HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-08-06, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1986.
Nice try folks
The Brussels area lost out on the chance to get a major new
industry when Astra Pyrotechnics decided to go elsewhere but
everyone involved in trying to get the industry deserves hearty
congratulations on their valiant attempt.
Industrial development is a difficult, time-consuming field.
Experienced industrial people say that it takes years for the
fruits of an industrial development policy to ripen. There is
intense competition for every job being created by new
industrial plants. The industries themselves like to get a
number of communities competing as happened in this case.
And the distance from large urban centres still is a handicap
that local municipalities have to battle.
But against those odds the Brussels, Morris and Grey
industrial committee compensated with fast action and making
an impression of being out for business. People who had never
even heard of Brussels suddenly began to hear on the radio and
television and read in newspapers about the village being a
potential industrial site.
In the long run, that dedication to the job may pay dividends
in raising the profile of the area. Others may have taken notice
of the village and may remember if they’re looking for a
potential site. At least the three councils have shown their
citizens that they’re aggressively seeking industry.
Congratulations Graeme MacDonald from Grey, Clem
McLellan and Malcolm Jacobs and Gordon Workman of
Brussels for a job well done.
The right track
to job creation
While small business is the darling of politicians of all stripes
in their speeches, governments seldom do much to effectively
make small business prosper. According to the C.B.C.
business show Venture, however, New Brunswick may be
leading the way in an effective way to stimulate small business.
According to the television show, New Brunswick, starved
for businesses to give jobs to a largely-underemployed or
unemployed population has had a tremendous success in
recent years in creating new jobs through a government
incentive program for small business entrepreneurs. The
program has even lured back to the province young
businessmen who once went elsewhere looking for employ
ment.
The secret of the program is not just handing out cash to
people with ideas. In too many cases such a policy would be like
throwingfistfulsof money into the wind. There are many
people with good ideas who have knowledge in only one area of
conducting a business. Someone with a great new invention,
who doesn’t know how to program his cash flow, or someone
who has skills in producing something, but no idea of how to
market her product, faces long odds against making the
business a success.
The failure rate of new business enterprises has been
traditionally high. That failure rate has led to the creation of
pseudo small businesses under the franchise system where
people can get the background help in how to run their business
and help with marketing through being part of a large franchise
chain, whether in the fast-food business or small print shops. In
reality, however, too often these people are really just
underpaid employees taking the risk for the company with little
real return or opportunity to put their good ideas to work.
But under the New Brunswick system, the failure rate has
been under 15 per cent. Of all the jobs created over the years
under the program, 80 per cent are still there. Compare that to
the success Maritime governments have had with giving large
incentives for multi-national companies to locate in their
provinces and it’s obvious the program has been a tremendous
success.
The secret seems to be that the program doesn’t just give the
entrepreneur cash but also helps him/her create an entire plan
of operation for the business. There is someone there to give
advice on all those areas of the business that the neophyte
businessmen aren’t strong in. Such a program can provide the
kind of advice and confidence that the franchise system has
made its selling point over the years. Yet these are true small
businessmen, able to be unhindered in their creativity, to
develop new ideas and put them into action.
As these hundreds of small businesses grow, who knows
what fruits the New Brunswick economy may harvest. Who
knows what company that barely struggled into existence may
grow to be an international giant?
It sounds like the kind of inventive government action that
Ontario, particularly rural Ontario, could use. Perhaps the
politicians of Huron County, now that we have such clout in the
provincial cabinet, should push to have such a program
instituted in this province, possibly offering our county as a
pilot project.
The health of any economy depends on new businesses being
created at all times. For rural communities with little industry
and caught in a world-wide depression in agriculture, such
growth is essential just to stay afloat.
