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Road Tripping through Vibrant Elgin County

Business Advisors in car to tour Elgin County.
EBRC staff, getting ready to road trip through Elgin County. From left, Tara McCaulley, Tanya Wilson and Jennifer Grigg

Elgin Business Resource Centre has been on the move the last few months, travelling throughout Elgin County. The objective has been to introduce new team members to the areas of Elgin County that we serve, while popping into as many businesses as we can to introduce ourselves and gather feedback on how we can better support businesses.

Elgin County has seven unique communities, with a rich history, from east to west.

It is exciting to see the vibrancy of the small and medium sized businesses in many different industries in Southwold, Dutton Dunwich, West Elgin, Town of Aylmer, Malahide and Bayham. To learn more information about each community, check out elgintourist.com.

What did we learn from business owners while touring? Business owners are looking for support in these areas:

  • What do I need to know if I have just started or am starting a business?
  • How do I research my market? What business structure should I use?
  • What are the “must knows” for starting a business?
  • How do I increase my marketing dollars and reach as many customers as possible?
  • How do I increase revenue?
  • How do I know my product or service is priced correctly?
  • How do I create cashflow projections?
  • How do I create traffic to my retail store?
  • Step by step processes for hiring, differences between hiring and subcontracting, training, and retaining employees.
  • Finding funding for my business, where do I start?
  • How to create a customer experience; what does that mean? How does it differ from customer service?
  • How do I read my financial statements?
  • Hours of operation – I can’t always make it to EBRC during the day? Are there evening options?
  • Some businesses don’t have the capacity to attend workshops but would still like to access the learning.
  • How to connect with businesses locally and regionally.

EBRC is utilizing this information and creating a new, updated workshop series and schedule. The new workshops will roll out in September and registration will be live by July 17th. EBRC is keeping the day and time consistent so it is easier for businesses to plan, and we will be recording them and uploading them to our website so they can be accessed when it is convenient to businesses.  Starting July 4th, we are piloting evening shifts to make it easier for businesses to connect. Every Thursday in July and August we will be open until 8 pm for entrepreneurs. We are always open to feedback on how we can help to make operating a business easier for you. Want EBRC to visit your business? Let us know! Have suggestions on workshops or other ways we can help? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Tara at tmccaulley@elgincfdc.ca or 519 633-7597 ext 462.