By Roger White

Opening the doors to entrepreneurship

Apr 26, 2018 | 11:42 AM

Once again this year, Northwest Community Futures partnered with Canada-Saskatchewan Labour Market Services to offer one-on-one personalized training and financial support for current and former EI recipients looking to become an entrepreneur.

“We currently have two of our seven positions filled for this year’s program,” Lesley Sterling, general manager of Northwest Community Futures, said. “We had five businesses start up last year through this program and hoping we get more registered before the July 31 deadline.”

Sterling added the Self-Employment Program is for people with a viable business idea who have a current employment insurance claim, who have had an EI claim within the past three years, or who received maternity or parental leave benefits within the past five years.

“Successful candidates will receive up to 40 hours of consultation that will help with the start-up process like writing a business plan, basic bookkeeping and tax preparation,” she added. “You will also be walked through researching insurance and licensing requirements to estimating costs and expense projections; all things you will need to know once your business gets off the ground.”

Candidates will also receive up to $1,000 which Sterling said will help with extra start-up costs.

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“These funds will help with start-up costs like doing a business name search and registration with the corporate registry or getting a business license,” she said. “It will also help alleviate the costs of some basic advertising and business cards that sometimes get overlooked.”

Wendy Roche of Roche Beauty Company was one of the five entrepreneurs who completed the program last year and said it really educated her as to what it takes to start a small business.

“I thought I knew a lot when it came to starting a business I soon realized there was so much more I didn’t know,” said Roche who opened her own hairstyling shop in January. “I know there would have been a lot of things I would have done incorrectly if I had not of taken the program.”

Trever McCaslin, owner-operator of McCaslin’s Mobile Wash also participated in last year’s program and soon realized that with even having a business plan already complete, he learned valuable information through the Self-Employment Program.

“It was certainly an eye opening experience for sure,” McCaslin added. “I thought going in with a business plan it would be easy but they soon showed me that there were a few hidden areas that you don’t think of.”

Not everyone who applies for the program qualifies for the free training as Sterling said there are eligibility requirements that need to be met.

“We do a pretty in-depth analysis of their idea to ensure they have what it takes to run a business,” she said. “We look to see if they are willing to put in the time and effort that’s needed to start a business. We also do a credit check to see if the individual is financially responsible to qualify for funding if they need to apply for a loan.”   

Sterling encourages anyone who would like to apply for the Self-Employment Program to contact Northwest Community Futures at (306)-446-3200 or visit their office in The Executive Building at 504 Frontier Way in North Battleford.

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@battlefordsNOW