Business Training, SOHO Conference Calgary Review – June 2010

SOHO – SME is the Small Office Home Office or the Small Medium Enterprise Conference originates in Vancouver and tours Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa.  It’s purpose is to serve as a resource for Canada’s small and medium sized businesses, connecting them to savings on products, services and learning tools.

TrainingBusinessPros also serves small to medium sized businesses throughout Canada and the USA, so it was a natural fit to take a more active position in SOHO’s sponsorship opportunities as a  “Industry Partner”.  Other sponsors include TD Bank, Grand & Toy, Rogers and The Portables.

The one-day event took place June 2nd at the Westin in Calgary, host to approx 30 exhibitors who promoted highly targeted services and products that are essentials to the survival of a small to medium sized business.

I discovered a few gems that you need to bookmark!

If you require IT Consulting Services Calgary, look up the high integrity folks at Yellowwood Networks Here is what made them stand out from the competition.  Not only were these guys very busy servicing their own booths, and managing their own trade show traffic, when I began to experience technical difficulties at my booth, not only were they offering me a hand, they came to my workshop the next day to continue offering their high value support.  This speaks volumes of their character.  I didn’t get a bill.  They just knew I was from out of town, they had the skill set, and they offered.  They saved the day.  I’m impressed with how they over-delivered, asking for nothing in return.

Anyone who takes care of their non-clients this well, imagine how outstanding they are taking care of their existing clients! Call up the folks at YellowWood Networks if you need to protect your data, secure your data, assist with your business processes, automate a few things, update your network, increase your productivity, reduce your risk, or network your office.  Whatever you need, these guys know what service means.  At the end of the day, anyone this service oriented will get my heartfelt recommendation! 🙂  Call Nathan Lee and let him know his generous crew brought you there!

Another great gem I found was in my own backyard.  Jack  Smart Calgary. Check this out!

What Jack’s company does is lend money against your accounts receivables. So, if you have a temporary cash flow issue, and you have to make payroll, but your clients are not paying you fast enough, in steps Jack Smart Calgary to lend the money providing you meet the following provisions: 1) you delivered the product or service to your client in a good manner and 2) your client is in good credit standing

There is no limit to what they can lend, and how often they can lend. They are super competitive on borrowing rates, as low as 4% (which is outstanding).  I’m telling you, this guy can help many businesses in need.  I had actually trained Jack last month, but until I saw him again at SOHO, I had no idea of the great business he had helping businesses grow! Check out Jack Smart Calgary at Liquid Capital Corp.

I asked Jack if the company to businesses outside of Calgary.  He said Yes!  They could be anywhere in Canada.  So, do call him up and tell him you read about him here first! 403-201-0041

Another golden nugget I learned in SOHO Calgary…

If you are a small medium sized business in Canada, hiring can be a scary thing.  A risky investment…

But you need help, and you need it now.  Consider this.  Every day super qualified candidates come to our country looking for work.  Immigration Canada wants you to find these qualified people.  There are grants, mentorship programs, and all types of accessible funds to help you hire…which may be the solution to your growing needs.  I’m so excited about the possibilities here, that we at TrainingBusinessPros are looking into this with serious interest.  Hiring and selecting internationally trained workers can be the answer for your small to medium sized business in Canada.   So, I met the good folks at Citizenship and Immigration Canada who briefed me in on incentives…and in addition to the Federal incentives, there may be additional provincial incentives in your area.  To learn more, get this publication entitled “The Employer’s Roadmap – Hiring and Retaining Internationally Trained Workers” prepared by the Alliance Sector of Councils for the Foreign Credentials Referral Office of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.   There is a whole new world of possibilities in this publication, and the value/benefit for your business may be very very strong.  Look it up!

Those are just a few examples of the gems I discovered at SOHO Calgary.  There are more of course, but I was pretty busy giving my own “Marketing & Mastery” presentation.

At this time, I wish to thank the Calgary crew that helped us at our booth garnering us Outstanding Results! Thank you to Jack Smart for dropping in and being the most popular guy at our booth and being an attractor factor! Thanks to our Marketing and Mastery Graduates including Yvette Corvette, Jorge Miranda and Rosemary Berglund, whose energy and StreetSmart Marketing skills filled our seminar room at the SOHO event!

Yvette and Rosemary had the opportunity to attend the Networking Lunch Keynote featuring Carla MacLeod, a 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team.  They reported she was excellent, and her story inspiring.  Carla generously offered to pass around her gold medal, and everyone had the opportunity to touch it, feel it, and take a picture with it! If Yvette or Rosemary send me their pics, we’ll post it here!

If you are interested in the next SOHO event, to either exhibit, attend, or be a member of, just email the good folks at SOHO, and ask for their Special Offer! Tell them you heard about here first! Ask for Tyler or Lama at 1-800-290-7646 ext 257.

Overall, the SOHO event was a success for us.  However, having said this, I must outline we are not a passive booth, and don’t expect results just by sitting there.  Our team members are well trained on StreetSmartMarketing skills, that make a booth successful.  If you need to upgrade your boothmanship skills, or need marketing tips and advice, contact our business training office at 416-229-4710 or visit The StreetSmartMarketer for a free subscription to the Marketing Tips Magazine.

• Congratulations to Jos Willard from Canada Strategic Financial for winning a Marketing & Mastery 2-Day Intensive in Calgary Sept 11& 12 2010 during the SOHO event!

This is Paul Tobey, CEO of TrainingBusinessPros.com. Join us again in SOHO Vancouver, and SOHO Ottawa in 2010!