In addition to the annual The Challenge contest, TELUS hosts a year-long series of Challenge events that feature speakers, information sessions and vendors. The objective is to help small companies overcome business challenges to achieve their goals.  Yesterday’s event at TELUS house Toronto was standing room only and focused on how innovation can grow your small business.

(Photo: standing room only crowd at TELUS Challenge event yesterday, TELUS House Toronto)

After winning $100,000 to transform her agricultural testing lab, Angela Quinton on Thursday recalled the moment a business grant changed her life, as if by Godsend.

Quinton remembered standing in her office at Sandberg Labs in Lethbridge, Alberta with a stack of unpaid bills in her hand, and looking skywards for help, before a phone call to indicate she was a contest winner came. “I was actually praying, saying ‘Oh God, we need somebody,” she recounted, while attending a standing room only TELUS Challenge event on innovation at TELUS House Toronto yesterday.

Sandberg Labs had been chosen over 800+ other entrants to win the Challenge contest, an annual competition by TELUS and the Globe and Mail newspaper to identify and help a small business achieve its goals. The $100,000 prize, combined with new technology and innovation, boosted the sampling capacity at Sandberg Labs so it can better meet business demand from regional Alberta farmers and feed manufacturers.
“We’ve been able to bring in a lot more customers, without a lot of difficulty, because we got new equipment,” Quinton insisted.

(Photo: Angela Quinton, Owner, Sandberg Labs, winner of the 2011 TELUS & Globe and Mail #challengecontest)

Innovation

  But Sean Stanleigh, editor of the Report on Small Business properties at The Globe and Mail newspaper, while finding inspiration from Sandberg Labs wringing impressive growth from innovation, adds this is not a familiar story for Canadian mom and pop operations. “There’s no bigger buzzword in small business than innovation,” Stanleigh told the TELUS Challenge event attendees. While talk of innovation is heard all the time from politicians and business leaders, what’s missing in the debate is identifying which SMBs are truly innovative, where they are and what public and private financing can make them still more productive. “I think of innovation as a process, one that requires many steps,” Stanleigh added.

The first step for Sandberg Labs to innovation involved not just telling the TELUS Challenge judges about one or two business problems that needed quick solutions. Quinton recalled instead sharing the overriding challenge and solution for them – an inability to meet increased business demand, and the promise of technology and innovation to surmount that hurdle. “Here’s the problem, here’s what we want to do, here’s what keeps us back from doing that,” she said of the thought and structure behind her winning 800-word submission, which she completed with husband and business partner Justin Quinton.

(Photo: Sean Stanleigh, editor of the report on small business properties at the Globe and Mail)

Being able to see what others cannot see is also the story behind another young Canadian entrepreneur,  Armen Bakirtzian, co-founder and CEO of Avenir Medical. His Waterloo, Ontario-based company has developed a medical device, PelvAssist, that allows orthopedic surgeons to line up hips during replacement operations.  Bakirtzian, who also addressed attendees at Thursday’s event, said 95% of orthopedic surgeons still eyeball alignment when replacing hips.  And if they get the alignment wrong, the result could be expensive follow-up surgery. “So we provide them (surgeons) with the tools they need to put the implants in correctly,” Bakirtzian, whose company has received start-up financing and mentorship from the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF), explained.

Mentorship

To encourage still more young entrepreneurs to launch new businesses, TELUS and the CYBF have partnered to raise up to $150,000 to help another seven young Canadians get their business ideas off the ground and to market. “TELUS is built for business, the Canadian Youth Business Federation is built for starting businesses. So together, we share a passion for where young businesses can go,” Vivian Prokop, CEO of the CYBF, told the TELUS Challenge event after accepting an initial cheque for $21,000 from Jim Senko, Vice President of Small and Medium Business Marketing at TELUS.

(Photo from left to right: Armen Bakirtzian, co-founder and CEO of Avenir Medical, Vivian Prokop, CEO of the CYBF, Jim Senko, VP of Small & Medium Business Marketing, TELUS and Hugh Johnson, VP of Sales, TELUS)

That’s much-needed support to help close a yawning financing gap for Canadian small businesses, the G&M’s Stanleigh told the TELUS Challenge event. “The Canadian economy is full of emerging technology that needs capital for commercialization,” he argued.  Stanleigh also recommended SMBs develop a comprehensive growth plan that fully outlines how they intend to reach their business goals, and to connect with business advisors, mentors or anyone else who can point the way forward. Hence the rationale for The Challenge, an annual contest that invites Canadian entrepreneurs to share their business challenge to possibly win a $100,000 business grant.

Overcoming Challenge

Hugh Johnson, TELUS Vice president of Sales, agrees a winning Challenge entry needs to fully outline how an SMB is strategically planning for growth.  “Marketing is only one piece of the puzzle,” Johnson insisted.  He urged Challenge contenders to show creativity and a case for innovation as they explained in 800 words why they should receive support to get their business to the next plateau.

The G&M’s Stanleigh agrees, as he defined innovation for SMBs as an ability to spot a business challenge, find the solution and new customers, and to reach them as fast as possible. “Coming up with new ideas is half of the battle. You also need to implement the ideas,” he argued.
  
