Whether you’re a carpenter, a chef, an accountant, or a doctor starting your own business can be overwhelming and daunting. Prospective entrepreneurs likely lose sleep over many things — where is the best location to set up the business, will I have enough cash flow, how many employees do I need, how do I ensure I have enough clients to support my venture? One of the ways to put your mind at ease is to take over an existing business. And, as luck would have it there’s a great opportunity right now at Rotary Villas at Crocus Gardens in Brandon, Manitoba.  Rotary Villas is retirement living at its finest. The facility offers a safe, secure and comfortable environment for those who are 55 plus with an array of services and amenities to ensure residents enjoy a carefree and independent lifestyle. The beautiful three-story building has 12 different layouts within the 108 suites. Rotary Villas is 100 per cent locally owned and operated and is an integral part of the community. While the residents have access to a fitness centre, library, games room, and billiard lounge, the complex also houses four independent businesses. Flatland Drugs, Camelot Personal Care and Gingersnips Salon are all part of the facility and now the lease is available for a new entrepreneur to open a medical clinic. This offers a great opportunity for a physician to establish their own practice. The location is accessible and centrally located within the city of Brandon, the clinic space is all set up (turnkey) and clients/patients are literally right outside the door. T These are just some of the advantages. The added bonus is being able to collaborate with the pharmacist next door to provide excellent care to patients. As well, if desired the clinic space can be renovated to meet the needs of a new tenant. Since opening Rotary Villas in March 2015, residents have been fortunate to have access to a medical clinic and pharmacy. It is an added luxury that residents are profoundly grateful to have. The convenience of being able to make an appointment with a doctor without setting foot outside is a service that many other retirement homes don’t offer. A link to an ad posted on Doctors Manitoba can be viewed here as well: https://doctorsmanitoba.ca/practice-opportunities/rotary-villas-brandon/ Contact Jason Roblin at 204-725-7190 for more information on this exciting business opportunity.

Local auctioneer, 21-year old, Jesse Campbell recently finished in 3rd place at the Canadian All Round Auctioneer Championships in Drayton Valley, AB. The auctioneers association of Alberta puts on a convention every year and host the event of the Canadian All Round Auctioneer Competition. They also host a tyro competition which is a rookie auctioneer competition that Jesse actually got to be crowned champion in 2018 as well. The Canadian all round competition has 5 judges and an auction open to the public to bid. Each contestant (21 including Jesse) are given 5 items to sell and show what skills they have.  During their 5 items the judges have a criteria and judge the competitors on a number of key factors including presentation, appearance/professionalism, auction chant, speed/rhythm. clarity, knowledge of products and price, and lastly would you hire this auctioneer. A total of 115 points is up for grabs. The 5 highest scores are then called back to a second round where the auctioneers are once again judged/scored after selling 5 additional items. At the conclusion of this second round, Jesse was lucky enough to place 3rd in the Canadian All Round Auctioneer Championships. For his efforts he won a 3rd place buckle and $1000.00 cheque. "I love what I do and couldn’t thank my family enough for the support they give me to follow my dreams" Jesse's family runs Fraser Auction Service here in Brandon. He went to auction school in 2017 at High River, Alberta at the Global College of Auctioneering. In the winter months he gets to sell cattle twice a week (Gladstone Auction Mart and Winnipeg Livestock Sales). The regular auction season for Fraser Auction Service starts in the spring and this year they have 30 sales lined up for the 2020 auction run.

Corral Communications, a locally owned and operated BellMTS Dealer, was recently awarded the Top Dealer for Manitoba Award at the National Bell Dealer Conference in Vancouver. Corral Communications is a BellMTS Dealer with retail stores at the Corral Centre in Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Russell. In addition to being a BellMTS Dealer, Corral Communications offers a variety of additional services including home automation, business solutions, and repairs & maintenance.

Jarod Crane is a former golf pro and now a current partner in Crane Steel Structures Ltd. Companies who have built projects all over Western and Northern Canada.  Locally such buildings as Christies, Toyota, and Qdoba. BDNMB.CA wanted to ask him 20 questions to get to know the real Jarod. LSU or Alabama: 100% LSU:  Lots of respect for Nick Saban but, “Roll Tide What, ……………….. “ you know the rest ! Best golf memory: Previous Golf Life – Getting to play amazing courses all over the South and meeting and/or playing with a few celebrities, celebrity athletes and performers over the years. Played a few times at Steelwood CC which at the time was more exclusive than Augusta National.  My second visit was fun playing with Jerry Pate and Joe Durant. Locally – Winning the Grey Owl and Tamarack in the same season a few years ago. The best memories seem to come from a guy’s trip every spring out West where one of my idiot buddies does something stupid pretty much every time we play. Who hits a longer drive you or your brother PJ: When pain free I am 10 yards longer but that’s not very often.  Seems like PJ has a new Driver every round so he is always a step ahead with technology. Has your role changed or evolved at Crane Steel: We have a development Company working in conjunction with Crane Steel Structures which I oversee on a day to day basis while PJ oversees our General Construction of all projects.  They both go hand in hand with daily collaboration. Would you consider yourself one of Brandon’s best known people: Not at all, it’s best to fly under the radar. Your favorite reality TV show: Not a big fan of reality tv, they are all scripted and fake.  I watch a lot of Sports, Dragons Den and Shark Tank on regular TV, otherwise its Netflix. Who will win in the 2020 US Election and why: Today I would say Trump as the Dem’s are continually sinking their own ship and I don’t see anything changing prior to November. On a scale of 1 – 10 how attractive are you: A solid 7.8 What is your major weakness: Definitely chocolate almonds and not a fan of paperwork. Favorite website: I really don’t have one.  Social media sure has a lot of recommendations for me though, good or bad. What age do you think you would retire: I retired 14 years ago.  Developing properties and managing commercial tenants is more of a daily activity than a job to me, it’s just something I will always do. Have you ever had a Charleston Chew chocolate bar: Never heard of it, but if you ever make it to Charleston’s the restaurant, the Ribs are amazing. What do you think the first thing your wife would say about you ( good or bad ): “What did he do now?”  Truthfully, Jennifer has always been my #1 supporter in everything I have done over the years. Any advice you could give a class of grade 12 students that would be graduating: If you continue on in school take some business classes along the way, they apply to every profession. ***Believe half of what you hear and a third of what you read*** Latest sleep in time on weekends: About 8:30 am unless there is a tee time to show up for in the summer Skip The Dishes would you use it more or less than 5 times a month: Less than 5 times for sure, I would rather be in the restaurants. Best Brandon radio station: My truck is mostly on XM Radio.  If a local station is on it is probably BOB FM as I’m not much of a country music fan What would be your dream job: Golf was my dream job for about 15 years so I already did many forms of it. Warren – Sanders or Biden: Fake Pocahontas, Crazy Bernie and Quid Pro Joe -  I think I just threw up in my mouth ! Who would you Dad say is a harder work You or PJ: Dad would say we both work hard but I would say PJ, he has a lot on his plate every day. BTW – Epstein didn’t kill himself. Cheers

