Imagine being a high school student and a business owner.
The Summer Company is a unique program of Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development and Growth, designed to encourage young entrepreneurs by providing up to $3,000, plus mentoring and hands-on training.
It can be seen as an alternative to a summer job for people ages 15 to 29, who are planning to return to their studies in the fall.
“It’s simple. Essentially, you get paid to start a business,” said Martin Kuzma of Nottawasaga Futures, which is co-ordinating the program in South Simcoe for the sixth year.
Over the years, he said he has discovered a surprising fact: it is generally not business students who apply, but students in the arts, sciences and social sciences, who have a business idea and the drive to put it in action.
The deadline to apply this year is the end of May.
The application process involves developing a business plan, registering the business, and regularly attending workshops and business counselling with an experienced business mentor during the summer months.
Successful applicants will each receive an initial grant of $1,500 as seed money to launch their businesses, and they must open a business account, provide receipts, and maintain monthly cash flow records to qualify for a final grant.
At the end of summer — eight weeks for high school students, 12 for post-secondary students — they receive an additional $1,500, on top of whatever profit their companies have generated.
Among the local entrepreneurs who have signed on to share their expertise with students are Donna Katz, founder of Genesis Gymnastics, and Tracy Evans, who left a high-paying job in the corporate world to start Dreamwinds Equine Assisted Learning Centre.
The mentors provide “real life evidence” of the power of entrepreneurship, “and you can’t beat that,” said Kuzma.
This is the fourth year Evans has provided mentorship.
“I love the program,” she said. “I love helping youth explore their entrepreneurial spirit. It’s amazing.”
Evans noted that schools tend to stream students towards career options “to get out of school, get a job, and then retire. That was how it was for me.”
She said it took her years to “break out,” and so Summer Company is an opportunity “to help kids think a little bit more freely.”
Kuzma said response to the program has been a little slow this year and the increase in minimum wage could be partly to blame.
“The wages have been higher, but there are fewer jobs,” he said.
Self employment may be the better option, he said, because people can earn money, gain real-life experience, and it looks great on a resume.
Six South Simcoe students have been accepted to the program so far, with another four still working on their business plans. Four of the students are from Bradford West Gwillimbury area, he said.
The businesses run the gamut from landscaping and handyman services — “Those are always around,” says Kuzma — to piano lessons, swim lessons, vegan cupcakes, and social media marketing.
“Sixty (per cent) to 70 per cent of the students use this as a summer job … to pay tuition,” said Kuzma.
Some of them also end up creating a business that is so successful, they return to it summer after summer, although the Summer Company grant is only available once.
There is still time for students to apply. Interested students should contact Kuzma at [email protected] or 1-800-509-7554 before the end of this month.
It takes “ambition… chutzpah” to come up with a business plan, said Kuzma, but he and the team “will work with them, to the point where they have a good chance of getting accepted.”
