When Alex and Heather Stephen first began pursuing their dream of opening a café, the Lower Sackville couple admittedly didn’t know where to start.
Neither had run their own business before, but they were able to hone their business plan and open the doors of Apartment 3 Espresso Bar thanks to guidance and funding from Futurpreneur — Canada’s only national non-profit dedicated to helping young entrepreneurs get off the ground.
“Opening a business is always daunting. You don’t even know where to start,” says Alex. “We wouldn’t be here today if not for that support from Futurpreneur.”
After he and Heather were referred to Futurpreneur by a local organization, they met with Business Development Team Lead (Atlantic) David Eisnor to share their passion about opening a café in their new home of Lower Sackville.
Futurpreneur supports businesses led by owners who are between 18 and 39 years old by providing financing, mentorship and business support — including up to $60,000 in collateral-free funding.
‘WE WANT TO SUPPORT YOU’
Eisnor says supporting young business owners is key, as they are often unable to access capital. Now, with the financial precarity of COVID-19, he says this support is more important than ever to give them a start that they can build upon and secure more capital in the future.
“Right now, many institutions don’t want to take that chance because of the pandemic and economic downturn, but we’re all about it — as long as they show a plan that makes sense,” says Eisnor. “It’s a new reality we live in and we want to support you through it.”
Alex and Heather made use of Futurpreneur’s free online business plan development tool, receiving help along the way from Eisnor and other Futurpreneur advisors to hone their plan. The team at Futurpreneur also helped the couple determine what funding they required to move forward with their café.
“There were always people we could call, to reach out to for help and who pointed out things we’d never have thought of on our own,” says Alex. “We came out of this feeling confident that this could work and way ahead of where we’d have been on our own.”
MENTORSHIP: A KEY COMPONENT
The two-year mentorship component of Futurpreneur’s support for young business owners is also key, according to Eisnor, who says the non-profit devotes time to matching each person with the right mentor to help guide them along their business journey.
“This is an important piece because having advice from someone who’s been there, who can help a new business avoid costly mistakes, is critical to getting started,” Eisnor says.
Alex says the experience of being connected with a mentor through Futurpreneur has been invaluable, providing him and Heather with hands-on advice from a successful businessperson.
“There’s nothing like getting help from another entrepreneur,” Alex says.
The different kinds of support that Alex and Heather received through Futurpreneur together equipped them to face their business journey head on, with a renewed sense of confidence. Alex says that in a world where many voices tell a person they can’t accomplish something, hearing that yes, he could succeed was a game changer.
“The financial, mentorship and even emotional support along the way just gave us this confidence, because someone else believed in us and also thought it was a good idea. This was huge,” he says. “It makes you feel like you aren’t alone at this, that there’s a place to go for help and direction as you venture out into the unknown.”
Futurpreneur helps aspiring business owners aged 18-39 launch successful businesses across Canada, by providing financing, mentorship and resources. To learn more, visit https://www.futurpreneur.ca/en/get-started/start-business-atlantic-canada/.
