2021 Business Summit: Forward Thinking — April 19 – 23

The Business Summit is back and this year it’s going virtual! This free event is a chance for businesses to network, build skills, and learn about the latest business trends and best practices.
The summit is being hosted by the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development & includes a series of workshops, 
webinars, networking events and guest speakers during the week of April 19 – 23.
Our keynote speaker, Craig Ryan, kicks off the summit on Monday, April 19, at 10 AM. Craig is the Director of Sustainability and Environmental and Social Governance at the Business Development Bank of Canada. His presentation is on The Path Forward: What Lies Ahead for Canadian Business Owners? One year after the onset of the pandemic in Canada, we are looking beyond the near term to identify what Canadian small and medium-sized businesses need to do to survive and succeed in a post-COVID-19 world.
On Wednesday, April 21st, at 4 pm the Business Summit will host a Funders' Forum moderated by Heather Hallahan, senior account manager with the Business Development Bank of Canada. The forum will host panelists Gail Moorhouse of Community Futures Peterborough, Ann-Marie Kelleher-Byers of the Federal Economic 
Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Trevor Crowe of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Kim Freeburn of The CFO Centre Canada. The panel will discuss financial resources, opportunities, and best practices.
The week features some helpful workshops, including:
• Photography — Local photographer Heather Doughty will walk you through some key strategies for taking photos of your products/services to make them stand out. As things go more and more online, having high quality visuals plays a big role for sales and branding.
• Email Marketing — Connecting with your customers is challenging, especially when they aren’t able to shop like they used to. Email marketing is an important point of contact to drive sales and engage your patrons. We’re hosting Diane Barr from Constant Contact to provide her expertise on email marketing and answer your questions.
• Inventory Management — One of the biggest barriers for online retail is inventory management. Darryl Julott, Managing Lead at Digital Main Street, will walk you through online sales and inventory processes that are working for businesses across Ontario.
• Customer Experience — Join author and founder of Zero In, Dennis Geelen, in this high-energy, interactive workshop focusing on giving your customers the 
experience that will keep them coming back and telling their friends about you.
The week will also feature a series of webinars on topics including wellness in the workplace, soft skills, cyber security, and communication technology.
The 2021 Business Summit features daily networking tournaments to help you make new connections and engage the local business community. 
Find out more about what’s happening and get your free tickets at 
peterboroughchamber.ca.