That's now a profitable arm of their business. Ian Dudley, who owns Orange STEM education with his wife Julia Dudley, fittingly said, “Don’t be afraid to learn something new.” Their company has been teaching tech to Ottawa kids for 20 years and had to pivot to online instruction to stay alive. “It goes back to innovation, technology, and different processes.” Isabelle: What lessons did the pandemic teach you as a business owner/leader? “Something is changing around working,” he added, suggesting small businesses also need to think about how they operate in the current environment. “The problem is more systemic than we think,” Cormier said, noting that an aging population, less immigration and a changing work environment are all contributing factors. The business owners also mentioned difficulty filling employment opportunities and minimum wage increases. “You may have someone in your neighbourhood, but you don’t know,” he said. She suggested that investing in local suppliers could help small businesses feel less precarious.Ĭormier sees a role for Desjardins to help local suppliers grow in spite of the complexity of the supply chain issue. “I can scale, but I won’t because the economy can’t support the business going forward,” she said. But supply chain issues could bring her operation to a halt at any moment. Glenn’s biggest challenge wasn’t losing business - the pandemic actually gave her a boost. Isabelle: What are the big challenges business owners are facing when it comes to running their business? Local landscaper Jennifer Glenn of Pick, Plant & Prune got right into the nitty gritty when she asked, “Are there ways to use our money more efficiently while I’m holding it, like investing?” Small businesses also need financial advice. ”You can’t Google, ‘What’s the next best step for us?’” Jennifer Glenn, owner of Pick, Plant, Prune talks small business with Desjardins CEO Guy Cormier “We’re at the point where there are different avenues we could take,” said Sian Richard of Bad Dog Co., a vintage clothing store focused on sustainability. Whether it’s developing a new strategy or efficiently managing an influx of cash, they want advice from experts like Desjardins. The resounding reply to this question was mentorship, mentorship, mentorship. ![]() ![]() Isabelle: What do social enterprises and local entrepreneurs need from their financial institutions? They were joined by well-known local business champions Michael Wood of Algonquin College, Jesse Card of Youth Ottawa, and L-SPARK’s Stef Reid, who all participated in the dialogue with the entrepreneurs.Īs you’d expect, these local go-getters didn’t waste the opportunity to speak their minds. The discussion was led by Startup Canada CEO Kayla Isabelle and Desjardins CEO Guy Cormier. The six small business owners who came to Little Victories were there to discuss how institutions such as Desjardins can help them regain their footing and tackle some of the most pressing challenges that businesses face coming out of the pandemic. The financial cooperative awarded 150 small businesses each a $20,000 grant to support their growth, ultimately injecting a total of $3 million into local economies across the country. Little Victories Coffee Roasters is often filled with patrons grabbing a hot cup of joe or students deep into their work, but in late May a different group filled the local cafe, keen to discuss the state of small businesses in Ottawa.ĭesjardins hosted a roundtable discussion with some of Ottawa’s small businesses who were recipients of a GoodSpark Grant.
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