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Let’s be Frank: A new place for Colchester business owners to learn from each other
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS
TRURO, N.S. — When Terri Mingo heard David Phillip’s (Truro and Colchester Partnership for Economic Prosperity – TCPEP – CEO) pitch for a get-together for like-minded business owners to share their knowledge and make connections, she immediately became involved with the project.
“A business owner said to David, wouldn’t it be great if we just had an informal place where business owners could go and just chat – share their common issues, their ideas … just making their businesses and the community a better place,” said Mingo.
Mingo is the executive director for the Mentoring Plus Strategy, an organization that connects senior mentors with local groups (businesses, schools) so their knowledge and experience can be shared with the community.
“We were chatting one day, and he said would you be interested in partnering with us and I said ‘Absolutely,'” Mingo recalled. “We’ve business mentors we can have at each one of these sessions.”
Mingo added that many of their mentors have decades of business experience; whether it be weathering through recessions, facing staff shortages, or even finding appropriate real estate for a business.
“Our seniors have such a wealth of knowledge,” said Mingo. “Isn’t it great if we could tap that knowledge and share it with other people in the community?”
Creating a community
In conversation with SaltWire, Phillips said the best thing about the program is that there is no agenda leading into the meeting; it’s simply a way for businesses to build a community amongst each other.
“What excites us most about this event is that there’s no agenda,” said Phillips. “The business owners who participate are the ones who set the agenda.”
“It’s a safe place for people to go and chat with like-minded people, and potentially get some ideas, some advice, or some solutions,” added Mingo. “We’re going to give it a try, and we expect to do one every quarter.”
Mingo spoke of an entrepreneurial conference she participated at the Nova Scotia Community College Truro Campus last fall where two businesspeople from Eastern Europe attended. Mingo said they were impressed by how businesses are supported in Nova Scotia.
“They looked around the room. We had the Chamber of Commerce, we had the Credit Union, we had the community college, we had TCPEP.”
That was proof enough to Mingo that Colchester has a thriving, interconnected business community. This program only seeks to enhance that community further.
“I think it’s a pretty good place to do business in the world. There is a lot of support. I think sometimes it’s just hard for small business people to be aware of everything available to them. It’s a complex environment.
Phillips agreed with Mingo’s statement.
“The Truro-Colchester region is actually surprisingly well resourced for people who want to start a business, or get advice on growing their business, or solving problems.”
Phillips noted several problems faced by business owners in Colchester, including Baby Boomer and Gen X generations phasing out of the workforce, supply lines needing repair from COVID, succession planning, and inflation.
“You can really run the gambit,” said Phillips. “It’s meant to be a free-for-all in our discussions so that in our training and our events, we can identify topics that people want to talk about. This event gives us an opportunity to hear from business owners with what they need help with.”
To Mingo, building a community around business owners means their individual skills can be shared around.
“The thing about entrepreneurs is that they’re an expert in either the service or product they’re providing or the experience, depending on the nature of the business,” said Mingo. “It’s hard for a business person to be an expert at everything. You’re not going to be an expert in marketing and advertising if you’re a carpenter who builds homes. You may not be an accounting expert if you happen to be an expert who sells holistic products.
“For us to be able to bring somebody to the table who has some experience on those types of things to help some people, and let them know where help is available, that’s always a great thing.”
The first of these sessions, titled Let’s be Frank, will be held on May 31 at the RECC from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tickets are available for $5 each with breakfast included. They can be purchased via lets-be-frank.eventbrite.ca. Organizers ask that only two people per business attend so that there are plenty of seats for others.
