Article in the Globe & Mail

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When Lori Paras realized that the decline of tourism meant it was necessary to close her
business outside of ThunderBay, she adopted the famed Winston Churchill maxim:
“We shall never surrender,” and started over, reinventing her business to serve a still flourishing
market. “Ruby Moon caters to the business professional,” she says. “We stay really loyal to
that market.” In addition to a flourishing catering business, the Ruby Moon restaurant showcases the company’s fresh food in a comfortably elegant environment that is a relaxing escape from office stress. “We focus on our customer, and deliver a product that meets their needs. We serve home cooking with a bistro flair, and can also provide gourmet menus for special events. We don’t just introduce things we think might be needed. Thunder Bay has been hit hard economically, so we have to be very careful. Our customer is very smart, very savvy; we
have to be very smart andsavvy, too.” Ms. Paras partners with larger organizations to leverage
Ruby Moon’s support of the Thunder Bay community. “We don’t have the budget to be able to give what I’d like to at this point, but by partnering with corporations, with their larger audience, we areable to add something special to an event.” She recently provided 50 of the restaurant’s
famous apple pies to sell in the local Scotiabank branch in support of the Relay for Life.
As the economy contracts, she has come to see ‘money saved’ within the business as‘money earned.’ “One of the first things I did was look atmy books to identify any unnecessary expenses: where we might bundle our insurance, reduce the number of phone lines, or shop around
to get a better deal from suppliers. I’ve streamlined our advertising, and learned how to say no to opportunities that aren’t right for us. “If you’re saving $1,000 a month, it’s like earning $1,000
a month. It can be difficult, as an entrepreneur, to find thetime, but when I started thinking of it as equivalent to cash coming in, it became a priority.” Cash flow is key to managing money for business growth, says Kyle McNamara, Scotiabank managing director and head, Small Business.
“It’s really easy to overestimate cash flow, so it’s important to do those forecasts and concentrate on strategies to accelerate your accounts receivable, decelerate your accounts payable and effectively manage your inventory. “One of our tools, Blueprint for Business Checkup, provides a quick financial diagnostic on the impact of strategies such as accelerating your accounts receivables. Small business owners tend to be surprised at the impact a couple of small changes can have. Just invoicing immediately after delivering a product or service, or arranging for direct deposit by your regular clientele, can make a real difference.” Whatever cash management
measures are undertaken, there are times that all small businesses need a sound relationship with a small business banker. “I’ve been an entrepreneur most of my life and have been going to the bank for money since my mid-twenties. I know how to write a business plan and demonstrate that the numbers work,” says Ms. Paras. “But what I need from my banker is an understanding that the early years of any small business can get messy. When your financial institution can think outside of the box, it makes all the difference. I’ve seen businesses go under
because of $5,000 that they just couldn’t find.” “Financing for growth requires doing some projections,”says Mr. McNamara. “Building your business plan enables you to understand
what kind of financing you’re going to require. Once you’ve clearly defined that, your business banker can assist you through the process.”
That broader understandingcanbealmostasimportant as access to financing. “I felt really down one afternoon– starting over again in my late forties after running a business that did very well for many years,” says Ms. Paras.” I said, ‘I just don’t know if I want to keep doing this.’ And
my banker at Scotiabank said, ‘Lori, you can do it – we’re all behind you.’”
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TUESDAY , OCTO B E R 2 1 , 2008