Concept Homes is a family run, home development company located in Brandon, Manitoba. They offer a variety of floor plans and design options which are sure to suit the needs of every individual. Recently bdnmb.ca reached out to owner Joel Cardinal-Schultz to discuss why you should consider Concept Homes for your next house purchase. How long have you been in  the house-building business? Concept Homes has entered its 4th year in Brandon, MB.   I came from Saskatoon where my brother and I operated Selkirk Homes which was established about 18 years ago.  I was part of Selkirk for 6 years before moving to Brandon. Why focus on higher end homes when the real estate market people feel homes over 400k are hard to sell?  It’s not so much that we focus on higher end homes exactly.  We have brought different styles of homes to Brandon, as well as a business model that really caters to our clients.  With that, we also pay very close attention to detail and do the extra things when building homes so that our clients have a home they’re very proud of and lowers the risk for issues coming up down the road.  The extra little things like spray foaming joist ends, using sump pumps/pits in every build, natural gas furnaces and hot water tanks and a 10 year warranty program go a long way with ensuring Concept Homes withstand the tests of our climate and the families living in our homes.   With the quality and the before, during and after construction service we offer to our clients, it just seems that we naturally attract the higher end of the market.  We are just as happy to offer the same quality and service to our lower priced houses/clients.  We just finished a beautiful house in the 300k range in a core Brandon neighborhood and have 2 houses priced in the mid 300’s going up on 9thstreet as well. Are you evolving with ideas and designs each year? Absolutely we are.  We (myself and brother  Jeremy, still in Saskatoon) spend a lot of time sharing new ideas and floorplans back and forth that we’ve learned about reading articles, or going to Home Builder conferences.  Driving through the new areas, it’s pretty easy to pick out the Concept Homes which usually have two storeys or  triple car garages and  larger trims and bold finishes, but it’s so much more than the exteriors.  Once inside the house, our homes evolve with how families are evolving. Our latest show home is a 2-storey home, and it’s set up perfectly for growing families.  The top floor has 4 bedrooms, a living room, and laundry, just to make for a convenient lifestyle.  As well, with the triple car garage, we’ve added a rear garage door, so you can easily pull a boat, or ski-doo or anything you need into the backyard for storage or landscaping.  We spend a lot of time updating our ideas, but we also can’t take all of the credit, we listen to our clients, make the changes they ask for, and that helps us evolve.   Another example would be our houses going up at 1103 and 1105 9th street.  It’s a growing trend for younger people to be wanting brand new homes, but not everyone can afford 400k+ homes, so we designed a 2-storey homes to fit on a 25’ lot.   These are big homes with lots of living space and all the same features that our more expensive homes have, just placed on a skinnier lot.  3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a large kitchen with an island, upper level laundry room... but on top of that, we’ve also added a side entrance direct to the basement for those people who need a mortgage helper.  The homes are set up to have a completely separate basement suite,  a great way to help pay the mortgage. What sets you apart from other builders? I thought to answer this, I’d just reach out to past clients. Here are some feedback comments I’ve received recently. “ Not only are Concept Homes’ products top of the line in terms of quality, craftsmanship and style, they also go above and beyond in customer service as well. Joel is personally by your side to answer questions and porvide guidance and expertise from the initial meeting, through the design and building phase, right up until move in day and well beyond!  With Concept Homes you become part of a family and not just another number or sale for the book.  Joel is very detail-orientated and always takes your needs and ideas into consideration.  What you get is a truly one of a kind custom home that is perfect for your family, no matter what stage of life you are in!” “The level of communication and the understanding of what clients are needing and wanting.  Concept Homes goes above and beyond at making us feel like it is our dream house that we are building!  We appreciate the time that Joel gives us and we can literally ask him questions at any time of day and he will respond to our inquiries in a very productive manner.” “Words cannot express our gratitude for everything you did for us this past year.  Thank you for making it a wonderful experience for us, for bringing our vision to life and letting us change our minds a million times without complaint. We love everything about our house and we “love coming home!” How many homes a year could you comfortably build? We would never want to sacrifice our quality or attention to detail by growing too big, but that being said, doing 6-10 homes a year is right in our wheel house, and I’d have no problem taking on as many as 12 houses a year. A link to their website can be found here.