How Can The YMCA Help Me With Networking?

I want you to meet me friend Kathy Ann de Montbrun who is the Director at the YMCA Business Centre in Markham Ontario. She runs one of the most interesting places to network with entrepreneurs that you can imagine.

When I first heard of The Markham YMCA Business Centre I had a vision of people talking on cell phones in suits working out on treadmills.

When I discovered the truth, I realized I was totally wrong.

The YMCA Business Centre exists to help beginning entrepreneurs define and start their businesses as well as provide a resource centre for job hunting.

These entrepreneurs are not starting lemonade stands. They are creating record labels, lines of clothing, importing, creating restaurants, and designing and bringing new and innovative products to market. The range of businesses is outstanding and really represents a cross section of small business in Canada.

The members of the centre are people of vision and goals.

The members range from young people just out of high school, to middle aged engineers, finishing with retires planning a new career. They are both women and men, new Canadians and Canadians from families that have been here for generations. They all have in common the desire to create and own their own businesses.

Kathy and her staff act as guides and resources to the entrepreneurs. Each person accepted into the Business Centre program follows a specific route to success, The Business Centre provides a mentor to each of the entrepreneurs and there is a specific set of milestones that must be met. To help the entrepreneurs to meet their milestones, the Centre provides a non-stop sequence of workshops and lectures. Each of the lectures and workshops are provided by different experts from the community, {Confession time – I provide my Success Through Balance course)

I first found out about the work the Centre does through their annual Small Business Week event. This event is when the Centre reaches out to the community, publicly congratulates the graduates of the centre. The keynote speaker is a successful entrepreneur from the Markham area and many business executives and politicians attend.

Last year a special award was given to Stephen Womg for his multi-year contribution to the Centre. He spoke eloquently about his involvement, gave an amazing speech about entrepreneurship, and Stephen expressed his feeling that his contribution did more for Stephen than it did for the students. Kathy Ann and the YMCA have a different opinion. The majority of the entrepreneurs are enrolled in one of two innovative and exciting government programs, the Youth Entrepreneurial Program (YEP) and the Ontario Self Employment Benefit Program (SEB). From a networking perspective, this opens up doors into various provincial funding organizations. As the lectures are open to everyone, established entrepreneurs attend to hone their skills.

The YEP and SEB programs differ substantially in how they operate financially and the qualifications for acceptance, but programs have the same goal, to help people launch their own business.

Physically the Centre has an extensive library of books and reference guides and provides computer access to the entrepreneurs. All the daily newspapers and business magazines are available as a resource. There are offices and meeting rooms to help each of the entrepreneurs become successful.

If in Markham, I recommend that you offer your services to Kathy Ann. If you don’t live in Markham, find your local YMCA and see if they have a similar program where you can get involved and make your life better.

Till Next Month!

--Zale
ww.ZaleTabakman.ca

Contact Zale at ZaleT@TheNationalNetworker.com or TNNW Blog.
 

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