The Art of Small Business Toronto 2013

Last updated on March 31st, 2021 at 10:51 am

Yesterday, I mentioned dreams in my blog—we live in a world where we see them come true for people every day, so why not for us?

But they won’t often come true if we don’t prepare ourselves accordingly.

To take control of our lives, we often need to change the game. We could do as most do, find a stable path and stick to it, or we could carve something out for ourselves, choosing a path less travelled, but ultimately far more rewarding.

Welcome to The Art of Small Business.

The Art of Small Business 2013 | Speaker Sessions for the Biggest and Brightest Minds

I love to learn. If I’m not working on producing results, I’m learning how to develop better ones.

After attending The Art of Marketing, I wanted to write a blog post on all the cool things I’d learned and how I’d apply them to everything I do, but after losing one of my notebooks at #SaugaTweetUp VI, I don’t have near as many notes as I originally did. However, here’s some things I can tell you from what stuck with me most:

• David Usher: With the Internet, we’ve lost the protection of local societies—we’re now competing with everyone across the globe in everything we do.
• Jonah Berger: The contagion of word-of-mouth advertising is no accident; the six key STEPPS to get people to talk and share are:
  • Social Currency
  • Triggers
  • Ease for Emotion
  • Public
  • Practical Value
  • Stories
• Seth Godin: We need to go out in the world and do something different. The world is bigger than any of us could have ever imagined, and we shouldn’t let what dictated success for past generations dictate what will do well for us in the future.
• Charles Duhigg: We are creatures of habit, and there are behaviours we subconsciously show when we’re signalling something. For example, there are certain products a woman would be more likely to buy if they’re pregnant — even if they don’t know it yet. Knowing these tell-tale signs can make us better communicators—but only if we use them for good purposes.
• Biz Stone: It’s impossible to tell which moments will have the most significant impacts on our lives when we’re living them—but never overlook a thought, idea or opportunity, because even if it’s something you don’t particularly care about right now, even the smallest details can truly redefine your existence!

If lessons like these are up your alley, I definitely suggest finding your way to the next instalment in The Art Of… series—The Art of Small Business presented by Visa on Monday, October 21, 2013, at Toronto’s Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Challenge Your Thinking

A new series in The Art Of‘s library, The Art of Small Business is a speaker session focused on the ideas and advice you need to knock it out of the park in the world of small business.

While I’ve yet to join the ranks of bloggers who’re also business owners, I’ve thought about it. As an idea guy, I often think about all the things I could do with unlimited time and resources. I’m convinced there’s enough in the world for everyone to have a share of whatever they desire, but to get to that point, we need better knowledge, ideas and strategies to convert us from corporate fodder to the minds we need.

Those are the kinds of minds you’ll find at something like The Art of Small Business, including the following speakers:

• Michael E. Gerber, Small Business Guru & Author of the Mega-Bestseller, The E-Myth Revisited
• Chris Guillebeau, New York Times Bestselling Author of The $100 Startup & The Art of Non-Conformity
• JJ Ramberg, Host of MSNBC’s Your Business & Author of It’s Your Business
• John Jantsch, Small Business Expert & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of Duct Tape Marketing,
• Jonathan Fields, Award-Winning Author, Entrepreneur, & Founder of The Good Life Project
• Stephen Shapiro, Innovation Consultant, Speaker & Author of Personality Poker & Best Practices Are Stupid
• Mitch Joel, President of Twist Image & Bestselling Author of Six Pixels of Separation & Ctrl Alt Delete

But learning opportunities like these don’t come for free. Though you won’t find The Art Of’s talk anywhere online, from going to 2 already, I can tell you you’re paying for the calibre of speakers and information you’re getting from established visionaries, something I haven’t seen done at quite the same level in other speaker series.

So if you have a hankering to further develop your toolkit for business success, this might be the place to go. Why not try to do everything you can to beat the odds?

Hope to see you there!

[Disclaimer: I did it for the ticket—yes, included in the ticket price is the off-chance to see me, because yes, I got a free ticket for writing this post. I still stand behind The Art Of and all I’ve learned because of them, and hope that you join me there!]