by Phil Hartl,

: Thethird business option
¥ oe We've briefly discussed in: preceding ~~
columns the advantages and disadvan. .
_tages of going into business for. oneself.
by (1) buying a franchise; and (2). start-
ing from scratch. A third choice isto
buy all or part of an existing: business.
The’ principal. advantages of buying'an |
.. existing business are that it-has an
Hf . established performance record and, de-
a. pending on the quality of that record, is —
~ generally less. difficult to finance.
You, as.the buyer, should be able to |

Pk find out what-you are getting for your.

money by studying the books, observing

Development Bank actual operations.and ‘making your own
independent assessments of the potential for growth.

But it’s not often that you can find a business to buy which -
meets all your requirements. Maybe it is because your re-
quirements are unrealistic. If so, you should learn to-temper
them. But maybe the business is not up to your requirements
because its present owner has made mistakes. ©

The owner may be good at sales, for example, but a bad ©
manager so that what is made over the counter is lost in inven-
tory costs. The question for you, the buyer, is whether you can
maintain the sales volume while establishing efficient inventory

controls.

- The object of going into business for oneself is to be suc-
cessful. ‘Success is more than simply continuing the operation of a

_ business you buy at the same levels as the previous owner. You .

should always look at an on-going business in the context of
ways that: you, as the new owner, can improve its performance.
Again, as in starting a business from scratch, you should have

experience in the field into which you are entering. You usually

need such experience to be able to determine how you can im-.

prove the business you are buying.

But in buying a business, there is more scope for learning by |
doing than is found when starting from scratch, particularly if
you move cautiously. And a newcomer to the business can often
see ways of improving it that a former. owner has overlooked

because of being too close to it.

‘Some aspects of an existing business can’t be quickly changed

even though change may be desirable, In such instances, you
must have a viable plan for changing the operation in ways that

retain existing customers while attracting new ones. .
Careful and detailed planning is as essential in buying an ex-

isting business as it is in starting from scratch. New business

plans need to be made which include financial projections atleast |

three-years ahead. Market surveys need to be brought up to date. —

The operations of the business needs to be studied for ways in

which they can be improved.

_A business should never be bought just to satisfy the new
owner’s desire to be on his own, It should be bought to be im- —
proved, an objective which can be just as ; demanding as starting a

business from scratch.

Labor contract signed

for Kemano completion

‘As the initial stages of Alcan’s —

Kemano Completion project get
under way, the company an-
nounced on Feb, 22 that a col-
lective agreement for the life of
the project has been struck :be-
tween the union representing all
construction workers on the site
and an association of employers
who will be acting as contractors
to Alcan.

The Allied Hydro. Council, .

representing 17 trade unions, is
the bargaining agent for the
workers. For the past 27 years
the Council has represented
workers on a number’ of B.C.
hydroelectric projects.

Alcan created the Kemano

- Completion Project Employers

Association to set up a single
body for negotiating the con-
tract.

_ The agreement includes stan-
dard wages and benefits ftom
the various master contracts for
the individual trade unions. It
also specifies starting and quit-
ting times and has provisions for
periodic leave for workers.

There is a no-strike, no-
lockout clause in the agreement.

When finished, the Kemano
Completion project will add 540
megawatts of hydroelectric gen-
erating capacity to Alcan’s pres-
ent 896 megawatts. The project
will involve new water release
mechanisms at the Kenney Dam,
dredging of the Nechako reser-
voir, drilling 16 kilometers of
tunnel through the coast moun-
tains between the generator site
and the reservoir, carving addi-
tional areas out of the interior of
the mountain for installation of
four new generators, and string-
ing a 63-kilometer transmission
line between the Kemano
generating station and the Alcan
smelter in Kitimat.

Alcan public affairs officer.

