SBEC Success Stories

Ruth Plumb Portraits - Starter Company Plus Participant 2018

A few years ago, Ruth Plumb began a new chapter in her life. She’d worked for 10 years as a dental hygienist, then was a stay-at-home mom. It was now time to see if she could channel her talent for portrait photography into her dream of running a viable business.

“I thought, if I didn’t give it a try, when would I?” says Plumb. “I didn’t want to regret not trying. It was a huge turning point for me.”

She’d been taking photos since age 12, when she got her first camera. As a mom, she’d honed her portraiture skills by taking thousands of picture of her four kids. Word got around and friends started asking her to photograph them.

So in 2014, she launched Ruth Plumb Portraits, but the transition wasn’t an easy one. She’d never run a business before, and she’d struggled over what to charge for her services. “I felt like I was spinning my wheels,” she says.

Then, a friend suggested she might benefit from Starter Company Plus, a program that offers funding, training, mentoring and other assistance to Ontario residents starting or expanding a business in the province. She applied to the program through the Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre (RH-SBEC), which administers the program through funding from the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Plumb was accepted, and she attended a series of six weekly afternoon sessions led by seasoned entrepreneurs. The sessions helped her write a detailed business plan and project her business’s cash flow for two years — a valuable exercise she wouldn’t have done otherwise, she admits. Particularly helpful was the session on market research, which helped her define her target customers.

Plumb is experienced in photographing women, men and children, but her target customers are women who want beautiful “heirloom” portraits of themselves and their families to display at home. Ruth Plumb Portraits also specializes in professional headshots and personal branding portraits and offers styling by a professional hair and makeup artist prior to each shoot. “It’s a perk — clients feel pampered when they don’t have to worry about these details,” says Plumb.

As a successful participant in Starter Company Plus, Plumb received a $5,000 grant. She’s used these funds to purchase indoor lighting equipment and studio props, and to develop her website.

Just as valuable, if not more so, was the one-on-one mentoring she received in the program. “I specifically asked for help with networking,” says Plumb. “I’d been relying solely on referrals through friends and previous clients. I needed to get out of my comfort zone.”

And she has done just that. The RHSBEC connected her with a couple of networking professionals who boosted her confidence and helped her understand that networking is not about selling, but about building relationships.

“It was an amazing experience,” says Plumb, of the mentoring help. “I’ve since joined two networking groups and I attend networking events about every two weeks.” 
 

Kinetic Performance Movement Education - Starter Company Plus Participant 2018

Launching a business can be exciting. But as Adam Jongsma can attest, fine-tuning that business can be even more engrossing.

In 2016, Jongsma launched Kinetic Performance (now Kinetic Performance Movement Education) to provide continuing education for personal trainers. He had the professional cred — he’s a kinesiologist with a master’s degree in rehabilitation science — but no business training.

“I was flying by the seat of my pants,” he says of his first 18 months in business. So when he heard about Starter Company Plus, he applied to the provincial program, and was accepted.

Starter Company Plus offers funding, training, mentoring and other assistance to Ontario residents interested in starting or expanding a business in the province. Richmond Hill residents can apply to the program at the Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre (RHSBEC), which administers the program through funding from the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

In the program, Jongsma attended six afternoon training sessions on subjects such as marketing, accounting and the legal aspects of running a business, all of which helped him write a detailed business plan, a requirement of the program. In one of the sessions, participants discussed their USPs, or unique selling propositions. “I didn’t have a USP,” says Jongsma. “The session really got me thinking about what Kinetic Performance Movement Education provides that nobody else does.”

That “what” are courses for personal trainers that teach them how to work with clients who are recovering from injuries and getting back into activity. “Most corporations are reducing their insurance benefits for physiotherapy and chiropractic services,” says Jongsma. “As a result, more people are going to personal trainers.” But because not all personal trainers are trained in rehabilitation, there’s a gap that needs to be filled. “That’s what our courses do,” he says.

After Jongsma had completed the training sessions, he took advantage of the mentoring part of Starter Company Plus. At RHSBEC, he met with a lawyer who helped him draft terms of service and a privacy policy. “Two days later, I had those up on our website,” he says. A search engine optimization (SEO) specialist helped him understand how he could improve Kinetic Performance Movement Education’s website profile on search engines such as Google, while a marketing pro spoke with him about social media marketing. Says Jongsma: “His big thing was consistency: If you post more often, you’re seen by more people.”

