{"id":586,"date":"2012-07-31T18:45:36","date_gmt":"2012-07-31T18:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wordsthatsing.com\/?page_id=586"},"modified":"2012-07-31T18:45:36","modified_gmt":"2012-07-31T18:45:36","slug":"business","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/?page_id=586","title":{"rendered":"Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Business<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n


Antoine Noujaim: in 100 Entrepreneurs who Built the Province
<\/strong>Alberta Venture, The Century (Collectors\u2019 Editio<\/em>n), <\/em>pp. 122-123<\/span><\/p>\n

A tiny vial of yellow liquid stands on Antoine Noujaim\u2019s office sill, glinting in the sunlight. It\u2019s OvaRex, MAb, an ovarian cancer weapon poised to enter clinical trials. \u201cI will show you exactly where this material is going to be manufactured,\u201d Noujaim says, flashing photos like a proud poppa. Where I see a fresh-dug hole in the Maryland landscape, he envisions a $36 million (US) manufacturing plant, a quantum leap forward in his quest to boost the body\u2019s power to fight cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Biomira Inc., launched in 1985 with immunologist Michael Longenecker, stands as a key milestone in that quest. But as 68-year-old Noujaim is quick to point out, the story begins long before\u2014and travels in anything but a straight line. In 39 years, he has founded or co-founded five biotech companies and incubated or inspired dozens more\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2005 by Cheryl Mahaffy. <\/em>All rights reserved.
For reprint information, contact Cheryl@wordsthatsing.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still Going Up: Alberta\u2019s Fastest Growing Companies, 2002
<\/strong>Alberta Venture, <\/em>January\/February 2002, pp. 50-62<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a pretty bad downturn. I\u2019m so excited, I can hardly contain myself.\u201d That\u2019s Dave Tonken\u2019s contrary perspective as CEO of Scout Capital Corp., self-described \u201cLiquidation World of public company assets.\u201d Tonken and his minuscule crew earned spot #6 in Alberta Venture\u2019s list of the province\u2019s 30 Fastest Growing Companies by revving up a unique enterprise that snags public firms just before they crash, disposes of the innards (need a low-orbiting satellite?) and sells the shells at a profit. In the year ending July 30, 2001, three-year-old Scout Capital grossed $1.6 million in sales, a full 22,256% above the year before.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s raining shells. I\u2019m running around trying to catch them in my bucket,\u201d Tonken enthuses; what\u2019s more, he adds, some has-been stars are admitting defeat even before burning through their cash. \u201cI didn\u2019t anticipate the market doing me a favour by providing acquisition targets with millions in the bank.\u201d \u2026. Thus the worst of times, with a twist of ingenuity and a hefty shot of customer focus, becomes the best of times\u2014or at least opportunity snatched. And that, in a phrase, describes the attitude keeping many of Alberta\u2019s Fastest Growing Companies above the radar amid post-dot-com, post- 9\/11 economics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2002 by Cheryl Mahaffy. <\/em>All rights reserved.
For reprint information, contact Cheryl@wordsthatsing.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n


Hitting the mark: 15 Benchmarks of Excellence for Small Business
<\/span><\/strong>Alberta Venture, <\/em>October 2000, pp. 37-74<\/span><\/p>\n

For small businesses across Alberta, success is anything but accidental. Talk to the individuals at the helm of respected small enterprises, as we did in putting this feature together, and you can almost taste the sweat, almost see the midnight monitor burning as the ledger is checked yet again. Yet toil and tallies are far from the only notes needed to make a business sing. The 21st<\/sup> century small business is an orchestra, not a kazoo; success requires a multiplicity of talents, united.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear the bottom line remains crucial. \u201cThere\u2019s no point in going into business unless your business makes money,\u201d notes Pat Elemans, assistant dean of the Faculty of Management at the University of Lethbridge. But, she adds, \u201cto have a positive bottom line, you need to pay attention to excellence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What, exactly, makes a small business excellent? The benchmarks may be as diverse as the small businesses who make up the bulk of Alberta\u2019s economy, notes Kate Thrasher, whose KTG Enterprises Inc. won the 2000 Alberta Chamber of Commerce Small Business Award of Distinction for helping nearly 400 entrepreneurs launch new businesses. \u201cFor some of our clients, making \u2018x\u2019 number of dollars is excellence. Others, if they\u2019re able to be home with a child and still keep a roof above and food on the table, that\u2019s excellence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite that diversity, themes emerge as Alberta\u2019s respected entrepreneurs describe their work. The best have a clear vision <\/strong>and dynamic plans.<\/strong> They pay careful heed to quality,<\/strong> teamwork, finances, processes, customers<\/strong> and suppliers<\/strong>. They\u2019re always innovating.<\/strong> And they strive to balance <\/strong>work with family and community.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, smart entrepreneurs borrow insights from other high performing companies rather than reinventing the wheel. In that spirit, below are insights gleaned from conversations with a cross section of small businesses across Alberta\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2000 by Cheryl Mahaffy. <\/em>All rights reserved.
For reprint information, contact Cheryl@wordsthatsing.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n


