Wellington Village is described by the local Business Improvement Area as having “a unique blend of arts, food services, historical neighbourhoods and specialty shops that provide a wonderful experience for those who visit and enhances the lives of those who live nearby.” The village has about 400 small businesses, a farmers market, park, galleries, restaurants, and the new Irving Greenberg Theatre, home of the Great Canadian Theatre Company.

There will be a brief interruption in our communications facilites as our phone lines and Internet access are disconnected at the old office and reconnected at the new one. We probably won’t be able to respond as quickly as usual throughout the move, so please be patient if you have trouble getting through.

Our new coordinates will be:

MARKET METRICS INC.
93 Ross Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 0N6
Canada

Our toll-free number remains the same but our local telephone number will change.

Ottawa (phone/fax): +1 (613) 728-5949

The two firms jointly define “hosting services” as the provision of IT services based upon outsourced infrastructure operated in a data centre by a third party; this is sometimes also called “infrastructure as a service” or IaaS.

The Canadian Hosting & IaaS Cloud Computing Market Report, 2012 Edition describes the competitive landscape of the hosting market in Canada, and divides the market into three segments — collocation, shared hosting and managed hosting. Estimates of the size of the Canadian market, market segments and vendor market shares are presented, as are in-depth profiles of the top dozen leading hosting service providers active in Canada. Major industry trends are identified and discussed. The 2012 edition is 140 pages in length with 23 detailed exhibits that provide comprehensive quantification and analysis.

The report will be exclusively available from NBI/Michael Sone Associates.

About NBI/Michael Sone Associates

Founded in 1977, NBI/Michael Sone Associates is a leading Canadian market research and consulting firm whose mission is to provide statistically-based, primary-sourced information on the Canadian telecommunications industry. NBI/Michael Sone Associates’ independent, full-service research information provides vital tools for strategic and market planning to service providers, equipment manufacturers, start-ups and the investment community. More information about NBI/Michael Sone Associates can be found at www.nbicanada.com

About The Gottlieb Group
In business since 1999, The Gottlieb Group specializes in the wireless and VoIP sectors, assisting telecom firms to navigate Canadian government and regulatory agencies, negotiate intercarrier agreements and assess the market for potential entry. This experience is buttressed by significant market analysis expertise, having successfully completed numerous major research projects for NBI/Michael Sone Associates.

The Gottlieb Group
325 Hillhurst Blvd.
Toronto, Ontario
M6B 1M9

Telephone: (416) 782-2750
Email: agottlieb AT gottliebgroup DOT ca

But you’ll need to use that precious face-time to create a positive impression and describe the nitty-gritty of the opportunity in terms they can understand. That means telling them who buys what from whom, what the economics are, how large you envision the business growing, where you are now, what it needs to grow, and what stands in the way of its success.

Of course, investors have to like your industry as well. The industry must be, or become, structurally attractive. Your market must be either large enough or growing rapidly enough that your goals are feasible. Some investors like to bet on new markets since it is easier to obtain a share of a growing market than switch customers away from established competitors.  

All opportunites have both potential and vulnerabilities. The natural inclination is to puff up the potential. Don’t whitewash the vulnerabilities — acknowledge them and demonstrate that you understand how to take advantage of the strengths and shore up the weaknesses.

Of course, investors want to be confident that they will get their money back with a return. A “give-us-your-money-and-we’ll-pay-you-back-someday” approach doesn’t work too well, so be clear on what the terms are and how your venture will create a positive return. If you want a loan, demonstrate that your venture will be able to make the payments.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Present investors with your business model — not just your product — so that they can understand how you will be able to pay back their investment with a return.

Instead of making a long list of New Year’s resolutions, here are five concrete things business owners can do right now to prepare for the new year. Each point should only take 30-60 minutes, and all you’ll need is last year’s financials, pen and paper, and some yellow stickies. Or your shiny new tablet if Santa was kind to you!

1. Rough out a sales forecast

If you don’t already have a sales forecast for the new year, now’s the time to make one. You need it to understand where the business is going and to prepare a budget (more about that later).

The first step is to review last year’s sales. Many businesses have a small number of large customers and many small customers. Determine who your largest customers are, and quickly make a plus/minus judgement call on each. Do you expect more, flat, or less sales from these customers? Guestimate a multiplier for each major customer (plus 10%, less 25%) and add it up. If you’re having trouble making these estimates, you may not have kept in close enough touch with these customers — perhaps something to work on in 2011.

