even diminishing their long term fortunes. In this episode, Ian talks to Mark Wardell, founder and President of Wardell Professional Development, about the best strategic investments businesses can make in a recession.

Companies these days are looking for every advantage they can get, but one they might be overlooking is workplace diversity. There is a growing course of business people and academics who say that a diverse employee base can give added strength to a company. But how do you manufacture diversity in your company if you don't already have it? And how do you leverage diversity once you do have it? In this episode, Ian discusses these questions and more with Lisa Mattam, founder and Managing Principal of The Mattam Group, a Toronto-based management consulting firm that counts workplace diversity among its specialties.

How do you sell more in a recession? Even though a recession is symptomatic of a diminished desire among consumers and businesses to spend money, you can't convince them to buy whatever it is you are offering: You just have to work harder and smarter at it. In this episode, Ian talks to Dominic Rubino, Vancouver-based sales and management trainer and CEO of FocalPoint Business Coaching, about smart selling strategies for recessionary times.

Canada's Conservatives recently tabled the federal budget for the 2009 / 2010 fiscal year, and its defining feature would appear to be deficit. In the hopes of at least keeping the Canadian economy above water through the global downturn, the government brought forth a stimulus plan that will run $34 billion into the red in its first year alone. In this episode, Ian talks to Catherine Swift, President and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, about what the federal budget means for small business.

A weak economy spells trouble for any business that doesn't manage its finances closely. For the cash-starved entrepreneur this sometimes means bankruptcy; however, this doesn't have to be the case. In this episode, Ian discusses the protections available to companies with Michael MacNaughton, a Toronto-based partner in the Insolvency and Restructuring group of Borden Ladner Gervais.