Workshops & Events

October 6: Location Le Belge Euro Bistro in Barry's Bay 

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Hiring for Success: Proven Strategies to Recruit, Onboard, & Retain Great Employees presented by Kris Dawson, People & Culture Strategist

This interactive two-hour workshop equips employers, managers, and business owners with practical tools to confidently attract, hire, onboard, and retain high-performing employees. Participants will learn how to develop an effective recruitment strategy, navigate employment legislation, conduct fair and effective interviews, create a positive onboarding experience, and implement proven retention practices that strengthen employee engagement and reduce turnover. Designed with real-world examples and actionable takeaways, this session provides practical solutions that can be implemented immediately in any workplace.

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Session 1: Hiring Essentials – Attracting and Selecting the Right Talent

Hiring the right employee starts long before the interview. In this practical session, participants will learn how to plan an effective recruitment process, create compelling job postings, attract qualified candidates, and confidently navigate screening and selection. The session also covers employer responsibilities, interview best practices, and legal considerations to help organizations make fair, informed hiring decisions while avoiding common pitfalls.

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Session 2 : From Day One to Long-Term Success – Onboarding & Employee Retention

Successfully hiring a great employee is only the beginning. This session explores how effective onboarding lays the foundation for employee engagement, productivity, and retention. Participants will learn practical strategies to create a welcoming onboarding experience, build meaningful workplace connections, and foster a positive culture that encourages employees to grow, contribute, and stay for the long term.

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October 13: Location Pembroke Fire Department in Pembroke

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AI for Main Street Retailers: Practical Ways to Increase Sales, Save Time, and Improve Customer Service presented by Andrew Patricio of BizLaunch

AI is creating exciting new opportunities for independent retailers to improve how they run and grow their businesses. This practical in-person session will show local small businesses how to use AI in simple, everyday ways to increase sales, improve customer service, create better marketing, manage inventory, strengthen customer loyalty, and make smarter financial decisions. Designed specifically for small businesses, it will avoid technical jargon and focus on practical strategies, examples, and prompts business owners can use immediately.

Participants will learn how to use AI to:

• Identify hidden profit opportunities through bundles, upsells, add-ons, and premium offers

• Improve store layout, product displays, signage, and checkout merchandising

• Increase average transaction value through simple cross-selling and promotional ideas

• Create a practical 90-day marketing plan

• Improve social media content, email campaigns, and local promotions

• Analyze product performance and identify best sellers and profit generators

• Turn slow-moving inventory into cash through creative promotions and bundles

• Strengthen customer loyalty with simple referral and repeat-customer ideas

• Improve pricing, margins, expenses, cash flow, and profitability decisions

• Create a personalized growth plan with clear next steps

By the end of the session, participants will leave with practical AI prompts, ideas, and a simple action plan they can use in their own business right away.

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October 20: Location Horton Community Centre in Horton Township

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Session 1: Hacking the Human: How Cybercriminals Trick Small Businesses presented by Travis Lothar Czech of Solis Indago

Cybersecurity is often a people problem. This practical 60-minute session will show small business owners, staff, and municipal partners how cybercriminals use social engineering tactics like phishing, fake invoices, impersonation, and urgent requests to target organizations. We'll cover real-world examples relevant to our area, how to spot the red flags, low-cost protections, and simple response steps.

Key Takeaways:

• Recognize modern social engineering attacks (phishing, smishing, vishing, etc.).

• Understand why small and rural businesses are commonly targeted.

• Apply practical, immediate protections like MFA, verification habits, and backups.

• Build a "pause and verify" culture.

• Know the first steps if something suspicious happens.

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Session 2: Community Marketing & Brand Building presented by Mathew O'Leary of Remind Media

Most businesses don't have a marketing problem—they have a visibility problem. In this practical and actionable session, Matt O'Leary will share the foundational strategies that help businesses attract more customers and build trust within their communities. Key Takeaways:

• Build a brand customers recognize and trust

• Improve local visibility and online presence

• Generate more reviews, referrals, and repeat business

• Focus marketing efforts where they produce the greatest return

• Identify practical actions that can be implemented immediately

Using his Build + Grow framework, attendees will learn how to strengthen their brand, improve their online presence, and focus their marketing efforts on activities that generate real results. Participants will leave with practical strategies they can implement immediately, regardless of business size or marketing budget.

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October 27: Location Ottawa River Barn in Whitewater Region

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Session 1: The Operational Edge: Systematizing Your Business for Growth and Consistency presented by Dez Bair-Patel of Integrated Health

An organization is only as good as its operational consistency. In this workshop, learn how to move from ad-hoc tasks to a reliable system by creating clear, accessible policies and procedures. We will explore how to document your processes so that your team is empowered to deliver consistent service excellence, regardless of who is in the frontline seat, reducing confusion and setting the stage for business scale.​

• Understand the strategic value of operationalizing business processes to ensure consistency and quality.

• Identify critical areas of your business that require standardized policies and procedures.

• Learn best practices for creating, storing, and maintaining an accessible operations manual that you and your team can actually use.

• Develop a framework for regular policy review to keep documentation relevant and compliant as your business grows.

 

Session 2: Better Together: Building Strategic Partnerships Through Co-Marketing presented by Erin Norris of Ottawa Valley Tourist Association (OVTA)

Strong partnerships can help businesses expand their reach, increase brand awareness, and attract new customers without significantly increasing marketing costs. This interactive workshop including a partnership activity lab explores how to identify compatible partners, build mutually beneficial relationships, and develop co-marketing initiatives that create value for everyone involved. Through a collaborative group activity, participants will work together to design a co-marketing strategy that can be adapted to their own organizations.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:   ​

• Understand the benefits and value of co-marketing for business growth.

• Identify organizations and businesses that make strong strategic partners.

• Evaluate partnership opportunities based on shared audiences and complementary goals.

• Develop mutually beneficial marketing objectives.

• Select co-marketing tactics that maximize reach and engagement.

• Build a simple co-marketing action plan with defined roles and responsibilities.

• Measure the success of collaborative marketing initiatives using meaningful performance indicators.

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