Editorial
Support from the home team
Have you ever noticed that when successful entrepreneursgive out business
advice, they often talk about the naysayer? Would-beentrepreneurs are warned
about people with helpful stuff to say when you tellthem about your plans
to go into business. These gems include the popular:
“That’ll never work.”
“You must be crazy.”
”Can’t you just get a regular job?” and
“Don’t quit your day job!”
The same kind of feedback often awaits those who embark onexpanding
their businesses. Unfortunately, this kind of “advice” often comesfrom those
closest to the entrepreneur: friends, relatives and neighbours.
This year holds promise for Guysborough County and theStrait
Region. We’ll soon learn whether mega-projects like the KelticPetrochemical
project and a container terminal for Melford will materialize. Ifthey do,
there will be opportunities for new business start-ups and expansionsin
our communities. Ideally, local entrepreneurs will seize the day.
While it’s good to see outside investment coming our way,
weall benefit when home-grown entrepreneurs realize long-held dreams of
businessownership and growth. As a community we have a vested interest in
encouragingthe entrepreneurial spirit.
This doesn’t mean having to say all kinds of great thingsabout
going into business or praising an idea that sounds like it’ll flop. Butwe
can be more encouraging and, more importantly, we can support businessesowned
and operated by local people once they’re off the ground.
We’ve met too many business people who say they’ve achievedsuccess
despite the local community, not because of it. We can’t imagine whyyou
wouldn’t drop in to a business an acquaintance has launched, but thisavoidance
happens way too much.
Some say it’s because of small town / village jealousies,which
is a real shame. There are people who just don’t want to see others getahead.
Before people let jealousy get the better of them, theyshould
think about this: Most new businesses fail within the first two years.They
should also remember that many entrepreneurs pour their life savings intotheir
business venture, assuming a huge amount of risk.
But maybe it’s more about someone having the guts to go forit,
to follow their dream, to do something to better themselves and theirfamilies.
Not everyone is prepared to take such leaps of faith (for no matterhow well
you’ve done your homework, entrepreneurship is still a leap of faith).
Another thing we all have to remember is that localentrepreneurs
are the backbone of our communities. They keep money in the community;they
hire local people; they support teams, charities and community projects.We
need more of them and we need to help them achieve success.
There’s also a selfish reason for supporting localentrepreneurs.
They tend to offer a shopping, dining or service experiencethat’s totally
unique and very comfortable. These are one-of-a-kind experiencesand, in
our area, darn fine ones at that.
Let’s not lose sight of the importance oflocally-owned-and-operated
businesses in our community, and let’s help themgrow in size and number
as new opportunities come our way this year and on intothe future.
– news@guysboroughjournal.ca
