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Serenity Plus
from Business in Vancouver, January 23-29, 2007
by Glen Korstrom (gkorstrom@biv.com)
It
was a rough two years for Tom Porcina after he was fired from his union
job as a gas pump repairman for P.D. Maclaren Ltd. for using crack
cocaine at work. He wound up collecting bottles to feed his addiction.
His return to respectability as a business founder and owner took six
years but would likely never have been possible without Vancouver's
Eastside Movement for Business and Economic Renewal Society (EMBERS).
The registered charity provides business and training support to enable
cash-strapped Vancouver eastside residents to found their own
microbusinesses.
EMBERS charged Porcina a nominal amount to
teach him how to write a business plan. It also provided him with a
credit management course for a small fee. Fees range on a sliding scale
between $40 and $300 for 10 weeks of training. The investment forces
aspiring entrepreneurs to invest in their own destiny.
Once
Porcina finished his training and had saved money to invest in his
business, EMBERS granted him three times his savings as part of a
matched-savings program. Porcina, like most participants, forked over
the maximum $600 allowed under the program. Vancity has donated $18,139
to EMBERS since March and earmarked that money for the matched-savings
program. Another 20 clients are currently saving for the plan. It might
sound like easy money, but there was nothing easy about it for Porcina.
Newly sober, he was living at the Salvation Army's Harbour Light
Mission. Porcina knew that if he returned to smoking crack, he'd be
back sleeping in doorways and mired in despair a world away from the
income and personal pride that come from operating a business.
Aside
from homeless former drug addicts, EMBERS clients include those who
work part time or are at minimum wage jobs and can't risk leaving their
employment to start a business. Other clients are new immigrants,
people with disabilities and single parents who have long been out of
the workforce. EMBERS also has clients who own a micro-business, but
have made early mistakes and have flagging enterprises.
Porcina
decided to give up crack and get his life on track when he was
collecting bottles. Porcina called himself a handyman during his years
of addiction, but he usually found himself preparing midnight moves for
drug dealers and taking payment in dope. The good news was that he had
a hammer and some other tools. So he spent his newfound cash buying and
fixing the transmission on a "crappy" truck and founded his Serenity
Plus home renovation business. "The idea is to get a business plan
together so you have something to take to a bank when you ask for a
personal loan," Porcina said. Instead of applying for that loan,
Porcina pinned posters to community centre notice boards and soon
secured enough work to survive without going into debt. In 2005, he
made $30,000 and plowed most of that revenue back into his business. He
survived thanks to living free at Harbour Light for part of the year.
He now rents a place in North Vancouver and expects 2006 revenue to be
approximately $80,000 once all outstanding accounts are settled.
EMBERS'
executive director, Marcia Nozick, said more than 200 people have used
her registered charity's business services and training programs since
2003. That participation has generated a broad range of more than 65
new or expanded businesses. Some entrepreneurs produce gourmet food
preserves and vinaigrettes (Hinda's Finest), handmade soap (Jah-Jireh
Family Soapworks) or jewelry (Design By Refine). Service businesses
range from pest exterminators (DTES Pest Control), to junk removal
experts (Damage Rubbish Removal and Cleanup Ltd.) and photographers
(Green Tea Photography).
"It's amazing the changes that happen
when someone is given a chance with proper supports and tools to turn
their dreams into a business," Nozick said. "Confidence grows and a
whole new world opens up for them."
Genesis Creations
Bill Sollow's story is pure Cinderella.
A
skilled journeyman carpenter, Bill's life and future were torn apart
and near destroyed by an addiction to crack cocaine. Then one day, in
the dank alleys of the Downtown Eastside, he hit his edge and made a
decision to get help from a recovery program. And it worked! One day at
a time, Bill began to piece his life back together. Like many of EMBERS
clients who have undergone serious life crises, Bill was in the process
of rebuilding his life when he walked through our doors.
Bill
was working as a carpenter for a number of construction companies when
he came to EMBERS in June 2004, for advice on how to start his own
company. Bill was a first class tradesman but had no idea how to
operate a business of his own.
His ambitions were modest: do a
business plan, get bank financing to buy a truck and tools and set up
his own contracting company. He had tried to get a bank loan through
the usual route but, having a bad credit rating dating back to his life
as an addict, he was turned away.
Seeing his determination,
commitment to sobriety, and positive energy, we knew Bill had the
ingredients for success. Working with a business coach, he completed a
business plan and with EMBERS' support formed a business relationship
with VanCity where he eventually applied and was approved for a
character-based loan from the local branch.
His hard work paid
off. Genesis Creations was launched. The next time I saw Bill was six
months later. "How is it going?" I asked. Bill answered, "It couldn't
be better. I could never have imagined all I have in my life. Business
is booming, I'm employing six people. And I'm engaged to be married."
Not only that, but Bill had bought a condo with a mortgage he received
through VanCity based on his own repaired credit rating. What a turn
around!! And success continues to follow Bill. When I talked to him
five months later, he had sold his condo for a tidy profit and traded
up for a new house in Langley where he now lives.
EMBERS
provided support at a pivotal time in Bill's life and opened the
opportunities for him to grow and flourish as a business owner. EMBERS
is proud of the work it does because it not only supports the
individual but adds economic value through increasing business earnings
and by reducing the collateral damage created by someone that is in the
cycle of addiction. People with active addictions need to get the money
to support their habits and usually this involves illegal activities.
Today,
Bill lives a meaning-filled life. Besides his business being a success
and his personal life blossoming, Bill is also fulfilling a social
dream he's had of giving back to the recovery community that helped
him. He is employing people from the recovery program that, like
himself, are working hard to start a new life for themselves, clean and
sober.
Hinda's Finest
EMBERS kindles hope for newcomer
By Cheryl Rossi
Reprinted from The Vancouver Courier Issue November 29, 2006.
When Hinda Abdillahi made food for her friends, they raved about it and encouraged her to start her own culinary business.
But
Abdillahi, a chef who emigrated from East Africa to Canada in 1990 with
a baby son, didn't know where to start. She had no connections, no
capital and no clue about legal requirements.
She struggled to
support her small family and although she found work with well-known
restaurants, working late hours compromised her ability to care for her
son. She also couldn't afford a babysitter.
Then she found out about the Eastside Movement for Business Renewal Society, or EMBERS.
"It opened my doors because I had no connections," she said.
EMBERS
helped her network, register for farmers markets and connect with the
church kitchen where she makes Hinda's Fine Preserves. Abdillahi first
sold her sauces, jams, chutneys, salsas and vinaigrettes at craft fairs
in 2005. Since April, she's sold her products at Granville Island.
Although
she's working more than before, Abdillahi enjoys the freedom of setting
her own hours so she can care for her now 15-year-old son. She's
supporting her family with her micro-enterprise and feels good about
making her own way.
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