Craft HUB Activator
Craft HUB Activator Program 2021 – 2024
Craft HUB Activator is an ongoing three-year project created by Craft Alliance for those with craft businesses who are in need of assistance developing their skills and new market opportunities. The Program will aim to assist manufacturers, makers, and businesses, from historically disadvantaged communities within Atlantic Canada including BIPOC (Black; Indigenous, and People of Colour); persons who identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+; and persons with disabilities with: business development, coaching/mentoring, and increased sales through innovation, capacity building and product development.
Our first initiative under Activator project is our Business Mentoring Sessions which will be providing group and one-on-one sessions with expert business leaders and mentors through virtual webinars, workshops, and small assignments throughout to help cement new skills and practices.
In 2022, in Phase two the project initiated educational missions to the United States, in collaboration with industry partners, to encourage our producers to expand and build capacity for their respective businesses. Our first mission was a multi-sector, multi-community mission to New England with an exploration of museum retail and doing business in the USA. Our second mission in 2023 was an Indigenous mission to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC during the annual Native Art Market. In Summer 2024 we are hosting a mission to Santa Fe, New Mexico during the annual Santa Fe Indian Art Market.
We are ready to work closely with individual producers to determine unique client needs.
Let us know what you’re looking for assistance with and we can help!
Craft HUB Activator – Business Mentoring Sessions
Activator Business Mentoring Sessions
Applications – Ongoing until Filled
Important Note: As mentioned in the opening paragraph, this program is specifically for businesses who self-identify as being from one of the equity communities, as noted in the criteria.
This program is designed to give historically disadvantaged creative makers and entrepreneurs such as BIPOC, disabled persons, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ persons; the tools and resources that may be required to take their craft business enterprise to the next level or who need logistical help in the process. Participants are asked to self-identify as one or more of the equity groups mentioned.
The Business Mentoring Sessions will be a business development focused program and provide both group and one-on-one sessions with expert business leaders and mentors through virtual webinars, workshops, and small assignments throughout the series to help cement new skills and practices. This is a peer-to-peer group, collaborative process, led by a business mentor.
This program will be of interest to craft producers or small-scale production-oriented manufacturers, who want to move their business to the next level, create a focused business plan and develop new opportunities that focus on expanding markets and increasing sales.
Presenter: A Facilitator/Consultant/Business Coach and Invited Guest Speakers
Facilitator provides thought leadership, along with learning and resource materials for the mentoring sessions. Participants bring their experience and questions to the table as peer advisors.
Maximum of 10 Participants to be Selected.
Participants must have already developed and created crafted products with the intention of developing a small-scale production business from these products. Participants must reside in Atlantic Canada and all products must be produced in the region. The Business Mentoring Sessions will be presented on Zoom. A reliable internet connection is required and a valid email address for correspondence. Participants are required to participate in all sessions, as scheduled (see below). This program is designed to give historically disadvantaged creative makers and entrepreneurs such as BIPOC, disabled persons, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ persons; the tools and resources that may be required to take their craft business enterprise to the next level or who need logistical help in the process. Participants are asked to self-identify as one or more of the applicable equity groups mentioned.
Objectives of Mentoring Sessions
Overall Process Objectives:
- Peer to Peer Networking – Advising Colleagues
- Engaged Participation and Highly Participatory
- Action Oriented – Creating New Priorities
- Collaborative Practice – Helping Peers
- Enriched and Interested in Peers Success
Business Objectives:
- Increase Business Connections
- Learn from and with other “growth-minded” peer businesses.
- Mentoring with business owners that offer diverse perspectives with the common goal of meeting with others who value investing in their own businesses.
- Take material explored and make it immediately applicable to your business.
- Increase wholesale opportunities and introduce exporting
- Increase business productivity for 2023 and beyond
Agenda and Zoom Session Summaries
8 Zoom Sessions* – (90 minutes each) Wednesdays 12:15pm to 1:30pm
|
Zoom Sessions Dates Wednesdays 12:15pm to 1:30pm |
Topics |
| Week 1 – October 26th | Business Foundation: Basics of Business Planning |
| Week 2 – November 2 | Setting Goals and Capacity Building for Growth |
| Week 3 – November 9 | Craft Industry Practices (Wholesaling 101; B2B vs. B2C) |
| Week 4 – November 16 | Pricing; Product Development; Markets & Brand Development |
| Week 5 – November 23 | B2B Marketing Strategies |
| Week 6 – November 30 | Participants Driven Topic (Scaling up, Digital, Sales, e-Commerce) |
| Week 7 – December 7 | Exploring New Opportunities (Scaling up, Digital, Sales, e-Commerce) |
| Week 8 – December 14 | Measuring and Evaluating Success |
*Exact start date and schedule will be determined by successfully filling the peer group, prior to start date.
