SmartCity Blog

Women in Trade and Entrepreneurship Exchange

by Krista Hall

Nancy Phillips, Director of Investment and Trade at the Greater Halifax Partnership and the Executive Director of the Halifax Gateway Council, is one of six Canadian women who are visiting the United States under the Women in Trade and Entrepreneurship, International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

IVLP participants are current and emerging leaders from across the world who are nominated and selected annually by the staff at U.S. embassies. Phillips was invited by the United States Ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson, to participate in the 21-day professional exchange program aimed at deepening understanding and ties between Americans and citizens of other countries.  

The Greater Halifax Partnership team and  the Halifax Gateway Council are delighted that Nancy has been selected for such a prestigious program promoting cultural exchange and collaboration between the United States and Canada.

"Given her experience and leadership of the Halifax Gateway Council and the Partnership’s investment and trade efforts, it’s natural that she would be asked to participate in a project focused on women in trade and entrepreneurship," shared Paul Kent, Partnership President and CEO.

From February 25 to March 16, the Canadian delegation will visit five U.S. cities – Washington, Kansas City, Austin, Denver and San Francisco - to learn about entrepreneurial efforts initiated by women in the U.S. and the influence of social, economic and political factors on U.S. private enterprises. 

Joyce Carter, Chairperson of the Halifax Gateway Council, says this is "a tremendous opportunity to cultivate lasting relationships with our principal trading partner."

"Nancy is an outstanding ambassador for Halifax," says Joyce. "She will add immense perspective and value to the exchange.” 

Nancy is sharing her experiences during the trip. Here are photos and updates from her visit to Washington. Stay tuned for more. 

February 25: Today we did some sightseeing with a fabulous historian who's great-grandfather painted the frescoes in the Capital Building. The sites included the White House, the Capitol Building, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. In the afternoon we went to the Holocaust Museum.

February 27: Our days are filled with meetings including officials at the State Department and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and our program coordinators and sponsors. As well, we had a meeting inside the House of Representatives yesterday - what a busy place with all the lobbyists running around! We also visited the beautiful campus of Georgtown University and George Washington University. Today, we are packing up to leave Washington for our next stop Kansas City, MO.

Keeping the Art of Crystal Making Alive

In the final episode of the SmartCity Business Show, host Craig Layton explores the history and the craft behind Nova Scotian Crystal.

Nova Scotian Crystal is the only producer of hand-made crystal in Canada.

The business’s story reads like a fairy tale. Workers with talented hands and the love of the craft came from the rolling hills of Ireland when machinery and mass production threatened the art of crystal making.

The passionate, skilled tradesmen who founded Nova Scotian Crystal immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1996. They soon became inspired. The province’s history has inspired, and currently still inspires, its collections and products, many of which don the same name.

In its waterfront warehouse and retail shop in Halifax, craftsmen at Nova Scotian Crystal give each product a personal story, keeping the art of crystal making alive.

 “One of the things we do here is make all of this crystal by hand which means every one piece is perfect; they’re just not all the same,” explains Rod McCulloch, Nova Scotian Crystal President and CEO. “There’s a little bit of the soul of every craftsman in every piece.”

With seven or eight craftsman working on that one item to make it perfect it’s easy to see that item as a work of art. In fact, one of the senior master craftsman at Nova Scotian Crystal believes it to be “art you can drink from.”

 And Rod agrees. He believes part of what Nova Scotian Crystal is doing is maintaining and enhancing the craft so it won’t die.

Although it is an art and the products are the masterpiece, Rod still wants his customers to have the full experience by being able to use their items – not just put them on display.

To ensure this the company backs every piece with a 100% guarantee. So if you lack grace (like Craig or myself) you still get to use your Nova Scotian Crystal products and gain that full experience. If it happens to fall, be dropped or get thrown and ends up chipped, cracked or broken, Nova Scotian Crystal will replace it.

During his visit at Nova Scotian Crystal, Craig ventures into the warehouse where he finds crystal makers perfecting their art. He meets with a craftsman who is busy at work and quickly explains the marks he’s following are guidelines to help with spacing. With a smile on says that the rest of his work relies on “pure talent, I guess.”

But there is no reason for these workers to be modest.

We profiled businesses and initiatives in several sectors during this season of SmartCity. From augmenting reality at Ad Dispatch to zooming around with NS Power and the Share ready initiative. Each showed us the diversity, connections and innovations this city has to offer.

