Grow Your Business Expo

The countdown has begun 12 days until the Grow your Business Expo. Today, Gillian, Gary and Tanya shared tons of details about the event on The Peaks Chats morning programme. Chorus REALLY supports small business :) podcast of interview coming soon.

Social Media Workshop, MasterMinding Series, Grow Your Business Expo and More!

The 2nd Annual Grow Your Business Expo has kicked off! Please join us for 8 dynamic speakers, 12 educational exhibitors - all with 1 mission - to HELP you GROW your business!

A BIG Thank you to Sarah Ritchie for providing her expertise in creating the platform to promote and communicate about this event! When I need Social media assistance, Sarah is on my speed dial :)

Thank you to all of the sponsors, supporters and attendees of the 2012 Expo. The speakers did a fantastic job delivering talks that were power packed with tips. Thank you beautiful Eva for helping with the registration table! Most importantly, thank you to the attendees for taking a day out of their busy lives to Grow Their Business! See you 2013!

We're on tomorrow at 10am at Birchview Dunes Elementary School, 1315 River Rd W, Wasaga Beach. See you soon!

At 3:30pm get ready for the networking social held on location at Birchview Dunes Elementary School. Growing Your Businesses relies on effectively communicating what you offer to others. Business colleagues can become some of your greatest promoters in driving solid, "ready to buy" traffic to your door. Catered by Boston Pizza, this component will provide opportunity for attendees to meet other business owners and drivers in the area in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. Be sure to bring any marketing material including brochures and business cards so that you can share what you have to offer with others.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Fred Hacker, Founder HGR Graham Partners. Fred Hacker is the Managing Partner of HGR Graham Partners LLP, a 27-lawyer law firm with offices in Barrie, Midland, Orillia, Penetanguishene and Wasaga Beach. Fred has practiced law in Simcoe County for almost 40 years with focuses on corporate, commercial and real estate law. Fred is the Chair of the Midland Cultural Centre, a member of the Midland Rotary Club, an Elder at Knox Presbyterian Church Midland, a Trustee of the Webber Foundation, Honorary Chair of Habitat for Huronia North Simcoe and a frequent speaker (including being keynote speaker at the Planned Giving Council meeting this year). He is the recipient of numerous recognitions including "Y Person of the Year" by the Simcoe-Muskoka YMCA.

At 2:45pm get ready for our Motivational Keynote with Fred Hacker! "Time Magazine has recognized Walt Disney as one of the 100 most important people in history. The Disney Empire is now worth well in excess of 22 billion dollars. And it all started with a mouse. Fred Hacker will explore why he adopted Walt Disney for his business model and what Walt Disney's ideas on business had to do with his success. The talk will look at several methods of approaching a problem and point out how the Disney method can apply to any business."

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Ross Lamont of Lamont and Associates. Ross graduated from the University of Guelph with a B.A. in Economics in 1978. He then began a 33 year career at the Bruce Nuclear Power development. During his time at the Bruce Site Ross managed various departments including finance, business planning, business services and materials management. After retiring Ross began his own company, Lamont & Associates Consulting. He provides leadership training as well as public affairs consultation. He sits on the Board of Directors for Meridian Credit Union, the Saugeen Golf Course and the Bruce County Historical Society.

Grow Your Business Expo in the news. . .

Reminder about the upcoming GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO this coming Saturday Oct. 13th,10 am - 4 pm at Birchview Dunes Elementary in Wasaga Beach. Engage with 12 expert speakers on a variety of topics to help you start up and grow your business. Register online at http://www.whatsuphut.com to save $5 on your admission. Network with business owners from around the region, get great tips, inspired and gather local resources! 100% of proceeds are supporting http://www.sopudep.org See you there!

At 2:00pm hear all about 'Working With Generation Y'. It seems that Generation Y (ages 15 to 30) has caused an unusually wide generation gap. They are entering the work force in great numbers and are not about to go away. They are different and success will come to those who can figure how to effectively tap into their young energy. Those who attend this session can understand not only what Gen Y is about but also why. They will get some valuable hints on how to be successful in leading this group. It will also be a fun and entertaining session.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Sarah Ritchie started her career in computers and online technology 15 years ago, building upon her University Studies in Sociology at Bishop’s and Queen’s University. She went on to work corporately leading technical teams in sales and marketing and also worked in business development and joint ventures for an online coach training institute. More recently, Sarah started her next venture offering a unique combination of life and business coaching with a specialty in tech-based marketing to help small business professionals and entrepreneurs improve their social media skills, increase productivity and gross sales revenue. Sarah Ritchie Inc.

Live at 1:15pm on October 13th -- Social media can be a confusing maze of technical 'mumbo-jumbo'. You know you need a presence, but wonder what is the most effective use of your time, resources and energy. Join Sarah to learn 3 steps to your social media success.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Tanya Snell, Director of Outreach Marketing Group and What's Up Hut, Expo Coordinator. Tanya launched Outreach Marketing Group in 2010 with her first educational show in the Expo series. That event drew over 60 business owners from the local Wasaga Beach market to enjoy 3 keynote speakers. Over $600 was donated as a result to our newly opening Youth Centre. Since then, in capacity of both consultant and contractor, Tanya has enjoyed helping many business owners and leaders to substantially grow their business through effective marketing techniques. Her 15 + years of community development and marketing strategies combined with her engaging presentation skills, will deliver powerful, simple practices that you can put into place to Grow Your Business now.

