Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 5, 1987, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free Patti july 1987 Page 13 business games Developer bids to beat business Maze by Stephen Ostick Bassani Cheng is convinced her games quiz Maze and kale Domaze will be big Sellers if they Ever make it to store but even if stores do pick up her Chengos six Montgold com Pany wont be out of the experts say such new firms Are unlikely make Money their first year in found out quickly How Tough the business world can be on Novice entrepreneurs when she began trying to sell her games to stores last thinking up the games questions was easy compared to she i need All the help i can Cheng and husband a University of Manitoba school of medi Cine operate Wilfred enterprises out of their River Heights but its Bassani who is find ing out that the corridors of Busi Ness can be As Tricky to navigate As the mazes in her when youve stayed Home for 13 years you dont really know what the business world is says who was just one credit Short of a masters degree in Bio chemistry when she decided to stay Home and raise two Cheng is Busy enough just trying to keep her fledgling company head above let alone worry ing about statistical stumbling blocks two years Down the but she readily admits missing one Phi free press Urs business spirit Al making things happen Rookie entrepreneurs suffer a High casualty rate in their Battle to there is Little More than a 5050 Chance any enterprises making it through that Tough first year will be around to celebrate a third almost 45 per cent of the new businesses registered in Manitoba in 198384 didst last Long enough to preregister three years a firs year business tonally considered Lucky to break says Winnipeg business development corporation director Moe that when its seek ing markets and scrambling to make a go of it usually takes new businesses two or three years to today feature tells How three such entrepreneurial ventures in Winnipeg fared in their key element when developing the our time Frame was she says of the games introduction last january at the Toronto toy most of the big chains had already bought their 1987 Christmas Mer she still May not have missed the boat for eight Bay stores in Manitoba and i Seldom turn Down local game inventors for sales the Bays marketing manager Roy Jopling explaining How Cheng turned up with her games three Days last week at the Bays Down town you never at first i was really Dis Cheng recalling the first two hour demonstration session in the stationary depart i thought Only two sold but that not bad int Gam buying Jopling adding that Hes prepared to give Cheng a suburban tryout if response is Good Down the games have Poten if Jopling gives the quiz Maze and Saleido Maze might even appear in Bay stores across the its a Good thing i have an understanding Cheng i spent the last 18 months finding questions at the Library while the kids 11 and 13 were at at night i was typing on the Ive rarely gone to bed before 2 Bassani Cheng thinking up games questions easy compared to marketing but Shes not about to pack in the firs year investment that ate up of the savings she and her husband poured into the project even if she gets stuck with the boxed games now packed into a Kenora she even confesses to having ideas for two More i wont give after i got far and Ive Learned a and next the games companies will know who i am when i walk through the computer firm Rolls with punches As partners plug into flexibility third year left to right clo Dan Dave and John we Pride ourselves on being a Small business and being Able to Roll with the says Dan one of four partners in Lemke and associates computer but the past few months have shown the Small owner operated company that flexibility is More than just a Catchy phrase to impress in this Case it meant the company would be around to see its third despite a drastic change in direction 12 months founded the company in with the Schmidt and they decided Schmidt Lemke would specialize in vertical sys tems for specific Selling management packages for insurance service stations and Legal they grossed sales in their first nine vertical systems require a lot of support because they Are specialized and quite says the customers Are usually novices you dont just plonk a system Down in front of them or till end up sitting on the while branching out in its second year Selling systems to Rural Mani Toban municipalities and school i Schmidt Lemke was gear ing up for a big push into warehouse computer sales planned for we thought we were missing the Home says but then we saw what was Hap he brings his hand slicing Down from Over his head to Waist level prices just came the company immediately changed focus to desktop publish ing it was just starting to hit says Dave we found a system that does everything Well for half the Price of an elite Schmidt Lemke sold the Canad Grain commissions graphics department an system in March to produce its forms and we would have been lost without their says commission photographer Harvey three of us had never used that Type of system Schmidt Lemke expects to sur pass its third year sales prediction of due largely to the shift to desktop if you cant change focus quickly youll find yourself out of the Lemke computers change so fast you have to be Able to change with Tofu making couple bracing for a year Dave free press