North Island Self Employment Program
The North Island Self Employment Program (NISEP) is an initiative of CFMW and is sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Social Development.
NISEP offers eligible individuals E.I. Benefits to assist with living costs during their first year of business start up.
NISEP also offers:
- Bookkeeping instruction
- Business plan development
- Workshops about marketing strategy
- Counseling from the CFMW Business Analyst
- Ongoing support
The eligibility criteria:
- You have a unique, viable business idea or you wish to purchase an existing business on the North Island or Mid Coast region
- You are unemployed
- You are legally entitled to work in Canada
- You are a resident of the Mt. Waddington Regional District or the Central Coast Region
- You have been on an E.I. Claim within the last 3 years, or 5 years for Maternity or Paternity leave, or you are on a Claim now.
For more information about NISEP, please call Jenny Durke at 250 956-2220 Ext: 223
Success stories
Marshall Welding & Fabricating
Blair Marshall opened his business, Marshall Welding & Fabricating, in October 2006. Marshall Welding provides service in the welding and fabricating industry for Port Hardy and the North Vancouver Island region. Blair had been laid off from his welding job, which gave him the opportunity to follow a dream of owning his own shop and hiring his own employees. Blair heard about NISEP and he quickly applied for assistance to navigate through his first year of business. NISEP enabled Blair to take the earnings that he made during his first year and re-invest them back into his business. Blair has successfully sustained his business for 3 years and he now has two full time employees.
Burger Barn
Heather Tennant and her family moved to Sointula from New Westminster in 2006, and Heather fell in love with the community. Heather approached NISEP for help to take advantage of an existing business opportunity: the Burger Barn was for sale. Heather bought the business, purchased new equipment, renovated and opened that spring. Besides burgers, she offers fish and chips and wraps. Heather has applied for a vendor’s license that will enable her to buy seafood from local fishers, which she will add to her menu. She has 2 full-time employees and she says that operating the business has been her greatest challenge and achievement. She has found that after operating for 3 years, her business is now more streamlined and efficient because of all that she has learned along the way. Heather commented that the process of developing a full business plan, as part of her application to participate in NISEP, certainly opened her eyes and made her think through everything before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.
