Hello Students & Advisors,
Please review this email for some important reminders and updates.
New updates included in this email:
- Mid-Year Student Checkpoint
- Youth Entrepreneurs Showcase (YES)
- President's Forum
- Battle of the Ads Commercial Workshop
Deadline Reminders:
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Business Plan and Fixed Costs #1 - Due February 19
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Showcase & Social Media Form - Due March 5
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JA Canada National Scholarships - Due March 19
Previous Updates:
- Business Plan & Fixed Costs
- Shopify - Important Notes for those using Shopify
- Use of JA Logo - Clarifications
- Wages/Salaries (NOT MANDATORY)
- Resilience & Entrepreneurship
- External Student Opportunities
- Company Program Awards
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Mid-Year Student Checkpoint
We're over half way through Company Program and are very excited to see all of your big ideas come to life.
We wanted to take this opportunity to review the last 10 weeks of the program as well as look ahead to the weeks remaining!
We appreciate your feedback!
NOTE TO ADVISORS: We want your feedback too and will be sending you a separate advisor survey link. Thank you!
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Youth Entrepreneurs Showcase (YES)
This year, in place of the JA Trade Show, we are hosting the Youth Entrepreneurs Showcase (YES) which provides an opportunity for you to network with peers, showcase your companies and compete for the best sales pitch!
This showcase will have two main parts:
A Virtual Live Event, including:·
- Keynote speaker
- Live pitches reviewed by judges
- Opportunity for guests/judges to visit each team at their virtual booths
- Networking for students
A Week-Long Online Competition for “People’s Choice”, including:
- A public webpage listing all student companies along with their sales pitch videos
- An online vote where anyone can vote for the People’s Choice Award
Students will have the opportunity to win the following recognitions:
- People’s Choice Award – based on the number of votes from the general public
- Judge’s Choice Award – based on judges’ evaluations – Top 3 will be recognized
- Achievers’ Choice Award – based on student votes
Virtual Booths & Social Media Promotion
In order to set up your team's virtual booths and promote your company on our social media, we will need the following:
- Company and Product Description and Tagline
- Sales Pitch Video
- Team Photo
- Product Photo/Screenshot
- Logo
- Social Media Links
We will send you an online submission link next week to complete these details. This form will replace the social media profile requirement in the team challenge tracker and is now due by Friday, March 5.
NOTE ON TIMING: In light of the recent news regarding the postponement of March Break until April for students, we are reviewing our timelines and will be sending out an email next week with more information and confirmation of event date.
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President's Forum
PRESIDENTS: We invite you to join us for a President's Forum next Thursday, February 18th from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
You should have received an invitation already from Lesley to join. If you are not able to attend, feel free to forward the invitation to one of your executive members.
During this call, we will:
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Review the Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase event and answer any questions you may have
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Check in on how things are going in your program and provide you a chance to share your individual and team feedback with JA
- Provide you a chance to network with the other presidents from all JACO Company Programs.
We look forward to seeing you on the call!
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Battle of the Ads Commercial Workshop
We are so excited to announce that Miami Ad School will be leading this year's Battle of the Ads Commercial Workshop!
Learn from the experts on what makes an effective commercial and how you can create one for your team. Teams will also be invited to compete in this year's Battle of the Ads Commercial Contest.
Date: Thursday, March 4
Time: 3 to 4:30 p.m.
This virtual event will be open to all students. More details including registration to come!
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Business Plan/Fixed Cost #1 ($75) Due
Due: Friday, February 19
Please upload your business plan here.
Please follow instructions to submit your fixed costs here.
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Showcase & Social Media Form Due
Due: Friday, March 5
A submission link will be shared with you next week.
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JA Canada National Scholarships
DEADLINE TO APPLY: Friday, March 19
ACHIEVERS: As JA Central Ontario Company Program students, you may be eligible to apply for the following national scholarships offered by JA Canada:
2021 Al Beech Memorial Award
Value: $2,000
2021 Evelyn Ruskin JA Corporate Awareness Scholarship
Value: $1,000
2021 Seymour Schulich Entrepreneurship Scholarship
Value: $3,000
You can learn more about the application requirements here.
Deadline to Apply: Friday, March 19, 2021
Note: Where it says letter from JA Charter, you can request a letter directly from your JA Advisors since they have worked with you directly and can speak to your skills and talents.
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To all those celebrating, wishing you all a Happy Lunar New Year!
And a Happy Family Day Long Weekend to Everyone!
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Start-up Capital, Fixed Costs and Business Plan
We know you've all been working hard in your teams and have decided to extend the Fixed Cost payment and Business Plan by one week. We encourage you to complete these two tasks ASAP so that you can focus on launching your company but you will now have until Friday, February 19th to submit.
Business Plan and Fixed Costs #1 ($75) Now Due: February 19, 2021
Please note that this is a hard deadline. No exceptions will be made beyond this date.
