Twenty-five years online: lessons learned since 2001
Drupal in Vancouver, dive resorts in Bali, AI in a Quebec village: what has held true over twenty-five years of web work.
By Robert ScalesBusiness & strategy
68 posts in this category, newest first.
Starting a business in the Petite-Nation: a practical checklist
Registration, taxes, local support and funding, a written plan and an online presence: the practical steps for a new business in the MRC de Papineau.
By Robert ScalesLaunching Petite Nation Numérique
A web and AI agency for the Petite-Nation: why here, why now, and what it offers the region's businesses and organizations.
By Robert ScalesPitch deck checklist for a Quebec startup
A slide-by-slide checklist for pitching to a bank, a regional fund or an investor in Quebec, with a bilingual deck and figures known by heart.
By Robert ScalesA Business Model Canvas for a rural business
The nine boxes of the Business Model Canvas, applied to a small-region business where seasons, partners and word of mouth change the answers.
By Robert ScalesE-commerce trends for small businesses in 2026
What a small online store should prioritize this year, from product data to AI search to shipping from a rural address.
By Robert ScalesOnline payments for small businesses in Canada
Card processors, Interac, buy now pay later: what each option costs a small business, what customers expect, and why checkout length matters most.
By Robert ScalesSocial media in 2025: what works for local businesses
In a small region, people like, share, and then visit in person. A realistic weekly social media plan for a small local business.
By Robert ScalesAn action plan for a business changing hands
Customers care less about who owns a business than about whether it continues to work. A clear first 100 days plan for taking over a small business.
By Robert ScalesTesting a business idea on a small budget
Before signing a lease or placing a large order, a few hundred dollars can establish whether people will pay. Here are inexpensive tests that produce useful answers.
By Robert ScalesMoving to Montpellier, Quebec
From an island village in Indonesia to a village in the Petite-Nation: two places with more in common than one might expect.
By Robert ScalesFour years teaching new entrepreneurs: what we would keep
Four years of teaching a business launch program are coming to an end. What we would keep for anyone starting a business, and what we would set aside.
By Robert ScalesThe two-minute pitch: a practical structure
Pitch competitions, bank meetings and networking evenings all call for the same skill. We present a two-minute structure that is effective in each of these settings.
By Robert ScalesAutomation for small businesses: Zapier, Make and AI
Zapier and Make now allow an AI step in the middle of a workflow. We present five ordinary automations worth setting up, and how to prevent them from failing unnoticed.
By Robert ScalesWhat is customer discovery, and why should it come before you build?
Before the logo, the website or the loan, we recommend speaking with twenty potential customers. Here is how to ask questions that produce honest answers.
By Robert ScalesHow does business development work in a small region?
In a small region, a business's reputation precedes it. We share what we have learned about rural business development, from a small island to rural Quebec.
By Robert ScalesMarketplace or your own store: Etsy, Amazon or Shopify?
Marketplaces bring buyers but take a share of each sale and keep the customer relationship. Your own store preserves the margin but must generate its own traffic. We recommend using both.
By Robert ScalesHow can AI help you write a business plan?
AI can produce a complete business plan in a minute, but most of its content is not grounded in fact. We explain how to use it instead as a sparring partner that strengthens your plan.
By Robert ScalesFunding a small startup in Quebec: where to start
Loans, local funds and programs for Quebec entrepreneurs, and what a lender examines before approving a request.
By Robert ScalesFrom business plan to action plan: the first 90 days
A business plan explains the idea. An action plan sets out who does what, and by when. Here is how to move from one to the other.
By Robert ScalesE-commerce trends for small Canadian businesses in 2024
What is changing in online sales this year for a small Canadian shop, and which practices remain as effective as ever.
By Robert ScalesTeaching entrepreneurship with ChatGPT in the room
Learners use ChatGPT for business plans regardless of course policy. How to teach with it so that the thinking remains their own.
By Robert ScalesStarting a business in Quebec as a new resident
New Quebec residents often already know how to run a business. What they need is an understanding of how things work here: regulations, credit, networks and French.