Back at Sandberg Labs, Angela Quinton insists her recent business transformation after winning the Challenge contest has made all the difference. “We take our customers on tours of the lab and say, this is where your sample goes and this is what happens, and it’s like little light-bulbs go off and they say, yes, that makes total sense,” Quinton said proudly.

Etan Vlessing is a Toronto-based writer and business correspondent for TELUS Talks business.

For more information on the #challengecontest, visit: www.theglobeandmail.com/thechallenge. The deadline for submissions is May 28, 2012.

Have you heard the term Android in relation to Smartphones but don't know what it means?  You've come to the right place.  Here are five Android basics every business should know:

1 - Android is a mobile phone operating system.

In a similar way to how a personal computer requires an operating system like Windows or Apple OS, a Smartphone needs software to run.  However, it's not practical to take a standard computer operating system and squeeze it into a mobile device.  Screen sizes, battery life and memory space all demand software specifically designed for a mobile device.  Google's answer to this need is Android and it's become the world's fastest growing mobile operating system.

Android logo (click image to enlarge)

It's important to note that there isn't just one version of Android.  Google has released regular updates to the Android operating system in order to improve mobile efficiency and introduce new features. New versions are often referred to by their Google codenames: Cupcake (version 1.5), Donut (version 1.6), Eclair (version 2.0/2.1) and the latest release, Froyo (short for “frozen yogurt” - version 2.2).  Updates like this tell us two things:  1) Google is serious about evolving the quality of their software;  2) Google mobile Engineers have an affinity for sugary snacks!

Cupcake, Donut and Eclair

2 - Android powered Smartphones are offered by a variety of manufacturers.

You may notice something different when it comes to the advertisement of Android Smartphones: a term similar to “powered by Android”.  Unlike Apple or BlackBerry mobile operating systems, Android is available from a variety of Smartphone manufacturers.  For example, the following 3G+ Smartphones are all Android powered:

Having multiple manufacturers building Smartphones with Android means your business has more choice. Want a touch screen?  Full keyboard?  The options are there and more manufacturers are announcing new Android powered devices every month.

3 - Thousands of free and paid apps are available on the Android Market.

What makes Android so special is that it is an open platform.  This means that anyone with the proper skills can adjust or build programs to run on an Android device. As a result, thousands of strong applications are available to download from the Android Market.  While some vary in cost, a recent study determined that over 57% of applications on the Market were free.

Here's a short video that describes how the Market works:

4 – Android Smartphones offer unparalleled personalization

Even in business, many Smartphone users like to personalize their experience.  This may take the form of a special ringtone or may go deeper to moving icons or changing the way a screen operates.  Android is currently the most customizable mobile operating system available.  Here are some examples:

• Say good-bye to icons and grids. View messages, upcoming events, weather updates or whatever you need right on your screen with live widgets.
• Change what you want to see on your screen from day to day. Facebook, web bookmarks or YouTube – it's up to you.
• Create and design your own mobile experience with multiple homescreens.

5 - Android works for small businesses.

Android offers a strong and continually growing feature set for businesses.  Items such as wireless email integration, easy to manage contacts and efficient calendars are base features.  Hundreds of business specific apps are also available from the Android Marketplace.  A small business user will feel right at home on an Android powered Smartphone.

For larger businesses, Android still has some growth to do.  Exchange server support has a number of challenges and remote management tools are not to the same level as BlackBerry or iPhone.  Watch for Google to make advancements in this area through 2010 and into 2011.

Want to learn more?

Two great options:

1. Add a comment with your question below. Not only will you be able to tap into the experience of hundreds of other business professionals who are members of TELUS Talks Business, the team behind the scenes will bring in Android experts to get you the best available answer.
2. If you prefer a one-on-one consultation, click the Contact link above, give some details about your business and a sales representative will contact you.  Don't worry, it won't be a hard sell sales person – they're here to help you grow our business and answer your Android questions.

Left out in the rain. Put through a day of drywall taping and sanding. Dropped repeatedly in a game of catch.

We recently sent Into Mobile’s James Falconer a Motorola Mike Brute i680 and told him to test its mettle. Following a series of highly scientific impromptu experiments, James posted an in-depth review on the device and shared his thoughts on just how tough the Brute really is.

Highlights from his review:

• Definitely rugged, can withstand almost anything you throw at it - blowing rain, dust, vibration, extreme temperatures, salt, fog, humidity, extreme sunlight, etc.
  
• Rubberized molding on shell gives a secure and almost soft feel in the hand, giving you extra confidence and grip to ensure you don’t drop it
  
• Strong ‘flip’ hinge helps keep dirt and debris out from the screen and keypad inside
  

• Solid build quality and fit-and-finish
  

James’ verdict:

“The TELUS Motorola Brute i680 does what it is built to do. It’s rugged, takes a beating, and works as a rough-and-tumble phone for on-the-job needs. If you’re in construction, or need a device with phone functionality, a smattering of basic apps, and a ruggedized shell that can take a hit… the Motorola Brute is an ideal addition to toss on the passenger seat of your truck.”

Think James is bluffing about the Brute’s ruggedness? Questions about this phone or TELUS Mike in general? Leave us a comment below.  For more information about the Motorola Brute i680 and the latest from TELUS Mike, check out www.NoOrdinaryPhone.com.