Nevertheless, ending this season of SmartCity by highlighting the sheer skill of workers we have in this city is no coincidence. After all it’s the people that make Halifax a smart city.

Business Services Map a Hit at Reverse Trade Show

By Tammy Milbury

Simple words to say but difficult to execute on – “Think Outside the Box”. That’s what I was asked to do for The Greater Halifax Partnerships booth at The Supplier Development Reverse Trade Show that took place on Tuesday, October 16, 2012.

The Supplier Reverse Trade Show is an event that is jointly put on by The Greater Halifax Partnership, The Province of Nova Scotia and The Government of Canada. It is where business owners meet with the decision makers of over 30 government organizations that purchase goods for their departments on a regular basis. The event also hosts presentations where business can learn about different organizations that can assist their business through different stages of growth and development. Picture the event like a one-stop-shop for all you need to know, and who you need to know, to get involved in the procurement process. The total cost to businesses attending... FREE

The Greater Halifax Partnership works with businesses to connect them with other businesses, government programs and talent. We are not in the business of major procurement projects. When coming up with an idea for our booth I had to bear in mind these two facts. I didn’t want to have us confuse the folks coming by into thinking we had a big budget to purchase goods and services. When our team talked about the event last year we noted that over 400 businesses attended last year’s event. That information was what put the idea into motion.

After brainstorming several ideas with the SmartBusiness team, we landed on hiring visual artist Marguerite Drescher of Brave Space to graphically map out what businesses were attending the event, what services they offered, and what services they were looking for.  At 1 p.m. we started with two blank boards. By the end of the day we had engaged with over 80 organizations that broke down into 27 categories of offerings and eight categories of needs.

The feedback we received was very positive.  Menna Riley, President of Parlour Room Events, had this to say:

“My colleague and I found our way over to the colorful and interactive trade show booth incepted by the Greater Halifax Partnership. Not only was it a breath of fresh air in the otherwise conservative trade show booth display department, but it achieved a high level of engagement from the show’s attendees.  Kudos to the Partnership team for thinking outside the box on this unique and successful initiative.  Did I mention, it worked? I got a call the next day with regard to one of the posts I put up on the board!”

As a follow-up we have sent out a summary of the visual map to participants who were interested in receiving it.

Overall, it was a great day where we had the opportunity to meet with many great businesses that have operations in the region. I guess that is the payoff of creating an outside-the-box tradeshow booth. Thank you to everyone who dropped by and participated. We could not have done it without you!

 

You Might Also Like: 

• SmartBusiness Program

 

Author: Tammy Milbury

As Account Executive with the SmartBusiness program, Tammy is responsible for meeting with employers in Greater Halifax to discuss the challenges, needs and opportunities facing their business. Using the information from these visits, Tammy determines resources and partnerships to help businesses in the region succeed and prosper.

 

Entrepreneur finds success in Halifax

Recently at the Halifax’s Vital Signs event David Fleming, Jr. Economist and Project Development Coordinator at the Greater Halifax Partnership was quoted in a news article saying, “[youth are] our long-term supply of population, our long-term supply of employment opportunities, [and] our long-term supply of entrepreneurship.”

Ron Lovett, President and founder of Source Security featured in last week’s episode of SmartCity, is proof that is true. In an interview with The Chronicle Herald’s John DeMont last winter, the young entrepreneur said he was always the type to be “business-oriented.” He explained how he was “the kind of kid who had three paper routes and cut all the kids in the neighbourhood’s hair."

Ron started Source Security in 2002 after identifying an opportunity. No one was offering night club security in Halifax at the time so his company started with two employees working at a local bar on Spring Garden Road. “People assume that if something has not been done, that it can’t be done,” he said. But Ron and Source Security disprove that line of thinking.

His business soon expanded to cover 22 bars in downtown Halifax, and today his reach is even further. Source Security now offers several security services for events and individuals as well as private investigating. Source Security has worked at some of the biggest festivals in the world, and for some of the biggest names in the world.

Today, Ron is a driven entrepreneur who continues to operate Source Security out of its Head Office in Halifax. Ron tells SmartCity host Craig Layton that he doesn’t feel any pressure to move Source Security’s home base.

“I feel very proud to be an Atlantic Canadian owned and operated company. I don’t ever see us moving our head office from Atlantic Canada.”

And with all Halifax has to offer,  why would Source Security want to call anywhere else home? 

