The business world is undergoing a change. While physical business practices have had to be modified, the digital business world, and more specifically the world of remote work is busier and more vibrant than ever before. There is a major spike in demand for remote work support infrastructure, an area we are very familiar with. At Accel North, one of our founding goals has been to support organizations who have remote workers, and allow them to expand their hiring processes to be able to hire top talent from outside their physical location. With the recent changes in the business landscape due to COVID-19, we’ve seen that interest increase within our own membership group, and across the province.

Did you know that in 2019, over 85% of people reported an increase in productivity when working remotely? That’s a promising number to have in mind when evaluating how you can adjust your business operations to support your remote employees. But how can you ensure your employees are going to be successful working remotely? You need to set them up for success, in a productive & safe environment so that they can ensure they’re a part of that 85%, not the 15% who are overwhelmed by the challenges that can come with working remotely. While there are many challenges that can arise when working remotely, we’d like to highlight a few of the major ones that may be impacting your employees’ productivity.

They may not have the proper equipment or setting at home to work effectively.

a. Poor seating & desk options, or a lack of natural light and vitamin D can make for an uncomfortable work environment, leading to lower productivity

b. Inconsistent internet or increased bandwidth usage due to their family members being stuck at home can make it difficult to work as efficiently as they would in their regular work environment

c. Possible lack of proper equipment such as a laptop/desktop or printer/scanner.

DISTRACTIONS! – Not everyone has a proper home “office”

a. With more people having to stay at home, even if you may have been successfully working from home before, there are additional distractions from family members.

b. You get things like this: “I should really throw a load of laundry on, and do the dishes before I get back to work” and all of a sudden the day is half-gone.

c. Pets! They don’t know you’re working and they don’t care.

 
Work Culture Loss

a. It’s very easy to lose your motivation when you’re isolated at home and not being able to talk with your coworkers or other people

b. It’s easier to “get comfortable” working from home when they don’t get to physically see the growth happening in their company or they don’t see opportunities available.

c. It’s far too easy to lose sight of the reminders for why they should take on extra challenges or work harder.

 
Loss of Work/Life Balance

a. It can be difficult for people to stop thinking about work once they’re supposed to be finished for the day since it is still there at home with them. This can lead to an initial boost in productivity but can ultimately lead to burnout.

b. Can be difficult to have a proper “break” to step away from work, while still staying in a productive mood. Taking a break at an office to grab a coffee can be very different from taking a break at your house to make a coffee and throw on the next episode of Ozark. That one episode all of a sudden turns into 3.

So, how can you help address these challenges and set your remote workers up for success?
That’s where we come in!

Our Semi-Private Offices offer all of the amenities you or your employees need to be productive in a proper, distraction-free and safe work environment following government approved COVID-19 response guidelines.

You can conduct your business operations knowing that your employees have the best environment possible to continue to be productive, avoid the loss of a proper work-life balance, and maintain a semblance of office community, while continuing to work in a safe, isolated workspace.

So, what do our Semi-Private Offices include? Check out the all-inclusive amenities below:

• 64 Sq.ft. of dedicated, exclusive workspace on our large open concept floor, a fully furnished workstation.
• 7-way Ergonomic Adjustable Chair – there’s a comfortable setting for everyone.
• 24X60 desk with locking wheels – Can support multi-monitor setups
• 1 personal lockable storage pedestal
• Battery backed up power station for multiple devices including USB
• Free High-Speed Wi-Fi
• Fiber Speed Bandwidth – Commercial grade
• Unlimited Data
• Free & Unlimited coffee, tea & filtered water
• 8 hours per Month of boardroom & meeting space time
• Perfect for virtual presentations or private conference calls
• Free Company Signage – Let people know who you are!
• Printing Included
• Laptop rents are available upon request

Our Semi-Private Offices are located on the 2nd floor of Accel North, with floor-to-ceiling windows providing lots of natural light, and a proper work environment to ensure your employees are able to maintain productivity and keep their work life separate from their private life, while working alongside like-minded, focused individuals in their own spaces. All of our members have access to Accel North 24/7 through a state-of-the-art keyless entry system.

To learn more, contact us at 289-974-6947 or at hello@accelnorth.com, or check out our space options here!

Many of our members continue to be essential businesses, and for that reason, Accel North will remain open and accessible to our members 24/7. While we have limited public access to our building, we are continuing to support a growing membership group, all of whom have a need to make use of an isolated professional environment to continue productivity during this time. We have re-envisioned our spaces which has allowed us to provide isolated working environments that exceed the standard set by Health Canada to maintain appropriate physical distancing requirements so that we may continue to support essential individuals and businesses who are working during this time of adjusted business operations.

