There’s more support than ever for young entrepreneurs – providing you have the guts to take the plunge. Case in point: The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) offers aspiring young entrepreneurs, aged 18 to 39, financial support and expert advice to help bring those great business ideas of yours to life. The CYBF delivers its program coast-to-coast through a national network of 186 community partners and more than 4,550 volunteers, including business mentors. Established in 1996, the CYBF has invested in more than 5,600 young and emerging entrepreneurs across Canada, whose businesses have created over 23,000 new jobs, $163.6 million in tax revenue and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and export revenue.
The non-profit offers entrepreneurs four fully integrated services that are built around the ‘life cycle’ of a young entrepreneur, helping to ensure the success of every new start-up. This includes pre-launch expertise, where you learn how to build your business plan, overcome challenges and grow your venture through their Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and network of community partners. It also offers online business resources; free tools, templates, articles and crash courses. Perhaps one of the most helpful is the Business Plan Writer… because you can’t have a brilliant business without a plan. Furthermore, the CYBF offers financing advice and access to up to $15,000 in start-up financing and up to $30,000 in additional financing through a partnership with the Business Development Bank of Canada.
Of outmost value is the industry-leading mentoring provided. Most successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned business veterans alike will tell you they had a mentor. The CYBF offers the extensive experience of a business professional who works with you for a minimum of two years to ensure support during the critical start-up phase. As a result of programs like this, the CYBF has been recognized as a global leader in advancing youth entrepreneurship. It is a founding member of the global G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (G20 YEA), the Canadian member of the Prince’s Youth Business International, and the Canadian Host of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Of course, just as important as mentoring is networking. A popular CYBF initiative is their Owners Wanted campaign. Right now, they are organizing a series of coffee shop chats in Toronto, opening a discussion between entrepreneurs, the CYBF, and entrepreneurs who have already been helped by the CYBF.
We caught up with CYBF’s Senior Director in Ontario, Scott Bowman, who told us a little more about Owners Wanted and the coffee shop chat.
What is the inspiration behind the CYBF and initiatives like the coffee shop chats?
Many millennials, those born between 1980-95, show a strong desire to start their own company, but picked a safe job that they felt they should have picked right out of school so that they would live happily ever after. The thing is, however, that they realize that they are not happy. They want something of their own. Young people now see the value of a healthy work/life balance and of living a life of meaning. Their attitudes, values and passion fuel their drive to start companies, and programs like Owners Wanted make this easier. Young people don’t want to put in their few years into a safe career anymore before embarking on entrepreneurial endeavours – they want to start now. We have done our research. Of the millennial generation, around 20 per cent want to start a business, which is higher than the 8 per cent of people who say they do from outside that generation. So, there is a strong need for programs like the ones we offer.
What can we expect from the coffee shop chats?
Well the Owners Wanted coffee shop chats are based on the same principles as the Owners Wanted campaign, which centres on idea sharing and helpful tools for entrepreneurs. The idea with the coffee shop chat is to offer an unthreatening environment to sit down and bounce ideas off peers as well as seasoned entrepreneurs who were once where they are- at the beginning. We chose a coffee shop as a gathering place, as we knew it was an environment where this generation would feel comfortable – one look around any local coffee shop and you are surrounded by young people with laptops, after all. We thought we would come to them to start the conversation instead of them sitting there alone and Googling how.
What will participants take away from it?
They will walk away with tips and hints from experienced entrepreneurs. They will get to hear firsthand stories from entrepreneurs, which can act as real-life case studies. It is always exciting for aspiring young entrepreneurs to hear what drives seasoned entrepreneurs. We want them to leave inspired to start their venture now, not someday. We also hope the ideas of others inspire ideas in others and in the development of the ones they already have. Participants can then turn to CYBF for further resources to take this idea further, whether than means business plan development or applications for funding. There are all kinds of free tools that users can use at their own convenience. We are there to keep the momentum going, but starting the discussion at the Coffee Shop Chat is the first step.
Do you need a solid, developed idea to participate?
You can definitely come join the discussion even if you just have a vague idea of a business venture, or at least have a desire to explore your idea further. Either way, talking to others brings out other ideas in you. Identifying what you are passionate about is a key driver of success. Your business likely won’t be as successful if you aren’t passionate about it. Not to mention, when you are passionate, it shows and breeds excitement in others.
Coffee Shop Chats take place in Toronto on the following dates:
Thursday, March 20 (10AM – 11AM): Juice and Java, 2102 Queen St. East
Thursday, March 20 (3PM – 4PM): Jimmy’s Coffee, 107 Portland St.
Thursday, March 20 (7PM – 8PM): Balzac’s – Ryerson Campus, 122 Bond St.
Thursday, March 20 (7PM – 8PM): Balzac’s – Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St.
Monday, March 24 (3PM – 4PM): Jimmy’s Coffee, 107 Portland St.
Thursday, March 27 (10AM – 11AM): Juice and Java, 2102 Queen St. East.
Thursday, March 27 (7PM – 8PM): Balzac’s – Ryerson Campus, 122 Bond St.
Thursday, March 27 (7PM – 8PM): Balzac’s – Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St.
If you can’t make the coffee shop chats, the CYBF offers Entrepeer, a platform to connect online and in person with a network of entrepreneurs, mentors and business experts from across Canada.
Check out CYBF for yourself here.
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