Saskatoon company helps Aboriginal entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground
- Fraser Needham | December 10, 2015
Getting a new business off the ground can pose multiple challenges and that’s where Ideas Inc comes in.
The Saskatoon-based company provides various support services to entrepreneurs.
Their Empower Program specifically targets Aboriginal entrepreneurs by providing space, mentorship and coaching.
Entrepreneurs who are in the Empower Program have access to retail space at the Ideas Inc offices located in the Farmers Market Square at no cost.
The Empower studio can be used as a place to interact directly with customers and showcase product.
As part of this space, Empower members also have access to the Ideas Inc boardroom, a professional mailing address, printing, scanning and wireless Internet.
They can even use a communal bicycle when needed.
As part of the program, entrepreneurs also can also rely on seven experienced business mentors that are part of Ideas Inc.
The mentors provide both perspective and advice on how to avoid some of the pitfalls that stand in the way of making a new business successful.
Ideas Inc staff is continuously on hand to provide constant coaching in such areas as financials, marketing communications, business strategy and operational efficiency.
BHP Billiton is a major sponsor of the Empower Program
Ryan Richichi is the business development director at Ideas Inc.
He says aside from providing free office space and all the advantages that come with it, the Empower Program provides a whole network of contacts and support to Aboriginal entrepreneurs who may be new to Saskatoon.
“A lot of the people that we see come from outside the city, say from a reserve, you just don’t have the connections in the city,” Richichi says. “So that’s where we can really help with our network and just the process of actually starting the business if you haven’t been living in Saskatoon you don’t have those same connections.”
Richichi also says that since the overall learning curve of starting any new business can be extremely steep, Ideas Inc believes the three pillars of space, mentorship and coaching the Empower Program provides can make this learning curve as painless as possible.
“You have a lot of curves with starting any new business,” he says. “It’s a learning process. You’ve got to feel out the market and how your product’s accepted and there’s just those hurdles of learning every aspect of the business from bookkeeping, to the operations, to the financials.”
There are currently five Aboriginal entrepreneurs in the Empower Program.
Rachel Eyahpaise is the owner and operator of GROW.FN, which is an online platform that acts as a nationwide service directory for First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
Brian Dreaver runs Wild Buffalo, which is a philanthropic business with a community focus of educating youth on both the discipline and benefits of martial arts.
The business is based on his mixed martial arts apparel brand “Iron Buffalo.”
Sarah Gaudry owns Gee Gee’s Boutique where she acts as your personal shopper traveling the continent for the ultimate selection in vintage clothing to fit a modern lifestyle.
Justin Scott is the proprietor of Scott Repair, which fixes smart phones, tablets and laptop computers.
Jean McKenzie’s business is Sewing Gene, which offers handmade clothing and other accessories.
Ideas Inc plans to add five new members to the Empower Program in 2016 and another five in 2017.