Our Home and Native Brand?

Canadians can certainly be said to have a strong sense of national identity. Even when reduced to the broadest and simplest stereotypes (hockey, cold tolerance, exceptional politeness) it's possible to create a well-defined image of our nation that we often celebrate, poke fun at, or otherwise attach to culturally. There are certainly also businesses and corporations whose "Canadian-ness" is unshakeably established, be it through history, coincidence, or carefully crafted brand strategy.
For the modern small business, does embracing or promoting the "made in Canada" aspects of your identity make sense in a bid to attract new customers or create loyalty?
In an era that has seen the rise of farm-to-table diets and the "buy local" movement, displaying the badge of national authenticity could be a savvy promotional strategy. Social consciousness appears to be a major force influencing consumer decisions: a 2013 survey by the Business Development Bank of Canada showed that 55 percent of respondents said that buying from local stores was a key selection factor. Local focus could make a significant difference to businesses in the food and beverage industry: 82 percent of respondents in an Ipsos survey on food purchasing patterns indicated that they would make an effort to buy locally produced goods.
For manufacturing businesses, the debate about Canadian identity reaches deeper than brand image. The decision to offer goods designed and made in Canada can often hinge on important questions of labour cost and technological flexibility. It can also be said that consumer consciousness plays a certain role, however: many consumers are more conscious about the socio-economic conditions under which products are made around the world.
Ultimately, consumers are likely to be swayed by the availability and price of goods and services. However, the individuality and homegrown quality of many small businesses should not be overlooked. Supporting local and small businesses has a measurable effect on community economies due to the relationships between retailers, suppliers and service providers. As BDC has noted in a separate 2013 report:

... a locally owned business can directly recirculate up to one third of its revenues in the community; a comparable multinational directly recirculated less than 20%, on average.
Similarly, the indirect redistribution of revenues can be as much as 2.6 times higher for local businesses than chain establishments,71 because local companies are more likely to use local suppliers, such as accountants, information technology companies and banks.

What can your small business do to make the most of this valuable network of local relationships between businesses and consumers? In this context, promoting the independent and Canadian-owned aspects of your identity may be significantly beneficial in the long run.
 

Sometimes there's an online article that is just so compelling that we at the Merchant Advance blog simply want to share it with you, our readers, in the hope that it gets the recognition it deserves. This is one of those moments. Unfortunately, this post was inspired by the tragic loss of one of our generation's pop-cultural icons, Mr. Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Spock on the original series of Star Trek. Canadians have been paying tribute to Mr. Nimoy in the days since his passing by redecorating the portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier that adorns the five-dollar bill in his image: a practice QZ.com highlighted in their recent piece titled "Spocking Fives."

Laurier's visage also inspired the website "Where's Willy?" - a social experiment and sort of mass human geography project aimed at charting the flow of paper money between consumers and merchants all across the country. Users are encouraged to stamp or annotate their bills with the website's address and instructions for whoever might find marked notes to enter them in an online database. The passage of a given bill from user to user and area to area is charted - sometimes over the course of many years.
Has your small business ever encountered weird or wonderful bills such as these?  Interestingly, QZ observes that the new-generation of "plastic" Canadian banknotes may make these practices more difficult - endangering, perhaps, their long life and prosperity.

One of the few requirements that we look for in a business that is seeking to apply for a Merchant Advance is that they process debit and credit payments from their customers. This goes a long way to helping support the sustainable, non-disruptive repayment of your advance, however there is another reason to support the idea that both you and your customers should be confident using debit.
According to the head of Fraud and Risk programs at Interac, the amount of debit card fraud in Canada has declined 45% over the past year. Canadians in particular benefit from the widespread introduction of chip-based debit and credit cards, whereas the acceptance of these security methods in the United States has been slowed by the comparatively high cost of upgrading its larger user-base of point of sale terminals. It is estimated that 96% of Canadian retailers have converted to chip-based readers.
What does this mean for your small business? In theory, customers should feel more secure and comfortable than ever when using debit or credit to make purchases. A recent study by the Bank of Canada found that in the early 1990s, cash accounted for more than 80 per cent of the volume and about 50 per cent of the value of POS transactions. In 2011, however, these shares dropped to below 50 per cent in volume and less than 20 per cent in value.
Card-based transactions form one of the key functional pillars of the merchant advance system. As we grow to work with more businesses across Canada, we hope to see further consumer and business confidence in the conduct of business through these methods in a safe and secure manner.

Today's blog sees your usual wordsmith stepping aside in favour of some informed perspectives from Merchant Advance Capital's own CEO, David Gens.

The Alternative Business Lending Industry Has Gone Public

When I first started in this industry, there were no public companies in the space. There were very few companies serving this market in Canada, and there was very little in terms of research or statistics about small business credit. Banks were spending less time, energy & money on providing small businesses with credit, creating a huge gap in the marketplace.

