Are you a woman entrepreneur looking to connect with other Eastern Ontario business owners for QUALITY business education and networking?
Then you belong here!
Women in small towns and rural areas are under-served when it comes to networking and business education opportunities. We need to get to know one another, because as a group, we are incredibly strong. Come and find your community of Business Sisters!
By attending this event you will walk away with:
- Timely money-management strategies to help you feel at ease in your business, and in your personal life
- Sound approaches to support your mental health as you ride the rollercoaster of running a business, often while managing family & caregiving obligations
- Connections with partner agencies and professionals willing to invest time and money in you and your business success
Tasty food with gluten-free and vegetarian options, plus a Wine & Cheese Reception
BONUS: you get to network with other Business Sisters and strengthen a community!
Agenda: (Subject to change without notice)
8:00 Registration + healthy breakfast
9:00 Opening: Creating a thriving business ecosystem, with Doreen Ashton Wagner, Executive Director, Business Sisters | Consœurs en Affaires
9:15 Your finances, your business, your financial well-being
How to create a personal financial system that works with your business. In this session, you'll learn practical ideas on how to manage your business finances, keeping things separate to ensure you have a solid financial foundation. Our speaker is Doris Belland, financial literacy educator and coach.
10:30 Break
11:00 Riding the entrepreneurial rollercoaster without losing our sh*t
Navigating the emotional rollercoaster of business and life is not for the faint-hearted. Between the normal ups and downs of entrepreneurial life, studies show that the mental health of women entrepreneurs is particularly vulnerable, as they often carry a heavier emotional load outside the business. This conference will be hosted by Shulamit Ber Levtov, MSW, MA, who has been an entrepreneur for over 27 years and a mental health professional for over 15years. She is a therapist and social worker who specializes in supporting women entrepreneurs.
12:15 Introduction, partners
12h 30 Buffet lunch (vegetarian andgluten-free options)
13:15 Expert tables - Lively discussions on practical, hands-on topics.
Choose a topic for the first 40 minutes and move on to another topic for another 40-minute round! (Interim topics – all to be confirmed)
1. Strategies to make more profit
2. Demystifying accounting and know what is important for your business
3. Are you ready to scale? Why, when and how to take on business debt
4. Protectyour business – death, divorce and other family law issues
5. Will you ever retire? Creating a succession plan foryour business
6. Social media: knowing what is right for your business
7. Updating your website into a customer attraction machine
14:45 Break
15:00 Overcoming systemic barriers to women's entrepreneurship
A conversation with women entrepreneurs who overcame huge barriers in their entrepreneurial careers, not just because they were women, but also because of language, race, age, sexual orientation, occupation, and more. We'll learn from their experiences, and we'll also talk about how to dismantle these systems that prevent women and all marginalized people from creating the business they want and reaching their full potential.
*Bilingual session, facilitated by Doreen Ashton Wagner and Raymonde Beugré, MOFIF.
16:15 Closing remarks - Draws
16:30 Wine and cheese reception
