SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - After more than 15 years of being the only game in town, Arctic Defensive Driving School is now facing competition from a past employee, who has started his own school.

Driving Made Easy Driving School owners Colleen Rusike, centre and Zeb Tsikira, right, stand by one of their school's cars with employee Cedric Rusike on May 30. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

Former driving instructor for Arctic Defensive Driving, 27-year-old Zeb Tsikira, opened up Driving Made Ease (DME) Driving School last month, with his partner Colleen Rusike, 21.

The young couple say their business venture is "nothing personal," and that they are just challenging the "one of everything" trend they have seen in Yellowknife businesses and services.

"It's kind of like the Yellowknife thing; there's one of everything," Rusike said. "This is something that was bound to happen.

"If it wasn't us, someone else would have started another driving school."

Dawn Pottinger, who has co-owned Arctic Defensive Driving since 1995 with her husband Norman, says they were surprised to hear of Tsikira's business venture but she has no hard feelings towards their new competitor.

"I feel it's a free country," Pottinger said, noting she has yet to see any slowdown in business.

"Like any business, competition, I guess, is good," she said.

Rusike agreed that competition is healthy, because it may prompt the established company to improve their services and it will help her and Tsikira develop as young business people.

"We're also establishing a second option for people," Rusike said. "Giving them a choice."

Happy for the second option is Tatiana Leclerc, 21, who found DME on the Internet after seeing a car with its sign drive by her one day.

Hesitant at first to give her business to the new company as opposed to the established driving school, Leclerc didn't shell out the fees until she saw DME’s licensing and other documentation.

"How do I know you guys are legal?" Leclerc asked, weary of fraudulent businesses from living in places such as including Senegal and Columbia.

"Anybody can just start a business," Leclerc said. "You have to ask those types of questions.

"I didn't want to waste 500 bucks and realize my certificate didn't mean anything."

After the company checked out and Leclerc took a DME class, she said she was happy with the classroom and on-road classes she took, and wishes there was more competition for other Yk businesses.

"Things are more expensive (in Yellowknife), like a cup of coffee, sports equipment, electronics," she said. "You don't have a lot of choice so you don't really think about it."

Even with the second option, Pottinger is hoping that Arctic's track record will continue to draw new drivers.

"Hopefully our name is a good name and people appreciate that," Pottinger said. "We'll just go along trying to do the best for our customers."

Pottinger adds this isn't the first time a rival has risen in the local driving school industry, with Road Ready Driving collapsing after only about a year of operation; it begs the question – is there enough room in town for two successful driving schools?

Rusike says they did their homework before opening DME, investing a full three months in research, knocking on doors to find sponsors, and establishing a strong Internet presence to draw young drivers to their website, Twitter and Facebook pages. Rusike also has past entrepreneurial experience she said, with her family having set up a butchery shop, tourism company, accessories boutique, delivery and trucking company, and a catering company in Montreal.

"Like any other business, running (a driving school) takes work," Rusike said. "I know it's going to be a hard job to do but we're excited to see where this goes."

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