KAWARTHA LAKES-From digital marketing workshops to breakfasts, employment law updates and awards, Small Business Week in City of Kawartha Lakes has something for every local entrepereneur or aspiring business owner.
“It’s a pretty busy week, which is great, as clearly event organizers are seeing the importance of providing education and information to our small business community, as well as offering opportunities for owners to network and in our case, the chance to be recognized as one of the newest and innovative product or service that is now available in our area”, states Andrew Wallen, General Manager of the Kawartha Lakes CFDC, the KLCFDC, and creators of the Small Business Innovation Awards, which will be presented for the 19th consecutive year on Friday.
Small Business Week in Kawartha Lakes starts on Monday, October 16th and has events happening every day through to Friday, October 20th.
The opportunity to create your own Business Model Canvas is being offered in 5 different communities throughout the week. “The Business Model Canvas is a visual representation of one’s business. The one-page Canvas has nine building blocks including: customer value proposition, customer segments, revenue streams, and costs all while keeping the detail at a minimum,” said Diane Steven, Manager of the Kawartha Lakes Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre, who is presenting the workshops. “The idea of writing a detailed business plan can be daunting for many and not always necessary but the Canvas model does provide the framework for one. The nine components provide consideration of a business’ full scope, while the simple “canvas layout” encourages thought about how the pieces all fit together. We have experienced this presentation ourselves and we know that our Kawartha Lakes businesses will get a lot out of it.”
All four Chambers of Commerce are providing networking and social activities for their members and others who are interested in attending. The Lindsay and Bobcaygeon Chambers of Commerce are offering breakfasts with keynote speakers; The Lindsay Chamber’s event is on Wednesday, October 18th and on Thursday, the 19th of October its Breakfast in Bobcaygeon. The Fenelon Falls Chamber has an Open House on the Wednesday afternoon at 1 PM and the Coboconk/Norland Chamber’s Networking Session is also on Wednesday, starting at 5 PM.
Two of the traditional Small Business Week events take place on Tuesday at 5 PM and Friday at Noon. The first is the Employment Law Update, featuring Mark Mason, an employment law specialist which gets underway on the 17th at 5PM. “This is always a popular event for employers in particular, but we believe it’s of great value to all engaged in the labour force,” said Dawn McCall of VCCS Employment Services, presenting hosts for the session.
The Annual Small Business Innovation Awards will be presented at Noon on Friday, October 20th in the Victoria Room, upstairs at City Hall. The KLCFDC be awarding cash prizes as well as providing city-wide recognition and a unique trophy to the top 3 submissions voted on by a panel of independent judges. “We know that there are a lot of new businesses out there and also new products and services being offered by many established local companies. We want to hear about them so that we can promote what they do right across our region,” says Wallen.
Full details are on the Small Business Week website, http://www.smallbizweek.net
“There isn’t a business that cannot benefit from the information being provided, the opportunity to network , and the possibility of being an Innovation Award Winner, so we hope to see everyone out next week and lots of Innovation Award entries as well!” Wallen remarked.
 photo credit: wocintechchat.com Women In Tech – 59 via photopin (license)
