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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 14, 2011) - BMO recently launched its 100^th Business Coach Podcast, in conjunction with PROFIT Magazine, offering tips to Canada's entrepreneurs and small business owners with special guests Robert Herjavec of Dragon's Den, Global Sustainability leader Bruce Poon Tip and Canadian billionaire Michael Lee-Chin. The podcast is available at www.bmo.com/coach.

"BMO takes pride in the quality of advice and services it gives to Canada's entrepreneurs," said Cathy Pin, Vice-President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. "Using new media to better communicate with this demographic is a natural extension of the services we already provide to our customers, at our branches and online."

The milestone 100^th podcast focuses on some notable '100s' that small businesses must prepare for, including the first 100 days of operation, the hiring of the 100^th employee and the 100 first investments.

"Across the country, the outlook among business owners is increasingly positive," said Ms. Pin. "We are encouraged by the increasing number of firms willing and able to invest in their operations and we are glad to provide these business owners the tips and tools they need to continue to grow."

Noteworthy tips from BMO's business experts for the big 100s:

First 100 Days: Make sure the doors stay open. At the beginning, it's tough: in order to ensure your business survives, you have to pass one hurdle, then another one and another one. Make sure you don't have too long term a view.

First 100 Employees: Too many entrepreneurs hire people that they want to have a beer with or that they can be friends with. But coincidently, those people often have the same skills as you. Don't stretch your budget without diversifying your employee base.

First 100 Investments: Make sure you are entering into a business that you understand in an industry that you understand. Make sure the industry has long term growth prospects, where the product cycle is long and the cash flow relatively predictable.

About Business Coach Podcasts

The Business Coach Podcast is an advice-oriented series for Canada's entrepreneurs.

The podcast series was developed by the Bank of Montreal in cooperation with PROFIT Magazine. Over the course of the series, BMO will be drawing on experts in a number of fields, including some BMO Bank of Montreal experts, in order to provide the credible information and prescriptions entrepreneurs need to run their small businesses better.