News Release Archive
NEWS RELEASE (CNS872) -->> ECONOMIC RENEWAL--AWARD WINNING LOBSTER TRAP CATCHES TIDY PROFIT ECONOMIC RENEWAL--AWARD WINNING LOBSTER TRAP CATCHES TIDY PROFIT ----------------------------------------------------------------- June, 1995 was a bleak month for Sydney's Dennis Khattar. Sales were dismal at the Lobster Trap Gift Shop in Louisbourg. As he sat in his building surrounded by Island giftware, he worried about the summer. "I went through June thinking, yesterday one customer, today no one . . . to be honest I wondered if I was going to be able to pay my bills," he said. Less than a year later, in April 1996, Mr. Khattar was in Halifax at the World Trade and Convention Centre, accepting the Economic Renewal Agency's Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the $1,000 scholarship that goes with it. His careful planning had paid off and the lonely June days proved to be the calm before the storm. When he applied for a $2,000 Youth Entrepreneurial Skills (YES) loan from the Economic Renewal Agency in the spring of 1995, he was a YES veteran. Two years earlier he and a couple of his grade 12 high school friends used YES to finance a car cleaning centre. The business was fairly successful. "It went OK," he says. "I was younger and not as focused then," he said. He worked in Louisbourg in the summer of 1994. The talk of the town was the upcoming Fortress of Louisbourg 250th anniversary celebrations in 1995, and a visit from the tall ships. About one million people were expected to converge on Louisbourg the next summer. So in the fall of 1994, Dennis started planning. He researched tourist visitation records back to 1971. He found that tourism numbers in Louisbourg followed a pattern of rising for four or five years and then dropping back for one. Louisbourg looked set for a record summer in 1995. Khattar used a $2,000 YES loan and $1,900 from the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation's (ECBC) careers program, for start-up capital. "Even with that I had to do a lot of sweet talking to get credit for my t-shirts, sweaters, glasses, plates, steins and other tourism-related stock," he said. He built a $1,200 mini-barn, decorated it with some lobster nets and traps, and opened The Lobster Trap Gift Shop in June. He owed $6,800 for stock. He had 30 days to pay. His nervousness after a quiet June was understandable. However, his fortunes changed and his predictions came true on July 1. On that one day, he sold more than he had sold in the whole month of June. He broke even in the second week of July. "After the tall ships event, I paid off my loans . . . it was all profit," he said. It was also steady work. The 16-hour days, seven days a week, were worth it. Dennis generated sales of more than $20,000, before closing after the first week of September. "Smart planning on Dennis's part allowed him to take advantage of two highly-publicized events. He knew who his customer was and went for it," said Economic Renewal Minister Richie Mann. "It's those kind of ideas and attitudes that the YES program supports best." When asked about his future, Dennis is optimistic. He worked for ECBC as a career program field officer in the summer of 1996, and is finishing his degree in business finance and administration at the University College of Cape Breton. "I'll own my business one day. I've always wanted my own restaurant, although it's slim profits and long hours," he says. Whatever he does, it will benefit from his award-winning YES experience. "It enables you to follow though on a business idea," he explained. His advice is: "Go for it Where else can you get an interest-free loan and some early business experience?" For information on the YES loan program for students is available from the Economic Renewal Agency (toll-free) at 1-800-565-2009. -30- Contact: Steve Fairbairn 902-424-5836 trp Nov. 29, 1996 - 10:25 a.m.