Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Jan 14/02) - The North is a perfect place for the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. But a clever businessman knows the only way to protect an investment is through diversification.

Rankin Inlet's Jim Strickland is the owner of construction company Oomilik Enterprises Ltd. as well as The Wild Wolf Cafe.

More than 20 years ago Rick Strickland moved to Rankin Inlet to work with his brother. He worked as a carpenter and then started his own construction business.

"The freedom is what keeps me here," he said. Although business was going well, he decided five years ago he needed to find something more steady, he said. So he looked for opportunities that would compliment his business, Oomilik Enterprises Ltd. That's when he stepped into the renting business. He used his construction skills to build both houses and commercial buildings.

"I sold a lot of houses and leased a lot of houses. The best part is knowing you've got a cheque coming at the end of the month," said Strickland.

And then he went a step further.

"I didn't know anything about the restaurant business. It's a business you have to be on top of," said Strickland, a man who doesn't like to sit around. He gambled on a totally new venture, filling a business hole in the community of Rankin. He opened the Wild Wolf Cafe last June.

"The chef started with me on day one." Wait-staff is not so easy to find and keep, he said. "Everyone wants the weekend off."

The Wild Wolf employs six people: two cooks, two cooks' helpers and four waitresses.

He owns the building and the land, and the business seems to be paying for itself.

"If I had to lease the building and the land it would be hard," he said.

But right now it's a good challenge keeping his diverse businesses running smoothly. "I'm not bored yet," he said.

When the territorial government in Nunavut decided to decentralize, people moved away and there wasn't a need for new construction. But Strickland has a positive attitude. The new health centre should bring in lots of new positions.

"There's enough work here to keep two to five people busy but the bigger jobs are in Arviat or Baker Lake," he said. But his imaginative diversification should see him protected from an uneven construction business.