Client Feature: Marlyse Kouembi

Marlyse Kouembi always knew she wanted to have her own business in the fashion industry. It wasn’t until she made the move from Italy to Calgary four years ago that her dream became a reality.

“I always had the desire to be an owner, but in Italy, it wasn’t easy. I planned my move to Canada because I saw the opportunity to start and grow the business. I applied for permanent residency, and in 2015 my family was accepted. That’s when I started to set up Kem’s Fashion.”

Kem’s Fashion is based in Calgary, Alberta and provides professional, contracted custom sewing services for businesses across Canada. Marlyse’s long-term goals include expanding into new markets, with Kem’s Fashion supplying their ethically and sustainably manufactured garments to international customers.

“When I first moved to Canada, I talked to many organizations to learn about successfully starting and operating my own business. One of the biggest challenges was finding the right people to hire. When I first began, I interviewed so many people and felt that none were qualified to work in the business.”

When Marlyse enrolled in English classes she connected with Syrian refugees in her classes who were looking for employment. That is how she met the husband of a fellow student who was a perfect fit for Kem’s Fashion. Today, Marlyse employs seven people and is showing no signs of slowing down.

With growth comes the imminent need to scale efficiently. “When I wanted to buy new equipment to increase my production, I reached out to many financiers, and that is how I was introduced to AWE. With the loan from AWE, I was able to purchase equipment and can now make more clothing in less time. My AWE advisor walked me through the entire process. Today, I have more customers because of this loan. I am so grateful.”

When asked what advice she would give to someone looking to start a business, Marlyse emphasized the importance of reaching out for help when you need it.

“When I was first given the contact for AWE, I was hesitant to reach out for help because I didn’t know what would happen or what was possible. After meeting with my advisor, her guidance helped me feel confident to move forward through the loan process.”

To learn more about Marlyse and Kem’s Fashion, visit kemsfashion.com.

German Business Women’s Association to visit Edmonton on Trade Mission to Canada

Edmonton, AB - Sept 16, 2019 – In collaboration with national and regional partners, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) is helping to organize an incoming trade mission of approximately 20 women business owners from the German Business Women’s Association (VdU). VdU will be visiting Edmonton from September 14 – 17th to explore business opportunities, including those offered by the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). VdU represents the interests of over 1800 women-owned businesses in Germany. These businesses employ over 500,000 people and represent a collective revenue of 85 billion Euros.

“The Association of German Women Entrepreneurs is very happy to strengthen our partnership with Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) and AWE through this trade mission,” says Dr. Marie-Claire Weinski, Board member of VdU International Commission. “This special cooperation allows us to give our members access to a strong female Canadian business network and to take advantage of the new international business opportunities under CETA. We look forward to an inspiring visit and to establishing valuable personal and business connections.”

While in Edmonton, the German delegation from VdU has a full itinerary including site tours of Startup Edmonton and the Advanced Technology Centre, and meetings with the Alberta Economic Development and Trade Office and the German Canadian Centre for Innovation and Research. On Monday, September 16th AWE is hosting a networking event at the ATB Entrepreneur Centre to facilitate connections and matchmaking opportunities between German and Albertan women entrepreneurs. The event has been sponsored by the Government of Canada Trade Commissioner Service, Export Development Canada, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada, and AWE.

After spending four days in Edmonton, VdU will continue on to Vancouver, BC.

This trade mission builds on the momentum of a Canadian trade mission to Europe led by Business Women in International Trade that took place last fall. In November 2018, eleven women-owned Canadian companies and three representatives of Canada’s women’s enterprise organizations visited Germany and the UK, the first ever delegation of women entrepreneurs to Europe since CETA was ratified. On this trade mission an MOU was signed in Germany between the German and Canadian national women’s enterprise organizations to act as a collaborative tool for future trade missions and business relationships.

“We are honoured to have the delegation from VdU here in Edmonton and to have the opportunity to make connections between German and Albertan women entrepreneurs,” says Marcela Mandeville, CEO of AWE. “There is significant opportunity post-CETA for Alberta companies to explore international business opportunities. It is important to create these relationships across borders and I am looking forward to building on the partnership that was created when WEOC and AWE visited Germany last fall.”

