$5,000 Government Loan Helps Launch Design Studio in Thunder Bay, ON

These days, graphic design requires a lot more than pencils, paint and paper. When Laurie Abthorpe launched her studio, she needed to upgrade her computer system in addition to marketing her business.

With $5,000 from the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF), she was able to get her equipment to the level she needed, and prepare brochures and other marketing materials to start generating clients.

Today, By Laurie Abthorpe, her design studio, is well-established, offering corporate image and logo development, printed promotional materials, creative web design and display marketing to clients in a variety of industries.

Her road to government money began when she joined the Young Entrepreneurs of Thunder Bay. “The youth Coordinator was also the local CYBF coordinator and she introduced me to the program,” she says.

From there, she filled out an application form and submitted a detailed business plan – which she already prepared through a Human Resources Development of Canada program. Two local business people (volunteers with CYBF) critiqued her application and plan, and she revised it and added information as requested. When she re-submitted everything, she was happy to discover her loan was approved.

Her advice: “Be prepared to tell specifically how you plan to use the money being requested. Have a solid business plan, and be open to making changes to your business plan. Those who review your plan are business owners themselves or are very active your local business and economic sector. Remember CYBF is dedicated to providing funding to those who can’t get funding through banks.”

www.bylaurie.com

Would you like to get money to fund your small business, too? There's money available now for qualified existing and start-up businesses. Phone toll-free 1-800-658-9792.