Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Starting an accounting firm?

I received an email yesterday from a youngish entrepreneur who wants to start his own accounting firm. He asked if I knew of any good books that could help him start out.

Sadly, my reading list rarely runs to titles about starting your own accountancy, but I decided to help if I could. Here's my response.

Hi xxxxxx. I haven't read any such books, but a search for "start accounting firm" on Amazon brought up a few titles. The best looks like Starting and Building Your Own Accounting Business by Jack Fox (Paperback - Dec 27, 1999)

Buy new: $50.00 $37.16
36 Used & new from $14.80

You can also Google the phrase, "start accounting firm." I found quite a few resources that look pretty useful.

And of course, talk to people who have done it. In my experience, most entrepreneurs are happy to talk to younger people just starting out in the field - even if there's a chance they will be competing against each other at some point. Most business owners were dependent on others for advice when they started out, which makes them feel strongly about helping others when they are in a position to do so.

Hope this helps. All the best

Rick

Friday, June 26, 2009

The Future of Online Publishing

Media today are panicky about the future of publishing. The old model seems broken, and no one (except maybe Steve Ballmer - see previous post) knows what the new model will be.

In his column on Masthead Online, editor Marco Ursi mused the other day that if publishers expect to charge consumers to read their content online, "it better be a hell of a lot better than what they can get for free on The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Slate, Salon, Pitchfork, Politico, Gawker, TMZ, SB Nation, The Sartorialist, Epicurious, YouTube, etc. It should also probably be better than every print magazine still being sold on newsstands, and more interesting and entertaining than Mad Men, Radiohead, Malcolm Gladwell and World of Warcraft."

He was just trying to start a discussion on the future of media content. So I took the bait and submitted the following comment:

You get it, Marco. Magazines know how to engage readers in their own ink-and-paper paradigm, but their potency fades fast when up against the million free midway rides on the Web.

In many ways, however, all websites are just digital magazines. They use diverse combinations of information, entertainment, design and practical utility to aggregate audiences with common interests. I believe there is no reason why magazine brands can't make money on the Net – but first they must make peace with the technology.

They have to abandon the single canvas of the printed page, and learn to exploit the diverse applications of the Internet to do what they have always done – inform, amuse and serve their audiences.

(Part of this is recognizing what magazines do best. Flipping through a magazine is the ultimate killer app – the ability to browse at will, work backwards through the book, and discover surprises on every page adds up to a huge competitive advantage over other media.)

But we also have to respect the power and potential of the Web. We need to use our creativity to find new ways to tell stories, whether it’s through text, illustration, sound, video, interactive applications or user participation.

Right now, most magazine websites seem mainly to pour plain text into preset templates. And then publishers complain they can't get people to spend time on their sites.

Magazine editors and publishers must open their minds and wallets and offer online users what they want. (They're called users, not readers, for a reason.) If we continue to give them repurposed text, they will continue to shun magazine sites in favour of other sources of information and entertainment that “get it.”

"All content will be digital"

In a speech this week in Cannes, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer predicted that within a decade, all traditional content will be digital. "All content consumed will be digital,” he said. “We can [only] debate if that may be in one, two, five or 10 years."

"There won't be [only traditional] newspapers, magazines and TV programs,” he said. “There won't be [only] personal, social communications offline and separate. In 10 years it will all be online. Static content won't cut it in the future."

He also warned that the global advertising economy has been permanently "reset" at a lower level, and that traditional broadcast and print media will have to plan business models around a smaller share of the advertising market. (Of course, he speaks as someone who runs a digital advertising business that generates revenue of $2 billion a year.)

"I don't think we are in a recession, I think we have reset," he said. "A recession implies recovery [to pre-recession levels] and for planning purposes I don't think we will. We have reset and won't rebound and re-grow."

I think Ballmer is right about the reset. But I don't believe he is right that all media will be digital.

I think the demand for newspapers on newsprint will continue for one more generation. And I think magazines in particular will survive, because no digital system seems likely to beat the convenience of a foldable, browsable, tear-the-good-pages-out magazine.

In fact, I argued yesterday in a note to Masthead.ca, the news site for Canada’s magazine industry, that the experience of browsing a paper magazine – with its texture, its convenience, and its ability to surprise – is a “killer app” that the Internet can simulate, but will never match.

What do you think?

