B6 W E D N E S DAY, A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 5 E D M O N T O N J O U R N A L e dm o n t o n j o u r n a l . c omBUSINESS

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Howard Suissa, founder of Suissa Design (suissa.ca), advises entrepreneurs not to waste any time in trying something new. “[Try it] before someone else does. Provided it answers a need, get there in the top five or you might be too late.”

PHOTO BY VICKIE LALIOTIS/CAPITAL IDEAS

“Innovation can indeed be risky, but being plain vanilla, run-of-the-mill is riskier in the long run. Differentiation is the yellow brick road to success. So, the answer is start right now.”— Angela Armstrong, president of Prime Capital Group — pcclease.com

“It probably never feels like the right time; entrepreneurs are always busy putting out fires and dealing with the day-to-day of running a business. But the right time may well be now. So, unless you’re in the middle of a true crisis, do it. Do that thing that has never been done before.”— Rich Horning, community liaison at On Site Placement — osp.ab.ca

“Now is the time, because if you’re thinking it, so are others. You may as well jump in and go for it. People love innovation and creativity, and it’s critical in business these days to stand out in the crowd.”— Pat Mussieux, founder and CEO of patmussieux.com

“It’s quite difficult to think up unique angles to complex problems, so if a new idea or way of doing something happens to come to mind, do some research to make sure your idea has the potential to be successful and then run with it.”— Crystal Puim, owner of Crystal Puim Photography — crystalphotos.ca

“When your customer segments repeatedly say that they have an unsolved problem.”— Michael Sadler, founder of Renturly — renturly.net

“If you’ve looked at the possible outcomes of that something and the benefits outweigh the risks, and the only thing that’s holding you back is the fact that it hasn’t been tried before, then I’d say the right time is now.”— Lauren Sergy, founder of Up Front Communication — laurensergy.com

“Try it now and don’t wait! Sometimes if you wait, you start to doubt yourself and then you don’t do it. It’s better to try it, and if you fail, you’ll learn from that.”— Stacey Shepherd, mortgage professional at First Financial Link Dominion Lending Center — staceyshepherd.ca

“The right time to do something you’ve never done before is now. Think about it, plan it and do it. Don’t let fear hold you back.”— Barbara Sorensen, therapist at The Natural Path Clinic — eternalhealthwellness.com

“As small business owners, the time to try something that has never been done before is now! If you plan to do what your larger competitors do, you will likely rely on reduced prices to compete. This generally results in a meager existence. If you want more, you have to add value to your customers by delivering a higher level of service or by offering products and services not currently offered by your competitors.”— Josh Spurrell, president of Spurrell & Associates Chartered Accountant — spurrell.ca

“Now! Do some preliminary research, talk to prospective customers you would target, and get the ball rolling.”— Kevin MacDonald, business consultant at L6S Business Consulting Inc. — L6SBC.ca

“Trying something new that has never been done before is a process that takes a lot of reevaluation and frequent communication to ensure that changing circumstances not cause the efforts to exceed the potential benefits.”— Cory Sutton, manager of investigative and forensic services at MNP LLP — mnp.ca

“Anytime is the right time as long as it’s something you’re passionate about, can put all your efforts into and have researched to ensure there indeed is a market need that hasn’t been over saturated. After that, the common business startup model comes into play, like research, funding, team building, product development, marketing, etc.”— Ashif Mawji, CEO of NPO Zero — npozero.com

“There is no time like the present; the more we put new ideas or adventures to the side, the more we see time fly by. Some entrepreneurs have found great successes in trying new marketing ideas. Research the details and then jump in with both feet.”— Nadine Litwin, insurance agent at Allstate Insurance — ca.linkedin.com/in/nadinelitwin/en

“There is no such thing as a bad time; never let that deter you from seeing a vision become reality!”— Matt Bell, creative director of PinchPoint Media

“It’s always the right time if you have a brilliant idea and a market for the services or goods you are providing. The longer you wait, the more likely someone else will scoop up your idea. Our private day program was pioneered from the ground up — nothing like it exists in Alberta. We saw the need and jumped on it. Take the risk if you believe in your vision.”— Keltie Brisson, owner and recreation therapist at Rehab and Retreat — rehabandretreat.com

“Now! If your idea has never been done before, then be the first one to try it. You’re likely to encounter some significant challenges and roadblocks. Chances are you might even need to bend a few rules along the way. But if you believe in something to your core, if you know in your heart that it’s something that you can do and believe you should do it, then go for it.”— Dawn Harsch, founder and CEO of Exquisicare — exquisicare.com

“Right now, and over and over again. If you fail, even better; this is how we learn.”— Alyson Hodson, president and CEO of Zag Creative — zagcreative.ca

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Lunch with John HerdmanJoin John Herdman, head coach of the Canadian women’s national soccer team, as he takes you on a jour-ney of how the team has risen to worldwide prominenceWhere: The Westin Edmonton (10135 100th St.)When: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.Admission: $59.95 to $79.95. Tickets at edmontonchamber.com

AccelerateAB 2015 Conference Bringing together the most innovative entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations and other lead-ers from across the province and the Silicon ValleyWhere: Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning, Calgary (4825 Mount Royal Gate SW)When: 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Admission: $25 to $60. Tickets at accelerateab.com

Alberta Business Hall of Fame Gala An evening with Junior Achievement Northern Al-berta to celebrate new inducteesWhere: Northlands Expo Centre (7515 118th Ave.)When: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.Admission: $350. Tickets at jacan.thankyou-4caring.org/northern-alberta/abhof-2015

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Entrepreneurs offer advice for taking chances in business

For more great events, visit capitalideasedmonton.com/edmontonevents.

When is the right time to try something that has never been done before?

CAPITAL QUESTION:

These answers are in response to a question posed by Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business. Here’s his take:“Wouldn’t it be great if timing was all about luck? Well, truth is that perceived ‘luck’ might actually be created by great timing. There are no easy answers to the question of timing to try something completely different, but there are some helpful hints. Thinking about starting an export business? Well, probably a good time is when the currency is depreciating like it has for the past year or two. Do you need to import goods to make your novel idea fly? A better time to start an import business might be when the currency is appreciating. Other things to think about are the readiness of consumers; a great example was the iPod. More than five years earlier, the first MP3 players came out, and some were great products. What made the iPod work was the ecosystem that came with it (iTunes), but what really made it fly was the readiness of the consumer to use this technology. Had it not been for that timing, we might all be listening to our Zunes — a good product of bad timing.”

The TEC VenturePrize business plan competition has boosted a number of successful companies over the years. That led our friends at TEC Edmonton to wonder:

What have you learned from putting together a business plan?

You can answer the question in two ways:• Open today’s Capital Ideas email if you’re a member, or• Visit capitalideasedmonton.comWe’ll publish the best answers, along with your busi-

ness name and website address, on April 15. The 13th annual TEC VenturePrize Awards Celebra-

tion, highlighting the top finalists in the TEC Venture-Prize business plan competition, will be held on April 29 at the Shaw Conference Centre. For more informa-tion and to get your tickets, visit ventureprize.com.

COMMUNITY QUESTION:

What have you learned from putting together a business plan?