Off the Ground Blog

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%).

Five Quick Tips For High-Tech Small Business

May 5, 2016

Vancouver is establishing itself as a prime location for technology start-ups in Canada; this emergence will provide benefits to the technology sector. Tech businesses need to get these five things right to establish themselves and grow. The five key components to successfully starting a high-tech small business are listed below, along with additional resources for further reading.

Eight Green Business Ideas

Apr 4, 2016

The world is clamouring for products and services that protect the environment. A recent Nielsen survey found that 42% of North American consumers are willing to pay more for green products and services. There are many ways that environmentally conscious businesses can tap into this demand.

As Loonie Sinks Export Becomes Attractive to Small Businesses

Feb 2, 2016

The loonie’s value has hit a decade low and while this is generally bad news for the Canadian economy, it can create business opportunities abroad. Canadian companies can now generate a profit on products and services sold at a discount on the US and international markets. Exporting has its unique challenges but it could be worth your time to see if your business could benefit from new markets abroad.​

10 Exciting Business Developments in 2016

Jan 1, 2016

It is a new year and everyone likes to predict what will come in 2016. We decided to review these predictions and share strategies you may want to try this year

Extracting Insights with Data Visualization Tools (Part 2 of 2)

Jan 1, 2016

Continuing with our review of data visualization tools, we now introduce you four more tools that aim to satisfy very different user needs. Datawrapper Datawrapper is ideal if you want to create a professionally looking graph in a few minutes. Originally envisioned for world-class journalists, Datawrapper is an open source project supported by ABZV and developed by Journalism++ Cologne. This tool enables anyone to create graphic design-like visualizations in four simple steps, without any programming skills. 

Extracting Insights with Data Visualization Tools (Part 1 of 2)

Dec 12, 2015

Data can be hard to manipulate and translate into a user-friendly graphical format. In this blog post series we will review different data visualization tools that will help you unlock the insights hidden in raw data. More importantly, these tools will allow you to answer many business and market questions and tell a compelling story to partners, employees, customers, and investors.     Tableau Public

Mentoring is a Must for Youth Entrepreneurs

Dec 12, 2015

[[{"fid":"2739","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Starting a business is hard. Find some useful suggestions in this blog post.","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Starting a business is hard. Find some useful suggestions in this blog post.","height":720,"width":1080,"style":"width: 500px; height: 333px; float: right; margin-left: 30px; margin-right: 30px;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]

Introduction to Co-Working Offices

Nov 11, 2015

A co-work office is a space used by multiple contractors, companies or both. The growth in contractors and entrepreneurs has led to an explosion in co-working office space to support them. These spaces have a number of organization styles to support a wide range of businesses.