Business Bulletin
Inspiring people, ideas & investment
M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2 AC T I V I T Y U P D AT E
Our inspired entrepreneur:
Christian Goldie Congratulation to Christian Goldie, this year’s co-winner of our 2012 Business Plan Competition and this month’s inspired entrepreneur. Christian is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Using his sales savvy refined while working at Frito Lay, he impressed the judges with his enthusiasm for new technologies and comprehensive business plan for his new business venture, Social Machinery. Held on March 26, the Business Plan Competition was open to entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 34 to promote entrepreneurship as a career path.
new economic development action plan was recently released by the Provincial Government. Designed to accelerate economic growth, the plan envisions economic development as a community-driven venture and redefines government's role in stimulating a strong and sustainable economy. Enterprise Saint John is encouraged by the renewal and leadership the Province has taken for the delivery of regional economic development and we look forward to discussing its implementation with our Provincial partner. Essential to its success will be striking the right balance between urban and rural jurisdictions. The regions of Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton play critically important roles in driving the New Brunswick economy.
Attracting new investment During the months of March and April, Enterprise Saint John attended meetings in Toronto to pursue several significant investment opportunities and back in Saint John hosted three domestic and international investment clients. One of these was a Japanese company who is exploring Saint John for its business expansion efforts and another was an American firm from the ICT sector considering moving operations north of the border. Our investment attraction efforts have received a fresh infusion with the hiring of Mark Breen, our new Economic Development Officer who joined our staff team in April. We are also working closely with our provincial partner, Invest NB, as we develop a strategic Lead Generation Strategy.
Celebrating another great year On March 22, Enterprise Saint John hosted a reception to celebrate the successful completion of the second year of the Business Immigrant Mentorship Program in Saint John. With the help and support of their mentors and the training received in the program, eight mentees are now better prepared for success in their business endeavours.
Our 2012 participants:
“Over the past three years, I have learned through my wife all of the great services Enterprise Saint John provides for new entrepreneurs. My wife is a graphic designer, and after seeing how she was able to build her business skills through the various seminars and one-on-one counseling, I knew they would be the right place to help me pursue my new business venture - bringing emerging mobile technologies and social media insights to local businesses.” Christian Goldie is the founder of Social Machinery
Dong Hyun (Henry) Sung, gas bar HeonChul (Robin) Jun, juice bar Ying (Tracy) Yang, automotive accessories Valeri Martens and Louise Ryan, bakery
Harvesh Elavia, convenience store Oksana, Vadyn and Yana Synogub, bakery Olga Mamina, restaurant Andrew Yoo, seafood export
Carl Killen, MLA for Saint John Harbour spoke on behalf of the Minister along with Charles Ayles, the Assistant Deputy Minister, and Ashraf Ghanem with GNB Population Growth Division (Director, Responsible for Immigration and Settlement).
Welcoming the Intelligent Community Forum’s co-founder Hosting potential immigrants In March and April, Enterprise Saint John hosted 51 potential business immigrants from China, Korea, Iran and Vietnam. That’s already 124 people year-to-date!
Grand Bay-Westfield
Lou Zacharilla, co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum experiences a Saint John tradition lunch at Slocum & Ferris in the City Market. He is joined by Rick Hancox, Anita Punamiya, Shawn Peterson and Gerry Pond.
Quispamsis
Enterprise Saint John, in partnership with the City of Saint John, hosted Lou Zacharilla, the co-founder of the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum on March 29 and 30. Nearly 20 get-to-know-us activities took place, involving more than 200 people. This included a Community Luncheon with welcoming remarks by Rodney Weston, MP; Glen Savoie, MLA Saint John Fundy; and Mayors Brad Woodside (Fredericton), George LeBlanc (Moncton) and Ivan Court (Saint John). The Intelligent Community Forum Summit in New York from June 6-8 is an opportunity to showcase our innovative Community and share ideas with the other most innovative cities of the world. We have been invited to be part of a very unique club of the world’s best and brightest.
