Volume 2 Issue 1
This newsletter is an important
communication vehicle for the Canadian E-Business Leadership Program.
It is published bi-weekly to deliver information and success stories of
interest to Canadian businesses. Your feedback and story suggestions are
welcomed. Please contact Bob Gardiner at mailto:bob.gardiner@eleadership.ca?subect=E-Business_Newsletter with your ideas. To be removed from the email list please reply
with “remove” in the subject line.
Please forward this article to
anyone you think might have an interest E-Business success in Canada.
This newsletter reviews websites,
businesses, tools and resources suggested by subscribers or discovered
by the E-Business Leadership Program. No paid advertising or endorsements
are accepted.
Canadian E-Business Leadership Program
For 2003 Ready To Go
We are putting
plans in place for an even better and more comprehensive program for 2003.
We are pleased to have E-Biz Toronto and
Techvibes.com
with us again this year to help produce an exciting recognition program
for ebusiness success and to plan seminars and conferences that will provide
significant value for those organizations looking to launch new ebusiness
projects or improve on existing initiatives. Watch the website http://www.eleadership.ca/ and
this newsletter for updates.
Entries for this year’s recognition
and awards program will be accepted at the website starting June 2, 2003.
Significant Additional Resources for Small
and Medium Business
Over the past year,
groups within the Canadian Business Service Centres organization have
put significant focus on adding ebusiness resources to their websites.
In particular the E-Future Centre lead by Trevor Poapst and eBC under
the leadership of Rob Lewis have gathered large and very complete libraries
of documents and resources available at no charge.
Both sites have
ebusiness info guides organized for novice, intermediate and experienced
users so there is something of value for every level of expertise. You
will also find links to general business information and resources.
Visit the E-Future Centre at http://www.e-future.ca/ and
eBC at http://www.e-bc.ca/
The Wills Registry – new revenue from an
old idea
http://www.whereismywill.com/
This
is an
excellent example of extending a professional services practice to build
additional revenue streams. The legal firm that created The Wills Registry
has discovered the possibilities available with the Internet and its ability
to reach new clients with new services in new markets.
The
Wills Registry is a simple and inexpensive way to protect a will from
loss and save heirs from a long and costly search. This Registry lists
people's names and the locations of their wills without including the
content of any wills. This site is very simple technologically, a website
connected to a basic database. The business is designed to be supported
by authorized representatives around North America thereby bringing other
legal firms into the enterprise rather than competing with them or alienating
them.
Elements Needed For The Change Process To
Be Effective
Ebusiness implementation
is about change. Some of the change is subtle, like simply storing client
information electronically for fast and accurate retrieval, and some will
be revolutionary, like delivering some of your business services from
a website when a clients needs it at 2am.
Change will impact
your organization and surely it will impact your clients. Here are a few
things to consider as you begin the process of re-inventing your professional
services organization – whether “you” is in fact just you or “you” is
an organization of 25-50 accounting partners and associates.
Everyone involved must have:
1.
Clear picture of desired end result
2.
Understanding of the importance to the
company and the client clearly defined
3.
Knowledge of the personal importance
to those effected
4.
Sense of urgency—priorities are clear
5.
Skills—training and knowledge provided
6.
Complementary changes effected – making
sure people and systems that support the new environment are considered
7.
Stress of change accommodated
q
Fear of failure
q
Social support, personal sense of control
Exciting News from Royal Roads University
Bob Gardiner,
president of E-Strategies International and president of the Canadian
E-Business Awards, delivers this month's presentation in the Royal Roads
Review, Canada's first interactive on-line business speaker series. In
his presentation, Capturing the Power of Community, Gardiner will discuss
marketing strategies for the web.
"There has never been a more powerful
way to connect with your community," says Gardiner, who describes community
as primarily clients, potential clients and employees but also suppliers
and even competitors as well. "Building, serving and supporting your community
is the most important concept in the effective use of the Internet and
e-business."
The School of Business at Royal
Roads University launched the Review last month. Every month, it will
bring to subscribers the views and thoughts of business thinkers and leaders
from across Canada and around the world. For more information about the
Royal Roads Review or to participate in Gardiner's presentation, log onto
www.royalroads.ca/royalroadsreview.
An Old Industry Leader Re-appears
Remember
ComputerLand? In the ‘80s ComputerLand was a mighty force in building
the PC industry in Canada with phenomenal growth as the marketplace moved
from mainframes and mini computers to personal computers. Well, they are
back and this time online at http://www.computerland.ca/. And
it has a number of the original cast of characters leading the way. ComputerLand,
now a part of NexInnovations, can trace its history back to the early
days of the business and Hubert Kelley, president of NexInnovations, has
been at or near the helm from the beginning. If you are an old ComputerLand
employee (alumnus) or a customer from the days when the ComputerLand chain
of computer retail stores was in every major centre in Canada you will
want to visit the site and register for Alumni Specials. In any event,
it looks like they will add an interesting level of competition to the
marketplace.
Congratulations to the ComputerLand team
Got
an article, a story idea or an e-business success story
we should feature? Send your feedback to mailto:bob.gardiner@eleadership.ca?subject=ENews_Feedback Sign
up for the newsletter at http://www.eleadership.ca/ or reply
with “subscribe” in the subject line.
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