Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 05/01) - Iqaluit is seeing an upswing in business as increasing numbers of people flock to the new capital.

Because property purchase prices are high, infrastructure scant and the population still small, many of the new businesses in town are home-based. Carpenters and plumbers, artists and translators use their residences to co-ordinate services, do bookkeeping and in some cases house studios.

The city was named one of the top three "most friendly communities to home-based businesses."

The accolade was bestowed upon the city after it filled out a survey sponsored by Home Business Report, the Royal Bank and Canada Post.

The other two communities were Conception Bay South, Nfld. and Brampton, Ont.

"When you consider that the town was only formed as a city in the last year, they've done remarkable things," said Home Business Report managing editor Marianne Scott.

Scott said the award is based on a community's success in zoning for small business, in providing education and mentorship and in integrating services. It takes into account obstacles to success, which abound in Iqaluit: no road, only a seasonal port and lack of accessible high-speed Internet.

Cheri Kemp-Kinnear flew to Toronto last week to receive the award. Kemp-Kinnear is Iqaluit's community economic development officer. Her position was created by the city earlier this year (she previously held a similar position with the territorial government), and is one of the reasons Iqaluit was selected.

Iqaluit also has a high degree of co-ordination between different entities that support businesses, and has developed a financing system for small businesses. For example, the Baffin Business Development Centre has a loan fund that lends from $100 to $75,000. The BBDC currently has 104 loans on the books.

Since she began her position for the city, Kemp-Kinnear has worked with about 25 businesses, providing counselling and operating as a facilitator to getting a business operational.

"In any business you need a business idea, a business licence, insurance, money and depending on the type of business some sort of operational materials," she said. "There's a wide range of things and there is support that is needed and direction to know where to get assistance. It's not something in most cases you can walk into an office somewhere and someone will hand you a package that says, 'Here, start your business.'"

People can now do that with the creation of her office, Kemp-Kinnear said.

One of the people she has worked with is David Fulgham.

Fulgham owns ComGuard CTS, a computer products and consulting business he runs out of his home. He is currently transforming a front room into a showroom for ComGuard.

He says more help would have been useful in creating his business.

"Some small business seminars or something would be ideal, something where you could go and take a seminar on how to start and run a business, how to run a business. We've sort of gone through it already, but we had to figure out most of it on our own."

A seminar could also provide some tricks of the trade, Fulgham said. For example, a business does not require a GST licence until its income exceeds $20,000. But if a smaller business is GST-licensed, it can claim GST rebates on start-up expenses.

Fulgham said starting a home-based business in town was "straight forward."

"There wasn't any opposition from the town or anything like that," he said.

For the city of Iqaluit, the award itself is a glass mountain, but the reward is the recognition. "When you have an award, it often gives you clout to do more," said Scott.