October is here and somehow we’ve already stepped into another season. For many, fall is a fresh start. Students go back to school, graduates begin new jobs and summer vacations have come to an end. Now that the leaves are changing, I wonder — how many of us were prepared for the new season?
A new season shouldn’t only mean the chance to start again, it should mean the chance to try new things. At the Chamber, we incorporate our members’ ideas and priorities into everything we do. This year, our Fall Dinner is focused on a common topic through a new angle: innovation. This word is used so often that it can lose its actual meaning: the introduction of something new. It’s a critical time for new ideas in Nova Scotia. Why? Nova Scotia is now home to seven post-secondary institutions, advanced hospitals and research labs and thousands of tech, financial and life-science firms. People are coming back to Nova Scotia because of new and greater opportunities for success. Chris Crowell, Volta Labs’ VP of Corporate Innovation, moved with his family back from Toronto to work in Halifax and we hope that’s just the beginning.
Businesses may hesitate to try new things. Capital acquisition, customer loyalty and competitive markets are just a few of the mitigating factors affecting an entrepreneur’s ability to start a business or an established professional’s chance to introduce a new technology in their business. With organizations such as Innovacorp and Volta Labs on your side, new, emerging and settled businesses have the resources they need to compete in Nova Scotia, Canada and on a global scale. Innovacorp, Nova Scotia’s early stage venture capital organization, offers programs to support new and current businesses. Their Accelerate Program helps Nova Scotia’s technology companies get investment-ready. Their Start-Up Visa Program attracts foreign entrepreneurs who wish to establish new, high-growth businesses in Canada that will support innovation and job creation. Volta Labs, a place of mentorship and community with a focus on quality and quantity rather than speed, among other things, provides world-class mentorship and support to new startup and potential entrepreneurs. Volta offers programs like the Connector Program, Volta Academy and Lunch and Learns that guide businesses into producing innovative products and services in Nova Scotia.
Businesses, big and small, need innovation strategies in our fast-changing world. We need to think about our next move and how we can stay competitive. Innovation can’t stop at entrepreneurs and startups. From an emerging two-person company working out of a desk to a multimillion-dollar corporation exporting globally and everything in between, you need an innovation strategy ready to adapt and mold. I want you to ask yourself this question: What has your business done in the past six months that could be considered innovative? To paraphrase a well-known quote, if you aren’t innovating, you’re dying. That could be trying a new technology, hiring co-op students or even a new weekly team meeting that brings people and their ideas together more frequently. Take a leap and try something new. While reading through this issue, pick out some ideas you find exciting and take them back to your team.
We hope you can join us at our annual Fall Dinner on November 1 to get inspired by our vibrant, evolving business community. The Chamber is in your corner and we can help you achieve the success your business deserves!
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