Duane Hicks
Many budding entrepreneurs have ideas for a small business but don’t know where to start.
No worries—the Rainy River Future Development Corp. is here to help.
With Oct. 19-25 being “Small Business Week,” RRFDC business development officer Angela Halvorsen concedes the economic development side sometimes tends to get more publicity.
But she stressed business investment also is a very important and well-utilized aspect of the RRFDC.
“I pretty much start right from square one with the clients,” Halvorsen explained.
“A lot of people come in my office and all they really have is an idea.
“Now having said that, some do come in more advanced than that; maybe they even have a business plan,” she noted.
“We take from the idea stage right through to the development of the idea, maybe to development of a business plan,” Halvorsen added.
“Once they get their business plan up and going, then it’s time to start looking for some money.”
Not only does the RRFDC help businesses find money through various avenues, but it also is able to lend money to get them started.
“Once they’ve got their money, then of course we work with them to actually start up their business or, in some cases, they might be purchasing a business or expanding a business,” said Halvorsen.
“So we don’t just do start-ups,” she stressed. “We do some purchases and we even help with succession planning.
“If a person in business wants to retire, we can help them find someone suitable to take over the business.
The RRFDC even can help a business close down, if necessary.
Halvorsen said the RRFDC refers to itself as a “solution-based lender.”
“When you go to a bank, you walk in, you apply, if you get the money, you get a lump sum,” she noted.
“If it’s a loan, you pay it back every month and if everything is good, that’s great and it works fine.
“However, not everyone is eligible for a loan at the bank, and that is where we may be able to come in,” Halvorsen said.
“Every bank is a little different and they view small business on a different level,” she explained.
“Some banks in this community don’t lend to new start-ups, they just refuse, and that’s their prerogative.
“However, if they’re unable to get financing at what we call a traditional lender like a bank or credit union, they can apply here,” Halvorsen said, though noting the RRFDC isn’t in competition with the banks.
Rather, it is there if banks are unable to help businesses.
As well, the RRFDC doesn’t fund every business that comes through its door. Businesses have to qualify, and can’t have a bad credit rating and huge debt.
But the RRFDC sometimes can help those who have had bad credit in the past and now are on the right track.
The RRFDC also can help businesses that may be ineligible for monthly loan payments, like an agricultural business that may feed cattle over the summer and then sell them in the fall—making a lump sum payment at one time of the year.
A lot of banks won’t look at businesses like that, Halvorsen noted.
“We can do seasonal payments or industry-specific payments,” she explained.
Halvorsen said the type of assistance the RRFDC provides can be large or small; in the latter case, just enough to give an individual a starting point.
For example, with the mill having been shuttered here, some individuals with specific marketable skills have come to her to branch out with their own businesses as electricians, carpenters, and more.
“I’ve had quite a few people come in and ask, ‘How do I get registered, how I get legal, where do I get my GST/HST number?’” Halvorsen remarked.
“I get a lot of that and that’s lot of what I help with. Basic start-up—how to get legal, maybe a little marketing, how to get going in business,” she explained.
“We can do anything from those little micro loans right up to a $500,000 loan,” she added.
“We have quite a range of what we can help with.”
The RRFDC also can help entrepreneurs with skills training by providing frequent workshops hosted via videoconferencing.
And in the near future, it will be working with Contact North to offer the “Oasis” skills-building courses online (these are courses available through membership).
“They’re online courses we’re able to offer through our office here,” Halvorsen said.
“We have a membership as a corporation≤” she explained. “People can come and use our membership here or they can get their own.
“That membership entitles them access to 150 online training courses.”
These courses are business-related and career-oriented, ranging from balancing work and family and time management to team-building and Internet literacy.
If you want an OASIS membership of your own, the cost is $50 a year.
Halvorsen also said if anyone would like a demonstration of “Oasis,” they can get one this Friday (Oct. 24) when the RRFDC, in conjunction with “Small Business Week,” holds an open house from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in its new office space (second floor of the Northern Lights Credit Union building).
Snacks and beverages will be served, and there will be a draw to win a $25 “Go Local” gift card.
For more information about how the RRFDC can help you, contact Halvorsen at 274-3276 or via e-mail at angela@rrfdc.on.ca
