In order to help Sault Ste. Marie entrepreneurs and business owners avoid common and costly mistakes, Jay Lefton and Eric Klein will offer advice from their combined 46 years of international legal and financial experience through a workshop on Sept. 15.
Klein, a partner with Farber Financial Group, and Lefton, a senior legal partner with Ogilvy Renault, will be at the Great Northern Hotel and Conference Centre, 229 Great Northern Rd. The workshop, named Structures for Success – Specialized Legal and Finance Strategies, runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and is presented by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre. Tickets are $20.
The two both hail from Toronto and say their goal is to make others aware of common issues that could be costly to a business, after seeing the major issues clients face first-hand.
“My approach is to give information based upon my experience of mistakes that people have made, and therefore, mistakes they can avoid making,” says Lefton.
Some of the topics they plan to cover include common mistakes during mergers, putting an accurate dollar value on a company, , how to sell a company, and developing options and other incentives for employees.
Originally from Thunder Bay, Lefton is a former member of the Ontario Securities Commission and has taught at both Osgoode Hall Law School and the Rotman School of Business.
He says there are plenty of legal traps in which companies can get caught. Entrepreneurs are typically focused with running their business and overlook important legal details.
As well, without a large budget, entrepreneurs often make costly mistakes by not consulting with the appropriate legal sources and try to use online sources to figure things out for themselves, says Lefton.
Among other topics, Klein will be speaking about the frequent issue of over-valuing a business – a mistake he says is often costly.
Armed with experience in a variety of sectors, Klein is a frequent lecturer on corporate finance and entrepreneurship. He has contributed articles to financial publications such as Canadian Treasurer, The Bottom Line and Biz.
The pair will also be taking questions, allowing the audience to drive the discussion and focus of the seminar to the issues that affect the Sault audience the most.
“Unless we can personalize it for them or make it more specific and relevant for them, it's just general advice,” says Klein.
During his time in Sault Ste. Marie, Lefton will also be meeting with local business advisers. To learn more about meeting Lefton, contact Tim Harmer at tharmar@ssmic.com or 705-942-7927 ext. 3129.
For questions or to register for the workshop, contact Marla Guzzo at mguzzo@ssmic.com or 705-942-7927 ext. 3130.
