Twelve Local Entrepreneurs Turning Their Passions Into Businesses Through Starter Company Plus
[PETERBOROUGH, ON]: Twelve entrepreneurs were recently selected to participate in the Spring 2022 Intake of the Starter Company Plus program offered through the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre (BAC). With assistance from an accomplished group of subject matter experts, the program will provide a five-week course in business training to all participants. Six of the twelve participating businesses will receive a $5,000 micro-grant based on the overall strength of their business plan and pitch at the end of the five-week training period.
“We have a diverse group of businesses across a wide variety of sectors in the spring intake of Starter Company Plus,” said Entrepreneurship Officer Madeleine Hurrell who oversees the program for Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development.
The entrepreneurs in this intake have all identified a gap in the market for their product or service; and for many, that discovery came as a result of personal experience throughout the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Hurrell
The BAC will conduct all workshops for this intake online. Classes will focus on marketing and business practices that have proven successful in Peterborough & the Kawarthas and will also address the importance of financial acumen and mental well-being in entrepreneurship.
“We are excited to support these twelve businesses with training, and access to a network that will allow them to connect, share resources, and come together as champions of the small business community in Peterborough & the Kawarthas.” added Hurrell.
The Starter Company Plus program, offered through the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre since 2017, is made possible through funding from the Government of Ontario. The program is designed to provide business training for entrepreneurs from aspiring to experienced aged 18 and over in the City and County of Peterborough who are in the process of launching a business or expanding an existing business that has been operating for five years or less.
Meet the newest entrepreneurs below:
Drumlin Cycle is a new bicycle repair home business in Cavan, Ontario.
Services offered include tune-ups, repairs, adjustments and part installs for all makes of bikes and e-bikes. Commonly replaced parts are stocked, but our focus is on service, not sales. We want to help you have fun riding your bike, without spending a fortune.
Mobile service is available – have your bike fixed right in your driveway, garage, or wherever is convenient at your location.
I am First Nations mother of 3 children and member of the Hiawatha First Nation Community. I have worked with children and families for most of my career and have always held a passion for my culture, language and responsibility for generations to come.
Through this I have developed my idea to incorporate culture and most importantly language into our everyday lives to promote language use in the home and with our children. Throughout time we have struggled to keep our culture and languages alive, and this is a part of who we are and how we identify as First Nations.
My business focus will be to produce items that promote language use in the home and in the community. “Bringing Language Home”. This will consist of both wearable collections for babies, children as well as home items to support language use within the family unit. I look forward to carrying this vision forward to support culture, language and identity for generations to come.
Northern Custom Stair & Rail is owned and operated by Dylan Beggs with the help of his wife, Amy Thompson. We are a small locally run business in Lakefield, Ontario with over 10 years of experience.
We take pride and ownership in all of our projects providing end-to-end client experience that includes seamless communication, on and off-site organization, and solid, quality craftsmanship every single time. Whether you are looking for a brand-new custom set of stairs or refinishing your existing set, we will work directly with you to create a beautiful custom structure that you will be sure to love for many years to come.
We proudly provide services to Peterborough, Lakefield, Kawartha Lakes and surrounding areas.
Jessica Blair is the owner of Follow Me Photography based in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. She has combined her 16 years of experience in photography along with her career experience in social work , personal support work and her own life experiences to offer a service to help clients with the grieving process and end life transition; for family members or beloved family pets.
This therapeutic service uses the art of photography to commemorate their loved ones during the end phase of their lives while capturing moments that can be honoured and cherished forever.
Your Furever Friend is a pet care business that offers dog training, behaviour programming and health support. Julie Drain, owner and founder is a Registered Veterinary Technician, Teacher and Dog Trainer. Julie’s expertise, as well as personal and professional experience allow her to customize programs that suit every individual – pet and human.
Julie’s supports clients with her compassionate listening skills and helps them to realize their vision for life with their pet. Veterinary care, health and wellness, problem prevention, training, behaviour and budgeting are all addressed.