You can watch Ballmer's speech here.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

No more sacred cows

Toronto branding consultants Blueprint recently held a “Leaders’ Lunch” with executives and leaders from business, politics, philanthropy and the arts. The topic: what will business look like on the other side of the recession?

(It’s like they’ve been reading my recent Post columns.)

Here are some of the findings, as supplied by Blueprint.

The shock to businesses will create unprecedented change (where most companies have for decades been content with the status quo)

* Businesses have let internal barriers or external market conditions inhibit their will to make tough decisions; the severity of this recession has given them “permission” to eliminate sacred cows

Consumers will continue to become more demanding faster than the rate at which business changes to meet their needs
* any trends toward austerity during the recession will reverse as consumer confidence returns

Companies are becoming more open to non-traditional ways of doing business (e.g., they will leverage partnerships more often, and become more open to non-traditional methodologies)

* Increasing numbers of women at top levels will result in a more collaborative approach to business

Implications for your business:
- Is your business really changing fast enough to keep up with your customers’ changing needs?
- Does your organization believe that perceived barriers are real?
- Do your people have the courage to challenge sacred cows?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

7 Sins In Building Customer Relationships

In his latest e-newsletter, US marketing consultant Jim Meisenheimer says most salespeople overlook the fundamentals of establishing rapport and building relationships when they meet new prospects.

“Instead of reaching for your sales brochures,” he says, “try reaching out to your sales prospects by demonstrating your interest and curiosity about their business and their customers.”

Meisenheimer suggests you'll build sell more if you avoid these seven sins:

1. Selling too early. Use the first call to establish credibility and start building a relationship with your prospect.

2. Talking too much. Selling starts with listening, not talking.

3. Asking the wrong questions. Although most people know that open-ended questions are the best way tool for learning, Meisenheimer says most salespeople still lead with “closed” questions (e.g., who is your current supplier, what's your budget?).

4. Forgetting to do “the little things.” One of the quickest ways to grab a new prospect’s attention is to do little things for him or her (e.g., sending them a hand-written note or an “FYI” article of interest).

5. Talking to the wrong person. “The best advice I can give any sales person is to start at the top of an organization when you're trying to get your foot in the door. Most salespeople do just the opposite because they fear being rejected.”

“If you start talking to the wrong person, a person who is not a decision-maker, and you begin to build a relationship, it becomes extremely difficult to wiggle your way around this person to see the ultimate decision-maker.”

6. Defending your price. “You can never win the price war by defending the price… Always focus on the value of doing business with you and your company.”
(And it’s best if you can quantify that value in real dollars.)

7. Not having an attitude of gratitude. Never be too busy to say thank you (to the receptionist for getting you in to see the decision-maker, to new customers, to old customers, and to the customer-service rep for helping your customers).

Yes, most of know all this stuff. But it’s like flossing your teeth: a lot more difficult to do than to prescribe.
More from Jim at www.meisenheimer.com/

Friday, June 19, 2009

No more "What I Should've Said ..."

Have you ever found yourself at a loss for the right words in a business conversation? And then kicked yourself a few hours later when you realize what you should have said?


In my PROFIT column this month I look at a new book by two Canadian entrepreneurs that will arm you with the right thing to say: Perfect Phrases for Managing Your Small Business, by Robert Bacal and Nancy Moore.


An excerpt from the column:


“The right words let you wiggle out of tight corners and regain the high ground...


Say you’re in a taut negotiation. She has just delivered her final offer. How do you get more? Saying “That’s not good enough” could jeopardize the deal.


Bacal and Moore offer multiple suggestions for pushing back:


* “I think your proposal is a good one, but here’s what I think we need to do as well.”

* “I feel that your solution won’t address all of our problems.”

* “I want to agree with you on this, but there’s an important aspect of the issue that I don’t feel we’ve addressed yet.”


What's particularly cool is that Bacal and Moore are Canadians, a husband and wife consulting team living just outside Ottawa.

In my interview with Bacal, he said his idea of a perfect phrase offers more than simple solutions: “A perfect phrase helps you get your point across, but it also stimulates your own thinking on these issues.”

Click here to read the full story.

Recovery: So what?

My column in the Financial Post this week looks at the coming recovery, and asks if it will be really that different from the current recession.

