It’s one thing opening your own business. It’s quite another thing putting measures in place that will better ensure its sustainability.
On Tuesday (September 17) at Venture North in downtown Peterborough, six graduates of Community Futures Peterborough’s 2024 ScaleUP program were feted.
Graduating from the third cohort of the program were Tracy Cosburn (Kyoto Coffee), Alicia Doris (Living Local Marketplace), Jacob Rodenburg (Camp Kawartha), Debra Ragbar (Kawartha Spice Company), Clint Clarke (Barking Pixel Design Co.), and Sean Flanagan (Flanagan and Sun).
With the program designed to address the evolving needs of local entrepreneurs by providing them with strategic tools needed to help them make decisions about how their business can scale, the past five months saw each benefit from a mix of in-class sessions and one-on-one strategic consultations tailored to their unique growth opportunities.
In the end, not unlike 14 previous program participants, each of the six graduates came away with a customized growth plan for the sustainable expansion of their business.
Leading them through the process was Diatom Consulting founder Diane Richard, joined by a team of marketing, human resources, and business strategy leaders.
“I learned from Diane things I didn’t even know that I had to learn about,” said Living Local Marketplace owner Alicia Doris, mentioning inventory management as an example. “I had no idea, but it’s going to be crucial as I grow the business.”
“(The program provided) some really foundational learning that will allow me to take my business to the next step. It gave me the science to something that I felt I already had the art for — the mechanics of setting the foundation so I can grow.”
Clint Clarke, who founded and operates Barking Pixel Design with Kerry Brennan, came away equally impressed, describing the program as “everything I hoped it would be.”
“One of the biggest things was accurately pinpointing where inefficiencies are,” he said.
“For us, it’s recognizing we need some help to grow, certainly contractually, to help manage the work that’s coming in. The balancing act of that is financials — money that’s coming in versus paying out contractually, and then hopefully getting to the point of having an employee.”
Not lost on Clarke and his fellow graduates is the value of the advice and guidance the program offers — services that would otherwise cost quite a bit of money to obtain.
Meanwhile, Jacob Rodenburg was in the unique position of being the only participant from a not-for-profit organization rather than a commercial business. Still, he said the business lessons learned have valuable applications for Camp Kawartha’s growth and sustainability.
“Our mission is to foster stewardship — kids who care for the Earth — and we feel that’s needed now more than ever,” said Rodenburg. “We have some expertise in showing parents, teachers, and community members how to bring nature back to their built spaces (and) how to engage kids with the environment.”
“We can learn from experts how to be a little more efficient and a bit more targeted. Now we have a plan and that plan is about trying to get more people to come, raise awareness, and try to be more financially stable so we can more effectively deliver on our mission.”
On board with ScaleUP as a partner is Scotiabank, which was represented at the graduation ceremony by small business advisor Kevin Miller. He said this is the second ScaleUP offering for which Scotiabank has provided funding.
“From the get-go, we knew this was going be something very special,” said Miller, complimenting CFP executive director Devon Girard. “Devon is very good at anything she touches.”
“I’ve been at this for a number of years now, learning how entrepreneurs work and their mindsets. I learn as much from them as they do from me, so it’s a nice symbiotic relationship.”
While Girard was absent from the event, in a prepared statement she noted each graduate is now “equipped with a customized expansion plan to grow and scale their operation … We couldn’t be prouder to support their business journey.”
Representing Girard at the ceremony and addressing the program graduates was CFP loans manager Braden Clark. He noted the first ScaleUP program was offered in 2022 and saw six female participants graduate.
Scotiabank’s involvement, he added, “allowed us to hire external consultants based in our community, who we believe are best qualified to provide you with customized service and advice you require to grow and scale.”
“One of our strategic goals at Community Futures Peterborough is to create sustainable employment in the region. We couldn’t be prouder of you taking the time to develop plans for scale and continuing to contribute to our local economy.”
Also addressing the gathering were Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark and Peterborough city councillor Don Vassiliadis, bringing greetings from the county and city while likewise praising the graduates for their continued commitment to the growth and sustainability of their businesses, and how their success is good for the local economy as a whole.
For her part, Diane Richard also lauded the graduates, saying “Your focus, candour and, most importantly, your commitment to addressing whatever challenges may arise head-on have been truly remarkable.” She added the common link is “no matter how tough (the challenges), they can’t think of doing anything else.”
Afterwards, she touched on the joy she derived from mentoring the group.
“We all know what it feels like when our children are successful and go on to have their own careers and their own independent lives,” Richard said. “As I work with entrepreneurs, I almost think of it the same way. They’re my kids, my babies, and I want to see them successful in the future.”
“As I work with them, it’s not just about the fundamentals of business. It’s also being there as a real person who understands what they’re going through, and coaches and supports them.”
“We give them tools I learned 35 years ago and still use every day as I work through a problem. I’m really happy to teach other people to learn about business. Business evolves and changes and they’ll need to pivot. The goal is to give them those skill sets.”
At this point, there are no concrete plans for a fourth ScaleUP program cohort but that could change. Visit communityfuturespeterborough.ca/programs/scaleup/.
