BDC Small Business Week in Victoria will see Pierre Cléroux, vice president of research and chief economist at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) share research on how Canada’s industry leaders have mastered the fundamentals of good business management. Cléroux will speak at a Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Oct.21, as part of their planned events for BDC Small Business Week, which runs Oct. 19-25. His talk will also touch on ways businesses can excel by avoiding the most common pitfalls that plague less successful companies.
For 35 years, the BDC has been organizing BDC Small Business Week in recognition of the contributions and achievements of Canada’s entrepreneurs. Events held during the week bring entrepreneurs together at conferences, luncheons and trade fairs across the country, where they have the opportunity to learn, network and enjoy themselves in the company of their peers.
According to the Chamber, small business makes up over 95% of their membership, and the organization considers small business the backbone of the Greater Victoria business community. To create awareness of the significant contribution small businesses make to the local economy, the chamber hosts several Small Business Week events, such as the Cléroux luncheon, as well as a new member breakfast, business seminars and a business mixer.
BDC Small Business Week’s origins date back to 1979 when BDC business centres in British Columbia’s Lower Fraser Valley pooled their resources to organize a week of activities for entrepreneurs. This first event and the one that followed in 1980 were so successful that BDC officially launched BDC Small Business Week across Canada in 1981. The initiative was quickly adopted by Canada’s business community. In 2013, over 280 activities across Canada attracted close to 10,000 business people to BDC Small Business Week.
Click here for a list of BDC Small Business Week events across Vancouver Island, from a Social Media camp in Campbell River to a business showcase in Duncan.
