www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, April 25, 2014 | 8 Dragon's Den star headlines Entrepreneur Week event by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff A `dragon' is making a stop in Halton June 2 to impart some lessons learned about making it as an entrepreneur in today's economy. Arlene Dickinson, best known for her role as one of five venture capitalists on CBC's Dragon's Den series, will be the headline speaker at the Breakfast Seminar Series, presented by Metroland Media Group. It takes place at the Burlington Convention Centre, 1120 Burloak Dr. from 7-9:30 a.m. Dickinson's visit is among 10 stops she'll make across Ontario as part of Entrepreneur Week, which runs from June 2-13. The week celebrates the successes of local entrepreneurs as a community while encouraging others to be innovative to help fuel and drive the local economy. "Entrepreneurism is alive and well, "said Metroland West Media Group General Manager David Harvey. "The event is about recognizing smallsized businesses that are the engine of our economy." Dickinson, who is the CEO of the marketing firm Venture Communications, said she's looking forward to meeting entrepreneurs in Ontario's communities and speaking about how life and business are intertwined when you're an entrepreneur. The 57-year-old, who travels back and forth between her Calgary and Toronto homes, said the notion of balance, is something of a fallacy. "Balance is very personal. It's not about 50/50 and equal weight on personal and professional, it's about doing what makes you happy," she said, noting that being an entrepreneur is a lifestyle choice, not a career choice. "I'd say that happiness is a function of being able to live and be who you are." Passion for entrepreneurism Dickinson found her calling and developed a passion for entrepreneurism at the age of 31 after getting married at 19 and raising four children. Through hard work and perseverance, the author of Persuasion and All In, said she's been able to overcome numerous challenges that have helped shape her as a business person. Her success and leadership has been recognized with multiple honours and awards including: Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100, the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, as well as PROFIT and Chatelaine's TOP 100 Women Business Owners. She is also CEO of YouInc.com, a company she founded in 2012 that is dedicated to serving and investing in entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial lifestyle. " A lot of what I've learned is through the school of hard knocks," said Dickinson, who never had a university education, but has learned about business by taking risks and figuring out how to recover from the failure and mistakes she's made along the way. Learning from mistakes Mistakes, she said, aren't fatal, as long as you can learn from them. "For me, having gone through a lot of the struggle of building a business from the ground up, dealing with partnerships and dealing with building and growth pains, I've learned at the end of the day, you have to be able to look deep within yourself to figure out where you're helping the company, figure out where you're not helping the company and surround yourself with people who are better than you are," she said. "That's an old saying, but it's a very true one." She added that entrepreneurs need to recognize that their biggest enemy tends to be themselves. Resiliency is key "Self-doubt can play a huge role in your ability to succeed, so if you believe in something you have to stick to it. You have to be resilient," said Dickinson, noting that to be successful as an entrepreneur you also have to navigate the roadblocks along the way and accept that you'll face a lot of rejection. Dickinson is a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient, an Honourary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy and is the recipient of honourary degrees from Mount Saint Vincent University, Saint Mary's University and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Tickets to the Breakfast Seminar Series cost $90. For more information call 905632-4444. ARRIVING DAILY! MEN'S SHOES Peel Montessori School Expect Your Child to Love Coming to School! Empower Your Child With the Gift of Understanding Concepts & Enjoyment of Learning Accepting Registration FACTORY SHOE OUTLET #1 SHOE STORE #1 CHILDREN'S SHOE STORE HOURS: Monday-Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday 9am to 6pm · Sunday 10am to 6pm 905-632-9688 2394 FAIRVIEW ST., BURLINGTON FAMILY OWNED FOR 57 YEARS! www.peelmontessori.com 905-823-6522 · Private Elementary School (Grades 1 to 8) & · CCMA Accredited Montessori (Preschool to Grade 6) · 10 Min. from Trafalgar Road along Lakeshore · Minutes from Clarkson/Port Credit Go.