New Website Connects Canadian Small Business Owners with Other Canadian Entrepreneurs
Canadian small business owners now have their own online networking tool. Find local business owners easily at http://www.businesspartnerships.ca for partnering and to develop your own 'Creative Intelligence' Alliance.
(PRWEB) November 30, 2004 -- Making the right alliances is vital to succeeding in business, and for small businesses it can be critical. Partnering and joint ventures help companies create new products and/or services, and to make inroads into new markets. Business Partnerships Canada (http://businesspartnerships.ca) is a new forum for introducing small business owners to other entrepreneurs, jointly developed by Alleyne Inc. and pixcode Inc.
Site members know that other members are people who are open to meeting business owners, and more importantly, they can see what the other members are offering and hoping to receive in return. Each member can indicate whether he or she is looking for opportunities in partnering or bartering, or looking to form a "Creative Intelligence" Alliance.
With the rate of business startups increasing steadily, demand has grown for tools and information about making small businesses a success. The Internet has been a boon, functioning both as a reference library and as a means of helping business owners connect with experts. In the past couple of years there has been an explosion of online networking tools. Most are based in the US and focus on maximizing your contacts, emphasizing who you know over what you know. This underlying philosophy encourages other users to contact you as a route to someone better. Business Partnerships Canada takes a different approach. It allows users to search for other members directly, and to see if their wants and needs are a good match. Searches include both region and keyword, as well as type of interaction.
In addition to listing and searching for business information, the site provides a place for Canadian business owners to interact and exchange ideas and to identify experts within the community. The rating system allows members to reward others whose input is particularly helpful. BusinessPartnerships.ca is a Canadian website focusing on Canadian members. "This system is designed to let you find people in your city or who will deliver to your city," says Joel Alleyne, President of Alleyne Inc. "It also fills a market void by helping members to find or start their own 'Creative Intelligence' Alliances."
"Creative Intelligence" Alliances
The site defines "Creative Intelligence Alliances" as groups of business owners who meet on a regular basis to promote and support their business growth. There are a few different types of groups that fall under the general heading "Creative Intelligence Alliances." Some Alliances focus on brainstorming and sharing ideas and others on sharing contacts or business leads; some groups operate as a success team, or "master mind," while others prefer to be set up as a referral network.
All in all, business owners are beginning to see these groups as a valuable addition to their general networking practices. Much has been written about the value of the "master mind" or the success team - particularly regarding its usefulness in providing a sense of accountability for the boss.
When you are the owner of a company, who do you report to? In small businesses where everyone in the company is constantly busy, it is easy to put the distasteful tasks on the back burner. Micro-business owners often feel out of contact and miss out on the camaraderie of a larger office environment.
Meeting regularly with a group of peers, and stating your plans aloud to people who will ask you about your progress at the next meeting, can be a strongly motivating factor to accomplish the goals you set. It can also be a wonderful opportunity to exercise your brain by challenging you to come up with solutions to other people's business challenges. It also allows you to receive valuable input into your pressing concerns and decisions.
Gisela McKay, Director of pixcode Inc. explains further, "When you are growing your business, it can be really easy to focus only on the route you have chosen - what you are doing now, where you are going, and what the next steps are. It can be easy to miss the opportunities that are off to the side or coming at you obliquely. Having a "master mind" or success team forces you to take a couple of hours out of your day, on a regular basis, to concentrate on other people's challenges, and gives you access to a sounding board and brainstorming team."
She adds, "Large corporations have a tier of vice presidents or directors to provide input into business directions, or to give different perspectives on a decision. The women in my own "master mind" group are my advisory council."
Business Partnerships Canada is open and accepting new members now. Basic membership is free, with additional privileges for paid accounts including the ability to run an open discussion forum in the CogniCentre and/or to coordinate your Creative Intelligence Alliance with tools such as a group calendar and a private discussion area.
Visit http://BusinessPartnerships.ca to get connected now.
Notes to editors:
About Alleyne Inc.:
Alleyne Inc. is a management consultancy providing services to organizations across the Americas from its home base in Toronto. The firm assists client organizations with Information Technology, Knowledge Management and General Management projects.
About pixcode Inc.:
pixcode Inc. is a web development company that develops and manages profitable Internet properties. Its holdings include NaturalHealthcare.ca, NaturalHealthyCanadian.ca, and CottageMania.ca.
For more information, or to arrange interviews, contact:
Gisela McKay
Director, pixcode Inc.
416-596-9533 xt 290
presscontact@pixcode.com
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