1:00 pm is Marketing time! As service providers, we work hard to get new clients in our door, but how much energy do we put into keeping them loyal? Learn powerful, simple tips that you can put into practice to keep your clients loyal and happily referring your services to others.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: C. William (Bill) French of Critical Thinking and Associates. Critical Thinking Associates (CTA) is a unique management consulting, facilitation and training company based in Ontario, Canada. Combining critical thinking principles, academic teaching experience and a commanding scope of operational, executive and subject matter expert experience in corporate planning, training, operational and production management, quality, change ...management, facilitation, values technology, and leadership, CTA collaborates with clients to design and develop their own in-house solutions tailored to the natural personality of the client’s business. We excel at facilitating our clients to generate their own solutions creating alignment, buy-in and commitment to carry through, measure and implement the results and deliverables that are meaningful to the client organization. See more

At 12pm on October 13th join speaker Gary Cerentola and discover how your personal values drive your business. We will show you a unique way to get to the critical success factors of your business, identify key barriers and drive for meaningful results using tried and true worksheets and best practices in basic business planning to get your business humming. We`ll show you how to develop a simple dashboard to monitor the critical few measures you need to impact your business growth.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHTLIGHT: Gary Cerentola, Hon BSc. Chemistry, P.Eng., MBA, Critical Thinking and Associates. CTA collaborates with clients to design and develop their own in-house solutions tailored to the natural personality of the client’s business. We help clients, understand how their values matter, uncover the innate barriers of their business efforts and focus on critical success factors while effectively measuring performance in order to grow their businesses in a sustainable and meaningful way.

On Saturday, October 13th at 12:00 pm, it's all about Business Planning! This presentation will cover the how, what and why of the customer service profit chain methodology used to build customer service capability that lasts. You will learn how your business processes can be tweaked to incorporate customer service capability and how your employees can be motivated to create the wow customer experience generating loyal customers that will lead to more profits.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: John joined HGR Lawyers in June, 2007. He focuses his practice in the area of corporate and commercial law where he advises and assists clients in a wide variety of business related matters including setting up and organizing corporations, buying and selling businesses, contract drafting and review, reorganizations, commercial leasing and shareholder agreements. John is the current President of the Southern Georgian Bay Chamber of Commerce and has served on the Board of Directors for the YMCA of Simcoe / Muskoka (where he continues to volunteer his time in various capacities).

Register Now for the Grow Your Business Expo at: http://www.whatsuphut.com/grow-your-business-expo.html Please Indicate Which Sessions You Plan to Attend. Space is limited so book early to make sure you are registered for the sessions of your choice and have reserved a seat. 10:30 am Start Up Strategies and Funding Sources... 11: 15 pm Tax Planning and Financial Growth Plans 12:00 Customer Service and 1:00 pm Zero Budget Approaches, Social Media and Google Ranking 2:00 pm Generation Y - How to Work With and Motivate this Generation 3:00 pm Everything I Learned From Walt Disney 4:00 pm Networking Social Catered by Boston Pizza See more

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Jim McPherson, CA and Owen Quilty, CA formed Quilty McPherson LLP Chartered Accountants on January 1, 2011. The partnership focuses on small to medium size business clients, personal income tax and not-for-profit organizations. Jim received his Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University in 1995 and earned his Chartered Accountant Designation in 1999. He worked in industry as a Controller for 10 years and has spent 7 years in public accounting. Jim is the current Secretary/Treasurer of the Southern Georgian Bay Chamber of Commerce and the current Treasurer of the Georgian-Trent District of the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons.

On October 13th at 11:15am it's all about Financial Planning!! Attend to hear a detailed overview of fundamental organizational issues for business owners and professionals from a legal and accounting perspective, including discussion on sole proprietorship, partnerships and corporations. Gain a greater understanding from an accounting and legal perspective of the differences between operating as a sole proprietor and a corporation. Also: get an overview of how different business entities are taxed and hear common ways to reduce taxes payable; learn the importance of shareholder / partnership agreements for those involved in businesses with multiple owners; find out the potential benefits of having a holding corporation.

Get a sneak peak of the upcoming expo with Tanya Snell:

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Tillie MacDonald is the Manager, Centre for Business and Economic Development and has lived in Collingwood for 20 years. She has spent many years in both the for profit and not-for-profit sectors providing support for businesses. Her consummate belief is that a strong, healthy community can be achieved by the sharing of knowledge, skills and time. Tillie has held many volunteer positions within the community including the Rotary Club of Collingwood where she is the past-president and Director of the Collingwood Chamber of Commerce. Register to her Tillie speak at: http://www.whatsuphut.com/grow-your-business-expo.html

Find out about Local Resources for Planning and Funding: Learn about the importance of a meaningful Business Plan that the new entrepreneur can understand and follow. The need to be passionate about your business. The need for mentoring. The need for stick-to-it-ness. The need to give back to your community.

