TELUS challenged entrepreneurs on the TELUS Business Facebook page to share their best to-the-point and convincing elevator pitch for a chance to win one of two business productivity prize packs. With more than 100 submissions, Carmen Mason was one of the finalists.

“Anything you need we can do it,” says Carmen Mason, art/creative director and founder of Fuel House of Design in Vancouver. The company specializes in creating branded websites, posters, handbills, logos, merchandise, boxes, banners, and billboards, for clients including Joe’s Apartment on Granville Street, 99.3 CFOX-FM and bands of all genres.

How did you come up with your elevator pitch?

I ask my clients on a day-to-day basis, what is it that you are trying put forth with your product? What is the first thing you need people to know about your brand? I got to a point where my pitch came naturally: “What is it that I do? How can I help people?”

When did you start using social media and how did you pick which social media tools to use?

Years ago when I started, it was the era of MySpace so I started a profile and stuck to my genre, which at that time was music. A band would post your profile on the comments section and automatically everybody would add you. I had more than 1200 friends. Then Facebook (FB) came out and I decided to stick with a profile [rather than a group page] because it gives you the opportunity to chat with clients about future or current projects.

How do you measure the success of social media initiatives?

Facebook has been a vital part of my business and so has Twitter. The yardstick [of success] is that 90% of people who contact me via FB become my clients and have me on contract within 48 hours.

Many businesses struggle to build their customer base and attract new customers with limited funds and resources. Your advice?

Use social media to the best of your advantage. Search out businesses, follow the links on FB, look for flaws in their marketing and advertising. Is their website up to par? Do they have social networking links? Contact them, don’t push but let them know you are there. Stick within your niche and beat the pavement because everything is possible.

What do you regard as your greatest success as a business in 2011?

I came in second out of 3,200 applicants in the Edward Burns poster contest for his new movie Newlyweds. He sent a message out on Twitter and said anybody could join this contest. Every time I Tweeted “Go vote for me”, Edward Burns would retweet it. I jumped 800 people in three days. Now I have Ed Burns and Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) following me.

How do you motivate your team to keep them focused on business goals?

I don’t have to do very much. I respect and trust the team.

I have 16 contract employees, some in Scotland, some in L.A. I have a guy in Florida and Hawaii and three here. An example, heavy metal music is not my thing. So I have a guy in Australia who lives and dies by that music and I will forward the clients directly to him. I don’t play middleman.

What are your business goals for 2012?

We’re opening a storefront in September. I’d like to compartmentalize the company so one division is music and then there’s everyone else. I want to become known for being able to help anybody who has an idea or product and bring it to street level where it has great marketing and advertising behind it. I love music but I want to branch out.

Amber Nasrulla is an ex-pat Canadian writer based in L.A. who specializes in profiles from business leaders and scientists to Hollywood celebrities. Her work has appeared in North American and British publications including L.A. Times, The Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Magazine, ELLE Canada, Chatelaine and London Weekly Times.

To follow TELUSBusiness on Facebook go to facebook.com/telusbusiness.

TELUS challenged entrepreneurs on the TELUS Business Facebook page to share their best to-the-point and convincing elevator pitch for a chance to win one of two business productivity prize packs. With more than 100 submissions, Jeff Fung was one of the finalists.

Jeff Fung knew the key to successfully launching mylawbid.com was people. He networked at his alma mater, Queen’s University and, later, sponsored the annual conference of the Federation of Asian Lawyers. “We are referral based and relationship-based and that is crucial to our success, even though we are online,” he says. The service allows lawyers to bid on consumer jobs (at no cost to the consumer. No more random, frustrated Googling.) The site, launched in July 2011, is in beta phase, meaning lawyers can sign up for free. (Fung hopes to institute a monthly or annual pay structure by Q2.)

In December, The Globe and Mail’s Small Business LinkedIn group ranked mylawbid.com in the Top 10 “must have resources for entrepreneurs.”

How did you develop the elevator pitch?

I wanted to demonstrate the value of the company to everyday users and I targeted them rather than investors. I believe I can provide services that are useful to individuals and small business that, maybe, aren’t plugged into the legal community and need help finding a lawyer.

When did you start using social media?

We’re still working on our social media strategy. I’ve been using Facebook and LinkedIn since I started. I was experimenting, joining groups on LinkedIn, and I’d post interesting legal articles on FB. I can’t say we’ve perfected it as I’m still learning how to properly approach users. I also joined Twitter last fall. And we’re trying to create instructional and promotional videos for YouTube. I haven’t figured out user acquisition so if you have any ideas I’m all ears!

Many businesses struggle to build their customer base and attract new customers with limited resources. Your advice?

