Win FREE Tuition McMaster's Business Administration Certificate

Are you a new grad, new immigrant, a business owner, currently unemployed, looking for a promotion or want to upgrade your business skills? McMaster University's award-winning Centre for Continuing Education is offering eligible individuals a chance to win FREE tuition for their five-course Certificate in Business Administration.

We just kick started this new program and we want to give a deserving individual a chance to kick start their career!

The Business Administration Certificate Program, developed in collaboration with the DeGroote School of Business, will provide students with the skills and knowledge employers are looking for to be successful in the business world. The program consists of five courses (Business Foundations, Introduction to Marketing, Business Finance & Accounting, Organizational Behaviour, and Business Communications) and is available in-class and online.

McMaster's Centre for Continuing Education provides quality professional education to individuals and corporate clients, in order to enhance careers and foster workforce development. We offer a wide variety of certificate and diploma programs and professional development workshops to 3,000 students annually.

Contest Submission Requirements

• Write a one page essay describing yourself, your career goals and how you would benefit, personally and professionally, by completing the Certificate in Business Administration.
• Submissions will be judged on how well you articulate your career goals and how you would benefit by completing the program, as well as the overall writing quality of the essay.
• Essays may be submitted through our website, www.mcmastercce.com/business (click on 'Win Free Tuition' link) or dropped off in person at the McMaster Downtown Centre, 50 Main Street East, 2nd floor, Hamilton.
• All submissions must be received by August 30, 2011.

Entries will be judged by Nick Bontis, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs at the DeGroote School of Business and Neil Everson, Director, Economic Development & Real Estate Division, City of Hamilton. The winner will be announced after the Labour Day weekend.

The winner must complete the program by September 2013 and the offer cannot be combined with any other Center for Continuing Education promotions. All tuition and supplementary fees will be waived. Purchasing textbooks and other course materials are the responsibility of the student.

For any inquiries about the contest, full eligibility requirements or other programs and services offered by the Center for Continuing Education, please see our website at www.mcmastercce.com/business or contact us at businessadministration@mcmaster.ca , 905.525.9140 x24321.

Half of all Canadians are using social media

By Daniel Kosir

Social networking sites are quickly becoming the go-to method of online communication in Canada.

According to Ipsos' Canada Interactive Reid Report on Social Networking, 60 per cent of online Canadians and half of all Canadians now have a social networking profile. Just to be clear, that's roughly 17,139,200 people.

The survey also found that social media is no longer exclusively the realm of youth. While the 18 to 34 demographic are still the most likely to have a social networking profile (86 per cent), other age groups are increasingly connecting through social media. Around 62 per cent of Canadians aged 35 to 54 now have profiles, and in the 55 plus category the number is 43 per cent.

More social, more frequent

Though the survey results only show a 4 per cent increase from two years ago, the frequency in which people are using social networks has increased dramatically.

The number of online Canadians who say they visit social networking sites weekly has increased to 45 per cent, up from 35 per cent last year, and 30 per cent say they visit daily, up from 19 per cent.

Momentum also continues to grow, with 32 per cent of respondents saying they use their social networking profile(s) more than last year versus 15 per cent who say they use it less.

Among social media users, women tend to be more frequent social networkers, with 37 per cent of online Canadian women visiting sites at least once a day compared to 24 per cent of men.

Though there has recently been some suggestion in the media that social networking use is leveling off, particularly in industrialized countries, the numbers dictate that this is not the case in Canada.

While the number of Canadians accessing online social networks may be peaking, the engagement in this platform has not diminished," says Steve Mossop, President of Ipsos Reid's Western Canada practice. "In fact, we continue to see dramatic increases in usage."

Social Media by the numbers

Facebook continues to be the dominant social networking platform in Canada, with 86 per cent of Canadian social networkers having a profile.

However, Facebook's dominance is being challenged by Twitter and LinkedIn, both of which showed significant growth over the past year. The number of Canadians using Twitter has grown from less than one per cent in 2009 to 19 per cent today, and LinkedIn use has more than doubled from 6 per cent in 2009 to 14 per cent currently.

The survey also found that almost half (50 per cent) of Canadians with profiles on social media sites "like" or "follow" at least one brand or company, and among those who follow at least one brand, the average number of brands followed is 6.7.

These numbers have not gone unnoticed by the business world, as is evident by the surge of businesses who continue to develop and maintain a social media presence.

"A new era has dawned in the social networking space," says Mossop. "The first five years was about building awareness and usage around socializing, and consumers responded positively. The next five years will be about commercialization of social networking. Companies who understand and enter this space will gain a whole new way of interacting with and engaging their customers."

More information about the report can be accessed here.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to visit CanadaOne's current issue for more informative articles.

Article from CanadaOne

Cash Flow: The Lifeblood of Every Small Business

By Connie Certusi

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any small business and how it's managed can mean the difference between your company's success or failure. Having ample cash on hand will ensure that your suppliers, employees and other vendors can be paid on time. It also allows companies to invest cash back into the business in order to generate additional revenue and profit and, most importantly, improve their bottom line.

Let's take a closer look at how cash flow management can affect small businesses and review how your business can take control of and better manage its cash flow immediately.

Setting up for Proper Cash Flow Management

Preparing accurate cash flow projections on a regular basis is one of the most important things a small business owner can do, as it can raise red flags to potential problems before they arise. Small business owners can start their cash flow projection by adding cash on hand at the beginning of the period with other cash to be received from various sources. However, it is crucial that other factors are also accounted for, including upcoming cash outlays like rent, inventory, salaries, benefits, taxes, office supplies, advertising, etc.

Better Manage Your Small Business Cash Flow

There are two key areas to analyze for better management of cash flow: receivables and payables.

Improving Receivables

If small business owners got paid immediately following a sale, cash flow would never be a problem. Unfortunately, this rarely happens, but small business owners can still improve their cash flow by better managing their receivables.

Because cash is such a vital asset to all businesses, there are a number of things that small business owners can do to help facilitate getting customers to pay in a more timely fashion:

• issue invoices promptly and follow up immediately if payments are slow in materializing
• offer discounts to customers who pay their bills quickly
• offer several different ways for your customers to pay you
• track accounts receivable to identify and avoid slow-paying customers

Managing Payables

Expenses must be carefully watched when managing a growing company, as strong sales growth can conceal underlying problems. If expenses are growing faster than sales — or even if they are not — payables should be examined carefully and methods to better control them should be identified:

• make payments on the last day they are due to retain the use of funds as long as possible
• keep an eye on sales and expenditure patterns and selling and billing cycles
• maintain good knowledge of suppliers and understand who offers the best terms and pricing
• manage and track inventory levels

What is the Best Way to Take Control of Your Cash Flow Management?

Accounting software solutions for managing all financial records and cash flow on a daily basis can be beneficial to small business owners.

Even if the business is profitable, a company can close down because of a cash shortage. With the right accounting system, small businesses can:

• quickly issue professional invoices with detailed and accurate information
• reduce delinquent payments by offering ways to electronically send and receive money
• accept credit card payments online for easy, on-time payment
• access cash projection and customer aged summary reports to understand what monies are owed to you and what your cash position looks like at any one time
• easily track inventory to reduce waste and keep tabs on your inventory levels
• establish a preferred suppliers list that identifies previous pricing for materials or goods purchased
• forecast sales so you can plan ahead and be aware of customer buying patterns
• pull information directly from most banks and quickly cross-reference every transaction

However you track it, cash flow is the key to your business' success, and having the right system in place will help improve your cash flow and boost your bottom line!

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to visit CanadaOne's current issue for more informative articles.

Article from CanadaOne