london bridge network - london small business centre
TRANSCRIPT
Our Mission: "To stimulate, promote and support the
entrepreneurial spirit, start-up and early growth of small business to actively contribute to the
economic development of London."
Three Service Streams
• Entrepreneurial Services• Entrepreneurial Programs• Community Engagement
Entrepreneurial ServicesSmall Business Centres offer a full array of services designed to assist entrepreneurs in the planning, start up and early growth stages of business:
• Free consultations• Seminars and workshops• Networking opportunities• Information Resources
Entrepreneurial Programs• Structured training and mentoring with a high level
of accountability and possibility of financial support.• Individual must meet gov’t eligibility requirements
to participate, often based on demographic criteria and unemployment status.
• Individual must meet SBC criteria, based on suitability and business viability.
• Collectively 125-150 businesses will launch each year, with the assistance of government sponsored programs. More than 400 will apply.
Community Engagement• Promote entrepreneurship within our schools
and community organizations. >30 outreach presentations per year.
• Actively engage the business community as mentors to new business owners.
• We connect people! Each year we engage over 70 volunteers and
leverage more than 800 volunteer hours!
Community Capacity Building• Entrepreneurial Climate Study – contacted 1500
random households to better understand people’s attitudes and propensity towards entrepreneurship; motivators and barriers. Led by SBC it included 8 regional partners.
• Entrepreneur Insight Panel – A private sector partnership to create a “consumer panel” for ongoing research.
Our Clients
• 33% are in the “investigation” stage• 54% are in the start-up stage• 12% are existing businesses• 31% are under the age of 30• 51% are between the ages of 30-50* Based on status at point of initial contact
By the numbers…annually
• Conduct more than 2500 consultations• Facilitate over 800 hours of workshops• Assist in the development of 400 feasibility plans
Annual Economic Impact
• Assist over 200 unemployed individuals to find work through self employment.
• Actively contribute to the start-up or growth of 300 businesses.
• Directly impact the creation of more than 380 jobs.