The Picture of Success
<\/span><\/strong>Alberta Venture, <\/em>April 2000, pp. 75-80<\/span><\/p>\n

Gord Wusyk was in his mid-30s when his father suddenly died, leaving no plan for the future of a major cattle operation. Two decades later, Wusyk says he wouldn\u2019t wish the resulting heartache on any family enterprise. Two siblings wanted to run and expand their father\u2019s operation; the other two wanted to sell the business and use the money to advance careers of their own. Caught in the middle, wracked by worry, his mother finally sold the farm.<\/span><\/p>\n

The agony of dismantling his father\u2019s life work, coupled with the realization that his experience was the rule rather than the exception, spurred Wusyk to sharpen the focus of his own financial planning company. He has since \u201cquarterbacked\u201d many a family through the succession struggle, pulling in other experts as issues arise. And the tissue box is always on the table\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2000 by Cheryl Mahaffy. <\/em>All rights reserved.
For reprint information, contact Cheryl@wordsthatsing.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n


Not a shrinking violet<\/span>
<\/strong><\/span>Alberta Venture, <\/em>June 1998, pp. 14-18<\/span><\/p>\n

Twenty minutes until show time, and already half the seats are filled. Soon it\u2019s standing room only at Londonderry Mall\u2019s inner courtyard in northeast Edmonton, and people lean over the balcony above, waiting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly she\u2019s there, the silver-haired star of the show: Lois Hole. She looks remarkably down-to-earth for a best-selling author and soon-to-be University of Alberta chancellor. As always, she has something to give away.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s exactly those qualities\u2014grassroots earthiness and boundless generosity\u2014that endear this matriarch to gardening fans. In truth, those same qualities have rocketed her family\u2019s enterprise, Hole\u2019s Greenhouses & Gardens Ltd., to the top of Canada\u2019s horticultural businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always late,\u201d she confides to the crowd. \u201cBut I had to make lunch for my kids.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For the Holes of St. Albert, lunch with the kids is actually a head office deliberation involving Lois, husband Ted, sons Jim and Bill and daughter-in-law Valerie\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 1998 by Cheryl Mahaffy. <\/em>All rights reserved.
For reprint information, contact Cheryl@wordsthatsing.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n


Edmonton gains momentum
<\/strong>Business in Calgary, <\/em>May 2001, pp. 10-14<\/span><\/p>\n

A hefty Orbitor 4000 telescope perches next to Audrey Luft\u2019s desk at Alberta Manpower, its barrel overlooking the bustle below her downtown Edmonton office. A gift saluting her status as Global TV\u2019s Woman of Vision for January 2001, the telescope arrived recently from the folks at Manpower International, corporate\u00a0 headquarters for the franchise Luft has owned since 1991. \u201cThey know I like looking at the stars,\u201d she says, and it\u2019s true in more ways than one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Incoming chair of Economic Development Edmonton, Luft is among the 1200 who\u2019ve trained a telescope on the city\u2019s economy while developing the Greater Edmonton Competitiveness Strategy. What she sees is a star on the rise: strong, buoyant, diversified\u2014and united behind a plan\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2001 by Cheryl Mahaffy. <\/em>All rights reserved.
For copyright information, contact Cheryl@wordsthatsing.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

\u00a0
Being safe in a multicultural workplace
<\/strong>Occupational Health & Safety Magazine, <\/em>January 2007, pp. 9-12<\/span><\/p>\n

Walk into any safety session in today\u2019s Alberta, and you\u2019ll find workers from cultures far beyond our borders. Workers for whom survival has meant keeping the mouth shut when superiors mess up. Workers whose culture tells them to avoid eye contact. Workers who would be atop the heap in their country of origin, not here at the bottom. Workers who know \u201cduck\u201d as a bird, not a life-saving action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, diversity is fast becoming a significant safety concern\u2026 [soon,] a health and safety unit without an intercultural specialist will find itself at sea\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

For reprint information, contact Cheryl@wordsthatsing.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Business Antoine Noujaim: in 100 Entrepreneurs who Built the ProvinceAlberta Venture, The Century (Collectors\u2019 Edition), pp. 122-123 A tiny vial of yellow liquid stands on Antoine Noujaim\u2019s office sill, glinting in the sunlight. It\u2019s OvaRex, MAb, an ovarian cancer weapon poised to enter clinical trials. \u201cI will show you exactly where this material is going … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":12,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-586","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/586\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}