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Reasons
for Success
For Mo, the challenge of running
a business the way she wants to makes the business a success.
"It’s not just the money, because I actually very rarely
think about that. I have money to pay my bills, so I never
think about the bottom line. My business provides a needed
service to the community. An important part of my business
is my good selection of magazines. Many people have told me
that they’ve been in stores in Toronto and all over Canada
that don’t have the selection that I do.
"The other service that I provide is supplying newspapers,
although I don’t really make money on them once they are flown
in. I always have each day’s Globe and Mail and the
Journal in that afternoon. My customers like that and
a lot of them come in every day for their newspaper."
Mo had the chance to establish a good reputation because it
was the first store of its type when she bought it. Mo recalls,
"Mac’s News had been in operation for about three or
four years when we bought it. It had started from a tiny store
that I’ve expanded many times. There wasn’t any competition
so I got a good footing in town. It’s taken hard work and
determination."
The North has its advantages for business: "Still, it’s
easier to make a business successful in the North. I would
never go south and even try and open a business because there’s
too much competition. I’d have to be very competitive and
I’m not that competitive. When I get an idea, I think about
it for long enough and if I think it’s going to work then
I’ll give it a try. It’s a lot simpler to do that in the North."
For Mo, the satisfaction of owning her own businesses does
not come from the money. "Money is secondary to me. It’s
mainly getting an idea; working on it, and seeing it work
that gives me satisfaction. The challenge of starting a business
is more exciting for me now in a lot of ways than running
a business. I enjoy a challenge. When I worked in bars, I
earned money for a reason. I’ve got a house in Scotland that
I paid for by working twelve or fourteen hours in the High
River bar. So while I was working as a barmaid or bartender,
it was a challenge. It wasn’t just another job. I used those
jobs as stepping stones to something or for something else."
Area for Improvement
Mo identifies one major area
that could be improved in her businesses. "I think the
day-to-day operations but find that training people sometimes
requires more patience than I have. I’m a worker, not a manager
and I hate paper work."
Environmental Responsibility
and Sustainability
Mo has a concern for the environment,
which is reflected in her policies. All garbage produced by
the store is taken to the dump. She and her staff try to keep
the store as clean as possible, although it is difficult when
customers bring mud into the store during the wet season.
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When Mo bought Mac’s News, it was at the
end of the oil boom. She was looking for a small business
with good potential for success in any type of economy. She
didn’t want a business that would suffer without the oil business.
Mo recalls, "The person that I worked for owned Mac’s
News. I was tired of being a barmaid and I knew Mac’s News
was for sale and we knew it was a good business. Then the
owner sweetened the deal so we were able to buy the business.
I don’t know if I’d really thought about the decision, if
I would have gone ahead with it, but it seemed like a good
idea at the time."
As for the place her business has in the community: "I
think my business is a necessity. If I close my doors tomorrow
then somebody else would probably pick up my business. I do
a lot of the work myself and that personal touch sets my store
apart. I have people buy magazines that they’ve tried to get
everywhere else and they can’t. A lot of new people that have
moved into town think they are going to miss a lot living
in the North. When they walk into the store, they’re just
amazed at the selection. I get lots of positive feedback on
the gift shop too, especially around Christmas time."
Future Development
Mo would like to sell Mac’s News
and the Road’s End Deli.
"Mac’s News is up for sale but I haven’t had any definite
offers on it. I’d like to try to do something different. The
challenge with Mac’s News is gone because it’s off and running.
There’s not a lot more I can do to it except build my own
building with a nice area for a store and gift shop.
"I’ve thought about selling Mac’s for a long time. It’s
usually after a real bad spell when I haven’t had any staff.
I’m really frustrated and working hard and I can’t do the
things that my friends are doing so I think, 'Time for a life.'
If somebody comes along and I get my price then I will sell
it. If I don’t get my price then I won’t sell."
I’ve run out of energy and overextended myself with Mac’s
News, the deli, and the tours. So at least one has to go.
I’ve got a couple of interested in the deli and we’re negotiating
right now on a lease-to-purchase arrangement. So if that goes
through and I can find one good person to run the store for
the summer, then I would concentrate more on my tours next
year. I did as much as I could do with the tours this year.
I didn’t turn any trips down but I didn’t really promote the
business too much either."
Eventually, Mo would like to operate only two businesses,
Midnight Express Tours and a marina. She says, "I would
like to build the docks and lease them out. I would sell fuel,
and in a nearby building I would sell fishing tackle, licenses,
pop, chips, and mosquito dope, things that people who are
going out boating might forget."
Mo continues, "Right now, my big boat is parked on the
edge of the government dock.
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"That’s the only dock in town that I
can put that size of boat on. Once the water drops, then its
quite a jump down to the boat for elderly people getting on
and off. It’s awkward to gas up. Anybody that has a boat in
this town knows how badly we need a marina."
Mo has considered different ideas for the marina.
"I would like to have a decent-sized building for a club,
such as a ski club or a skidoo club. It could open in April
and run until the end of October. Then I would travel for
the rest of the year. I would also like a museum. I have a
fully mounted polar bear, a musk ox, a grizzly bear, a couple
of ptarmigan, and a caribou for display. I also have a couple
of big Inuit carvings. I would collect some old photographs
of the area and give a little history.
"I’d like to have a coffee shop where you can have a
coffee by the water while deciding whether to go on a boat
tour or take a flight with Western Arctic Air. It’s not just
one drawing card that would make the project work. I think
it would be all the little different things that go together,
just like Mac’s News. It’s not just our magazines. It’s our
magazines, our newspapers, our cigarettes and our pop."
In order to get the marina project going Mo has to line up
financing. "The best place to locate the marina is at
Twin Lakes. There’s a little channel there but virtually no
water in it, so I’d have to dredge that so bigger boats could
get in. There might be some government funding to do a feasibility
study and the dredging part of the project, but it would be
costly."
For the rest of the project, Mo would like five or six private
investors who would let her run the operation. "I’ve
talked to quite a few people in town and there are about five
people who are willing to invest money into the marina. These
people know that I’m a hard worker so they would be quite
happy to be silent investors. Even if they didn’t have the
money, they could give some sweat equity by building the docks.
It would be fun to be down by the water and with the boat
during the summer."
If Mo couldn’t sell Mac’s News, she has the option of walking
away from it. She says, "I have another three and a half
years on my lease. If worse comes to worse, I could just have
a big sale at the end of my term."
Mo has thought about expanding Midnight Express Tours. Whatever
shape her future takes, Mo is in Inuvik to stay. She enjoys
her cabin at Airport Lake. She owns property in Inuvik and
she enjoys the lifestyle. She has made a lot of good friends
and she enjoys boating, swimming, and water-skiing with them
in the summer. In the winter, she goes ski-dooing and cross-country
skiing. To get ahead in the North, Mo has taken advantage
of opportunities that she believes are not as readily available
in the south. There is much smaller labour pool competing
for positions so its quite easy to work up from dishwasher
to manager in a relatively short time.
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