Times Advocate, 1998-08-26, Page 5IT'S YOUR 1 JS 1 N F.SS Ilrrle
:Wooten(' Atigir9 2o, 1998
page ,
Entrepreneur starts catalogue selling aid devices
By Katherine Harding
i-Aleporrer •
EXETER — Karen Brown's
business idea is so simple you'll
kick yourself for not thinking of it
first. •
Last year Browni noticed there
was a lack of aids available to help
her !maim Marilyn. wttu has. mild
arthritis m her hands.
"Simple_ things like squeezing a
tube of toothpaste was becoming a
..problem for mom. so 1 started look
ing around and 1 couldn't lind a
• lot." said Brown. "1 was only find-
ing products ui hits and pieces.".
. Then I3rovvn had a brainchild:
hv not create and marker a cont-
- • prehensive catalogue of all these
products so people whir need as-
sistance can pick -and choose what
they need?- •
"These icons aren't new, they
have. been available through hos-
pitals. institutions, .therapists and
. doctors forever — they just have
never been marketed directly to the
end user;'•she-said.,"The stuff isn't
"new, the , method of marketing is
• ••new. I haven't found anyone in the
'entire world that is doing this." .
- • _ And thus Help Mates. a company
specializing in distributing an as
3isuve devices product line: was
horn. • -
: For the last Year Brown has been
putting her plan intu•.action: She.
has 'done her.: homework -re-.
• searching products. talking to sup-
pliers. Exeter's administrator Rick
Hundey. Dr. David Hodder., Bruce
Shaw.and Bill Chandler al ;the
Connunitr living • Association.'
her account:nits and .Home- tare ►n
- Chntoa
- She! even wrote a'60 -page busi-
ness plan which she, submitted to
the Huron Business Centre for ad• ,
vice..
-also has the experience
and contacts frotp her days working
at London's Downtown Business
Association too help her along. .
"1 was fortunate to meet a lilt of
professional' people when ,1 worked
pi London. and I have hcen con..
suiting them about the design of the
catalogue, web design` and the mar-
keting of the whole thing — every -
"But the best thing
about my operation is
that I can reach people
in little.villages
and communities
Who need this stuff
just as much as
people in London or .
Toronto need it."
—Help Mates president
Karen Brown
one has been so heir—qui.— she said.
In June.. Brown approached the
-Kov al Bank with her pian and soon
• red $50.(1(0 worth of (-
mincing.
The, next big ,challenge was put-
ting together the. 44 -page catalogue.
a three-month endeavor-
"Tlie.catalogue• has -200 products
but 1 have access to over 700 prod-
ucts. " she said T• he catalogue will be available
this Frida% ,
Complcinenting the catalogue.
_ Help Mates also has a wehsjre that
was rc.•cntlj launched on the lnicr-
net.•
"With technology I can be every-
where all at once," she quipped.
Brown would like to keep the
business catalogue- and Internet -
based. .
"I don't have a lot of overhead
costs. I order what people' Want.
.when they want and it and I can •
keep my prices a lot lower than a
Mail' store," she said. -"But the hest
thing about my operation is that 1
can reach people in little yiltages.
and communities- who need this,
stuff just as much as people in Lon-
don or Toronto need -it."
Help Mates future? .
"1 want to be, able to provide
products that arc -.helpful. 1. also
want to inVolVe- the community in
my company ,as much as 1 can
whether it is something like I;vc al-
ready done with Community Living
or as the business grows, using co-
op:students,"-she said. • •
Exeter's Community Living. As-
sociation helped- Brown design a
work station that is included in. her
catalogue. - -
"1 took an idea to them and they..
vastly improved the design." she
said. -
Besides money: worries.. Brown
thinks' her biggest hurdle will be.
dealing with growth-, • : - • -
"People .have- .hcen telling Inc
that My biggest problenr will 'he
managing growth .and that scares
inc."-she said. "Iris good problem
10 have hut_ it will he challenging
managing rowth... ): ni luck)
though because there are people out
there that 1 can ceihhle togethei as
my own hoard Of directors.and-seek
advice." -
Enjoyy's helping others
"Most oI this duff-' is sititple
stuff. h: s. things you or I _use ever -
day' of our lives. it simply has hcen
Seminars warn of computer problems
Year2000 will cause foul-ups and failures
13v Scott Nixon ..
I—:1—Reporter
ZURiCIi — Busiriesses•liad pct-
: ter .start getting their computers
ietidt Icor the -`new. titillcnnt,unt' or
Bice soul -ups aitd hreakdowns.•ac-
cording to speakers_ at; an bi-
dorm a1Ion session. in Zurich • on.
