Small Business Month kicks off next week, and as all good businesswomen and men know, events are a valuable resource for networking, building relationships, and moving your business forward.
Here are a few you won’t want to miss taking place across the country throughout October.
- The CIX Mixer is a free event leading up to the Canadian Innovation Exchange in November. This is a great space for meeting people in the tech and innovation industry, and a valuable opportunity to mix and mingle with thought leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and corporate partners. The event features the CIX Top 20 CEO Series, highlighting the chief executive officers of Canada’s most innovative companies. Alumni include Gallop Labs, PostBeyond Inc., and Wealthsimple. This year, the mixer will host Statflo, “customer happiness experts” that have developed a platform to help retailers remain relevant to customers through useful, raw data that helps grows in-store traffic and increase sales.
- WE FOR SHE: Championing the Next Generation Conference takes place in Vancouver. It functions as a space where business leaders and professionals discuss ways to increase the economic impact of women and advance gender equality in the province of British Columbia, and “will be one of North America’s largest gatherings of women’s organizations, companies, experts, business leaders, advocates, and young women.” Students and young women will be able to get a better understanding of their future career options, and how they can achieve their goals by tapping into the expertise of business role models.
- The City of Toronto Small Business Forum 2016 is also free, so if you’re a small biz on a tight budget, this is definitely an event you shouldn’t miss. This year’s speaker list includes AquaMobile’s CEO and Founder Dianna Goodwin, Devon Brooks, Co-Founder of Blo Blow Dry Bar, and serial entrepreneur Jeremy Potvin of World of Angus. The full agenda will be released soon and the event’s core focus is to help entrepreneurs learn about how various technologies and organizations can help streamline processes and grow your business.
- Think Canada Global Business Summit 2016 takes place in Niagara Falls. The event welcomes international and foreign business leaders to gain the knowledge required to make the right business investment decisions. The conference provides custom B2B meetings, as well as seminars on “How to Do Business in Canada”, offering a global networking opportunity aimed at helping companies grow their business.
- The President’s Tour takes place in Montreal, Vancouver, Quebec, and via live webcast. Michael Denham is BDC’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and will be making a cross-country trip to meet with entrepreneurs to talk about the “productivity gap” and how it’s effecting the bottom line for small and medium-sized businesses. As the only Canadian bank dedicated to the progression and funding of entrepreneurs, this event will highlight the results of an in-depth study on the productivity of 1,500 Canadian business owners, and Canada’s first ever business productivity benchmarking tool that BDC will be launching in the coming weeks.
- Moving to a Million is a workshop and networking luncheon series by Women on the Move, which takes place in Toronto. The workshops are designed to educate women on how to increase business revenue and ultimately reach the one million dollar goal in annual income by honing in on networking as a useful tool – not just a social skill. You’ll learn about how women are transforming the way they approach business, how to attract new clients, and build sound business partnerships.
Check out Eventbrite for a full list of business-focused events taking place across the country throughout the year.