Halifax is already home to the head and regional offices(HROs) of several major Canadian corporations, and the Partnership’s new Head and Regional Office (HRO) Program is aimed at attracting even more HROs to set up shop here. Multi-unit operations amount to less than one percent of business in Canada, but generate more than half of the business income and employ one third of the work force. They also help create high paying jobs for residents while helping grow the economy.

Ron started his business as a driven twenty-something-year-old right here in Halifax. Now with big name clients and 3,500 employees, I think it's safe to say that big things start - and grow - here. 

 You Might Also Like

• SmartCity E1: Leveraging diversity is smart business
• SmartCity E2: Networking and Collaboration Helps Halifax Grow
• SmartCity E3: Augmenting Reality in Halifax

 

Author: Samantha Lodge

Samantha is the Communications and Marketing Assistant at the Greater Halifax Partnership. She moved from Newfoundland to Halifax to attend university, and ended up rekindling her love of the east coast. She feels that being close to the ocean in a city with so much excitement is the ideal situation – Halifax’s talented music scene is an added bonus!

Augmenting Reality in Halifax

By Samantha Lodge

There’s a reason this video series has SmartCity in the name. Halifax is home to innovative businesses and smart people. Recently, local interactive media company Ad Dispatch sat down with a big US department store and a comic book mogul to negotiate a major marketing deal.

Ad Dispatch takes products and images and connects a virtual experience to that image. It’s all about augmented reality and their augmented way of thinking has landed them the opportunity to create the Avenger marketing campaign. Working with Wal-Mart and Marvel, Ad Dispatch brings the Avenger characters to life. Smart? How about brilliant!

“If there’s an image I can create a virtual experience with it. So all of a sudden they create a whole other opportunity, a whole other product line based on augmented reality,” says Jonathan Burns, VP of Sales at Ad Dispatch.

SmartCity host Craig Layton gets his reality augmented when he meets with Matt Fegan, Director of Operations. Using a tablet computer a standard image of Captain America is transformed into a life size super imposed superhero standing next to Craig.

But that’s not the only way Ad Dispatch expands reality. From games that let you interact with the real world, to bringing a new level of reality to a t-shirt, this Halifax based digital media company keeps ideas fresh and new while bringing a whole new level to marketing and promotion.

President and CEO, Nathan Kroll says it best. “Augmented reality means we add content, value or entertainment to the physical world and physical objects around us. We add value to not just the marketing of the product, but to the product itself.”

Ad Dispatch’s team has a strong tie to Halifax with at least one third of its team graduating from post secondary institutions in the city.

“We’ve assembled a world class team here of 3D artists that have been vetted and approved by Pixar and Disney and Marvel, and they love the stuff that we’re building,” Kroll says about his team.

With local talent and a team that keeps growing the company is keeping up with the opportunities that keep coming its way. Big names like Home Depot and Disney are turning to Ad Dispatch to create a new kind of marketing campaign that focuses on driving customers to the retail level for this unique interactive experience.

Halifax’s digital media industry is growing and attracting international interest. Ad Dispatch is one of the companies getting Halifax’s name on the map and further proving that businesses can set up and stay in Halifax while creating business relationships all over the world. 

 You Might Also Like

• SmartCity Episode 1: Leveraging diversity is smart business
• SmartCity Episode 2: Networking and Collaboration Helps Halifax Grow
• Halifax's ICT, Gaming and Interactive Media sector 

Author: Samantha Lodge

Samantha is the Communications and Marketing Assistant at the Greater Halifax Partnership. She moved from Newfoundland to Halifax to attend university, and ended up rekindling her love of the east coast. She feels that being close to the ocean in a city with so much excitement is the ideal situation – Halifax’s talented music scene is an added bonus!

The Halifax Index - What is it & Why does it matter

by David Fleming 

We’re one week away from the release of The Halifax Index (Halifax’s new economic progress tool). As the lead researcher and writer, I thought I’d explain where this project came from, why I think it’s important and what you can expect from the first Index. 

When AGREATERHalifax, Economic Strategy for 2011-16 was being developed, the vision and values that were behind it were different than your typical economic strategy. Ideas and actions around sustainable environment, social capital, and building a diverse and vibrant community emerged from the collaborative development process. As such, it is evident that simple economic indicators like jobs and the amount of production were not going to tell the story of our community's progress. We had to build something different.

Take population growth as an example. When someone is choosing where to live, a number of key questions drive their decision: 

• Will I find a good job?
• Will I find affordable housing?
• Is the local community welcoming?
• Will I be safe and healthy?
• Is there a vibrant arts, culture and recreation community?
• Are there better opportunities in other communities?

