A maritime-wide business nestled in the heart of Truro, Nova Scotia has unearthed a simple way to save money and valuable time using the Nova Scotia Government Department of Labour and Advanced Education (LAE) resources available to all Nova Scotian companies.
Bruce MacPherson, owner of Sizzler BBQ Catering is booked solid to serve his delectable fares at events across Atlantic Canada, thanks to the NS Government’s Workplace Education Initiative.
He recently completed two free Workplace Education courses, Sage 50 Accounting and Social Media Marketing. Both courses were offered close to home by a sponsoring business organization, Northern Opportunities For Business Limited (NOBL) in New Glasgow working in partnership with the Province.
“I’m hard-pressed to tell you which had more value”, said MacPherson, “both courses totally changed my world.”
Now, MacPherson is saving up to $10,000 each year on social media costs.
“Our social media posts are entered into one program and are shared across all platforms in one easy step,” he explained. “We were paying about $100 a month to be in relevant searches but we’ve discontinued that, and now our google pages are getting more traction at no cost. We are seeing better search engine optimization, better sales, and a more engaged audience.”
MacPherson has been using Sage 50 software since he bought the business from his father in 1997, but since taking the Sage 50 accounting course, he realized that he was only doing a small fraction of what he is now capable of.
“Before my training, I didn’t know half the functions existed,” he said. “I would often be up until 2a.m. inputting sales and taxes and doing payroll. If only I had a time machine to go back 20 years, to take a course like this, I would have started saving time and money earlier.”
McPherson’s 23-year-old niece, Bethany MacPherson, is the office manager.
“We are looking forward to signing Bethany up for the Workplace Education course, Managing your People. This program is a super aide for my succession planning. It will make her a stronger, efficient and more informed manager,” said MacPherson.
“As our business grows and expands, this new-found time that we’ve saved is coming in handy. We have more trucks on the road, more business. It is a lifesaver that our accounting and social media functions are now efficient and easy.”
LAE Workplace Education Initiative’s free courses are sponsored by local business associations and community organizations throughout the province and are based on the training needs of the local business community.
A wide range of course topics ranging from Financial Management to Business Communications to Transformation Leadership may be offered. Training is designed to help small businesses work around staff scheduling, with four-hour classes taking place once a week for 10 weeks. This schedule also allows learners to go back to the workplace and apply new knowledge and skills each week.
To learn more about what LAE Workplace Education can do for your businesses visit: https://novascotia.ca/lae/workplace-education/ .
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