DATE: September 8, 2015 REPORT NO. CD2015-183 TO: FROM: Chair and Members Committee of the Whole Community Services Gregory Dworak, General Manager Community Services 1.0 TYPE OF REPORT CONSENT ITEM [ x ] ITEM FOR CONSIDERATION [ ] 2.0 TOPIC 2014 Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre Year End Update [Financial Impact None] (CD2015-183) 3.0 RECOMMENDATION THAT Staff Report CD2015-183 2014 Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre Year-End Update BE RECEIVED. 4.0 PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to provide City Council with 2014 year-end quantitative and qualitative data as compiled by the Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre (BRC). 5.0 BACKGROUND Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre located at 1 Market Square is one of 57 Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBEC) located across Ontario. The BRC is a division of the City of Brantford s Economic Development and Tourism Department. The BRC provides client services and support to entrepreneurs, existing and new small business as well as start-ups, in the City of Brantford, County of Brant, Haldimand County, Norfolk County and Six Nations of the Grand River. The mandate of the SBEC (including the BRC) is to help build a prosperous and fair Ontario by:
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 2 Assisting small Main Street businesses, including entrepreneurs and new business start-ups. Providing stability and early-growth support to existing small businesses which are typically less than 5 years in operation and have under 10 employees. Improving the success rate and longevity of small businesses in Ontario. Raising the profile and promoting small businesses in Ontario as an important part of the community and as a viable career choice. The BRC is financially supported by the City of Brantford, County of Brant, Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure (MEDEI), and Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI). The BRC also receives additional financial support, as well as in-kind support from several community partners, including the following: Royal Bank of Canada Millards Chartered Accountants Boddy Ryerson Spence Printing Solutions TDG Marketing 21 st Century Signs Cowan Insurance Group Brantford Public Library McGowan s Office Interiors The report provides an overview of the BRC s small business 2014/2015 statistics, accomplishments and initiatives. 6.0 CORPORATE POLICY CONTEXT The report supports Brantford s Community Strategic Plan Pillar #1 Economic Vitality and Innovation which align with the following Long-term Desired Outcomes: Brantford will have a strong diversified economic base that provides its citizens with excellent local job opportunities. Brantford will be a business friendly community. Brantford will be known as a leading center for learning and innovation supported by a comprehensive education system. Brantford s downtown will be vibrant and successful the hub for its citizens, students, businesses, visitors and governments.
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 3 The report also supports the City of Brantford s Economic Development Strategy with the following recommendations of the Entrepreneurship and Business Capacity Enhancements strategic direction: Increase the capacity of the mentorship program by recruiting local retired business persons as mentors. Continue to support and develop arts and culture entrepreneurship as well as entrepreneurs of the creative economy. Continue to offer support to encourage and develop young entrepreneurs. 7.0 INPUT FROM OTHER SOURCES Preparation of this report includes staff input from the Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre, Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, and Ministry of Research and Innovation. 8.0 ANALYSIS 8.1 SBEC Reporting Requirements SBEC s are required to collect, compile, analyze, and report to the Provincial funding agencies on the following: Client contacts and consultations. Seminars/workshops, and on-line training modules. Activities related to MEDEI s youth entrepreneurship programs and other appropriate youth activities. Outreach and networking activities. Business events hosted, including number of participants. Jobs created. Businesses started. Data collection for provincial youth entrepreneurship programs, such as Summer Company and Starter Company. Outcomes and surveys of targeted events, such as E-Business, Bridges to Better Business, Women s, Francophone, Aboriginal, Youth, and/or Accessibility Events. Success Stories for both regular business clients and youth clients, including Summer Company and Starter Company clients. 8.1.1 Business/Client Consultations Consultations are tracked as a new start-up business client or an existing business client. A consultation is generally 30 to 60 minutes in length, and provides not only information but advisory services as part of the discussion. The following is a summary of 2014/2015 consultations:
