We are open… and it feels… well…different.  We are slower and more thoughtful about our interactions, we’ve increased our health and safety protocols, installed our engineered controls, all in anticipation to safely welcome you back!   As we begin to emerge from this Lockdown and move through the next phases of reality, we are noticing a slowness, a remembering, and re-learning.  This time collides with a season of what would normally be a fast moving spring and summer… its like the outside world and our inside worlds are a little out of whack.  Our muscle memory sorta needs a patient reminder to slow down,  embrace vulnerability and adapt to a different time.

There’s a buzz out there in Princeton.  In the coffee shops people are talking, on the street neighbours are wondering, in the Skills Centre people are asking.  What’s that buzz?  The buzz is around the ripening of the economic environment for new ventures, new opportunities.  

So we are taking note.  Recently we submitted a fairly hefty grant application in partnership with the Princeton Chamber of Commerce that if successful will bring services for women entrepreneurs.  Now Sharan & Leah have turned their attention to the employment programs, and took a twist to look at the changing world of work.  More and more we are seeing jobs change to swinging shifts, casual designations, temporary work.  On top of this, LIFE IS EXPENSIVE! What a job seeker needs now to survive is an understanding of the “side hustle”  That work that you create that will supplement employment income.  Our new Matrix Program in January will focus on the traditional job seeker activity, but add in the new learning around creating a “side hustle”.

We are also very excited to develop our working relationship with Community Futures and will be offering CFDC workshops in February 2019.

The first to be offered is the Business Model Canvas.  Many businesses fail by not validating their ideas early on with real-life customers. A poorly designed business does not become more profitable or easier to operate through hard work alone. And you could very easily find yourself overworked and with no time to breathe.

You don’t need a 50-page business plan to determine if your idea for a business or social enterprise will be successful. What you need is a business model that clearly demonstrates why your business exists, what job it does and how it’s successful on one-page. You will develop a plan to get out of the building and test your ideas:

• What are the problems, needs and habits of your customer?
• Which of these is your product or service addressing?
• And how does this determine your minimum viable product?

Business Model Canvas seeks to empower the Entrepreneurial spirit by getting out of the muck and mire of business planning and get to the essentials of evaluating business opportunities.

The second will be a day workshop to focus on engaging in delivering an exceptional customer service experience, and using digital media to market your business.

It is an exciting time to be in Princeton.  Opportunities are all around.  Entrepreneurs are getting ready.  We are here to help!