Canada is a leader in women’s entrepreneurship, with the highest rate of early-stage activity among innovation-driven economies, including the US, Australia, and the UK. However, there is more that needs to be done to reduce barriers to business growth and export opportunities for women-owned businesses. The newly formed relationship between VdU and Canadian women’s enterprises organizations provides the opportunity to build innovative, viable solutions by connecting women entrepreneurs to each other and to potential supply chains across borders.

About Alberta Women Entrepreneurs

Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enabling women to build successful businesses. AWE provides unique programs and services to women at all stages of business through advising, financing, mentoring, and network development.

Media Inquiries:

Devonne Kendrick

Marketing Coordinator

Alberta Women Entreprenerus

devonne.kendrick@awebusiness.com

780-422-7786

Four Tips to Help You Network Like a Pro

It’s a common misconception that networking comes naturally to entrepreneurs. However, stepping outside of your comfort zone and building relationships requires solid effort no matter who you are. Networking, like any activity, takes practice for you to become more comfortable with doing it. Like a muscle, with exercises that exist to help you perform better without having to think about it, similar habits exist that will help you get stronger at making connections with like-minded entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship can be isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. Connect with other amazing, passionate individuals to share knowledge and experience, grow your business, and become lifelong friends. Follow these four foundational tips to improve your networking skills:

1. Proper Body Language
   Stand tall, relax your shoulders, and do your best to appear confident (even if you might feel otherwise). This expansive posture demonstrates openness and self-assurance to others, and yourself. Tons of research exists that shows the positive influence of posture on the mind--do a quick google search and you’ll see what we mean! On the other hand, the opposite is also true. When you appear slumped over and closed in facing the ground with hunched shoulders, the corresponding emotions making you feel self-conscious and nervous become evident in your stature. This underlines the importance of staying off your phone. Though your device is a safe place to distract you and make you appear busy, you look unapproachable and disinterested--neither of which will help you network.

2. Come Prepared
   First and foremost, arrive early to events. This means you can get a head start without having to enter a large, intimidating group of people if you arrive later. With fewer people, it’s easier to jump in and find someone to start a conversation with.
   
   Bring your business cards! Pro-tip: keep your business cards in one pocket and any you collect in another. Separating them will keep you organized and ensure you don’t lose any.
   
   Finally, have a plan in mind. Whether your goal is meeting new people or strengthening relationships you already have, brainstorm conversation-starters and questions to ask. Try to strategize the best ways to connect with this individual, but don’t be so rigid that you’re stuck to a script.

3. Know Your Elevator Pitch

   Not only are you trying to make a good impression of yourself, but you also want to make a good impression of your business. You don’t want to fumble around describing your mission statement, nor do you want to hold the floor for so long that by the time you are finished all your partner can think about is what they’re having for dinner tomorrow. Be creative and concise and simply know why and how you can help people. Your business is your passion and you know these things inside and out, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to outline a conversational pitch to showcase your business.

4. Make Genuine Connections

   Step outside of your comfort zone and initiate conversations with questions as simple as “Where are you from?” or “What do you do?” Maybe try out, “Working on anything exciting lately?” or “What was the highlight of your day/week?” Be present, and dedicate yourself fully to listening and hearing what your partner has to say. Enter every conversation assuming that you have something to learn. Ask open-ended questions using journalism’s five W’s (and how) to give the conversation lots of room to flow. Remember that the purpose of networking isn’t to gain more leads, but instead to increase your access to opportunities while seeking to provide similar opportunities to your peers. Relationships come first, business second.

These tips should provide you with a great jumping-off point for you to work on your networking style and develop tools suited specifically for you. Don’t discount networking as just another business buzzword--allow it to spark your personal and professional development.

Ready to flex your networking muscles? Alberta Women Entrepreneurs is hosting two AWE Connect events this September, in Edmonton (Sept. 16) and Calgary (Sept. 24)! Both events will feature inspiring attendees and panelists and provide an evening of entrepreneurial learning for a collective of passionate entrepreneurs like yourself. Register today!

