EmpowerHER
Business Skills Development Workshops
The EmpowerHER Business Skills Program is a lunch workshop training initiative aimed at empowering women in business to enhance their skills and connect with industry experts. This program spans over 3 months, with various sessions focusing on a distinct areas of expertise.
Throughout the program, we bring in distinguished experts from diverse fields such as social media marketing, human resourses, finance, sales and negotiation, and strategic planning. These sessions are designed to be interactive, allowing for questions, discussions, and real-world applications.
Each session, one participant is chosen to work one-on-one with the expert of the month. This mentorship opportunity provides personalized guidance and support to the selected participant, helping her to make substantial advancements in her business endeavors.
Workshop Details
DATE & TIME
Tuesday March 5
12:00 - 1:30pm
PRESENTED BY
Lara Veltkamp
Watershed Marketing Group
WORKSHOP TOPIC & DESCRIPTION
Financial Foundations for Business Success
An introductory finance workshop for small business owners provides essential knowledge on managing finances, understanding financial statements, and making informed financial decisions. Participants will gain insights into budgeting, cash flow management, and key financial indicators, empowering them to navigate their business finances with confidence and efficiency.
Tuesday March 26
12:00 - 1:30pm
Luisa De Jesus
LD Human Resources
Strategic Human Resources Essentials for Small Businesses
This workshop aims to equip entrepreneurs with essential HR skills to effectively manage their workforce. Topics covered may include recruitment strategies, employee engagement, performance evaluations, and compliance with labor laws. Through this interactive session, participants will gain practical insights into cultivating a positive workplace culture and navigating HR challenges unique to small businesses. Ultimately, this workshop empowers small business owners to better understand and manage HR compliance, contributing to the overall success of their enterprises.
Thursday April 18
12:00 - 1:30pm
Hollie Hoadley
Creative Solutions
Planning the Ultimate Social Media Content Strategy
Make content planning easier, quicker and more efficient. This interactive workshop will focus on creating content that is aimed to nurture your ideal customer and ideally convert. When it comes to content planning, a lot of us experience decision paralysis and are not sure where to begin. This workshop will demystify getting started as well as allow your creativity to shine. You will leave this workshop equipped with content ideas, structure, and a guide to plan the rest of your year!
About our Facilitators
Hollie Hoadley
Hollie is the Founder and heart and soul of Creative Solutions. With her guidance, the company has become a highly sought-after marketing communications agency for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as not-for-profits. Hollie's passion for Human to Human (H2H) marketing and strategic thinking helps solve crucial business challenges. Her people-first approach has attracted a talented team of creative marketers who excel in articulating brand identity, storytelling, launching awareness campaigns, engaging stakeholders, boosting revenue, optimizing social media channels, strengthening partnerships, and exceeding client expectations.
With a diverse background ranging from Executive Assistant and Operations Manager to Strategic Planner and Fortune 500 National Marketing Manager, Hollie leverages her wealth of experience to provide innovative solutions for many different business sectors. Hollie is an entrepreneur but also a respected mentor, workshop facilitator, guest speaker, conference panelist, philanthropist, and Trustee for the Newmarket Awesome Foundation. She strongly believes in giving back and advocates for businesses and organizations to advance in their industries by promoting education, growth, and collaboration. Hollie is dedicated to exploring the potential of passionate individuals and emphasizes the importance of a positive culture in driving business success.
Luisa De Jesus
As the Founder and President of LD Human Resources, Luisa is a highly motivated and results-driven human resources professional with over 20 years’ experience in HR. Luisa is a Certified Human Resources Professional and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. She also graduated with honours, obtaining her Human Resources Management certificate in 2010.
Her expertise spans professional and financial services, construction, travel and tourism, IT, not-for profit and retail. Her key strengths include: strategic consulting; performance management, succession planning; recruitment and employee relations; organizational development and learning; compensation and benefits. Luisa is committed to high professional standards that link HR best practices to business objectives, delivering results within changing environments
Lara Veltkamp
Lara Veltkamp is a dynamic force in the world of marketing, branding and business consultation, serving as the CEO of Watershed Marketing Group with a passion for crafting innovative strategies that drive business growth. With more than 30 years of experience, Lara has established herself as a visionary leader known for her strategic acumen and unwavering commitment to client success.
Lara's expertise spans a diverse range of industries, including technology, healthcare, finance, services and manufacturing, where she has led numerous successful campaigns while providing guidance and leadership to positively impact her client's business. Her approach combines creativity with data-driven insights, allowing her to develop tailored solutions that drive meaningful impact for her clients and propel their brands to new heights.
The Aurora Chamber of Commerce is pleased to provide this program to our members and community as recipients of the 2023 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund, from ventureLAB in partnership with York Region.