One year ago, Accel North was built with designs to be the first Tech Accelerator in Niagara. This week, we’re proud to announce we’ve opened the largest coworking, events and flexible work space facility in the Niagara region, right here in downtown St. Catharines.

The journey to where we are now has had plenty of ups and downs, and we still have lots to learn. We’re here to be a launch pad for all entrepreneurs and small businesses in Niagara, and we want to start by giving back.

As part of our pivot to help support small businesses and entrepreneurs in Niagara, we wanted to be able to provide both the community AND our members some awesome deals!

New Member Incentive

• Get one month free for any desk or office membership  – NO LONG TERM COMMITMENT REQUIRED! If you join us for a month, we’ll give you a second month back, for free!
• This offer is first come first serve for up to 15 new members!

Secondly, we wanted to make sure our members had every opportunity to help contribute to the growth of their own community. We’re incredibly excited to announce our member referral program!

Member Referral Program

• Anytime you refer someone who becomes a member, get their first month’s membership value taken off your own cost!*

• Anytime you host a meetup, networking event or discussion and someone who attends becomes a member, we’ll give you that value back as well!*
  * Up to a maximum of your own monthly cost per referral

You have a chance to work here for free simply by supporting your own entrepreneurial community, how cool is that?!

Last but not least, we didn’t want to leave out anybody in the Niagara and St. Catharines community, even if they aren’t members of Accel North. With our local community in mind, we’re proud to announce a referral program for non-members.

Non-Member Referral Program

• • Get a $10 Amazon gift card any time someone you refer to Accel North becomes a member!

Who can you send? Here’s a quick list of people to consider referring, but this is just to get you started.

• Small Businesses working from their dining room table
• Solopreneurs
• Start-ups working out of their basement
• Side hustles that need a professional address
• Remote workers who want to interact with more than just their laptop
• Entrepreneurs who want a flexible and professional work space
• and more!

It’s that easy.  We’ll get them the support they need, and you’ll be free to abuse your Amazon Prime membership to its fullest!

We’ll see you here!

In mid-2017, the growing Clickback team was looking to move into a new home. We were looking for something youthful and vibrant, and found that too many commercial buildings felt overly corporate, dated and enclosed. We were amazed at how hard it was to find the right office that we could feel at home in.

So, why not design it ourselves? We invested in the building at 110 James Street and created a modern, light-filled space for our team. From here, an idea was born.

Wanting to give back to the larger community in Niagara, we transformed the building into a centre for tech innovation and tech acceleration. Through learning that there is a lack of collaboration in the innovation sector between non-profit and for-profit entities and just not enough tech innovation in Niagara, it was decided that Niagara was not ready for a Tech Accelerator. In the course of building the accelerator and working with the community, we discovered that many small businesses and entrepreneurs both in the tech space and outside in various sectors, were also looking for cool, vibrant spaces that could support them as they grew.

An entrepreneur himself, Clickback’s founder Kyle Tkachuk is familiar with the problems facing entrepreneurs trying to establish themselves and their businesses. Kyle himself, many years back was faced with an issue where the business had to pivot and protect cashflow.  He met with the property manager of the building we had our office located in at the time, asking for a rent reduction and/or a smaller space temporarily but the property manager would not help in any way and it created a very difficult time for the company having this large lease expense.  Kyle stated, ‘entrepreneurial ventures can be risky, and don’t always pan out as planned’. Commercial offices expect long-term lease commitments, even if your venture is brand new.

We stopped to ask ourselves the question, what options do entrepreneurs and growing businesses have to establish themselves in Niagara? While various cities in Niagara offer Small Business Centres, there isn’t an entity providing a community and flexible work space options that are dedicated to entrepreneurs and small businesses. With that in mind, we pledged to pivot Accel North from a tech accelerator to a community offering cowork and flexible work spaces, supporting the growth of all small businesses in Niagara.

In order to meet the needs of our members in this new community, it became apparent that a new management and ownership structure was required. As we pivoted away from the Tech Accelerator model, Dino Miele left the organization in September 2019.  A new Building Management Team was introduced including Kyle Tkachuk, President, Steven Emslie, Controller and Laura McMahon, Building and Member Relations Manager along with a Building Maintenance Supervisor who takes care of the facility at 110 James St. Having a full-time, onsite management team dedicated to assisting our members in real-time has differentiated the revamped Accel North and provided our members with the service they deserve.

By providing light-filled, open concept work spaces, we’ve created a space where people can feel inspired when they come to work or start a new business venture.

One of the greatest benefits of being a business owner or entrepreneur is the freedom to choose the direction you want to go. With that comes one of the greatest challenges. How can you know the right direction to go? Starting out, you don’t have a lot of help, limited knowledge and every obstacle is a brand new experience.