Then group together all the rest of your customers and make an estimate for the entire group. Remember that you’ll probably lose some of these customers and gain some new ones. You may find that that sales from this group stays about the same, or grows at a similar rate from year to year.

Add the two together and you have a first — and very rough — draft of your sales forecast that gives you an indication of where sales are headed. You’ll need to work on it further, but at least you’ll have a good start. You’re also be better prepared for a review with the sales team, something you should do ASAP when everyone is back from the holidays.

2. See if you can improve your marketing cost-effectiveness by exploiting seasonality

Were sales more-or-less flat throughout the year, or were there peaks and valleys? Are your peaks caused by seasonal factors? If seasonal, think about what you can do to take better advantage of these inherent spikes in demand -– such as advertising campaigns, event marketing, special offers, etc. Task your sales and marketing folks with planning a handful of specific projects you could do at these times of year. Although it’s probably more productive to focus on making the peaks higher, spend a little time to see if you can boost up the valleys as well.

3. Brainstorm new opportunities

Get a pad of yellow stickies and start brainstorming ideas for new opportunities. Write one on each sticky and — without evaluating it — immediately go on the next idea. After a while you’ll run out of ideas. Put the stickies on a wall and move them around to group ideas into related themes: new products or services, new markets, customers groups, promotions, etc. Then spend a few minutes considering what each could be worth and what it would require to do, and how it fits in with your existing work. Prioritize them and take your list of new opportunities to work on the first day back so you can get started right away. And here’s your first sticky -– if you’re not already using it, “get started with social media”.

4. Update your budget — or not!

If you don’t yet have a budget yet for the 2012, shame on you, but you may be able to buy some time. Compare your rough sales forecast to last year’s expenses. If you’re happy with the difference (meaning a healthy profit!) and you’re not planning any major new expenditures, you can delay making your budget for a few weeks. Maybe a little risky, but it gives you time to refine your sales forecast and get started on those new opportunities. But don’t wait too long; get it done well in advance of your February monthly business review, or at absolute latest for your first quarter business review (if you use quarterly instead of monthly reviews).

And here’s one resolution you should really make: get your budget done earlier next year! Some businesses fit their strategic planning and budgeting into one of those seasonal valleys when it isn’t so busy.

5. Make friends with your balance sheet

Small business owners typically manage by cash flow and are pretty familiar with their income statements. But make this the year to think about long-term value, and learn the in’s and out’s of a balance sheet. Most small businesses don’t have a lot of economic value, since their inventory, used fittings/furniture/equipment, and laptops don’t have much salvage value. So consider how you can build up some long-term value in your business. The quick answer for many is real estate; a small business’s major asset is often their land and building. Sole proprietors can invest in paying off their home mortgage or perhaps buying a small commercial building. We suggest making an appointment with your accountant or financial planner to discuss ways you can build up value in your business. After all, you may want to retire some day!

For those of you who want to compare this to your own budget, the DOD spends a bit under 6% of their US$671 billion budget on IT. Since most enterprise IT departments find that the bulk of their budget, typically 70-80%, is allocated to simply operating and maintaining existing systems and facilities, this will obviously be a huge challenge.

Not surprisingly, CIO Teri Takai’s IT strategic plan took a year to prepare. But surprisingly, it’s only 48 pages long — an inspiring feat in itself. Ms. Takai is obviously no amateur at this stuff. She’s the former CIO of the State of California, the State of Michigan, and worked at Ford and EDS before that.

Among the plan’s 26 initiatives is a goal to close 344 of the DOD’s 772 data centres. Market Metrics is currently working on a study of the Canadian hosting market, and I can tell you this — the number of data centres the DOD wants to close is about four times the combined total number of data centres operated by the top dozen Canadian hosters!

I reckon there’s two ways for CIOs to view this story. The first is to bless your luck stars it isn’t you. The second is to be inspired when preparing your organization’s 2012 IT plan. If Ms. Takai can pull off what she has to do, perhaps you can face your own organization’s challenges by following her lead… defining goals, setting priorities and creating an action plan.

