Events

Mar
21
Tue
Digital Skills for Business: The importance of paid advertising in a digital space @ Zoom
Mar 21 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

About The workshop

The Importance of Paid Advertising in a Digital Space

Join Digital Main Street in the importance of paid advertising in a digital space. Advertising in the digital space can be complicated, especially with different ad formats, multiple platforms, budgeting, and running your own business! If you are not sure where to begin, or are confused on what kind of ad to run, this session is for you! In this webinar, the Digital Service Squad from Toronto will share key insights into Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads.

You will learn about:

  • Google Ads
  • Facebook ads
  • Facebook pixel
  • Instagram ads
  • Targeting audiences
  • Which ads to run for your business
  • Key terminology in ad platforms

Join us to learn why you should consider paid advertising for your business and how you can easily get started.

About the speaker

Digital Main Street assists main street businesses in connecting to and adopting the right digital tools and technologies to help them grow and compete. Want to learn more? Visit digitalmainstreet.ca.

Founder Fundamentals - Digital Marketing 101 @ Webinar
Mar 21 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Founder Fundamentals is a 12-week virtual workshop series designed to help you kickstart your entrepreneurial career.
About Founder Fundamentals

Interested in building your entrepreneurial skills to launch your startup?

YSpace, York University’s innovation hub, is partnering with the Markham Small Business Centre (MSBC) to host an 12-week educational program called Founders Fundamentals.

Whether you are a professional services company, brick and mortar or technology startup, the program aims to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge needed to succeed. Spanning across topics such as finance 101, to how to write a business plan, to legal basics and more, this program provides a wide range of learning. In addition, the program connects you with local resources for potential next steps as you progress in your entrepreneurial ventures.

Individuals who attend at least 9 out of the 11 workshops will receive an YSpace, York University Certificate of Completion, illustrating your dedication to learning about the essentials of launching a successful business.

About the Workshop

Digital tools are available everywhere. For an entrepreneur, the process of identifying the best and most effective ones can be daunting. And, many tools have a cost which can be a major deterrent to someone who is trying to work with a modest budget. This workshop will help you build your digital skills and explore the various digital tools available for businesses, including how to best leverage them to your advantage. 

This workshop aims to cover the following items: 

  • Learn how to build your online presence 
  • Explore the digital tools available (both free and some paid) for your website, social media, marketing, and more 
  • Learn how to setup various analytics to evaluate the success of the tools you are using 

About the Presenter

Coming Soon.

*To register visit our Registration Page. Zoom link will be accessible in your Order Confirmation page emailed to you after registration.

Mar
24
Fri
Digital Skills for Business: How-to set up social media accounts for your business (in person) @ The East Gwillimbury Operations Centre
Mar 24 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

About the session

How-to set up social media accounts for your business (in person)

Setting-up social media channels for your new or existing business can be a daunting task. In this workshop marketing expert Stella Grinfeld of Stella Graphix shares the best social channels for business and how to create and set-up your social media accounts. This session is hosted in person at the East Gwillimbury Operations Centre located at 19850 Woodbine Ave, Queensville, ON L0G 1R0. 

In order to best participate in this workshop please bring your laptop and computer mouse, a notebook and a pen. If you require a loaner laptop for this event please sent an email to stsimpson@georgina.ca

About the presenter

Stella Grinfeld, Stella Graphix

Stella Grinfeld is a multidisciplinary design and digital marketing expert, bringing over 20 years of extensive experience in design, communications, marketing and business development. She is the owner of Stella Graphix Inc., an award-winning full service design and marketing agency that helps entrepreneurs build the businesses of their dreams. Want to learn more? Visit stellagraphix.com.

Mar
28
Tue
Digital Skills for Business: SEO optimization for your website, optimizing for search engines – understanding SEO basics @ Zoom
Mar 28 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

About The Workshop

SEO optimization for your website, optimizing for search engines – understanding SEO basics

Join Digital Main Street in SEO optimization for your website, optimizing for search engines – understanding SEO basics. Often you will hear about needing to optimize for search engines or SEO. But what is it, and how does it impact your digital presence? In this webinar, the Digital Service Squad will explain search engine optimization and the best tactics you as a business can use towards increasing your ranking in the search engine result pages.

What you will learn:

  • What is SEO?
  • Importance of keywords
  • Copywriting for SEO
  • On-page tactics
  • Off-page tactics
  • Technical SEO
  • Auditing your website for search engines

About the Speaker

Digital Main Street assists main street businesses in connecting to and adopting the right digital tools and technologies to help them grow and compete. Want to learn more? Visit digitalmainstreet.ca.

Founder Fundamentals - Establish Your Sales Foundation @ Webinar
Mar 28 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Founder Fundamentals is a 12-week virtual workshop series designed to help you kickstart your entrepreneurial career.
About Founder Fundamentals

Interested in building your entrepreneurial skills to launch your startup?

