MBiz

"We love Canada! There are lots of opportunities for small business here with great resources, like the World Trade Centre to guide you." Winnipeg), which has proven to be a very big support to our company." Established in 2014, the BIC is a free information service offering everything entrepreneurs need to know about starting and growing a small business in Manitoba. BIC manager Nathalie Roche says the centre offers three core services, including business guidance, secondary market research data and a weekly seminar program. Seminars, delivered on-site or online, feature presentations on topics such as business taxes and Indigenous entrepreneurship. Budding entrepreneurs can get the answers they need in person or via phone, e-mail or social media. Twice a year, the BIC hosts special, day-long bus excursions to Emerson, where participants learn more about importing and exporting. Roche says response to this unique training opportunity has been excellent, a tribute to the quality and responsiveness of all BIC programs. "Our business information officers often have personal experience in business themselves, so they really love to help entrepreneurs," she says. "Questions from clients can be either broad or specific. If we don't have the answers, we will find someone who does." That task is made easier through the network of 30 business organizations that have partnered with the BIC to provide current, comprehensive information about all aspects of business startup and development. The BIC also recently launched the Biz Grid, an interactive online directory to benefit entrepreneurs involved in small and medium enterprises. The tool — found at www.wtcwinnipeg.com/biz-grid/ — helps entrepreneurs at the startup, development or established phases of business find their way through the vast landscape of organizations offering related assistance in Manitoba. Biz Grid is divided into four stages of business life — idea, launch, growth and sustainability, and exit. Resources include research and product development, training and education, business and financial planning, financial assistance and funding, legal assistance, coaching, sales and marketing and workforce development. Ralston De Zilva's first call to the BIC was immediately productive. An information officer sent him "loads of information, on everything from the tea industry in Manitoba and Canada to what we needed to know about business taxes and registration," he says. "It was just amazing. It was almost like they were expecting my call." In a matter of months, the first Chizma Tea Collections retail store opened in Winnipeg's cityplace downtown, earning a positive response from a growing clientele of tea drinkers, restaurant owners and other retailers. De Zilva says BIC officers continue to stay in touch via e-mail, and he attends BIC-sponsored seminars and events to learn from business experts and fellow entrepreneurs. He is always happy to sing the praises of the service that helped him and his sister achieve this milestone in their company's development. "We love Canada! There are lots of opportunities for small business here with great resources, like the World Trade Centre to guide you," he says. "This business was our dream … and now, with the help of the BIC, it's coming true." Learn more about the Business InfoCentre at wtcwinnipeg.com/bic, and visit Chizma Tea Collections at chizmatea.com. ■ Siblings Ralston and Amanda De Zilva knew they had a hot commodity in Ceylon tea. With help from the Business InfoCentre, they were able to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Photos by Darcy Finley BUSINESS INFOCENTRE - a proud member of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce in the Capital Region

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