Entrepreneur's Club

Membership has its Perks! 

Call 705-720-2445 and find out if you qualify today!!

GBBEC Workshops May 2013

Sale of Business

IMF cuts outlook for Canadian economy

The Globe and Mail

The International Monetary Fund has cut its outlook for Canada's economy, and is advising the Bank of Canada to leave interest rates low until a recovery is entrenched.

Canada's gross domestic product will expand 1.5 per cent in 2013, a downgrade from January, when the IMF predicted the country's GDP would increase 1.8 per cent. That would be the weakest growth since 2008, when Canada slid into recession, and the second consecutive year of growth of less than 2 per cent.

In the United States, the economy should be steadier, which will lift Canadian exports, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook, released Tuesday in Washington.

Positioning the City to Target Economic Development and Customer Service  

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Responding to the changing needs of a growing community, The City of Barrie has introduced new portfolios and reorganized the working structure of the organization in order to be positioned to best serve our community.  The City began the organizational review when one of the three General Manager positions became vacant last summer, which prompted the opportunity to analyze the corporate structure relative to functional gaps, and improved alignments.  The process was conducted by the City's Executive Management Team in consultation with Council, the Senior Leadership Team, and staff across the corporation. 

Summer Company 2013

There is only about 4 weeks until the deadline for Summer Company 2013 application submissions.

High School Business Plan Competition

We are entering the final stages of our visits to High Schools regarding Simcoe County's High School Business Plan Competition.  This years grand prize includes a $1,200 scholarship to Georgian College again!  Students will also be able to win cash and other great prizes.   

All high school students are welcome to join the competition.  Plans are to be submitted to the GBBEC by Wednesday May 22nd. Then the plans will be judged, and the top 12 students will be recognized at our annual business plan banquet in June.

If you are interested in sponsoring the business plan competition and would like a sponsor package sent to you please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Make your Pitch!!!

We are happy to announce a new youth program being run by the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, called Make your Pitch!!!

Make Your Pitch is for high school students across Ontario.  Students will have two minutes to pitch their winning business idea.  http://www.makeyourpitch.ca/

Video's are to be submitted online by May 3, 2013 and the top 18 finalists will receive coaching and tools to help bring their ideas to life and a trip to Toronto for the Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery Conference in May.

Client Success Survey

Thank you to all of you who filled in our online client success survey!!  The winner of the draw is Sarah Lochhead from Simcoe Contemporary Dance.  She won a year's membership in the  Entrepreneur's Club as well as 2 books - 30 Day's To Virtual Productivity Success by Gail Martin, and Lawrence Wilson's The Small Business Planner

Summer Company 2013 NOW OPEN

Applications are now officially being accepted for the 2013 Summer Company Program.  Do you know a student who would like to start their own business?  This is their chance to turn those ideas into a real business this Summer.  Summer Company is open to Ontario students between 15 and 29 who are returning to school in the fall. Selected students will receive up to $1500 to start their business, and an additional $1500 upon successful completion of the program. Business training and hands-on mentoring from volunteer business professionals within the community are also provided to support the student entrepreneurs. 

Click here to check eligibility