Creative Business Training with Jane Yow

Written by: Jonathan Meza

"Every business needs to link people and performance to the bottom line." - Jane E. Yow 

Last Friday, the Laval Entrepreneur Mentor Program (EMP) students had the opportunity to hear the entrepreneurial journeys of two fellow mentees. Sierra Frank and Nicole Warmerdam, after enjoying a nice lunch from Rocket Dog Brats and Brew, provided by Jed Soberal.

First up was Sierra Frank. She is a communication major, and has great interest in the world of business. She started by joining a business academy when she was in high school. Frank talked about success, and explained there have been many events in her life that have led her to where she is today. Franks stressed the importance of education, noting it is a key factor that will lead her to a brighter future

Nicole Warmerdam is a business administration major with an option in accounting. Warmerdam explained she never thought she would have any interest in business. She believed she was going to be a doctor, until she started working at her parents’ dairy and felt passionate about the work she was doing there. Warmerdam is very active on campus and also helped start the women’s volleyball team. She will start working for Price Waterhouse Coopers this year. Warmerdam hopes on getting her certified public accountant certificate, and eventually plans on moving to the Netherlands.

Following Frank and Warmerdam’s presentations, the EMP students were pleased to welcome Jane E. Yow, Founder of The Performance Link. Yow specializes in creative business training with a main focus on the personnel. “Every business needs to link people and performance to the bottom line,” Yow said. Yow performs training for different organizations and focuses on leadership, team development, conflict meditation, customer service, and coaching for individual growth and success.

Yow has a vast expertise in the DiSC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness) personal profile, which all of the EMP members completed. The DiSC assessment helped the mentees understand their personal and work behavior style, and how those styles impact others. Yow explained how every single individual has a different character and works differently. She divided students into small groups, letting them discuss what their profile was and how they would manage to get along if they all worked together. Yow also had mentees discuss a few things they would change in order to have improved personal and professional relationships. Yow filled the room with great energy, making it fun for the students to discuss their way of working with others.  She also left the students with a lot of great advice, such as “Do not be abusive in any way.”

EMP would like to thank Jane E. Yow for sharing her knowledge with the mentees. Her advice will serve us for a life time.