Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 24, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba Lit tue chateau on the Prairies Winnipeg free press from business John 6977264 b5 october 1995 Small business fuels Manitoba economic engine this the province will celebrate the Strong spirit of its entrepreneurs its perhaps the most pow Erful economic Force in Mani Toba and theres a Good Chance one of your neighbors belongs to its no single company or Orga but a collection of mom an pop operations that band together under the title Small this Manitoba will Cele brate the hard work and entrepreneurship that has made Small business anything but Small in this nowhere in Canada is the Impact of companies with fewer than 50 employees More pronounced than it is a vital component to Manitoba future Small business is said Trade minister Jim it is their entrepreneurial spirit that is our How Strong is the sector con Sider if every Small business was Able to hire one More person this Manitoba unemployment rate would fall by More than four percentage Small business represents 92 per cent of Manitoba commercial in addition to an annual payroll of Bil Small business is also responsible for about 85 per cent of the new jobs created in the province Over the last five total employment among these Little Guys last year reached after years of toiling in near Small business is finally grabbing the John Douglas James Downey government obstacles to growth Are beginning although slowly to be Banks and other lending institutions Are starting to make the necessary overtures needed to Foster Small business development and the general pub Lic is beginning to understand that in provinces like a lot More wealth can be created through smaller Homegrown this the free press will not Only highlight several local companies making a difference in we will run a series of stories that outline the prob lems and red tape associated with striking out on your own and offer some hints on How to make the transition the Power of Small business is nothing new in some of the provinces largest employers from com chef to Palliser furniture started out As Small family run Manitoba has a history of stability both in terms of a diversified Economy that avoids the Booman dust Cycle and a political climate that Fosters what makes Small business succeed hard work and a lot of says Canadian federation of Independent business spokesman Dan a study by crib found that 48 per cent of the people who own their own company in Manitoba work More than 50 hours a week for about 35 per cent less pay than they would receive if they were working for an this is about As close to the spirit of the pioneers As you can get Kelly for Many of these the hours Are Ter Rible and the rewards slow in starting your own company can be very risky but there is a great Deal of personal Satis fac its that satisfaction Kelly believes is spawning a new Breed of Young people looking to Start their own since the number of Small businesses in Manitoba has been growing by 17 per cent even through the the number of people looking to go out on their own continued to Kelly As Job Security in the mainstream weak people turn to their own initiative to Over the last few the Fil Mon government has done a great Deal to Lessen the Burden on Small business by peeling Back payroll taxes and cutting a percentage Point off the Small business corporate but still More has to be Manitoba economic future is not attracting multinationals to open up shop Here and hire several Hundred nor can we expect the provinces Large employers to increase staffing by 30 or even 10 per Small business in the rest of Canada is defined by companies with 50 employees or but in Manitoba we find 65 per cent of our membership has 10 employees or said Trevor chairman of the Winnipeg Cham Ber of our future is in getting these companies to maybe double employment Over the next few years and eventually make that jump from Small to medium sized More than 90 per cent of these companies told the crib they would hire More staff if the right conditions were nearly on third identified government tax policy As a major deterrent and on Quarter pointed to the Impact of payroll taxes and Access to More Bank for companies with assets of less than local and income taxes eat up 56 per cent of pretax for companies with assets of million to taxes eat up 55 per cent of pretax by com companies with assets of More than see about 43 per cent of their pretax earn Ings go to its time for Manitoba to Cele brate its it would be Nice to do it by Knock ing Down the barriers that pre vent them from Yvette Denise and her four legged up Zak make a living digging up Gopher Jody Moroz Gopher lady finds Niche by Martin Cash business reporter the sight of the first dead Northern pocket Gopher brought tears to her but carcasses Yvette Denise now has the Clini Cal detachment of a practising research she also has a growing client list of Alfalfa Farmers in Southern who hire her to Clear their Fields of the Little rodent that costs them about million in lower yields and Quality and Bro Ken scathing is not necessarily fulfilling a lifelong dream to become the Gopher As she is affectionately known by farm ers in Claude and Roseau but after graduating with a masters in environmental management from the natural resources Institute of the University of Manitoba in she realized she was going to have to make her own i did a three year research project that no one else seemed to want that guaranteed me fund ing for my she it was called Northern pocket Gopher control in agro Manito she became an expert in con trolling the which feeds exclusively on the tuberous