Taking the next step
Short business course sparks high hopes in Repulse Bay
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, March 26, 2014
REPULSE BAY
Guarded optimism prevailed among participants and presenters following a small business planning introductory course in Repulse Bay earlier this month.
Isaac Saittuqis, one of about 20 students who took the weeklong course, said he's had a business idea in his head for awhile now.
He said the course helped him sort things out, and provided plenty of information on what has to be done to take his idea to the next step.
"The course really helped me understand income tax forms, and to realize you have to get the government involved once your business makes $30,000 annually," said Saittuqis.
"Understanding the various taxes, and what (and when) you have to report it all was helpful information to me.
"The course also helped me complete my business plan correctly.
"It was a good course, overall, in helping us get our business ideas launched,
and the support we received was very good."
Saittuqis said he's taken his idea too far to stop now, and firmly intends to launch his own business.
He said he would love to see a longer course take everyone a little further.
"This course gave us a lot of information and showed us what we have to expect in order to run a business here.
"I'd like to see a more detailed followup course here, because this town really needs it.
"Many organizations and small businesses that could be run by local people are being handled by the Coop, just to use that as one example.
"Bigger companies take quite a bit of assets from our communities, so I see having more local people involved with small businesses as helping our communities in more ways than one."
Course facilitator Louis McComber said motivating participants to have confidence in their abilities was a big part of the program.
He said a business starts with an idea, and he wanted the students to be confident in taking the next step toward their goal by the end of the course.
"I was impressed with the level of motivation I saw among the students during the week," said McComber.
"A longer, more intensive course with, maybe, fewer students would be a great idea for Repulse Bay.
"Whether it was me or Nunavut Arctic College running it, learning to put an idea on paper, proposal writing, basic accounting and communication would be invaluable to these students.
"A business administration program here would be a great introduction into everything they need to run a small business."
McComber said some of the ideas he heard during the course would have a chance to succeed in Repulse.
He said an afterhour store and entertainment for youth were among those to get his attention.
"There were some interesting ideas brought forward for a small operation that could hold its own here.
"We would look to the economic development officer (EDO) or a Kivalliq agency to follow up on a project and coach them around hurdles they may face.
"It's a community effort from adult education to the hamlet, and even the Coop, itself, to help create a good climate for small business to develop here, but it can't be done in a week.
"I don't do miracles, but, hopefully, I helped plant the seeds for some of the ideas to grow and flourish."
Kivalliq Partners business development officer David Fredlund addressed the Repulse group, and said an EDO is often the best resource for understanding a community and knowing if a business idea is a viable one.
He said additional courses also allow people to look objectively at an idea and its viability.
"There are training dollars available for individuals who are interested in doing these things," said Fredlund.
"In fact, we usually recommend additional training to someone looking to start their own business, so they do better understand viability and other aspects of running it.
"Obviously, we look for a return on an investment, so if we're going to invest in an idea, we want to make sure it's viable.
"The best place to start is with a solid business plan and, again, we have funding available to people interested in applying to take care of those kinds of aspects."
Fredlund said the more complete a proposal, the faster a funding application moves along.
He said applicants can expect Kivalliq Partners to do its due diligence to ensure a business idea is solid.
"We want to see things in place to ensure a small business will succeed in deciding whether to invest.
"If we see the idea is a viable one, the funding process takes place in a very reasonable amount of time.
"Entrepreneurship is the key to a number of communities becoming more economically successful.
"Tourism, outfitting and art are viable activities communities like Repulse Bay can work towards and are."
