Episode 5: Exploring Strategis
Air Date: May 28, 1998
Your one-stop shop for industry information...
Crystal Siemens, a fashion designer at the
Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI), has been getting more comfortable with surfing on the Internet, trying to find some useful web sites. However, she is being overwhelmed by the volume of information and finds that she doesn't have the time to visit all the sites she comes across. Luckily, Tom Vassos of IBM has found a good source of industry information, conveniently found all in one place-- Strategis, a web site set up by Industry Canada.
You want financing? Strategis has a section devoted entirely to
sources of financing, including small business loans, government programs, and companies offering financing. Looking for specific information on the industry you operate in? Strategis has over 30 gigabytes of information on different industries (that's equivalent to the contents of 50 sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica!), such as construction, communications, and yes, of course, the fashion industry. Zeroing in specifically on the fashion industry, there is a lot of useful information for our budding young fashion designers, including information on exporting and textile labeling requirements textile labeling requirements. Furthermore, there are links to trade organizations in the fashion industry. One of the links that Tom points out is the Canadian Apparel Foundation (www.apparel.ca), which offers discount programs for its members to help reduce the costs of doing business, such as cheaper long distance telephone calls, free industry publications, and even cheaper gasoline. Finally, you can even communicate directly with the staff of Industry Canada (strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/fh03099e.html) by e-mail if you need help with something not found on the web site.While we may have been talking about the benefits of Strategis to those in the fashion industry, all of these things apply to a wide variety of other industries, regardless of which one you're in. To fully appreciate the power and convenience of this web site, think of how you would get the same information if the Internet did not exist? How many phone calls and offices would you have to visit to find the same information and contacts? And with the painfully-slow pace by which the government operates, it would take you a very long, long time.
Hot Links
Want to learn more about the topics covered this week? Then check out these great web sites and resources:
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Strategis Main Menu |
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Strategis Site Map |
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Sources of Financing |
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Small Business Loans Administration |
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Industry Canada Contacts |
Cast
Mark Schneider CTV - Host of "Digital Desktop" Tom Vassos IBM e-business Advisor and Host of "This New SoHo" Serena DeParis Fashion Designer Crystal Siemens Fashion Designer
Production Credits
Anthony Steward Camera Anthony Leong Senior Web Editor
All episode summaries and supplemental information written by Anthony Leong, with material and assistance from Tom Vassos, his book Strategic Internet Marketing, and Mark Schneider.
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