The North Delta Business Association is introducing itself to the community with a brand new website and a speaker series launching this week.
On April 4, the NDBA announced it was “open for business” with the launch of northdeltabusiness.ca and a forthcoming five-part webinar, the “Audacious Leadership Series.”
The series is the association’s first event since registering as a society in 2020 — a two-year-long delayed debut after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NDBA to cancel a planned business summit and other events.
“We’ve spent the last 18 months gaining awareness through social media and then launched the website and our new program, so it’s quite the undertaking but, you know, people are getting excited and that’s what’s important,” co-founding director Ian Tait told the Reporter.
“We say ours is the only association that will link you to other businesses, connect you with experts to help you lead and grow your business, and constantly challenge you to do things differently. So it’s saying, ‘How can we be of service to our members? How can we provide them with learning opportunities to grow their businesses and become more effective leaders?’ And that’s what this upcoming Audacious Leadership Series is all about.”
The 40-minute webinars will be led by entrepreneur, author and business advisor Roy Osing, who also serves a one of the NDBA’s three directors alongside Tait and co-founder John Mancini. According to a bio on the NDBA’s website, Osing is a former president, CMO and entrepreneur with over 40 years of executive leadership experience in every aspect of business.
“As president of a major data and internet company, his leadership and audacious ‘unheard-of ways’ took the company from its early stage to $1 billion in annual sales,” the bio states.
Osing is also the author of the Be Different or Be Dead series, and participants in the webinars will receive an autographed copy of his seventh book, The Audacious Unheard-of Ways I Took a Startup to a Billion in Sales, before hard copies go on sale to the public on May 30.
“We’ve linked with him to be able to come up with a presentation that I think is going to be pretty staggering,” Tait said.
“You’re getting a chance to talk to a guy who generated a billion dollars in sales and who’s a proven entrepreneur, a blogger, and a mentor for businesses and young professionals too. And he’s all about doing things differently.”
The first session, “What It Takes To Be An Audacious Leader,” takes place this Wednesday (April 13), with further sessions planned for May (“Roy’s Shocking Business Code to Success”), June (“‘The Secret Sauce for Amazing Marketing”), September (“How to Create a High Performing Sales Culture”) and October (“Simple Ways to Deliver Breathtaking Customer Service”).
“If you’re a business owner, you know [those themes are] some of the key things you have to look at, but we want [participants] to look at it in a new and different way and to challenge people to do things differently,” Tait said.
“I think that’s where we differ from other organizations — we’re not about marketing North Delta, we’re about encouraging our members to grow and learn and do things differently.”
As part of doing things differently, the NDBA is a virtual organization — no storefront, only a post office box — allowing it to be “lean, mean and focused on delivering,” Tait said.
As well, membership in the NDBA, which costs $100 per year, is inclusive and not restricted by geography.
“Here’s a terrific opportunity for any business — non-profit, storefront, home-based, desktop, shared workspace, kitchen table, virtual or other. There’s no encumbrance; you don’t have to live here, you don’t have to work here,” Tait said.
“We’re not saying no to anybody. But what we will do is concentrate on things that are important to the commercial interests of North Delta-based businesses.”
Tait said the NDBA can be an umbrella under which the business community can come together, share information, network and advocate — something North Delta businesses haven’t had in decades.
“From what I’ve been hearing, [it’s] long overdue,” he said.
“Every business has been operating in isolation. Here’s a chance where you can use membership to meet and link up with organizations and be able to share opinions and speak with one voice. And I don’t think there’s ever been a conduit through to the other [Delta business] organizations — or to city hall for that matter — for the business community here.”
“We can be that ‘catch-all,’ as it were.”
To register for the NDBA’s Audacious Leadership Series, visit northdeltabusiness.ca/events. Each session costs $40.75 ($15 plus GST registration fee and $25 for Osing’s new book), or $77.50 if you register for all five sessions before April 13.
There will also be a free in-person meet-and-greet with Osing on April 27, from 5-7 p.m., at the North Delta Recreation Centre (11415 84th Ave.), where participants can pick up their copy of his book.
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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