business posts

We've all got 'em; bad habits. In the workplace, bad habits could be keeping you from moving up in the company.

Drop these eight bad habits to help advance your career.

In the world of business, getting bigger is always the goal, and a merger is a sign of a company's strength and continuing growth - go big or go home.

Recently two bigger-is-better business deals hit the news. First was the announcement by two of the largest book publishers, Random House and Penguin Books, that they're joining forces to become the world's largest consumer book publisher. A second deal happened when Disney announced it was going to acquire George Lucas' LucasFilms, home to the Star Wars franchise.

Are all mergers worth the headaches from all that paperwork? Not all, to be sure, but here's a list of those corporate mergers that made history and changed industries.

SLIDESHOW: SIX MERGERS THAT MADE HISTORY

Canadian business journalist Amanda Lang looks at the power of asking
the right questions in her new book, The Power of Why. Lang tackles the big issue of the Canadian productivity gap head on by looking at a solution: how to spark innovation in Canada. Currently the senior business correspondent at CBC News, Lang reaches out to business leaders and innovators and also looks at her own life to showcase how asking the right questions can lead to greater connectedness, innovation and productivity in the lives of Canadians.

It's no surprise that Dragon's Den has become a cultural buzzword and an influence in the Canadian world of business.

In the past three years since the debut of the series, the number of patent applications in Canada have hit 40,000 per year, making it a "motivator" for those budding entrepreneurs according to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

The only female Dragon, Arlene Dickinson, has been battling the boys, and she's been privy to the Dragon's effect on the business community in Canada.

Dickinson has now decided to expand her empire - and encourage all those wannabe entrepreneurs to go for it with the creation of YouInc.com.

How does paying $20 for a cab ride and $8 for two coffees from Starbucks relate to fixing the economy?

According to Grant Cardone, New York Times best-selling author, international sales expert, a regular on FOX Business News' The Willis Report and NBC's Nonstop and on National Geographics' Turnaround King, it's a symbol of why some businesses aren't doing well in the economy.

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Personal finance expert and author Gail Vaz-Oxlade sat down with WalletPop to talk about her book, Never Too Late. In this segment, she offers tactics for getting your partner on board with the financial plan.

How do you become an entrepreneur? Does that a-ha! moment just happen? Is being your own boss the best thing ever?

According to Canadian businesswoman Shawna Page, become an entrepreneur has a been a roller coaster, but one that she is glad she decided to pursue.

As a senior executive in capital markets, Page was at the top of her game - but she wanted more - a different work challenge, and more time with her husband and three children. So Page decided to take the leap and make a change.

So how did she become an entrepreneur? Was it a series of lucky breaks or did she follow her heart?

At age 40, Page decided to leave her financial career of 20 years and focus on the family. But she realized that although she was at home, none of her friends were.

As a woman, I feel for men who are forced to wear dress shirts and black pants to work every day. Apart from getting a purple mohawk (not recommended in a workplace that enforces dress shirts and black pants), there don't seem to be many options for self-expression through fashion.

The website Shirtsmyway.com, however, gives guys the option of designing their own dress shirt from scratch. Everything is customizable - from the collar style to cuff fabric. You can also enter your specific measurements to achieve that perfect fit.

Shirtsmyway.com is offering an exclusive 10% discount to WalletPop Canada readers. Here's how to get it:

1. Place your order normally.

2. Within 24 hours of placing your order, send an email to support@shirtsmyway.com with "WalletPop 10%" AND your order number in the subject line.

3. You will be refunded 10%.

This deal is good until through Friday and can't be combined with any other offers.

Increases to the minimum wage in Canada hurt the very people they are supposed to help, according to a new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), an association for small to medium-sized businesses.

The group argues that provincially regulated increases to minimum wages cause small businesses to either cut jobs, reduce staff hours or postpone new hires. Using their own estimates, they say a 10% increase in minimum wages against all provinces would cost the Canadian economy up to 321,300 jobs.

"At a time when the economy is in slow recovery, the last thing governments should be considering are policies that further hinder job creation," said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB's Vice President for Saskatchewan and co-author of the report.