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lan Kirkby Chronicle Staff Have a g;'e;lt idea for a business, but worry about failure? Perhaps the Community Small Business Centre of Waterloo Region Inc. can help you. e Started in Dec. 1986, the centre is a provincially funded "incubator" â€" they help entrepreneurs from preparing business plans to setting up shop and providing onâ€"going expertise, says executive director Wayne Joslin. Up to 80 per cent of all business enterprises end in failure within five years. Because an incubator can reduce that failure rate substantially, they have become popular in the United States, said Joslin. The Waterloo centre has had a failure rate of around five per cent to date, he added. However, they are not obsessed with low failure statistics, said Joslin. "If we try to have excellent statistics we‘ll become too conservative. We wouldn‘t be helping the people we should be helping." Those people include entrepreneurs with good ideas, and a good business plan, but with a product for which success cannot be predicted. Operating on an $800,000 grant from the Ontario government, and another $200,000 from the Region of Waterloo, the centre is a nonâ€"profit corporation with a board of directors which includes representatives of local business, municipalities, universities, professionals and labor. Joélin, who does most consulting with entrepreneurs, is a former president of Reuterâ€"Stokes Canada Ltd. in Cambridge. Mowin 12 . s poâ€" Wayne Josiin (rigm), executive director of the Gommunity Small Business Centre of Waterloo Region joins Go Plastics ‘Inc. owner Ed Gollob, a centre tenant, in examining plastic newspaper containers destined for Buffalo. Locat;é’;t 608 Weber St.. the centre provides space for 1 HR. PHOTOFINISHING Kâ€"W PHOTO .. 476 ALBERT S$T. PARKDALE PLAZA â€" ALBERT & HAZEL WATERLOO ... since 1973 MON.â€"FR!I. 9:30 a.m.â€"8 p.m. Sat. 9:30 a.m.â€"5:30 p.m. WEDDINGS â€" PORTRAITS CUSTOM FRAMING »0OtCial Mar» (for most 35 mm films) Come and see us at Olymp«. Assocratic lan Kirkby photo 479 15 offices and 8 industrial tenants. Additionally, over 300 entrepreneurs have been counselled on topics ranging from starting up to continuing operations. They also help entrepreneurs find other outside help where needed. "We‘re trying to be at the focal point of the network so we can send people out to others who can help," said Joslin. Beside the consulting services and the location for some entrepreneurs, the centre also offers support such as photocopying, accounting and computer services, typing and meeting rooms on a "userâ€"pay‘‘ basis, reducing overhead costs drastically, said Joslin. As well, the industrial spaces are smaller than is normally available to a company starting up, reducing rental costs. ommunity Small Business Centre can help The risk reducers With this coupon and your purchase of one cup of our superb caffee. One coupon per customer (Offer expires March 23/88) 384 King North (near Weber) 670 King West (at Louisa) 280 Victoria N. (at St. Leger) 2399 Kingsway (at Franklin) ~__ 157 King St., éombddot (Drive Thru) near Riverside Park MARCH SPECIAL! NATURAL LOOKING Acrylic Nails....... $30.00 Fibreglass Nails.. $35.00 UNIQUE NAILS 22 King St. South, Waterloo (across from Consumers at *mlgoihun) A Touch Above The Rest "HOME OF THE BAKERS DOZEN (13) FREE DONUT By: Karen â€" 884â€"0663 "stet C NeE C e Rocker Recliners o Wall Recliners o Love Seat FREE Detivery Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo. Cambridge Guelph, Elmira, New Hamburg and area WAREHOUSE 2 WEEKS ONLY One way of reducing failures, said Joslin, is to try and prevent businesses who don‘t have a chance from starting up at all. And I‘ve done that." o teng oo nbaes BPe mssn «e uP ©1p EPP3 PRTTR OO NOC NCOR OCCCCS Entrepreneurs approaching the centre for space will not find the going painless. ‘"We insist they do a certain amount of business planning to convince us it is a viable business operation." If the business looks viable, they may be invited to rent space. "In some cases, I have let people in when I‘m skeptical." 1 a Dmll ie as spor ca on anaa 10. al\cvbl\,al. With the provincial funding expiring in 1990, the centre is now "looking at options" for onâ€"going funding. A similar centre opened in Cambridge last October, and a consultation and community outreach facility will open soon in Kitchener, said Joslin Sofas (aZâ€"Boy ALAN RIGBY‘S LAâ€"Zâ€"BOY GALLERY ® 46 King St. N., Waterioo B Serving You for 29 Years 886’2040 free Parking Front and 1N STORE Free Parking Front and Rear 200 SALE OFF