If you’ve ever thought about escaping the routine of working for someone else and have thought about launching your own business, chances are that one of the major factors that has prevented you from taking the leap is simply not knowing where best to invest. Recently, a list of the hottest trends in new businesses was released and the good news is that there are at least five great ideas that could work in a rural setting as well as in the city.   The prospect of leaving the security of a regular pay cheque to take a gamble on entrepreneurship isn’t a guaranteed pathway to success, regardless of how great the idea is. In fact, in Canada statistics show that 25% of all new businesses will fail within the first year. Of those that survive, only two thirds will survive their second year. However, part of your preparation is in the research of those industries that are growing and how your venture can fill an existing need in your market. The hottest trends for new business in 2016 include:   1.  Senior Care For a number of years, speculators have been cautiously eyeing the aging workforce and predicting the impact on the labour force when the baby boomers began to retire.  While the focus of that information was to prepare business and industry for succession planning, what wasn’t being discussed was the needs of those people retiring. At present, seniors represent almost 25% of our population and as they age and seek to remain independent in their own homes, there is an increasing need for services that increase convenience and care for our seniors allowing them to avoid the fate of being placed in a care facility – that is, of course, if they aren’t left in wait list limbo for an extended period of time.  Businesses which focus on the needs of seniors and fill a need, particularly those that bring the services to their homes will continue to present opportunities for enterprising individuals.   2. Self-storage units This one may surprise you, but when you consider how increasingly common off-site storage is becoming in cities, it seems only a natural fit for rural communities. Whether it be for the off season storage of recreational vehicles, or simply for homeowners to better manage their growing collection of “stuff”, the future looks bright for self-storage businesses. It’s a relatively low-maintenance type of operation which could even be operated as a sideline enterprise, or an extension of an existing venture, if you have the land to facilitate the construction of a building.   3. Gluten-free products You can’t look anywhere today without seeing the gluten-free movement.  The growing awareness of celiac disease and the impacts of gluten are changing approaches to food production and consumption. Even those who don’t need to steer clear of gluten out of necessity are starting to explore alternatives to their diet as well. The production and marketing of gluten-free products, expanding their availability from specialty stores to the market that is looking for them has seen steady growth over the past five years and is expected to exceed a billion dollars in sales annually probably by the time you read this.   4. Micro-breweries As the beer-making hobbyists have started to perfect their craft and delight all within their social circle with their brew master abilities, the number of licenses for breweries in Canada has exploded over the past decade.  It might surprise you to learn that the number has increased by 70% in only a short time.  Micro-breweries, while very cost prohibitive for many at the start, promote the notion of local food production and, combined with a restaurant/beverage room element, have become increasingly popular in the area of experiential tourism across the country.   5. Mobile dog grooming Similar to the services for seniors, with increasingly busy schedules, dog owners enjoy the convenience of a service that comes to them on their own schedule.  It is believed that the procedure is less stressful for the pet when they can be in their own familiar environment, and it also reduces the need for an entrepreneur to incur the overhead of a store front location – instead taking their show on the road with a mobile grooming station in a pull behind trailer, which can be appropriately branded and decaled to promote the business throughout the area that you serve. Now, how do you get started?   The good news is that there are a number of resource agencies in the Brandon area to help you take your idea from a thought to a well-prepared business plan. Government-funded departments such as Entrepreneurship Manitoba, FuturPreneur and Community Futures can each offer some expertise and insight to help you prepare for business and may be able to assist with funding.   In addition to these agencies, Manitoba hosts a variety of entrepreneurship conferences and events throughout the year. Dauphin’s “Take the Leap”, Winnipeg’s “Launchpad” and Minnedosa/Neepawa’s “What’s the Big Idea?” are just a few of the special events which offer cash prizes and incentives to help startups get the wheels turning .

Capture, Print, Repeat, using a Transport Canada Registered Drone, offers professional drone services including photography, 4k video, land exploration and many other custom requirements in Brandon and surrounding areas. Perhaps you are looking for a beautiful aerial video of your farmyard at sunrise? Maybe your looking for overhead video of your children water skiing at the lake? What about an aerial virtual tour of your car lot for your company's website to separate you from the competition? Capture, Print, Repeat may just have what you are looking for. Smaller portable drones are becoming more popular, are user friendly, and have very powerful on-board cameras allowing the drone lower to the ground and in any position...something that is not possible with planes and/or helicopters. Using these smaller drones Capture, Print, Repeat is able to take close up shots of not only farm yards, but also locations within city limits. It is very common for most farm houses in the country to have an aerial view of their homestead hanging in their living rooms. The big benefit of the drones is the portability, they can take it almost anywhere and cover almost any event, photos of homes, weddings, special events, sporting events or anything you'd want to capture a unique picture or video of. Capture, Print, Repeat is equipped with a large HD photo printer, capable of printing 13x19 inch professional photos on site, so your memories are yours right away, no waiting time. For more information please refer to their Facebook page or email Chris at capture.print.repeat@outlook.com

