L’Orignal, September 1st, 2020 – The Prescott and Russell Entrepreneurship Centre (PREC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, has facilitated the start of two new small businesses supported by the Summer Company program. The program offers financial support as well as business mentoring sessions provided by professionals in the field during all the stages leading to the creation of their business.
Students who commit to returning to school for the following school year can receive up to $3,000 to support their business start-up project, allowing them to gain solid entrepreneurial skills and experience. This year, the program had to adapt to the pandemic so the students had to hold virtual meetings with their mentors. As a result, mentors Marc Lecompte from KwikTax, as well as Louis Béland and Mariam Lkhoyaali from the Société Économique de l’Ontario (SÉO), were still able to support the students with their advice, knowledge and experience. In the end, the recipients of the Summer Company 2020 program are Alexi Forget (Ciné-Parc Horizon Drive-In) and Sabrina Boileau (Jada Jewels) who successfully carried their respective entrepreneurial projects.
Alexi Forget is a 21-year-old student from Bourget who is passionate about cinéma. Alexi was able to evaluate his business environment by developing his idea of creating a mobile drive-in to meet the demand of his customers who want to enjoy a good movie in times of a pandemic. His friend Micheal Lemire, also a 21-year-old student from Bourget, joined the project and brought his ideas to help the business evolve. The two entrepreneurs travel around Prescott and Russell with their equipment and offer a selection of films for different audiences. They have adapted their business to the market demand and have shown perseverance and leadership throughout this adventure. Alexi and Micheal will continue this project during their studies. From now on, they plan to develop their business by offering different services with their large inflatable screen, such as rentals and event organization. For more information, their services are available on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cineparchorizon.
Sabrina Boileau is a 25-year-old student from Curran who has turned her interest in jewelry into a real passion by creating her own artisan jewelry business. Each of her creations is handcrafted in her small workshop. Sabrina is not only an entrepreneur, she is also a talented artist. Her products are affordable and are made with high-quality materials such as 14 karat gold and sterling silver. Her vision is to make high quality jewelry accessible to women of all ages and from all walks of life. Her summer business has been a positive learning experience that she will also continue during her studies. She is looking for new opportunities to expand her business, such as selling her products in selected beauty salons. Her products are available on her website www.jadajewels.com.
“We are pleased to have these two new small businesses that have been launched this summer. Not all projects have been able to adapt to the pandemic. However, they have been able to stand out and be successful”, said Liza Langevin, PREC Project Officer. ” The Summer Company program has been in existence for several years and we are always proud and pleasantly surprised by the creativity of our young entrepreneurs,” added Carole Lavigne, Director of Prescott and Russell Economic Development and Tourism (PREDT) Department. “It is clear that this program is of undeniable importance for the entrepreneurial development of our region and that is why the PREDT manages it through the PREC,” she continues.
The PREC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support small business owners and small entrepreneurs to succeed in Prescott and Russell by providing information, tools and support during their start-up and growth phases.