• - Aug. IS. • -
The problem'.' .Scone computers
'have hcen using only .two digits -.to
recognize the year and won't un=
derstand the. century change; as a-
1esuli: they von t be able to. tune
lion -properly. -
},, help sni:dl- and medium-sized ,
busn►esus. learn- to,' cope \, ith the
problem. 'the Hutua Community.
Access, Prof:ruti- (CAP) .held in-
turntation sessions iii Iixctei. Holt.
sill -and Zurich. The last of the
three' meetings; ,in Zuricli.--was
chaircet,',hy four CAP .ituden(s and
included guess 'speaker George
Mortopoulos of the Clinton Ciint-
ptler Training Ae idem) -
According to Becky Robinson of
• :tlie Z_utiefi Library. the intention of
• the meetings- was not to shock of.
scare people. but: to create' aware
ness tor what she called "a serious
"The sheer size
of the problem is
incredible."
Becky Robinson, .
Zurich Library
probletu lacing sbeiety.';
Tina Hoffman orf the 1lens;tl1
braxy 'said -.the problem derives
from the fact that • when computer
manufacturers were designing
equipment in the 195t)s, tech-
. oology was much more expensive
than rt is how:. consequently, conn-
• puler program -niers wanted to safe_
money by using Fewer nuntber•dig-
ns-
• Gerry Gcurts, who has been
working -in the 'Exeter Library
branch. 'said the problem - known
as )'2K • — affects everyone be-
cause, in this age of modern tech-
nology. everyone depends on com-
puters, cilller directly lir
indirectly. , -
Me said the Y2K problem could
affect businesses because computer
breakddwns t -`Dull result in equip-
ment malfunctions, the un -
adapted or re -engineered so that
someone who has a challenge or art
illness can maintain their. in-
-dependence.' she said. "1t . isn't
rocket science " -
-"The thing I eniiiy the most is
when you look at someone who
needs this Mutt and they say '1
knew this'stufl was out there but 1
could never 1md u' and then they,
tell me 'thank you' ...that's nice,
said Brov.n.
For more information about Help
Mates. or to order a free Catalogue.
call Karen Brown at- (5191 23.5
1197, or 1-X$%.771-(1977 or visit
the . company "s website at.
www.helpmates ein.ca
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Becky Robinson 'of the.Zurich Library CAP Site, is on hand to
give assistance to those- wishing to learn about' the- Internet.
Robinson *was one of four GAP students who participated in
an Aug 18 seminar in Zurich explaining the Y2K -bug to local
business owners.
•
availability 'of shift schedules -and
prob!ents with credit ' and - debit
-
.' In total, Gcurts said the pr►blciir
could cost $600 billion worldwide. -
In addition, -there is a safety issue
medical equipment run by comput-
ers may be affected.. : • - .
Robinson -added that -..in truth: no-
body knows exactly what, will hap-.
pen at midnight on Jan. I, 1911). -
And even -though the problem liar'
been identified. she said. -there
aren't ,enough cumputcr pro-
grammers available to fix -the prop-'
dem' — between 30,000-40,0)0 pro-
gramntcrs are needed in' Canada
alone. -•-
"The sheer. si c of the problem is
incredible ', Robinson said.
So the quesiion,is; how do people
deal with the.problein: -
Brad Hartman of the Exeter and
Kirkton CAP branches said many
- software companies are already pro-
ducing software that is Y2K contpli-
ant (that, is. able • to understand the
change of the millennium) but he
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suid many people are complacent -about getting their equipnienl up-
dated and many don't even know
the,.Y2K, problem exists. • -
Mort'opoulos said that while the
Y2K - problem. doesn't represent
"the end of the world,"_ the problem
Will continue 'until at least 2008,
during whichih.my businesses will
fail'bccause they aren't prepared.
To beconte•Y2K compliant, most
i crsonal"computers will only need
small . repairs silch as new chips.
Motiopoulos said. Most personal 1
computers can be updated for less I
than $200. .
Morlopuulus also urged business
owners to take their computers to
their dealer instead. of trying to fix
the problem themselves because
'tampering with the computer, could
void the warranty.
In addition to. providing in-
formation aboiul- Y2K, CAP sites
are available across the county to
provide - residents. with free access
to the Internet and to help develop
Internet skills.
EXETER PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
WATER RESTRICTION NOTICE
Due to the extreme dry weather conditions
The Exeter P.U.C.
Is requesting that all water customers adhere to the watering
restrictions as set out below. The Co-operation of everyone is
greatly appreciated.
Residpntial Households
7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Commercial Businesses
9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Karen Brown. the founder and owner of Hero Mates. drsplays
some of the -products available in her catalogue.
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