Root of Alfalfa the Farmers who participated in the study wanted her to keep working their and other Job prospects were not so she decided to keep trapping the process is not that Effi but it is she said of the Gopher one Claud Earea Farmer claims she has eliminated 80 to 90 per cent of his she was accepted into the fed eral governments self employ ment assistance which helps entrepreneurs Start their own businesses while collecting unemployment insurance Bene last she received an award from that program for Best Niche but Denise is still not certain what direction to take her consulting she also does wildlife management and environmental management system design and has corporate environmental strategy proposals pending with a couple of Large but the bread and butter of her business is coming from the trap Ping of gophers at to per so the lifestyle suits she spends about six hours in the Fields four Days a week tending about 150 on a Good Shell find a Gopher in about 50 per cent of her i do enjoy my work and that half the she said As she loaded up her Little truck with Bamboo markers and her Long legged Zak vice president of for the on hour drive to Shes not getting but is considering becoming a full line extermination she recently received a pesticide dispensing certificate from a Community College and is associated with Winnipeg swat team pest services tories tout Loans for jobs program launched to mixed reviews by Paul Samyn legislature reporter the Filmon government improved on one of its Campaign promises yesterday by launching a loan program to help create jobs in Small town the payback in jobs from the Community works loan program Doest appear to match the increase in provincial funding to million from the million initially and the Canadian federation of Independent business had Little positive to say about the pro now expected to create jobs Over five if we had to choose Between this program and a lower rate of we would choose lower said Dale butting of the Rural development minister Luis Derkach kicked off Small business week by announcing the which will operate like a scale Down version of the provinces grow Bonds offering Loans of up to Derkach said the program is designed to put Money into the hands of local decision makers to help Small business and assist fledgling Rural residents Are the Best suited to develop their own eco nomic Derkach said from interest free Loans the program will take the million from the province and provide free Loans of up to to Community development corporations throughout Man each participating Community will As Well As a Levy of one Mill for economic to help raise its Matching Contri local investors May also put Money into the when the tories first announced the program on the Campaign Trail in their plan banked on million in provincial Money creating a million Pool which would create Derkach said the province made the Deci Sion to expand its funding for the loan Initia then contribute its own making available for local Derkach said the business Loans will have a minimum interest charge equal to the prime rate and a maximum of two per cent higher than he said the local communities can use the 10 per cent allocated to Rural communities from vat if we had to choose Between this program and a lower rate of Iii Iii Ina we Wold choose Uve because it lower was important i o put a meaningful amount into but Derkach was unable to fully explain Why More than twice the provincial funding translated into Only 500 More Derkach suggested that the Job estimate last March came when the program was Only in its initial but nip Rural development critic Clif Evans wondered about the arithmetic behind the Job pre How did they calculate that another million would Only create another 500 jobs Evans Interlake bolting suggested that Jobre action estimates Are really geared to ensure press releases make hotting said the Best Way to create jobs in this Tough economic climate is to end government handouts and lower taxes so entrepreneurial ideas can take Root and excitement Brenda general Man Ager of the Westman economic development said there has been a lot of excitement among cacs about the it will be a program that will help Small she we were very pleased with the province giving the decision making to local Mckinny said she would like to see the maximum loan limit raised to help out More department study creates Job jitters v m by John Doglu business editor Manitoba Trade and tourism department is looking at ways to remake itself in an Effort to relate better with itt staff called to the Winnipeg convention Centre Ter Day were told Price waterhouse will conduct a two month review of operations and make recommendations on How the department can carry out a strategy that been nearly three years in t Early to know if the changes will result in any but he disputed the sins their its an organizational be its not a Man Date to restructuring tout an tons review itt de ister Fred Sutherland that could mean the status it could mean some minor changes and i hesitate to say this it could mean significant gut one itt who asked not to said Manv believe the review is nothing More than an excuse to Lay people of f Sutherland said it is still too Way to better with our in the Fumon govern ment introduced a framework for economic growth in an Effort to put its stamp on eco nomic since the government has been atm policies to make the strategy said its now time to nut to place the organisation and to bring it to weve got the policies and the strategy and now the third leg m the Stool Jug putting in place the process to make it come to Gotheif he there Bulhe changes in the Way we Fin Ihmoe Peg i ;