I received a nice little package from (surprisingly) the Canadian Telecom Summit I attended a few months ago. The package was in my mail after about 1 month the conference ended, which is pretty good considering the have hundreds of these DVD’s and packages to send out (for free!).

I’ve created an .iso file for those interested, but was unable to attend the conference. There shouldn’t be an issue with duplicating the DVD for sharing, since I don’t see any notices saying not to.

Anyways, here it is: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ENCQRQBO

- Peter Kao

Want to send urgent emails to your friends but don’t know when they’ll get your message? Then, send your email as a SMS to any of your friend’s cellphone – for free.

Of course, you can already send free text messages with online services such as http://www.sendsmsnow.com/ but you can do it now in the comfort of your own email account.

Here’s how:

Your mobile has an unique email address created by your wireless carrier. All you have to do is ask your friends to send emails to this email address and it’ll be sent to your cellphone – free of charge. The only caveat is that you’re limited to 160 characters. However, you can reply to the SMS to have the entire email sent to you.

Here’s a list of all Canadian carriers and their email format so you can find your own:

President’s Choice - your10digitnumber@txt.bell.ca   

Rogers - your10digitnumber@pcs.rogers.com   

Sasktel - your10digitnumber@sms.sasktel.com   

Telus Mobility - your10digitnumber@msg.telus.com  

Virgin Mobile - your10digitnumber@vmobile.ca  

One of the most annoying things with owning your own company is having to deal with the government. Here are some links that you should read over at least once before you start a business.

Online Services from the Government 1

Online Services from the Government 2

Reporting and Remitting Schedules

Tax FAQ’s for Small Businesses

General Information on Goods and Services Tax (GST)

The Basics of the Retail Sales Tax (RST)

How the RST Applies to Internet Related Services

How the RST Applies to Computer Programs and Related Services

Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Incentive Program

The good thing is that there are free seminars from the government that cover most of the above. They also give you handy handouts and brochures too. Read my previous post, FREE Government Seminar Listings for Small Business.

EXTRA: Business Start-up Info Guide

Peter Kao

If you have just finished building your corporate website, submitting your website to online directories may increase your ranking on search engines and generate more page landings.

See the huge list of web directories here: http://www.definiteweb.com/list-of-directories2.htm

There are TONS of directories in that list. However, I only recommend submitting to the major ones, especially the popular search engines:

1) Google – http://www.google.com/addurl/

2) Yahoo – https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit

3) MSN Live – http://search.live.com/docs/submit.aspx

4) Open Directory – http://www.dmoz.org

You should also invest in submitting your website into the Yahoo! Directory. It will cost you $299USD but it’s well worth it! It’s the YellowBook of the internet! Since we’re on the topic, make sure to submit your business in local business directories as well. YellowBook is a must considering it’s popular and FREE.

Peter Kao

Starting a business requires tons of work. A huge part of that work is doing the research and reading required to run your business “legally.”

Things like PST, Payrol deductions, Corporate taxes and ways to increase tax credits can be a headache. Luckily, the Canadian government supplies free seminars covering most topics on starting and maintaining your business. Check out their list of seminars here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/vnts/on/menu-eng.html

- Peter Kao