Upcoming Small Business Institute Speaker Series events: Pincher Creek Nov. 21, 2012 | 4:30 to 6 p.m. Ramada Inn 1132 Table Mountain St. Vulcan Feb. 6, 2013 | 4:30 to 6 p.m. Vulcan Lodge Hall 231 Centre St. Medicine Hat Feb. 27, 2013 | 4:30 to 6 p.m. Medicine Hat Lodge 1051 Ross Glen Dr. S.E. Cardston March 20, 2013 | 4:30 to 6 p.m. Cardston Civic Centre 67 3rd Ave. West Brooks April 10, 2013 | 4:30 to 6 p.m. Heritage Inn 1217 2nd St. West Lethbridge Small Business Forum April 2013 | TBA Location: TBA For more information or to register, please contact steve.craig@uleth.ca or call 403-329-5181.
featured in Little Empires. McDonald, along with his brothers Jim (BMgt ’80) and Gord (BMgt ’89), owns the McDonald Auto Group, which has operated in southern Alberta since 1942. While the family business originally sold John Deere tractors, it now owns McDonald Chevrolet Buick GMC in Taber and McDonald Nissan in Lethbridge. Participating in Little Empires, says McDonald, was an eye-opening experience. “It allowed me to see how other businesses operate and what allowed them to prosper.” Today, he repays those insights by serving on the SBI’s Advisory Board. “They want to know the challenges small businesses face and the resources we need to succeed in the future. We provide that feedback.” In addition to guiding the SBI’s initiatives, Alberta businesses are also supporting them financially. This fall, ATB Financial made a $36,000 investment in the SBI that will sponsor a speaker series and bring industry leaders and researchers – including Hunter and Kazakoff – to rural communities throughout southern Alberta. The purpose of the business education seminars is to share knowledge and experiences on topics pertaining to small businesses. That expertise is also showcased in Hunter and Kazakoff’s second book, which was released earlier this year. Unlike Little Empires though, Small Business: Journey to Success was written
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primarily for an academic audience, reflecting the researchers’ goal to eventually develop new courses within the Faculty of Management that focus on small businesses and bring new knowledge into the classroom. In the meantime, Hunter and Kazakoff are busy with a number of research projects. The team, for example, has previously examined why small businesses fail (e.g., owners lack passion and focus) and how small enterprises survived the financial crisis (e.g., they were already operating in a fiscally conservative manner). Now the researchers are studying why small businesses typically do not partake in insolvency processes to deal with deteriorating financial situations (e.g., owners usually cannot afford the inherent expense). Down the road, Hunter and Kazakoff will also look at small businesses’ contributions to the local economy and how the agricultural industry has been affected by changes to the Canadian Wheat Board. The researchers also plan to compare the success stories of indigenous entrepreneurs in Canada with those of the Maori in New Zealand. “Through our research,” says Hunter, “we hope to expand our reach locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.” For more information on the U of L’s Small Business Institute, please visit: www.uleth.ca/management/sbi
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