Our programs support business development by providing BOOST funding, as well as building entrepreneurial capacity through our various workshops.
BOOST supports commercialization, business start-up, scaling, expansion, and/or improvement efforts by providing a 50% contribution toward eligible project costs. Eligible costs are flexible but must align with your approved project objectives. Eligible costs include:
BOOST supports businesses in agri-foods, manufacturing, mining and industrial services, information technologies, health sciences and cleantech sectors. Generally, our program does not support retail, restaurant or consumer services businesses. However, if your product, service, or business model is novel and innovative we still encourage you to complete our client questionnaire and provide us with information on your project or business. We’ll then set-up a meeting with you to discuss further.
Our flagship four-part workshop series builds entrepreneurial knowledge and skills in important areas of business. Participants will create their Business Model Canvas, gain a strong understanding of customers and business financial fundamentals, and develop their elevator and investor pitches. The acquired skills and knowledge will help you with your product and business development. Link North will also offer other workshops in collaboration with our partners throughout the year.
Our first workshop series introduces clients to the Business Model Canvas, a visual tool that assists entrepreneurs with developing their business model. Using this tool clients will gain a better understanding of their Value Proposition and how it aligns with their customer segments and their problems; how to get, keep and grow customers; and their financial structure, business costs, and revenue streams. Upon completing this workshop series clients will have an outline of their business model canvas in hand.
Building from the Business Model, this workshop helps participants gain an understanding of who their customer is, what they value, what their need is, and how you provide the solution with your product or services. You will learn how to position your products or services through an effective branding strategy, as well as understand the sales process and utilizing distribution channels to reach your customers.
Understanding and managing business finances is a common area that entrepreneurs struggle with and too often the inability to manage finances and debt and ensure adequate cash flow leads to business failure. Among other things participants will learn how to properly forecast and budget for start-up and ongoing operations; track, measure, and analyze business performance; and how different financial decisions impact your profitability.
Strong communication skills are inseparable from your marketing and business brand. Business success depends on more than having a strong business model and a solution to a customer problem. These workshops will build participants’ skills with communicating their business value to potential customers, investors, and others in a convincing manner. The elevator pitch and investor pitch workshops will be offered separately. The elevator pitch focuses on using a ‘hook’ to capture people’s attention during that 60 second elevator ride. The investor pitch covers the key things you need to communicate to investors in 10-12 minutes, including the problem that you solve, the market for your product or service, and the ROI (return on investment) for someone willing to invest dollars in your vision.
Complete our client questionnaire and tell us more about who you are and details about your idea or business.
1-130 Spruce St. S.
Timmins, Ontario P4N 2M5
T 705-269-1354
TF 1-800-861-9726
E info@linknorth-nord.ca
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