Two organizations are setting up shop in Flin Flon, aiming to support entrepreneurs.
Kylie McKinnon and Krista Lemcke presented at the Flin Flon and Area Chamber of Commerce meeting Feb. 18. McKinnon runs Linking Youth Entrepreneurs with Networks and Knowledge (LYNK), which ran an event to help young business people Feb. 24, while Lemcke is affiliated with The Hub, a group created to facilitate work for female entrepreneurs.
“A lot of youth today don't see entrepreneurship as an option,” McKinnon said.
“They don't really understand all the concepts around being an entrepreneur.”
McKinnon said she wants to expand the ideas of entrepreneurship for young people.
“A lot of young people today see entrepreneurship as becoming the next YouTube star - starting from the ground up and having this amazing idea,” she said.
“They're not seeing the value in buying a business that is pre-existing or becoming a partner of an existing business.”
McKinnon said the event was focused on what supports northern entrepreneurs want and need from organizations like World Trade Centre Winnipeg and Indigenous Business Development Services.
“What type of services they should invest in and how they can offer them to you?” she asked.
“Do you want to access webinars? Do you want access to funds to travel to Winnipeg to take a one day course? They're looking to meet with us.”
McKinnon said she was looking to lean on current business owners to help the next generation.
“We're going to be looking for some mentors for local entrepreneurs that are looking to get started,” she said.
“Maybe they have some questions and maybe they just want to hear your story or they want a sounding board. If anybody's interested in becoming a mentor for a local entrepreneur under the age of 29, please send me an email.”
While LYNK targets young people, The Hub is focused on women, although Lemcke said their resources are available to everyone. Both programs are open to people in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The Hub is a community work space that will provide seminars and resources for entrepreneurs. There is no rental fee for office space until April.
There are similar Hub projects in Dauphin and Flin Flon.
“It's a pilot project,” Lemcke said.
“We're kind of making it up as we go along, but we're having a lot of fun.”
Lemcke said she’s looking for input on what kind of programming they’ll offer.
“We kind of look at ourselves as a one stop shop for business,” she said.
“We can help with pathfinding business coaching and develop and deliver business training. We're looking for input ideas. Anything that you want to contribute as far as what you think might be good supports for entrepreneurs in the area.”
The Hub’s programming will focus on helping the entrepreneurs themselves.
“We more so support the women operating or planning to operate the business as opposed to the actual business itself,” she said.
“We're going to give them the skills that they need to be successful and continue running.”
Lemcke said plans are in the works to bring in a lightbox and a photography workshop. The group also plans to run maker’s markets and a pop-up shop.
“I have to prove my theory that an actual pop up shop or kiosk would fly here,” she said.
“I think it will, because I think there's a lot of freelance-type people running stuff out of their home.”
Fundraising
The chamber is preparing a new fundraising idea.
The group plans to take the idea of a playing card draw, but instead of people buying a certain card, they’ll buy a local business logo instead.
“Underneath one of the spots will be a Flinty picture,” chamber office manager Michelle Reid said at the monthly meeting.
“When all the spots are sold, whichever one has the Flinty picture under would be the winner.”
Reid said this fundraiser would offer a lot of flexibility.
“It doesn't have to have a start/stop date,” she said.
“It wouldn't be physical too, so we could take it to our barbecue. There will be a big poster board, a visual chart where people can see which ones have been purchased already and which ones are still free. It might encourage businesses to buy their own logo.”
The chamber also has a new phone number and email. The new contact number is (306)-688-0838 and the new email is [email protected].
