Susan Church, executive director at the Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation, announced the opening of Genesis@204, a two-storey building devoted to the growth and development of local small businesses. Several guest speakers were in attendance including Mayor Al McDonald, MP Jay Aspin, MPP Vic Fedeli and the mayor's special guest, soon-to-be-12 year-old Noah Papatheodorou. PHOTO BY CHRISTINE ROY
Joanna Boldt has come full circle. She remembered fondly how she was hired by the Chamber of Commerce years ago to be a local shopper in downtown North Bay.
Boldt’s small business, selling products for Dirty Girls Farm, is the first retail kiosk at Genesis@204, the new business incubator located on the corner of Main and Wyld.
The location is designated as an incubator as it gives small business a chance to rent a small space in order to give their business a chance to grow and expand to a bigger location.
During the opening ceremony, local MPP Vic Fedeli shared that it was almost 40 years ago since he opened his own small business.
“There were no such opportunities like this when I opened my business back in 1978. This is the way we need to do business,” Fedeli said.
Originally intended to be for the use of new immigrants in the area, it was decided the business incubator would be open to any small business.
The first floor is a retail area and can have up to eight kiosks for vendors to sell their items. Space on the first floor costs $400 a month for the first six months. Prices go up if the vendor wishes to remain for another six to 12 months, giving incentive for the business to relocate or decide if this is the path for them.
The second floor is a business loft with three private offices and 11 semi-private cubicles. One private office is already rented out and 5 cubicles are taken. Cubicles are $75 a month and private offices are $225, once again only for the first six months.
However, they won’t be alone in their leap into small business ownership.
Sarah Morin is the project manager at Genesis@204 and will provide on-site support to the entrepreneurs. She will also organize workshops and assist in getting traffic towards the new businesses and offer referrals to the members if needed.
“We see a great and untapped potential for creating this new type of space in North Bay,” Morin said in a speech on opening day.
And Boldt, who is now starting her own business, shared that the motto originally used by the Chamber of Commerce was, “Shop locally, there’s so much to stay for.”
Once hired to buy local, she now sells locally and has indeed come full circle. Having grown up in Sturgeon Falls and North Bay, she moved to the south and has returned to the north.
She’s a vendor at the weekly farmer’s market and decided to start her own business as well.
“I came back just in time,” she said with a smile.
