A group of First Nations women spent the last three days learning how to write a successful business plan.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, along with Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan, hosted a three-day entrepreneurial workshop for women and youth.
Erica Morin would like to someday open her own spa and nail salon.
The Montreal Lake Cree Nation band member wants the salon to have a fire pit, fur, native paintings, and native artwork. She also wants the business to be located on First Nation land.
But first she has to learn how to write a business plan.
“It makes me sweat, it gets a little overwhelming,” says Morin. “You look at all these numbers, all these needs, you need for your own business and it’s a bit overwhelming.”
The CEO of Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan, Prabha Vaidyanathan says there are plenty of challenges facing women who want to start a business.
“Women enter self-employment at much higher rates, we tend to achieve scale on a much smaller basis,” says Vaidyanathan. “When I talk about achieving scale, it means hiring employees, incorporating business, we don’t tend to do that as much as male entrepreneurs.”
She says research indicates that balancing family and business is one of the challenges that face female entrepreneurs.
Vaidyanathan says Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan can help women find the resources needed to take their business to the next level.