Onigo Imports.
Daniel Merizen's business Onigo Imports specializes in unique hats and bags imported from French designers.
Staff photo/NICK PERRY
"Your position can change within your own company as it grows as well, which most people don't even think about." ~ Van Tassel.
In order to survive in changing times, small business owners need to know how to adapt.
Jason Van Tassel and Daniel Merizen both started their respective businesses on a small scale, but by sticking to a plan and adapting to challenges they have built their initial ideas into thriving money makers in Canada's largest city.
Mouth Media was conceptualized by Van Tassel after he left his job as a Web designer for a television station. He registered the company in 2003 with the plan to independently provide clients with graphic and Web design services. The majority of his business has always been in Web design and he has found that sticking to short-term goals is problematic in the ever-changing online world.
Van Tassel's idea of short-term planning is to adapt on the fly.
"There are small plans like adapting to new browsers and things like that...there are just always small things we need to keep tabs on," said Van Tassel. "One of the ongoing goals is just to stay on top of what is happening today."
Starting a small business is a challenge at the best of times and during the tail end of the biggest recession in decades, it is tougher than ever. In order to thrive in a changing business climate, every business owner needs to know how to quickly reshape their short-term plans while still working toward a solid set of long term goals.
While constantly revising short term micro-goals, Mouth Media has grown to become a success by sticking to long term plans.
Van Tassel sticks to his broader plan of constantly seeking new industries to target as clients. He started by focusing on developing a relationship with a single large client and now designs websites for major events like Luminato, Toronto's yearly festival of arts and creativity, and Mirvish Productions, responsible for such theatrical hits as The Lion King and the current 80s musical Rock of Ages.
By developing a long-term plan, Van Tassel has grown Mouth Media from a one-man operation to a growing business, with a handful of employees in two offices on Queen Street.
While Van Tassel initially did all the work by himself, he is now exclusively in charge of running the business end of things at Mouth Media and is no longer needed to do any of the actual design.
"Your position can change within your own company as it grows as well, which most people don't even think about," said Van Tassel.
While Van Tassel has to consistently change his short term goals, Merizen's business, Onigo Imports, completely reinvented itself while still keeping his long term plan in sight.
The company was founded by Merizen in 1997 as a textile wholesaler, but the markets can change quickly. He soon realized he could no longer compete with prices offered by Chinese importers.
Committed to a long-term goal of buying a warehouse to operate his business, Merizen had to throw the short-term business plan out the window. He found a supplier in Madagascar that produced unique women's hats and accessories and decided Onigo would now focus on that market.
"We are in times where so much is changing and it is volatile. You have to change with that and take chances to do something new. You have to be on top of the trends, because if you don't, you will be left behind," said Merizen.
As it turned out, there was quite a market for speciality import accessories and in 2003 he achieved his goal of buying a warehouse. He now operates Onigo in a 5,000-square-foot warehouse in Toronto and has three employees on his payroll.
Due to his ability to stick to a plan and make changes when the time was right, Merizen has succeeded where many others have folded under financial stresses.
"Most of my friends in the same kind of business are no longer here or are in a different job," said Merizen. "Right now, I'm just focusing on trying to keep what I have and develop into new markets."