For many of us reptiles, snakes, and spiders we all find somewhat interesting and in this part of the world even more so due to the rare opportunity to see a 20 foot crocodile. Just 15 minutes from Brandon you can find a vast array of exotic animals that is perhaps one of the largest in Canada. Westman Reptile Gardens has been around for almost 15 years and a passion for owners Dave and Candi Shelvey. According to Dave he has always been involved to some degree with reptiles for the past 20 years but things got a bit crazy in their house and it was time to expand and make this a real business. An interesting side business evolved and that was providing and handling snakes and spiders to movies and TV productions. Mothers Day Escape of Die A Bear Called Winnie Wishmaster 3 The Box Collector And also Alice Cooper The above listed ave all used Dave and Westman Reptile Gardens over the past decade. But as anything in small business nothing comes easy and to get highway signs showing people where to turn off the highways was a 5 year project to get the Province on board to see that this was indeed a very unique and interesting form of tourism for the Western Manitoba region. Westman Reptile Gardens features various venomous snakes such as pythons, cobras and vipers plus a huge collection of alligators and crocs. You can visit them: Until September 30th – Monday to Saturday 11am – 7 pm and Sundays 12pm – 5 pm and after October 1st Tuesday to Saturday 12 pm – 6 pm and Sundays 12 pm – 5 pm http://www.reptilegardens.ca

Looking to attract more customers...launch a new product....increase brand awareness or maximize the impact of your message at an event? FASTSIGNS® of Brandon, MB a locally owned and operated visual communications company, is now open for business at 30-11th Street. Fast Signs is your one stop destination for all of your sign and printed needs. Signs, graphics, digital signage, exhibits, displays, and printing and mailing are some of the products and services they offer. As a full service print shop FASTSIGNS takes their customers through the entire process of increasing visibility beginning with marketing consultants customizing a plan to meet the needs of each business. Products include everything from vehicle wraps, interior décor signs and exhibit displays to interactive digital signs, point of purchase and promotional products. They specialize in graphic design, content development, project management, survey and permitting, installation and shipping & storage. Whether you want one poster, a dozen banners, or thousands of business signs, they have what it takes to complete your project whenever you need it. FASTSIGNS® of Brandon, MB Phone: 204-717-7446 30 11th Street, Brandon, MB R7A 4J3 Email: 2124@fastsigns.com Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:00pm Saturday: By appointment / Sunday: Closed https://www.fastsigns.com/2124-brandon-mb

To the regular person that will see B.O.B HQ on 18th street you would never know that 25 people are working full time behind the scenes to fulfill orders from all over North America. Welcome to Bob Ritchot’s world. After the very small humble start in the Unwinder of all places (former club at the Victoria Inn) where Bob would piece together interesting pieces of beadwork for bands such as Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth and members of Blind Melon. It was a passion that would grow into making and selling candles. The business blew up as Bob says and he had to expand into a house and garage. His candle operation then went to the next level and he entered a chain of stores in malls across Canada. Ritchot quoted “ I was young and no knowledge and idea of really what I was doing”. Bob might be a tad bit humble because this is where he went to the next level. Opening a store on 416 – 10th where he would have a full line of smoking accessories and merchandise ….. But soon this would prove to be too small and it would be time to expand again. Senate Skate was on 18th Street and Bob purchased the buildings and land and sat on the property for about 5 years to execute the next stage in his business expansion. At 658 – 18th street he would build a mini strip mall with Smitten, Pita Pit plus the new B.O.B HQ. With the upcoming legalization of marijuana in Canada in March or April 2017 one would think this is a natural fit for Bob to expand into. According to Ritchot he will sell and do what they do best. Right now he isn’t interested in having a marijuana dispensary. B.O.B. HQ was given the Business Excellence Award from the Brandon Chamber of Commerce a few years ago and will plan to stay growing his business in Brandon. “ We could have moved to Winnipeg or Toronto but we have stayed here in Brandon where the city is great to deal with and we have faced no problems”.