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 4 The BRC had an increase in 2014 in consultations of new business start-ups and established business clients with 485 total consultations compared to 422 consultations in 2013. The uptrend is continuing into 2015 with 213 new business start-up consultations and 101 existing business consultations recorded in the first six months of 2015. The highest number of consultations at the BRC is with service sector business clients followed by retail, construction, professional services and manufacturing.. 8.1.2 Business Registered, Business Started and Expansions and Jobs Created The BRC must have provided advisory services to the client and/or reviewed the business plan in order for a business start or business expansion to be recorded. To qualify as a business start the business must show revenue. To qualify as an expansion the business must: Increase in revenue. Increase financing. Move to a larger location. The following is a summary of the 2014/2015 businesses: There were 145 business start-ups in 2014 and 8 business expansions creating 250 new jobs in Brantford and region. Of the 145 businesses started, 70% were home-based businesses. The BRC has recorded 83 new business starts and 124 new jobs created in the first six months of 2015. 8.1.3 Business Retention & Expansion Visits The BRC works in collaboration with the City s Economic Development and Tourism Department to maintain an effective Business Retention & Expansion Program (BR&E). BR&E s help staff gain knowledge and insight into local businesses which leads to a better understanding of the needs of the business community. The key objectives of the BR&E program are: Create a list of potential Small Businesses and key contact information. Make contact with the business and arrange a convenient meeting time. Visit client at their place of business and gather relevant business information through a standardized survey. Provide BRC service and resource information. Follow up to any needs identified within 48 hours.
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 5 Become a contact for municipal inquiries. The following is a summary of the 2014/2015 retention and expansion visits: The BRC had a significant decrease in 2014 due to staffing transitions but the BRC has already completed 31 business visits in the first six months in 2015. 8.1.4 Public and Private Referrals Community engagement is an integral part of the mandate of the BRC. The BRC seeks to enhance community engagement by referring clients to community organizations in the public and private sector. The public sector organizations include Canada Business Ontario, Industry Canada, but also local organizations such the local Community Futures Development Corporation - Enterprise Brant and the Brant-Brantford Chamber of Commerce. Private organizations can include local law firms, accounting firms, financial institutions and insurance companies. The following is a summary of the 2014/2015 referrals: Public and private referrals have increased significantly in 2014 with 589 private referrals and 478 public referrals, totaling 1067 compared to a total of 899 in 2013. The increase in referrals is vital to the BRC s commitment to community engagement. 8.2 BRC Accomplishments and Initiatives 8.2.1 Social Media Strategy The Social Media Strategy was a new initiative in 2014 with the intent to better engage and service the small business community. The implementation of this strategy was designed to strengthen and complement other digital communications and initiatives within the BRC such as Mail Chimp, e- Newsletters, and blog posts. The goals of the Social Media strategy are: To have the BRC become the number one resource for small business information in the area. To demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of digital communications for small business. To act as a networking tool to bring small businesses together within the community.
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 6 8.2.2 Expansion of Mentorship Program The Expansion of the Mentorship Program was a new 2014 initiative with the intent to implement an ongoing, relationship-focused and skill-building program by encouraging local business owners and entrepreneurs to become mentors. This program has been implemented with an increase in mentors for the Summer Company, as well as with the expansion of the mentorship pool to work with Starter Company participants. The BRC is continuing to improve this program as it is in the process of developing program guidelines including an application process and a mentorship agreement. 8.2.3 Events A mandate of the BRC is to be involved in business activities in the community, and surrounding area by offering events and activities to clients throughout the service area. Events are focused on entrepreneurship, small and medium business, and business development. These business outreach and networking activities have included information kiosks, workshops/seminars, and speaking engagements. The following is a summary of the 2014/2015 events: The BRC s Bridges to Better Business Event was held during Small Business Week in October 2014. This Event had a record number of attendees with 75 people in attendance. The BRC s Women s Event held in March 2015 had a sold out attendance with over 100 attendees. The BRC held its first regular monthly networking workshop on August 27, 2015. This event offered a networking segment along with a workshop/seminar component on