The sheer vastness of life online can be overwhelming at the best of times.
Add in endless acronyms, and at times, convoluted grant applications, and it’s no wonder why some business owners can feel lost.
Help is on the way.
A webinar on March 2 is helping business owners not only better understand the online world, but also show them how to apply for six-figure grants that can transform their e-commerce quite literally overnight.
Enter, Show Me The Money!, an informal, 45-minute explainer to navigate the nuances of the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). Introduced by the federal government in 2021, CDAP is a $4 billion initiative to help get businesses online, increase their e-commerce presence and help digitize their business operations.
Marketing professional Darian Kovacs will emcee the webinar and is also a digital advisor with the grant program.
He’s conducted 20-plus similar webinars serving predominantly medium-sized businesses of all types: law firms, agricultural businesses, seaplane companies, catering outfits and even niche importers.
The best part?
He shows you how to access up to $123,000 in less than an hour.
“I think there’s a belief that those of us west of the Rocky Mountains may find grants from Ottawa to be intimidating or not as accessible, but here’s your chance to counter that,” Kovacs says. “You can get approved in 10 minutes, it’s incredibly generous, incredibly helpful and we continue to see Vancouver companies taking advantage of it and getting a leg up on the competition.”
The webinar is aimed at those who already have an online presence but are striving for more across the digital world: better digital ads and search engine optimization; automated marketing tips; establishing an e-newsletter or even knowing more about your competitors.
What do those improvements mean?
Picture reduced overhead costs, faster transactions, better inventory management, improved supply chain logistics and the ability to deal with clients quicker and more directly.
“I really feel for entrepreneurs who are bogged down by fluffy, over-complicated grant programs,” Kovacs says. “I’m trying to help people who need that money right now and I want to make it as easy and accessible as possible for them.”
Kovacs will be joined by market experts from Magnet and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. As well, all attendees will be given a $20 gift card for Skip the Dishes.
“I’m going to drill them with questions from the layman's perspective,” Kovacs adds. “Think of the Reddit threads from the past that were called ‘Explain this to me like I’m five years old,’ in terms of the discussion.”
A few parameters have to be met in order to apply for the CDAP: you have to be an owner or director; your business must be a Canadian-owned, for-profit entity; the business has between 1 and 499 employees and has had at least $500,000 in annual revenue in one of the last three years.
Once those boxes are checked, you’re good to go. In fact, Kovacs has had previous webinar attendees complete the grant application over the course of that webinar and be approved before the discussion was done.
“It almost seems too easy,” Kovacs says. “We’re able to help people go from good to great, or from pretty good to awesome and that’s really what this program does.”
Tickets for the webinar are available HERE, and, you can use code BIVVIP to receive 50% off the tickets.
