While the date of the conference was April Fool’s Day, there was no joking around about the dire need for the return of the entrepreneurial spirit in Nova Scotia.
Jim Bate, academic chair for the School of Business, has been at NSCC for 15 years. He said the aim of this conference wasn’t necessarily entrepreneurship as an area of study.
“This is about infusing the entrepreneurial attitude in all areas of study at NSCC,” he said. “It may come back as a standalone program, but this was more looking at opportunities within each program.”
The conference started with keynote speaker Holly Bond of Bull Frog Energy. Currently national sales director for Bull Frog, she has over 20 years of experience in sales management, entrepreneurship, marketing and business start-ups.
“You can run but not hide from entrepreneurship,” she told the crowd.
Several workshops featured local faculty from the Pictou Campus, employers and entrepreneurs. A mini-panel on getting a business started in Pictou County featured Sue Kajic of BaKED Café, Rebecca Whiffen of Uncle Leo’s Brewery and Paul Heighton of Amby’s Eats.
Heighton, who started his mobile restaurant service last spring, is a graduate of NSCC’s culinary program in 1999 under the direction of Chef Gilles Godin. The Pictou County Chamber of Commerce awarded New Business of the Year to Amby’s Eats in 2013.
“The biggest challenge for me was actually just doing it,” he said, referring to starting up his business. “I had the plan right down to the day but still had to take a deep breath and just do it.”
Other workshops looked at social media, international business cultures and speaking with NSCC’s Dragon’s Den participants.
While the workshops weren’t strictly about entrepreneurship, Bate noted this conference took a holistic approach.
“We can’t talk about entrepreneurship without talking about the tools entrepreneurs use,” he said.
At a panel discussion, Jim Fitt of Velsoft, Nova Scotia's top exporter last year, noted the importance of understanding how customers interact with your product.
“I’ve always been told to respond to what the customer wants, not what you think they want,” he said. “You have to be prepared that their needs may change the direction of your entire company.”
This dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit was noted in the Ivany report, released in February. It highlighted the province’s serious challenges in the economic, governance and demographic sphere, among others. In particular, the report also noted a need for entrepreneurs in the Nova Scotian economy.
“Nova Scotia has a long history of ambitious and successful entrepreneurs,” noted the report. “Urbanization, the economic dominance of service sector industries and the shrinking role of smaller, locally owned businesses all contribute to a general shift away from the entrepreneurial spirit that was so prevalent in earlier times, particularly in rural communities.”
Bate said the NSCC is a big fan of the Ivany report and that the school is doing what it can to produce entrepreneurs for the province.
“As the place where many Nova Scotians will obtain needed skills and trades, we’ve got to keep fueling change and culture in our students,” said Bate.
On Twitter: @NGNewsJohn
