Self-employment
Free programs give disabled a real advantageDisabilities don’t deter these entrepreneursAspiring Canadian beauty queens who are in the know have a secret weapon to help them earn a crown: Rose Hibbert. SHARON ASCHAIEK -- Special to the Toronto Sun |
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The Toronto-based hair extension expert is credited with helping to create the thick, flowing head of hair that gave an edge to Natalie Glebova, winner of the 2005 Miss Universe title.
Since then, Hibbert has become the go-to hair person for contestants on the professional pageantry circuit, and her magic touch has helped two women win the Miss Canada title.
"The people in charge of Miss Canada always insist on sending their candidates to me. It's been a great run," says Hibbert, founder of Rose Hibbert Creations.
Cultivating stunning, tiara-adorning hairstyles is a far cry from the hairy situation Hibbert found herself in in 1998, when one of her kidneys started failing and she had to start dialysis. The intensive three-day-a-week treatment prevented Hibbert, then 33, from her extension work, a passion she taught herself and has been doing since she was 18.
After seven long years of dialysis, Hibbert received the kidney transplant she needed. Complications from the surgery meant she could only resume working part time. However, with a new lease on life, Hibbert was motivated to formalize the business she'd been casually running out of her Bathurst and Adelaide area home for years -- but she had no idea how.
Enter the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC), a business incubator that provides physical facilities, training programs, advisory resources and practical tools for
up-and-coming entrepreneurs (www.tbdc.com). Among its various programs are ones specifically geared to help individuals with disabilities re-integrate into the workforce.
Hibbert, a disability support recipient, qualified to participate in the TBDC's free Toronto Business Development program, which teaches everything one needs to know about running a business.
"It gives you a chance to operate your own business from your home, and tells you what steps you need to take to get there," says Hibbert, 43. "For years, I'd been praying for an opportunity like this."
Starting last June, Hibbert took part in two days a week of in-class sessions for three months, learning about how to develop a business plan,
obtain investments, hire people, advertise and source products. After graduating, participants have access to two years of monthly guidance from a TBDC business adviser.
Now actively following her business plan, Hibbert has created a brochure that she distributes in her local community, and is in the process of creating her business website.
Featuring services ranging from $35 to $200 that work on any hair type, Rose Hibbert Creations is steadily growing, serving about four to eight women a month.
"I always say live life to the fullest -- start with your hair," Hibbert says. "The TBDC program provided me with the education and tools to really put that philosophy into action."
In January 2007, after almost a decade of recovering from serious head injuries caused after being hit by a truck while cycling, John Copeland was searching for his own employment comeback vehicle.
"It was a long recuperation. I knew my strengths before the accident, and I was sick of sitting around. I wanted to be an active member of the community again," says Copeland, 43.
Also receiving disability support, Copeland, who'd previously run a general contracting business with his parents, qualified to take part in New Opportunities for Self-Employment, an intensive one-year TBDC program on effectively starting and running a business.
The Etobicoke resident participated in 16 weeks of classroom instruction -- two days a week, six hours a day -- gaining in-depth business information on subjects such as money management, writing a business plan, legal considerations, presentation skills, economic forecasting,
market research and business growth strategies.
"It provided me with a whole overview of business, and importantly, what I have to do to break even and make a profit," Copeland says. "Another major benefit of the program is that it helped me develop a system to stay organized, which was hard for me because of my injury."
Interspersed in the program was 36 weeks of field study -- opportunity for Copeland to use knowledge and skills learned in class to build his business.
Copeland Home Services launched early last year, catering mainly to seniors in his community -- people whom his family company once serviced -- and offering a wide range of services, including general carpentry, electrical, plumbing, painting and odd jobs. So far, business is robust, driven mainly through referrals and netting Copeland about eight to 10 jobs a month.
"As an entrepreneur, I like the fact that I make my own schedule and nobody's looking over my shoulder," Copeland says. "Compared to other entrepreneurs I know who are quite unprepared, this program has given me a real advantage."
sharon@summitmediagroup.com
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