About Us

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.

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:

Rena Posteraro
Project Coordinator and Business Development Officer
Rena Posteraro is the Project Coordinator, Business Development Officer and Business Advisor for the Business Development Centre and Workplace Development Services. She is active in assisting many entrepreneurs in getting their businesses started as well as strategically helping them grow their businesses. She has taught several business courses, including Marketing, Finance and Entrepreneurship in the Business and Entrepreneurship Division of the College. 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 is also the President of Business Mentoring Inc., through which she assists businesses and corporations in implementing mentoring programs. She delivers presentations on self-employment and mentoring at business conferences internationally.

Rena holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and French and a Masters of Education Degree in Organizational and Administrative Studies from Brock University. She also has her Teaching Adults Certificate. She is a certified APEC-IBIZ business counselor and an I.S.O. auditor.

On behalf of the International Department at the College she has delivered entrepreneurship and mentoring workshops at Walter Sisulu University in South Africa, ITLA College in the Dominican Republic and King Faisal Hospital in Saudi Arabia. She is participating in a Mentorship Plus Pilot Program at Brock University. Rena is fluent in English, French and Italian.

Rena is a former 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

Steve Stunt
Business Advisor
Steve has been with the Business Development Centre since 1993. He offers a wealth of experience in the fields of business plan development, marketing and communication. Steve works closely with his clients as an advisor and mentor, offering them valuable insight and direction in the development of their business plan and the operation of their business.
905-641-2252 ext. 4429
sstunt@niagarac.on.ca

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

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

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

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.


 

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.

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.

 

 



 
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