To help address this challenge, we are partnering with local businesses and mentors that you will have access to, so you have a support network as you grow. We hope to foster an eco-system that supports business growth, entrepreneurism and professional development in Niagara.

The Accel North relaunch signifies our mission of providing the premier location & collaborative community for Niagara’s entrepreneurs and small businesses to Work, Meet and Grow.

From the Toronto Sun by Linda White

If you’re a foodie, you may already be familiar with Beechwood Doughnuts in St. Catharines and aren’t at all perturbed if you need to line up for an hour or so because you know you’ll be rewarded with award-winning vegan desserts.

The bakery has even appeared on BuzzFeed’s list of 23 of the Most Delicious Desserts to Eat across Canada. It’s nestled on historic St. Paul Street – the heart of a downtown that has been garnering buzz all its own thanks to a dramatic transformation over the past few years that’s symbolic of a new St. Catharines.

“We have successfully turned the corner from a community that was defined by manufacturing to one that’s dynamically diverse and built for this century,” says Mayor Walter Sendzik. Over the past seven years, $250 million in public funds has paved the way for exciting additions to the downtown like Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, which relocated to a converted century-old factory.

Also new to the downtown is the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, home to four theatres. The Meridian Centre, a 5,300-seat sports and entertainment facility, has hosted the likes of Elton John and the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation U18 Women’s World Championship.

“On any given night, we’ve gone from very few people in the downtown to upwards of 7,000 to 8,000 people and that has created a whole new class of business,” Sendzik says. An eclectic mix of restaurants, coffee shops, artists and micro retailers like Craft Arts Market, a consignment shop that supports artistic entrepreneurs, has created a vibe he compares to Toronto’s James Street North and Queen Street West.

With that foundation firmly in place, the city has set its sights on economic growth – a commitment that includes being flexible to emerging trends in sectors that provide natural growth opportunities. With its location in the heart of Niagara Region, that encompasses the wine industry and thanks to Niagara College offering the first brewing program in Canada, the craft brew industry too.

“We will also continue to support the innovation centre that’s located in the downtown so it incubates the next generation of tech companies that are focused on the digital economy,” says Sendzik. He points to local success story Clickback, a lead generation software company that’s converting the former police headquarters into a six-storey tech hub.

Together with attributes that include several waterfronts and natural trail systems, St. Catharines has plenty to offer. “Wine and food experiences are exciting, as well as the arts,” says Doug Whitty, president of 13th Street Winery, a boutique winery. “The Niagara Grape and Wine Festival is important not only to our community here but to people from all over the world…We see a lot more people coming here to explore the region’s hidden gems.”

As St. Catharines continues its transition, it’s also working to become a ‘compassionate city.’ “We want to see our community as a circle in which no one is left on the margins or standing on the outside of the circle and no one is invisible,” Sendzik says. That involves challenging attitudes and making policy decisions about how the city allocates its dollars, such as partnering with schools in areas where families are struggling.

“It’s a big, bold undertaking,” he says. “Our vision is that when people think St. Catharines they think of a compassionate city.”

Read the article in the Toronto Sun

When a growing city expects the unexpected, we can respond to confrontations head-on, with confidence. This was the powerful message delivered by Walter Sendzik at the state of the city address on Tuesday, January 30th.

“The state of our city is not defined by what you expect, but how you respond and lead when confronted with the unexpected”

– Mayor Walter Sendzik

In attendance was local business owner and Clickback CEO, Kyle Tkachuk. Clickback purchased the former Police Headquarters at 110 James Street in 2017, which attracted support from Mayor Sendzik.

Clickback’s plans of building a Tech Accelerator at 110 James falls into place with Mayor Sendzik’s vision for St. Catharines into the future, with the Mayor’s announcement of Niagara’s first Tech Accelerator (named Accel North).

Sendzik made it clear that he celebrates the purchase of the iconic 110 James St. building by Clickback, and his pride in homegrown talent planting roots in St. Catharines. Mayor Sendzik shared the following story:

“Kyle bought the building, and I got a phone call from a local businessperson. He said to me, why are you celebrating that a local business bought 110 James? I said why not, why wouldn’t I? He said well, it’s going to increase the vacancy rate. Now we’ve got a local business, we don’t know what they’re going to do there, it’s going to challenge us.

[I said] you’re kidding, right? We’ve got homegrown talent, who has made enough money in the technology industry to buy a building downtown, and you’re calling me to say, why are we supporting this? Are you kidding me?  We should be applauding Kyle!  We should be cheering Kyle [Tkachuk] on saying – Go Kyle, Go! – and celebrating [local] talent”

– Mayor Walter Sendzik

Clickback’s CEO, Kyle Tkachuk is a St. Catharines native, and Brock University Alumni. Kyle and his team at Clickback is a local success story that stands out in a competitive industry.

