Thursday, June 1st 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

This financial literacy webinar will help you understand the management of growth and expansion of your small business. By the end of the presentation, you will be able to identify the key numbers to understand and monitor, as well as learning tactics for seeking out financing. Finally, you will learn effective tax strategies for your small business.

What you will learn:

• How do I best manage my growth and expansion?
• What key numbers should I understand and monitor?
• What are the ratios that make or break my small business?
• Where should I look for financing?
• What do I need to know about taxes when it comes to my small business?

(Powered By: Enterprise Toronto)

Tuesday, June 6th 9:00-10:00 AM

This webinar delivered by the Mental Health Commission of Canada will provide you with information and resources to better understand the mental health challenges faced by small business owners and entrepreneurs. This presentation will help you understand the challenges and benefits of taking care of your mental health from a business perspective, and provide you with some key strategies, tools, and resources so you are equipped to better understand your own mental health, as well as the mental health of your employees and what you can do to be a leader for them.

What you will learn:

• Is it good business to ensure my workplace is conducive to good mental health?
• What are the main barriers to workplace mental health, particularly for people in leadership roles?
• How do I recognize indicators of declining mental health?
• How do I overcome stigma and find help?
• How do I access free resources that are available to me and/or my employees?
• How do I help my employees if they are struggling with their mental health?

Join us to learn about mental health support for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

(Powered By: Enterprise Toronto)

Wednesday, June 7th 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

The Government of Canada purchases $22 billion of goods and services each year. This two-hour webinar provides key information about how to sell to the Government of Canada that will help you learn how to:

• Find out whether the Government of Canada buys your goods or service
• Understand the contracting process
• Register in supplier databases
• Build networks and promote your business
• Search for opportunities
• Take advantage of the procurement information on Buyandsell.gc.ca and Canadabuys
• Understand the security clearance process
• Bid on opportunities

(Powered By: Procurement Assistance Canada)

Wednesday, June 9th 9:30-11:00AM

This seminar is offered to owners of small businesses and self-employed individuals who need help in understanding their tax obligations. The presentation is geared towards unincorporated businesses and will During the seminar, the Liaison Officers will:

• Explain common tax errors
• Demonstrate how to use financial benchmarks for relevant industries
• Provide information on various tools and services offered by the CRA
• Explain general bookkeeping concepts and best practices

(Powered By: Procurement Assistance Canada)

Tuesday, June 13th 10:00 – 11:00 am

Do you have an idea and you want to start your own small business, but you aren’t sure where to start? Attend this free seminar to find out information such as:

• How to register your business
• Business structure
• Government support programs
• Other services and programs available to you

(Powered By: Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre)

Tuesday June 13th 10:00 – 11:00 am

For any new business, growing your customer base is your top priority. Marketing is a critical piece of being found by your target audience, converting those prospects to customers, and keeping customers over the long term. This webinar will give you an introduction to the tips and tools you need to get your marketing started on the right foot. By the end of the presentation, you will have everything you need to establish your brand, identify and reach your target audience, get your small business found by your prospects, and drive new sales through the groundwork of establishing your small business's marketing presence.

What you will learn:

• Have I clearly defined my brand purpose?
• What is a core value proposition?
• How do I know who my customers are and how do I reach them?
• How do I get my small business noticed on Google?
• How do I create effective paid digital and social ads?
• What digital presence can I establish for my brand?
• Is my website as effective as it needs to be?
• What social platforms should I leverage? How do I effectively engage on social media?
• What non-digital marketing channels should I consider?
• Where can my small business be found?
• How do I grow loyalty from existing customers?
• What tools and resources can I use today to help market & advertise my small business?

(Powered By: Enterprise Toronto)

Thursday, June 15th 1:30am – 3:00pm

Essential to starting or growing your small business is having adequate cash flow for day-to-day operations and to implement any expansion plans. Please join us for a workshop that will help you explore lending and micro-grant opportunities available through the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre, CIBC, Community Futures Essex County and Futurpreneur.

Specifically, information will be provided on the following programs and lending solutions:

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre:

• Starter Company PLUS
• Summer Company
• Digital Transformation Grant
• Foodpreneur

CIBC:

• Lending options: corporate visa, term loan and operating line of credit
• Specialized lending programs: Owner Occupied Real Estate Program and Canadian Small Business Financing Loan
• Requirements when requesting business borrowing from CIBC
• Community Futures Essex County
• Loans, microloans and customized financing options
• Criteria for lending, including catchment area
• Approval process and administrative fees

Futurpreneur:

• Start-up Program
• Black Entrepreneurship Program
• Side Hustle Program
• Indigenous Entrepreneurs Program
• Newcomer Startup Program

(Powered By: WindsorEssex Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre)

Tuesday, June 20th 10:00 – 11:30am

Often you will hear about needing to optimize for search engines or SEO. But what is it, and how does it impact your digital presence? In this webinar, the Digital Service Squad will explain search engine optimization and the best tactics you as a business can use towards increasing your ranking in the search engine result pages.

What you will learn:

• What is SEO?
• Importance of keywords
• Copywriting for SEO
• On-page tactics
• Off-page tactics
• Technical SEO
• Auditing your website for search engines

(Powered By: Digital Main Street Workshop and Webinar Series)

Thursday, June 22nd 2:00pm – 3:30pm

A good business plan is your road map to success! A business plan is also required when applying for any type of small business financing. Attend this informative session to learn how to develop a business plan that will work for you! This session will cover:

• The required elements of a business plan
• How to break it down into manageable pieces
• Where to gather relevant information
• How to professionally arrange your ideas and research
• What to do with the plan when it's completed

(Powered By: Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre)

Tuesday, June 27th 10:00am – 11:30am

Your customers are on the web. Having a strategy for your online presence allows you to market your small business online so customers can easily find you. In this workshop hosted by the Toronto Digital Service Squad we’ll discuss the importance of getting your business online and where to start with developing your online presence.

What you will learn:

• What is web presence and what platforms you can use to set up your website
• How to create a professionally-designed, responsive website for your business
• How to optimize website content to improve your search engine ranking (SEO)
• Setting up your Google My Business listing and other online directories
• Getting started with social media
• How email marketing can grow your business and encourage repeat customers
• Developing a cohesive brand voice online
• Engaging with customers virtually and building relationships on the web

(Powered By: Digital Main Street)

Wednesday, June 28th 10:00am – 12:00am

Using the Internet to buy and sell goods/services has revolutionized how we do business. E-commerce is a valuable tool that can give your small business a competitive edge and help grow your revenue exponentially.

However, going the e-commerce route also has its challenges, especially from a cybersecurity perspective. This webinar introduces cybersecurity to small online businesses, discusses the challenges, and shares best practices for securing your business from cyber-attacks.

• What is e-commerce and why should I consider it for my small business?
• What is e-commerce security?
• How can I be cyber-security compliant?
• What threats are there to my ecommerce site?
• What should I be aware of while my small business is online?
• What do I need to protect my small business?

(Powered By: Enterprise Toronto)