Student Entrepreneurs In Muskoka Succeed Amidst COVID

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Student entrepeneurs
Photo by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels

On August 24, Summer Company 2021 student entrepreneurs will join the Muskoka Small Business Centre (MSBC), the Town of Bracebridge, and several community businesses, partners and organizations at Peake Field Pavilion, Taylor Rd., Bracebridge to celebrate five successful students and their mentors.

Like all businesses, these student-run enterprises have had to adapt to restrictions and modify marketing efforts to maintain a healthy environment for themselves and their customers. Their success is all the sweeter for the challenges they faced along the way. This is an invitation only event, in order to comply with COVID-19 regulations.

Summer Company is a Provincial Program that assists approved students in starting and running a summer business by providing them with a grant of up to $3,000, a series of business startup workshops, and a mentoring team of community business experts to work with them throughout the summer. This year five local students were selected for the program through the MSBC. Those students include: Ethan McCallum, Vapour Tech; Timothy Peden, Pure Torque; Taylor Johnson, Tayzie Dockside Services; Sydney Carron, Bar32; and Craig Studden, Rugged Tufter.

The students and staff of the MSBC want to show their appreciation to their mentors who have generously volunteered their time to meet with the students bi-weekly throughout the summer to answer questions and offer their advice. Mentors being honoured include: Katy McGregor, Linda Cryderman, Kyla Taylor, Correy Nuttall and David Perlock.

MSBC Consultant and Program Coordinator Terri Plaxton Smith says, “We are so fortunate to have a generous community of business expertise in Muskoka. This is not the first year that the Muskoka Small Business Centre has administered the Summer Company program in Muskoka, but it is the first time with our current team of mentors and the new MSBC management and staff.” Elizabeth Cornish, Managing Business Consultant for the Centre and Ashley Freiheit, Admin/Program Assistant, have worked tirelessly alongside Plaxton Smith to help make this program a success for the students.

The MSBC is one of 54 Enterprise Centres across the Province that is funded by the Entrepreneurship Branch of the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Their mandate is to assist entrepreneurs of all ages in starting or growing their businesses through consultations, workshops, events, assistance with business plan writing, marketing, financials, government programs and more. For more information on any of their services, see muskokasmallbusiness.ca or call 705-646-9021.

Further information on the Summer Company Program can be found at ontario.ca/summercompany.

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