Register online and save $5.00 on admission. Book your sessions now to reserve your seat. http://www.whatsuphut.com/grow-your-business-expo.html

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHTLIGHT: As Manager of the South Georgian Bay Small Business Enterprise Centre, Gillian provides resources, advice and support to local small businesses during their development, retention and operation. Gillian has spent the last three years assisting start-up organizations in the development and launch of new ventures, including assessing opportunities, creating business plans and executing marketing strategies. Gillian has extensive project management and management consulting experience. She has worked with organizations throughout the Unites States, as well as in the U.K., Germany and Sweden. Gillian has consulted for the public and private sectors, including the automotive and manufacturing, financial services, insurance, and real estate sectors.

Business owners and management teams are invited to attend this informative event on Saturday October 13th 2012. The event runs from 10 am to 4 pm. Attend for some or all - it's up to you. Bring a stack of business cards and information about your business to share on our "attendee info table".

Ever wonder why some people can create documents in Microsoft Office quicker than others? Come out and learn tricks with Lynette McMaster in Word, PowerPoint and Excel. They will help your business create professional looking documents in less time. Get Your Work Done Faster with McMaster!

Lynette McMaster is going to help you learn Simple Microsoft Office tips on Word, Excel and PowerPoint to increase your office productivity. Secure your spot at http://www.whatsuphut.com

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Lynette McMaster is the owner of McMaster Business Solutions. Lynette started the business in 2010. McMaster Business Solutions helps small business owners reduce their stress in the office by completing the office work for them, helping them get organized or training them on various systems. Lynette has taken her 20+ years corporate experience to help small businesses. Lynette also is a teacher at Georgian College - South Georgian Bay campus. Lynette teaches Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). As well, Lynette has taught How to Start a Small Business. Lynette enjoys helping small businesses succeed and takes pride in her work. Get Your Work Done Faster, Call McMaster!

The Mobile Revolution is underway. It has not been the Internet as usual for quite some time. Smartphones and tablets are replacing desktop and laptop computers at an unprecedented rate and these search results are NOT dependant on traditional websites. Find out how you can be a leader in this exciting change. Never before have small and home-based businesses had the opportunity to dominate large conglomerates nor small tourism locations the ability to compete with international destinations. The options are amazing. Join us to find out what your competition world-wide does not know and how you can take advantage of being first in this digital mobile marketing process for pennies a day.

"Google performs 7.5 billion searches per month in Canada of which over 1 billion are done on a mobile device. Less than 14% of businesses in North America have a proper mobile presence". ~ Laura Snell

Gary Cerantola, one of the speaker's at the upcoming Grow Your Business Expo has a FREE Customer Service Readiness test for your business. Click below and take the test before the event and then attend his seminar at 12pm on October 13th.

Watch Rogers - Georgian Bay Life at 11am this Thursday to get the latest details about the upcoming Expo.

Registrations for the event are coming in! Be sure to sign up at www.whatsuphut.com for the speakers that you are planning to attend to avoid disappointment!

Registration for the Grow Your Business Expo on Sat. Oct. 13th has now opened. Limited space in each of the talks. Don't be disappointed - ensure your business is present to gain the benefits. www.whatsuphut.com to register....

GROW YOUR BUSINESS EXPO SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT: Laura Snell has specialized in the Google Local/Mobile Search for over 6 years and has over 25 years experience developing and marketing sophisticated Information Technology solutions. Laura is a past President of the Wasaga Beach Women's Business Association and has a passion for educating and empowering small business owners with knowledge about the Internet that can help their businesses make money. She is equally passionate about business owners marketing collectively online to take advantage of the 'power in numbers' opportunities that exist in the digital revolution that is taking place right now on the Internet. Laura was one of the select individuals to be invited by Google to attend the first ever Canadian Google Conference in Toronto last summer.

Grow Your Business Expo in conjunction with http://www.whatsuphut.com is a business growth and networking event taking place in Wasaga Beach Sat. Oct. 13th 2012. 100% of the proceeds are going to http://www.sopudep.org. Check it out - like us on Facebook to receive updates and sign up (just click on the image or 'What's Up Hut' below) if you are a business owner in the area! See you there!

Click below to see our speaker's line up. We have something for every small business!

Connect with local resources and business services at 'Grow Your Business Expo' on October 13th to learn how to advertise, promote and grow your business.

Prosper from a day-long line up of innovative and educational speakers developed to empower local business owners with information they can use to GROW THEIR BUSINESSES! Hear from experts and meet business resources who can educate you on how to Grow Your Business. Learn quick application techniques and tools to increase Productivity, improve Quality and increase Sales while decreasing Costs. Network with potential clients right at the event

What's Up in Wasaga Beach. . .

The Grow Your Business Expo is an event that anyone who runs a business, owns a business or is thinking of starting a business, should attend. Tanya Snell, Event Coordinator

C'mon out to 'Grow Your Business Expo' in Wasaga Beach on Saturday, October 13th! Get your tickets in advance at Royal Bank. See you soon!