| Community Futures
Sunrise
Prairie Wind Recreational Works Hard at Play
"If you're going into business for yourself,
be prepared to work hard at growing your business." That
advice is based on the experience of Greg Browatzke, who owns
and operates Prairie Wind Recreational, a snowmobile and recreational
vehicles dealer in Weyburn.
Browatzke took over Prairie Wind from the previous
owner in December, 2004. After talking with Vic Plante, the business
analyst with the Sunrise Community Futures Development Corporation,
and then working with him to prepare a business plan, "we
could see there was a lot of room to expand the business,"
Greg says. And expand he did, with planning assistance and a substantial
loan from Sunrise CF.
One of the challenges of any growing business,
he adds, is carefully watching the bottom line. "Cash flow
equals stress," Browatzke states. "Cash flow determines
how and when you can use your growing inventory to expand your
business."
So far he's been able to establish and increase
the business just by word-of- mouth. "We spend very little
on advertising," Browatzke says. "If and when we reach
the point where word-of-mouth is not enough, we may have to go
with a more web-based business. A lot of the profitable recreational
businesses are online, because their local market share is maxed
out."
To stay on top of what's happening in business,
Browatzke monitors websites like the Canada-Saskatchewan business
service centre (http://www.cbsc.org/sask/)
for articles of interest. And, he would definitely refer anyone
with a business idea to the Community Futures for help and advice.
"They will help you determine if it's
an idea worth pursuing, and if it is, show you the areas where
the business can actually get ahead."
« Back to the Recent
Success Stories page
|