Figure out what you need on your website to attract people and then focus on that before you start spreading the word. We really needed lawyers to respond to people’s inquiries, so our first phase was reaching out to them. We are province-wide and have 100 lawyers in the GTA. (Including Devry Smith Frank LLP, Gardiner Roberts LLP in Toronto and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Vancouver.) We also have lawyers in Ottawa, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo and Smith’s Falls. We’re working on building a presence in Vancouver.

What technology was crucial to building your business in 2011?

It’s not about technology for us. The way we built our network of lawyers so far, besides through social media, has been by building relationships – with legal organizations, or organizations that service small businesses, or channel distributors like real estate agents.

What was your greatest success in 2011?

As a business owner who is just starting out it was really exciting to get the validation that the idea was going to work and that people valued it. That really happened after we were profiled in The Globe and Mail in December. We got a lot of traffic on the website.

Imagine you’re considering starting a new business. Given your experience, what are two things you’d advise yourself?

I’ve learned patience. There aren’t going to be 1,000 lawyers signing up for your service; even if you think it’s a great idea, you need to sell people the value. It’s about working hard and putting in the hours.

I could have fleshed out the business plan. I knew how I would acquire lawyers but was less clear on how I would acquire non-lawyers. And having an SEO strategy when we launched, so we would have older web pages and appear in search results in a better position.

What are your business goals for 2012?

The main one is to transition from beta testing to the revenue-generating phase. And to expand into other cities, Vancouver and throughout B.C.

Amber Nasrulla is an ex-pat Canadian writer based in L.A. who specializes in profiles from business leaders and scientists to Hollywood celebrities. Her work has appeared in North American and British publications including L.A. Times, The Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Magazine, ELLE Canada, Chatelaine and London Weekly Times.

To follow TELUSBusiness on Facebook go to facebook.com/telusbusiness.

TELUS recently challenged entrepreneurs on the TELUS Business Facebook page to share their best to-the-point and convincing elevator pitch for a chance to win one of two business productivity prize packs. With more than 100 submissions, Lindalu’s pitch was one of the top finalists.

After an injury forced Lindalu Forseth to leave her job as a leasing manager in the automotive industry, she didn’t skip a beat. She moved to Powell River from Calgary and then followed her passion by starting the Malaspina Soap Factory.

“If you’re not passionate you’re not going to survive. We started out on a shoestring, which I wouldn’t recommend,” she laughs. “But we’re still here three years later.”

Using ingredients like clay, oil, and herbs, she handcrafts colourful soaps that resemble cakes and fancy pastries. They’re sulfate, paraben, and detergent-free. “My business is all about balancing nature with science.”

Let’s talk about the process of coming up with the pitch – it’s something small businesses struggle with.

In 60 seconds or less include what the customer needs to know. You’re not begging for their business, you’re going to tell them what they need to know and why they want to buy from you. There’s emotion in there whether you’re working for yourself or someone else.

How did you pick which social media tools to use? How it has most helped you?

On Facebook you can have relationships with your prospective clients and customers who are already buying from you. By looking at the statistics I know who is looking at my product and similarly I can see statistics on my website. I have a good idea of the age ranges of my buyers – they’re mainly men and women, 35-55. The next group is women 25-35.

How do you measure the success of social media initiatives?

At this point I only have 200 or 300 friends or ‘likers’ on Facebook, but on occasion I’ll do ad words and target my audience. I have statistics at my fingertips that say I’m getting this many hits per day, per hour, this many actual visits. And these are the pages they are looking at, these are my entrance pages, these are my exit pages and this is where the business is coming from. When you have to do marketing or poll people that gets terribly expensive. So why do it when you can do it very inexpensively with social media?

Quite a few businesses struggle with building their customer base and attracting new customers with limited funds.  Your advice?

When you get a customer pay very close attention to them because it’s easier to keep a customer and less expensive, than it is to go find a new one.

How do you address customer feedback and what does it take to implement changes based on this feedback?

The customers are the experts. So the changes I’m making are product and fragrance changes and that allows me to start narrowing my lines, which saves me money and time on production.

In 2011, what technologies did you rely on to grow your business?

If I lost my computer I would really be upset. And the Internet. I’m a paid vendor and I advertise on badgerandblade.com, a male shaving forum of 40,000-50,000 men. And I market through my website. So it wasn’t just technology it was my male customers!

What do you regard as your greatest success as a business in 2011? How did you make it happen?

My greatest success is my shaving product line. It took me 18 months to two years to develop it. I launched in January and I now have three private label accounts and it’s in some stores. It’s made my Internet sales explode. My customer is not the one who likes his five-blade cartridge and the goo in the can.

