Avoiding the Dragons: National Contest Tackles Needs of Canadian Entrepreneurs
Canada's smallest office contest: offering $60K in strategic business advice, mentorship and equipment – in a window display office.
BARRIE, ON, March 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Canadians are increasingly starting their own businesses. The harsh reality, however, is that only half survive past five years. A national contest looks to impact that by providing the winner with hard-nosed business advice, in an entrepreneurial centre, all steps from patios, entertainment and one of Canada's best waterfronts.
The smOffice contest is accepting applications from across the country to give one entrepreneur six months of business incubation, accommodation and recreation – in Canada's smallest office! Hosted by The Creative Space, an entrepreneurial hub in Barrie, Ontario, the contest will immerse the winner in an incubation program unlike any other.
Offering strategic advice from business lawyers, accountants and bankers, as well as mentorship from successful entrepreneurs thriving in the global marketplace, the smOffice winner will be given the knowledge and tools (including a Macbook Air that the winner gets to keep) they need to turn their big idea into a reality. They will also get a business bank account with seed money and a Sonders e-bike to get rolling, as well as all the free pizza they can eat to fuel their creative process.
The fun part will be enjoying the free, furnished condo provided, tickets to local events, the nightlife beside the office and the beach seconds away. Whereas venture capitalists take an ownership in a small business, the smOffice contest gives the tools and advice for a Canadian entrepreneur to beat the odds.
"Entrepreneurs sometimes struggle because they lack the professional knowledge to address the breadth of business issues that arise, or because they do not have mentors who have taken a business from a start up to a global operation" says Chad Ballantyne, Director of The Creative Space. "This contest will change that, not only by providing critical legal, accounting, advisory and banking support, but by putting the winner in touch with leading entrepreneurs, including those who have been on Profit's Top 50 list. This is the key value in this contest, as being successful as an entrepreneur is about being in the middle of like-minded entrepreneurs, providing immediate access to their business challenges and opportunities. Entrepreneurship is about the innovation and the new way of thinking and not just about the cash investments we see on TV".
Why Barrie for the location of Canada's smallest office? It's because the city just north of Toronto offers a municipal commitment to fostering economic development through entrepreneurial growth. Its Mayor stated on television that "the spirit of entrepreneurialism is baked into our DNA" and the smOffice winner will benefit from this by being introduced to a broad network of business, academic and municipal leaders, as well as financiers that will immediately give them a valuable network for their future.
For the right creative entrepreneur willing to work in Canada's smallest office, the very large offerings of this contest will be sure to not only draw considerable awareness to the winner's business, but make their business idea a reality.
SOURCE smOffice.ca
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