Who are we and what is The CWB Way?

Just a few of the learning opportunities we’ve developed:

• RBC Alliance of Young Women Entrepreneurs for

students at Mount Saint Vincent University • Blueprint for Success - an introductory program for developing a business plan • Business advisories - successful entrepreneurs will ask you the right questions to pinpoint your needs and move you forward

• Grow Now - a program for female tech founders

• Advanced Management & Mentorship Program (AMMP)

- a six-month growth accelerator program with a cohort of other women entrepreneurs • Greater Heights of Growth - to help you take your multimillion dollar business to the next level We’ve found giving women a chance to practice what they’ve learned is most effective, so we walk alongside them as they implement new strategies.

After three months, six months, or a year with the right type of learning resources, our clients make huge strides. They innovate, transform, increase revenue, and impact people and communities through their businesses.

Yes, we have worksheets and guided programs to put together your business plan, do your market research, and create a path forward. Our knowledgeable staff and advisors will also guide you, but there is no top-down approach here.

Instead, we’ll help you draw on your skills and talents, and bring you into an expertly facilitated peer-to-peer community. We’ve created interactive, collaborative spaces where women make friends, tackle challenges, work with each other, and share referrals.

Trust us, you know more than you think you know. Let’s celebrate your skills and figure out how to achieve your vision.

Marie-Claire

Chartrand is a social worker and elder mediator and the owner of Greywave Senior Care Consulting.

“In 2014, I was thinking about starting a business and wanted to do the CWB’s Blueprint for Success business planning program. The only thing I had experience in was my field. I had no experience in marketing or finance. But the questionnaire they gave me said don’t give up!

My website went live in 2016. I had a business card; I had my business registered and I was waiting for clients. In 2019, I incorporated, and I hired a lawyer who I found in the CWB’s directory of women-owned businesses. I also hired an accountant through the CWB directory. I took several courses through the CWB in financial management and one on presentation skills. They helped me to develop a presentation that I now take to the community - to churches, businesses, and larger employers. The CWB is all encompassing. I wouldn’t have a business without them.”

The CWB’s Blueprint for Success eight-week

program guides and supports women through getting started in business and creating or updating their business plan. The program includes modules on developing an idea, market research, financial planning, marketing, and operations. During the program, participants meet a group of like-minded women who are at the same business stage; have one-on-one support from the CWB’s business advisor facilitators; and have weekly accountability from both facilitators and peer group members. Marie Webb is a fashion and textile designer. In 2021, Marie, who has Down syndrome, and her mother, Renée Forrestall, launched Necklings, an online business selling colourful accessories printed with designs made from Marie’s drawings. Her Lemonade Stand Design collection includes playful dresses and wearable art.

“ We met every Thursday morning for the Coffee Talk. It was wonderful. We liked connecting and hearing everyone’s stories and getting to know all the other women business owners in the community.

What really warmed my heart was that Marie could easily access the Coffee Talk on Zoom. There weren’t too many things that Marie could participate in during the pandemic. It was the social time that was the most helpful for us. It was the only real outside business contact that we had.”