By Robert ScalesResources for small startups in Quebec
Where new entrepreneurs in Quebec can find free support, training and funding advice, and the one-page summary to bring to every meeting.
By Robert ScalesBuilding a pitch deck someone will actually read
Ten to twelve slides, one idea per slide, evidence rather than expectations, and a clearly stated request. What to remove from a pitch deck.
By Robert ScalesChatGPT for small business: ten real uses
ChatGPT is two months old and most people have tried it at least once. Ten uses that genuinely help a small business, and what to verify each time.
By Robert ScalesDocumenting your business from day one
Procedures, decisions, figures and passwords. The simple documents that prevent considerable difficulty later, and that make a small business sellable one day.
By Robert ScalesHow to write an elevator pitch that doesn't sound rehearsed
Thirty seconds to explain who you help, how, and why your business. A simple elevator pitch structure, and how to deliver it naturally.
By Robert ScalesCoaching e-commerce and remote online businesses
Coaching entrepreneurs who plan to sell on Etsy, Amazon, their own online store or remotely. What these projects require that a local café does not.
By Robert ScalesSubscriptions and memberships for small businesses
Recurring revenue is an e-commerce trend that small businesses can put to practical use. Boxes, memberships and service plans, and what keeps subscribers engaged.
By Robert ScalesStartup ideas that fit a small region
Viable startup ideas take a different form in a small market. Where to find them, and how to confirm the market is large enough before committing.
By Robert ScalesThe Business Model Canvas for small startups
Nine boxes on one sheet. How to use the Business Model Canvas to test a small business idea before you write the full plan.
By Robert ScalesAlmost a year of teaching new entrepreneurs: where to start
What people starting a business need first, before any logo or website. Observations from almost a year of teaching a business launch program.
By Robert ScalesWeb3, NFTs and the metaverse: a sceptic's notes
2021 is the year of the NFT, and many businesses are wondering whether they need one. For almost every small business, the answer is no.
By Robert ScalesBuying local online: Le Panier Bleu and Quebec retailers
Quebec's buy-local push moved online during the pandemic. What local shops need so all that goodwill actually turns into orders.
By Robert ScalesTeaching the ASP Lancement d'une entreprise
We have started teaching Quebec's 12-week business launch program. How it works, and why the coaching days matter as much as the class.
By Robert ScalesShipping, returns and delivery: the unglamorous side of e-commerce
Most small online stores lose money on shipping costs they never planned for. Rates, boxes, returns, and what to tell customers before they ask.
By Robert ScalesRemote work outside the city: internet in rural Canada
Many Montrealers are looking for a house in the country. Very few ask the real estate agent about upload speed.
By Robert Scales2020 in tech: Zoom, delivery apps and remote everything
This was the year remote everything went mainstream. Zoom, delivery apps and online booking: the changes likely to stay, and those that will be dropped quickly.
By Robert ScalesBlack Friday goes online for small stores
The holiday rush is moving online and the parcel network is already under pressure. What a small shop can realistically do for Black Friday and December.
By Robert ScalesSmall businesses going online fast: the minimum that actually works
Restaurants, shops and guides have moved online in weeks this year. Here is a short checklist for a minimal online presence that works.
By Robert ScalesSelling gift vouchers and future bookings during a shutdown
When you can't serve anyone, you can still sell the future. Gift vouchers and open-dated bookings, and how to sell them without breaking trust.
By Robert ScalesQR codes come back: where they help a small business and where they frustrate customers
This summer, QR codes made a strong return. Where they are useful for a small business, where they frustrate customers, and how to measure their results.
By Robert ScalesCurbside pickup and click-and-collect for small retail
Order online, pick up at the door. How small shops can maintain curbside pickup with the tools they already have, without adding complexity.
By Robert ScalesSelling online quickly: choosing a store platform
Shops that have never sold online need a store within weeks. How to choose between Shopify, Square Online and WooCommerce, and what to set up first.
By Robert ScalesWhen the borders close: running a tourism business with no tourists
The islands off Bali are emptying. What a small tourism business owes its guests and its staff when activity stops entirely.
