
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Turning Ideas Into Action
Explore breakout sessions built around this year’s themes—Financials in Action and Business in Action. Each workshop is hands‑on, practical, and designed to give you real skills, real numbers, and real results. From understanding your financials to strengthening everyday operations, you’ll walk away with tools you can put to work immediately in your business.
Financials in Action
Real Numbers. Real Decisions. Real Growth.
This theme is all about turning your financials into something you can actually use. Through hands‑on learning in cashflow, budgeting, pricing, and bookkeeping, you’ll gain the clarity and confidence to make smarter decisions and drive real growth in your business.
Business in Action
Real Skills. Real Businesses. Real Results.
This theme is all about practical, hands‑on learning that strengthens the way you run your business. From building better systems to improving everyday operations, you’ll gain actionable skills you can put to work immediately to create real results.
Tastings& Treats
Preconference Networking Event
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
We cordially invite you to be a part of Tastes & Treats, a highly anticipated preconference networking event scheduled to take place on October 6, 2026 at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex. This evening is all about indulging in the finer things in life while facilitating meaningful connections with like-minded individuals.
As its name suggests, Tastings & Treats offers an opportunity to savor an exquisite selection of refreshing beverages and mouth-watering delicacies. The tastefully curated menu is designed to delight your palate.
More than just a preconference get-together, Tastings & Treats is a platform to mingle with Alberta's vibrant community of business owners and startup pioneers. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or at the first stages of launching your own venture, this is a golden opportunity to connect, collaborate, and potentially catalyze your next big business move.
This pre-conference event isn't just about building networks, but also inspiration. The evening is filled with the promise of engaging conversations and enlightening insights that come from rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers of Alberta's business scene.
Embrace the opportunity to be inspired by fellow entrepreneurs and remember, your next great business idea could be just a conversation away!
Breakout sessions - Wednesday, October , 2026
Topic: Use AI in Your Business Today: Create, Solve, and Get More Done
Instructor: Angus Gastle - AWE Business Advisor and Expert Facilitator
Small to medium business owners often have fragmented software licenses covering all kinds of things. Consolidate. Many growing businesses run 4–6 overlapping SaaS tools, each charging monthly, each siloed. Your inbox, your proposals, your financial data: all sitting in separate systems, never talking to each other. Most founders haven’t mapped what these cost or where the leverage is. Working Session. Four Takeaways. 60 minutes. High-level, practical, no jargon. Hands-on takeaways you can start this week. Session Takeaways 1. Manage your inbox, approach Inbox Zero. 2. Grow your business, with better Sales Experiences. 3. Decrease Overhead, invest in your business instead. 4. Finally, Financial Oversight for your business. ...Plus a Question & Answer period Action Items covered: 1. Technology Audit. Spend vs. Value. 2. Moving from Chat to Action.
Topic: The Worthy Ask: Rethinking Value, Selling, and the Art of Asking for More
Instructor: Amanda Wagner - KEYNOTE SPEAKER
After nearly 8 years of working directly with over 200 ambitious entrepreneurs and leaders, I’ve seen people compromise their ambition, rely on outdated business advice, and wait to be inspired before trying something different. Inspiration is great, but it doesn’t do the work. In this keynote, you will: Gain clarity on what ambition is (and isn’t) and how to think of ambition as fuel for your business. Explore the uncomfortable feelings around selling by rethinking value, responsibility, and examining how sales and the customer experience are inseparable. Compile a list of tried-and-true phrases to support conversations with their teams and customers that don’t leave you feeling like you have to take a shower! Start asking for more!
Topic: Outsmart Your Obstacles
Instructor: Cliff Turner - ATB
Every entrepreneur eventually hits a wall where standard solutions just don't seem to work. It is easy to get trapped in routine thought patterns, limited by our own singular perspectives. To find truly innovative answers, we have to intentionally step outside of what we know. This workshop is built specifically for small business owners who want to expand their points of view and tackle stubborn problems. Instead of standard business lectures, you will be guided through two powerful thought experiments designed to spark lateral, creative thinking. Then you will put these mental tools into immediate action. You will bring a real, live business challenge to the table and workshop it directly with a fellow entrepreneur. By combining these new thought exercises with the fresh eyes of a peer, you will gain a brand new perspective on the obstacle you are facing. The Goal: To open up your thinking so you can walk away with an immediate solution, or at the very least, a powerful new framework to conquer your business challenges.
Topic: Pricing For Profit
Instructor: Meadow Kenney - Community Futures North Central Alberta Region
Profit isn’t luck — it’s intentional design. The Cashflow Canvas™ Series helps founders build a business model that pays them well, supports sustainable pricing, and puts profit first. What You’ll Learn Price your products or services with intention using our proprietary Weighted Pricing Process, balancing costs, competition, and value. Pricing isn’t about matching the market — it’s about valuing your expertise and impact. Intentional pricing strengthens both your brand and your profit. You’ll Walk Away With -A Weighted Pricing Calculator -Tools to adjust for perceived value -Confidence to stand behind your price