Your Business! Your Way! - Greater Toronto Executive Centre

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ritu Kohli-Sethi, managing partner of Greater Toronto Executive Centre, located in Mississauga, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We are providers of flexible workspaces and provide solutions to our clients that fit their business needs. We provide:

  1. Fully furnished office spaces - with configurations for 1 user to 20 users.
  2. Meeting room rentals with spaces for 2 to 24 persons, including a hybrid training room.
  3. Virtual office solutions including business addresses, phone plans with live reception answers that suit your business.

Our customers include start-ups, professional services, satellite or subsidiary locations, home-based businesses looking to separate their home from their business, and professionals seeking a space to offer training, seminars, meetings, etc. We have two locations to serve you in the Greater Toronto Area with quick access to major highways, public transit, and Pearson International Airport.

Tell us about yourself

This is an established family business founded by my brother Sam Kohli over ten years ago. I joined seven years ago with the intent to streamline create processes and protocols that put us in a great position to grow. Together we have two locations and expanded into property management as well.

When I joined seven years ago, my goal was to create and manage an operation with the intent to expand. This included overhauling our procedures and policies aligning our tech requirements with our business while ensuring our customer's business needs were being met. The business environment today is so different than two years ago. If we don't evolve in response, then it's so easy to get left behind.

My motivation is offering solutions to businesses today and helping them see that there are alternatives in workspace solutions. I get the opportunity to interact with business owners every day and listen to their everyday concerns. My goal is to ensure that our client is not worried about their office or workspace but rather focus on their business growth goals.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Since joining GTEC, I am so proud to say I have accomplished so many things, from achieving the Diamond Award, Mississauga Readers Choice Awards 2021 to sponsoring some initiatives that really are close to our hearts.

But I am really proud of working with a team that helps me succeed and allows me the time to seek new opportunities, network, and build our brand in our community. To me, a successful business owner is surrounded by a good team of vendor partners, staff, and collaborators.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Time management and prioritizing the tasks which can be outsourced. Most business owners and entrepreneurs I know are jacks of all trades and handle all aspects of their business. However, it is so important not to lose sight of your long-term business goals and strategy. Sometimes you simply can't afford to get caught up with day-to-day and knowing when to bring in help, whether through staff or specialists, is a very important element of being a business owner.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Really refine your target market and focus on meeting their needs. Your product or service can't be a solution for everyone.
  2. Build a network of support that you can learn from, openly communicate with, and most importantly, bounce ideas. Don't be afraid to ask for help or guidance, and your trusted network is your most valuable network.
  3. Balance your time between personal and business. When we are starting up or in the growth phase, we live and breathe our business. You can burn out quickly and become less productive. It is so important to maintain our physical and mental health as well as take a breather. This allows us to refresh keep the creative pipeline open to new ideas.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.gtexecutivecentre.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gtexecutivecentre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtexecutivecentre/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtexecutivecentre/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.