New season, new opportunities

August came to an end, and it is clear a change of season is around the corner. A new season brings new opportunities, risks and challenges. How are we preparing?

While it may seem like things slow down in the summer, behind the scenes AWE has been getting ready for a full slate of workshops and events that will be running in September. Our digital marketing program will be in three communities across Alberta starting this month, and we are especially excited to bring the program to Grande Prairie for the first time.

One aspect of preparing for a new season is ensuring you have the resources you need to be successful, and the right processes in place to be effective. For AWE this has meant recruiting for a few new roles on our team, as well as preparing to launch new tools to help us build programs and deliver better service.   

As we begin September, I encourage you to ask yourself “What support and resources do you need as an entrepreneur to achieve your goals this fall?”

While we continue our work to provide capital, connections, and training, we are excited for the time ahead as we grow our programs for women business owners to succeed.  Today, we have an incredible opportunity to share talent and learn from others around the world who are creating innovative access to capital, skills, knowledge, and markets.

September offers fantastic opportunities to build connections across borders. The upcoming BWIT trade mission to the Go for the Greens conference in Orlando, Florida is focused on generating revenue, growing companies to create more jobs, and exchanging environment-friendly business practices. Go for the Greens will connect women-owned businesses and representatives of corporations, government agencies, and non-profits. The intimate size of this conference, which is limited to 300 attendees, gives corporate buyers and women-owned suppliers maximum exposure to each other.

Closer to home we hope you will join us at a special networking event to bring together Canadian women-owned businesses with participating German Business Women’s Association (VdU) delegates during their visit to Alberta. This visit is the next step in a journey that began in the fall of 2018 when AWE represented the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) on the first Canadian post-CETA trade mission to the EU organized by the Business Women in Trade program of Global Affairs Canada. The mission was focused on connecting women-owned businesses and support organizations who are seeking international growth. One of the direct results was a new relationship between WEOC and the VdU that continues to grow as we plan this visit to Canada and future connections.

In this time of rapid change, it is valuable to build meaningful connections with people who offer diverse perspectives and experiences, spark innovative ideas and learning, and build energy to keep moving forward with purpose. The opportunities mentioned above are only two of many ways to connect your business with others from across Alberta, Canada, and the world. We are here to help and hope you will explore how we can support you on your journey.

Always with gratitude,

Marcela  

Client Feature: Oh My Dog Spa

Myrna Saramago and Perla Pereira were both born and raised in Brazil. However, it was not until 2013, in Edmonton, that the two met for the first time.

Perla was living in the city temporarily, while Myrna had permanently relocated to Edmonton with her family. Myrna, a business graduate, and Perla, an engineer, had no idea that five years later they would be opening the dog grooming salon, Oh My Dog Spa. Their second year in business has proven that their model was an excellent fit for the Edmonton market.

“In the last year, we have doubled our business goal. In 2018, we set out to groom 10 dogs a day and now we are grooming over 30. In our biggest month, we had 80 new clients visit us.”

When asked to reflect on their successful year, both Myrna and Perla say that having a strong referral network significantly benefited their business.

With more furry clients entering their shop each day, Myrna and Perla know that having a strong team around them is essential to meeting the demands of their growing business—but they admit that this has not always been easy.

“We have learned that when hiring, it can’t just be on skill alone. Personality and culture fit are so important. As we grow, we step back and re-evaluate the business constantly.”

While being in business for yourself can come with challenges, it also presents significant opportunities.

“We love that we are doing things the way we think is right. From how we treat the animals we groom to how we spend time with our customers. All of our energy is put into our own business. We love working for ourselves and seeing our effort and education pay off.”

Myrna and Perla rely on each other as partners, but they also have support from family and organizations, including AWE.

“It’s not always easy to balance work and family life. Our families have been so supportive. So has AWE with the loan and business advising they have provided us. They have been very supportive.”

When asked what advice the partners would share with anyone looking to open their own business, both agreed: "Do what you like and what you're passionate about. If you're doing something just for the money, the chances of it lasting long-term are slim."

To learn more about Oh My Dog Spa visit https://www.ohmydogspa.ca/

Addendum: Since publishing this client feature, Oh My Dog Spa is being solely run by Perla Pereira.

