Small Business Enterprise Centre

Small Business Enterprise Centre SBEC is here for you whether you’re opening a new business, or expanding an existing business. Our The Elgin/St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation.
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Thomas Small Business Enterprise Centre serves local small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs from the idea stage to strategy development. Our complimentary business support services are available as a result of the solid partnership between the province of Ontario, County of Elgin, and us, the St. Join your local Small Business Network today. www.SBECinnovation.ca

There are 57 Small Busi

ness Enterprise Centre's across Ontario, all connected Members of The Ontario Business Network - https://bit.ly/35KRw9b

Connect with your community and learn about local resources at the "Cultivating Success" business networking event in So...
06/12/2026

Connect with your community and learn about local resources at the "Cultivating Success" business networking event in Southwold.

Take part in Cultivating Success 2026: Celebrate Your Connections, a premier networking event celebrating local entrepreneurship and rural economic growth across Elgin County. Hosted by the Southwold, Dutton Dunwich, and West Elgin Economic Development Committees, in partnership with Elgin County and the Elgin Business Resource Centre, this inspiring gathering brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs, and community stakeholders for an evening of meaningful connection, learning, and opportunity.

Featuring Peter Katz, a Juno Award–nominated singer-songwriter and renowned keynote speaker. His unique keynote concerts blend live music, storytelling, and research-backed insights, creating an engaging and memorable experience that inspires audiences to foster connection, belonging, and appreciation for meaningful moments.

Guests will also enjoy a taste of Elgin County with delicious offerings from local food vendors Made With Love and Evelyn's Sausage Kitchen. The evening will feature local wine from Skye Chase Estate Winery and craft beer selections from Natterjack Brewing Company and Port Stanley Brewing Company, showcasing the region’s vibrant food and beverage scene.

Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your network, celebrate local success, and strengthen the connections that drive our communities forward.

Register at https://tinyurl.com/28ezvzxx

Port Stanley Rickshaw Tours: Riding for a Cause! 🛺Want a tour of downtown Port Stanley this weekend? Port Stanley Ricksh...
06/11/2026

Port Stanley Rickshaw Tours: Riding for a Cause! 🛺

Want a tour of downtown Port Stanley this weekend? Port Stanley Rickshaw is hosting downtown tours starting at the Port Stanley Fire Hall Market!

Cash and non-perishable food donations will be accepted to help keep our Port Stanley and Area Community Cupboard shelves stocked.

To receive a downtown tour, simply bring along a donation to support local families! 🛒💰

📅 Event & Donation Details:
When: This Saturday, June 13th from 12:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Where: Starting at the Port Stanley Fire Hall Market

Food Donations: All non-perishable food items can be dropped off directly at The Hydrant Pub.

Cash Donations: You can give cash donations directly to your Port Stanley Rickshaw driver.

Every single donation stays local to help our community. Fill those shelves and enjoy a beautiful Saturday ride!

It goes in nearly everything, but have you ever stopped to wonder where it comes from or how it became such a necessary ...
06/10/2026

It goes in nearly everything, but have you ever stopped to wonder where it comes from or how it became such a necessary part of our everyday cooking experiences?

Today is National Herbs and Spices Day, but we are putting pepper front and centre.

If seeing how pepper grows makes you at all curious about what else you don't know, we'd love for you to join in an immersive class with Pepper Tree Spice Co. at The Horton Farmers' Market on June 23.

Once worth its weight in silver, black pepper shaped ancient trade routes. In this immersive food-and-history experience, Chef Ankita takes you through black pepper’s extraordinary journey from the vines of South India to Roman kitchens, medieval banquets, and beyond. Through her carefully curated tastings, you’ll discover how a single spice reshaped global trade, power, and cuisine.

The experience begins with a prepared Black Pepper Cheddar Mousse with shaved salami, honey-pepper drizzle, and crisp cracker, a refined nod to pepper’s early luxury status. Then you'll be hands-on creating a Green Peppercorn Studded Lamb Kafta with mint yogurt sauce, mini naan, and herbed slaw, exploring pepper’s bold warmth across savoury traditions. Together you will build a delicious appetizer of Smoked Sockeye with whipped chèvre on rye infused with long pepper, chives, and pickled shallots highlights pepper’s aromatic and historical variations.

For the main course, under chef Ankita's guidance, you'll continue your hands-on experience creating Kerala Black Pepper Chicken served with steamed basmati rice showcases pepper at the heart of South Indian cuisine.

