NSCC | Entrepreneurship Foster entrepreneurial spirit (via campus events and in-class activities) Provide campuses with funding dollars to support entrepreneurial skill building Assist students with idea generation and business planning consultation Expose students to the concept of entrepreneurship as a viable career option

Events to watch for… Student Video Challenge Ideas Competition win up to $1,000 in cash prizes win up to $1,000 – $10,000 in cash prizes Throughout the year there are even more opportunities to win cash prizes. On your own or as part of a team, coordinate an event or activity during Global Entrepreneurship Week (November) to promote and educate your fellow students about entrepreneurship. Create a video of your work and submit it to be entered to win up to $1,000 in cash prizes as part of our Global Entrepreneurship Week Challenge. YES can provide you with money to cover the costs of your activity but, you have to ask in advance of your activity or event. (view a finalist’s video from last year by clicking on video image) Or, take part in our 2014 Ideas Competition. Whether you have a business idea or an idea that better your community, pitch that idea to a panel of judges for a chance to win up to $1,000 on campus or $10,000 if you are the provincial winner. More details for each contest are available online at nscc.ca or at e2.nscc.ca

http://e2.nscc.ca We also have a website where you can learn all about entrepreneurship and what’s happening at NSCC related to entrepreneurship. You can search topics and resources, find out the latest news related to entrepreneurship and see what entrepreneurial events are coming up. And, you can even create your own membership to our website so that you can post your own resources, news, and events.

My IRKS… My IRKS… Define “IRKS” Brainstorm a list of things that that ‘irk’ people. These could be as big as social and economic issues, to day to day challenges (e.g., forgetting to water your plants). For the purposes of this workshop, encourage students to think about problems they might run into in the workplace as Office Administrators. Once a good fun list is brainstormed, pick one and brainstorm some products or services that we could generate to solve the problem. Then, talk about it… How many of these are realistic products or services that you could turn into a viable business? Do you need to start a business to implement any of these solutions in the workplace? [The answer should be no] So, you can be entrepreneurial in the workplace without being the business owner by taking a solutions-focused approach to problem solving. irk: to be irritating, wearisome or vexing to (thefreedictionary.com)

SME Q & A “Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs; sometimes also small and medium enterprises) are businesses whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits.” Source: (Wikipedia.com) Question 1 How many people make up an SME? We have a trivia game to learn a bit more about small business. First let’s define a key term: SME Then move into question 1…

SME Q & A Answer 1 “Industry Canada defines a small business as one with fewer than 100 employees (if the business is a goods-producing one) or fewer than 50 employees (if the business is service-based), and a medium-sized business as one with fewer than 500 employees.” (source: Wikipedia.com)

SME Q & A Question 2 How many of you think you will work for an SME? How many people work for SMEs in Nova Scotia? Question #2 – poll the class to see how many want to work for an SME. Ask them Why? Why not? Discuss the pros and cons of working for a small vs. large employer. Move into Question #3

SME Q & A Answer 3 97.4% of businesses in NS are SME’s Our economy is dependent on small business financially, and for jobs! 28.9 % of total workers in NS work for small businesses 22.6% of total works in NS work for mid-size businesses (50-499 employees) This means that approximately 51.5% of you will work for entrepreneurs and will need to understand how entrepreneurs think and operate in order to be successful in the workforce. Talk about what this means to them and their future plans in relation to the previous discussion.

“Day at the Office” Activity Read the scenario distributed to you by your facilitator(s) Discuss the scenario and answer questions (5-10 min.) Present your ideas (3-5 min. each) Break students into groups and give each group a scenario. Scenarios can be printed and shared with students (slides 10 – 14). Allow them time to discuss their scenario and then have them present back: Share summary of the scenario Share their answers to the questions provided for each scenario Discuss

Scenario #1: Sick Days The administrative professional is sick for the third day in a row, places call to boss saying he can’t come in. Boss is concerned about his employee and how the lack of help is affecting business. Boss asks Sales Manager to step in to help return some of the incoming calls and assist with scheduling appointments. Sales Manager is frustrated as she doesn’t know what to do and is having trouble juggling all of her responsibilities for the day. She expresses frustration to the boss. What is/are the issue(s)? What is/are the impact(s) to the business? What is/are the impact(s) to the people? Possible solution(s)?

Scenario #2: Customer Service Front desk administrative professional is approached by a customer asking to reschedule their appointment. The administrative professional is very rude saying that there are no openings for over a month and this is a last minute cancellation. The customer explains that their daycare worker was sick and therefore they don’t have childcare. The administrative professional is not empathetic and makes no attempt to help the customer. The customer leaves the office and calls a friend explaining that they are going to leave this company to go to a competitor. What is/are the issue(s)? What is/are the impact(s) to the business? What is/are the impact(s) to the people? Possible solution(s)?

Scenario #3: Phone Service Customer calls company and speaks to an Administrative Assistant who quickly (without listening to the story) transfers the call to another employee. The employee who answers the call listens quietly and tries to triage the problem on the phone (giving good service). The client is displeased by the first part of the call but grateful that the other person was able to help. What is/are the issue(s)? What is/are the impact(s) to the business? What is/are the impact(s) to the people? Possible solution(s)?

Scenario #4: New Responsibilities Boss needs some extra help and asks the administrative professional to help him on a very exciting project. This would require a few late evenings but the boss really trusts that she can handle the extra responsibilities. That same day the Sales Manager asks the administrative professional for some help with the budget reports. The Admin (while excited to help) is feeling pulled in many directions. What is/are the issue(s)? What is/are the impact(s) to the business? What is/are the impact(s) to the people? Possible solution(s)?

Scenario #5: Career Growth Boss needs some extra help with some tasks that keep falling through the cracks. She sees potential in her Administrative Professional who has been with the company for five years. The Administrative Professional is very happy to take on new responsibilities but is now juggling quite a bit of tasks. He asks the boss if she can move some of her current priorities to a newly hired admin who needs to familiarize themselves with the office. What is/are the issue(s)? What is/are the impact(s) to the business? What is/are the impact(s) to the people? Possible solution(s)?

Workshop Debrief What have we learned about small business? How important is an OA to business success? Knowing that, what skills do you have to keep top of mind to be a good OA? What have we learned about small business? Most businesses in NS are small to medium sized businesses Pros (family atmosphere, flexibility, more stretch/creativity in role, greater opportunity to prove self/advance, etc.) and cons (salary, more dependent on you, fewer new positions available, etc.) to for working with a small business How important is an OA to business success? Crucial – they are the face of the business and contribute significantly to most if not all components of the business Knowing that, what skills do you have to keep top of mind to be a good OA? Customer service Marketing/communications/sales Organization Opportunity seeking Flexibility Time/project management Etc. Point out that all these skills are the same skills that an entrepreneur would also need to have and, therefore, as an OA for a small business they must be entrepreneurial. And, those same skills will help them to advance quicker in a larger organization.

With all of that information we encourage you to Explore Entrepreneurship & discover Your Entrepreneurial Self at NSCC!