Other Department Resources can be found under Phase 3, Week 5 on the JA Canada Resource Portal here. This includes templates for Marketing Plan, Sales Training, etc. |
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Shopify - Notes for teams using Shopify
LEAD ADVISORS/PRESIDENTS/VP OF PRODUCTION: If your product has been approved and you requested Shopify, you should have access to your site already. If you do not, please let me know. Please read the note below for important updates.
Banking Info Needed
- In order to fully complete your site and open your shop, I will also need your banking information including Transit Number, Institution Number and Account Number. Please share the details with me as soon as you have it so that I can update your account.
- When accepting credit card payments, Shopify won’t charge a transaction fee, however, the credit card companies will and that would be the responsibility of the teams. If you want to save on these fees, we can add a manual payment option and then provided details for customers to e-transfer their payment to an email. If you want to add this option, let me know and I can add it for you. I would need the question and answer and email the payment goes to.
- To learn more about how it works, please go to: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/manual-payments/email-money-transfers
Launching the Site
- The site is automatically set with a password as you work on building it. Once you're ready to launch, let me know and I will go in and remove the password for you. You can request to remove the password at anytime even if your site is not fully finished.
Apps
- Please note that apps are not available to teams, however, an exception can be made for drop shipping – if you are planning to use an app for drop shipping, please let me know. Only free versions will be allowed.
Other Options
- You may notice that you do not have access to certain areas in Shopify including Discounts, Gift Cards, Marketing, etc. This is a restriction from JA Canada. You should be able to create your site without these settings in place.
- If you are looking for a particular setting, please let me know and I may be able to set it on my end. For example, if you wanted to remove a delivery option, update your domain, etc.
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Use of JA Logo - Clarifications
When using the JA Central Ontario Logo on your website, packaging, etc., please use the logos provided below.
REMINDERS:
- Please make sure you are using the CORRECT JA logo on all of your materials - do not use the logos you find on Google. Use the "JA Central Ontario" logo only.
- You must also ensure that your name is listed as: "Name of Company, a JA Central Ontario Company"
CLARIFICATIONS:
- If you are doing a physical product, the JA logo and "JA Central Ontario Company" does not need to be printed directly on the product - it can be printed on a tag or card that goes with the product.
- On your social media accounts, in your description, please include: "A JA Central Ontario Company"
- On your website, the JACO logo and "A JA Central Ontario Company" should be placed in a spot that is visible to all visitors
- Your company logo does not necessarily have to include the JACO logo or "A JA Central Ontario Company" but if you are printing it somewhere or it's on your website, it should be placed side by side.
- Make sure you use the correct language when including your sponsor/led teams (i.e. Sponsored By, Led By, etc.) - if you're unsure, you can email companyprogram@jacentralontario.org.
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Wages/Salaries - NOT MANDATORY
This is a reminder that we are waiving the requirement to pay wages/salaries this year for all teams. You can still opt to pay them as a team but it is not required under JA regulations.
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Resilience & Entrepreneurship
" For entrepreneurs, resilience is about rethinking the way you see setbacks, and viewing them as catalysts of growth and progress rather than threats to be avoided. Because the truth is, the times you grow—as a person, as an entrepreneur—are the times when you’re faced with extremely difficult problems and decisions." ( foundr.com)
We have been so impressed with all of you so far this year - your commitment to the program and the resilience you have all demonstrated. We challenged you to come up with products/services that you could deliver virtually and you have all done a tremendous job at finding innovative ideas and solutions. Well done!
While there may be continued challenges and setbacks along the way, we wanted to remind you to "trust the process". Whether your ideas comes together the way you imagined or not, whether you are able to make a profit or not, please remember that it will be this experience, the learnings and the connections you make that will be the most valuable to you in the long run.
Keep learning and keep going.
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External Student Opportunities
We've added a section to the JA Central Ontario resource page where you will be able to find some external student opportunities offered by our partners and sponsors.
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Company Program Awards Update
Here is a list of the awards that will be offered this year. We will be sharing more details about these awards in the coming weeks. Application forms will be shared in March.
Individual Awards
• President of the Year
• Leadership in Finance
• Leadership in Marketing
• Leadership in Sales
• Leadership in Production & Technology
• Leadership in Human Resources
• JA Journey Award
• Changemaker Award
• Jane Eisbrenner Scholarship
*All individual awards must be nominated by the Advising Team. One nomination per category per team is allowed. For the departmental awards, it does not have to be the VP who is nominated.
Group Awards
• Company of the Year (3 categories: Retail, Technology, Social Enterprise)
• Gary and Joanne Reamey Family Award (CSR Award)
• Best Brand Award
• Team Challenge Award
*Teams can nominate themselves (with Advisor reference) to any or all of the awards.
Process
Step 1: Advisor will nominate the students. Students will complete the application forms and submit.
Step 2: Applications are reviewed by preliminary judges. Finalists are selected.
Step 3: Finalists will attend Virtual Student Interview Night
Step 4. Winners will be announced at ventureON.
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Upcoming Dates
To view the full CP Calendar including upcoming deadlines, click here.
February 19
Business Plan & Fixed Cost #1 ($75) Due
March 5
Showcase & Social Media Form Due
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Thank you!
Lucia & Lesley
The Company Program Team
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