Four rising entrepreneurs cleaned up at Thursday's "What's the Big Idea?" entrepreneurship event in Neepawa, collectively claiming nearly $7,000 in cash and prizes. The event, originated last year through a partnership between Minnedosa and Neepawa saw growth all around this year with more jurisdictions signing on as sponsors, increased attendance from outside the region and more pitches than last year's debut. In all seven pitches were heard by the capacity crowd at ArtsForward, with four strong pitches sweeping nine award categories to claim prize money for their efforts. The big winner of the day was Tim Wiebe, of Eden's Avion Harvest production plant. The small pulse marketing outfit, which just opened its doors under the current ownership in January has seen an incredible debut year, securing deals for market placement of their product in 23 Co-op stores and recently signed a deal with Save-On Foods out west for distribution into those major supermarkets in Alberta and British Columbia. Laying claim to the awards sponsors by NADCO, the R.M. of Rosedale and the Neepawa Chamber of Commerce, Wiebe emerged from the event with $4,300 toward the continued growth of their operation. The name called most at award time, though was Minnedosa's Kim Burgess. Burgess, who has aspirations to open an Art Therapy practice in Minnedosa, delivered a powerful and compelling pitch which saw her name called in four prize categories. She took home $1300 in awards sponsored by the R.M. of Minto-Odanah, the Minnedosa Chamber of Commerce and a voucher for digital marketing services courtesy of Trend Lab Marketing. Burgess' pitch was also awarded the RBC "Pitch of the Day". Kelly Spurway, via a concise and punchy pitch by Lianne Christie, secured a $1,000 award for the Queens Eatery in Rapid City. The new operator of the community restaurant will apply the prize money toward upgrades to the commercial kitchen equipment to better serve patrons to the historic dining spot. The youngest presenter of the day was Neepawa's Kennedy Baker. The enterprising sixteen year old, whose artistic skills as a creator of hand-painted footwear has already secured the attention of the Winnipeg Jets NHL franchise after designing a pair of shoes featuring the team's logo. While only developed as a prototype, Baker has received a letter to request a meeting with the team's marketing department about carrying her designs in the official Jets store as well as an offer to connect her to other NHL franchises and CFL teams. Baker was awarded the Minnedosa Credit Union / Beautiful Plains Credit Union "Best Overall Idea" award, valued at $300. In addition to the pitches presented, attendees were treated to a line up of industry and small business speakers which kept the packed house riveted throughout the day. The event was attended by patrons not only from Minnedosa and Neepawa, but also saw guests from as far away as Kipling, Saskatchewan attending to learn more about the event and to possibly adopt a similar approach in their own community. The 2015 debut saw the opening of three new businesses and the expansion of a fourth, resulting in increased interest from private and public business agencies this year including the Business Development Bank of Canada and World Trade Centre Winnipeg.

Tami - Rae Clements reflects back to when their business had just 5 people in 2001. Today NetSet Communications boasts almost 120 staff and contractors. Over the past 10 days the staff and mgmt. of NetSet have moved basically down the road to their new state of the art building. "If I work late at night I feel very safe because all the locks have a swipe card" said Clements. One cool feature of working at NetSet is they have a room for children to come and watch movies in or play on an Ipad. When schools have an in-service day parents that are working for NetSet can bring their child and as well be supervised. The children are not allowed to bother their parents while working and the supervisor of the room will contract the parent should the child need something or an emergency happened. Tami says this is a selling feature when trying to recruit new staff. Right now NetSet features staff from over 7 different countries and it will be growing on a monthly basis. Also a big thumbs up to The City of Brandon said Clements who do an amazing job when showing people around the city when they are deciding if they will or won’t come to Brandon. Congrats to Charlie & Laurel Clark on their new building and being one of the larger employers in Brandon and Western Manitoba. NetSet is currently in the market for several staff and interested staff and contractors should contact them on their website. https://netset1.ca/about-us/careers/

