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K'ATLODEECHE/HAY RIVER - A clear vision, steady perseverance and a willingness to work long hours are all essential to opening your own business. But good luck doesn't hurt, either.

Scott Davies, owner of new Hay River catering company Execubroil Catering, took advantage of a rare opportunity earlier this year to start his business. - photo courtesy of Scott Davies

"It's totally been a case of being in the right place at the right time," said Scott Davies, owner of Execubroil Catering in Hay River, which began operating this year.

Davies, a certified chef for the last 35 years who learned the art of cooking at George Brown College in Toronto, is chief cook for Northern Transportation Company Ltd. (NTCL) at the company's base camp in Hay River.

This year the shipping company made a crucial decision that provided Davies with just the right opportunity to branch out.

Because it had a very busy season last year, with more shipments going out late in the season than normal, NTCL didn't have enough time to bring back all of its ships to Hay River. Some of the ships started this season in Inuvik or Tuktoyaktuk.

NTCL didn't see the need to keep open the Hay River base camp, seeing as there were so few people to serve.

So Davies pitched NTCL a deal: in exchange for leasing him the kitchen, Davies would use the kitchen as a base of operations for his catering company, while also serving those NTCL employees working at the base.

"It's a win-win for everybody," said Davies. "They no longer have an employment issue or a staffing issue. They pay only for the meals that get put out, so there's no waste issue for them."

Davies is used to juggling several responsibilities at once. When he's not overseeing his catering business, he's working for Taylor and Company as a certified wood pellet or wood stove installer.

Asked how many hours in a week he works, he replied "all of them."

The Taylor job, beside supplying extra income, has also helped him foster business connections, as in one recent case.

"I did the grand opening for Monster Recreation a couple weeks ago. They wanted angels on horseback - fresh oysters," he said.

Oysters are hardly a hot commodity in Hay River.

"I was lucky enough to find Cloud Nine, a seafood distributor that's just starting up in town. They have a source in Edmonton that supplies them with fresh fish. It just worked out that I was doing a stove inspection for Taylor and ran into the lady that's running Cloud Nine. She went 'no problem.' Four days later, I had oysters."

Right now Davies is busy booking Christmas parties - the true litmus test of any new catering company, he said.

"Everybody's a potential client, and we're small enough that to let us take really small parties also ... that might be too small for (rival caterer) Ptarmigan Inn because they're such a large operation," said Davies.