15 Business Tips to Guide You

The end of every year is always a good time to reflect on your achievements and make your resolutions for the upcoming year.

With that in mind, we asked our President and CEO, Sébastien Vachon, to share some personal advice from his 25+ years of experience to help future entrepreneurs in their start-up process:

1. Take care of your health and the people you love: one day, this save you.
2. Always verify your project and make sure it meets a real need.
3. Cash is king! Think about it before diluting your company’s shares. Understanding finance is also a must!
4. Your employees and customers come first. Take time to celebrate your successes with your people.
5. Focus on sales and maintain a healthy funnel and forecast.
6. Never lower your guard. You will be more likely to survive.
7. Innovate like a surfer: ON the wave and not IN FRONT OF the wave.
8. Stick to your plan. Apply my simple 3 “F” rules: focus, focus, focus.
9. Be ambitious but don’t be stubborn. Find a mentor to guide you.
10. Trust yourself, but never dare to believe that you’re the best. Set up an advisory committee.
11. Learn to pull the plug quickly. Don’t hang on to a bad idea.
12. Invest in your community; be generous! Give out more than just business cards.
13. If your profits are just a combination of grants and tax credits, you are not in business.
14. Look to the future and ask yourself if your company is the right vehicle for achieving your goals. If not, change it.
15. When you don’t feel like going forward and you’re lonely, go back to number 1. Don’t give up, you can do this!

With these wise words, we wish you success and prosperity in 2019!