By Robert ScalesMachine learning for small businesses: what is usable today
Most small businesses already use AI without identifying it as such. What is usable today, what requires caution, and why chatbots currently fall short.
By Robert ScalesBlueGreen360 Dive Operator of the Year: what an award does for a business
This year, our dive shop was named BlueGreen360 Dive Operator of the Year. What an award does for a small business, what it does not do, and who earned it.
By Robert ScalesBusiness development for a dive resort
Agents, partner hotels, liveaboards and schools: the network that fills the boat in the low season must be built during the high season.
By Robert ScalesSmall business management: running the numbers weekly
Five numbers, every Monday, on one sheet. A weekly review for a young seasonal business, and why we recommend the same approach for any small business.
By Robert ScalesHiring and training local staff for guest service
Four months into running a dive centre on a small island, one observation stands out: guests remember the people, not the boat. How to hire, train and retain good staff.
By Robert ScalesWriting the business plan for a dive resort
Eight weeks after a dive centre opens, the business plan is reviewed against the first real figures. What it contained, and which elements deserve more weight.
By Robert ScalesChoosing a booking system for a small dive centre
Whiteboards, spreadsheets and email eventually stop working. The criteria we are applying to online booking and deposits before opening.
By Robert ScalesRemote teams across islands: the tools that held up
A small team spread across Bali, Lembongan and Canada quickly learns that habits, more than tools, make a remote team work.
By Robert ScalesTop tech trends for 2014, from a dive shop desk
Wearables, mobile payments, video: which 2014 technology trends will matter for a small tourism business, and which can be set aside.
By Robert ScalesDigital nomad basics from Bali
A year of working from Bali: power cuts, two SIM cards, protected mornings, and what applies to anyone running a business far from a city.
By Robert ScalesYear one on the road: what worked and what did not
A year of remote consulting, from Thailand to Bali. The work is rarely the main difficulty: overcommitment, late invoicing and the Wi-Fi are.
By Robert ScalesLeaving Vancouver with a laptop: first notes as a remote consultant
Leaving Vancouver for Thailand with a laptop: first observations on time zones, Wi-Fi, written communication and reassuring clients from a distance.
By Robert ScalesCRTC Public Consultation on Internet Traffic Management in Canada
Jeff Traynor explains the CRTC's 2009 consultation on ISP traffic shaping, why net neutrality matters to open source and the web, and how to take part.
By Jeff TraynorEstimating Worksheet
Francis Pilon reviews Civic Actions' RFP Estimating Worksheet, its dual proposals and Certainty Factor, and contributes a project-duration extension.
By Francis PilonVancouver Tech Women to Watch in 2008
A Techvibes list of Vancouver tech insiders to watch had no women on it, so here are our picks of techie women doing exemplary work.
By Kris KrugProduct Development vs Service Provider: Raincity Studios, a Drupal service provider since 2004!
Why Robert built an open source service firm rather than a product company, with Raincity's numbers from $26K in 2003 to $840K in 2007 and the lessons learned.
By Robert ScalesVoIP Wars - Yahoo, MSN, Google; from Skype to Vonage
Yahoo and MSN both announce VoIP services; why more competition in internet telephony should be good for small businesses like Raincity.
By Robert ScalesSOHO-SME: CEO and Entrepreneur Panel
Notes from a SOHO-SME panel with Andrea Slingsby (Flight Centre), Stephen Smith (Webnames) and Brian Scudamore (1-800-GOT-JUNK).
By Will PateHal Josephson Presentation on BizDev for Doers
The Second guest speaker of the day was Hal Josephson, who shared a wealth of information on business development and planning.
By Robert ScalesThis Bloggy Thing We Do
A question keeps surfacing as we work on blog and Web 2.0 sites: “What do you call what we do?”
By Mark YuasaEntering the 18th hour
My hands feel greasy, I'm on my third pair of socks.
By Robert ScalesBook Review: Managing Multimedia, Book 1: People And Processes
Is managing multimedia projects the same as traditional project management? A review of Managing Multimedia, Book 1.
By Robert ScalesYour business deserves to be found.
Tell us about your project. We answer in English or French, and we travel anywhere in the MRC de Papineau.