Nanette Samol
Special to the Edmonton Sun

When it comes to running a small business, most owners take on several roles. A lack of time doesn't allow them to learn new methods for a successful financial future.

Ever wonder how to find and retain employees or use the Internet as a marketing tool? Your questions can be answered in a compact session at The Business Link.

"Brown Bag Presentations are meant to be quick-to-learn and quick-to-use," says Linda Chorney, business link marketing officer. The one-hour sessions take place over lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These free presentations cover the scopes of all your business needs.

"These are business topics for the person starting their own business or those expanding their business," explains Chorney.

Based on first-come-first-serve, Brown Bag Presentations allow the public to spend their lunch absorbing information and learning how to implement tactics into their own business practices.

"The presentations are appreciated by our clients," says Chorney. A free service and a convenient central location, not only are sessions available in Edmonton, but across the province via video conferencing.

Brown Bag presentations are just one of the services The Business Link offers. The centre is a resource to information readily available to small businesses across Alberta. Whatever your small business need, The Business Link is an invaluable resource to help run your business with ease.

A great way to start is to take part in a Brown Bag Presentation to learn how to reach your goals. Drop in on a topic of interest with a roomful of entrepreneurs moving their small business to greater success. And since The Business Link is a non-profit organization, fueled by your federal and provincial tax dollars, the centre offers its services in both English and French. For more information, call 1-800-272-9675 or visit online at www.cbsc.org/alberta.

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There are a few important aspects of video conferencing that all presenters should keep in mind while facilitating a session or meeting. Doing a presentation using video conferencing equipment can seem very easy, and it is once you master these five tips.

Tip 1: Interact with all attendees.

You will have an audience not only physically in front of you but also virtually. It is important not to forget about the remote sites that are participating because they will have questions just like your audience in front of you. Be sure to prompt questions and comments from all locations.

Tip 2: Speak clearly and project your voice.

There is a balance that has to be met between a presenter’s voice projections and speaking too loud into the microphone. Shouting into the microphone will distort the audio for the remote sites. Speaking clearly and projecting your voice will be appreciated by all, as it will ensure the presentation is understood.

Tip 3: Repeat questions and don’t forget the delay.

If there was one tip that all presenters should remember it is this one. A presenter should ALWAYS repeat questions in the host location. The reason for this is because the majority of the time microphones are unable to pick up the audio from the audience. Repeating the questions will ensure all participants are able to benefit from the questions being asked as well as the answer. This optimizes your ability to interact with many sites across the region, and improves the interactions and conversations. Remember there is a slight delay and the remote sites will not respond as quickly as the live audience.

Tip 4: Try not to look at the screen behind you.

If you use a PowerPoint presentation, please do not point to something on the screen behind you. The presentation is being transferred computer to computer and so, the remote sites will not see visual instructions or pointing. If you would like to point something out as it may be an important topic, it is a good idea to use the mouse as the sites will be able to see the mouse arrow.

Tip 5: Have a clear sign-off.

Be very clear when the session has ended and have a visible sign-off. The remote sites will then take that as a sign to either ask questions, or terminate the conference. For example, you can say “Bye” and wave to everyone or “Does anyone have any last questions?” This is a good way to clearly communicate that the session is finished.

By following these few basic and simple steps during your presentation will ensure VC Success! And one last tip…Remember to always smile and have fun!!

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Accessing the expertise of consultants, lawyers, accountants, financial representatives, and e-business experts just got easier!

Thanks to the video-conferencing capability of the Entrepreneurship Learning Centre Network (ELC), you can now meet with one of these professionals in the "Guest Advisor Program", just as if you were there in person!

In our first pilot, Business Coaching Guest Advisors, Patty Breton of Breton Consulting Services Ltd. and Randal Adcock of Biopolis Inc. spoke with Mike Osborn, General Manager and staff of the Mackenzie Economic Development Corporation in High Level, Alberta. Both Patty and Randal quickly familiarized themselves to the new technology, and look forward to using it as they respond to business questions from Alberta's entrepreneurs.

The next season for the program begins on January 30, 2006, with a variety of areas of expertise available from Monday to Friday, 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. We look forward to exploring the use of video conferencing with ELC sites to further extend this valuable service to clients across Alberta. To find the ELC site closest to you, visit www.elcnetwork.ca/contact.asp.

More information on the Guest Advisor Program is available here.

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My name is Paul Pelletier and I am the new General Manager of the REACH Community Futures Corporation, and one of the Pioneers of the ELC when employed at La Chambre économique de L’Alberta. I was one of the original seven members who helped to work the kinks out of the system to get it to where it is today. The REACH Community Futures Corporation is proud to be an active participant in the ELC network. I have had satisfied clients who saved a great deal of money with this offer and even made money because of it. One client attended a Search Engine Optimization Brown Bag and later revealed that he was about to pay a consultant a great deal of money to get the information he received for free from the ELC. Another client attended an Invention Patent Brown Bag and learned that he could patent his invention and sell the rights to a manufacturer under license. Something he was not aware of before this work shop. It turned out to be a wonderful financial opportunity for him. Back to Top

The VenturePrize Business Plan Competition is one of the largest business plan competitions of its kind in Canada. It gives entrepreneurs with high-growth business ideas an opportunity to develop a solid business plan, connect with business leaders and a chance to win award prizes totalling $175,000. As part of the competition, participants are invited to specialized business seminars which are coordinated by the University of Alberta’s School of Business . This year, VenturePrize is pleased to offer these seminars outside the Greater Edmonton area by partnering with the ELC Network. For the first time, participants in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Two Hills, Vegreville and Warburg are able to take part in the competition while learning valuable information by participating in the specialized seminars via video conference. “We are very excited to support the VenturePrize Business Plan Competition as it expands throughout the province” says Stephanie Sarjas ELC Coordinator at The Business Link in Edmonton. At the end of the competition, a panel of blue-ribbon judges, consisting of business and financing professionals, will evaluate the business plans and choose the winners. For more information on VenturePrize, please go to www.ventureprize.com Back to Top

With the onset of the busy winter season, MEDC has found that the -32 c temperature and recent snow does not negatively affect the reliability nor quality of the video conferencing offering. “ In fact ”, says MEDC General Manager, Mike Osborn, “ The video conferencing equipment works much better in the cold and snow!! Travel in our communities, especially this time of year, is always very difficult. The Video Conferencing capability of the ELC offers quality, informative information without having to travel very far at all! In fact, our travel to the south has been reduced and we are able to take part in many meetings that we normally could not attend ”. Since the middle of September 2005, over 45 individuals and nine business meetings have taken place in the High Level region thanks to the ELC Video Conference technology. Back to Top