Tis’ the season to gear up for 2022! Ring in the new year right by learning something new to accelerate your entrepreneurial journey. At Invest Ottawa, we aim to support and host various workshops, networking events, and community events to help our local entrepreneurs and businesses excel.
Whether you’re an up-and-coming entrepreneur looking for resources to begin your venture or an established business needing a refresher on specific business topics, our community has a range of opportunities designed to help you level up. We’re all about helping Ottawa entrepreneurs make informed decisions about starting and growing their businesses.
We’ve highlighted ten events worth considering this holiday season.
1. Business Planning Tips: 12 Legal Twists of 2021
Date: December 2
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Presented by Invest Ottawa Sponsor, MDK Business Law, this highly interactive webinar is designed for an Invest Ottawa audience (Teach, Talk, Try). Participants will receive practical guidance from the presenters on legal twists and turns from 2021 which may affect business planning for 2022. This webinar will be of interest to new and established businesses and entrepreneurs.
2. Exporting via e-commerce: Logistics, Customs & Regulations
Date: December 6
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
This workshop will take you through the basic documentation requirements of exporting overseas, the main components of Customs compliance, the management of freight and taxes, packaging and labelling, the different modes of transport and choosing a carrier, handling returns, marketplaces, fulfillment centers and 3PLs.
3. Password Management: How to organize and secure all your passwords
Date: December 8
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
This workshop provides a methodology for understanding how to take a harm reduction approach to password management, covering one of the popular password managers – LastPass. You’ll learn how to protect your online accounts, and how to understand the risk associated with compromises of those accounts.
4. New Exporters to Border States (NEBS) Program
Date: December 8, 2021
Time: 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Organizer: Government of Ontario
Cost: Free
The Government of Ontario, in collaboration with the Trade Commissioner Service, is hosting a webinar that will present on the following topics on how to export goods across the U.S. border:
- U.S. immigration and business visa requirements;
- federal and state tax liability issues;
- currency exchange strategies;
- corporate and legal considerations; and
- U.S. Customs clearance documentation requirements
5. IO Ignition Cohort 13 Pitch Finale
Date: December 9
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa
Cost: Free
IO Ignition (previously known as the IO Pre-Accelerator) is a 10-week boot camp designed to help Ottawa’s entrepreneurs at the early stages of building a tech or tech-enabled startup to validate their ideas and solidify their business foundations. The boot camp concludes with a pitch finale and this time around, IO’s Ignition pitch finale is going HYBRID. Cohort 13 is packed with talented individuals creating tech businesses in industries like health and wellness, gaming, and cloud computing. Listen in awe as the pitchers passionately talk about their “why” and the vision that drives their startup, all while battling it out for best pitch. You’re also not just there to watch—vote for the crowd favourite.
Get inspired this holiday season, attend this invigorating event and start dreaming of what you could be capable of building in the new year!
6. How to get free Google advertising
Date: December 9
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Believe it or not, Google has free advertising! Have you ever seen a map with little red pins highlighting businesses related to your search? How about a business profile on the right side of the search page summarizing products and services? These are among the most coveted spots businesses! Why? Because they are free and they get tons of clicks and website traffic, driving awareness, user engagement and ultimately more qualified leads.
This beginner-level seminar will show you how to get your business on the map. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is. After that, you will learn how to make your listing shine, so your profile can appear more often and get you more clicks.
7. RE/ACTION: Applied Research Showcase
Date: December 10
Time: 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Organizer: Algonquin College: Applied Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurshipring2 Innovation
Cost: Free
The event highlights leading-edge applied research being done in collaboration with industry, institutional, and community partners, providing a glimpse into the future of technology and the current state of innovation. Discover the incredible findings and creations of Algonquin students’ learner-driven research projects. Ranging from robotics to web design, building science to social innovation, and anything in between, the projects the students work on are incredibly diverse.
This virtual showcase will also provide an opportunity for employers to engage talent and collaborative opportunities in support of their businesses’ growth and impact.
8. Design thinking for the public sector (level 1)
Date: December 13
Time: 9:00 am – 2:30 pm
Organizer: Spring2 Innovation
Cost: $1,100
The public sector is increasingly challenged with solving complex business problems in a collaborative way while working with end-users, clients, and citizens. Whether you are tackling a specific project, designing new policies, developing new products, or building a solution to encourage ongoing innovation within your organization, Design Thinking can help.
Design Thinking methodology includes five (5) phases; Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test. Throughout the course, you’ll learn each phase and the various tools and methods that can be applied to work with clients, citizens, and in life. Various case studies identifying solid Design Thinking approaches will be reviewed and used to ensure a deep understanding among the participants.
9. Office Ergonomics: Quick Tips
Date: December 13
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Most small businesses require office work in some shape or form and these environments are certainly not immune to discomfort, and dysfunction. This can be the result of poor workstation setup, poor equipment choices, and the inherent effects of prolonged/repetitive office work without movement. This session will provide insight into the realm of office ergonomics and provide practical “quick tips” that make a big difference in your small business office workstation.
10. IP Strategy and Commercialization
Date: December 14
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Are you looking to get the most out of everything your company produces, including your products and the innovations that make them possible? Are you looking to enter international markets? Developing an intellectual property (IP) strategy will help you strategically grow your business and maximize the value of your IP. This seminar 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.
Learn more and register
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