Arlene Dickinson
A recent article in the Toronto Star noted that “The economy created 36,000 net positions [in April 2009], leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 8 per cent, a seven-year high. The positive job number shocked economists, who had anticipated, on average, a loss of about 50,000 jobs.”
Keeping up with the times, then, what better expert to speak to than Arlene Dickinson? The renowned head of Venture Communications, one of Canada’s most successful marketing agencies (clients include Unilever, Toyota and Encana), Dickinson is also the sole female adviser, or “Dragon”, on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, the reality-TV show pitting budding entrepreneurs against each other giving budding Canadian entrepreneurs some much-needed advice from veteran business-types.
Q: Can you tell me and our readers a bit about your career trajectory? How did you make it to the top as a self-made woman?
A: Worked my butt off [laughs]. It’s been 20 odd years of working in a variety of different fields. A lot of it has been hard work and effort and perseverance through a variety of different recessions.
I joined Venture 21 years ago this August, and took it over about 9 years ago. We had had partners in the business, and I had been through the pain of trying to get everyone together and working in the same direction, and someone needed to be in charge and the vision that I had was uniquely different than what my partner had at the time — I was more risk-friendly. And I thought that if I wanted to take the risk, I needed to be 100 percent accountable and not risk someone else’s future. We had different paths that we wanted to take; it was the right time, and it was a combination of all those things happening at the same point in time.
Q: What attracted you to marketing?
A: I was one of those junkie people who love to look at marketing and advertising and always feel that I could do better. While I was attracted to the creativity of the industry – I love art – I also had a really practical thought that marketing should be more about how it helps business as opposed to just being highly creative without being accountable to the business.
Q: Right now, you’re right in the middle of taping the fourth season of Dragons’ Den, which starts airing again on September 30. Can you tell me anything about the batch of hopefuls this year?
A: We’ve had a lot of businesses that are much further along in their business life, because capital is so difficult to get this year, so we’re seeing some really advanced ideas in the Den. It’s been fascinating. I’m really excited, actually.
Q: A recent Toronto Star article noted that while many people have been laid off, unemployment rates are not as high as they could be because a lot of people have gone into business for themselves. Is there any basic advice you can give people who are hoping to launch a business right now?
A: Recessions are business cycles where innovation really comes to the forefront, people start to be inventive and think about what they could do differently with their time because they are forced to, so it’s a great time to start a business. But you do have to start with a business model that’s going to make money, and you also have to have a good idea – don’t just become a consultant because you think the world needs more consultants, you have to be able to consult on something that’s unique.
Q: A lot of new businesses tend to fail. What’s your advice to people to keep their spirits up when their businesses are just crawling along?
A: Make sure you are practical and ask someone who’s been in business for a while if your projections are really reasonable. You want to take risks, but you don’t want to take so much risk that you put your family and your livelihood in danger. It’s a very fine line, and most entrepreneurs start businesses under-funded and under-resourced.
The number one thing to remember is that your job as an entrepreneur is not to run out of money. It sounds so simple, but it’s fundamental, and money is a hard commodity to come by right now. If you’re not well-funded, you need to understand the realities of what it’s really going to take to build the business, and make sure you have the financial wherewithal and ability to weather some tough months. Frankly, I worked the first few years taking hardly any money out of the firm. I was able to manage through that, but not everybody can.
Q: Do you have any advice for people who want to set up a home-based office?
A: If you’re creating a home-based business, your affiliations and your associations aside of your home base are going to become even more incredibly important. You need to be in the world as well as be in the office, and they’ll let you get outside the home office so you’re not sitting at home going stir crazy. When you find yourself talking to your cat and your baby, you know it’s time to go out.
Q: Is there a business idea you wished you’d had?
A: Yes, I wish I’d created the BlackBerry! I hate to say that I’m an addict, but because I travel so much, I can’t imagine being able to function the way I do without the access that it gives me. It’s a tool that’s become incredibly important to allow me to be on the road as much as I am and still be accessible to my clients and my team. I wouldn’t ever want to give it up.
