Homegrown “A gathering for female rural business owners”
Homegrown is a first-of-its-kind one-day forum for female-identifying rural business owners in midwestern Ontario. Part pep rally, part summer camp, part business conference, the purpose of Homegrown is to provide a gathering opportunity for rural women entrepreneurs to hear the stories of other women business owners, fill their cup with support and encouragement, build personal and business connections, and celebrate the creativity and resiliency of rural business/living.
The target audience for the event was female-identifying rural business owners from Northern Wellington, Huron, Perth, Grey and Bruce Counties. Our goal was to attract business owners from a variety of backgrounds, industries and experience levels to demonstrate that our rural communities are ripe with women who are running businesses of all shapes and sizes, and that sharing our stories of challenge, growth and success is a powerful way to develop stronger rural communities.
The event was hosted at Grassroots Farm near Lucknow, Ontario, providing the perfect backdrop for hosting the various elements of the event. These included:
- Roundtable discussions relevant to owning and running a business as a female
- A “Planting Seeds” panel of business owners who have been in business for less than 5 years, and a “Keep Growing” panel featuring women who have been in business for over 10 years.
- 1:1 “ask me anything” sessions with local experts
- Mini content shoots and headshots with local photographers to support business owners’ ongoing digital marketing support needs.
The event was organized by Launchit Business Exploration Centre, a business resource centre managed by the Town of Minto that connects business owners with the space, people and resources they need to be successful.
One of the main goals of this event was to bring female business owners from across the region together. It was important to collaborate across Counties. We hosted this event outside of Minto and we were proud to partner with the Township of Huron-Kinloss, who sponsored the venue as well as worked with us on the program development and identifying suppliers.
We were proud to have financial support, in addition to collaborative support, on choosing speakers, and participating in a resource showcase from all five Counties targeted, as well as Business Enterprise Centres and Community Futures Development Corporations across all five Counties. All partners actively promoted the event in their communities.
The goals of the event were achieved with 100% of survey respondents saying:
- The event helped them connect to other female rural business owners
- Said they would recommend Homegrown to other female business owners
- Said Homegrown provided good value for the cost.
Sustainability was very much top of mind when planning the event. To have a sustainable rural community you need to have a sustainable business community, and more and more we are finding that women are at the forefront of starting businesses in our communities. This event was all about supporting those women entrepreneurs not only in their businesses, but in their community and as people. Showing they have a supportive network of organizations and other business owners and being able to bring them together was key. By working across Counties and partnering with numerous business support organizations, we were able to deliver an amazing event that we are proud to say will be brought back in 2025. Smaller events are also being planned to continue the momentum.
Website – https://www.homegrowngathering.ca/home
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/homegrown_ca
SponsorshipGuide – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kh_MN25jr7Q8kMsIurBNryaenLHSraLOdW6F6-DMI6M/edit#heading=h.4e3yzavjtydb
Homegrown Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdJegxDGbpM
