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If there was a Olympic medal podium for small businesses, John Adlersparre would have scaled it, a few times.

Mr. Adlersparre was behind the eye-catching mosaics that adorned buildings at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.

In February, a new piece of Magic Mosiacs's Olympic portfolio will be on display at Turin when the 2006 Winter Games open, though for the first time Xerox is not the client.

The Olympic Games are one of the most high-profile events on the globe and the exposure that can be gained by participating in its spectacle is not limited to athletes.

Businesses can earn many valuable contacts that can turn into future profits and clients.

Mr. Adlersparre has witnessed first hand the benefits of working on Games' projects. His initial contract in 2002 came out of the blue, and it helped push the Victoria, B.C.-based company into many more high-profile projects.

Magic Mosaics's fortunes have risen due to their Olympic exposure. The company has since appeared on American television shows The Dr. Phil Show and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

"The television shows came after as a result of some publicity about the Olympics. We became known," Mr. Adlersparre told globeandmail.com. "We got a lot of contacts and now we are doing some work for the Turin Olympics, but not with Xerox."

Mr. Adlersparre has some preliminary discussions about doing some work with the 2010 opening and closing ceremonies as well as some other projects, but the deals can't be finalized until after the Turin Games end.

RBC, the 2010 official Games banking partner, has set up a special guide to help Canadian business tap into the Olympic network and secure business opportunities leading up to the 2010 Winter Games.

"We are committed to helping businesses identify and capitalize on the opportunities," said Betty MacLeod, senior manager of RBC's Olympic business development. "It's about working with the business community. We want to see our businesses reach the business podium by 2010. "In some cases it might be a small business that partners with some other like businesses, maybe in a sub-contracting type of arrangement. So that each of them get a piece of the pie rather than no one getting a piece of the pie."

The massive banners made by the Victoria, B.C.-based Magic Mosaics, featured the individual photos of Xerox's thousands of employees. The Athens mosaic was the world's largest photo mosaic ever made, with more than 27,000 images.

The banner was 35.05 metres wide by 17.7 metres high and was wrapped around three sides of a prominent building in Athens.

There's no bigger stage than the Olympics, and for Mr. Adlersparre, the ripple effect from the five-ring circus continues to astound him.

"When we were on The Dr. Phil show, I honestly don't know why, I tried to find out. The person who was my project manager at Paramount Pictures didn't know, she was just told to phone me. There seems to be something in the way of a network."

"I mean we don't have any marketing in place," he said.

While the Games are still four years away, many of the contracts will be awarded soon after the completion of the Turin Games in February.

Ms. MacLeod says that anyone with the desire to win Olympic contracts should register at www.2010CommerceCentre.gov.bc.ca.

Ms. MacLeod says she spends a lot of time speaking with companies, counselling them on their future plans should they win an Olympic contract. Growth is an inevitable byproduct.

"When I am out offering consulting services to businesses one of the questions I ask is: 'how does this fit into your longer-term plan? Where do you see the company going?'"

As she explains, if a company can't cope with the sudden demands on the company, they may want to start finding partners to work with.

"If they are successful in a larger contract, how are they going to take care of their existing client base. Trying to make them aware of when they are going in to bid on business, what are the positives and potentially the challenging consequences of the results of this."

Ms. MacLeod says there is an tremendous opportunity to be innovative.

"If you feel this is a direction for your company and it is an opportunity for your company, now is the time to start talking to your partners," she said. "The opportunities are here now."

The RBC guide builds on information available through the B.C. Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Secretariat's 2010 Commerce Centre. It is available through all MLA's, RBC branches, local chambers of commerce, economic development, boards of trade, community futures office, government agents offices, Spirit of B.C. Community Committees.

If a small business is unsuccessful in securing a contract, Ms. MacLeod says subcontracting or partnering with larger companies may be a viable option.

For example, Ms. MacLeod points to a company like Dawson Creek, B.C.'s Eldoren Design. Company president Gordon Currie parlayed a subcontract with a major U.S. company for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work since that date. The relatively small web design work he did in 1996 led to contacts the resulted in many more lucrative business opportunities.

At present, Mr. Currie is targeting 10-12 companies to partner with to seek 2010 Winter Games business opportunities.

There are risks when entering into any partnership, says Ms. MacLeod, and the RBC guide offers the following guidelines to avoid trouble:

• Is your partner willing to engage now?
• Does it have the resources, technical competence and expertise?
• Is there a team approach inside the company that can translate outside the company?
• Do you have the sense that your prospective partner's future plans will not interfere with its ability to meet the needs of the contract?
• Is there a cultural fit between your organization?

Companies should take the time to research the Vancouver Organizing Committee's statement of principles and objectives. VANOC is one of the main organizations that is responsible for Olympic contracts, and it has its own procurement principles.

One of the areas VANOC is committed to is social responsibility.

Understanding this fact allowed B.C. company Mills Basics, a family-owned enterprise, to win the lucrative deal to furnish VANOC with office supplies.

Mills Basic has for years given poverty-stricken residents of Vancouver's Downtown East Side work opportunities as an ethical employer. Company president Brad Mills beat out many larger firms for the contract because he knew that VANOC had a stated interest in promoting companies that value social responsibility.

"I knew what they were looking for," Mr. Mills quoted in the RBC's guide to for business opportunities in the 2010 Winter Games.

For more information check out www.2010CommerceCentre.gov.bc.ca