Session Agenda:
| Participant Check-in from Assignments/Research | 10 min |
| Topic Introduction and Materials from Mentor/Facilitator | 30 min |
| Participant Mentoring on Topic (round table) | 30 min |
| Focused Discussions (one participant topic) | 10 min |
| Review and Goals for Next Session | 10 min |
Individual Mentoring
Participant also receives three (3) individual mentoring sessions
- One (1) hour to 1.5 hours each – to be scheduled between participant and consultant through the timeframe of the series.
- Setting individual goals to be discussed and reviewed at next individual mentoring session.
- Participant Reports on their progress over the 3 sessions.
Participants not selected for the mentoring sessions will be eligible for other programs and activities as the Activator project evolves.
Project Background
Craft Alliance Atlantic Association has developed a comprehensive program for an initial two-year project to enhance, support and further develop wholesale market opportunities and to create new representation from diverse maker communities in the small-scale manufacturing sector (craft, giftware and apparel production) in Atlantic Canada.
Craft Alliance has built a strategic process and development continuum that will assist manufacturers in capacity building for both existing producers and emerging start-ups through relevant programs and services identified by industry stakeholders. The Craft Hub SME Activator Project will assist Atlantic Canadian manufacturers and maker focused businesses from diverse communities including; BIPOC, persons who identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+ and persons with disabilities, with business development, coaching/mentoring, and increased sales through innovation, capacity building and product development. As export development is a key aspect of the Craft Alliance mandate, the program will also include export readiness and export market entry for those businesses interested in expanding beyond Atlantic Canada.
The Craft Hub SME Activator Project will assist underrepresented producers in accessing new markets and create new priority and niche markets for Atlantic Canadian makers who have traditionally had limited or no access to wholesale and export markets in Canada and abroad. The program will create new and sustainable exporters and increase overall sales by providing support and advisory services to diverse communities. The dissemination of market development and mentoring skills along with wholesale trade and export related logistics will further the professional development of the industry and create new diverse and inclusive audiences as a result of project activity.
How To Apply
Applications Ongoing
To apply, please forward you name, address, email and phone number, along with either a website and/or social media links, or 3 images of your work to Craft Alliance at: info@craftalliance.ca
Craft Alliance Atlantic is a pan-Atlantic trade association working with the craft, giftware and apparels sectors in Atlantic Canada. Craft Alliance hosts the annual Craft East Buyers’ Expo and newly launched Craft East Virtual Marketplace
Craft Alliance Atlantic is located in Kjipuktuk, (Halifax), within Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship of 1726. We acknowledge and honour the Mi’kmaq people who have cared for and continue to care for this land. As Treaty People, Indigenous and non-Indigenous we share the mutual responsibilities for stewardship and sustainability of our cultures and community within this beautiful land. Craft Alliance Atlantic is committed to deepening our learning and strive to honour and uphold these Treaties through the preservation and celebration of cultural traditions and contemporary craft practices.
Equity Statement
We also acknowledge the diverse communities in our region that make up our population, including Indigenous Peoples, the many descendants of African Nova Scotians, the Black Loyalists and other racialized individuals including immigrants and refugees; individuals from the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community; and physically and intellectually disabled persons. We recognize that the lived experiences of these groups can often vary dramatically, and that considering the intersectionality of those lived experiences is also an essential factor when discussing issues pertaining to them.
Many from these groups have been long under-served in government-funded business development initiatives; our goal with the Activator project is to deliver a more active and intentional effort in support of craftspeople who self-identify with any of the above groups. By presenting coach-led peer work groups, one-on-one consultation opportunities, and dedicating spaces in our wholesale and export trade activities for Activator participants, we are working to funnel resources directly to the abovementioned groups over the length of the project and working to restructure our organizational processes and activities to be able to continue offering targeted support beyond the end of the program’s funding.
We acknowledge funding support provided by ACOA through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation – Regional Innovation Ecosystem