1,342 words | 5 mins
Entrepreneurship is no easy feat. Along with passion and purpose is the grit and grind of growing and scaling your business. So why not equip yourself with the knowledge to power up!
Knowledge is power. And at Invest Ottawa, we host various workshops, networking events, and community events designed to help our local entrepreneurs and businesses.
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.
And as we near March 8, the world celebrates International Women’s Day, and from February 28 to March 11 (and beyond!) Invest Ottawa hosts the 4th annual International Women’s Week: IWW 2022. Ten jam-packed days of virtual events with over 50 initiatives to choose from! IWW 2022 is designed to unite allies and inspire, equip, and empower women in leadership in professional fields. From story-telling talks to keynote presentations and wow-worthy workshops, IWW 2022 has something for everyone. Be sure to check out our IWW calendar of events if you’re looking for the actionable insight that you can put to work to empower yourself and women from all walks of life.
We’ve highlighted an additional ten Ottawa events happening this month for our entrepreneur business community:
1. Understanding ‘QuickBooks Online’ (presented by Invest Ottawa Sponsor Logan Katz)
Date: February 1
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Accounting in the cloud is becoming more prevalent in today’s world. This seminar offers an in-depth overview of QuickBooks Online. Stay on top of where your money is going! Join us for our free webinar, ‘Understanding QuickBooks Online,’ hosted by Lindsey Horvath! Learn to securely import bank and credit card transactions, track your income and expenses and more.
This is a beginners course and, as such, advanced topics such as multijurisdictional activity and foreign exchange are beyond the scope of this course.
2. Introduction to Bookkeeping (presented by Invest Ottawa Sponsor Logan Katz)
Date: February 2
Time: 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Proper record-keeping and effectively organizing financial information are vital to the success of any business. This helpful, hands-on workshop will cover the basics of bookkeeping, using techniques that are as easy to learn as they are to implement. Whether you are doing the books yourself or delegating this fundamental part of your business to others, you will surely benefit from this free workshop!
3. Preparing Income Tax Returns for Sole Proprietors (presented by Invest Ottawa Sponsor Logan Katz)
Date: February 3
Time: 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Preparing an income tax return is a must for any business, regardless of the business structure. This workshop will cover the basics of preparing a tax return for the sole proprietor. This course will be of interest to the unincorporated business owner and professionals belonging to a partnership. During this interactive 3-hour workshop, we will:
- discuss the Canadian Income Tax system
- review record keeping basics
- compare sole proprietorship vs. partnership vs. corporation
- identify and discuss the tax treatment of business income and expenses
- review tax form T2125 – Statement of Business or Professional Activities
- prepare a basic form T2125
4. Entrepreneurship Peer Group Information Session
Date: February 4
Time: 10:00 am – 10:30 am
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
For an entrepreneur, a peer group is a collective of non-competing business owners who run similar-sized companies and meet regularly. Together they work through professional challenges and tackle tough business issues. Oh, and they’re led by seasoned advisors – these experts provide value, maintain the pace, and lend a needed entrepreneurial hand.
Join us to learn more about Invest Ottawa’s Entrepreneurship Peer Group Program.
5.Doing business with the Government of Canada
Date: February 8
Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Organizer: Procurement Assistance Canada
Cost: Free
The Government of Canada buys billions of dollars worth of goods and services each year to help deliver programs and services to Canadians. Find out whether the Government of Canada buys your goods or services. Procurement Assistance Canada would like to help your company do business with the federal government.
Webinar topics include:
- Overview of contracting process
- Registering in supplier databases
- Finding key purchasing contacts
- Searching for business opportunities
- Bidding on opportunities
- Obtaining security clearances
6. Business Break-Ups: A Legal Perspective (presented by Invest Ottawa Sponsor MDK Business Law)
Date: February 8
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
In this highly interactive and fast-paced workshop designed for an Invest Ottawa audience (Teach, Talk, Try), lawyers from MDK Business Law will share a number of issues and lessons learned arising out of the planned or forced parting of ways amongst business partners.
7. How to Get Free Google Advertising
Date: February 10
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.
In this seminar learn how to:
- Get your business on the (Google) Map
- Increase the frequency you show up on the Google Map
- Manage your Google My Business Account effectively
8. Opening a Food Establishment in the City of Ottawa
Date: February 10
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
This presentation is led by the City of Ottawa’s Business Information Officer (BIO), Sylvie Idone. The BIO’s role is to support entrepreneurs aiming to open a new food business in Ottawa. The session provides insight into a range of entrepreneur-centric services offered by the City and focuses on topics such as the different categories of food-related business licences regulated by the City, the regulations for home-based businesses, and the interdepartmental permit and legislation requirements (i.e. health, by-law, fire and building code requirements). If you are considering opening a bakery, café, restaurant, wholesale food, catering or mobile refreshment/food business in Ottawa, this is the session for you.
9. Social Enterprise 101
Date: February 15
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
What exactly is a social enterprise? How do you start one? And where can you go for help?
Learn more about social enterprise models and characteristics, local examples, support resources, and considerations for starting. You’ll learn more about this unique type of business that uses revenue-generating activities to achieve a social, environmental or cultural good.
10. Importing 101
Date: February 28
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Organizer: Invest Ottawa Education Centre
Cost: Free
Learn in this interactive webinar what you need to know to start importing successfully. This seminar will provide a broad outline of what you need to know to start importing goods from abroad:
- financial issues (Incoterms, payments, exchange rates, insurance), Canadian import regulations, labelling, quotas
- permits and licences, logistics costs, the documentation required for smooth customs clearance, how duties and taxes work
- Free Trade Agreements and their impact, the role of the customs broker and other intermediaries
Learn the basics and the important details impacting your bottom line and avoid mistakes, minimize costs/risks and maximize revenue.
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