Modern family business: How entrepreneurs use technology to drive growth

Like many small businesses, Toronto-based Barbet began with a simple idea born out of necessity.

In 2020, Katie Fielding experienced an epileptic seizure that led her to forgo alcohol for a while. At the time, options for non-alcoholic beverages were limited to sodas and seltzers. Seeing a lack of adult-oriented alternatives, she and her sister, Andrea Grand, were inspired to develop their own alcohol-free beverage brand. In 2021, after months of trial and error, they launched Barbet – a sparkling beverage brand offering bold designs and sophisticated flavours.

In the early days, Grand was delivering cases of Barbet to cafes and restaurants out of the back of her car. But as demand grew – Barbet is now sold at more than 70 Sobeys stores in Ontario and various local retailers – the co-founders enlisted a distribution partner to help scale.

Embracing new technology has also been key to managing Barbet’s expansion. For example, the company manages the cost of its cans by using inventory management software with built-in production forecasting. “By proxy, it helps us have control over our margins and the financial health of our business, and it also helps us with ordering and forecasting,” says Grand.

For small businesses like Barbet, embracing innovative technology is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity for growth. Tools like cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) are enabling businesses to scale production and increase efficiency.

At Barbet, AI is playing an increasingly important role. The team uses ChatGPT and Notion to streamline and automate repetitive tasks. To further boost efficiency, they’re also looking into onboarding an AI consultant to assess the business and determine what tasks can be optimized or automated, such as creating financial or sales dashboards.

On the financial front, technology advances in accounting can help streamline processes and simplify tax compliance. For instance, MNP’s cloud-based accounting and bookkeeping solution uses automation to help companies manage their finances more efficiently, organize their data and gain immediate access to the data they need from the cloud – from wherever they are.

While timely updates, invoice management and access to payroll and business modelling are particularly useful during tax season, they offer year-round benefits, says Shayne Dueck, vice president, client accounting and bookkeeping services for MNP, one of Canada’s leading professional services firms, providing accounting, consulting, tax and digital services.

Tips on introducing new tools to the tech stack

While adopting the latest tech has advantages, it also comes with challenges. “Introducing technology for technology’s sake can be overwhelming,” says Grand. “The onboarding process can be long and lengthy, not only in just learning the new tool, but the adoption of it.”

Bruce Winder, a Toronto-based retail consultant, advises small business owners to consider the impacts of new tools and technologies on their customers. “One of the risks with any type of intervention in a business is there could be unintended consequences in terms of how the software interacts with your customers,” he says. For instance, a new tool needs to be assessed for privacy and security, especially when dealing with sensitive customer information.

Cost is another important consideration. Winder notes that AI can be expensive for small businesses, particularly in the form of up-front costs. This might mean owners have to raise their prices or live with less profit, which puts them at a competitive disadvantage.

The first step is to start small. The founders of Montreal-based Maguire Shoes – sister duo Myriam and Romy Belzile-Maguire – took a short course on AI to better understand both its potential and risks and then asked their team for input.

When it came to tools like ChatGPT, Romy says many younger team members at Maguire Shoes had been using them long before the sisters did. “As small business owners, we stay curious about new technologies and trends but adopt them gradually, one at a time,” she says. “We once heard: AI won’t take our jobs, but those who don’t embrace it may be left behind.”

For order fulfillment and logistics, Maguire Shoes uses automation tools to manage shipping, track inventory and automate customer communication, among other tasks.

The co-founders acknowledge that the biggest challenge small business owners face is feeling like they have to be in charge of every department.

“AI can give you the tools you don’t have the time to learn,” says Myriam. “For example, we recently asked ChatGPT to help us calculate our stock turnover ratio – it can be as simple as that. AI doesn’t replace expertise, but it helps bridge the gap and makes things more efficient when you’re juggling multiple roles.”

Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.