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r Y \/1 i 1 i i n /VQ V t r '✓' NXO' ^ V w I y> V Xn <^w a -c'- J^Jaa// ff«s*/ AA/ S I 0>e1t S3 lif > vv' S' W x->' S S v v-'B' 11' Wednesday; September 2 A T 998 COMMUNITY CALENDAR • LIFESTYLES • SPORTS • COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENCE • TV Breaking Into the Working World as the Boss Touah Job ■ ! ■■■■>■■ ■ ■■ Out the Entrepreneur In Todays Youth by Lorraine Manfredo Staff Writer L ooking for that first foothold in the working world can be a kick in the ego for young people today. It's not uncommon to see your résume added to the daily pile on an employer's desk, or hear the phrase "we'll keep it on file" for the umpteenth time. And with most young adults facing hefty tuition debts down the road, the need for a summer income becomes all the more important. But every generation has its entrepreneurs - kids who create their own breaks. And plenty are discovering discovering that striking out on their own may be their one, sure ticket into the world of the working. K im Alldread, age 23, and Jason Thompson, age 22, are two such risk-takers. risk-takers. For five months they've been their own bosses in a truck stop restaurant and neither one IMAGINE THE FREEDOM -- Nothing beats the freedom of working working for yourself, says Donald Allin. The 15-ycar-old Clarke High School student spent his summer holidays serving homemade sausage (a prod uct from his family's farm) at the BBQ Barn on the 35/115. He had the idea for a trailer and his dad helped him build it. Over the next couple of summers, Donald expects to save enough for his university tuition. has any regrets. "This is probably the smartest thing I ever did," says Kim. "I've learned more in the last five months than I ever did in school." Running their own restaurant wasn't something something they planned. The opportunity presented COMPUTER CONSULTANT -- Jamie Allin, age 17, turned his knack for repairing computers into a paying proposition. A vendor's permit not only enabled him to order parts wholesale for his own computer upgrades, but launched him into business upgrading other folks' systems. He calls his outfit Clarington Computer Consultants. If he can't help people sort through their software woes over the phone, lie makes house calls. His list of clients has grown mainly through word-of-mouth recommendations. itself and they took the plunge. Opportunity knocked back in January. That's when they heard from restaurant employees at the Heavy Haulers truck stop on Wavcrlcy Road where they had both worked at one time, who told them that the place was due to close down at the end of February. After 17 years, the owners owners decided to devote their attention to other business ventures and only wanted to continue to operate the Shell fuel bar. Fourteen employees had been notified notified in advance of the closure. closure. Without saying anything to the workers for fear of getting their hopes up, Kim and Jason spent the next two and one half months working out a business plan. They studied a monthly payment plan to purchase all the kitchen equipment. They worked out leasing terms to present to the Shell representative. They met with suppliers and even took informal customer customer surveys to determine long term business improvement plans. Having little past business business experience, these two had to attract credit largely due to the confidence they inspired by doing such thorough research. Both sets of parents pitched in $2,500, giving them a solid start-up fund. And as Kim explains, getting the Shell representative representative to agree to lease the place to them was a key step. After all, the restaurant restaurant reflects the company. Her professionalism and ambition were convincing assets, They call their place TK's. Kim and Jason see themselves themselves as a new breed of boss for a new age. They aren't money hungry hungry and they show their appreciation for their staff, Kimrjays. . "We try to be decent, respectful and fair to everybody who works here," she says. "There wouldn't be half the workplace workplace stress if this was the norm in business." A nother young person person delighted to be his own boss is Donald Allin, a student at Clarke High School. This summer lie's pulling in about $300 on a good week, running the BBQ Barn, a sausage trailer trailer custom-built by himself and his dad, Lome, which Donald operates solo at the Petro Can station on Hwy. 115. "Even on slow days, I make enough to pay my wage and cover the cost of materials," he says. Over the next few summers summers lie figures he can save $10,000 for university- university- Donald says he got the idea for his venture while enjoying the homemade sausage his family gets through their Allbros Farms pork operation. "We had sausage from our farm, and I like it and I said we could make money selling it." The trailer he now runs, stems from a very humble plan. Originally, he envisioned envisioned his summer sales booth could be little more than a backyard BBQ and table. But after meetings with health and fire inspectors, Donald discovered there was a lot of work to satisfy strict food service regulations, regulations, and get a green light fd'i all from plumbing and .propane hook ups. He jumped every hurdle as it came and now can assure his customers he has all the approvals. All these lessons have given him the kind of business business experience you just can't get in many summer jobs. Now that he's established, established, he's contemplating expanding the menu to include onion rings and his own secret recipe Tor shakes. "I like the freedom of working for myself," he says. "You, gel .to make, your own rules and set your own standards." And his dad likes the trailer so much, he's thinking thinking of building more and setting them up around the region expressly for students students who want to raise money for university. E ven Donald's big brother is an entrepreneur. entrepreneur. Jamie Allin, age 17, started Clarington Computer Consulting in May and already, a growing list of clients relies on him to help them gel the most out of their software and computing computing systems. "Most of the time it's a software problem," he says. "I try to help them over the phone, but most of the time it's pretty near impossible." He makes a lot of house calls. He also helps build affordable systems from used parts. "I have my vendor's permit permit so I can also order parts for upgrading." Jamie has ample qualification qualification as computer consultant. consultant. He's got a slew of programming tricks he learned at night school, plus a Junior Achievement certificate. In addition, he completed a three week course at University of Toronto that his high school teacher recommended recommended him for. Jamie had clients before he had an official business. He was always upgrading upgrading his own system and always running around helping others. So, he figured figured he could earn a bit of extra cash for his expertise. expertise. Between his work on the family farm, a Friday night job.qt a pizza shop, and his own computing business, he'll be able to save up for tuition for the computer program at University of Waterloo. NEW BREED OF BOSSES -- Kim Alldrcad, 23, and Jason Thompson, 22, arc two business partners who took over a truck stop restaurant on Wavcrlcy Road when the original operators decided not to renew their lease. By stepping in when they did, the young entrepreneurs saved several employees their jobs. Neither has any regrets. "It's probably the smartest thing I've done," says Kim. ES 0 i yii COSTUMED RIDER -- This rider took on a Middle- Eastern theme when showing her horse during during Agricultural Society's activities activities at this y car' s B I a c k s t o c k Fair. The 133rd annual event was held last weekend. STEP RIGHT UP ... Cathy and Julie Bagg try their luck at carnival games set up at the Blackslock Fair last weekend,