Excerpt:
“If you've been sitting around waiting for economic recovery to bail out your business, forget it. You control your own recovery.
Re-evaluate the way you create value for your customers. Maximize your relevance to your target market. If customers have been putting off buying, don't assume their chequebooks will burst open once the Bank of Canada declares the recession over.”


Click here to read the full story.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Ron Dembo, part 2

Ron Dembo just asked the PROFIT 100 CEOs how many measure carbon in their business. One hand went up.

Three years from now, he advised, the number will probably be 100%. "That's what's coming," he said.

"The age of cheap energy is over," says Dembo. "We have to live more sanely. If your business is dependent on cheap energy, it won't be cheap going forward."

Should your business be getting ready for carbon trading?

"This country is so well positioned to be a leader in green business," says Dembo. "This is a huge opportunity. Just open your eyes and grab it."

Live blogging Ron Dembo

Ron Dembo founded financial software company Algorithmics, and now runs a green tech company called Zerofootprint, which develops carbon-management software. As closing keynote speaker at the PROFIT 100 Summit, he confessed that he started Algorithmics without a business plan.

Dembo got into risk-management software for financial institutions while a professor of mathematics at Yale University. He says Algorithmics dominated its market because it saw the future more clearly than its competitors.

And the future for entrepreneurs today, he says, lies in greening the planet. He now sees global warning as "the mother of all risks."

With global warming an increasing threat, Dembo says it's just a matter of time until we measure and tax carbon consumption. "Your kids will have a lower footprint than you, or the world will just go to hell."

Dembo's idea is that Ontario should "reskin" its tall buildings to create an insulating and energy-generating layer on the outside that will actually save landlords money. He says it's the perfect growth industry for Ontario, and will generate energy savings equivalent to the entire transportation sector.

He suggests Canada and Ontario would have done better to invest $10 billion in training autoworkers to retrofit buildings, rather than bury it in the black hole called General Motors. He would like to see Ontario become a leader in green technology, and to do that ZeroFootprint is sponsoring a prize for green building projects - the biggest prize for architects in the world.

Sadly, says Dembo, our cars today are smarter than our buildings. Making smarter systems for buildings could be the entrepreneurial opportunity of tomorrow.
"Canada has to triple or quadruple its attempt to deal with productivity," says economist Don Drummond. Trouble is, the recession has diverted us from this priority. (See the front page of yesterday's newspaper, where the Liberals are threatening to force an election becaue we don't pay people enough to not work).

If we don't invest in machinery and equipment, "what is tomorrow going to look like if we are not more productive than we are now?"

And now the questions begin.

"Where do you see the Canadian dollar stabilizing?"
Drummond says "stable" and "the dollar" shouldn't be used in the same sentence.

Based on economic strength, says Drummond, we don't warrant a dollar priced above 85 cents US.

But he sees the loonie rising to parity with the US$ later this year, and then falling back down to 90 cents (because our competitive position erodes at parity).

"Where do you see inflation in the coming year?"
"There is no technical reason inflation should be a problem," says Drummond. Except for the US government inflating its deficit.

Drummond blog, part II

The only bright spot in the Canadian economy is the higher value-added manufacturing sector, says Drummond. With a strong niche positiion, you may not have to worry about competing with southern U.S. manufacturers that pay $16 an hour. "If you don't have the niche," he says, "you're going to see wage decompression."

BUT - there will still be some shortages of skilled labour, though not as dire as some have predicted. Demand and supply will adjust, says Drummond, but it will take time and money. Some wages will rise, and some production will be shifted to other markets.

Times have not been kind to labour, says Drummond. Newcomers to the workforce now earn 25% less (in real terms) than young people entering the workforce in 1980.

Live-blogging Don Drummond at the PROFIT 100 Summit

Don Drummond is senior vp and chief economist at TD Bank. He is now telling the PROFIT 100 conference that Canada has too many eggs in the US basket (75% of our exports go there).
The US has a declining rate of global productivity growth, although its productivity growth is still twice that of Canada (we're below 1%).
We averaged 2% annual productivity growth in the 1960s.

The good news is, he does see an end to the recession. After a negative second and third quarter in the U.S., he says the fourth quarter should be positive. He sees 1.6% annual growth in 2010 (and 2.5% growth in Canada).
"We will have a cyclical bounce-back in Canada in 2010," says Drummond, although he notes that growth will be slower than the previous average levels of 3.4%.
Did you know Canada was the only industrialized country to gain manufacturing jobs in the 1990s? Drummond explains "that was just a temporary head-fake from the undervalued level of the Canadian dollar."

