WELLINGTON COUNTY – As Wellington-Waterloo Community Futures executive director Jenna Deboer puts it, “Small businesses are the backbone of this country.”
Community Futures, along with many other resources in the county, believes in supporting small businesses through every stage. Whether that’s finances, branding or mentoring, there are operations for all.
Based in Elora is the Wellington-Waterloo Community Futures (WWCF) business centre. The centre specializes in local business training and financing as well as the opportunity to receive repayable loans to rural businesses.
With 267 CF groups across Canada “we’re all community-based in that we are governed by a board of directors who actually live and work in the communities we serve,” Deboer told the Advertiser.
The centre offers free coaching, mentoring, some free workshops and others at low cost.
“We know small businesses are the backbone of this country,” she said. “So supporting small businesses allows us to create more jobs, maintain the cost of living for the small business owners, give people drive and motivation to show up every day.”
She added, “Not everybody wants to go and work for someone else.”
Deboer noted supporting these entrepreneurs encourages innovation.
“We have people with amazing ideas that if we didn’t give them a chance, that idea would never be out in the world right now,” she said.
As the county has various resources waiting to help small business owners, Deboer explained how WWCF differs.
“What makes Community Futures unique is our financing program,” she said.
It begins with an initial interview that acts as an information exchange.
An overview of a business plan and financing requirements are discussed before moving on to the loan application.
“We get to work with the small business one-on-one,” Deboer said. “Our board looks at not only the business case of the financing application but also the character of the individual and impact of that project/business on the community here.”
A lot of startups and early expansions come to Community Futures first as “the banks won’t even look at them,” she explained. “The whole network across Canada has been so vitally important for getting these new businesses off the ground.”
The centre serves Puslinch, Erin, Guelph/Eramosa, Centre Wellington, Mapleton and Waterloo Region.
Since its inception in 2002 “we’ve supported just over 7,000 businesses in our entire catchment area [and] I would say most of it is in the county,” Deboer said.
“Important for people to know, so they don’t get confused about who offers what, is the fact that we finance businesses … the coaching and mentoring is an added bonus,” she added.
LaunchIt
Another resource, LaunchIt, a business exploration centre in Harriston, focuses on the county’s north end.
Doubling as a professional coworking space, the centre offers business support, training, workshops and one-on-one business advising.
“Our goal is to make it easier for people to start, grow and sustain their business in Minto and surrounding Minto as well,” LaunchIt business development coordinator Raisa Abrahim told the Advertiser.
The centre includes small business advisor Harold DeVries, who helps with business planning, value proposition and accountability.
“Anything that a business owner will need in their toolkit, we try to provide at no cost or low cost,” she said.
LaunchIt was created in 2014 as part of the town’s economic development strategy in partnership with the Minto Chamber of Commerce. The hub serves Clifford, Harriston, Palmerston, Arthur, Mount Forest, Alma, Drayton and Moorefield.
Abrahim noted the centre has seen businesses struggle with rising costs from suppliers due to tariffs and with retaining staff.
“Whether you need a quiet space to focus, a place to meet clients or a network of like-minded business owners – LaunchIt provides that environment,” Abrahim said. “We’re here to help you make the next step happen.”
Business Centre Guelph-Wellington
Business Centre Guelph-Wellington has been dedicated to helping entrepreneurs since 1999.
“We are a non-profit organization … we are provincially funded and receive support from city of Guelph,” said operations manager Diana Train.
The centre has an advisory team, all based in different aspects of small businesses.
“They’ve all owned multiple businesses, and they’ve been in the business sector for years,” she said.
The group includes one advisor for the agricultural sector, one with marketing and business strategy expertise, another experienced in management of non-profit organizations and a digital advisor.
“We find that a lot of businesses go through problems and they’re different at stage one than they are two or three years in,” Train said.
The cost-free advisory services begin with an intake form so officials understand a business’ background information.
“Everything is still virtual because we’re finding that everybody has busy schedules,” Train explained.
Though Small Business Week will soon be over, the business centre continues hosting online informative sessions on a monthly basis.
“Small businesses is the backbones of our industry and we need to be able to support small businesses because they make jobs,” Train said.
The centre is located within Guelph City Hall but maintains a “small town feel” appreciated by clients from Hillsburgh, Erin, Rockwood and many from Elora, she said.
Train said many small business owners struggle with construction and foot traffic in the smaller towns.
“We’re here to help them,” she said.
“A lot of people have dreams of being their own boss – and we want to be able to support them.”
