LITTLE CURRENT – The second annual WOMEN (Women of Manitoulin Entrepreneur Network) Conference is fast approaching and is set to take place at the Northeast Town recreation centre on Sunday, September 15.
For just $30, women entrepreneurs (or women who wish to become entrepreneurs) will be treated to breakfast, lunch and a host of speakers on a wide array of topics.
Registration and breakfast is from 8 to 9 am and will be sponsored by RBC.
Barb Baker, founder of WOMEN, will offer an opening greeting from 9 to 9:15 am followed by a presentation from RBC’s Karen Bird on ‘taking time to work on your business and not just in your business.’ Ms. Bird will speak on retirement planning as a business owner, tax and estate planning for you and your business, succession planning and being prepared for the ‘what ifs.’
Susan Milne of the PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise of Canada will speak from 9:45 to 10:15 am on PARO (Latin for ‘I am ready’) and what it can do for your business, including low loan rates and free grants, its mentoring program and some Manitoulin PARO success stories.
From 10:15 to 10:45 am Rebecca Danard from Rethink Green/Green Economy North will speak on gaining more energy efficiency from your business.
A break will be held from 10:45 to 11 am when Manitoulin artists Anong Beam and Marianna Lafrance will speak on the topic of opportunities for artists and artisans.
The pair will host a discussion on how Manitoulin artists can come together to form partnerships/co-operatives and provide some ideas and suggestions on how this can be achieved.
A representative of the Business Development Bank (BDC) will speak to the group from 11:30 am to 12 pm on the work of the BDC and the services they can offer one’s business.
After a lunch, with all the offerings provided by Manitoulin businesswomen, the program gets underway with a short presentation by Tammy Albers on ‘how many hats do you wear.’
Ms. Baker will next give a talk on ensuring your business is accessible be it larger print on a menu to arm rests on a chair.
Shelba Millette from the Manitoulin Tourism Association (MTA) will speak from 1:30 to 2 pm on the MTA’s new program and approach to Island tourism followed by a presentation from Contact North’s Leigh Kitlar on how it can meet the needs of your business.
Breakout sessions will be held from between 2:30 to 4 pm on topics such as the possibility of a new business centre, accessibility, how to find/utilize each other’s services and more.
As well as the plethora of speakers, RBC, the title sponsor of the event, will also be offering professional headshots for the attendees while PARO is bringing with them a ‘fun cube’ for great photos of the event.
“People can also bring their information and business cards and we will have a small area set up for that,” Ms. Baker told The Expositor.
Following the first WOMEN conference last year, Ms. Baker hosted a number of sessions throughout Manitoulin on such topics as social media, insurance, using WordPress and work/life balance.
Ms. Baker hopes to have five of sessions and one big conference each year.
To register, contact Ms. Baker at barbara.baker@sumthing.ca. The registration cut off is September 9.