Worzel part 6 - Scenario Planning

Forget strategic planning based on your best-guess future.

Embrace scenario planning: instead of developing one possible future, you develop a range of the most probable possible futures and build contingencies for each.

Good tool for times of uncertainty. Better than betting everything on one outcome, and then being wrong.

Also lets you focus more granually on specific areas to improve.

Worzel, part 5

Innovation is key to the future. But most organizations aren't very good at it, says Richard Worzel. In fact, they don't even like it.

Three reasons why:
* You have to take risks.
* You have to do things you're not good at.
* You have to be willing to fail.

"The heart and sould of innovation is the ability to make correctible mistakes."

The problem is, too many North American companies wait till a new product is perfect. "When the rollout of your product doesn't work the way you want it to, you have to be willing to change it."

You need an attitude of continuous improvement. "Kaizen" turned Toyota into the world's largest car maker. "Look for small improvements," says Worzel. Wal-Mart saved $21 million in one year after demanding that detergent mannufacturers produce more concentrated product, reducing packaging size and weight, and ultimately reducing Walmart's shipping costs.

"Don't wait for the big honking improvement, because it may not come." Small improvements may be bigger than you think they are.

Worzel, part 4: Technology

"Facebook changed the complexion of the American election."
"Ten years ago, Microsoft dominated the software business. Apple was a dying company..."

Over the next year, the rate of change will accelerate, as computing power is still increasing faster than ever. Big changes coming in robotics, automation. (Google HRP-4c.)

"Robots today are like toddlers that have just fgured out how to stand up and take few steps. They are going to get bettter and better... In the next few years you will see them coming into the workplace and the home."

"The changes of the next 10 years will be at least twice as dramatic as in the last 10 years."

Big changes coming in marketing. If you're not on Facebook, you are writing off everyone in their 30s and below.

Worzel, part 3- demographics

Futurist Richard Worzel says the boomers are now between 42 and 62. They are starting to think about retirement. But they will stay active and involved in the workplace, even after retirement.

"Boomers have always changed the rules. Always have, always will."

They will travel, they will work, they will play, they "will transition to retirement."

Boomers are the second-most brand loyal generation, behind their parents. They want cool cars (Minis, not mini-vans.) They want to travel, but not by back-pack.

Next generation, the Baby Boom Echo (born 1977-1997), is the biggest generational bulge out there. Very skeptical, least brand-loyal. But they will become the biggest consumer group. Very tribal in how they communicate and buy.

Two other groups you need to target: Immmigrants (the only reason the Canadian population is still growing). Tend to settle in big cities (mainly Toronto, with a minor on Vancouver). Very varied in how they behave as consumers. Platinum Rule: "Do unto others as they like being done unto."

Other big market: Women. They are already involved in all the big purchases of the economy. Over the next generaiton they will go from being the "second sex" to "the first sex" (ie, CEOs, premiers, presidents) .Mainly because there are fewer barriers now, and more role models to copy and be inspired by. (58% of all Canadian post-secondary students are womne). "Tomorrow's leaders are going to be women."

"Actively seek to do business with women rather than grudgingly doing business with them because you can't find a man to do business with," says Worzel. "The glass ceiling is not just going to be broken - it's going to be shattered."

More from Richard Worzel: Food

There used to be three Fs in farming: Food, Feed and Fibre.

Now there are three more sources of income: Industrial feedstocks, Fuel, Farm-aceuticals. Farmers have lots of choices about what to grow and where to grow it. Result: price of corn going up, and crises in Germany and Mexico as beer, corn prices soar.

"There will be more pressure on food prices, because farmers have more alternatives."

Plus: more pressure on food prices because Chinese (and other developed nations) are consuming more calories (especially meat - which takes six times as much input per calorie as grains).

Says Worzel: "Think about what this means to you before it happens to you."

Live-blogging the PROFIT 100 CEO Summit

Here at the Granite Club in North York, Ont., futurist Richard Worzel is launching his presentation on the future, and what we can do about it.

The CEOs of 120 of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies are sitting in rapt attenion.

I will be live-blogging till my battery runs out.

