Where is the Entrepreneurial Nerve Centre of Kitchener-Waterloo?

For several years now I've been struggling to figure out where the entrepreneurial nerve centre of Kitchener-Waterloo is located.  Much is said about the Entrepreneurial spirit of Kitchener-Waterloo and the resources that are put behind Entrepreneurship.   I still have a hard time putting my finger on exactly where the nerve centre is or if it can even be called a centre.  Perhaps it is more like a network.  If it is a network, then how do I access the network to get the things that I require to take a business idea to a profitable one?  There is Communitech, the Chamber of Commerce, various innovation centres, etc., but I've yet been able to say "here is the centre" or "here is how one accesses the network of business creators in our community."  Certainly, the movers and shakers in the larger local businesses who can give advice and who have access to capital are out of reach of the average person.  I would appreciate your views on where the centre is or how to access the network of our community's vaunted entrepreneurial economy.

Small Business Community Network Mixer a Great Success

The networking event organized by Linda Ockwell-Jenner at Caesar Martini's on the evening of January 26th was a resounding success with some approximately 50 people in attendance for a long and enjoyable evening of networking.

I was struck by the quality and quantity of the people attending the event.

There seems to be a thirst for genuine networking opportunities in the Kitchener-Waterloo area where people can make fresh contacts and find the bits and pieces they need to advance their businesses.

You can visit the Small Business Community Network on-line at http://www.sbcncanada.org/.

What is the Role of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs?

We had an open discussion at the last meeting of the Executive of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group on Friday January 15th, 2009.

What I took away from the roundtable discussion is that there is a perception amongst our now 350 group members that the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group is a different kind of networking group than Communitech or the Chamber of Commerce.

Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce do a great job doing what they do.  Communitech is great for people and companies actually in the technology-side of their businesses and the Chamber of Commerce a great place for local businesses to learn about each other and look after their mutual interests. 

Communitech's CEO Roundtable is a great place for Executives to swap stories that can help each other as they are almost like case studies from which lessons can be learned.  Membership, to my understanding, however is limited to CEOs from larger companies.  The discussions are also confidential.

What the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrpreneurs LinkedIn Group does is allow members to work on solving individual business problems by providing a forum of trust wherein members can get together on their own to form subgroups to solve their problems and learn from each other.  In short, it is in many ways a CEO roundtable for CEOs of smaller companies or anyone interested in advancing their business or career.

Time for some shameless self-promotion of Vanguard Seas

It's time to do some shameless self-promotion for my company Vanguard Seas because we are helping businesses get ahead during tough economic times.

Just by going to my company website at http://www.vanguardseas.com/ and clicking on the online businesses button you will be presented with some 12 different sites you can use to have your business information instantaneously translated and posted in the language of your choice.

I, for instance, have posted my company profile in Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Arabic, German, etc.. with the push of a button and it can be that easy for you too.

Just imagine inviting your international business contacts to join one of our online services for free and what that could do to help you organize your international contacts to do more business?  Just imagine how you can overcome the language barrier by inviting your friends to join.

A new functionality to this "Facebook for International" business will be the creation of directories for your contacts.

K-W Entrepreneurs Keeps Growing

The K-W Entrepreneurs Group keeps growing larger.  Memership is currently 313 members.  I predict that the group will hit 400 within 6 months.

My question is why is the group so successful in getting new members without effort?

It is my hope that members of the group will share their reasons why they have joined the group and talk about what the group has done for them.  I'd also like to get ideas about what their expectations are for the group.

You are welcome to make postings as comments to this article or to start discussions in the LinkedIn Group as to your experiences with the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group.

K-W Entrepreneurs Nears 300: Which Way Ahead?

Since my last posting 2.5 months ago in July, K-W Entrepreneurs has added almost another 100 Members.

Last week Jennifer Janik and Deborah Ritchie organized an incredible social mixer at the Waterloo Inn. It was very-well attended and many new faces were there.

The big question now is how to harness the energy of this rapidly-growing group. Harp Arora of Sedona Communications put together a fabulous survey of the group to which many members responded.

Based on Harp's findings, action has to be taken allow the group to self-organize based on the themes arising from her survey. I encourage everyone to look at her survey results in the discussion section of the K-W LinkedIn Group and think of ways the group could self-organize. If you see a role for yourself there, I also encourage you to write me and let me know what interests you.

K-W Entrepreneurs now has over 200 Members

The Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group now has over 200 members.  This is yet another milestone for the organization.

There are many items posted for discussion and quite a bit of commentary.

Now there is a Job Posting function provided by LinkedIn which could add a whole new dimension to the group.

Harp Arora of Sedona Communications has prepared a survey which has been sent to group members to see how the organization can serve them best.

The group is still at the early stages of determining how it can best help its Members.  We've got Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations doing a fine job at doing what they're doing so it will be interesting to see how Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs differentiates itself.