In addition to training and mentoring, Jongsma received $5,000 in financial assistance in the program. He’s put these funds toward the purchase of a mirrorless camera, lavalier mics and other audiovisual equipment to help him produce marketing videos and, in time, instructional videos for online courses.

Right now, however, Jongsma is gearing up for the road. “In December, we became accredited by GoodLife Fitness for our Pain to Performance Core Concepts course,” he says. “We expect to be going all over Canada delivering the course in the next five months.”

For this energetic entrepreneur, it seems that 2019 is shaping up to be a banner year.

MindLock Mental Training - Summer Company Participant 2019

Dylan Nadler knows all about grace under fire. When he was an elite-level taekwondo athlete in his teens, he travelled the globe to compete, raking in medals and representing Canada. His accolades include being named Team Canada captain in 2015 and Canadian National Champion twice.

“I wasn’t the tallest, strongest, or the most physically talented athlete,” says Nadler, now 21. “But I could always rely on my mental toughness. I spent a lot of time analyzing game tape and opponents’ videos, and discovering ways to stay motivated and think my way to victory.”

He is now passing on his insights to others through MindLock Mental Training, a mental performance company that helps athletes become the best version of themselves.

Nadler had the idea of MindLock when he identified a gap in the market. “Unfortunately, the mental side of sports is often neglected,” he says. “It’s seen as an afterthought to strength training, conditioning, drills, diet and sleep when an athlete is preparing for competition. At the end of the day, the strongest and most prepared athletes underperform if they fail to address their psychological challenges.”

Nadler himself is no stranger to psychological hurdles. “The stress of competition, nervousness, fear, emotional inflexibility — these things tripped me up in the past,” he says. “Nothing was more frustrating than underperforming, especially when I knew I had everything in my power to achieve exactly what I wanted.”

Nadler sought out coaches and teams he had built connections with when he was a high-performance athlete. “I ran weekly sessions for a group of about 15 athletes aged 11 to 17,” he says. “I tracked and assessed their progress through training evaluations and baseline testing. The sessions were a huge success. The athletes came away with greater confidence and sharper focus.”

Dylan knew he wanted to make MindLock a brand name within the sports industry. Participating in Summer Company between June-August 2019 was the next step on Nadler’s entrepreneurial journey. Summer Company is an Ontario government program that helps young people, aged 15 to 29, to start and run summer businesses by providing funding, advice and other services.

“I thrived in the program,” says Nadler. “I immersed myself in the world of entrepreneurship, broadened my knowledge of sales and marketing, and strengthened my network.” One of Richmond Hill’s consultants helped him improve and automate his payment process. “That alleviated a ton of stress and let me spend more time doing the things I love in my business,” he says.

Nadler also took full advantage of the program’s mentoring services, tapping into their knowledge and network. With one of his mentors, he led a student success workshop at an international private school in Toronto.

To date, Nadler has acquired several new clients, including professional athletes of the Canadian Football League (CHL), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and Bellator. “These high-profile clients challenged me to put my best foot forward every day,” he says.

He’s also been hired to provide mindset training for a Mississauga high school football team and he serves as a sports psychology expert on various podcasts. The Staples tradeshow also helped him close a deal with an athlete that showed interest in the booth.

What does the future hold for this ambitious young man who is also studying psychology at university? “I want to take my skills and all I’ve learned to the next level,” says Nadler. “My goal is to grow MindLock into an authority on sports psychology and mental training that dominates the market.” 

DMS Creative Labs

DMS Creative Labs - Summer Company Participant 2019

Ask Jordan Hilkowitz about his company’s name and the 17-year-old will tell you that DMS stands for “Doctor Mad Science.” That’s the name of Hilkowitz’s popular YouTube channel. From age 11 to 14, Hilkowitz starred in dozens of YouTube videos, enthusiastically demonstrating kid-friendly science experiments. Doctor Mad Science has attracted about 34,000 subscribers and $15,000 in ad revenue, but it also helped Hilkowitz, who is on the autism spectrum, to develop his communication skills.

He flexed his communication skills — and his entrepreneurial spirit — as he developed DMS Creative Labs. DMS is a marketing and media firm that provides website design and maintenance, logo creation, videography and other services for the blockchain and digital industries (blockchains contain data used by cryptocurrencies).

