News from WEOC

October 2020

Small Business Month had a different feel this year. While we were unable to attend in-person events, there were still lots of opportunities to celebrate the creativity and tenacity demonstrated by Canadian female-owned businesses in our communities.

October was also a month to celebrate our members who worked tirelessly through the myriad challenges to ensure that women entrepreneurs have the tools and resources necessary for success.

Our goal over the next few months is to learn more about what women entrepreneurs need to thrive during and post-pandemic. We hope you will assist us in our efforts to hear from as many women as possible by circulating links to our national survey. We are seeking input from women entrepreneurs in businesses large and small in diverse regions and industries.

A link to the survey will land in your in-box in a special edition newsletter in early November. Stay tuned!

Until next time,

Alison

Alison Kirkland, CEO

[email protected]

WEOC Learning Sessions Take a Deep Dive Into Intellectual Property

Get access to topic experts who can advise on specific concerns related to your work with women entrepreneurs.

This seminar will review intellectual property (IP) rights and why they matter so that women can learn how to exploit those assets to their business’s advantage. It will outline what to consider when developing your IP strategy in order to help you extract value from your IP, protect your business from competitors, gain a competitive advantage, or take your business abroad.

Join us for this session on November 5, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. CST. Click here for more information and to register.

Don't forget to register for our third and last CIPO session Traditional Knowledge and IP on December 9, 2020 here.

Stay Up to Date

Our COVID-19 resources page is updated frequently with articles, informational videos, tools and external links to help businesses succeed during the pandemic. You can find links to the federal government’s programs for businesses and links to banks and work-sharing programs. We have resources for small businesses, manufacturers, non-profits and freelancers. You’ll find resources on business pivoting and planning, funding, wage subsidies, staff management, logistics, export and more.

Minister Ng leading virtual trade mission to South Korea

Do you have clients interested in exporting? The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, is leading a group of Canadian businesses on a virtual trade mission to South Korea.

Make sure to follow Minister Ng on social media to stay up-to-date with the trade mission activities.

The next trade mission program will explore business opportunities in South Korea’s highly dynamic market:

November 5, 2020 – Sector-specific events on helping businesses—particularly those in the life sciences, and information and communications technology sectors—take advantage of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) and the opportunities in the region’s digital sector.

Hosted by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APFC), Minister Ng is participating in the mission to support women entrepreneurs seeking to expand their businesses into the South Korean market on November 3 and 4, 2020.

In the meantime, read Virtual Trade Missions: A Post-COVID Reality to learn more about how trade missions have changed in the midst of COVID-19.

Supporting Black-Owned Businesses

When Francine Bhati began to see her social media filled with black boxes for #BlackoutTuesday last June, she was preoccupied with finding a way to preserve the awareness it created beyond a fleeting moment in people’s feeds. She didn’t want to see the support it generated become like so much else online: present for a day and forgotten the next. Read more

Read some of our latest stories here.

Nominations are open for a new Globe and Mail award

The Globe and Mail opened nominations for Report on Business Changemakers, a new award meant to showcase up-and-coming individuals who are transforming business today.

They’re looking to honour people relatively new to the business world (less than 10 years into their careers) who are making a difference with their ideas, accomplishments and impact—in other words, the emerging business leaders that our audience should know about. 50 winners will be chosen and covered editorially in the March issue of Report on Business magazine and online in the Report on Business section of The Globe’s website.

They need your help in finding the best and brightest!

How can you do so?

By nominating an employee, colleague or connection yourself (which you can do by filling out the nomination form, link below)
By encouraging those in your network to nominate individuals. You may wish to do so by sharing:
The award website
This Twitter post
This LinkedIn post

For more information about the awards, and to find the nomination form, please visit www.tgam.ca/Changemakers. Nominations close November 13. This is an editorial award; there is no charge to participate.