Our mission:
"a team of diversified leaders and mentors who promote
success and economic growth through education and development,
fostering entrepreneurial excellence within the Niagara
community and beyond"
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Who We Are ::
Our Funding Partner ::
Where We're Located ::
Client Testimonials
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Printable version |
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The Niagara College Business Development Centre
(BDC) has been the Coordinator of services for the
Self-Employment Benefit Program since 1991 to Beamsville,
Grimsby, Jordan, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Ann's,
St. Catharines, Thorold and Vineland. The College has been very
successful in offering these services, and the Centre's clients
boast an 80% success rate three years after their program
completion. This success rate is one of the highest in the
country, and the BDC has shared its expertise with partners
across the country and around the world. |
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Who We Are |
The BDC is proud to be a part of Niagara
College, an educational institution whose satisfaction rates
with students, graduates and employers are always at the highest
levels. Our work to help Niagara's individuals become successful
entrepreneurs fits perfectly with the College's mission to
provide "outstanding applied education and training for a
changing world". The College's mandate of global education and
cultural exchange is reflected in the BDC's wide range of
services designed to assist new and experienced entrepreneurs
locally, nationally and around the world.
The BDC is made up of a diverse and experienced
group of advisors and staff who are dedicated to helping new
business owners succeed.
Meet
Our Team: |
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Rena Posteraro
Business Development
Officer and Acting Manager |
Rena Posteraro is the Business Development Officer for the Business Development Centre, and Coordinator of the Self Employment Benefit Program. She is also the WDS Project Coordinator for Niagara College.
Rena has taught business courses in the Business and Entrepreneurship Division of the College and
has coordinated the call centre programs. She has been involved in family businesses for the past 25 years; in 2006 she sold the women’s fitness studio that she had opened in 2000.
Rena holds a B.A. in Business and French and a M.Ed.
in Organizational and Administrative Studies from Brock
University. She also has her Teaching Adults Certificate.
On behalf of the International Department at the College she has
delivered entrepreneurship and mentoring workshops in South Africa and the Dominican Republic
. She is participating in a Mentorship Plus Pilot Program at
Brock University. She is a certified APEC-IBIZ business counselor and an I.S.O. auditor.
Rena is a Board of Director for Brock University Alumni Association and
serves on the Women in Niagara, Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Small Business Club Niagara and Partners in Enterprise
committees. Rena is the proud recipient of the 2007 YWCA Women of Distinction Award for the Trades, Profession and Entrepreneurship category.
905-641-2252 ext. 4405
rposteraro@niagarac.on.ca |
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Steve Stunt
Business
Advisor |
Steve Stunt
is the main Business Advisor for the Business Development
Centre.
Steve
started his career with the Toronto Blue Jays and knows first-hand that starting a new business takes careful planning and a lot of hard work. As the General Manager of the very first professional baseball team in St Catharines, Steve had the opportunity to start a new business from the ground up.
He began teaching marketing at Niagara College in 1986 and continues to do so. Since starting with the Business Development centre in 1993, Steve has worked with over 500 individuals in helping them fulfill the dream of starting their own business.
Steve is active in the Niagara business community and has an extensive network of business associates in Niagara. Well versed in marketing, he’s also a business generalist who is prepared to roll up his sleeves for the BDC clients. He understands the challenges that individuals have in starting out their ventures. and lends much-needed moral support as well as business advice to get them on the right track.
905-641-2252 ext. 4429
sstunt@niagarac.on.ca
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Mary Ann Martin
Client Services |
Mary Ann Martin is the Client & Office Assistant for the Business Development Centre. She has been with Niagara College, working in other areas including Continuing Education, since 1992 and with the BDC since 1996.
Mary Ann is your first contact person for the Self Employment programs and services offered at the Centre. Her focus is on providing quality customer service to clients and managing a database of over 4,000 small and medium-sized businesses. She also handles all client inquiries with Employment Ontario.
She assists the business advisors, organizes workshop schedules and instructors and is the main assistant to the Business Development Officer. Mary Ann is also a true entrepreneur ― she has been involved in her family business for several years.
905-641-2252 ext. 4456
mmartin@niagarac.on.ca
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Erica Jurus
Administrative Services |
Erica Jurus is the BDC
departmental secretary. She was self-employed as a graphic designer and copy writer for 13 years. She is a graduate of Brock University and brings organizational and graphic design skills, along with entrepreneurial insight, to her position at the BDC.
