May 2022 - Community Futures North Okanagan

Tasha Swite, owner of Spirit of the Lake Native Boutique, speaks to School District No. 22 students at the district head office May 5 for the Indigenous Youth Entrepreneurship Day. Organizers hope to expand the event next year to include more learning, business pitches and opportunities to gain materials they need to take their business ideas forward.

When Tasha Swite introduces herself at the inaugural Indigenous Youth Entrepreneurship Day in Vernon, she says: “I’m a mother. I’m a wife. And I’m a fourth-generation entrepreneur.” Also, the first woman among that long line of self-employed Swites. Tasha Swite is the owner of N’ha-itk, Spirit of the Lake Native Boutique in West Kelowna, and she was one of several people sharing her story of entrepreneurship to help educate and inspire Indigenous high school students Thursday.

“I put my whole life into my business—and I love every minute,” Swite told the students, now three years after taking the leap to open the gift shop that sells everything from intricately beaded earrings to handcrafted-in-BC rabbit fur moccasins. In addition to supporting Indigenous artisans, she says it’s also her way of sharing Syilx culture. Her great-grandfather was a trapper on Swite Mountain, her grandpa ran a horse corral and sold firewood, and her father ran a fruit stand and is now a contractor. “This, now, is my legacy as well.”

Giving Indigenous students from across School District 22 a chance to see themselves in other entrepreneurs was just one of several reasons why the district, along with Community Futures North Okanagan, set up the first Indigenous Youth Entrepreneurship Day, which ran May 5 at the district office.

“One of our wishes is that these students who want to start their own business someday will know that it’s absolutely possible, with hard work,” says Debbie Meyer, career coordinator, School District No. 22. “We also want them to know that they don’t have to do it alone—there are resources in the community to support them. And we wanted them to have that connection with mentors to make it more of a reality for them.”

(from left) Budding entrepreneurs and fellow Charles Bloom Secondary School students Chase Martin, 16, and Daniel Drysdale, 17, learn about what it takes to launch a business from several speakers during the inaugural Indigenous Youth Entrepreneurship Day.

Twelve students from across the school district attended the event, filled with activities and speakers from the local Indigenous entrepreneur community.

Daniel Drysdale, a 17-year-old Charles Bloom Secondary School student said the day has helped him begin to imagine his dream of running an HVAC business after he graduates.

“I liked hearing about other business owners’ stories, the challenges they’ve been through and how they’ve overcome them.”

Andrea Mack, a 16-year-old Kalamalka Secondary School student, says, “It has been a great learning experience. Now I know that starting a business is probably not going to be a straight line,” and her hands zig and zag to indicate the winding road that is running a small business.

Chase Martin, another Grade 11 student at Charles Bloom has already started a business, Insight Glowing, selling glow sticks and LED rings often sported at raves. What would he take away from the speakers? “That you need to follow your passion if you really want it to go further.”

Overhearing the excitement and imagining among the participants is a welcome response for Kazia Mullin, business services manager at Community Futures North Okanagan, co-organizer of the event.

“Entrepreneurship is really an important skill for any young person to have, whatever path they take It’s using your creativity and problem-solving skills, and we already know that these students come from a culture of creativity and overcoming obstacles, and they’re makers, so it’s a natural fit and we always want to support any opportunity to give young entrepreneurs a great start.”

Tasha Swite, owner of Spirit of the Lake Native Boutique, speaks to School District No. 22 students at the district head office Thursday for the Indigenous Youth Entrepreneurship Day. Organizers hope to expand the event next year to include more learning, business pitches and opportunities to gain materials they need to take their business ideas forward.

Community Futures North Okanagan’s Fresh Trax program is a 16-week business launching pad for entrepreneurs aged 15-29

They’re young, they’re ambitious, and thanks to the support of a youth entrepreneurship program, they’re ready to launch their new businesses.

Vernon’s newest entrepreneurs have officially wrapped up Community Futures North Okanagan’s Fresh Trax program. Funded by the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada through the Canada-BC Workforce Development Agreement, Fresh Trax equipped business-minded youth aged 15-29 with the skills, tools, coaching and funds needed to take a business from idea to launch in 16 weeks.

“Fresh Trax has really helped me take my business a lot more seriously. It helped give me a foundation and solid business plan,” says Theo Hansen, a musician and professional music instructor who teaches students how to DJ through his business Theo Hansen Music. “I was just looking for extra part-time work, went to Community Futures North Okanagan and it all sounded almost too good to be true. It truly has been a golden opportunity for me and my business.”

Separated into two parts, Fresh Trax kicked off with 10 weeks of business development. Each week, Hansen and other members of his cohort used interactive digital business planning tools and engaged in virtual group workshops and one-on-one mentoring. In the final six weeks, the participants took the findings of their self-paced learning and put them to work while implementing their business plans.

Throughout the program, participants also received living supports to help make building and launching a new business possible.

When Louis Saitowitz first heard about the program, he was skeptical. The Red Seal chef already had years of business experience behind him but sought extra support as he shifted into the owner-operator role of Okanagan Foothills Poultry.

Saitowitz sought to expand Okanagan Foothills Poultry through an innovative approach to expanding farmland. By renting land from local property owners, Saitowitz can expand production while the landowner earns money and the multiple benefits of farm status.

That’s when he met the Community Futures North Okanagan team and signed up for Fresh Trax.

“Fresh Trax is one of those opportunities that doesn’t come up often. I believe it’s time well spent,” says Saitowitz. “Even as someone who had business knowledge, it was good to go through the program. It was a great explanatory course that answers what it means to start a business, step by step.”

The program helped Saitowitz better understand the process for many of the administrative tasks he had done in the past. But, for Saitowitz, the real value was growing his network and hearing others’ business stories.

“I loved hearing how guest speakers started their businesses, got over the humps and refused to give up,” says Saitowitz. “You leave the program with the resources you need and a great support team standing behind you.”

Kitty Boda also had three years of experience running Miscellany + Co. before enrolling in Fresh Trax. Like many creators, Boda turned her passion for making wooden spoons, cold-pressed soaps and floral arrangements into a side business. After finishing the 2021 harvest at her farming job, Boda shifted her focus to Miscellany + Co.

“I came into it thinking Fresh Trax will help me figure out bookkeeping and the administrative side of my business. It did that, but it also got to the emotional side and talked about how to run a business sustainably,” says Boda. “It gave me a lot more confidence. I’m investing in myself and my business, and I can already feel it paying off.”

Before Fresh Trax, Boda says she felt like she was “just winging it. Now, I feel like I know what’s worked. I’m winging it wisely.”