Eight entrepreneurs who participated in the City of Airdrie’s ninth annual SMARTstart program were honoured during a formal celebration on Oct. 27, held to commemorate the completion of the eight-month program that aims to help local entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground running.
The 2022 SMARTstart Program Celebration showcased eight Airdrie entrepreneurs representing seven different business ideas, including a spin and barre exercise studio, polarized sunglass production, and a bubble tea brewing company, to name a few.
According to Jessica Williamson, SMARTstart organizing committee member and economic development officer with the City, the participants spent the last eight months refining their idea for a new business venture or working to strengthen their existing business through the “made-in-Airdrie" entrepreneurial training program.
"The 2022 group of entrepreneurs are finishing the program with a strong business or strategic plan and a community behind them,” Williamson said. "We consistently hear from local businesses that a key to success in Airdrie is community.”
She added that through the program, the participating entrepreneurs build connections with their mentors, local business professionals, business support organizations, and an alumni group that includes 125 previous SMARTstart participants.
“This community will continue to rally around the entrepreneurs to watch their businesses grow,” Williamson stated.
She added during the celebratory event, members of the 2022 program each got up to share stories of their successes and what is coming next in their entrepreneurship journey.
“They also thanked mentors and workshop presenters for the volunteer time they provided throughout the eight months of the program,” she added.
According to the economic development officer, the evening also paid tribute to the volunteer mentors (11 in total) who volunteered approximately 30 hours to help the participants of this year's program.
Recognition was also given to 15 workshop presenters who volunteered their time as local experts in areas such as taxation, marketing, and sales.
“And we celebrated all the sponsors and recognized all of those who make the program possible and make it affordable for the participants,” Williamson added.
The SMARTstart program began in 2014 in response to a recognized need for better business support in Airdrie. Williamson said the program was created with the understanding that one-third of new businesses do not survive their first five years of operation.
“We also know the top two things that can help [a business] be successful and get past those first five years are previous experience in a similar type of business or business training,” she added. “Businesses who receive training in entrepreneurship can be more successful and get past those first five critical years.”
The program is hosted via a partnership between the municipality, Community Futures Centres West, and a non-profit organization called the Airdrie Entrepreneur Common, whose mission is to provide resources, training, and mentorship to support the start-up and growth needs of Airdrie’s small businesses.
Now nine years in, Williamson said one of the benefits of SMARTstart is that it has helped develop a community for like-minded entrepreneurs.
“Often, entrepreneurs feel like they have to go it alone and they’re going at it alone on something they’ve never done before,” she said. “[Through] the program, they join a community which is exactly what they need in order to ask questions of and lean on people who are supporting their businesses.
“It really helps them to learn the business community and the business operating environment and help them to be successful.”
She added this year’s group of entrepreneurs was a mix of applicants. Some already had a business idea in place, while others already had a business in operation and wanted to work on strategies to help grow their business.
Williamson said everyone has found success in their business in some form or another through participation in the program.
According to a SMARTstart press release, this year’s program provided the participants with online business skills training, workshops, and the opportunity to work with a local mentor to complete a business, strategic, or feasibility plan.
Many of the programs' mentors have been involved with the program since its inception, including Dr. Melanie Beingessner of Blessingways Family Wellness. Fellow mentor Michelle Carre of Lochsmith Consulting was honoured for completing her fifth year of SMARTstart volunteering. She joins eight other mentors who have also reached the five-year milestone.
“SMARTstart often has mentors and past entrepreneurs who have received Airdrie Business Awards, which speaks to the success of their businesses after completing the program,” Williamson said.
This year’s award ceremony honoured Blessingways Family Wellness with the 2022 Business of the Year Award, and previous program participant Rival Axe Throwing with a 2022 Community Attraction Award.
Program participant Becky Urban said after completing SMARTstart, she is better equipped to open her spin and barre studio – Warehouse Spin & Barre – in just a few weeks' time.
“I just turned 40, which just shows you are never too old to become an entrepreneur,” she said. “The program helped me with every aspect, from starting with an idea to opening our doors.
“Each workshop had so many great nuggets of information and having a mentor to bounce ideas off of gave me a second perspective and helped me think about things I may not have thought of alone."
Entrepreneurs with a business idea or a new business currently in operation (for less than three years) are invited to learn more about 2023 SMARTstart through an upcoming information session on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.
To learn more about the program, which will run from late February 2023 to late October 2023, including eligibility and time commitment involved, visit airdriecommon.ca/smartstart or email [email protected]
Applications for 2023 SMARTstart are open until Dec. 11.