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j]^he world view
from Mabel’s Grill
There are people who will tell
you that the important decisions in
town are made down at the town
hall. People in the know, however
know that the real debates, the real
wisdom reside down at Mabel’s
Grill where the greatest minds in
the town (if not in the country)
gather for morning coffee break,
otherwise known as the Round
Table Debating and Filibustering
Society. Since not justeveryone
can partake of these deliberations
we will report the activities from
time to time.
MONDAY: Everybody was con
gratulating Tim O’Grady on the
shiny new car he left parked
outside Mabel’s when he came in
for coffee this morning. Of course
there were also more than a few
jibes about the cost of lawyer fees
that helped pay for the car.
Billie B^an said he would love to
have a new car but unless he wins
a lottery, ne aoesn t stand much
chance. “Atthepriceoftoday ’s
cars, I figure I can either afford a
house to live in and drive an old car
or I’ll have a new car but I’ll have to
sleep in the back seat, ’ ’ Billie says.
Tim says it can be a bit
intimidating driving one of these
new cars. “You kind of hate to
think the machine is smarter than
the driver,’’ he says, but it has
computerized ignition and compu
terized cruise control and a radio
that automatically finds the stron
gest radio channel for you. But he
thinks the automakers may have
misjudged the intelligence of the
human driver a bit too much in one
area. “From the size of the glove
compartmentl can only assume
they think we have all the
roadmaps memorized, because
there isn’t even room for a road
map, let alone gloves in those
things anymore,’’ he says.
TUESDAY: Hank Stokes was
saying he got invited to the dairy
producers barbecue the other
night and says he wonders how
long some of those guys are going
to be in business. “I mean they’ve
got enough trouble these days with
people inventing substitutes for
dairy products but here they were
at their own meeting using Coffee
mate instead of cream for the
coffee.’’
WEDNESDAY: Hank Stokes said
he heard that down in Toronto
they’re coming up with spin offs of
the airplane pyramid scheme. It’s
basically the same scam, he said,
except they’re coming up with
different names for the position.
The guy at the top in some games,
for instance is called the producer
like in theatre instead of the pilot.
The guys next in line aren’t
co-pilots by co-producers and so
on.
Hank says he ’s going to make up
his own pyramid scheme. The guy
at the top, the guy who gets the
$17,600 is the Consumer. The
sucker at the bottom, the guy who
hastoputup$2,200justin the hope
he’ll someday make back his
money is called the “Farmer’’.
THURSDAY: Tim O’Grady was
asking Ward Black this morning
about reports that the Progressive
Conservatives have had private
detectives following the Liberal
cabinet ministers trying to dig up
dirt on them. Ward said if the
reporters in Toronto were as tough
on the government as the reporters
in Ottawa are on the Conservatives
there, theprivateeyes wouldbe
out of business.
Tim said he felt kind of sorry for
the detectives. There couldn’t be
anything more boring than follow
ing a politician around.
FRIDAY: Billie Bean got talking
this morning about this proposed
new law that says you’ll have to
leave your lights on even when
you’re driving in the daytime. The
battery companies must be behind
thatone, he figures, with all the
batteries that will get run down.
But Julia Flint pointed out that
there’s supposed to be a switch on
new cars after 1988 to make sure
the lights shut themselves off.
“Yeh, but do you know how long
itwill be before I have a 1988 car?’’
Billie asked. “Around 1998. But
then I should have gone through
enough batteries to have paid for a
new car.’’
Blood donor clinic
On Thursday, August 7 the
Seaforth Junior Farmers will host a
blood donor clinic at the Seaforth
and District Community Centres.
It will be the first time such a
clinic has ever been held in
Seaforth. In the past anyone who
has wanted to give blood has had to
travel to clinics in Clinton or
London. From statistics available,
approximately 50 per cent of
Seaforth residents have done
exactly that.
Because the community is large
ly agricultural-based the Seaforth
clinic will not be open during the
day, but from 5 to 9 p. m. There will
be free juice and cookies for all
those who donate blood.
[640523Ontariolnc.]
Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships.
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