Allan Hewitson said there is
currently a group of 42 workers
on the site establishing. what he
termed a ‘‘beach-head” camp.
“All of 1989 will be preliminary
work,’’ -Hewitson remarked..
“The major work will begin i in
the spring of 1990.” —

The camp being built on the-
site is intended to accommodate
about 200 workers, ;

“TERRACE — The Northair

- Mining: Group;. parent: company
“of Newhawk- ‘gold:-mines, shas-

' given. the Terrace and District

- Chamber ‘of Commerce verbal
assuratice that the company will
use Terrace as its main staging

- and: supply area for the opera-

tion of its Sulphurets gold mine
north of Stewart. _

The information was released

-by the Chamber last Thursday

after'a meeting the previous day
with Northair president Don
McLeod: and Sulphurets mine

, Manager Mike Mracek. The

Revenue Canada recently came to the aid of confused local taxpayers with a visit from

ceries and other consumables,

. Sharples remarked, “It just goes
‘to show what a little persistence. Newhawk joins
and solid discussion can do. -
We're very happy that .New- panies doing initial exploration
hawk .has chosen Terrace as its in the Iskut River gold belt in us-
main supply center.” _

oe, aks se et Pete ER s

. Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 8, 1989. 13 :

-Newhawk takes Terrace

Chamber’s mine. coinmittee. die. government have expressed. con- ”
“rector, Greg. Townsend, said cern over recent months. due to
‘that the agreement meas Ter- . the number of mining compa-.. —--..° ---
race will be the center for pro- nies active in the Stewart gold:
viding the Sulphurets with gro- fields who have chosen Smithers
as their staging area of choice. '
mining ‘supplies and industrial The reason given is generally a.
services, transportation and ex- perception of greater weather
pediting.

reliability at the Smithers, air-
Chamber president. Dick. port. .

Skyline
Resources and some of the com-

ing the community as an opera-
Local merchants. and the city tions center.

In committing to. Terrace,

See

S.T.A.C. — the Seasonal Tax Assistance Centre. Staffed by itinerant consultants, the booth

was set up for five days In the Skeena Mall. Arno and Trudy Stach were two Terrace .

residents who took advantage of Irma Carpine’ s expertise to make thelr way through the

hew calculations.

“Travelling |
help for
tax time

to tel people cope. with this:
- year’s income tax form Revenue -

Canada sent some experts up to

’ Terrace recently;.
Tax advisors Phil Oulton, Ir-

ma Carpino and Denise Boucher
set up in the Skeena Mall for
five days, surrounded by pan-
els, counters and racks of forms
inside what they call
the S.T.A.C. — Season Tax
Assistance Centre. During this
time of the year they spend most
of their time on the road, cover-
ing points all over B.C, and the
Yukon. .

Oulton said that up to Friday.
at 4p.m, they had fielded a total
of 455 inquiries from local tax-

payers and handed out in-

numerable forms and tax

schedules. Most of the ques- ©
‘tions, Oulton said, involved the |
.change from deductions to non-

refundable tax credits new to the
1988 tax guide and eligibility for
the northern tax allowance.
Although there are some sub-
stantial changes to the standard
T-1 return form this year, Oul-
“ton doesn’t think people should
be intimidated by it. ‘People
should be able to handle it if
they've prepared their own tax
returns in the past. It’s pretty

_Staightforward,’’ he com-

mented:

For Small

4 /// /,////// £4

‘Business
Management Seminar |

Tax Tips

Businesses

This Seminar. will provide various methods to rightfully keep taxes to a
minimum. The program includes several points typically aimed at the
small-sized business.

' FBOB's Management Seminars are stimulating and thought-provoking

workshops. Through the case-study method, participants can assess
their management approach and techniques in given situations. Grou
discussions and presentations enable participants to benefit from eac
other's experience,

This Seminar will be held:
DATE: March 22,, 1989

TIME: 7:00-9:00 pm

PLACE: Inn-of the West, Terrace, B.C.
Presented by:

John McMynn, C.A. from .

Carlyle Shepherd & Co.

Registration fee for this three-hour Seminar-
95 - Workshop Is $26 and includes all reference:
material and our after-seminar service.

REGISTER NOW WITH
Federal Business Development Bank - 635-4951
ask for Barb Cooper
Visa and Mastercard Accepted
Seating is limited to 30 seats

Selon la demands, nos séminalres sont oferta an francais: .
SB Ant ae ae ny ee Ane se ses sey ee my

®:

Federal Business Banque fédérale
Development Bank de développement

Your success is our only business!
(Le 3
Canada