The Canadian Hosting Market Report describes the competitive landscape of the hosting market in Canada, and divides the market into three segments — collocation, shared hosting and managed hosting. Estimates of the size of the Canadian market, market segments and vendor market shares are presented, as are in-depth profiles of the top dozen leading hosting service providers active in Canada. Major industry trends are identified and discussed. The 2010 edition of the report was 110 pages in length with 20 detailed exhibits that provided comprehensive quantification and analysis.

The updated report will be similar in content.

Planned for publication in the first quarter of 2012, the report will be exclusively available from NBI/Michael Sone Associates.

About NBI/Michael Sone Associates

Founded in 1977, NBI/Michael Sone Associates is a leading Canadian market research and consulting firm whose mission is to provide statistically-based, primary-sourced information on the Canadian telecommunications industry. NBI/Michael Sone Associates’ independent, full-service research information provides vital tools for strategic and market planning to service providers, equipment manufacturers, start-ups and the investment community. More information about NBI/Michael Sone Associates can be found at www.nbicanada.com

About The Gottlieb Group
In business since 1999, The Gottlieb Group specializes in the wireless and VoIP sectors, assisting telecom firms to navigate Canadian government and regulatory agencies, negotiate intercarrier agreements and assess the market for potential entry. This experience is buttressed by significant market analysis expertise, having successfully completed numerous major research projects for NBI/Michael Sone Associates.

The Gottlieb Group
325 Hillhurst Blvd.
Toronto, Ontario
M6B 1M9

Telephone: (416) 782-2750
Email: agottlieb AT gottliebgroup DOT ca

Says Mr. Graham “I started the program last year in order to keep current with the latest techniques in strategic planning. As a Certified Management Consultant I am required to continually hone my professional skills, and the Certificate in Strategic Management program is extremely relevant to my practice area. I’m looking forward to using these new skills and techniques to serve our clients even better.”

The Certificate’s program of study includes courses in strategic planning, strategic execution and succession management.

About the Canadian Management Centre

Established in Toronto in 1963, the Canadian Management Centre is the leading provider of professional development and management training programs in Canada.

The Centre’s wide range of courses include leadership, strategic planning, finance, communications, change management, project management, human resources, and marketing and sales. Named one of TrainingIndustry.com’s “Top 20 Leadership Training Companies” in 2010 and 2011, the Canadian Management Centre is recognized as one of the best leadership workshop providers in the training industry worldwide.

More information can be found at www.cmctraining.org

Local callers in Ottawa may continue to use the 613-270-9676 number for phoning and faxing.

Let’s say a potential investor hasn’t screened you out yet. What does she do next after setting down her calculator? Can she make a decision now?

Probably not. We’ve found that investors cannot answer all of their questions just by examining your financial statements. Here are the questions most frequently asked by potential investors:

• Why are you seeking investment?
• What is your vision and business strategy?
• Who are the target customers, and how successful is the business in reaching and selling to these customers?
• How satisfied are your customers? What is the reputation of the business?
• Is the business threatened or not profitable?
• How long has the business existed? Is it a growing business?
• How many years has the current owner operated the business?
• How easy is it to replicate the business?
• How competitive is the industry?
• Is the industry growing and by how much?
• What are the quality of the location and facilities?
• Are this business and industry attractive to other investors?

The interesting thing is that only two of these questions are financial in nature! Some of them do have numerical answers, but they aren’t numbers internal to your business and don’t explicitly appear on your financials. Looking outwards to get the answers is imperative.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Your business plan can’t just be financial statements. You need an accompanying narrative that answers the many non-financial questions that investors will be sure to ask.

“虽然我们已经有超过五年。CN域名，我们有没有做它。这仅仅是开始我们的新中国的网络存在。我们打算在这个建设提供更多的内容，并希望我们的客户和他的同事会接受这象征着我们的承诺，以服务于中国市场董事总经理格雷厄姆，“格雷格说。

Market Metrics Inc. is pleased to welcome our Chinese colleagues and clients with a new localised splash screen on www.marketmetrics.cn.

“Although we’ve have a .CN domain for more than five years, we haven’t done much with it. This is just the beginning of our new Chinese web presence. We intend to build on this to offer more content, and hope that our clients and colleagues will accept this as a symbol of our committment to serving the Chinese market” says Greg Graham, Managing Director.