Catapult Grey Bruce and Grey County recently kicked off their mentorship program with a virtual meeting that gathered local entrepreneurs from across Grey and Bruce Counties.

Hosted by Jennifer Christie, Catapult’s program development manager, the Jan. 19 event drew over 20 participants including entrepreneurs, representatives from the small business centres in Grey and Bruce, and directors of Catapult’s board.

“It was incredible to see the amount of diversity in the businesses that participated. We really do have a wide variety of local entrepreneurs in our area that are looking for resources and connection,” Jennifer Christie said.

The event was the official kick-off of a mentorship program that aims to build a mentor-mentee relationship between business owners in the region.

Catapult invited local businesses to apply to the mentorship program in late December with matches to be made in the New Year. This week’s event was the first time participants got together.

Courtney Miller, manager of the Business Enterprise Centre at the County of Grey and program partner, spoke at the kick-off.

Miller, who has been working closely with Christie on the development of the mentorship program, offered attendees tips and resources on how to nurture a healthy mentorship relationship.

“The goal of last week’s event was to provide participants with the framework needed to create successful mentor-mentee relationships,” Miller said.

Participants were given the chance to introduce their business, meet their mentors and ask questions to the group. Following the presentations, participants were invited into breakout rooms for further one-on-one conversations.

And it doesn’t stop there! Support will continue to be offered to participating businesses in the weeks to come.

“Throughout the pilot, we will provide additional tools and resources as required by each participant to assist them in achieving their program goals,” Miller confirmed.

Courtney Denard, chair of Catapult Grey Bruce, attended the meeting and participated in one of the break out rooms.

“It’s important to know what our local businesses are going through; to hear their challenges, their successes and to understand what they need in terms of resources,” Courtney Denard said.

“I was very impressed by all of the participants who attended. The passion and drive they put into their businesses is evident,” Denard added.

Another introductory meeting for its next round of participants is planned for February. For more information, please go to https://catapultgreybruce.com/programs.

source: media release, Catapult Grey Bruce