Young Entrepreneurs New Driving Force Behind Kelowna's Economy

Copied from Original posting February 16, 2015 by Cassandra Jeffery Kelowna Now

Young entrepreneurs are the way of the future and the driving force behind Kelowna's economy, but the problem is, people have no idea where to begin, said Evan Dizak from Community Futures Central Okanagan in a conversation with KelownaNow.

As a young entrepreneur himself, Dizak helped to kick start an informal information and networking session by the name of Aspiring Entrepreneurial Social via the Co+Lab business, which caters to young individuals in the Okanagan. As a means of easing business woes, as well as encouraging people to get out in the community and begin their entrepreneurial careers, Dizak and his team facilitate a space where local business owners can come together and share their entrepreneurial experiences and spark some lively discussion.

“We can relate to the people who want to take that leap of faith, but aren't really sure how to take it,” said Dizak.

The idea behind Co+Lab was initiated as a way to encourage young individuals on the job market to evolve along side Kelowna's vastly changing economic market. In a conversation with Dizak, he reiterated that Kelowna is a hard city to start a business: our market is tough to break into but it's certainly not impossible. It's all about creating connections, offering support, and getting out in the community.

“We're all trying to find our way, and there is a lot of support out there, so I kind of figured, we're going to have to support each other and work together,” said Dizak. “I've already seen at a few of the meetings that some of the people wanting to start a business are already talking and exchanging business cards, and kind of creating connections. Kelowna is a hand-shake town, you need to know somebody that knows someone.”

Photo credit: contributed.

Support systems such as Co+Lab are helping our community. Kelowna's economy is 98 per cent small business, and those businesses usually have less than ten people, said Dizak.

“Helping people start a small business, that is the main driving force of Kelowna's economy. We're going to need a lot of young entrepreneurs to continue driving the economy, especially in the next five to ten years when a lot of the baby boomers will be retiring. We need something to pick up the slack and keep the economy going,” commented Dizak.

Kelowna is incredibly tech focused, explained Dizak. The tech and online sectors are rapidly expanding and we're starting to drift away from tourism. Tourism is still a significant driving force for Kelowna's economy, but as Dizak stressed, we're more than tourism. The goal is to push Kelowna's economy further, to become an all encompassing central hub in the Interior, and that starts with small businesses.

Photo credit: Co+Lab Facebook.

Creating a community of young entrepreneurs is where Co+Lab comes into play. Running as a shared work space, Community Futures partners with other organizations in the community to facilitate an environment where the free-flow of ideas is encouraged.

Community Futures is a government funded non-for-profit that essentially assists the unemployed kick start their own business. There are plenty of organizations that are out there to help Kelowna citizens with their business ventures, said Dizak—Accelerate Okanagan, the Co+Lab we're running, Community Futures—the goal is to have these organizations working together to help assist young entrepreneurs in running a successful business in Kelowna.

“We're all trying to do the same thing, we're all trying to grow businesses in Kelowna, I just thought it would be better if we all came together and worked together,” said Dizak.

For Dizak, a think-tank for young entrepreneurs is a vital aspect in our community. Through support networks such as Co+Lab, individuals are likely to have more confidence when taking that next step in terms of kick starting their business.

The name of the game is to build and support a community of young entrepreneurs, and Co+Lab provides a space for creative ideas, facilitates conversation, and is an event that brings together like minded people. As Dizak describes it, it's a networking event mixed with a TedTalk, and so far, the event has garnered a lot of positive attention.

Interestingly enough, a local company recently released a statistic on the risk Okanagan Entrepreneurs will be facing in the near future as a result of the baby boom retirement.

The next Co+Lab on the agenda is on Thursday, February 19th at 5:00 p.m. through until 7:00 p.m. Admission to the event is free and in support of local business, Dunn Enzies pizza will be provided, along with drinks from Big Surf and SunRype. The event will be held at building number 205-1405 Paul Street in downtown Kelowna. For more information or to sign up, click here.

Photo credit: Co+Lab Facebook.