Not satisfied with working as a project and proposal manager in a large multinational firm, The Proposal Centre founder, Keith Parker, left to explore an entrepreneurial career. One proposal management contract led to another, and before he knew it, Keith had the business he always wanted. With support from the ShopHERE powered by Google program, this Ottawa-based professional services company created a website to match. 

When asked what gets him out of bed and excited to work in the morning, the answer is easy for Keith Parker: helping others. It’s clear that Keith’s passion for helping businesses succeed in navigating the complexities of contracting and procurement and achieving outstanding results are among the top reasons for the success of his clients and company.

“Working with our clients gets me excited to go to work. Proposals are a very important part of their business and an opportunity for them to sustain and grow their businesses. In working closely with clients, we become very passionate about and invested in their success. My team is also a big part of my enthusiasm to work each day. I am so fortunate to have such an incredibly smart, talented, and driven team with a good sense of humour that makes each day interesting and fun and the stressful periods manageable.” 

The Proposal Centre (TPC) has grown to include a team of three full-time senior proposal consultants supported by a professional administrator and a proprietary proposal management system, supporting over 100 clients on proposals in a broad range of industries. With proposals ranging in value from under $40,000 to tens of millions of dollars— including standing offers, supply arrangements, and a wide variety of other of contracts— TPC needed a professional, modern, and responsive website to digitally showcase TPC’s mission of helping small and medium-sized enterprises win. 

Similar to TPC, the mission of the ShopHERE powered by Google program is to help small businesses win in the eCommerce space. Keith describes the one-on-one eCommerce support he received through this Digital Main Street programming as simple, professional, and efficient. 

“Even as an established business, the support provided helped us drastically improve our online presence and understand digital marketing approaches that we were unable to successfully implement previously.”   

Like effective and efficiently crafted contract proposals, a strong eCommerce presence can also open a number of economic doors for small businesses. 

“While we have had a website for a long-time, it was out of date and without knowing it, broken in certain browsers. ShopHERE quickly, efficiently, and effectively brought our website up to today's standards. Within two days of going live we had more enquiries than we had directly from the website in the last five years!”

A win on the website development front, while no small feat, may also create a sizable workload in maintaining the new site. The ShopHERE powered by Google program strives to ensure its partners and eCommerce Coordinators are fully equipped with the knowledge and digital tools needed to create eCommerce websites that stand the test of time— without breaking the bank or clocking in too much overtime for small business owners and their team. 

“Between the support of the ShopHERE program, and the simplicity of the Shopify platform, we were able to get our mobile-friendly store set-up and maintain it with minimal effort. I have been involved in numerous website initiatives in the past, both for The Proposal Centre and for my clients, and this was by far the most seamless and efficient process I've seen.”   

If you’d like to learn more about The Proposal Centre and its proposal management services, please click here to visit their website. If you’re a small business and are interested the ShopHERE powered by Google program or getting started in the eCommerce space, you can learn more here.