A full house is expected on Thursday at ArtsForward in Neepawa when the community hosts "What's the Big Idea?" - an entrepreneurial pitch competition offering funding to launch new rural businesses. With more than $8,000 in cash prizes up for grabs, competition is expected to be fierce. The event debuted last year when the communities of Minnedosa and Neepawa partnered to see what ideas existed in for new ventures on the rural landscape. Six aspiring entrepreneurs made their pitch and as a result of the event, three new businesses have opened their doors over the past year. The Inspire Studio of Fine Art in Minnedosa was the big winner, taking home three prizes including the RBC "Best Pitch of the Day" and has since opened a gallery on Minnedosa's Main Street. 4U Home Décor and Consulting has added to the store front activity on Hamilton Street in Neepawa, and Oakview Equipment has launched an MTZ tractor dealershipat Rapid City. Heading into the second year, the event has attracted a great deal of attention, not only from participants coming to present their idea, but also from industry as well as other communities looking to adopt this innovative approach to spur new interest in commercial development in their own communities. Renewing their partnership for 2016, Minnedosa and Neepawa hosts are excited to see the growing interest. What started as a "local" event last year has now attracted attention from World Trade Centre Winnipeg, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Alberta-based Trend Lab Marketing Services. All three agencies will have representation at Thursday's event. "What's the Big Idea?" is open for free to the public and active business community. While the highlight of the day's agenda will be the pitches from the registered participants from Minnedosa, Neepawa, Gladstone and Brandon, other speaking sessions slated for the day include small business financing, entrepreneurship for new Canadians, and anecdotal lessons from emerging entrepreneurs in the area. The key note speaker during the lunch hour is Aaron Biblow, the Business Development Manager for Trend Lab who will be speaking about the role of digital marketing and the use of websites and social media in today's business environment. The entire program runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Thursday. For more information on the event or to inquire about registering a pitch, contact Marilyn Crewe at 204-476-7607 or edo@wcgwave.ca Social Media Link for the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/329760584023093/

BDNMB.ca has received confirmation from numerous resources that TacoTime, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in Mexican food, will return to Brandon occupying the vacant commercial space between Dominos and Fun-n-Games. Brandon residents can once again look forward to their selection of burritos, tacos, and Mexi-Fries to satisfy their fast food cravings. Over the years TacoTime has popped up in a few different locations in Brandon including inside the food court at the Brandon Shoppers Mall as well as at the corner of 10th & Rosser (Double Decker). The mall location stopped serving customers at the end of December in 2010. The TacoTime website indicates an October opening, however that has yet to be confirmed, and there appears to be a fair amount of progress left to complete.   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Based in Brandon, Manitoba Woodworks of Art Handcrafted Furniture is owned and operated by Ryan Wyshynski. He designs and creates one-of-a-kind custom solid wood dining tables, entertainment units, bedroom furniture, sideboards, coffee tables, fireplace surrounds and mantles, display units and just about anything else. Ryan grew-up in Thompson, MB until the age of 16 when his family relocated to Perth, Western Australia. After high school he enrolled in the Bachelor of Architecture program at the University of Western Australia and studied architecture and spent many weekends and evenings in the university's expansive woodworking shop. In 2002 he returned to Canada and for the past 19+ years he has been involved in the design, art, and woodworking fields. Sometimes called "hybrid woodworking" Ryan uses a blend of old and new techniques, hand tools and power tools, solid hardwoods and modern materials. He designs in a wide range of styles from traditional oak furniture, rustic distressed finishes, live bark edge slabs, to fresh modern designs using solid hardwoods and baltic birch with high quality wood veneers. Woodworks of Art works with you from the initial idea stage, to the finished design, through to the finished product. All of his pieces are original designs and hand-made just for you. There are no sizing restrictions or style restrictions -he is there to listen to YOU, and together, create something beautiful that will be a part of your life for years to come.