As businesses start out, you need to understand the importance of creating a Board of Directors, as well as tips to effectively form this important governance role over your business.   

        Learnings of this session explore:

            
the role of a Board of Directors,
the board's duties and responsibilities,
liabilities and protection for directors,
assessing Board performance, and
best practices in the area of Board effectiveness.

        Meet Your Facilitator: 

Dawn Watson is a Manager in the MNP Consulting Practice, in Saskatoon. Drawing on more than 18 years of professional experience across 3 continents, Dawn brings a strong background in IT service delivery, business transformation and organizational change management.  Dawn is currently acting as Interim Director of Strategic Procurement with Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Dawn is an experienced consultant and coach, with a focus on transition & transformation through people, culture & engagement. Dawn encourages transparent collaboration, appreciative inquiry and appropriate, effective communication. Alongside her clients, they work together to break down silos, build strong teams and connect stakeholders to work towards a unified vision. Dawn has worked with public and private sector organizations developing and implementing service delivery models that focus on improving and enabling outcomes.  Her expertise and focus on change management ensures that people, process and technology are supported through design, transition and sustainability.  
In addition to her professional work, Dawn is an active volunteer in the community and has been a mentor in the Bettie - Ann Heggie Womentorship program (Edwards School of Business). In addition, Dawn has served on a range of governance committees and Boards: Vice President, Business & Professional Women (BPW) Saskatoon; Director, New Hope Dog Rescue; and currently Vice Chair Saskatoon SPCA.

        
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Businesses must ensure that their planning process is well outlined and covers all essential components. This webinar is designed to cover the essential components of an effective business plan and will assist participants in addressing questions or concerns they have regarding the scope and depth of the proposed plan and provide a guide to build this comprehensive plan.

        In this session you will learn:

            
the essential components of a well-written business plan,
a clear and simple method of developing an operational guide for businesses, and
a comprehensive business plan outline that is simple and easy to follow.

        Meet Your Facilitator: 

Janice Decelles is a Senior Consultant in the Consulting practice of MNP.  Her focus since joining the firm in 2005 Is to provide training and consulting to self employment clients and general human resource services.  An expert facilitator and instructional designer, she has extensive training management experience in the insurance and financial services sectors and is a certified customer service trainer.  Skilled in both individual and group training, Janice prides herself on being a positive contributor to her clients’ overall success.  Janice holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and an Advanced Certificate in Human Resources. 

        
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Business owners need to understand the importance of industry and market research and learn how to use this effectively as input into their planning process.

        In this session participants will learn:

            
the benefits market research provides to their planning process;
detailed guidelines on how to search for existing sources of information to validate their business plan; and
how to conduct their own market research through the use of informational interviews, surveys, and focus groups with various industry stakeholders.

        Meet Your Facilitator: 

Jennifer Lester is a Senior Manager in the Consulting Practice of MNP LLP. With a focus on performance improvement and planning; Jennifer’s project portfolio includes operational and organization assessments, strategic planning, program evaluations, business planning, feasibility studies, and community economic development plans for a variety of organizations.

        
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Marketing is much more than advertising and promotion. Businesses need to understand and be able to articulate their products and services to exhibit their true value to their targeted clients.  

        In this session, participants will:

            
learn the importance of completing a marketing plan and following the marketing process,
distinguish between benefits and features,
articulate how their products and/or services exhibit true value to their targeted clients, 
gain an appreciation for the strategy their business must follow to be successful, and
develop usable strategies to help them meet their business goals.

        Meet Your Facilitator: 

Caitlin Dika, is a team member with MNP’s National Marketing Strategy team. Throughout her academic career and employment opportunities, Caitlin has had experience working in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Based in Calgary, Caitlin is responsible for providing strategic support with the development and execution of the marketing and business development strategy for MNP on a national scale. She works collaboratively with stakeholders to translate business objectives into strategically integrated marketing plans for multiple client service areas and business units within the firm. Caitlin graduated in 2014 from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Management – Marketing Major & Supply Chain   Minor.

        
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As a business, it can be tough to keep up with customer demands as your industry changes and you wonder ‘What will be disrupted next?”  Large companies may have research and development budgets to grow and foster innovation, but as a small or mid-sized business, you wonder how you can innovate with the time and resources you have available?  You know that success can depend upon innovation and it is common for small businesses to focus primarily on existing products and services.  Innovation is not just about large technological innovations - innovation can be simple ideas. Remember, it’s not enough to say that innovation is a priority - ensure you have a process in place, and continue to work at making it a priority!  

        In this session, you will learn:

            
What drives the need for innovation in small business;
How to build innovation into a business routine;
How to invest in innovation; and, 
How to cultivate an innovative mindset.

        Meet Your Facilitator: 

Nicole Asselin Is a Senior Manager in the MNP Consulting practice based in Edmonton, serving clients locally and provincially.  Nicole has over twelve years of experience in industry and management consulting.  She has been involved in innovation, business process and operations improvement in many capacities, with diverse clients across multiple industries. Nicole obtained her Master of Business Administration from the University of Alberta in 2004 with focus on International Business Specialization, is Six Sigma Green Belt Certified, is Innovation Engineering Blue Belt Certified, and has participated in Lean Action Workouts. She and her husband are small business owners and are familiar with the need to innovate and market services. Nicole has exceptional client relations and is recognized for her professionalism, diplomacy and confidentiality in dealing with colleagues and her clients. Nicole is a disciplined project manager that provides strong operational support to clients and has managed a number of projects relating to Operational Effectiveness, Process Improvement, Organizational Review, Business Strategy and Planning, Market Assessment and Analysis. In addition, Nicole has led and participated in numerous engagements in a variety of areas including the private sector, provincial government, municipalities, municipal associations, non-profit organizations and post-secondary educational institutions.

        
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