by MacAndrew Clarke
On Saturday, October 1st, 2016, the Network of Black Business & Professional Women (NB2PW) and the Canadian Immigrant Women held their 3rd Annual Small Business Women’s Expo at the Westin Hotel in downtown Ottawa, from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. In addition to local businesses showcasing their products in the exhibition hall, there was an expert panel discussion on the topic of “Globalization and Your Business”, as well as workshops covering key business topics such as “Facebook marketing 101”, and legal tips for doing business online.
Black Ottawa Scene took the opportunity to speak with Dwania Peele, Owner and Executive Director of the Small Business Women’s Expo. ”I want to market this event to the new immigrants who are here and who want to start a business,” said Dwania. “I want people to leave with knowledge on how to start a business, and knowledge that the services featured here are easily accessible to them.”
In addition to businesses in real estate, travel consulting, and web design, there were other services featured such as life and career coaching, educational business programs, and local pilot projects headed by the City of Ottawa aimed at helping new businesses get off the ground. For example, Sarah Dawes is the owner of Embrace Your Destiny, a company that provides people with the “tools to grow outside of work”, according to Sarah. In short, the goal is to help people pursue their occupational passion while taking the necessary steps to ensure success in their new career or second career. The Business Programs is a series of courses offered by the Ottawa Public Library which are designed to guide and educate new business owners on a variety of key issues such as proper social media management, international market research, and the fundamentals of business branding. Lastly, the City of Ottawa has been conducting an Innovation Pilot Project that helps new businesses bring their product to the wider community, while having their product/business ideas expertly examined much in the same way that medium-to-large size businesses would hire focus groups and requisition industry market research and testing. The main advantage common to all of these services is that the cost is low, thereby granting easier access to expertise and tools that would otherwise be costly.
In addition to services being promoted in the exhibition hall, workshops were held in meeting rooms throughout the day. One workshop touched on the importance of copyright and intellectual property when marketing a business online. Another workshop was hosted by one of the panel experts, Elcho Stewart, who spoke on Femmeonomics 911 and the common financial pitfalls women can avoid by ensuring that their occupational skills are current, and remaining vigilant by making sound financial investments that guarantee a sustained way of life in the future.
A panel discussion on “Globalization and Your Businesses” was presented with the following industry experts: Dr. Helen Ofosu, Career Coach and Consultant of I/O Advisory Services; Elcho Stewart, Founder & President of the Network of Black Professional Women and Weblife’s Insurance and Investment Advisor; Meagan Tanner, Strategic Partner Manager at Google; and Praveeni Perera, CEO of Professional Edge Consulting. The discussion was moderated by Barbara Laurenstin, host and researcher of “Entre nous”, a French TV show talk show on Rogers Media, which covers activities happening in Ottawa as well interviewing local experts from various industry backgrounds. Key messages from the panel discussion included the importance of having an online presence for your local business in order to remain competitive with foreign companies, that may be offering the same service but in a more accessible and user-friendly way. The internet and search engines were highlighted as game changers which levelled the playing field for all business owners; the emphasis was that an effective online presence and identity has little to do with advertising, and more about how content resonates with and speaks to users’ needs.
In conclusion, the 3rd annual Small Business Women’s Expo was full of useful information and access to services that are necessary for a local business to have a good start, reasonable support, and knowledge on how navigate the business field in Ottawa and online. More information regarding some of the services and programs featured in this news piece can be found by clicking on the links throughout the article.
About the writer
MacAndrew Clarke holds a B.A. (Hons) in Political Science from Carleton University. Fluently bilingual in English and French, he has several years diverse communications and marketing experience from within the public, private, and non-profit sectors. MacAndrew Clarke has been a member of The Academy since December of 2015. He can be reached at: [email protected].