Worzel starts by saying, "Predicting is easy- it's being accurate that is difficult."

First big insight: If the recovery is stronger than we expect, "we could see the highesst inflation since the 1970s."

He notes the Chinese, who own the biggest chunk of US debt, have said they're uncomfortable with the US debt and the value of the US dollar. "Suppose," says Worzel, "they hold a treasury auction and nobody comes?" Result: the US will have to print all its own money supply (instead of just some of it), which could lead to an even greater financial crisis.

The first question you should ask: "What if I'm wrong about my [economic] expectations? What will happen, and what could I do about it?"

Clearly, the risks are too great today to rely on just one outcome.

Phoning without Fear

Susan Aldridge is the cold-call queen.

Based on reader reaction, my 2005 PROFIT column on her cold-calling consultancy was one of the most popular articles I've ever written. (And why not? Everyone hates cold-calling, and few know how to do it right.)

Susan is conducting a one-day cold-calling workshop in Toronto on Tuesday, June 23. If you or any of your staff need a refresher course in telephone sales and prospecting (and who doesn't?), this session comes highly recommended.
Place: Seneca Colege (Finch Ave. West at Don Valley Pkwy)
Cost: $495
Contact: susan@outspoken1.com, or 905-841-9951

My original story seems no longer online at www.Profitguide.com. So just for you, I have copied and pasted the original draft of the column into the comments, below.

For those in a hurry, here is the original sidebar that ran with the story:

Susan Aldridge’s Top Cold-Calling Tips

1. Smile when calling!
2. Never stop dialing: it may take 10 calls or more to reach a prospect.
3. Don’t ask, “How are you?” Say, “I’m wondering if you can help me…”
4. Track all your calls and your results.
5. Find an Accountability Buddy. Share your goals and keep them updated on your progress.
6. Don’t stop calling till they ask you to.

Deep in the Heart of Taxes

I took part in an interesting webcast today on Ontario’s transition to a harmonized sales tax (HST).

In July 2010, Ontario will phase out its 8% PST and add 8 points to the GST (currently at 5%). The result will be lower taxes to business (since the GST is a flow-through tax for business), but a tax increase for consumers (since PST was charged mainly on products, and rarely on services, such as manicures or electricity).

The goal is a laudable one – to reduce business paperwork by instituting a single sales tax regime. I have written before that this is a good thing. The change will also reduce the costs of investing in business equipment, helping Ontario manufacturers modernize at a lower cost than their U.S. competitors.

My concern is that the transition could be handled better. But mine was a lonely voice on today’s panel, which included Harinder Takhar, Ontario’s minister of small business, an ADM of the federal Finance department, two accountants, and the owner of a manufacturing business which is looking forward to reduced investment costs under the HST.

But I believe the consumer-service sector could be hurt by this change. When the price of haircuts, couriers, renovations, landscaping, lawyers and real-estate fees (not to mention new homes valued above $500,000) shoot up 8% next July 1, a lot of consumers will be forced to make tough choices. And those entrepreneurs will have to determine whether their markets can absorb that increase, or whether it will have to come out of their profit margins.

The provincial government will get their 8% - even if it reduces the entrepreneur’s take-home pay.

Ontario is lowering other taxes to make up for this increase – but of course your business has to make a profit before you can benefit from lower business tax rates.

The other problem: the federal government has offered Ontario more than $4 billion as an incentive to harmonize. Ontario has chosen to distribute most of it in the form of a $1,000 grant to every family in the province. So it’s a giveaway to a lot of people who won't need it, and not much help to those who will.

Yes, the HST will be good news for many businesses, especially exporters and B2B players. But the trusty, unsexy B2C sector will take a hit.

You may be able to view the video of the panel discussion at www.directengagement.com.

NOTE to Ontario entrepreneurs: Will your company benefit or suffer under the HST? Ask your accountant to work you through it. Now is the time to start planning your transition – and tightening up your systems to make sure no input credits will go unclaimed.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Go ahead - be unfair!

Here’s a new recession-fighting strategy: Dominate your market by being unfair to your competition.

Burlington, Ont. consultant and speaker George Torok, the guru of Power Marketing, has written an article advising you to create so much value for your clients that your competition will scream, "Not fair!"

