Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how The Business Growth Factor collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information about you when you visit our website, listen to our podcast, subscribe to our newsletter, or take part in our community.

We take your privacy seriously and aim to be straightforward about what we do with your information.

1. Who we are

"The Business Growth Factor" (also "TBGF", "we", "us", "our") is a podcast and business community hosted by Lyndon Smith of Expansive EDGE Inc. and Joshua Leyenhorst, CPA, CEPA, of BasePoint CPA.

For privacy questions, contact our Privacy Officer at [email protected] or write to us at 225 Railway St E, Suite 210, Cochrane, AB T4C 2C3.

2. What this policy covers

This policy applies to:

• The website at thebusinessgrowthfactor.com and its subdomains.
• The podcast, including episodes distributed via Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, and other platforms.
• The newsletter delivered via email.
• Direct communications with us via email, contact forms, or guest applications.

Our community is hosted on Circle (circle.so). When you join the community, your participation is also governed by Circle's terms and privacy policy. See section 10 below.

3. Information we collect

We collect personal information in these categories:

• Identity and contact data: name, email address, and any other contact details you provide when you subscribe to our newsletter, apply to be a guest, or contact us.
• Usage data: non-identifying information about how you interact with the website, including pages visited, time on page, referring URL, device type, browser, and approximate location (country or region) derived from your IP address.
• Communication data: any content you send us via email or forms, including guest applications, feedback, or questions.
• Newsletter engagement: whether you open emails and click links, collected by our email platform.
• Podcast platform data: the podcast platforms you use (Spotify, YouTube, and others) collect their own data on you. We may receive aggregated, non-identifying statistics from them but do not receive your individual listening history.

We do not knowingly collect "sensitive" personal information (such as government identifiers, financial account numbers, or health data) through our website or newsletter.

4. How we use your information

We use personal information for these purposes:

• To send you our newsletter (only if you have given express consent under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation).
• To respond to your enquiries and guest applications.
• To operate, maintain, and improve the website and podcast.
• To understand audience trends and improve the content we produce.
• To comply with legal obligations.
• To protect against fraud, abuse, and security threats.

For visitors in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, our legal bases for processing are: (a) your consent, (b) the legitimate interests of operating and improving the site, and (c) compliance with legal obligations.

5. Cookies and analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to function properly and to understand how visitors use the site. We use:

• Cloudflare Web Analytics for privacy-preserving traffic analysis. This service is cookieless and does not track individual users across sites.
• Kit (ConvertKit) for the newsletter signup form on the site, which may set cookies to remember your preferences.
• Essential cookies required for the site to function (for example, remembering you have dismissed a notice).

For full details, see our Cookie Policy.

6. Who we share information with

We share personal information only with service providers we use to operate TBGF, and only to the extent necessary. Current providers include:

• Cloudflare, Inc. — website hosting, content delivery, security, and privacy-preserving analytics.
• Kit (ConvertKit) — newsletter delivery and subscriber management.
• Circle (Circle.so) — community platform.
• Resend — transactional email delivery (where applicable).
• Spotify, YouTube, and other podcast distribution platforms — distribution of episodes.
• Google Workspace — internal email and document storage.

We do not sell or rent your personal information to anyone. We may also disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect our rights or those of third parties.

7. International data transfers

Several of our service providers are based in the United States and may process your information there or in other jurisdictions. By using our services, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred outside Canada (and outside the EU or UK where applicable) and may be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions, including lawful access by foreign authorities. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards including standard contractual clauses.

8. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this policy or as required by law. Specific retention periods:

• Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe, plus a reasonable period to comply with our CASL record-keeping obligations.
• Guest applications: up to 24 months after submission.
• General correspondence: up to 36 months after the last contact.
• Website analytics: aggregated data only; no individual records retained.

9. Your rights

For everyone (including Canadian residents)

Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Withdraw consent for our processing (subject to legal or contractual restrictions).
• File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca).

Additional rights for EU or UK residents

Under the GDPR and UK GDPR you also have the right to data portability, erasure, restriction of processing, and to object to processing. You may also lodge a complaint with your national supervisory authority.

Additional rights for California residents

Under the CCPA and CPRA, you have rights to know what categories of personal information we collect, request deletion, and opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law.

How to exercise your rights

To exercise any of these rights, email our Privacy Officer at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing requests.

10. Community participation (Circle)

Our community is hosted on Circle. When you join, you create a Circle account and your profile, posts, and direct messages within the community are processed by Circle subject to Circle's privacy policy. We can access the community to administer it but do not export member data for use outside the community without consent.

11. Data security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Data breach notification

If we become aware of a breach of security safeguards involving personal information that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will:

• Notify affected individuals as soon as feasible.
• Report to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as required.
• Maintain records of the breach as required by PIPEDA.

13. Children's privacy

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 14 years of age. If you believe we have collected information from a minor, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

14. Newsletter consent and unsubscribe (CASL)

We send newsletters only to people who have given express consent. Every newsletter includes a one-click unsubscribe link. You can also unsubscribe at any time by emailing us. We keep records of consent as required by Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. For material changes, we will notify newsletter subscribers by email at least 14 days before the change takes effect and update the "Last updated" date above. For minor changes, we will update the date only.

16. Contact us

For privacy questions, complaints, or to exercise your rights, contact our Privacy Officer:

• Email: [email protected]
• General contact: [email protected]
• Mail: 225 Railway St E, Suite 210, Cochrane, AB T4C 2C3