Writing your first business plan is a major step in putting your small business on the map. The point of your plan is to articulate the concepts that inspired you to start your business as well as evaluate potential hurdles like competition and funding issues. Whether you are seeking start-up capital or just want a solid road map to guide you through the early years of your business, a workable small business plan will help you work toward your goals. In Part 2 we’ll cover Operations, Financials, Critical Path and other library resources that can assist you with your business plan.

Join us on May 26 between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to get advice and guidance on how businesses can break down prejudice, promote unity, and foster compassion in our communities. Experts Monica Henao and Jonas Stark from Get REAL will provide insights on ways that leaders can combat 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination, racism, and bullying.

Are you ready to invest in new ideas that could help your business capture more market value? We understand that it's tough for small and midsize enterprises with lean operations to allocate scarce resources to research and development (R&D). So, we've turned to an alternative approach. Sandbox Centre, in partnership with New Territory​, invites you to join us for an experiential program where your customer-facing employees will learn to uncover, explore, and explain new business opportunities before the competition recognizes them. No formal R&D process? No problem. Your sales and customer facing employees will leave this program with the skills and supporting resources they need to act as your new R&D team by empathizing with customers, analyzing meaningful information, and discerning how your business can capitalize on market changes. Still not convinced? According to the Conference Board of Canada​, Canada gets a "D" and ranks 15th out of 16 peer countries when it comes to research and development (R&D) spending. Hopefully we're not the first to tell you that the risks associated with staying the same outweigh the risks of spending on research and innovation. WHAT IS COVERDED? 1. Noticing (Learn to Empathize): How to leverage day-to-day customer interactions to identify early signals of market change, trends relevant to your business and customer pain points. 2. Inquiring (Learn to Analyze): How to ask good questions to make sense of change and trends. 3. Forecasting (Learn to Capitalize):How to imagine future scenarios (outcomes) for your business by creating and implementing new solutions, services and/or sales tactics to capitalize on change and trends. 4. Framing (Learn to Visualize): How a front-line employee can communicate effectively with an audience of decision-makers and compel them to seize new opportunities by telling a good story. UPCOMING DATES & INVESTMENT This program will be offered in a hybrid learning format: Session 1: Thursday June 2nd, 2:00pm to 4:00pm (in-person AT SANDBOX CENTRE) Session 2: Thursday June 9th, 2:00pm to 3:00pm (online) Session 3: Thursday June 16th, 2:00pm to 3:00pm (online) Session 4: Thursday June 23rd, 2:00pm to 3:00pm (online) Session 5: Thursday June 30th, 2:00pm to 4:00pm (in-person AT SANDBOX CENTRE) INVESTMENT - Program Price: $1000.00+ tax for up to 2 representatives of your company to participate - Already a Sandbox Member​? Free to participate WHO SHOULD JOIN? Customer-facing employees (sales, customer service) of small businesses with fewer than 20 total employees and no formal research and development or innovation process/department. IN-PERSON SESSIONS WILL BE HELD AT SANDBOX CENTRE - 24 MAPLE AVENUE, BARRIE, Second floor of the Barrie Bus Terminal. Unique zoom meeting link for online sessions to be provided upon registration via calendar invitation for each participant. To ensure all dates are accounted for when registered, please insert each session date into your chosen calendar platform with the accompanied link sent out.

Welcome to the World of Entrepreneurship! The Starting Your Business sessions are geared towards those considering entrepreneurship and those who have already decided to start their own business and are ready to take the next steps. Sessions are held in a small group setting and led by a Small Business Consultant. Topics include: Assessing the feasibility of your business idea The pros and cons of different forms of business (Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation) Protecting yourself and the business HST Allowable deductions Sources of financing

Writing your first business plan is a major step in putting your small business on the map. The point of your plan is to articulate the concepts that inspired you to start your business as well as evaluate potential hurdles like competition and funding issues. Whether you are seeking start-up capital or just want a solid road map to guide you through the early years of your business, a workable small business plan will help you work toward your goals. In Part 1 we’ll cover an introduction to planning, the contents of a plan, Executive Summary, Company Overview, Marketing Strategy and an introduction to the library’s market research tools.

Welcome to the World of Entrepreneurship! The Starting Your Business sessions are geared towards those considering entrepreneurship and those who have already decided to start their own business and are ready to take the next steps. Sessions are held in a small group setting and led by a Small Business Consultant. Topics include: Assessing the feasibility of your business idea The pros and cons of different forms of business (Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation) Protecting yourself and the business HST Allowable deductions Sources of financing

Writing your first business plan is a major step in putting your small business on the map. The point of your plan is to articulate the concepts that inspired you to start your business as well as evaluate potential hurdles like competition and funding issues. Whether you are seeking start-up capital or just want a solid road map to guide you through the early years of your business, a workable small business plan will help you work toward your goals. In Part 2 we’ll cover Operations, Financials, Critical Path and other library resources that can assist you with your business plan.