by Audrey Poitras, Development Officer – Growth and Expansion, Women In Business
Women in Business NB, in collaboration with CPA New Brunswick, were excited to recently welcome guest speaker Nicole Cousineau, CPA, CGA, to talk about How to Best Grow your Business.
Nicole’s presentation was all about the reasons why a business should consider growing. The session explained the financial implications of business growth; tools and techniques to analyze and plan for growth; and the best times and best reasons to grow a business.
Of especial interest was Nicole’s presentation of a 10-Step Growth Screening Process to help business owners decide if the growth project they are considering is feasible. These steps help the entrepreneur evaluate the feasibility of a growth project, and they include such questions and tools as:
- Identifying the growth opportunity – is it a customer need or demand? Once you have projected sales volume, what are your production costs and sales price per unit? These numbers will help you estimate new revenue.
- Estimating costs – both direct and indirect expenses of producing a product or service, and the cost of any capital investment, as well as estimating any necessary capital investment.
- Profit projections — it’s important to develop a pro forma profit and loss statement showing both the projected dollar amounts and the projected margins, as well as the limitations of maximum sales potential (will they gain savings if sales reach a certain point, or will more resources be needed?) Incidentally, a CPA is a great resource to help a business owner understand margins, balance sheets, and cash needs.
- Overall profitability — the final step in projecting growth, and there are several formulas that can be used, including: Return on investment (ROI), Return on equity (ROE), Return on assets (ROA), and Payback Period.
Here are some of Women in Business NB programs and services to help women entrepreneurs grow their business
Growth Guide and Access to Information
Available via our website at wbnb-fanb.ca/images/GrowthGuide_FillForm.pdf
Consultant Advisory Services Program & Training
The Consultant Advisory Services program gives Women in Business NB the ability to offer advisory services to small- and medium-sized businesses in the province. WBNB also helps women entrepreneurs by offering webinars and various group trainings.
Atlantic Canadian Women in Growth Partnership
The goal of this project is to fill gaps in the female entrepreneurial ecosystem at the start-up and growth level, but also to increase women’s participation in under-represented groups such as newcomers, women with disabilities, Indigenous women, rural women, as well as women in non-traditional trades and STEM-related fields.
W-Power
This project seeks to promote female entrepreneurship, share best practices, build bridges between businesswomen facing similar challenges, develop and share tools and compare business models to help women entrepreneurs start and grow their own business.
International Peer-to-Peer Exchange Program
The program seeks to forge lasting relationships between female entrepreneurs in New Brunswick and women in other countries operating in similar sectors. Participants benefit from the skills and experience of their peers, discuss best practices, cultural differences, innovations in their respective industries, purchasing behaviours, markets, etc. This pairing also includes supporting participants’ international prospecting efforts in their partner’s market (presentation of key partners, sales agent, importer and/or buyers), and the creation of a genuine partnership.
Coffee Break & Mawiomi
The Coffee Break program is designed to virtually connect women entrepreneurs from across the province to foster collaboration and improvement through the exchange of business skills. Whether you are an existing or aspiring woman entrepreneur, this is an opportunity for YOU to learn, grow and bond! Mawiomi is the Indigenous version of the Coffee Break.
Nujintuisga’tijig E’pijig
Nujintuisga’tijig E’pijig means Indigenous women salespersons/vendors in Mi’gmaq. It is an online platform created to help Indigenous women entrepreneurs sell their crafts, including artwork, beadwork, clothing, basket making, etc.
WBNB’s great added value lies in an experienced team of development officers who provide bilingual support (personalized consultations) to all women entrepreneurs, in both rural and urban areas. Three main, well-targeted focus areas address the current needs of women entrepreneurs: (1) start-up, (2) growth and expansion, and (3) trade and export. In addition, an officer on our team is dedicated to Indigenous women entrepreneurs.