In a recent survey, all of our current clients – people who have started their own firms in the central Island within the last year – who responded recommended Business Futures to other budding entrepreneurs.

u Practical training and mentoring provided by successful entrepreneurs and highly experienced business advisers. (The team includes certified management accountants).

The program starts with two weeks of intensive business plan training, covering everything from market research to marketing, record keeping to sales and expense forecasting. From there clients work one-on-one with business advisers in completing their plans.

Clients are eligible for financial assistance while conducting this work, and the living allowance can carry on for up to a year while they open and operate their businesses.

Once clients are open, they receive further specific training in marketing, sales, bookkeeping and other business essentials. They also gain the competitive advantage of working with Community Futures, the leading entrepreneurial resource in the Central region. The parent of Business Futures, Community Futures has assisted more than 2,200 local businesses.

If you’re unemployed (in receipt of Employment Insurance or have had a recent attachment to EI) and live within either the Regional District of Nanaimo or the Cowichan region, you may be eligible, and the program is free. The government of Canada contributes funding to this initiative).

Interested? Orientation sessions are held every month in Nanaimo; the next one is on May 18. You can find out more by calling Business Futures at 753-4785, e-mailing Renae Hygh at renae@cfnanaimo.org or visiting www.cfnanaimo.org/bfhome.

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