Toronto

The formal launch of the World Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce, Toronto started off auspiciously on 2nd January 2019, with two excellent presentations and around twenty members present in spite of the 0-degree temperatures. Afreed Mistry gave a brief into about the WZCC and then welcomed all the speakers and the invitees and then opened the floor for the presentations. The first presentation was by RBC Bank who had sent three of its representatives to conduct a PPT session. Geruza Baptista, and Karan Kapoor, both Business Account managers and Tom Magnowski, Commercial Account Manager. RBC talked about the 5 challenges that every new business faces and how RBC can help. They talked about understanding Canadian Business culture as an essential part of any business and their commitment to providing relevant information, resources and expert guidance. Having a Business Plan was an absolute necessity and that asking key questions would go a long way in designing a good marketing plan. They also mentioned how banks look at how you will manage your cash flow, your liquidity and how well you have worked on forecasting your business needs to determine your break-even numbers. They discussed the different packages for down payments depending on cash flow/financing deals/guarantees etc. They dwelt on the concept of working capital finance having fixed fees while if buying/leasing equipment it would have term fees. They gave a few tips on building up a good credit history which would come in handy in getting access to financing from them. Their different methods would be: 1) Business line of credit 2) Business credit cards 3) Term loans 4) Leasing 5) Overdraft protection. The second presentation was excellently done by Mahyar Hansotia, CPA, President and owner of Sobel & Co, a Professional Corp. He started by emphasizing that you need two “partners” from the very beginning, an accountant and a lawyer who will guide you with their experiences. He explained that there are four types of businesses and how each business is unique with different requirements and goals and gave an overview of each entity. Viz: A Sole Proprietorship, A Corporation, A Partnership and lastly a Joint Venture. He gave an overview of each type of business and then the advantages and disadvantages of each of them along with a few myths that most people believed in. He then also talked about HST and GST and how it was mandatory for all businesses to register if the threshold was met. He mentioned how different provinces have different rules for taxes, and how different goods are taxed. He explained further how additional different filings may be required. Eg: T4 if you have employees, T5 if you pay interest or dividends, or foreign reporting forms if you have assets in other countries, etc. He then ended by saying that having your own business is a lot of hard work, a lot of stress, requires a lot of administrative work to be done, but it can be very rewarding too. You learn new skill sets, financially you will do well, you will enjoy what you are doing as it is your own baby and that you will always no matter what have a boss…Your customer! Lastly, he said the key to it all is to have fun! After thanking all the speakers, we had an election for the new board of the WZCC Toronto Chapter and the elected individuals are: Cyrus Patel, President, Arashasp Shroff, Secretary, and Meherwan Wadia, treasurer Afreed then read out a letter by Edul Davar, WZCC Global president who heartily congratulated the formation of the new Toronto Chapter and wish all success to the new team. He also enthused all, to attend the WZCC-Global AGM scheduled in Orlando, Florida, from May 1st to 5th 2019. The meeting ended with a scrumptious dinner enjoyed by all. Dilnavaz

Global Youngpreneurs held their first virtual  Introduction to Entrepreneurship workshop for our youth between the ages of 11 to 15.   In a rapidly changing world, we recognize that the most important skills are logical and creative thinking abilities, and soft skills and these remain overlooked in our regular education system. WZCC Toronto Chapter worked with Global Youngpreneurs to help develop this entrepreneurial mindset in our youth.   Our first session (out of the two-part series) focused on developing a “business” through experiential learning. The participants were given an activity and tasked with creating a product/service, along with the name of the company, the logo and the slogan. Explanation of  an entrepreneur, giving examples of different products and services and also real-world logos and slogans helped to make the concept of the activity clearer. Right from Royal Bank of Canada, to Nike, the participants were made to understand how the logos and slogans of such companies corresponded to the product or service they offered. In return, the young participants came up with ideas such as a coffee-flavored soft drinks, to a dog walking service for the elderly, with slogans such as “Too good to be true” and “Fancy footwork for four-legged friends.”   The second activity was a small team building survival challenge and each team was “stranded” in a particular situation (on an island/on the moon) and each team had to pick few items which would help them survive. This activity successfully tested not only their ability to work in teams – including listening skills, reasoning skills, and co-operation, but also logical and creative problem solving.   Next they worked on building of entrepreneurial traits such as leadership, team work, delegation of work, and promotion. Participants were asked to come up with ideas for running a food or drink stall while working in teams, thus inculcating aspects of soft skills. Each team came up with an idea for their own food stall, the location, how to sell their product, and also the tasks that each team member would perform.   Attentiveness, enthusiasm, excitement and participation  was maintained throughout and we couldn’t be more happier with the result.   Every participant was pushed to think on their feet, explore their potential, and most importantly, learn and have fun!

Entrepreneurial Inspiration &  Must Have Skills   WZCC Toronto and Global Youngpreneurs concluding workshop on introduction to entrepreneurship focused on understanding more in-depth about entrepreneurship and attracting customers.   As an inspirational example, we had Malcolm Mehta, a 16 year-old social entrepreneur, studying UK and now in USA who started a football league in a village in India. This made participants realize that age is no hindrance to achieving one’s dreams. Seeing someone so close to their years being successful gives our participants incentive to begin their own entrepreneurial journey.   In conjunction with the theme of the session, tips on getting customers was discussed. These ranged from understanding wants and needs to adding unique elements to the product/service, to attracting customers via discounts and freebies. This was followed by an activity which tested their business and marketing skills.   The second activity was related to logical problem solving, as it is a must-have skill for entrepreneurs. The youth were placed in an escape room situation, where they had to solve three puzzles which would then lead them to a code and the escape key. It was a fun and challenging set of quizzes which not only tested their abilities, but their mettle too.   Before ending the workshop, we recounted the tale of Walt Disney, and how he established Disney and all its different ventures.   The two-part sessions covered the gist of various areas under entrepreneurship. However, the main aim was to engage our youth with an entrepreneurial mindset, focus on skills that would help them in the future, and also to enjoy learning.   The Toronto chapter and Global Youngpreneurs will continue giving wings to young dreams and making them a reality.