Cindy Swanson joined Enterprise Brant 16 years ago and she still looks forward to going to work every day. 

Thanks to Enterprise Brant, hundreds of local residents are feeling the same type of job satisfaction.

“I look around the community and realize that we have touched a lot of businesses,” said Swanson, Enterprise Brant’s general manager. “I still get excited about it.”

Since incorporating in 1988, Enterprise Brant, a federally funded Community Futures Development program, has helped 836 clients on the self-employment benefits program start 757 new businesses. Today, 520 of those companies are still open and operating, employing about 1,028 people.

Brantford resident Yvonne Shortt was one of those clients.

After losing her job in financial services due to downsizing, Shortt wanted to open a used furniture store similar to one she had previously operated in Scotland. With the help of the Enterprise Brant administered Ontario Self-Employment Assistance Program, she launched Just Like New on Colborne Street.

The program enables budding entrepreneurs to collect employment insurance during the first months of self-employment. They also receive ongoing counselling and monitoring to ensure their goals are met and their plans are successful.

“I had that guaranteed income, but, with the people at Enterprise Brant, I had someone who could give me answers to my questions,” she said. “There are always things that you come up against with a small business. Without their help, I wouldn’t have been able to make a go of it.”

The guidance and advice received from Enterprise Brant professionals are as valuable as the funding the corporation provides, said Brian Sullivan, of Sullivan Bay Sportswear. He was able to open his promotional products business with the help of Enterprise Brant.

“They tell you what you need to know and how to build a business plan,” he said. “They are much more than just a source of funding.”

Developing a sound business plan helps ensure a business is viable, Swanson said.

“If you are going into business for yourself, the biggest thing is to have a plan,” she said. “Everyone who works here has been self-employed. They know things don’t always go the way you want them to. You have to think about the what ifs.”

Enterprise Brant helps entrepreneurs develop their business plans in a variety of ways, either through one-on-one consultations, with a business plan creator on its website or through business seminar series.

In addition to helping with job creation, Enterprise Brant has assisted 645 new and existing businesses with over $16 million in loans over the past 21 years.

“We’ve done loans for many reasons, from purchasing a piece of equipment to helping with a down payment on a building, for working capital or extending their credit,” Swanson said. “What we are interested in is job maintenance and creation. If a small business is going to close because of cash-flow problems and will put people out of work, that’s what we look at.”

Another 231 special community development projects, like the Brantford Arts Block, Harmony Square and Personal Computer Museum, have also benefited from over $3.5 million in grant monies.

“That all falls into community development, which is part of our mandate,” Swanson said. “It ends up having a cumulative effect over the years because a lot of these people then end up contributing back to us as well as to the business community. It’s a good thing about what we do. It makes the job very rewarding.”

Small businesses and entrepreneurs are also able to make use of Enterprise Brant’s many resources, including laptop computer rentals, on-site computer use, photocopying, trade fair booth rentals and the use of its board room, all free of charge.

For more information visit www.enterprisebrant.com.