Earlier this year, Futurpreneur Canada teamed up with Clearwater Seafoods and Source Security, (now Allied Universal), to bring a new initiative to Atlantic Canada: The Coaching Challenge. This challenge was created to help support entrepreneurs whose businesses are ready to grow by providing them with access to experts in growth who were hand-matched for the selected entrepreneurs and an opportunity to expand their business network.

Jessie Doyle, Founder of Springhouse Inc., a local food business which focuses on local and organic ingredients, was one of the three entrepreneurs who participated in the pilot program. With the help of the executives she was matched with, she was able to increase her net profit by 30% through cost-cutting measures and business efficiencies recommended by her coaches. She also grew her team by hiring three new staff members and successfully rebranded her company from Fruition to Springhouse Inc. including creating a new logo and website. “The experience was motivational and it helped me focus on strategic aspects of the business which can often get lost when focusing on the day-to-day operations,” Jessie shared. “The Clearwater coaches were very open and supportive and generous with their time.”

Jessie’s coach, Greg Morency, President of Global Markets at Clearwater Seafoods, described working with Jessie as a great experience. “It was a pleasure to work with Jessie. A great experience to reinforce the fact that as a coach, one’s business skills and experience, may effectively translate to managers and leaders of other businesses, despite differences in industry or company size.”

Aside from Jessie, entrepreneurs Natalie Wilson of House of Auto Details and Keith Gelhorn of ADDvocacy ADHD & Life Skills Coaching Ltd. both participated in the program and continue to grow their businesses. House of Auto Details recently took home a silver award from the Chamber of Commerce for Small Business of the Year.

So where do we go from here now that these coaching relationships have come to an end? As a result of The Coaching Challenge pilot in Atlantic Canada, Futurpreneur has been inspired to create and launch a new event series called the Expert Exchange. The Expert Exchange is a national event series that aims to launch in the fall of this year (2017) and will provide growing entrepreneurs with short, focused, growth coaching opportunities across the country. Stay tuned for more dates and details on when we’ll be hosting an Expert Exchange in your area!

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