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Manitoba: A Blueprint for a Brighter Future
Laser Company Increases Sales
Showcasing the Entrepreneurial Spirit of Aboriginals
Alice Taylor of Innovative Laser Works busy at work. Sales nearly doubled after a storefront location opened in Winnipeg.
Innovative Laser Work
Winnipeg, Manitoba
www.innovativelaserworks.com 
Alice and Malcolm Taylor got even more help than they bargained for when they used the Aboriginal Business Service Network (ABSN) to help develop a business plan for the expansion of their home-based business in 2004. The pair won an ABSN business plan competition, and used the award money to open a 2,000 square foot storefront location in Winnipeg. Within the first year, sales had nearly doubled and a second laser had to be purchased to meet the demand.
The Taylors' company, Innovative Laser Works, engraves highly detailed graphic images onto any flat surface - including granite, acrylic, glass or wood - to create products such as memorial plaques, monuments and promotional items.
Manitoba-made Backpack an International Success
Onyx Group International Inc.
Stony Mountain, Manitoba
www.babysherpa.com
With the help of the Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre, Heather Campbell-Dewar is selling her unique backpacks in Canada, the U.S., Britain and Australia.
Her signature product, the Baby Sherpa ™, is a multifunctional, ergonomically designed diaper backpack with compartments for everything babies and their parents need.
To research the industry, Campbell-Dewar went to Canada Business. "I used the library for information and attended seminars on exporting. The centre also directed me towards a trade mission in Chicago that resulted in new accounts." Those accounts grew to the point where a U.S. sales office was opened to handle more than 150 stores carrying Baby Sherpa.
Trade Mission Nets International Sales
Keystone Western Inc.
Ile des Chênes, Manitoba
www.keystonewestern.com
Thanks to his participation in a trade mission to Strasbourg, France, in February 2005, entrepreneur Mario Boily's trucking company, Keystone Western, won its first major contract with a foreign company. The mission, organized by the Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM), enabled Keystone Western to win a million-dollar contract with a major manufacturer.
The spin-offs from Strasbourg don't stop there - he is currently finalizing another contract, this time for $2 million. Boily says he is grateful to CDEM for convincing him to take part in such a fruitful trade mission.
Sales Grow in New Rural Location
Aquatic Life Ltd.
Pinawa, Manitoba
www.aquaticlife.ca
When Jeff Simpson decided to move from Winnipeg to nearby Pinawa, he worked with the Winnipeg River Brokenhead Community Futures Development Corporation to ensure the change would not be detrimental to his business. With its advice and assistance, the company experienced a 30 per cent increase in sales the following year, despite the new rural location.
Aquatic Life Ltd. is a distributor of environmental testing products, with clients that include utilities, municipalities, government agencies and general industries across Canada. The company also exports monitoring equipment to countries around the world, including Oman, Korea, Bolivia and Mexico.
The Western Canada Business Service Network provided 4,440 training services and 157 loans totaling $4.9 million to Manitoba entrepreneurs in 2005/06