The Index’s four sections, “People,” “Economy,” “Quality of Place,” and “Sustainability,” represent a more comprehensive approach to measuring economic progress. Working with local organizations, governments and consulting a variety of publications from other communities, we’ve built a set of indicators that represent the best data available to tell that story. The Index will get better each year as we harness more of the collective wisdom of the community and build strong research relationships between government, non-profit, academia and the business community. 

The first Index is about setting a benchmark for progress. We’ve identified key opportunities and challenges around immigration, our regulatory climate, urban area growth and a cultural change we need to make that will help our community progress towards its goal. We’ll unveil these findings, and others, at the first annual Halifax State of the Economy Conference on May 23rd-24th, 2012. 

Remember that the Economic Strategy is just a blueprint. It requires action from everyone to realize our vision for Halifax. If we do the right things and continue to work together, the Halifax Index will tell a story of a community that’s vibrant, diverse, healthy and full of opportunity for many. 

 

Author: David Fleming 

David is the Junior Economist and Project Development Coordinator at the Greater Halifax Partnership. He studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of Prince Edward Island, and has experience working with private, public and non-profit organizations. 

Iranian Business Trade Show Connects Community

By Nikki Jafari

By all accounts, the 2nd annual Iranian Business Trade Show last month was a great success. This year’s event managed to double both the number of vendors and attendees from our previous year, and also saw the addition of new, fun activities such as a kid’s corner with crafts and face painting, live music, as well as a cafeteria area featuring delicious authentic food.

While this event is a fun community gathering, it also serves an important business need. For a lot of immigrants, the work culture in Canada is very different than in their home countries; even if they are naturally savvy business people, it still inevitably takes them a while to learn the ropes.

That’s why this event is a great opportunity for newcomers – it gives them a chance to enter into the Canadian trade show scene for the first time, and in an environment that is filled with supportive business people just like them. For smaller family-run immigrant businesses, it’s often too expensive to attend larger events. This is actually one of the main reasons why the Iranian Business Trade Show was created. With a price point that is reasonable for small businesses, our event opens the door to those who cannot afford the expense of traditional shows, giving them a chance to establish networks and expand their contact base here in Halifax.

Building a Welcoming Community

The trade show also encourages more multiculturalism and an attitude of inclusion here in Halifax. Our event is open to all members of the community - not just those of Iranian heritage – meaning that it represents a great chance to celebrate and learn about our culture. This helps to foster an attitude of appreciation and acceptance, something that goes a long way in making immigrants feel welcome and at home in our city.

Looking forward to next year, we’re already imagining ways to build on our success. Our goal is to expand both our reach and our focus, something that will be accomplished by opening up the trade show to all international small-businesses. We also plan on developing an event website to help with promotions and improving this year’s immensely successful Iranian Business Directory.

As always the event will be free to the public, and also a fantastic way to have fun and celebrate Halifax’s diverse cultural make-up. We hope to see you there!

Author: Nikki Jafari

Nikki Jafari is a Mobile Mortgage Specialist for TD Canada Trust and one of the producers behind the Iranian Business Trade Show

Connecting in Communities Across Canada

By Fred Morley

Today, the Colchester Regional Development Association launched a new initiative modeled after Greater Halifax Partnership’s successful Halifax Connector Program. A version of this innovative approach to connecting immigrants to both communities and jobs is now found in nine communities across Canada.

Started just over two years ago, Connector is a formalized networking initiative that began as a way to help new immigrants establish their network of professional contacts. In a short period of time it has attracted significant praise and attention, and Truro’s recent decision to replicate it is another testament to its success.

When Connector launched in Halifax, it was is based on the simple understanding that integrating immigrants into the community, completing a successful job search, or finding a good career path seemed to be more about the strength of your network than the strength of your CV.  It was clear that people looking for opportunities needed to get connected. 

Fortunately, Halifax has great organizations like ISIS who work hard to get immigrants ready for success. We’re also fortunate to have an abundance of natural connectors - people with extensive contact lists who like nothing more than meeting people and connecting them to others in their own network. 

When each volunteer connector meets with an immigrant and has a discussion about local business conditions and potential career paths, no jobs are promised or offered… just advice.  However, each connector provides the newcomer with up to three new connections, and then each of these three is asked to provide three more, and so on.  In this way, a newcomer rapidly builds her network.

And it really works.  The program has grown from 50 to over 350 connectors representing over 250 businesses and organizations.  Over 100 newcomers have made connections leading to employment as part of this process.  The program also expanded to include international students and will soon expand to include both young and emerging talent and new graduates.

