Account Login/Registration

Access KamloopsBCNow using your Facebook account, or by entering your information below.


Facebook


OR


Register

Privacy Policy

Helm Collective a new hub for entrepreneurs

Artists, collectors, bakers and bloggers have found a home on Victoria Street. The Helm Collective is the newest gathering place for entrepreneurs and it’s catering to businesses that don’t fit the traditional mold.

Megan Schultz and Tami MacKinnon have both struggled to find a network that caters to their small business — Schultz owns Cocoa Dot Cakes and MacKinnon is a yoga educator with her very own Tangled Movements.

They opened The Helm Collective in January with the goal of creating a collaborative workspace for entrepreneurs who operate from home but can benefit from joining a wider network of their peers.

<who> Photo Credit: The Helm Collective</who>

“We have always had five projects we are working on and we’ve both been interested in having our own business for quite a while and we found it challenging to find support. The resources are kind of limited for our types of businesses because they are sort of non-traditional,” Schultz said.

“We have a lot of entrepreneurial friends as well that had the same idea and we had been getting together in little groups, having brainstorming sessions, and it just kind of hit us one day, this needs to be a thing.”

Schultz and MacKinnon are both working out of the The Helm Collective and a third office houses Fresh Finds Vintage, a retailer for vintage clothing and antiques. But the collective also acts as a hub for entrepreneurs to meet up and collaborate. Every week they host Goal Setting Sunday, an opportunity for anyone to drop by, work, visit and bounce ideas around.

Those brainstorming sessions have inspired The Helm’s first few workshops.

Earlier this month, local DIY blogger Colleen Pastoor hosted a social media seminar and she’ll teach two more in the coming months: an April workshop on publishing with Wordpress and a May workshop focusing on creating graphics for social media. The collective is also planning an accounting workshop and welcomes other groups to use the communal space for events.

Tonight, TRU’s Professional Convention Management Association is holding Table Talks, a networking meetup for students and event professionals, at the Helm from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“We definitely have growing interest, especially since the first workshop, and I think the longer we have the goal setting Sunday — we get a lot of questions about what that entails and what can come from that and what the benefits are,” Schultz said.

“We have a ton of inquiries about office space. I think that’s a huge barrier for a lot of people in non-traditional business, treating it like it's a job and working like it’s a full time job. It’s a lot harder to do when you’re at home."

Check out The Helm Collective's website for upcoming workshops.



Send your comments, news tips, typos, letter to the editor, photos and videos to [email protected].



Weather
webcam icon

weather-icon
Thu
13℃

weather-icon
Fri
12℃

weather-icon
Sat
13℃

weather-icon
Sun
17℃

weather-icon
Mon
18℃

weather-icon
Tue
20℃
current feed webcam icon

Top Stories

Follow Us

Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Linkedin
Follow Our Newsletter
Privacy Policy