Off the Ground Blog

BC Pitching Competitions

Nov 11, 2016

Have you kept your eye on the ball, entrepreneurs? Because Global Entrepreneur Week 2016 is in full swing! But with every swing, there’s a pitch—and what is an entrepreneur without their pitch? So, to motivate our entrepreneurs, we’ve collected a series of pitching competitions. We answer the “who,” “what,” and “when” regarding these competitions to help you step up to the plate and take on your entrepreneurial goals. To top it all off, you have home advantage because all of these competitions are located in British Columbia.

The SBA is Making Some Changes!

Nov 11, 2016

In an effort to improve our website’s layout, we’re looking for people who may be interested in giving us feedback related to our website! You can help by completing a short, online survey OR joining us in a remote-testing session -- that's right, you don't even have to leave your computer screen! Your time and opinion is invaluable to us, so here’s your chance to speak your piece and help push the SBA forward! Interested? Continue reading to learn more:

How to Choose the Right Point of Sale for your Business?

Nov 11, 2016

Whether you run a café, sell your products at a farmers’ market or provide professional services, all businesses have one thing in common: monetary transactions. Point of Sale (POS) systems process these transactions, provide reporting and can help manage staff and inventory. POS solutions can be cloud-based or license-based. Traditional POS systems through the licensing model can require several thousand dollars of upfront cost per register. Cloud-based POS applications have the most appeal to small and medium sized businesses due to their low upfront cost compared to on premise options.

SBA Library

Oct 10, 2016

Throughout July and August, we asked various librarians throughout British Columbia for their business book recommendations and received an onslaught of responses.   My Library at LibraryThing

Bobinski  Business Law Clinic at the Peter A. Allard School of Law - team image

Business Oriented Legal Services, Free of Charge

Sep 9, 2016

If you are living in British Columbia and require legal advice regarding small business or non-profit matters; have limited means of paying for legal advice; and can come to the University of British Columbia Campus in person for an appointment, the Bobinski  Business Law Clinic at the Peter A. Allard School of Law (the “Clinic”) at the University of British Columbia may be of interest to you.

Industry Overview: Online Retail (E-commerce)

Aug 8, 2016

Online retail stores are virtual establishments that sell a variety of consumer or business-to-business products through e-commerce transactions. Online stores allow an owner to reach a larger and more geographically diverse group of potential consumers - and can lower operating costs by eliminating the need to rent or lease a brics and mortar storefront location. As e-commerce continues to grow in popularity, the opportunities for successful online businesses will also expand.

10 Business Books to Read This Summer

Jul 7, 2016

With summer finally here, we have launched our #sbalibrary campaign on Twitter to inspire the B.C. business community to kick back and enjoy the nice weather while checking out a great read. Every day until the end of August we will be tweeting out a business book recommendation from either one of the great libraries in British Columbia or one of our followers.

Industry Overview: Portrait Photography

Jun 6, 2016

Portrait photography involves capturing the likeness of a person or persons using various photographic equipment- in either a studio or at a specific location. This type of photography is particularly popular for special occasions such as weddings, engagements, and births. In order to operate a successful portrait photography business, photographers need solid business management skills, along with experience behind the lens. This field has been greatly impacted by advents in technology; however the industry is expected to grow moderately in the coming years.

Why Every Small Business Needs To Promote Itself On LinkedIn

Jun 6, 2016

According to data released from LinkedIn in 2016, the platform has more than 433 million users in over 200 countries around the world. Based on a study of more than 5000 businesses, HubSpot reported that LinkedIn has the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%. This number is much higher when compared to other platforms like Twitter (.69%) and Facebook (.77%).