YSpace, York University’s innovation hub, is partnering with the Markham Small Business Centre (MSBC) to host an 12-week educational program called Founders Fundamentals.

Whether you are a professional services company, brick and mortar or technology startup, the program aims to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge needed to succeed. Spanning across topics such as finance 101, to how to write a business plan, to legal basics and more, this program provides a wide range of learning. In addition, the program connects you with local resources for potential next steps as you progress in your entrepreneurial ventures.

Individuals who attend at least 9 out of the 11 workshops will receive an YSpace, York University Certificate of Completion, illustrating your dedication to learning about the essentials of launching a successful business.

About the Workshop

The secret to hitting your goals is the right planning. Setting up a formal sales plan makes sure you and your prospect -- and anyone else associated with the purchase decision -- are on the same page. It also makes the sales process more manageable for a prospect who’s never gone through a major purchase decision before by taking a gargantuan task and breaking it up into little, achievable pieces. How do you make accountability work to your advantage by creating commitment and buy-in? And how do you minimize distractions, balance competing obligations, and make sure you stay on track? 

In this seminar, we will: 

  • Create the sales plan for 2023 
  • Look at new business acquisition strategies and tactics 
  • Investigate existing business growth strategies and tactics 
  • Learn how to get buy-in from stakeholders on the plan 
  • How to manage customers & drive positive customer service

About the Presenter - Dan Gallagh - Head of Partnerships, Southeast @ HubSpot

Dan leads HubSpot for Startups’ GTM and Partnerships in the Southeast. In his current role, he works with hundreds of VC’s, accelerators, incubators, and other startup organizations in order to provide entrepreneurs with coaching, guidance, and access to tools that help founders scale and grow their businesses. Dan previously led the Community Partnerships team for Capital Factory, the largest venture accelerator in Texas. He has also served as the founding member of a startup where he was responsible for leading business development and sales efforts. Prior to that, Dan was an institutional fundraiser for a variety of institutional investment managers, where his teams were cumulatively responsible for fundraising over $450 million for equity strategies and over $500 million for fixed income strategies.

*To register visit our Registration Page. Zoom link will be accessible in your Order Confirmation page emailed to you after registration.

Mar
30
Thu
Digital Skills for Business: Peer-to-peer Session with TechConnex @ YSpace Georgina
Mar 30 @ 9:00 am – 10:30 am

About the session

Peer-to-peer session

Join TechConnex, local entrepreneurs and business owners in this in-person peer-to-peer session. The TechConnex Peer group Program is where fast-growth technology company leaders, entrepreneurs and executives can come together to exchange information that will help them expand their businesses. Together we contribute to a vibrant ecosystem supporting business success. Peer group participants generate lasting relationships through meeting regularly to network, learn and lead their organizations to achieve even greater business success.

This peer-to-peer session is hosted in person at YSpace Georgina, 1 Market St., Sutton, ON. L0E 1R0. 

Apr
4
Tue
Digital Skills for Business: How to create a marketing strategy for your business @ Zoom
Apr 4 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

About the workshop

How to create a marketing strategy for your business

In this workshop marketing expert Stella Grinfeld of Stella Graphix shares how to develop an effective marketing strategy. Your marketing plan outlines the strategies you’ll use to achieve your goals and marketing efforts. This strategy will help you plan which channels you will use, the target audience and the goals you wish to achieve. 

About the presenter

Stella Grinfeld, Stella Graphix

Stella Grinfeld is a multidisciplinary design and digital marketing expert, bringing over 20 years of extensive experience in design, communications, marketing and business development. She is the owner of Stella Graphix Inc., an award-winning full service design and marketing agency that helps entrepreneurs build the businesses of their dreams. Want to learn more? Visit stellagraphix.com

Founder Fundamentals - HR Best Practices @ Webinar
Apr 4 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Founder Fundamentals is a 12-week virtual workshop series designed to help you kickstart your entrepreneurial career.
About Founder Fundamentals

Interested in building your entrepreneurial skills to launch your startup?

YSpace, York University’s innovation hub, is partnering with the Markham Small Business Centre (MSBC) to host a 12 -week educational program called Founders Fundamentals.

Whether you are a professional services company, brick and mortar or technology startup, the program aims to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge needed to succeed. Spanning across topics such as finance 101, to how to write a business plan, to legal basics and more, this program provides a wide range of learning. In addition, the program connects you with local resources for potential next steps as you progress in your entrepreneurial ventures.

Individuals who attend at least 9 out of the 11 workshops will receive a YSpace, York University Certificate of Completion, illustrating your dedication to learning about the essentials of launching a successful business.