Erica redesigned the BDC website in 2007. She maintains the website and produces the BDC’s marketing materials. She also interviews, photographs and writes the monthly Success Stories and creates the newsletter. On behalf of the department she coordinates the budgets and purchasing; coordinates and updates the training courses and manuals; administers the departmental payroll; and organizes the Centre’s events.
Erica is the graphic designer for both the Support Team Recognition Day Committee and the United Way Committee at the College; in addition, she created and maintains the College’s United Way website. She creates the multi-media animated flyers for both committees.
Erica and her husband are avid travelers,
and the cultural experience that she gains on her trips enhances
her understanding of the diverse BDC clients. Erica has
delivered photo presentations about her travels in Africa on
behalf of the College, and is looking forward to continuing her
exploration of the global community.
905-641-2252 ext. 4435
ejurus@niagarac.on.ca
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Karen Martin
Business Advisor &
Business Development Officer |
Karen Martin is a
business advisor, instructor and Business Development Officer
for the Business Development Centre, where she assists
entrepreneurs starting new businesses. She is also an APEC
Certified Business Counsellor.
Karen Martin holds a Bachelor of Journalism Degree from Carleton
University in Ottawa and has worked as a reporter and editor for
a variety of newspapers and magazines in northern and southern
Ontario.
She is an established writer, having written regular business columns for
a daily newspaper, as well as writing professionally for a
Toronto-based company that publishes guides to topics ranging
from First Aid to iPods.
On behalf of the BDC, she teaches subjects ranging from business communications,
to marketing, to business plan development. She also delivers
seminars outside the college on topics such as branding,
relationship marketing, and advertising and promotion.
Karen is also a founding partner of JustPlay
Sport Services, which delivers behaviour and risk management
programs in youth sports and has annual sales of $1 to $1.5 million. Karen
sits as a director on the non-profit arm of the company, the
Civic Sport Group. 905-641-2252 ext. 4181
kmartin@niagarac.on.ca |
Larry Bitner
Business Advisor |
Larry Bitner
is a Business Advisor and instructor for the
Business Development Centre. He has over 30 years of experience
in marketing, advertising and business development.
Larry delivers the BDC’s online business courses to both BDC clients
and to the Construction and Engineering Technology students at
the College. He is an instructor for the new Business Skills
Training for Farm Families course, is also an instructor in the
College’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program.
He is a Certified Business Counselor, trainer, professional speaker and
writer who specializes in helping business professionals and
their organizations achieve greater personal and professional
success through strategic planning, problem solving and Winning
Formula® development.
905-641-2252 ext. 4181
lbitner@niagarac.on.ca |
John Young
Business Advisor |
John Young is a Business Advisor and instructor for the Niagara College Business Development Centre, teaching diverse topics like concept development, client satisfaction, sales, marketing, advertising, communications and entrepreneurship.
John came to the BDC from a career in
newspaper and magazine publishing. In the mid-nineties he formed JCY associates, a marketing and sales consultancy specializing in small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Using his insights on trends and communications, John delivers seminars combining marketing, advertising and selling to create fully engaged client relationships. He also writes, speaks, consults and coaches under the umbrella of creating the “will to buy”®.
As a Certified Business Counselor under APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), John’s designation certifies him to counsel SMBs in Canada and participating global economies. Known for a sense of people and what makes clients tick, John Young offers a wealth of experience in marketing, advertising and customer engagement to a wide variety of organizations and small to medium-sized businesses.
905-641-2252 ext. 4181
jyoung@niagarac.on.ca |
Paul Morgan
Business Advisor |
Paul Morgan is the President of Morgan, Ross and Associates
Ltd., which owns and operates Plan2Profit.ca. He has
managed a variety of businesses across Canada; has acted as
a consultant, contract manager and business advisor; and has
delivered courses, seminars and keynote addresses in management
and business.
Paul knows what it’s like to walk in a business owner’s
shoes. He’s started up, operated and sold his own businesses,
and has helped business people who are just getting started as
well as those who’ve been in business for years and want an
objective evaluation of their operation. He has secured loans
from banks and the government, signed personal guarantees and
suffered through many a sleepless night working through cash
flow projections in his head.
Paul joined the BDC team in 2007 as business advisor and
instructor, and specializes in helping agricultural business
owners succeed in today’s challenging markets.