To help him launch DMS, Hilkowitz applied to Summer Company — a “big process,” he says. Summer Company is an Ontario government program that helps young people, aged 15 to 29, to start and run full-time summer businesses by providing training, coaching and funding of up to $3,000. The Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre (RHSBEC) administers the program.

When Hilkowitz was accepted into the program, the timing couldn’t have been better. Tracy Leparulo, CEO of Untraceable, an event management and marketing agency, had contracted him to provide graphic design, PowerPoint and web services for the large Toronto blockchain conference she was planning for August. “Jordan was an invaluable contributor to the event,” says Leparulo, who had partnered with him on the Doctor Mad Science videos years ago. “We couldn’t have done it without him.”

While he had Untraceable as his biggest client, Hilkowitz took in all that Summer Company has to offer. “A key part the program were the workshops,” he says. “I learned all about Google Ads and reaching my audience through Facebook and Instagram.” Another workshop, which encouraged participants to identify their value proposition, helped Hilkowitz price his services.

He also took advantage of Summer Company’s mentoring services, meeting with two established small business owners. “The mentors gave me ideas on how to reach my target audience,” he says. “One of them suggested I add a mailing list to my website and follow potential clients on social media.”

To help the young entrepreneurs promote their businesses, RHSBEC typically hosts two meet-and-greet trade shows each summer. Hilkowitz showcased his services at both events, one at a local Staples store and the other at the City of Richmond Hill’s main office, where he was photographed with Mayor David Barrow.

These opportunities added up to some awesome exposure for this active Grade 12 student who’s clearly finding his way in today’s digital world.

She has seen her company grow every year but the first year was tough. Amita got help from the Richmond Hill SBEC who provided business resources and a free review of her business and marketing plans. SBEC staff taught her about the importance of marketing and Amita focused on this during her first year of business.

Amita is considering a franchise business modelled after Cirque du Play, increasing awareness of youth fitness and adding more features to her current business to make it even more fun for kids. Contact Cirque du Play for more information.

"I would like to make it easier for parents and people looking for delicious gluten free products by supplying you with good tasting and tested products," says Martina. "I deliver them right to your door."

Martina worked with the Richmond Hill SBEC to get her business started. They helped her register her business, get permits and licensing and write a business plan. She continues to attend SBEC seminars and workshops and her business is growing every month.

Martina plans to expand her business by helping people adjust to a gluten-free lifestyle, especially in the kitchen. She also plans to find a commercial space where she can sell her products and offer gluten-free cooking lessons.

Contact Happy Tummy for more information.

Cellie Gonsalves, a Richmond Hill entrepreneur, owns Cyberflowers. She uses the services at the Richmond Hill SBEC to help grow her business. She regularly attends SBEC workshops and seminars and gets one-on-one assistance with expanding her company's Social Media presence.

"The Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre has been a great help to me and my business," says Cellie. "I would recommend their services to any aspiring entrepreneurs or small business owners looking to grow their business."

Contact Cyberflowers for more information.

The academy offers a number of programs including:

• Art Combo, fundamentals of drawing, painting and sculpting
• Digital Art
• Comics and Animation
• Portfolio Development
• Summer Camp

Art One Academy was featured on the Community Connection show on RogersTV. The company is expanding in size and space, adding new classes such as Pottery and Fired Sculptures.

Contact Art One Academy for more information.

Ivana Pejakovic's lifeSense coaching works with women, teens and young adults who are dealing with issues including:

• low self-esteem
• poor choices
• bad habits
• lack of values and goals
• sibling rivalry
• feelings of inadequacy
• poor self-image

Ivana helps people become aware of their potential and develop their focus and passion. Running her own business has been a source of happiness for Ivana as well. "After starting my business, I've experienced both personal and business successes. Personally, I have gained or developed self-motivation skills, greater belief or faith in myself, a greater respect for myself, pride in myself, and confidence to step outside my comfort zone," she says. "Professionally, I have gained or developed: an entrepreneurial mindset, sales skills, marketing and advertising skills, accounting skills, time management skills, search engine optimization knowledge, business clarity, and administration skills."

Ivana is writing a book, plans to get more involved with the media and plans to expand her business throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Contact Ivana for more information.