Nancy and William Tai admit this is a year for Tai foods their Winnipeg Tofu making officially survived its first year april but if its second year Doest get a lot there might not be a their Manitoba made Tofu and Tofu treat Frozen dessert pulled in sales of about last but William says they pay about to the Bank each Chip Ping away at the loan needed to set up their Muir Road that includes for japanese we need about sales to break even this says Wil a University of Manitoba genetics he admits the couple have been More naive when they decided to open Manitoba Only Tofu there were lots of things we didst our Lack of experience for one at first i concentrated on getting the product into the but till stick there if nobody knows about adds William continues Safeway told we know its a Good product but it still might not we didst realize he says High in Low in calorie Sand containing no Ani Mal is a Staple in most asian similar to breads role in Western not Only Are Winni Eggers unaware of the Tais complain stores were in the some stocked it in the produce which is above the recommended temperature of one degree cel its very Nancy but they Are convinced Tofu would sell if Only canadians could discover after it Sells like crazy during food store promo says so Tai foods has gone for following a marketing firms suggestion and applying for a loan to turn sceptical canadians into Tofu if it the Tais and their four Ages will work the Plant More than the two Days a week they operate it people dont know How Good Tofu William says once we get it known outside till take in the they continue to do everything and Hope the Bank will be willing to give them another kick at the Nancy Tai Tofu Sells like crazy during food store i i hot financial group Best Gic rates today in 1 ill 3 ii Short to Kim rates subject to confirmation Over 50 companies represented investment players jockey for position in new Era i 4775350 u 72m640 4iis Donald uni City Mcmillan 4823421 Selkirk Portage tax service Portage la Call us today for a free Booklet on retirement income planning pm 4775350 outside mpg toll free 18oo432 5079 did the Earth move if you follow the financial you know that theres been an enor Mous buildup Over the last few months to Ontario version of the British big bang that happened last Toronto big bang happened on june a few Days and Early indications Are that it will take some time before we see any major differences in the Public face of Canadas investment behind the its another since no one knows what the Industry will look like after the shakeout London is still some time away from that one wants to be left out of the this Means that All of the established Canadian players Are moving to round out their capabilities in a deregulated several of the Banks have added securities sub Toronto Dominion is expanding its Green line discount brokerage the Royal Bank has announced that it had called off Dian Cohen merger talks with Wood the brokerage Wood Gundy announced that it had sold 35 per cent of itself for an astounding five times Book value to first National Bank of the addition of the foreign players has created a Bull Market for employment in the Large organizations that have some management depth and longstanding training such As the big six Canadian Banks and the larger brokerage Are being raided for As the foreign players Are allowed into the Canad an they have an immediate need for competent people who know our Market there willing to pay higher prices than the even for unproven Canadian firms which already employ the country Best Bond securities salesmen and traders Are desperately trying to hold on to the Best of foreign firms which Are Only just setting up Canadian operations for the first time Are hiring in such numbers that its not certain what kind of a Deal there we can expect to see some culture staid used to a multilayered will have to learn to Deal with a new business that requires instant new players will try to Horn in on relationships that have been built on Trust and intimate knowledge of the the japanese companies which Are setting up shop Are hiring Cana Dian How will they Cope with each others work habits and corporate cultures will policies originating in Tokyo Transfer Well to win Calgary and Halifax the american which have the reputation of flashing More Cash and running More Are moving in As the Bull Market is heading into a record big bang Means More Competition when it turns the Ameri cans May be More Likely to invest in equities than risk averse canadians have traditionally what does that mean to our Domestic institutions Drexel Burham Goldman James Capel of London and Hon Kong these big foreign names become More than just what you read in the Wall Street journal As they be come real players fighting for mar Ket share within this will bring about some significant for institutional and corporate the Canadian big bang Means much Competition for their margins will become thinner and product ranges in theory a Good thing for Competition and on the other Many Busy business people dont have time to manage too Many what does it mean to the average consumer a recent american study indicates that while people like the idea that insurance and investment services will All be available in the same there very reluctant to Trust a single institution with that much knowledge of that seems to make a lot 01 Dian Cohen is a Montreal co ;