About the Workshop

This workshop aims to cover the following items:

  • Learn how to build an effective job posting to attract the right candidates 
  • Explore how you can promote your posting in a cost-effective way (or for free!) 
  • Learn how to create essential documents like offer letters, contracts, onboarding package and more 
  • Techniques to build a strong team & develop leadership skills 
  • Creating HR policies that foster innovation, productivity & positive environment 

About the Presenter - Adriana Scali

Adriana Scali, Founder & Chief Talent Strategist of LinkHR Inc., is a Certified Human Resources Professional and Certified Human Resources Leader with the Human Resources Professionals Association.  Her love of supporting small to midsize businesses with HR strategy and solutions led her to start LinkHR Inc. in 2015. LinkHR provides fractional, advisory, and project-based HR services to small and midsize businesses that want to be an employer of Choice.

Prior to founding LinkHR, she led the HR function of organizations large and small with strategic HR planning, policy and compliance, talent acquisition and retention, performance management, and more.  Her experience of 20 years spans various industries including technology, healthcare, finance, retail, construction, manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, social services, and the not-for-profit sector.

Adriana has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and is a certified EQ-i (emotional intelligence) coach with experience as a Corporate Trainer.

A proud mom of two, Adriana loves to spend time with her family outdoors.  If she is not out on a hike, she is competing with her dragon boat team on lakes across Ontario.  She is also a huge Disney fan and meeting Minnie Mouse for the first time was one of the happiest moments of her adult life!

 

*To register please visit our Registration Page. Zoom link will be accessible in your Order Confirmation page emailed to you after registration.

Apr
11
Tue
Digital Skills for Business: Influencer Marketing 101 @ Zoom
Apr 11 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

About the workshop

Influencer Marketing 101 

Marketing is about influence and persuasion. When social media launched over 25 years ago, the conversations between brands and consumers changed.

Learning how to adapt your marketing is vital. Launching influencer marketing campaigns can be scary, expensive, and hard to measure; doing it right, matters. This workshop is about creating the right influencer marketing strategy, whether you're a B2B or B2C business. 

This workshop aims to cover the following items:

  • What is influencer marketing?
  • How does influencer marketing fit into the marketing mix?
  • What makes an influencer?
  • Choosing your plan of attack with influencer marketing

Whether you are looking to grow exponentially or starting a new business from scratch, in the Influencer Marketing 101 Workshop, you will learn important tactics to help you use Influencer marketing successfully.  

About the speaker

Sarid Layton

Principal, Digital Strategy and Marketing, SEVENmarketing

Over the last two decades, Sarid has held four unique roles centring on sales and marketing, each in entirely unrelated industries: automotive, medical devices, technology, and manufacturing. This diversity helped her better contextualize how to work with organizations to drive success, easily understand their business to create tactical growth strategies and make an effortless client experience.

Today, she’s the Principal of Digital Strategy and Marketing at SEVENmarketing, a boutique marketing firm taking a human-to-human approach to marketing. Sarid has worked with over 700 businesses in various capacities, from logo and app design to e-commerce, developing a digital presence, growing a social media following with active engagement, awareness and influencer marketing campaigns, and everything in between!

Founder Fundamentals - EDI in the Workforce @ Webinar
Apr 11 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Founder Fundamentals is a 12-week virtual workshop series designed to help you kickstart your entrepreneurial career.
About Founder Fundamentals

Interested in building your entrepreneurial skills to launch your startup?

YSpace, York University’s innovation hub, is partnering with the Markham Small Business Centre (MSBC) to host a 12-week educational program called Founders Fundamentals.

Whether you are a professional services company, brick and mortar or technology startup, the program aims to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge needed to succeed. Spanning across topics such as finance 101, to how to write a business plan, to legal basics and more, this program provides a wide range of learning. In addition, the program connects you with local resources for potential next steps as you progress in your entrepreneurial ventures.

Individuals who attend at least 9 out of the 11 workshops will receive a YSpace, York University Certificate of Completion, illustrating your dedication to learning about the essentials of launching a successful business.

About the Workshop

Implementation of Equity Diversity &Inclusion (EDI) practices is vital to any business but can often be overlooked - especially when starting a new business. This interactive workshop will explore ways to embed fundamental EDI principles as a conscious pillar in the organization and in the products and/or services delivered. Although the workshop will focus on issues faced by women in the business world, it will also provide valuable and practical strategies on how to become a better allies; and on challenging all of our own unconscious biases. By developing an understanding of foundational DEI concepts, you will begin to understand how to create an engaged workforce that promotes psychological safety, authenticity, and innovation – giving your business a competitive edge over others. 

This workshop aims to cover the following items: 

  • A foundational understanding of the following critical EDI terminology and concepts:   diversity and inclusion , equity vs equality  &unconscious bias 
  • psychological safety and engagement 
  • Learn how to become aware of bias and discover tools you can adopt to become aware of your own values, beliefs, and biases 
  • Implementation of quick-win EDI tools/strategies to be a better ally for marginalized groups, and assess your team’s inclusion climate 
  • Understand the benefits of creating a high inclusion work  culture  

About the Presenter -

Coming Soon

*To register please visit Registration Page. Zoom link will be accessible in your Order Confirmation page emailed to you after registration.