A lot has changed in recent years. Banks continue to shy away from extending credit to small businesses, but the gap that once existed is now being filled by an increasing number of players in the alternative business lending industry. I generally see this as a huge positive for the industry. It creates more competition which ensures that business owners can get the best possible deal and service. This is also forcing funding providers to innovate and create new products that better suit the unique needs of a wide range of different small businesses. Finally, the growth of our industry as a whole also creates more awareness among small business owners that there are alternatives to the bank.
On Deck Capital out of New York City (NYSE: ONDK) went public in December. On the back of strong loan growth and impressive technology, On Deck was able to fetch an impressive valuation well in excess of $1 billion, even though the company is not profitable and its revenues are a small fraction of this valuation. Growing investor appetite and increased awareness in the space has given rise to a large number of new players and an influx of capital. Our industry no longer seems like a small underserved and unknown niche - today it feels like a real main stream capital market that everyone is talking about and in which many are getting involved.
In these rapidly changing times, I think it is extra important for business owners to carefully select their funding partner. There are more choices now than ever, and business owners need to consider more than just the total funding amount or the cost of funds. It is equally as important to consider the payment structure, duration of the financing, renewal policy, and reporting tools, among other things.
But even more importantly, it is important to consider your funding partner as a long-term business partner. Make sure you share the same values, and that you are entering into a mutually beneficial, transparent, and positive business relationship together. Even if you are only in need of some quick short-term funds, it is still important to think about it as a long-term relationship, since having that partner in the future might come in real handy. As our industry becomes larger and more competitive, players such as On Deck are becoming increasingly data driven. As funding providers become more data driven, what they gain in efficiency they lose in flexibility, personality and relationship building. In a data driven environment nobody is taking time to learn about your unique story. The industry is fitting clients into boxes and becoming more like the banks that we set to differentiate ourselves from. You're not truly building relationships when you are being seen as simply a statistic.
We believe in a balance between data and personal touch. With data, we can become quicker and more efficient, delivering solutions in a timely and frictionless manner. But with a mix of personal touch, we can take the bit of time necessary to learn about someone's unique story, thereby tailoring a more personalized solution and using common sense in our funding decision. Our staff have been working with small businesses for years - they understand your challenges and work out practical solutions for you. Our culture is built on integrity and transparency so you get exactly what you expect. We take a great deal of pride in our work and believe strongly in our mix of data and personal touch. In an industry that is becoming increasingly noisy, crowded, and data driven, I feel that it is important for business owners to see a business partner on the other side of the funding table - one that they can trust and rely on, and one with which they can build a genuine long-term business relationship.

At the blog, we often discuss the challenges that face small businesses in the retail sector as well as other traditional "brick and mortar" business models. However, we haven't mentioned one of the most important Canadian business sectors - one for whom locality and the gap between small and big business approaches has created significant need for adequately engineered financial support solutions.

I'm referring, of course, to the small and medium agricultural business sector. Farming and production, often family-owned, as well as businesses that supply and support primary producers, are a huge part of the Canadian economy. These enterprises continue to play an important role in federal and provincial economies, where they make a significant contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment, directly providing one in eight jobs, employing 2.1 million people and accounting for 8.0% of total GDP.

An IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) report on the financial challenges of small agricultural businesses provides this summation:

Smallholder farmers need ongoing access to financial services specific to their agricultural activities and to reach markets. But small producers are often perceived as too risky by commercial financial institutions... as they are served neither by microfinance institutions nor by commercial banks. And in many places, formal financial services are not aligned with the business and investment purposes of small producers. 

Also, Canadian online resource FarmStart notes:

...we have found that young and new Canadian new entrants struggle to access the kind of capital and support necessary to establish a viable farm operation, grow their business, or scale up their operations effectively.

The latter report also shows support for "operating capital loans and... character-based equity financing" - in other words, financing options such as those available through Merchant Advance. In an industry in which many factors contribute to daily operating expenses, and where profit and performance can shift quickly with external conditions, stability and predictability of working capital are of great importance.

Contact us today online  or at 1 (877) 370-8850

At the Merchant Advance Blog, we're certainly inclined to encourage small businesses to engage with their communities and find opportunities to create discussion and buzz, leaving an impression on customers both existing and potential. We've highlighted great ways to do this, through media both digital and social as well as through brick-and-mortar activity and interaction.
It's also the case that as the proprietor of a small business, you're quite likely to be an expert at something. Be it coffee, cars, parcels or paint - your area of expertise is what defines the services that you can offer. How can you share this expertise with a diverse audience in a way that invites their participation, creating and strengthening the perception of your business as a trustworthy, knowledgeable entity?
Get on the mic.

Can't Stop The Signal

By which I mean: business podcasting. Recording short audio segments targeted toward the people most interested in your market, products, or services, and distributing them online, opens up potential in a channel that many businesses have yet to fully realize. I will refrain from hitting you on the head with a large list of tech specs, microphone suggestions, prices and acronyms: Macworld has an amazing five-part guide that will get you technically up to speed on the fundamentals. Here are five pieces of advice specifically for aspiring small business podcasters.

• Practice, Practice, Practice

Your business wasn't built in a day. It's likely that your skills in front of a mic won't be, either - unless you're the next Billy West or Don LaFontaine. It will take some time to figure out what makes for interesting, listenable material that keeps audiences engaged. Many podcasts employ a pair of hosts, who occasionally banter back and forth: this keeps the dialogue natural and flowing. Rather than give a lecture, you want to invite listeners into a conversational exchange that feels natural.

