Barrie's Business Is Our Business! Small business big in Barrie. October is Small Business Month. October 2011 www.barriebiz.com Small Small Small Small Matters Matters Matters Matter s Melanie Hopkinson and Kerry Hayward of Sugar City Cupcakes - a new small business - show off their treats. See story on Page 12. FREE Triple Glass Upgrade ER 40 0% Must present coupon with order Promo code: S-BEX *Some conditions apply. 2 A GREATER BARRIE Business Enterprise Centre helps promote growth. 6 SOLID GOLD FIXTURE Wellington Plaza barber has been styling hair for 50 years. 14 READY FOR CLOSEUP Mady Centre for the Performing Arts giving downtown a boost. Financing F in Financing in inanci naanc a ancin ing in inng ng g over 36 Months ...

PAGE 2 OCTOBER 2011 BARRIE BUSINESS FINANCES: Lack of funds can handicap a business' day-to-day functioning and inhibit its ability to grow GBBEC supports small business SUSAN DOOLAN Special to Barrie Business Money. It's one of the biggest problems most small businesses face at one time or another, whether it's starting up, maintaining cash flow or funding growth. "Money is a main issue. One of the problems is most businesses, when they start, start underfunded," said Terri Plaxton Smith, business advisor and manager of the Greater Barrie Business Enterprise Centre (GBBEC). "That lack of funds," she added, "cannot only handicap day-to-day functioning, it can also inhibit ability to grow." Acquiring money to start a business, or grow, can also be problematic. There is a lot of misunderstanding around government funding. Some think, for example, of starting a not-for-profit business with an eye to receiving government money, but the reality is it has to be up and running before asking f ...

BARRIE BUSINESS OCTOBER 2011 GROWTH: GBBEC offers plenty of options for Ontarians who want to start, maintain or expand their business October kicks off busiest time of year Coloured leaves, pumpkins, country fairs and turkey. Cool nights, light sweaters, studio tours and bargain hunting. October is here, and that means business for many Ontario small and medium enterprises. There's something in the air during this busy season that seems to encourage purchasers and inspire entrepreneurs. Perhaps that's why it's been hailed as Small Business Month - a time to celebrate, promote, and assist small businesses in Ontario. Today, business communities throughout the province schedule events in October to provide education, information and opportunities to Ontarians who want to start, maintain, expand or grow a small business. And in this "Year of the Entrepreneur," as designated by the Harper government in January, many communities especially want to recognize the significant role that smalla ...

PAGE 4 OCTOBER 2011 BARRIE BUSINESS BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Northern Comfort Submitted Northern Comfort is one of the busiest window and door companies north of the GTA. Windows and Doors Northern Comfort Windows and Doors was established in 1998 and is a family-owned-and-operated business with more than 32 years experience in the renovation field. We are a pillar in the industry and take our professionalism the extra mile. We install what we sell; our products and installations are the highest quality and are affordable. Our factory-trained installers are all Window Wise Certified and specialize in windows, patio doors, entrance systems, and much more. We employ a large team of Window Wise Certified Installers, making us one of the busiest window and door companies north of the GTA. Our commitment to you is to provide excellent service, only top quality products and professional installations. At Northern Comfort Windows and ...

BARRIE BUSINESS OCTOBER 2011 PAGE 5 ACCOMMODATIONS: A few thoughts on business space with Barrie's biggest property developer Discussions with Aerarium Group BRUCE CAMERON Special to Barrie Business As general manager of Barrie's Aerarium Group for the last 17 years, Rob Nicholson has been heavily involved with plenty of businesses of all sizes, businesses looking for space to thrive in. He shares below a few thoughts on Aerarium along with the local economic scenes. Q: Over the last 40 or so years, Aerarium Group has grown to become Barrie's biggest property developer. Was that always a specific goal, or is it the natural result of just chipping away, identifying a potential need and filling it? A: Exactly. The latter as opposed to the former. When the president of Aerarium, Steve Sperling, started with that very first building at 220 Bayview back in 1971, he recognized a niche that was growing for smaller, multiple tenants. These are businesses that start up, get their business growi ...

