Ron Foreman

Current

Owner at EmpowerYou

Past

Volunteer Treasurer at Working Skills Centre-Toronto
Volunteer Treasurer at Registered Nurses' Foundation of Ontario
Principal at The Osborne Group

Interim President at M&H Typography
Founder, Owner & President at WorkSmart Corporate Education Services Inc.
Franchisee at Productivity Point International
U.S. Business Development Manager at Saturn (Solutions) Inc.
Owner & President at E.M.Ball Limited

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5 more...

Education

University of Toronto
University of Toronto
Ryerson University

University of Waterloo
University of New Brunswick

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2 more...

Recommended

6 people have recommended Ron

Connections

316 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

My Blog

Ron Foreman’s Summary

Helping entrepreneurs, small businesses, family businesses, not-for-profits, and professionals make the most of business technology.

Ron Foreman’s Specialties:

Internet Marketing,
Social Media Marketing,
Search Engine Optimization (SEO),
Business Technology Consulting,
E-business,
Wordpress Content Management System,
Website Design & Development,
Search Engine Marketing,
Video and Video Editing
Podcasting
Surveys
Business Accounting
Website and Email Hosting

Ron Foreman’s Experience

Owner

EmpowerYou

(Internet industry)

January 2004 — Present (6 years 3 months)

Advising entrepreneurs, small businesses, professionals, and not-for-profits about Internet marketing and business technology.
Volunteer Treasurer

Working Skills Centre-Toronto

(Educational Institution; Education Management industry)

October 2008 — October 2009 (1 year 1 month)

Empowering Immigrants to Create their own Futures
Volunteer Treasurer

Registered Nurses' Foundation of Ontario

(Philanthropy industry)

October 2005 — October 2008 (3 years 1 month)

Investing in Nurses / Investing in Nursing
Principal

The Osborne Group

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Management Consulting industry)

April 2002 — December 2003 (1 year 9 months)

The Osborne Group is a management-consulting firm, specializing in executive interim management. As a Principal, was appointed Interim President of a Montreal graphic design business for 6 months after the premature death of the Owner/President. I also created strategic plans for a rapidly growing consulting practice.
Interim President

M&H Typography

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Printing industry)

September 2002 — February 2003 (6 months)

As a Principal of the Osborne Group, was appointed Interim President of a Montreal graphic design business for 6 months after the premature death of the Owner/President. Key accomplishments:

Reported with full P&L responsibility to the Board of Directors
The successful sale of this 40-employee company to two key stakeholders
Management of the day-to-day operations using a collaborative approach
Preparation of the books for the year end audit
The hiring and training of a controller
Assuming the role of mediator, coach and mentor on behalf of the new owners
Founder, Owner & President

WorkSmart Corporate Education Services Inc.

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Education Management industry)

February 1995 — March 2002 (7 years 2 months)

WorkSmart was a provider of information technology software & hardware training services for corporations & individuals. Key accomplishments:
Identified the business opportunity, started, & built this service company & grew the business to 30+ full & part time employees before the end of the second year
Researched industry, prepared business plan, & invested personal funds
As Business Development Manager, created a performance driven culture & grew sales to $2m before the end of second year
Created a strong brand image in the market
Successfully negotiated financing, franchise agreements, & equipment & facilities leases
Attracted, trained, coached & retained an effective team of sales and technical people
Developed strategic alliances, partnerships, and effective working relationships with software vendors, information technology, and education companies
Installed a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and e-business capability
Sold the business to a large competitor
Franchisee

Productivity Point International

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Professional Training & Coaching industry)

August 1995 — July 2000 (5 years )

I owned the Montreal franchise for Productivity Point International
U.S. Business Development Manager

Saturn (Solutions) Inc.

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; SDQ; Media Production industry)

November 1993 — April 1994 (6 months)

Developed business for this IT services business in the United States. Traveled to meet potential clients principally in Silicon valley.
Owner & President

E.M.Ball Limited

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Wholesale industry)

October 1968 — December 1993 (25 years 3 months)

E. M. Ball Limited was a national distributor of consumer durables. Full P&L responsibility for this company with 50 employees and many other stakeholders. Responsible for all administration, marketing & sales, finance, and human resources. Key accomplishments:

Achieved a tenfold increase in revenues to $10m
Developed marketing plans and profitably launched dozens of new consumer products nationally using a variety of promotional methods
Negotiated partnerships and alliances with manufacturers and national retailers
First-hand experience working in a family business and initiating a succession plan
Selected, purchased, and installed several IT systems that improved client service and increased earnings
Gained extensive knowledge of inventory management systems and used them to improve earnings
Managed warehouse and distribution operations across Canada

Ron Foreman’s Education

University of Toronto

Tools & Fundamentals of E-business 2008 — 2008
University of Toronto

Internet Business Models and Strategies 2007 — 2007
Ryerson University

Photography and Videography April 2004 — May 2006
University of Waterloo

BA , General , 1985 — 1992

Courses of interest by distance education
University of New Brunswick

Forestry September 1963 — May 1967