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The Old Indian
The Old Indian is a Mail Order Business offering 5 different dietary supplements consisting
of the following: ginseng, ginko biloba, devil’s claw, cranberry and willow bark.
Established in 1992 by his father, Rob was offered the business in the spring of 1996.
He works from his home juggling other employment and a family.
Rob maintains another job to support himself on an on going basis as the business is
part time. Initially his father began with a business plan and marketing consultants
were hired. The Economic Development Officer in their community assisted with this process.
The clientele were established at this time.
Rob’s top three challenges in his business are financial constraints, personal time
constraints and lack of planning. With the help of family, friends and business
associates, he has been able to overcome the challenges.
Advertisements in ‘Senior’s Today’ magazine (an Ontario publication) has been the
preferential means of successful marketing as well as word of mouth. The customer
base is primarily people approaching retirement age and the majority of them live
beyond the local community.
Rob states that to be a successful Aboriginal business owner a desire to be self
sufficient is a must. Entrepreneurial spirit, consistency, positive attitude
during the down periods and an understanding of accounting fundamentals like
calculating the return on your investments are essential to success.
If Rob were to start all over again he would like to have a shop separately from his
home right from the start. Having the business in his home is difficult. He also
would get recommendations from a wider range of business consultants and get different
types of advertising methods.
Rob is most proud of the fact that the business continues to be successful. His
greatest joy comes from making a sale. He also has a sense of security being a
business owner.
Advice for upcoming entrepreneurs is to plan thoroughly first, then get professional
advice, also make sure you are interested in the field because you don’t want to be
stuck in a job you don’t like. You will need a positive attitude to be resilient in
the times that are tough. There are always unforeseen obstacles but any obstacles
can be overcome.
A potential business that would compliment his business is a Ginseng Farm, or picking
ginseng in the wild.
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