Chef Ankita delivers a sweet finale with Roasted Strawberry and Black Pepper Compote atop Vanilla Ice Cream, revealing pepper’s surprising role in sweet expression.

Recipes, complimentary beverages and a special coupon are included in every class.

Tickets at https://www.hortonfarmersmarket.ca/thekitchen.html

If your customer base doubled tomorrow, would your business hold up?Most small business owners are chasing growth; more ...
06/09/2026

If your customer base doubled tomorrow, would your business hold up?

Most small business owners are chasing growth; more customers, more sales, bigger everything. But if the back end of your business is already feeling chaotic, adding more to the pile won't fix it.
Before you scale, it's worth asking whether your foundation can actually support it.

That might mean a consistent way to respond to inquiries, a simple system for tracking invoices, or even just a saved email template for the questions you answer every single week. Nothing fancy. Just repeatable.

Strong systems save time, reduce the mental load, and make for a better customer experience -- and they make it a whole lot easier to bring on help when you're ready to grow.

Not sure where to start? Our latest article breaks it down.
https://www.sbecinnovation.ca/articles/your-small-business-needs-systems-before-it-needs-scale

The moments that grow your business aren't always planned.They're the pitch you didn't see coming. The introduction that...
06/08/2026

The moments that grow your business aren't always planned.

They're the pitch you didn't see coming. The introduction that had to land. The question that put you on the spot.

Full Bloom: Grow Your Voice, Grow Your Business is a keynote experience for entrepreneurs who want to show up fully in the moments that matter most.

Speaking coach and business storyteller Chris McAuley of MCAVOY Inc. will help you build the confidence and communication skills to pitch, lead, and sell with impact.

Monday, July 7 | 5:00 -- 7:00 PM
Wildflowers Farm
Light food provided. Cash bar. Free tickets on Eventbrite.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/full-bloom-grow-your-voice-tickets-1990517533526

Presented in partnership with Elgin Business Resource Centre

Still in Downtown St. Thomas, just a little further East.We can't wait to welcome you to our new office space at The Atr...
06/05/2026

Still in Downtown St. Thomas, just a little further East.

We can't wait to welcome you to our new office space at The Atrium!

If you have an upcoming appointment with us, please double check you've got the location right!

See you soon at 581 Talbot!

This is what a Friday night in Elgin County looks like.Local vendors. Live music. Botanical cocktails. A fire pit when t...
06/04/2026

This is what a Friday night in Elgin County looks like.

Local vendors. Live music. Botanical cocktails. A fire pit when the evening cools down. And enough space to actually slow down for a couple of hours.

Wildflowers Farm's Friday Night Markets are back June 5, running every Friday through August from 4 to 8 pm. Three Late Night Markets run until 10 pm, with themed evenings in June, July, and August. Fall pop-ups follow in September and October.

Behind all of it are Michael and Michelle Crich, who took over the farm in 2025 and have spent the past year making sure nothing about the place you love changed, while continuing to find more opportunities to grow community right alongside the wildflowers.

Read their story in our latest Small Business Spotlight.

📍 42338 Fruit Ridge Line, St. Thomas
🌿 wildflowers.farm
https://www.sbecinnovation.ca/articles/small-business-spotlight-wildflowers-farm

Respectfully, Steve... not everyone gets to start from there.Steve Jobs said it. The internet put it on a thousand motiv...
06/03/2026

Respectfully, Steve... not everyone gets to start from there.

Steve Jobs said it. The internet put it on a thousand motivational graphics. And it's not wrong, exactly.

But for many small business owners? It's not the whole truth either.
Because here's what isn't acknowledged enough: even if you genuinely love what you do, you probably don't love chasing invoices. Or redoing your books at 11pm. Or handling a difficult client, a slow season, or a decision that keeps you up at night.

Doing great work isn't about loving every part of it.

It's about being determined enough to do it anyway.

The business owners we work with every day in Elgin and St. Thomas aren't always running on passion. Sometimes they're running on stubbornness, and community, and the belief that they can figure it out.

That counts. That's actually what builds something.

Love what you do when you can. And when you can't, do it anyway.

That's the real work. And we are here to help.

If you don't always love it, rest assured, you don't actually have to.

Address

581 Talbot Street
Saint Thomas, ON
N5P1C5

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 12pm - 8pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+12263770064

Website

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