Benefitting Women In Business

by Lorna Lowe

Friday, August 31, 2012

If you are a woman who runs her own business, then you are already more than aware there are quite often extra burdens placed upon you simply because you are a woman, as well as special considerations that you must take into account in your business that are probably not a consideration for your male counterparts. In a nut shell, it can be extremely hard to be a woman running your own business.

In speaking with their membership, the Leduc Chamber of Commerce has been hearing about many of these problems over the last couple of years, and has decided to try and help with some of the more frequently raised issues faced by women in business. Hence; the first Women In Business Conference being held on September 19th at the Executive Royal Inn in Nisku.

"We understand that quite often women will be running smaller businesses, and we appreciate that they might not be able to leave for an entire day." said Stefanie Schulz, Executive Director of the Leduc Chamber of Commerce. "This is why we have arranged to begin the conference at noon, so that business owners can get their businesses and employees set up for the day, and then they just need to have their afternoon free to attend."

Registration begins at 11:00, with lunch being served between 11:00 and 11:30. Then at noon, a speaker from Servus Credit Union, which is the business that is sponsoring this inaugural event, will open the conference with a presentation on how women are changing not just the business world, but the entirety of the world we live in today.

The conference itself has three main workshops offered, with topics specifically geared to the most common concerns of women who own and run their own businesses. Part of the first workshop's title, that would appeal to almost any business person, is "Out Damn Stress, Out!" This workshop will focus on activity at work, managing the two O' clock munchies, understanding your food cravings which can be stress related, and different, healthier methods of handling stress in the workplace.

The second workshop being offered is helping to demystify accounting issues, and it is called "Lifting The Fog - Clarifying Common Accounting Misconceptions". Money management is a huge hot button topic for most businesses, and this workshop will focus on how to put your books together, and what you need to include, so that your accountant can do their best for your business. It will also discuss any recent changes to the Revenue Canada rules, and clarify/answer some of the most frequent questions accountants get asked.

The third workshop on offer is "Marketing on $10,000.00 Or Less". Most businesses do not have endless resources to spend on advertising, so this workshop will help you identify the ways to get the most bang for your buck with the advertising dollars you have available.

Each conference attendee is free to choose the two workshops that would benefit her the most, as they all run simultaneously, with two separate afternoon blocks set aside for the workshops.

There are many events ongoing throughout the afternoon in between the workshop times, that every conference goer can attend. Staff from In Balance Family Chiropractic & Wellness Centre are giving a "Yoga Stretches For The Workplace" presentation, and there is a unique presentation titled the "True Colours Workshop", which helps individuals understand their behaviors, skills, needs, and motivations, as well as those of the people you interact with.

The conference will also be hosting a mini trade show, made up exclusively of businesses owned by women. Breaks scheduled throughout the afternoon will allow attendees to browse the trade show tables and network with other women in business. There will be a maximum of ten tables set up for the mini trade show, and each business that registers for a table can be assured that there will be no direct competition from the same line of business at this show. This also means there will be a good selection of vendors for the ladies attending the conference to check out, instead of, as an example, having four tables set up with various brands of makeup.

At 5pm the workshops will be completed, the wine bar will be opened, and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Then, to bring the afternoon to a close on a high note, Wayne Lee, motivational speaker and hypnotist, is being brought in as a special guest. His presentation is called "Set Your GPS for Success", with Wayne speaking on how to harness the power of your programmable subconscious in order to reduce stress and achieve unlimited success.

"We hope this conference will really benefit the women in business in our area." said Stefanie. "We really do listen to our membership and try to find ways to assist them that will help to make their business ventures successful. So if this conference proves that it is a popular and valuable tool for business women, we will be looking at making it an annual event."

Currently, there are still spaces available to register for this event, as well as a couple of tables still available for the mini trade show. For more information, please call the Leduc Chamber of commerce office at 780-986-5454.

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