PAGE 6 OCTOBER 2011 BARRIE BUSINESS PEOPLE: 'We do a good job, so people come back again and again' Joe Galle knows what to hairdo Wellington Plaza barber styling for more than 50 years BRUCE CAMERON Special to Barrie Business The only constant is change, but Joe Galle has managed to take a little off the top of that ancient truth. For the past 50 years, he has owned and operated Joe Galle's Unisex Hairstyling at the same Wellington Plaza location. At age 14 in his hometown in Italy, Galle began training part-time for his future calling. Moving to Toronto at age 19, he found work in Oshawa in what was then Canada's largest barbershop, where 14 pairs of scissors could be heard snipping away at any given time. After seeing a newspaper ad for a barbershop for sale in Barrie, Galle made his move. "I saw the ad on a Thursday and that Monday I took over the shop," he said. Galle looks back on those days fondly. "The population of Barrie was around 19,000 when I opened in July of 1961. The sh ...

BARRIE BUSINESS SUSAN ROCKEY Special to Barrie Business OCTOBER 2011 RISK TAKERS: It's important to celebrate the success of our entrepreneurs and commend them for their initiative and passion Growth in Barrie Barrie's economy thrives on the success of our small businesses with approximately 73% of Barrie businesses employing less than five people but accounting for over 80% of Barrie's business growth. This growing entrepreneurial culture speaks volumes to the talent, creativeness and hard working nature of the people Barrie attracts to its community. It is important not only during Small Business Month but throughout the year, to celebrate the success of these entrepreneurs and commend them for their initiative and passion, and for taking the risks necessary to start their own business. One such Barrie business, gShift Labs Inc. co-founded by Krista LaRiviere and Chris Adams, has been making headlines continuously since its inception. The company is the creator of a patentpending sea ...

PAGE 8 OCTOBER 2011 BARRIE BUSINESS BUSINESS: Company receives $1.6 million boost to help stimulate jobs gShift lands federal, firm funding GrowthWorks chips in $1.1M LANCE HOLDFORTH Special to Barrie Business Barrie software company gShift was optimized after receiving $1.6 million from the federal government and the venture capital firm GrowthWorks recently. On behalf of Gary Goodyear, minister of the Federal Economic Agency for Southern Ontario, Barrie MP Patrick Brown announced that the company will receive $500,000 to help stimulate jobs in the area. "Today, I have the pleasure of announcing that FedDev Ontario will be making a repayable contribution of $500,000 under the business innovation program to gShift Labs as a job trainer," Brown said. "The federal government is investing in businesses like gShift because we realize these are the high-tech, innovative jobs we want in southern Ontario." The announcement was made from the company's new office at 85 Bayfield St., where co-fo ...

BARRIE BUSINESS SUSAN DOOLAN Special to Barrie Business OCTOBER 2011 A local business is helping small businesses succeed. Since SuiteWorks Business Centre set up office in Barrie six years ago, it has become home to 80 businesses. It's initial target market may have changed slightly, but the concept has remained the same: a flexible approach to managing overhead. SuiteWorks helps small businesses grow by providing all the necessary tools at a fraction of the cost of setting up their own office space. The biggest growth area is parttime businesses, those who use SuiteWorks up to 40 hours per month, as an adjunct to a home office. "It really enhances their professional image - professional address, professional environment to meet people," said Suite- Works president John Cameron. "The other key is technology - state-of-the-art telephone systems, fax services, ability to print - all the technological tools they need is provided in the package, yet they only pay for part-time (use). "Tha ...

PAGE 10 OCTOBER 2011 BARRIE BUSINESS FINANCE: Ensure your investment plan and retirement income measure up to your expectations Finagle your fixed-income fixation Making adjustments over time helps in the long run Conservative investors typically gravitate toward 'safe' investments, usually fixed-income investments. But with interest rates still hovering at historic lows, conservative investors may be concerned about whether their fixed-income investments will keep up with rising inflation levels or unexpected life events and adequately fund their retirement years. Those are valid concerns. Let's look into and beyond fixed-income investments to see what can be done to alleviate them. Conservative investors like fixed-income securities such as bonds, GICs and savings accounts because they have a reputation for reliability, stability, and security - and they do have an important place in a welldiversified portfolio. The suitability of fixed-income investments really depends on each inves ...