HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-05-06, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Marco Vigliotti/Huron Expositor
The contestants and organizers for Huron East's innovative Win This Space contest
attended an introductory gala hosted at the Seaforth Golf Club on April 30. (Pictured)
Huron East's economic development officer Jan Hawley, the municipality's deputy mayor
Joe Steffler and some of the contestants.
Win This Space contestants unveiled
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
When the Win This Space com-
petition was announced last
month, organizer Jan Hawley said
she hoped it would attract at least
10 serious applicants - maybe
even 15 if she was especially
fortunate.
Her all -too modest projec-
tions, however, greatly missed
the mark, with 26 contenders
stepping forward to submit pre-
liminary business ideas in hopes
of winning free rent for a year at
a storefront in Seaforth or
Brussels.
The participants, publicly
introduced during an April 30
launch event at the Seaforth Golf
Club, are bringing forward a
wide range of prospective retail
opportunities, including an
organic -focused cafe, quilt shop,
photo studio and refurbished
furniture store.
"That is awesome," Hawley,
Huron East's economic develop-
ment officer, said of the number of
applicants. "I'm overwhelmed by
the response:'
The contest, modelled after a
similar promotion launched in the
south-central Ontario township of
Uxbridge in 2013, also grants the
winner hundreds of dollars worth
of in-kind professional services, as
well as financial and marketing
assistance.
The concept, Hawley explains,
is to inspire and nurture prospec-
tive entrepreneurs in the munici-
pality by providing hands-on
marketing and business planning
advice.
All applicants must attend
workshops organized by the
Huron Small Business Enterprise
Centre focusing on the fundamen-
tals of starting a business from
cost projections to advertising
pitches.
Each workshop will also involve
assignments, research, and coach-
ing on how to create a successful
business model. Once completed,
the entrants will submit their busi-
ness plans to the Huron East Eco-
nomic Development Department
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to be reviewed by the Win This
Space judging panel, which
will then select the top five
candidates.
The finalists will attend a grand
finale event sometime in June
where they'll be granted one last
opportunity to win over the judges
with their concept and business
model.
Hawley claims that those who do
not win will still benefit from the
valuable know-how gleaned from
the seminars and collective wis-
dom of the experienced mentors
who will offer guidance during the
competition.
"If you can complete the
training -we have excellent con-
sultants and mentors who are
part of this - you're going to
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come out with a solid business
plan and that's gold," she told
the assembled crowd inside the
scenic golf course's main build-
ing. "You're not going to be
alone, our goal is to see you
through this process."
Among the participants in
attendance at the catered gala
were the contest's first success
stories - Jared and Heather
Gowan who have since dropped
out after securing a lease for a
building on Seaforth's Main Street
to open their proposed 24-hour
gym.
Both said they still plan to attend
the free workshops.
Joe Steffler, Huron East's deputy
mayor, who was also in attend-
ance, seized the opportunity to
applaud the municipality for sup-
porting the innovative contest,
while chastising Huron County for
"sitting back" on the economic
development file.
"(Huron County) became chair-
man of the pity club and our popu-
lation shows it - it's been declin-
ing," he said of the county's
sluggish approach to finding ways
to rejuvenate the region.
Steffler did commend the county
for eventually creating the Huron
County Economic Development,
which works in collaboration with
similar organizations set up by its
member municipalities.
As for Win This Space, he argued
it could be a boon for the entire
region, saying "what's good for
Huron East is good for Huron
County."
While acknowledging that
attracting businesses to rural
Ontario remained difficult, Hawley
said she thought the municipality
was "overcoming that," with the
contest acting as a "great kick start."