905-641-2252 ext. 4181
pmorgan@niagarac.on.ca
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Bruce Sinclair
Business Advisor |
Bruce
Sinclair is a retired Commercial Banker with 30 years of
experience in dealing with commercial business accounts. He
served as the Senior Commercial Banking Manager, Niagara Region,
and the Senior Manager of Commercial Market Development for the
Bank of Montreal.
Bruce has been involved with the self employment assistance programs at
the BDC since 1993 as an Advisor, and sits on the Review
Committee.
He remains active in the business community as a part-time Membership
Communication Coordinator for the St. Catharines Downtown
Association; Treasurer for St. Giles Presbyterian Church in St.
Catharines; and President, Treasurer and Property Manager of
Niagara North Condominium Corporation #64, a 15-unit condominium
townhouse complex in St. Catharines.
905-641-2252 ext. 4456 |
Ralph Laird
Campus Librarian |
Ralph Laird is the NOTL Campus Librarian. He familiarizes the
Business Development Centre's clients with the diverse resources
available at the campus Library.
Ralph grew up on a farm in Niagara before moving to
Toronto and France to study modern languages. He taught French
teacher for a number of years, then moved to Japan to teach English for 2
years.
Back in Canada, Ralph returned to his roots and studied
Horticulture at Niagara College before working in the nursery
and landscaping industry.
In 1995, Ralph
completed his Master's in Library and Information Science and
started work at the College when the NOTL campus opened in 1998.
Ralph enjoys life in Fonthill with his wife Susan and 6 year old
daughter Fiona.
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Our Funding Partner |
As a result of recent changes in the government
funding structure for the Self-Employment Benefit Program, as of
January 2007 Employment Ontario assumed the administration of
the program. The federal and provincial governments continue to
be enthusiastic supporters of small business, providing, through
their delivery agents, both funding and mentoring for new
entrepreneurs.
Click here for more information about Employment
Ontario.
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Where We're Located |
The College has campuses in Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Welland and Niagara Falls. The Business Development Centre,
located at the beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus on the QEW
Highway off the Glendale Avenue exit, attracts clients from all
over the Region. Our address is: NOTL
Campus, Rm. W115
135 Taylor Road, S.S.#4
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0
Phone: 905-641-2252
Fax: 905-988-4310
Clients can enjoy the many aspects of the
campus, including: use of the many resources
– both print and online – in
the Learning Resource Centre; the Niagara Culinary Institute's
outstanding restaurant; the Wine Store, featuring award-winning
wines from the College's Teaching Winery; a wide selection of
plants available at the Greenhouse; and the views of the
surrounding Niagara Escarpment in every season.
Click here
for a map of the Niagara-on-the-Lake
Campus
We've recently added 2 satellite offices at
the Maid of the Mist campus, located at 5881 Dunn St., Niagara
Falls.
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Client Testimonials |
Feedback from participants consistently indicates
that, while the financial support offered through the BDC is
important, it is the mentoring and access to resources at the
Business Development Centre that makes business success
possible. Clients of the BDC have collectively earned millions
of dollars in revenue while building a renewed sense of purpose
and self-confidence.
- From the moment I attended that first
Information Session, I knew I was in the right place to get
the help I needed.
Michelle Brisebois, On Trend Brand Strategies
- Getting off to a good start is
paramount and we have the Business Development Centre at
Niagara College to thank for that.
David Serafino, Dalhousie Peer Magazine
- I have attended University, College
and many different training courses over the last 15 years.
I will say without hesitation that the SEB program is the
most concise, organized and professionally delivered program
I have attended.
Rick Nesbitt, Em Tech Inspection Services
- Program Advisors and mentors are
themselves experienced entrepreneurs and know what it takes
to guide a small business from the development of a business
plan through to the end of the first critical year.
Lynn Stewart, Employment Help Centre
- Niagara College gave us the training
and support which enabled us to believe in ourselves and to
market our abilities.
Michael and Donna Golchuk, Golchuk Digital Media
- I started my business in March of
2003, and in that month I made $58 only. My next month, I
made $200 only, and in my next month $400, then $600. Each
time, I came in and reviewed my business with the Mentor.
Slowly I revised the business, refocused, and slowly I found
the magic formula of what my clients were looking for...Now
I have sales that nearly reach $150,000, and I represent 18
other carvers at the gallery.
Walter vanderWindt, Carving Gallery
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