How can you be more unfair to your competition? George offers five tips:

1. Offer more value than your competition.

2. Break some "unwritten" industry rule. (Find a technology that lets you take the lead, such as 24-hour ordering.)

3. Educate your clients about your industry. (Example: make a list of tough questions for buyers to ask your competitors when they shop around).

4. Form alliances with sellers of related services.

5. Criticize your competition. (Consumer testing enabled Pepsi to claim it tasted better than Coke.)

You can read George’s full article here, or click here to check out his other articles.

"What did you do in the recession?"

There are opportunities in every downturn. You can read about how some of Canada's coolest companies are taking advantage of the recession by reading my feature story in the new June issue of PROFIT.

In "Thank goodness for the recession," I interviewed more than a dozen PROFIT 100 CEOs - the leaders of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies - to find out how they are making the most of the meltdown.

I had all kinds of interesting responses, including companies taking time out to train their teams, hiring lower-cost sales help, buying up used equipment at auction, asking suppliers for more credit, eschewing low interest rates to invest in inventory, and expanding into new international markets.

CBC Dragon Robert Herjavec of Herjavec Group even got into the action, telling us about his new venture managing clients' computer-security operations. It's lower-margin than his regular business, but it creates closer customers relationships, and enables him to hire lots of good people now on the job market at reasonable cost.

For more real-time, made-in-Canada success stories, click here.

Childproofing the Family Business

My column this week in the Financial Post looks at a key problem facing family-owned businesses (which make up >80% of the Canadian business landscape): How do you engage the second generation and prepare them for their roles as heirs and maybe even future CEOs?

I talked with members of the Bragg family from Oxford, NS, home of the Bragg Group, which is the world's largest producer of wild blueberries and one of Canada's biggest cable/communications companies. Last month it was also named Canada's Family Enterprise of the Year.

As founder John Bragg told me, "It's a fallacy to say that families always get along. Not very many of them do, especially if there's money on the table."

Bragg's objective is to get his four children thinking like stewards of the family firm, rather than CEOs by divine right, or even just heirs.

"I want them to think of themselves as trustees, rather than inheritors," he says. "If it's an inheritance, you think it's for you. If you're a trustee, you know it's for the next generation."

Friday, June 05, 2009

Know thy customer

My column in this week’s Financial Post looks at the growing pressures for businesses to “know their customers.” In these times, if you're not trying every day to get closer to your customers, they are probably drifting into the clutches of someone else.

Sample excerpt: Three steps to knowing your customer
· Have open, regular communications with your customers that let you initiate discussions on all aspects of your business relationship -- and hopefully, on trust-building personal and non-business issues as well;
· Solicit feedback that encourages prospects and customers to raise their concerns about your products and services (it's better to have dissatisfied customers talking to you than to their friends);
· Show sufficient interest in your customers that you not only learn why they buy, but how they satisfy the people who buy from them.

You can read the whole column here.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

New PROFIT 100: Real Heroes for Hard Times

PROFIT Magazine’s 2009 list of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies comes out on Thursday, but the new list is now available online by clicking here.

The PROFIT 100 list has always been your roadmap to Canada’s new economy: the companies and industries that are actually growing fastest and strongest. (And of course the list is actually 200 companies long, not just 100). Many people use the list to better understand where the economy of tomorrow is headed; and of course other people use it as a great source of prospects, or a list of companies that are always hiring.

Trends this year:
· The No. 1 company is Allegro Mobile Solutions of Mississauga, Ont., which develops software for mobile business applications and devices. With 2008 sales of $17.7 million, it has enjoyed five-year sales growth of 8,741%.
· Average 5-year growth rate of the top 100 firms is 2,262%. Even the 100th-ranked company (IntelliNet Technologies Inc. of Richmond, BC) grew by 899%.
· 76% of PROFIT 100 firms made a profit in 2008.
· 73% of PROFIT 100 firms are exporters.
· Research in Motion breaks a PROFIT 100 record by qualifying for this list for the ninth time. (Few companies ever make it more than twice.)

For more information and insights on the P100, click here and here and here:
· Intro
· PROFIT 100 List
· NEXT 100 List
· Overview
· No. 1 company profile: Allegro Inside
· Success stories
· Best Practices
· From the editor: Heroes for Hard Times
· 2010 Nominations

Or just click here to see PROFIT editor Ian Portsmouth talk about the list yesterday on the Canada AM morning news.