Shenuka Wickramasinghe delivered the Square One talk Tuesday afternoon in P.A. (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Business Development

Local organization hosts talk to help prospective business owners

May 21, 2019 | 4:48 PM

Prince Albert and District Community Futures is hoping to help those who are looking to start up their own businesses.

Tuesday afternoon the organization hosted a seminar which aimed to give prospective, future business people the information they needed in areas ranging from developing a business idea to taxes.

Sharon Muntain, general manager with Community Futures in P.A. said right now times are challenging for small businesses across the province.

“Everybody’s sitting on their hands, because they’re not sure what the economy is going to do,” she said.

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Muntain said this is also the trend in P.A. and area, which has been affected by this slow down. She added there are some sectors which have been successful in bucking the overall trend and there are some areas of growth.

“Retail of course, restaurants and that type of thing have been opening for Prince Albert,” she said.

P.A. and District Community Futures is an organization that aims to help people start and grow businesses by providing advice along with providing developmental lending. The organization is funded by the Government of Canada.

The seminar Tuesday afternoon was put on by Shenuka Wickramasinghe, the manager of entrepreneurship with at Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA). Overall, Wickramasinghe said the talk – entitled Square One, would give those who come out a diverse range of information.

“Just basic education on how to have your own company,” she said.

One of the important ideas the seminar planned to touch on was market research. Wickramasinghe explained this involves compiling a wide range of information, ranging from general economic data to information about the industry and even data on potential customers.

“Let’s make sure that someones actually willing to buy your product, let’s make sure that it’s sustainable and that this is going to be a long term investment for you,” she said.

Wickramasinghe said the main aim is to provide people the best information possible so they can make an informed decision about what they want in for their professional life going forward.

“That’s all we hope for, that you make a good business decision,” she said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn