Focusing on CK entrepreneurship

This past week Chatham-Kent Economic Development and the Small Business Centre brought together a group of inspiring new entrepreneurs for a three-day training session as part of the Starter Company Plus program. Nineteen people attended the business boot-camp style training to learn more about strategies and tools available to help set their business on the path to success.

“In preparation for the event, we have been working individually with each business owner to help them develop a strong business plan. Having three days of training provided dedicated time to look at the plans and see where gaps and opportunities exist,” said Doug Robbins, Economic Development Officer.

Andrew Patricio, a business educator and mentor for entrepreneurs, provided training during the session. Andrew has been training, coaching and advising startups for over 20 years. He teaches and advises from experience running his own businesses and training thousands of business owners.

“We strive to provide fair and honest feedback on each plan because we ultimately want to see the business succeed. Having an external voice like Andrew’s reinforces the business essentials that we talk about every day,” said Robbins.

In addition to the core training, there was also a special presentation made by the Economic Development Digital Service Squad.

“It was a perfect timing for us to chat directly with many of the businesses that can take advantage of the $2500 Digital Main Street grant,” said Zainab Oda from the Digital Service Squad. “We were able to let them know that the countdown is on to apply as the closing date for the grant is December 31st.”

The next steps for the Starter Company Plus program attendees will be to submit their final business plans to the Small Business Centre team to review in consideration for the competitive $5,000 grant.

“We will be scoring the plans based on a matrix, viability, and other important details. Ultimately, there will be a limited number of grants provided to help the businesses have an extra boost to their launch,” said Matt Reaume, Economic Development Officer.

“Starting in January, we will be accepting applications to the next round of Starter Company Plus. Of course, if anyone needs information sooner, we welcome them reach out and contact us,” added Reaume.

To learn more about the Starter Company Plus program, visit www.investck.ca.

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