Areas
for Improvement
Fred
would like to train more of his staff in the proper techniques
of packing and he would like to spend more time developing
the art gallery. He notes, "Right now I rely on only
two men who are fully trained in packing. If they got sick,
then I would be slowed right down, but it takes time to teach.
I’d also like to go into art more since I really enjoy that.
I would need a couple of million dollars to do it properly
but I think I could make it pay."
Environmental
Friendliness
Fred
is active in minimizing the impact his businesses have on
the environment. "We try to recycle everything we can
and we’ll burn what we can’t. We try not to burn anything
that’s going to be toxic and usually it’s just cardboard paper.
We pick up the cardboard deposited by the sealift operations
and try to recycle it. Finally, we supply garbage bags and
pick up shredded paper from any office who calls us, and we
reuse it."
His interest in Inuit art supports the community and their
way of life through his art gallery. Further, he sees opportunities
for growth in this market through increased tourism in the
North. The increase in tourism will only work, though, if
proper environmental protection measures are taken right from
the very beginning. A big attraction of the North is its natural
unspoiled beauty.
Sustainability
of the Business
An
economic slowdown, Fred feels, would affect his businesses.
"We would feel it, but we don’t have everything in one
basket and most are essential services. Some would slow down
but others wouldn’t. The janitorial business is steady because
it has to be done every day and generates the same revenue
winter or spring. The moving business might drop if program
budgets were cut. The art gallery is definitely susceptible,
but lawyers and doctors do continue to buy. If things were
bad, all our guys would do anything to keep going, including
digging ditches or washing windows."
Advice
to new Business
It
takes a great commitment to get a business off the ground
in the North. People who want to start a new business should
look at what role, if any, government subsidies will play
in their businesses. Fair pricing over the long term is important
to the business and its reputation in the community.
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Successful
business people enjoy what they are doing. Finally, Fred sees
a role for government in business, which should include controls
on the number of competing businesses starting up in a small
market.
Fred believes that there are many obstacles to overcome for
new businesses in the North. "It takes a lot of guts
to make it in the North. You have to work much harder than
business people do in the south. The costs are higher, competition
is tough, few skilled people are available to work, and markets
are small. If you’re in a community of 600 to 900 people,
then that’s pretty much your market. If you start a small
store on the outskirts of a town down south, then you’ve got
20,000 people. You have to try and get local people coming
in and coming back."
Once the business is established in the community, then it
is important to maintain a fair pricing strategy in order
to have a good business reputation. "We always get the
new businesses that give a good price. They say, ‘We’re going
to give everybody a break and we’re going to charge $30 or
$35 dollars an hour.’ Then two years later their prices are
up to $50 dollars an hour, which is what the other guy they
kicked out was charging. So it’s a vicious circle when greed
sets in."
Fred’s personal convictions would not allow him to use government
subsidies to any great extent in his businesses. He comments
on the problems that subsidies can cause for inexperienced
business people.
"The big question today is whether or not you can start
a business without subsidies from the government. A fellow
gets $20,000 from the government to start a little business.
Next he orders $20,000 worth of goods and sells them and has
$25,000. He’s doing well so he decides to buy himself a nice
new skidoo for $7,000 and a few other things. He has $14,000
left but that’s not bad. Then he starts ordering more goods
and before you know it he notices that he doesn’t have much
on his shelves and no money in the bank."
A new business can’t make it like that because you have to
keep your shelves stocked and only spend a little of the profit
on yourself. A lot of people spends their working capital
and their profit and are bankrupt in six months or a year.
You have to work hard, limit personal spending, and put most
of the money back into business. It seems that if the money
comes too easily then a person does not appreciate it and
looks for more from the government when the money dries up."
Fred is very committed to his businesses. He has fun just
coming to work.
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He
says, "I’m here from 8:30 in the morning until evening.
When I was single, I used to work until 1:00 in the morning
packing in the warehouse. I cleaned floors on Christmas Day.
As long as I can pay my bills now and take a trip once in
a while, I’m happy. I enjoy my art. I don’t have any art at
home because then I would want to keep all the pieces and
it would be difficult to sell them at the gallery."
Fred’s main advice to new businesses is to meet a need in
the community that no one else is meeting. "See what
the place needs and then go for it. Be prepared to work hard
and try not to reap any financial awards right away. Put everything
back into the business and realize it takes time to make a
business work. Don’t give up."
Fred feels strongly that the new businesses should provide
products or services that are not already available in the
community. "There’s room for every little business, but
I would like to see it controlled. We don’t need ten plumbing,
carpentry, hauling, or contracting businesses in this community
or any other small community. I think competition should be
controlled in the North." The market plays a role in
controlling the businesses that survive but the present cycle
– new businesses being competitive for a few years and then
charging the same high prices that the original businesses
were charging – is frustrating because there seems to be no
long-term benefit to the community.
Future
Development
In the short term, Fred would like to market the janitorial
service positions using a video. It would introduce prospective
employees to the type of working conditions they could expect
if they decided to work in Iqaluit. In the long term, Fred
plans to retire and pass the business on to his daughter once
he has taught her the business and she has received university
training. He would concentrate on his art business and expand
the facility to include workshops. He would like to bring
artists in to learn from master carvers. His job would be
to think of ways to make money to finance the project. He
plans to stay in the North.
The future of Northern expansion, is through economic development,
population growth, and tourism in Fred’s opinion. Tourism
is the wave of the future, he believes. "I think it’s
up to the people in the North in every hamlet, town and municipality
to develop projects to bring tourists here. We have visitors
from all over the world who come and visit our parks. They
buy our arts and crafts. It is our responsibility to explain
how these tourists are expected to behave in order to protect
our environment, but we can all benefit."
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