Learning opportunities are on the way to help local entrepreneurs develop and market their products in an online world.
The West Coast’s recent addition of fibre optic internet has brought new horizons for entrepreneurs to explore and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District has financially backed a plan to make sure locals have the tools to harness the power of higher speed.
Innovation Island has received a roughly $8,000 grant from the ACRD to bring a series of four multi-day workshops to the West Coast that will boost online marketing skills.
The Clayoquot Biosphere Trust is helping to promote the workshops in the hopes of getting the word out to locals interested in kicking off an entrepreneurial career or looking to strengthen their business.
“The West Coast has always been a place where entrepreneurs tend to end up,” CBT staffer Brooke Wood told the Westerly News. “We try to keep out the big box stores and do things as locally as we can so we would love to have more grassroots entrepreneurs.”
The first workshop, dubbed ‘Tech Talk’ will arrive at Tofino’s Long Beach Lodge on Nov. 3 from 2-4 p.m. and Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The focus will be on learning how to identify and reach a product’s target market.
“You’re going to learn ways to find out who you’re designing your product for and what you should do to make sure you’re meeting your targets,” Wood said. “You should go to learn something new and see if there’s other people out there with a common interest and perhaps make some partnerships and new connections and get some new ideas.”
The second workshop series will be held at the Ucluelet Community Centre in December and the final two are scheduled for early-2017.
Anyone wanting more information about the workshops is encouraged to contact the CBT at 250-725-2219.