Connector has been recognized by the Conference Board of Canada as a best practice in attraction and retention of immigrants.  It has also received recognition from the Washington based International Economic Development Council.

Of course, the best outcomes for the program have been the hundreds of people who have found jobs, expanded their networks and put down deeper roots in Halifax. And with the help of the 350 + business people who volunteer their time as connectors, the Connector program will continue to make Halifax a more welcoming and inviting place to live and work.

Learn More about the Halifax Connector Program

Author: Fred Morley

Fred Morley is the Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at the Greater Halifax Partnership.

Iranian Business Trade Show: Blending Business and Community

By Mike MacKenzie

Halifax’s Iranian community is gearing up for this weekend’s Iranian Business Trade Show.

Now in its second year, the annual event blends business with community and features interactive presentations that celebrate Halifax’s proud and diverse culture. According to event organizer Nikki Jafari, it also provides a valuable opportunity for small businesses that don’t necessarily have the resources to attend larger-scale events.

“It’s a good chance for business owners to network with each other and promote their products,” says Nikki. “It’s an opportunity that many of the businesses don’t often get.”

The free event, which is open to members of the public, is also being held in conjunction with the Persian New Year that takes place on Tuesday, March 20. As part of the celebration, attendees can enjoy live music, dancing, and traditional Persian food.

But while the trade show is an occasion to celebrate Persian culture, it’s also seen as an important opportunity to further establish the Iranian community in Halifax.

Nikki hopes that the event will give profile to the successful enterprises that make up Halifax’s Iranian business community and demonstrate the value that immigrants from all backgrounds bring to our region. In her mind, it’s not just about celebrating culture, but also creating long-term stability for immigrant families who want to make a home in our city.

“We all have a role to play in helping the immigrant community feel welcome,” she says. “We all win if they stay here in Halifax.”

Event Details

The Second Annual Iranian Business Trade Show
Sunday, March 11, 2012
12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
World Trade and Convention Centre
1800 Argyle Street, Halifax

 

Author: Mike MacKenzie

Mike is the Communications and Marketing Assistant with Greater Halifax Partnership, currently working as a Bachelor of Public Relations co-op student. A lover of all things communications and strategy related, Mike is often known to spend his free time analyzing the latest-and-greatest PR/advertising campaigns. As a relative newbie to the Halifax scene, he can also be seen strolling the streets of downtown looking for the next cool thing that the city has to offer.

Digital businesses making big moves

By Mike MacKenzie

February has been a good month for Halifax's digital technologies industry. Whether locking down deals or looking forward to growth opportunities, digital businesses have been making big moves.

Early next month, representatives from eight made-in-Nova Scotia digital gaming businesses are heading to San Francisco for the industry’s largest annual gathering of top game developers. Held each March, The Game Developers Conference represents a big opportunity for small businesses when it comes to opening doors and closing deals - last year alone, Halifax-based theREDspace made connections that resulted in over $500,000 worth of business. It’s a trend that Nova Scotia Business Inc. hopes will continue, as they accompany the developers and work to promote the province’s digital gaming cluster.

Halifax-based DHX media is posting large numbers, with $1.8M in net income for Q4 in 2011. That figure is up 115% from last year, growth that analysts say is thanks to an increased focus on merchandising from the business that produces, distributes and licenses children’s entertainment programming. Last year, the company joined forces with Vans – the makers of popular urban footwear – for a line based on the company’s television series Yo Gabba Gabba. According to company executives, it was a step in the right direction as the business continues to look for ways to diversify revenue.

Local gamers who aspire to develop their own creation will soon get their chance at this weekend’s Halifax Game Jam. Hosted at The Hub, the weekend-long event will group developers, artists, and other creative people together in the quest to create awesome video games. No experience is necessary, and the Jam starts this Friday, March 2 at 6 p.m., wrapping up at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 4. No cost, no registration, and no sleep.

 

With a promising start to 2012, what do you think is next in line for Halifax's digital technologies industry?

 

Author: Mike MacKenzie

Mike is the Communications and Marketing Assistant with Greater Halifax Partnership, currently working as a Bachelor of Public Relations co-op student. A lover of all things communications and strategy related, Mike is often known to spend his free time analyzing the latest-and-greatest PR/advertising campaigns. As a relative newbie to the Halifax scene, he can also be seen strolling the streets of downtown looking for the next cool thing that the city has to offer.