Rothesay
St. Martins
Saint John
M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2 AC T I V I T Y U P D AT E Inspiring entrepreneurship t 1SPWJEFE one-on-one counselling to 24 new, active and potential entrepreneur clients in March and 22 in April. These clients have gone beyond the initial meeting stage. t 1FOOZ #VDL Family Ties Daycare, approved for $20,000 SEED loan t )FBUIFS "DLFS H2C Online, approved for $20,000 SEED loan t +JN BOE 5BSB $IBSUFST Little Caesars franchise, approved for $20,000 SEED loan t Simonds High and 19 Woodlawn School students learned about available entrepreneurial opportunities t Harbourview High co-op students learned about opening a business t 1BSUOFSFE XJUI UIF /FX #SVOTXJDL 4FDVSJUJFT $PNNJTTJPO UP PòFS BO JOWFTUPS SFBEJOFTT TFNJOBS iLearning the Ropes�
“In 2012, Enterprise Saint John staff members have followed up on 125 new business start-up leads.�
Workforce development t 1SPWJEFE SFDSVJUNFOU BTTJTUBODF UP Sitel, Thing 5, CenterBeam, DPL Group, Irving Oil Ltd., Innovatia, Coastal Blending and J.D. Irving, Limited Woodlands t 1BSUOFSFE JO UIF UI Catch the Wave to Employment initiative on March 15th for 77 attendees t 4JODF +BOVBSZ &OUFSQSJTF 4BJOU +PIO IBT SFTQPOEFE UP cost-of-living requests from 29 potential new residents who are considering a move to our Community these were generated through the Life on Your Terms website t %FMJWFSFE BO FNQMPZFS JOGPSNBUJPO TFTTJPO iTap into the Global Labour Market� on March 2nd for 8 employers t 4VDDFTTGVMMZ DPNQMFUFE labour market information surveys with Saint John area companies focused on energy and advanced manufacturing companies
Inspiring people, ideas & investment
Upcoming events JUNE 18
TEAMS Workforce Event – Featuring industry leadership speaker Mark Breslin. For information, contact gorourke@enterprisesj.com.
JUNE 5&19
Small Business Financial Boot Camp – Sessions two and three, teaches participants about cash flow management and lending partners, contact sjones@enterprisesj.com.
Annual General Meeting – Save the JUNE 28 1-2:00 PM date! Saint John Trade & Convention Centre.
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Post budget reception hosted Enterprise Saint John partnered with the Saint John Board of Trade to host and promote a Post Budget Presentation Reception with Premier David Alward, Province of New Brunswick on March 28 in the Loyalist Room at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre.
A new addition to our team We are pleased to announce that Mark Breen joined Enterprise Saint John’s business development team in the role of Economic Development Officer. A long-term resident of Saint John, Mark has a strong background in B2B and B2C Sales and Marketing, as well as experience in Pricing Strategies, Performance Management and Project Management, having worked for Innovatia, Irving Oil and Radian6/Salesforce.com. He is a true community champion, active volunteer and promoter of entrepreneurship as a career path. Mark lives in Saint John with his fiancÊe, 8-year old daughter, his dog, Summer, and two cats, Bella and Shyla. Help us welcome Mark! He can be reached at mbreen@enterprisesj.com.
Progress magazine releases Saint John feature Saint John took centre stage in Progress Magazine’s Vol. 19, No. 1 issue with a 16-page supplement: Inspiring Ingenuity and Investment. The special feature highlighted $650 million in capital economic activity taking place along our waterfront, along our streets and in our industrial parks. Launched at a reception in the Ludlow Room of City Hall, approximately 50 business and community leaders gathered. Enterprise Saint John was pleased to support the initiative which was led by Saint John Waterfront Development, with a full page ad highlighting our Community’s successful designation into the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the World by the Intelligent Community Forum.
Contact information Enterprise Saint John 40 King Street Saint John, NB E2L 1G3 phone 506-658-2877 toll tree 1-800-561-2877 e-mail info@enterprisesj.com www.enterprisesj.com www.saintjohnlifeonyourterms.ca Join our distribution list info@enterprisesj.com Join our HR e-letter list gorourke@enterprisesj.com
Grand Bay-Westfield Quispamsis Rothesay St. Martins Saint John