But when asked if Kyle expected Clickback to be one of Canada’s fastest growing companies on the PROFIT 500, own our office building or if he expected to be a part of the team to build out the first Tech Accelerator in Niagara, the answer from Kyle Tkachuk is clearly, no.

“You can strategize and plan all day long, but the unexpected happens, both in life and in business, this is life. As an entrepreneur, you have to take calculated risks, work hard and build a team that is aligned and has similar goals. This allows you and your team to pivot and adapt to change allowing you to expect the unexpected.”

– Kyle Tkachuk

Kyle’s goal has been to employ homegrown talent and not work with overseas teams, which fits nicely into the on-going revitalization of downtown St. Catharines to attract young talent to live and work in the downtown core.

A revitalization that Mayor Sendzik is leading the charge on as he asked everyone at the event to join him in signing the Compassionate STC Charter. In doing so, Sendzik said they’ll be taking action in creating a compassionate city. The charter is also available online to sign at www.compassionatestc.ca.

The Compassionate STC Charter at the St. Catharines State of the City address.

Audience members lined the aisles to make their way to the stage and sign the charter. This is a clear commitment from Mayor Sendzik to carry out his plans of building a compassionate city here in St. Catharines.

“A compassionate city is one in which no one is left behind, no one is standing outside of the circle”

– Mayor Walter Sendzik

Mayor Walter Sendzik delivers his state of the city address 
at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Center on Tuesday.

Clickback CEO and Accel North principle Kyle Tkachuk, President/CEO of GNCC Mishka Balsom, and Accel North principle Dino Miele, Dave Robitaille of IBM Canada at the 2018 state of the city address.

The amazing and well-organized event was put on by Mishka Balsom, President and CEO of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, that was both entertaining and uplifting.  “This was a fitting production to be held at the Performance Arts Centre.” – Kyle Tkachuk.

The following is a letter from Kyle Tkachuk to Mayor Walter Sendzik in appreciation of the recent recognition at the 2018 state of the city address:

An Open Letter to Mayor Walter Sendzik

Mayor Walter Sendzik,

The entire team at Clickback truly appreciates your passion and support for Clickback and the development of ACCEL NORTH, the first Tech Accelerator. When the Mayor believes in your business and expresses his support, it has a lasting effect on the team spirit of all its employees.

As the City of St. Catharines evolved, so too did my business model. From the early days of opening an internet solution centre – to evolving into a SaaS B2B lead generation software company – Clickback has embraced change and adapted to unexpected turns along the way.

The community involvement and support I received at Brock University and the City of St. Catharines throughout this journey has played a key part in my success.

For Clickback to achieve the honor of being named in the Profit 500 for 2017, shows that what we are building is making an impact in our industry. Our SaaS company provides jobs for local professionals in an exciting and growing technology landscape.

Trust and support from your community takes time to earn, and can only be achieved with a dedicated Customer First Focus. We appreciate that our passion to create B2B lead generation software solutions has not gone unnoticed.

Clickback is very fortunate to have the support of our Mayor and the City of St. Catharines, and for that, we are grateful. We look forward to growing our relationship and support around the Tech Accelerator at 110 James St.

Sincerely,

Kyle Tkachuk
Founder, President & CEO of Clickback

Clickback has been helping B2B companies turbo-charge their lead growth since 2001. Since then, they have helped thousands of marketers and C-Level professionals solve their company’s lead growth problem with their cloud-based B2B lead generation software products.
Click here to learn more about Clickback’s history.

Awesome News!

Clickback is now the proud new owner of 110 James Street (our future home). But that’s not all. We also plan to build a new innovation and technology hub there.

Why an Innovation & Tech Hub?

As Niagara starts to break out of its traditional manufacturing label, we believe having a 3,782 square-metre building solely dedicated to technology and innovation in the downtown core of St. Catharines will help to further revitalize the Niagara Region (while bringing some much needed ‘tech flair’ to the area).

We’ve paid close attention to what has occurred in Kitchener-Waterloo with the ‘tannery’ and other similar models for attracting and centralizing professional technology firms in other communities.

We now believe it’s time for Niagara to be a hotbed for technology, incubation, start-ups and venture-backed companies within Canada.
In addition to building the innovation & tech hub, we also plan to do our part by going from 30 employees to 60 within the next 12 months, which hopefully means hiring a few more local graduates & talent.

Move-in Day

We hope to move in at the end of May or early June after doing some (dare we say) pretty awesome renovations. Stay tuned.

Thanks for the Support.

Like any good story, spoilers are bound to get out. Hope you enjoy these ones from iHeart Radio, St.Catharines Standard, Greg Chew and Welland Tribune. We’d also like to give special thanks to Mayor Walt Sendzik for endorsing this project.

Thank you all for the shout-out and support!