• Bridges to Better Business

Cornwall Ontario – Bridges to Better Business is back with a full day of guest speakers to celebrate Small Business Month on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. This is the 9th year that the event has been organized by the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre, the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, and ACC Futures.

The event promises to be a dynamic full-day of information for business owners across the region to network, with opportunities to learn from industry experts and be inspired by keynote speaker Marc Lafleur.

“Building three businesses from the ground up has given me a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed in today’s competitive business landscape,” says Marc Lafleur.  “I’m excited to be sharing my story in Cornwall.”

Marc Lafleur is an entrepreneur from Cornwall that has been recognized for his business achievement by CBC, the Globe and Mail, Harry Rosen and most notably Dragon’s Den. He took his company truLOCAL from a start-up to an eventual successful $16.7 million acquisition — all within five years.

“With the day starting off with an inspiring presentation from Mr. Lafleur, Bridges will be a great opportunity for all businesses to gain insights and build best practices,” says Shauna Baggs, Business Consultant with the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre. “Consider this event an investment in your business!”

This year Bridges will focus on employee attraction and retention.  Finding and keeping staff is an on-going challenge for businesses of all sizes, across all sectors in the region.  The daylong event will feature a series of guest speakers, catered lunch and business networking.

“The strength of our community lies in our passionate and varied small business sectors,” says Angela Bero, Cornwall Chamber of Commerce. “The lineup of speakers this year is impressive and will address the challenges that are facing our local business owners in finding employees.”

Business owners from across Cornwall, Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Akwesasne are encouraged to participate.

“We understand the challenges business owners are experiencing in relation to labor shortages and this year’s Bridges event will provide insight and tools to help business owners address these on-going hurtles,” stated Angela Vinet, ACC Futures.

Register Today

Bridges to Better Business will take place Wednesday October 19 from 8:00am to 3:00pm at the Ontario Power Generation Visitor Centre. There is a small a small fee to attend to help cover the cost of food.

Registration is limited to 75 seats. Register Early online to avoid missing out!

Event Schedule

Bridges to Better Business features several presentations and networking opportunities. Participants will receive a continental breakfast and light lunch. Presentations include:

9:00am – 10:00am – Keynote Speaker – Marc Lafleur

Lafleur will share his personal entrepreneurial journey, including his new way to approach business, leadership for exponential growth and success.

10:10am – 11:10 am – Amy Davies, First 30

What Employees REALLY Want: Practical Solutions for Attracting, Engaging and Retaining Your Workforce

11:10am – 12:00pm – Richard Webster, St. Lawrence College

Learn how to connect with over 400 international students and hire new graduates.

1:00pm – 1:30pm – ZOHO

Digitize your business practices to drive employee productivity and employee engagement.

1:30pm – 2:30pm – Jessica Bordeau, Spark Synergy

How to engage your team through communication, team development, progressive leadership.

Additional information can be found at: https://businessenterprisecentre.ca/grow/programs/webinars/

About Bridges to Better Business

The Bridges to Better Business event was created to celebrate Small Business Month by providing information about current issues, emerging best practices and to provide a networking opportunity for local business people. Bridges to Better Business is organized by the Cornwall & Area Chamber of Commerce, the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre, and ACCFutures. This unique execution of Bridges to Better Business is supported by sponsors, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Weaving Baskets Group, Zoho, SDG Counties, Cornwall Economic Development and the Eastern Ontario Training Board.

2022 marks the eighth consecutive year that the Bridges event has been held in Cornwall.

You can learn more about the three organizations organizing the event below:

About the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre

The Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre is operated by Cornwall Economic Development in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. It provides information and support to entrepreneurs during start‐up and growth stages of business operation, in addition to holding a number of seminars and workshops on timely topics.

About ACCFutures

Founded in 1987 ACCFutures, formerly Cornwall & the Counties Community Futures Development, is an independent, not-for-profit social enterprise. ACCFutures not only offers a wide range of funding, financing, and capacity building services to the local business communities—with proven impact—it has also undertaken an innovative Indigenous-focused partnerships program which brings Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners together for a stronger economic future. ACCFutures employs local staff and is governed by a volunteer board of directors, made up of local residents representing the community.

About the Chamber of Commerce

The Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce is the unified voice of the region’s business community speaking towards growth, leadership and innovation. With direction from the elected board of directors, the Chamber looks to continuously progress the community through political advocacy, knowledge-based development and innovative opportunities.

Presented in partnership with the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario