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Its-W.“ rm l mt’nnomue - Wednesday, M.) it mos \\â€"\ “my K O MOVIES ma e - Former line worker looks for Hollywood ending in the movie rental biz By MruNm [know “‘°‘ 14 .~ . ,â€" if]? ('hmnit'lehlu/j 'f ‘ ' ‘ _4 “3. His name is Steve Breen, but you can (all ~ in}; ; is}; 1 Q3 him Mr, Ham 4 ' ...4 4 - if} ? ‘ A sell-proclaimed “movie buff." the 30- s; 4 if}. 54"; ' yearold single father of three has been carv- t {if i ' f . “it," ‘ ing out a niche in the Waterloo video rental 5, A if" ‘ ~. _ '- game since opening up his own high-tech "’qu . _ “t " Rig . 4 shopinlebruary. .« ’ ‘â€" 4‘ _ ’ a ;, fl" “it's all about convenience." Breen said. . £31 ‘ ' 3 . , 4 "And of. course my prices. Because it's all ' A 4; ,‘ . ' ’ automated. I can charge less money." i g i; 3» ”4 4 ._ 4 .~ 34: ‘ Breen doesn't have to pay employees ’ j . 4 11314 4 because. at his King Street video store. its i \.J Hut w ': z}*:, 3 3 just him and his movie~dispensing machine. N's an...“ .. L“ : §4 ' ' 1 The machine works 24~hours a day. so even a “if ’ when Bret-n calls it a night, his customers 4 ~.' A . l , . t ‘ can still rent DVDs. ' yd b 4 fi .4 4 The small space. located just north of . " ' :~ 2 Columbia Street. looks more like an ATM 'A U 44 “HQ“? booth than a movie store. But the machine - 4 4 iii”, ' that powers the whole operation is loaded “a“: 44 L \\ with more than 2,500 titles. \‘ The idea came to him more than two 5! years a 0 while surfin the internet for a l 4 W . t 7 Promisigng business id§a. Breen had been & L‘ B L x 5}; laid off from his job on a factory line after the ; majority of the company's production was â€"â€"~ , . " . moved to China. a a L.) a L. ‘ "l finally just said. 'Don't bother calling c " fizz“; ' . me back.” he said. That's when he turned his 3 . full attention to setting up his own business. “v. 4 There were some hurdles. The largest of . ' which was grappling with another language. Breen purchased the machine from ltaly and . everything from the instructions to the web sever were in ltalian. . "You either pay some exorbitant amount for them to do updates for you. or you figure it out yourself." he said. “But. the web server. the databases. there's no English. So, if 1 Steve Breen, owner of EZflix, started up his own automated movie rental business after he was laid off from his job at a (hair manufacturer. want to alter something. it's quite a chal- ' ““mmummm lenge." of the hurdles, including securing funding Adaptingthe business based on the needs you return the film. 'lhere were also the challenges of setting through the Canadian Youth Business Foun- of the clientsilgnother. “Now lhave it where you retum it within ' up a business with no experience, no dation. “This one thy a husband and wife came 100115 minutes. "is freespecifically because employees and no secured location. Breen “It was definitely helpful because there in â€" he went to rent a movie ad she went of that case." he said “Since I’ve changed it, ran into roadblocks trying to get his design was a lot of pans of my business plan that l across the road to get a pin; he said. "Hi: there have beena lot of people that have for the shop rubber stamped since the fee put in that I probably shouldn't have and got back out in the car and ”We“? sitting done that. They just go outside and get on many firms charged for the approval was others that I didn't have in there.” he said.“ I there are you could see her (shaking her thelrphone then turn around and change it," nearly his entire budget. probably wouldn't have gone down the right arms). I checked his Wad he rented Since opening in February. Breen has He got help from the Waterloo Region path if it wasn't for the Small Business (Ien- an action movie." C. ' signed up hundreds of customers - many of Small Business (jen‘m amn- mnning into an me." The woman came back in and told Breen them universtty students who were drawn in adviser while he was working on getting [naming how to problem solve is one of she wanted to change it without charge. but by the convenience of the never-close opera. .‘ approvals last year. The Centre set him up the lessons he's taken away as a new busi~ the system wasn't st up for it. tion. with a mentor and guided him through some mess owner, Breen said. You were charged automatically when Continued on page I9 . ,, “a ' ~ , i" “' U a: . ' ' " '.4 _4 If . ." ' ‘ ‘ I 4“ alas” '- w“? "" x‘ ' 1. were ' ‘ .. g “37? . “t a a. f ' ' ‘~. .. ‘F 4. A. . . r A, v f: $4, s 4. a . fil~--f..~4ntl 144 x _. 4 " ._..,4444.44-4s. it) ‘ ° «a ‘ ;-- J .. ' ' ~ 3 s f- . zx a. «â€" to w?":mrmmh 4 . ' “1 EM “ ‘ at ’ "s' ..t»-t ' "-"'"’|'~“Wi .. ark! 5"- “ ' l at ' "v - , . _ . “5:5“ _ _. “Calibaâ€" ' org .. , M. .|.-tt tilts .; are , ";%*‘ We“; .. at 4, Miners OPEN THURSDAY at SATURDAY l“ "P j,” (Wfifiifi- {1}; ALL YEAR 7am m3 itljtin mgagog ' ‘ ' - at: lawman tuna. any ., 4. 4, m in ideas .- Val wrf-«(r'asaés sta'waw f a Llama? Mlmiszérfééiié-iifiik... ....._ “A