The Okanagan Valley Entrepreneurs Society (OVES) & Kelowna Scotiabank present the March 2012 Townhall Meeting. Also sponsored in part by CYBF.

Marketing Mojo for the Entrepreneur: What it takes to survive & thrive

Your doors are open. Your website is up and running. Your business is all systems go! You've made a "drop in for coffee" announcement. Now what?

Don't bother putting the coffee on as nobody is likely to show up!

How does your business stand out in the sea of hundreds, even thousands of local businesses, many that are similar to yours? How do you make sence of the marketing mania that we are bombarded with every day? What works ... what doesn't?

• How do you revitalize an existing marketing plan?
• How do you know if your marketing plan is working?
• Is there a certain amount of budget you should plan on spending?
• What about TV, radio & newspaper? Are they still viable?

These questions and many more will be answered by our panel of sage experts. Bring your questions to ask our panelists and other experienced entrepreneurs from the audience.

Our Panellists:

Donald Robichaud 

Don’s career spans 30 plus years of extensive sales, marketing and corporate management experience. The first twenty were spent in the Retail Sector with DYLEX, The Bay, Robinson/Ogilvy and Harry Rosen’s. Ten years were spent in the Ottawa High tech industry.    

In the past 13 years his focus has been to help Entrepreneurs and Business owners. As the President of FloodLight he works as a Business Coach and Marketing Consultant in Kelowna and Ottawa assisting business owners in the areas of Sales, Marketing, and Business Development.                                                    

   
Volunteering has been a big part of his life and in Kelowna he sat as a Director with the Rotary Centre for the Arts for three years.  He has also served as an Ambassador for the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, past President of the Okanagan Mustangs and Fords Association and presently is a Director with Soles4Souls Canada.

Marilyn Strong, BA MBA

Marilyn Strong is a woman on a mission. 29 years as an entrepreneur, consultant, trainer and business owner have taught her how to turn your struggling small business into a success story. Her passion is to help business owners and entrepreneurs, including those with ADD/ADHD, become successful.

During her long career, Marilyn has been both an employee and a business-owner, so she knows the challenges on both sides. Her marketing experience across industries, ranging from tourism to technology and food to financial services, lets her work with nearly any business owner -- whether you have Attention Deficit Disorder or not.

Marilyn’s marketing and business strategies have built-up these organizations and more:

• In the 1990s, as Publisher of the Castlegar Sun, she led her award-winning team to a second place finish as Best Newspaper in Canada, in their circulation category, for two consecutive years (1993 and 1994).
• In 2005, as Marketing Director for an Ontario agricultural tour company, she grew their outbound division revenues by 800%.
• She’s taught 6 successful business courses to over 1,000 entrepreneurs through the Community Futures Development Corporation, the Ministry of Small Business and the Women’s Enterprise Centre.
• She’s also a best-selling author! "Getting Paid to Pay Attention. Why Your Business Suffers from A.D.D. and How to Fix It."
  

Marilyn likes to be the ‘first’, including the first marketing strategist to complete an Executive MBA from Athabasca University in Information Technology Management. She knows that integrating technology into business and marketing systems is the key to the future.

In her personal time, she’s travelled to Europe, North America and all over her native British Columbia. She’s taken a dip in the Arctic Ocean, dodging mini-icebergs for fun. Please visit http://strongbiz.com/ to learn more about Marilyn.

Marilyn resides in the Okanagan with musician Scott Pembleton.

Our Moderator: Rae Stonehouse OVES Society - Vice Chair of Education/Chairman of the Board of Directors

Rae is a Registered Nurse/Entrepreneur who has worked in the healthcare field for over thirty years. Very active within the Toastmasters organization Rae has taken on increasingly challenging leadership roles and is currently involved in developing entrepreneurial educational and mentoring programs.

His passion is helping others to succeed. As Mr. Emcee he provides emcee services, event planning and speech coaching in the Okanagan Valley. As an Independent Associate for Legal Sheild he is also developing Okanagan Help 4 Biz, a resource for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Come early ... stay late. Bring your business cards and put your elevator speech to work. Just one idea or suggestion from a fellow entrepreneur can set you on your way to fame and fortune. It could happen!

Meetings start at 7 pm sharp!  

New pricing is in effect. The cost is free for OVES members. Earlybird nonmember fee is $10.00 online or $15.00 at the door. Registration button is at the bottom of this page.

Check out our OVES membership. It can quickly pay for itself when accessing OVES members only discounted events.