The Rural Voice, 1991-08, Page 24THE "BE -YOUR -OWN -BOSS" BUS
Hoping to offer alternatives for people in rural areas, Frances Shanley wants to
show farmers they have skills which could be used to start another business
stories and photos by Alice Gibb
This summer, Frances Shamley of Glencoe is copying a
tradition from Ontario's past— the travelling medicine show.
But instead of tonics and other patented pick-me-ups, Shamley
is taking a mobile resource centre promoting self-employment
opportunities around southwestem Ontario. This project,
nicknamed "the be -your -own -boss bus," will visit fairs, steam
shows, and other rural events in August and early September.
For the past decade, Shamley has operated the London and
Regional Learning and Resource Centre, better known as
Women's Community Enterprises. The office was established
to help people set up their own businesses. The centre's rather
convoluted title "is what happens when you get lawyers and
(government) ministries involved in helping you choose your
name," laughs Shamley.
Also, in spite of its name, the centre works with about 800
budding entrepreneurs, both male and female, annually, and
the services are free.
Although Shamley's office is in downtown London, the
longtime rural activist has always offered outreach workshops
in surrounding counties. Now, by taking a van stocked with
resource materials on the road, Shamley hopes to meet even
more rural residents who dream of starting their own bus-
inesses. One of Shamley's long-time goals has been to help in-
dividuals pursue their per-
sonal dreams, while at the
same time slowing down the
exodus of people from rural
Ontario.
"People are trying to
survive on less and less,"
observes Shamley, "and they
are driving farther and farther
away from home to earn an
income to help them survive
and keep the farm going. It
seemed to me that having a
chance to sit down and talk
about some self-employment
strategics or looking at your
own skills and trying to
decide how you could use
those skills in another way,
made good sense."
The "be -your -own -boss
bus" will be stocked with a
variety of materials, ranging
from basic bookkeeping
programs to videos and
information on how to do a
market survey to determine if
a business will succeed. It
will also provide visitors with a chance to simply discuss their
business plans with Shamley or other volunteers who have
been self-employed. Also, Shamley would like to provide
workshops in rural communities on the strategies in setting up
a small business. She hopes that groups like the Federation of
Agriculture or Women's Institute branches might sponsor
these sessions.
Certainly, part of the inspiration for the job creation van
came from watching the struggles of her farm neighbours,
Shamley says. Most of the Glencoe -area farm families that
Shamley knows are now supporting the farming enterprise
with off -the -farm jobs, by commuting to Ford's Talbotville
plant, automotive plants in Chatham, or to Sarnia's Chemical
Valley.
These people, says Shamley, "would like to be able to live
and work in their own community so that they aren't spending
half their lives commuting to jobs to earn money." Farm
families, she adds, often already possess the needed
entrepreneurial skills.
"Many of the farm families that we know are excellent
managers. They're good decision makers; they're good risk
takers; they're good financial managers; and they have an
approach to business that's timely. I mean, they're watching
the markets, they know when to sell, that's how they've kept
their business going as it is.
All of those skills can be
Frances Shamley is on tour this summer in her bus.
utilized in other ways."
By going on the road in
her rented van, Shamley hopes
to give rural residents the
opportunity to consider the
skills they have, and business
ventures that can be operated
right in their own com-
munities.
As a volunteer tutor with
the Middlesex County Rural
Literacy Project, Shamley
often works with people who
are upgrading their education.
"A lot of the people that I
see are people who want to
make changes in their lives,
want to make changes in their
careers, and just want someone
to sit down to talk with about
how you would best make
those changes."
Although Shamley grew
up in two different rural
communities, her own family
didn't farm. Her early years
20 THE RURAL VOICE