Kugluktuk residents get computer consulting firm up and running
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Kugluktuk (Jun 04/01) - When Jerry Ovilok dreams, he dreams big.
That means he's not entirely content to keep fixing one computer a week or installing the occasional network system for the Hamlet. He wants to grow the computer business he's involved in into something bigger and better.
It's that vision and hunger for more that will give Kugluktuk Computer Consulting the stamina it needs to hang on during its first few years in the marketplace.
Ovilok and nine of his classmates at Nunavut Arctic College in Kugluktuk developed the concept for the consulting business last year when their instructor prodded them in the right direction.
He said the teacher explained to them the role computer technology could play in Kugluktuk.
"He noticed this town was getting behind on technology and he suggested a business," said Ovilok.
Business partner Allen Ahegona agreed.
"We have the means of communication through technology, but hardly anyone or any business is using it. And there's no business that does servicing for computers," said Ahegona.
Nowhere to go
Having experienced the lack of maintenance and repair options first-hand -- Ovilok had to send his own computer to Ontario years ago for servicing -- he knew there was substance to the business idea.
"From there, we just started troubleshooting people's PCs. They would bring the computers to our class and we already had the tools there," said Ovilok.
The business has since caught on in Kugluktuk and the team of 10 repair computers weekly. Along with network installations and troubleshooting, the business also upgrades software and fixes Internet access problems.
Not enough to financially sustain them at the moment, the business partners still rely on another sources of income to survive.
In fact, any profits that are realized are immediately sunk back into the fledgling company.
"Right now, no one gets paid," explained Ovilok.
"We need the money to order supplies and generate what we need to work with," he said.
"If we paid everybody, we'd have no money to get things people need."
On the move
That said, Ovilok and partners have plans brewing for their consulting business. They'd like to see people in communities outside Kugluktuk send their ailing machines to them for repairs and servicing. They know it won't happen overnight, but they say they're prepared to invest the time and energy it takes to survive in the technology industry.
"We are here in the Kitikmeot. If people want their computer serviced, they can send it here. They don't have to go south," said Ovilok.
"I'm eager for that."
Ahegona also touted the business for the role it could play in educating residents.
"People learn about computers and technology and that helps them learn about anything," said Ahegona.
"We'll get there slowly."
