Business opportunity news you can use

How did your business fare in 2011? Your answer should fall somewhere between “terribly” and “horribly,” if one believes all the hyperbolic reports of the “global economic crisis” emanating from many media outlets. Given the true economic picture, I suspect your year was somewhere from “meh” to “fine”—although I hope it was closer to “great.”

We’ve been as busy as ever at PROFIT, in the best of ways—although the bustle sometimes prevented us from telling you what we’ve been up to. So, before the opportunity passes by, here’s some news you can use.

Your own mobile mentor

What would you pay for the ability to access management insights and advice, anytime and anywhere? Don’t reach for your wallet; just download the free Rogers Business Series for iPhone and iPad from the Apple App Store.

Each weekday, the app delivers content created by the editors of PROFIT exclusively for this new mobile platform. You’ll fi nd interviews with entrepreneurial growth leaders, stories of practical interest to Canadian business owners and how-to videos on smart management practices starring yours truly. (Consider yourself warned.)

Kudos to an excellent entrepreneur

When Betty Anne Latrace-Henderson took over the family business in 2000, she wasted no time putting her mark on it.

Among her bold fi rst moves was dismissing the aging, all-male board of directors her father had assembled more than 20 years earlier and replacing them with the people she believed were suited to help her grow the company. And grow it did.

Saskatoon-based Airline Hotels and Resorts Ltd. owns and operates seven hotels from Thunder Bay to Edmonton, up from a single Travelodge when Latrace-Henderson took over; revenue exceeds $45 million. That decade of high performance earned Latrace-Henderson the PROFIT Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship, one of six honours handed out November 28 at the 2011 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. The judges chose Latrace-Henderson over numerous other candidates for best exhibiting the key entrepreneurial traits celebrated by the PROFIT Award, including product innovation, management smarts and personal leadership.

Join the growth stars

We’re now accepting applications for our 24th annual ranking of Canada’s Fastest- Growing Companies, also known as the PROFIT 200. If sales at your fi rm have at least doubled since 2006, you’re a legitimate contender for the list, which will appear in our Summer 2012 issue.

This program offers an unparalleled opportunity to receive positive coverage in the pages of Canada’s best-read publication for entrepreneurs, plus a nationally recognized honour that can attract new customers, employees, lenders and investors.

Laureates also receive an invitation to the private PROFIT 200 CEO Summit and other exclusive events. What’s more, the application process is easy—and free. Complete the short ballot on page 61 to get the ball rolling. And if you know any worthy candidates, nominate them or encourage them to visit PROFIT200.ca to learn more.

Ian Portsmouth

Editor and Associate Publisher