topics relevant to the small business community. The goal is to target the BRC s small business clients focusing on home-based business owners. The BRC reaches out to other community partners including the local Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) - Enterprise Brant, Laurier, Futurpreneur and Brantford-Brant Chamber of Commerce to provide business workshops for clients without duplication and overlap of information. Recently, the BRC has met with Enterprise Brant to create a plan to cover the gap in workshops since the cancellation of the Ontario Self-Employment Benefit Program (a program Enterprise Brant administered for over 27 years). The BRC and Enterprise Brant want to ensure that business clients will continue to have access to regular workshops on relevant business topics. The BRC has seen an increase in consultation numbers since the
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 7 cancellation of Ontario Self-Employment Benefit Program. Local CFDC s and other service providers were directed by the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities to refer those clients seeking business start-up assistance to their local Small Business Enterprise Centre. 8.3 Youth Entrepreneurship Youth Entrepreneurship has been and continues to be a major focus of the Provincial Government and the BRC plays a more significant role in this initiative. The BRC had a substantial increase in the funding allocations in 2014 and 2015 for this initiative from the Provincial Government. 8.3.1 Summer Company Summer Company is a provincially funded program that the BRC has administered for over 10 years. It is the flagship program of the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. Students between the ages 15 to 29, who are returning to school, have the opportunity to operate businesses for 8 to 12 weeks during the summer. The program offers training, mentorship and funding for up to $3,000. In 2014, 15 students (a record number at the BRC) successfully completed the program. The number of students participating in the program at the BRC increased in 2015 to 17 students. 8.3.2 Starter Company The BRC launched the new Starter Company program, which is part of the Provincial Government s Youth Jobs Strategy in January 2015. The Starter Company program is for youth between the ages 18 to 29, who are not in school full-time. Starter Company offers training, mentorship and funding up to $5,000 for youth to pursue entrepreneurship as a long-term, viable career option. The BRC was allocated 13 awards and to-date 5 entrepreneurs have successfully presented to the Grants Committee and have received or will receive grant monies. 8.3.3 Laurier LaunchPad Laurier s LaunchPad program is offered to community members as well as Laurier students. The experiential business model development program is taught within a flipped classroom environment and focuses on lean start-up methodology of discovering, validating, and launching new innovative business ventures. The BRC has leveraged its partnership with Laurier LaunchPad by allowing entrepreneurs to participate in both Starter Company and in LaunchPad concurrently.
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 8 There have been four youth entrepreneurs participate in the LaunchPad program.. 8.3.4 Futurpreneur Lastly, the partnership with Futurpreneur has allowed the BRC to add a loans component to the services that are offered at the Centre. Futurpreneur Canada has been fueling the entrepreneurial passions of Canada s young enterprise for nearly two decades. The organization is a national, non-profit that provides financing of up to $45,000, as well as mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18 to 39. The BRC has 2 potential business owners working with Futurpreneur to secure loans for their business start-up. 9.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS There are no financial implications as a result of this report. 10.0 CONCLUSION The Brantford-Brant Business Resource Centre met or exceeded many of its key projections in 2014 with this trend continuing into 2015. The BRC has become more focused on youth entrepreneurs with the growth of the Summer Company Program and the implementation of the Starter Company Program. These youth entrepreneurship programs fit well with the partnerships the BRC is establishing with Futurpreneur and Laurier LaunchPad. The BRC continues to seek greater engagement and collaboration with community partners with the goal of establishing greater accessibility to resources and supports for small business clients in the City of Brantford and surrounding area. Mae Legg Senior Small Business Consultant BRC Gregory Dworak, MCIP, RPP General Manager Community Services Attach: John Frabotta, Director Economic Development & Tourism Appendix A - 2014 Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre Year End Update
Report No. CD2015-183 September 8, 2015 Page 9 In adopting this report, is a by-law or agreement required? If so, it should be referenced in the recommendation section. Bylaw required [ ] yes [ X ] no Agreement(s) or other documents to be signed by Mayor and/or City Clerk [ ] yes [ X ] no Is the necessary by-law or agreement being sent concurrently to Council? [ ] yes [ X ] no