What are your business goals for 2012?

To let the business grow naturally because the natural, rather than forced growth, is getting better long-term results. The people who want to carry my products or private-label them are coming to me. And you’ve got to learn more from your failure than your successes.

Amber Nasrulla is an ex-pat Canadian writer based in L.A. who specializes in profiles from business leaders and scientists to Hollywood celebrities. Her work has appeared in North American and British publications including L.A. Times, The Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Magazine, ELLE Canada, Chatelaine and London Weekly Times.

To follow TELUSBusiness on Facebook go to facebook.com/telusbusiness.

TELUS recently challenged entrepreneurs on the TELUS Business Facebook page to share their best to-the-point and convincing elevator pitch for a chance to win one of two business productivity prize packs. With more than 100 submissions, Krystine’s pitch was one of the top finalists, and was one of two winners awarded an iPhone4, iPad2, and a $1,500 AMEX gift card.

Babies & Beasts sells durable, waterproof stylish coats for oddly shaped dogs. Owner Krystine May was the featured designer at the 2011 Paws for the Cause Gala in Toronto, (a fundraiser for veterinary research) and the dogs sashaying down the catwalk wore Beasts’ ensembles.

Amber Nasrulla spoke to May, a digital project manager by day, about how she took her ideas and pencil drawings in February 2011, and developed them into the collection launched in August. She’s also connected to clients globally via social media.

Let’s start by talking about the process of coming up with the pitch – small businesses struggle with this.

I wanted to be concise and to highlight the key aspects of the business. I was addressing a niche market and I knew I had a unique offering.

How did you test your pitch? How do you know it does your company and product justice?

Every month, I meet up with a large group of owners of French bulldogs. Everyone had the same problems as me, which was they couldn’t find coats that fit the dogs properly. They found stuff they’d make do with, but it wasn’t insulated or waterproofed and whether it looked cool wasn’t even a factor. At the dog park there were many other people with dachshunds, bull dogs, Great Danes and they also could not find proper outerwear for their dogs. I thought ‘I can do this! Here is a product there is an actual need for.’ 

When did you start using social media?

I started using Facebook and Twitter before I even remotely had a product available. I printed business cards and handed them out at dog parks. Part of it was research and part was making the public aware. I made my friends and family ‘like’ my FB page and encouraged them to share my journey. I posted photos of the patterns we were working on, plus pictures of my bulldog, Tank, in prototypes. I’d make fun of myself if something didn’t work out. I fed my FB account into Twitter so people got regular updates.

How do you measure the success of social media initiatives?

Less than a year out of the gate and I’ve sold to Germany, to France, to the U.S., and locally. There’s a pet store in Italy that wants to carry my product wholesale and it’s all due to social media.

I was approached in June by a TV show called Pet Fashion (Rogers’ The Pet Network) and they wanted to do a feature on my business. The woman from the show said she’d read someone’s Facebook feed, who said they were waiting for my coats to come out. On my FB page, she read my posts and the description and called me.

What do you regard as your greatest success of 2011?

How fast I was able to build a network of customers and potential customers. For me, everything was, say yes and figure out how to do it after I get off the phone. Pet Fashion needed me to be ready for their shooting schedule in August. Initially I’d planned a winter collection, now I had to get everything done in five weeks. I went from three prototypes to 36 samples and threw myself a launch party and fashion show at PawsWay at Queens Quay in Toronto.

Many businesses struggle to build their customer base and attract new customers with limited resources. Your advice?

As soon as you have the idea and are committed to moving forward, promote yourself through social media and start to build a community. Ask your friends and family to spread the word. Give them the content, ask them to share links. And not just once, have them do it once a month!

In 2011, what technologies did you rely on to grow your business?

I used Magento Go, which is a website for small businesses. It’s basically plug-and-play. The back end allows you to manage your entire business and the front end you customize however you want.

What are your business goals for 2012?

In spring I’ll launch coordinating baby products that incorporate dog breeds. My key customers are dog parents first and then they become first-time parents. Those people struggle because they go through a transition where they want to include the dog but now the baby is the priority. I wanted to help those people to incorporate the family as a whole. I’ll also have a summer line for dogs. And I’m budgeting to attend summer Woofstock in St. Lawrence Market and PIJAC Canada, the national pet industry trade show.

Amber Nasrulla is an ex-pat Canadian writer based in L.A. who specializes in profiles from business leaders and scientists to Hollywood celebrities. Her work has appeared in North American and British publications including L.A. Times, The Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Magazine, ELLE Canada, Chatelaine and London Weekly Times.

To follow TELUSBusiness on Facebook go to facebook.com/telusbusiness.