Finding Solutions: Strategy and Operations Edition

By Bev Latter, Business Advisor

You have established your business and now you’re wondering where to go next. Do you export into new markets or expand your reach? Maybe you’re considering introducing a new product line. For many business owners, starting and sustaining a business does not come naturally. There are skills individuals need to run a successful business. These skill sets range from financial literacy and financial management to employment standard requirements. Regardless of what you’re struggling with, we’d like to help answer some of your questions. This blog is an addition to our Learning Day Finding Solutions series where we summarize some of the solutions that were brainstormed by other business owners regarding issues they are facing. In this edition, we are focusing on the strategy and operations side of business.

Challenge: How do I plan and maintain ideal inventory levels that provide healthy cash flow for overhead, payroll, accounts payable, loans and capital growth? Externally viewed by the customers, inventory must be trendy, fresh and seasonal.

It can be difficult to plan your inventory months in advance, particularly when trends are changing so rapidly. However, there are ways to make sure that you can achieve a healthy balance between inventory and demand. One initiative you can take on throughout your fiscal year is always doing research. Get feedback from your customers to see what their thoughts are on your product/service and think of ways that you can improve it to increase demand. Measure your marketing and sales activities so that you have an idea of when you are in a busy or off-season phase. By gathering this data, you can plan ahead and ensure you have more on-hand inventory when you experience high sales activity.

In some cases, it can actually be good for your business to keep a limited supply as this can increase the demand for your product and encourage pre-orders. If you sell out, you can order more and provide discounts or other incentives to your customers for their patience. This is also beneficial to your cash flow because keeping an excess of inventory can tie up valuable cash that could be spent elsewhere. While this is different for all businesses, it is important to find a balance that works for your company.

Challenge: How do I scale a service to export into new markets?

For fast-growing businesses, exporting into new markets is often the next step. This can be intimidating and difficult, but there are ways to help ease the stress associated with scaling. A great way to make connections both in your home country and abroad is to attend a trade mission. Many trade missions will also give you the opportunity to attend special sessions and receive personalized support for your businesses. An upcoming trade mission that you can take part in is “Go for the Greens Business Development Conference for Women Entrepreneurs” which is happening in September 2019 in Orlando, Florida.

There are also a variety of resources available to small business owners that help with scaling, such as the Trade Accelerator Program offered by Enterprise Edmonton. Financing can be difficult, but there are institutions that can lend you enough to meet your needs. AWE offers repayable loans up to $150,000, and in the case that you need more, we can work with our partners to try to get you what you need.

Internally, a few steps you can take to prepare your business for expansion are increasing your operational capacity, learning about the culture in your new market, and networking. Expanding your business requires more staff and resources; make sure that you are able to grow your business to accommodate for this change. Furthermore, different markets will have their own cultural values and you may need to shift your marketing strategy to address these. Finally, build your network. The more connections you have the easier your transition will be.

In general, seeking our entrepreneurial training workshops is always a good idea. Studies have shown that those women who have participated in workshops or support meetings reported greater improvement and access to financing (October 2016 Report for WeSK by PwC).  The learnings/workshops, via technology, can be easily accessed by webinars which help to accommodate travel, time and busy schedules.

Aside from those, there are also a number of free or affordable resources provided for women in rural and urban settings. For example, I’d recommend reaching out to the following organizations that offer programs or networking opportunities at no cost or a small fee to help women entrepreneurs with skills training:

• Business Link

• Business Development Canada

• Futurpreneur

• Startup Edmonton

• Startup Calgary

• ATB Entrepreneur Centre

• Rainforest AB

• Prospect

• Community Futures Alberta

• Chambers of Commerce

Regardless of what stage of business you’re in, you are not alone in the challenges you face! Owning and operating a business is no easy feat and if you find that you’re struggling with a certain aspect of it, don’t worry because there are a variety of support systems out there to help you reach your goals. With a little bit of a boost and guidance, you’ll be on the right track!

Digital Marketing Don'ts: What to Avoid When Dabbling in Digital Marketing

It’s 2019, and the harsh reality is that your business needs to be online in some shape or form. You’re probably accustomed to using social media to stay connected with friends and family, and the Internet is a button away to answer any question you could possibly conjure up. Still, digital marketing from a business perspective can feel intimidating and confusing. By no means do you have to be a pro, but there are some best practices we recommend following to effectively market your business online while pursuing a digital marketing strategy. Here are some bad habits we recommend avoiding:

1)    Autopost
Automating and isolating can go hand in hand. Social media automation tools are a very valuable resource, but you can’t simply plan a bunch of content, schedule it, and then go on vacation. Like the quote, “Don’t like the weather? Wait five minutes,” social media and its trending topics move so quickly that what may have been relevant an hour ago could be a touchy subject now. The famous Live Nation example demonstrates this well.

When some of the staging collapsed at a Radiohead concert 7 years ago, with one person dead and three others hurt, an auto-scheduled tweet from Live Nation went out half an hour after they had announced the show had been cancelled:

This tweet remained up for 45 minutes before someone took it down.

The goal of social media conversations is to interact with your audience in a genuine way. By “setting and forgetting”, your followers can tell that there’s a lack of authenticity behind your posts, and their relationship with your brand can suffer as a result. This also corresponds with remembering to stay engaged on your business profiles, including liking and replying to comments, direct messages, and interacting with other accounts. These practices reflect well on your social media platforms, and help to grow your channels too!

2)    Haphazard Hashtags
Hashtags are truly a cultural phenomenon and they can be a great resource if used properly and strategically. They’re used to group streams of content, making it easier to search using keywords in communities and conversations. For example, searching #yegrestaurants on Instagram will return content that people have posted and tagged to contribute to the Edmonton restaurant community. Hashtags seem easy enough, but they aren’t exactly intuitive. Try to avoid the following faux pas:

#hashtagsthatarelongandconfusing: If the object of hashtags is to group content, it must be searchable and concise in order for people to use them, and use them correctly. Keep them short and sweet

#notdoingyourresearch: This is twofold. Firstly, look up your hashtags beforehand to get an idea of their context and popularity. The sweet spot for a hashtag is specific enough to generate good activity for a wide audience, and not overly vague that it ends up being a black hole of content (e.g. use #yegbike instead of #bicycle). If you’re interested in creating a branded hashtag specific to your company, choose one that has a lesser amount of activity and make it yours to build from. One good example of this is Poppy Barley’s #luxuryforthepeople.

Secondly, make sure to get a good idea of what your hashtag actually means so that you’re not accidentally contributing to something inappropriate!

#spamminghashtags: Keep your hashtags relevant to your content. It might be tempting to use a multitude of popular hashtags to display your posts in as many areas as possible, but this makes your social campaigns feel more like spam than a contribution to the conversation. Feel free to use multiple hashtags, just ensure they align with the communities in which your business is actually a part of.

3)    Not Targeting an Audience
The goal of digital marketing isn’t reaching an audience, it’s reaching the right audience. Defined target markets delve into the idea of demographics and psychographics getting narrower and narrower. The more specific your market, the more relevant your content, the easier you can convert. Digital marketing is used to serve your customers at all stages of their journey: build awareness and recognition of your brand, engage and nurture relationships with your potential clients, and create more touch-points to interact with current customers and improve their experience. In order to build relationships, think niche and connect with your minimum viable audience such that through your community you gain cheap and insightful methods to better understand your customer: talk with them, observe them, and analyze data.

4)    Ignoring Analytics
There’s a great quote that says “Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed.” -Dan Zarrella

Which is all too applicable to digital marketing. All platforms provide numerous analytics and insights for you to optimize your strategy, automatically! The success metrics we recommend tracking are:

Audience Growth Rate--in the form of new followers across all platforms.
Average Engagement Rate-- in the form of the number of engagement actions (e.g., likes, shares, comments) a post receives relative to your total number of followers.
Conversion Rate-- in the form of contact forms completed, newsletter sign-ups, purchases made, download of content, etc.

Don’t get too caught up in the numbers, but do let them guide your strategy on an ongoing basis. Having a good idea of your audiences’ behaviour will help drive your digital marketing success while ensuring all your efforts aren’t put to waste!

All of these tips we’ve compiled as a result of our own digital marketing mishaps. It’s not easy, but it is absolutely worthwhile to champion the online presence of your brand. Our number one suggestion? Create content that makes you happy before you hit post.

Still feeling overwhelmed by digital marketing? Fear not. You’re an expert in your field, not necessarily in marketing your business. Digitally Solid is a 5-month program where women entrepreneurs can get hands-on experience using strategy and technology to build their businesses.

Diversity – What does it mean for you as an entrepreneur?

By Sadhna Mathrani, Marketing Assistant

Canada is a racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse country where we are lucky to have people from all walks of life. This also means that as an entrepreneur, you have a huge group of people to market your offering to, which can be very daunting. Diversity encompasses many things such as race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, and beliefs, just to name a few.

It can be a stepping stone to success for businesses, if engaged with in a thoughtful and genuine way. For all the entrepreneurs out there wondering how you too, can embrace diversity, we have some suggestions:

1.       Hire for “cultural add” vs. “culture fit”.

If you’ve hired people before, you’ve likely heard the term “cultural fit”. However, this can be incredibly subjective and you might end up hiring people with the same ideas as you. A concept that is being explored by companies such as Pandora is looking for “cultural add” instead of “cultural fit”. This focuses on hiring people from different backgrounds who hold similar values but provide a diverse perspective to the firm. Rather than hiring people who think the same and behave the same, the company is able to create an environment that facilitates the uncovering and overcoming of biases. Through this new approach, Pandora has seen higher employee satisfaction surveys and morale. When hiring, look for those who are willing to provide a different perspective and will help grow your company rather than those who simply mimic who you are currently.

2.       Consider the diversity of your customers when developing and marketing your product.

You don’t need to sell your product to every single person, but are you excluding a whole group of consumers without meaning to? For example, if you are an organic cosmetics company, you’ll have individuals with different skin types who come from different racial backgrounds and different age categories. Therefore, if you want to sell your product to appeal to a diverse group of consumers you’ll need to make sure that both your marketing technique and product itself are designed with this in mind. Don’t use a blanket technique but rather, a personalized one that shows that you’ve fully considered the diversity of your clients. This will help set you apart from other organizations.

Rihanna’s makeup brand, Fenty Beauty has done exactly that – the company offers over 40 different foundation shades. Unlike traditional cosmetic companies that have a narrow shade selection in their product lines, Fenty targets those who often have difficulty finding the right makeup for their skin. According to the Business of Fashion, Fenty reported a profit of $562 million in its first full year, outselling other popular brands such as Kat Von D. It’s clear that embracing diversity helped the company become one of the most popular makeup brands. Not only has this increased profits for the company, but it is also one of the most inclusive makeup companies.

3.       Adjust your marketing style and product/service when you are entering new markets.

What is considered appropriate and enticing in Canada may be very different than what is well-received in another country. For example, McDonald`s has been successful in countries like India due to their cultural sensitivity. They have introduced food items that reflect the taste of those in the host country, such as the “Big Spicy Paneer Wrap” and the “Chicken Kebab Burger”. You might need to do primary and secondary research for this, or you may need to hire someone who is familiar with business in that particular region. Whatever it is, make sure you are aware of those differences and are able to accommodate for them! Our team at AWE is ready to support as you begin thinking about market expansion through resources, advising, and trade mission opportunities. Our Business Beyond Borders program is tailored towards women entrepreneurs looking to expand and grow their business beyond Alberta’s borders.

4.       Don’t make generalizations about a group of people.

Make sure that you conduct research or speak to people from the group you’re trying to engage with to get a detailed understanding of what they need and how you can best serve their interests. A good way to do this is focus groups and primary research. It can be as simple as doing an online survey or just chatting with your target market in person about what they want. This will also help you market better as you’ll be more cognizant of people’s differences!

As you scale your business, your team will grow, your customer base will expand, and you may even enter new international markets. Embracing diversity and incorporating it into your business now will help ensure your business succeeds in the future.

What to Know About Your Credit Score

In an era where credit payments are being used more than ever, the term “credit score” seems to be the definition of an individual’s financial competence. However, for most people, it can be a mystery trying to decipher what exactly their credit score means and how it affects them. As a preview to our upcoming “The Truth About Credit” workshop, we’d like to look at what your credit score really means for you.

What Makes Up Your Credit Score

Before analyzing your score, it’s important that you know what goes into a credit score and what doesn’t. In most cases, there are five things that go into determining your credit score: your payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, credit mix, and new credit. Making sure you make your payments on time, keeping a low amounts owed, and ensuring that you can maintain credit for a long period of time are all ways to keep up a good credit score. The exact weight of each facet will be covered more in the “Truth About Credit” workshop, but this gives you a better understanding of what exactly goes into your credit score! However, there are some things that may or may not affect your score. For example, your income, net worth, debit card, and paying rent and other bills may not affect your credit score, but not paying these bills can negatively impact your score.

How does it affect you?

Your credit score is used whenever you are looking to get some form of credit. This can be applying for a mortgage, increasing the limit on your credit card, or taking out a business loan. Lending institutions will use your credit score to determine your financial health and how likely you are to pay them back. In some cases, landlords can search up your credit score as well. As a business owner, your credit score will be looked at by a number of people.

It’s important that you are able to maintain your debts and do not let them overpower you. While your credit score does not speak to who you are as an individual, it is one of the only quantitative measures lenders have to help them in making their decisions.

What do I do if I have a bad credit score?

Even though it may seem like you’re doomed if you have a bad credit score, don’t worry! Everyone goes through tougher times in their lives where they may have to borrow more than they can pay off, but there are ways to improve your credit. Here are some tips to getting your credit score back on track:

1.      Reduce your credit utilization: Keeping too high of a “credit used” to “credit available” ratio can harm your credit, particularly if you aren’t making your payments in full. A good balance might be to stay within 30% of your available credit more often. When paying your bills, try to make more than the minimum payment each month and ideally try to make full payments when possible.

2.      Pay your bills on time: Since payment history is a factor in your credit score, it’s important that you are able to make bill payments on time. If you find yourself forgetting to make them, set up automatic payments and prepare for them in advance. This will help you stay organized and you won’t suffer from interest and missed payment fees.

3.      Get a secured credit card account: This is similar to a pre-paid phone plan. You deposit a certain amount of money initially but then you can use the card like a regular credit card. This is a simple solution if you either have no or poor credit history.

There are plenty more ways to improve your credit score and learn more about what it means for you. For the full “Truth About Credit”, make sure to attend our workshop on August 27th in Calgary and September 12th in Edmonton!

Client Feature: Sophia Quewezance

Sophia Quewezance is an aspiring entrepreneur who is starting a fashion design company. She plans to design and sell t-shirts, swimsuits, and other clothing with Indigenous designs. Sophia participated in the NextStep to Success Business Planning Series in Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation.

Sophia Quewezance has always had a love for fashion, a passion that only increased when she began working as a model. It was walking the runway that she realized that she wanted to be designing the clothes, and not only wearing them.

Independent and ambitious from a young age, Sophia knew that entrepreneurship was the right choice for her. “I didn’t want to have a boss, I wanted to be the boss.”

Participating in the NextStep to Success Business Planning Series helped Sophia realize that with some strategic planning, her entrepreneurial dreams were well within her reach.

“The program taught me how to do things the right way and with compassion. Sometimes you run into dead ends but Bev (the program’s facilitator) showed me how you can get out of them and go a different way.”

Although she plans on running her business solo, Sophia turns to family for encouragement and inspiration. “My auntie is my absolute best friend and she pushes me to do everything and anything.” Her dad, a carpenter and entrepreneur himself, is another source of inspiration.

Running a business can be challenging, especially when you have a family, but for Sophia, her two young kids are just another strength. “My kids will totally help me. I want to dress them, and I want to dress my dog. My kids and my family inspire me.”

Right now, Sophia is focused on her designs, and executing her business plan. She plans to start operating her business online first, and then expand into selling at kiosks and powwows.

Her advice to other people considering starting a business?

“Don’t give up. Have faith in everything that you do.”