Danielle DuBois: Working with small business, women in business

If you hurry, you will be in time to take part in the "Dress to Impress" event happening this evening at Orangeville's Joppa Cafe.

The idea is that you donate articles of "gently used, fashionably professional clothing" to support this clothing drive to benefit Family Transition Place and Choices Youth Shelter.

All the clothing will be collected at Joppa this evening (Thursday) from 7 to 9, also as a time to meet other people, enjoy the refreshments that Joppa serves and enter for the grand draw that has been organized.

After the evening's socialising and all the door prizes have been given, the clothing will go to As We Grow where it will be sold in support of the shelters or be distributed to those in need at the charities.

Dress to Impress is hosted by Joppa but it was created and managed by Danielle DuBois, owner and director of The Small Business Place.

In 2005, Danielle found herself hunting for a job in Orangeville, without much luck. Her problem was that she was over-qualified for most of the jobs she looked at. She has a college degree in Business Management, has run two businesses and has held management positions.

And she wanted to stay in Orangeville, which she looks on as her home. Her family have owned their property in Hockley Valley for over 40 years, so the home and land have been part of her whole life.

Her solution was to start her own business: helping others establish or manage their new businesses.

She told me: "I deal mostly with small businesses in their first five years, when they're still not fully formed. People become impatient with the progress they're making. I help them understand that it takes time to get established."

For her own beginnings, Danielle registered her company, "The Small Business Place" and then she started "knocking on doors", as she put it. She made a point to meet people at every opportunity; she joined the Greater Dufferin Area Chamber of Commerce (GDACC) and began to participate in the Dufferin Women In Business (DWIB) luncheons.

Sue Schneider set up DWIB about seven years ago for the purpose of providing a means by which local business women could meet in a relaxed and easy way, connecting with each other, networking to the mutual advantage of all.

The milieu for these opportunities is a monthly luncheon, at which there is a speaker, a brief moment in which to state one's business within the format of the luncheon and lots of time for meeting, greeting and exchanging information.

The ladies who attend these monthly meets belong to the GDACC and the DWIB is an off shoot of the Chamber.

For Danielle, the DWIB was such a good launching pad that she has since become the co-chair with Yvonne Guse-Rahn.

Of their monthly speakers, Danielle explained, "We look for interesting and successful women who have stories to tell. They all offer messages that inspire and innovate. They are mostly local women -it's amazing how many truly successful women have come from this area.

"Sometimes, we invite a person - a big name - who is not necessarily from this immediate area," Danielle told me.

A case in point is this month's guest, Patricia Lovett-Reid, Senior Vice President TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Ms. Lovett- Reid is well known for her commentary on business and national and international finances on television and radio. She has been given a number of awards for her commitment in educating the public on personal financial matters.

She will be speaking at the DWIB's luncheon this month, next Thursday, June 25 at the Agricultural Centre.

As an exception to the rule, the lunch is open to gentlemen as well as ladies, as it is felt that everyone ought to have the chance to hear Ms. Lovett- Reid speak.

As a regular event, the luncheons are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month (with this month as the exception). There is a charge which includes a buffet lunch and the chance to snooze.

Every routine needs a break and the DWIB offers these as well, with the next one being an upcoming dinner/theatre evening scheduled in October.

As DWIB's co-chair is a volunteer position, Danielle DuBois must meanwhile work to earn a living. She organizes graphic designing, printing, special signage, website design and consults on the best way to push a business forward, especially from the point of view of how it is seen. Her goal is to be a source for every business need, to be the point to which everyone comes for everything.

She said: "I really like dealing with the small businesses."

Danielle also "really likes" organizing events and she has a singular flair for it. In May, her Small Business Place took over the corridors of the Orangeville Mall which she turned into the "Orangeville Small Business Expo", a threeday event that gave Orangeville-area residents the chance to meet many of the lady-entrepreneurs working in this area. It was a tremendous success, with enthusiastic feed-back to Danielle for weeks afterward.

Her coming events are: a First Aid training course, given because small businesses cannot necessarily afford to sponsor the training alone; a "Managing just for kids" small business showcase at the Chamber's Home and Lifestyle Show later this year; and another Small Business Expo in November.

These events are not money-makers for Danielle, but as she says, "I can give my time and effort - it's good to give back to the community."

You can find out about Danielle's enterprising business on her website, www. thesmallbusinessplace. ca.