My name is Madalin Prentice and I am the owner of Executive Cleaning & Concierge Services. My business serves both residential and commercial business environments in Peterborough & the surrounding Kawarthas area with professional cleaning.
I am able to provide a unique and compassionate service fulfilling the needs of the aging population and those with disabilities and restricted mobility. I help these individuals with daily tasks they have a hard time completing due to their restrictions, such as delivering food, medications, washing laundry and connecting them with reliable lawn care services.
Chemong City Greens grows organic microgreens — the young plants of herbs and vegetables. They are rich in nutrients and flavour and add colour to every meal.
We grow indoors using innovative agricultural practices and deliver weekly to grocers, restaurants and home consumers in the Peterborough area.
Our microgreens are grown in organic soil and free of synthetic inputs. Because we grow indoors, microgreens are always in season and provide a year-round source of fresh, delicious, nutrient-dense food.
Before we farmed microgreens, we were passionate about healthy and tasty home-cooked meals. What began as a desire to grow and provide quality food for our family became an opportunity to grow for others.
Chemong City Greens is here to ensure that affordable, accessible and highly nutritious food is always available to nourish the community. Our goal is to elevate the diversity of the local food network by offering delicious organic microgreens!
Michelle Godfrey is a certified Trager practitioner. Through receiving non-invasive movement clients experience how it feels to be to be freer, more relaxed and pain-free. In a private session the Trager client lies passively on a padded table while the practitioner uses their hands to communicate this quality of feeling to the nervous system. In doing so the practitioner guides the person to move with that feeling on their own. These mindful movements can be experienced in a group “class” setting as well. Her clientele ranges from young adults to seniors in their 90’s.
Michelle is passionate about engaging, teaching, supporting, inspiring and empowering her clients to move with greater ease in their daily lives. She has significant experience with teaching seniors body awareness, fall prevention and how to move safely in their environment. Michelle has 30 plus years of yoga, and meditation experience which informs her practice.
Ecological, no-till market-garden growing cut flowers, herbs & veg – hand-tended; better for you and the planet!
Voula Halliday, a chef, cookbook author, and accomplished culinary industry professional, is exceptionally skilled at making food taste great. Voula’s unique Flavour Fix line of Sprinkles, Smears, Slathers, Dollops and Spreads are convenient, easy-to-use flavour boosts. Made with thoughtfully selected ingredients and no artificial additives, these blends transform your meal, snack or treat into something remarkably sensational.
Miso Butters by Flavour Fix are all-natural spreads made with Canadian miso paste and grass-fed butter. The expertly curated savoury and sweet butters come in a variety of dynamic flavour combinations.
You can use miso butter right out of the jar as a spread or whisk it into a marinade or vinaigrette. Miso butter can be heated and used for sautéing, stirred into sauces, or you can add a dollop at the last minute to boost the flavour of grilled meat, chicken, fish, and veggies, tofu, or any of your favourite plant-based food.
From working in his local music store in Brandon, Manitoba as a guitar obsessed teenager to building his own guitars from scratch in a small but well equipped workshop in the East City neighbourhood of Peterborough, Ontario, Lewis Parker of East City Guitar Company has always had a passion for the instrument.
Using a blend of traditional and modern construction techniques, Lewis builds guitars with the player in mind and offers a personalized ordering experience, offering customers the opportunity to pick out their woods, and see their guitar take shape with photos and videos of the building process along the way. He is also offering workshops in guitar repair, building and maintenance.
My name is Jengish Odigineyev and I’m a newcomer to Canada. Before I immigrated to Canada I had experience working on film sets in logistics. I got to sit next to the Director and watched all the magic happen!
With a background in sales, and a passion to create videos, I launched in filming and posting content. That’s how I was able to walk away from my sales job and start doing videography full time.
Odigski Media shoots, produces and edits advertising pieces, content, educational and recruitment videos.