• Make Content "Evergreen"

It's usually the case that huge successes have a timeless quality: to use a metaphor from movies, people still re-watch Titanic to this day even though Avatar may have made more money at the box office. As a podcaster, refrain from commenting on events that might "expire" - consider that your listeners may take a spin through your back catalog or listen in non-consecutive order, and you don't want them to feel as though they've missed out on something.

• Focus on Engagement

One of my favourite podcasts is the UBK Happy Fun Time Hour, hosted by recording engineer and all-around space wizard genius Gregory Scott (aka. UBK.) The format, as with many other popular podcasts, is based entirely around listener engagement in a "mailbag" format: Scott uses social media to solicit timely questions from his followers, fans and customers, then answers them with his trademark knowledge and humorous aplomb. This format can work exceptionally well for any small business podcast: it lets you engage with your audience across different platforms and in two directions (asking for questions, delivering answers.) It also helps demonstrate your expertise in a direct, helpful way.

• Bring Your Personality to the Fore

Much like a successful radio show, your business podcasting effort will have to carry itself not only with its content but with the personality of the host or hosts. Car Talk, one of the most famous radio call-in shows ever produced, wasn't necessarily a hit because it delved into the subject matter of automotive repair. People loved it for the dynamism of its hosting duo.

• Use Your Business Skills to Grow Your Reach

Like any product or advertisement, distribution is key to getting a podcast into the ears of those who need to hear it. As the proprietor of a small business, you already have the skill set needed to connect your content to its audience! Promote on your own website or social channels, and research the numerous portals through which podcasted content is indexed and searched. iTunes is probably the biggest and most important of these, but other indices and communities exist, often tailored to more specific interests.
With the right skills, a bit of planning and promotion, your small business may be able to reach a new range of audiences and markets through the digital airwaves. Good luck!

The CFIB Small Business Barometer outlook survey has been released for January of 2015 - a consistently informative look at some of the most important trends and concerns for business owners across Canada, it charts "optimism" among businesses as well as a slate of other key metrics commenting on business health and growth. The index marked 63.5 on a scale where a rating above 50 means owners expecting their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year

January's report saw sentiment sliding significantly in some provinces, and climbing steadily in others. Overall, however:

"owners who say their businesses are currently in good shape outnumber those who say the opposite by a margin of more than four to one"

Of particular interest is the set of statistics relating to capital investment. The survey showed that 21% of respondents cite shortage of working capital as a limitation on sales or production growth. Only 55.3% of businesses surveyed intend to spend on capital improvements in the next three months.  In a challenging economic climate where capital investment ranks highly among the challenges facing small businesses, access to capital is becoming more important than ever. At Merchant Advance Capital we are committed to helping businesses find solutions to access working capital in a sustainable way in order to help meet their goals, create better sentiment and influence local economies for the better.

The latest entry in our popular Merchant Advance Video blog series (featuring founder and CEO David Gens) is now available for viewing! We researched the questions about our business model, products, practices and other key facts that you wanted to hear answers to, and have released a total of six videos (all viewable at our Youtube channel.) This week's topic:

How Much Funding Can I Get Through A Merchant Advance?

We recognize that some businesses have funding needs that only require a short, small supplement of cash, while others need the ability to manage significant cash flow over a longer period. Our team of underwriters will work with your requirements when setting up an advance to find the right solution for your business. Our program allows for an advance of up to $350,00 per location. Watch below to learn more!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day - perhaps you have some romantic plans? Flowers? Mood music (the blog heartily recommends the sultry tones of Jessy Lanza!) and a carefully prepared meal? Going to go see the stars of Fifty Shades of Grey heat up the movie screen? Or is a quiet night at home more your speed? Whatever your plans - even if they involve the companionship offered by a Morrissey record and a tub of ice cream - we hope you take the day to do something that makes you feel good about yourself. As it turns out, statistics show that "something" might mean working with your significant other to make your small business the best it can be!

It's Business Time

If relatively recent survey data is to be believed, many couples will be celebrating the success of their small businesses together as well. In 2013, American small business community Manta surveyed over 1,000 of its partners and determined that 25% of business owners across North America work with their significant other. 60% of those polled were married, and they said that the experience of building a company from the ground up had strengthened their relationship as a couple. Yet another 60% of the owners surveyed said they’d recommend going into business together to other couples.

The Hazards of Love

Being in a committed relationship can be tough enough at times without the added pressures of working together day in and day out to help a business succeed. Work-life balance becomes especially critical - and every couple has their own way of sorting out the right boundaries between business and pleasure that become necessary for the health of their relationship. The number one piece of advice your blogger has encountered? Make time for yourselves. Any businessperson has a datebook, a calendar, or an app to keep track of deadlines, know when bills are due, and otherwise run a tight ship. In instances where business partners are also life partners, their overwhelming opinion seems to be that conscious effort ought to be made to un-tether from the temptation to keep work hours going 24/7.
Take a look at some further data from Manta's survey in infographic form below: