How would your team describe your leadership? What words would they use? Supporter? Motivator? Director? Servant? The concept of a servant-leader, while it seems like an oxymoron, is straightforward; servant-leaders encourage the development of their teams and prioritize the needs of others and avoid focusing on their own control and personal success. The concept of…
Canadian SME manufacturers strive to scale profitably while coping with global economic shifts, trade rules, and constantly morphing competition. A common obstacle to profitable growth is inefficiency caused by error-prone data entry, paper-based tracking, inaccurate inventory, quality challenges, and unnecessary waste. The situation is compounded by multiple combinations of disconnected or outdated systems – and…
On July 15, 2019, the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA) and the Ontario Provincial Government announced the launch of the Career-Ready with CTMA program – a new hiring program in partnership with Mentor Works Ltd. This program is helping close the skilled trades gap in the Machine, Tool, Die & Mould (MTDM) sector in…
Business owners across Canada want to do their part in the national effort to fight climate change, as a healthy and safe environment is required for a strong and fruitful economy. To ensure more SMEs have the resources to take action, the government of Canada is helping business owners invest in new equipment and retrofits…
On August 22, 2019, the CanExport funding program undertook two significant updates that impacted how the program operated and the value it provided to Canadian exporters. The first and most notable update was to the program’s contribution amount, while the second focused on company eligibility. Previously, agriculture and agri-food companies were unable to apply; these…
Everyone knows that the wrong hire can be very costly to a business. Not only will a business incur real expenses with a bad hire (estimates show the cost of one bad hire to be in the range of $250,000USD, i.e. their salary, your team’s/trainer’s salaries, and opportunity costs of lost productivity), but you also…
Procurement tenders are an extremely common way of soliciting proposals for a project. In addition to being one of the main ways of doing business with the government, many private companies also use a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to narrow their focus for vendors for a project. Request for Proposal response and bid submissions…
EUREKA is an intergovernmental network of 41 countries that promotes cooperative innovation across borders. Established in 1985, this program funds international collaborative projects for market-oriented, technology research and development and innovation (R&D&I) between two or more member countries. By virtue of Canada’s membership with EUREKA as an Associated Country (renewed in 2018), Canadian companies and…
Woodbridge Foam Corporation, based out of Mississauga, Ontario, is a global systems solution provider specializing in fully-integrated foam solutions. These solutions – including polyurethane, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene – are destined for both automotive and non-automotive markets. The company has recently received Canadian government funding to support facility upgrades and a new research and development…
There are hundreds of Canadian small business grants and loans that companies can apply to. There are some key strategies to keep in mind to optimize your chances of success though; for one, always consider the program’s eligibility criteria. It’s not worth applying to small business grants and loans that are not a fit for…