Small Business Week

A celebration of the creativity and energy of entrepreneurs, Small Business Week creates awareness of the significant contribution small businesses make to our economy. It is also an opportunity to participate in the many networking, information, and educational seminars hosted by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and experts from the business community.

Chamber members and non-members can participate in a number of educational events.

2011 marks the 20th year the Oakville Chamber partnered with the Business Development Bank of Canada to present Small Business Week. Cora Tsouflidou, founder of Cora's Restaurants, delivered the keynote address at the kick-off breakfast.

Cora’s Recipe for Success
Eggs, milk, flour, salt and a whisk are the foundation of so many successful recipes. Combining these ingredients creates many possibilities. Such simple ingredients can yield such profound results.
Cora Tsouflidou, founder of Cora’s Restaurants, created this successful recipe. Raising three teenage kids after her marriage ended, she transformed a small, Montreal snack bar into a nationwide brand, building on the foundation of her mother’s recipes.
Cora spoke this morning at our small business week kick-off breakfast. The purpose of this breakfast is to inspire small business entrepreneurs with lessons learned and sound advice from the trenches. Cora blew away our expectations. She is the real deal and knows every step of the journey. She gives new meaning to the phrase, walk the talk.
Cora tells us to think about our bowl as our business.
The eggs are our creativity. Cora created a ”breakfast revolution” by serving breakfast the Cora way. What is our revolution? What makes us unique?
Milk is the focus of our business. Cora knows her core business is breakfast and lunch, not dinner or drive thrus. Focus reinforces our brand.
Flour is the work required, no getting around it, to grow and sustain our business.
Perhaps the most important ingredient is the salt – a dash of doubt.
How many other founding CEOs are their brand? Why not? Cora wears her uniform with conviction and commitment, another critical component for success.
The whisk is our tool for blending our ingredients, smoothing the batter to make the masterpiece. It is our discipline, our integrity.
No one ingredient can be left out – each equally important to create a successful recipe.