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True North Music
True North Music is a full service music store owned and operated by partners Donna Quinlan and
Troy Dwinnell. They sell guitars, amps, drums, accessories, sheet music, books, harmonicas and
they take trade ins. They also offer a range of services from lessons in guitar, bass and
drums, repair on string instruments and amps, P.A. rental and custom guitar modifications.
They opened their doors for business in the fall of 1997 and have been steadily growing ever
since.
The idea of starting up their own business sparked when Troy, a musician himself found that he
had difficulty in accessing music products in the Orillia area. With entrepreneurial spirit
and a desire to work in the area he enjoys, Troy is now realizing his dream with the support of
Donna.
They each have post secondary education in unrelated fields. Donna had previous experience
working in management, customer relations and dealing with the public. With Troy’s experience
in music they had a good foundation to begin. They hired a consultant to produce a business
plan and then went to a couple of banks to get funding for their initiative. They were told
that their business plan was inadequate and that they needed to be in business for a minimum of
2 years to be eligible for a loan. So they set out to prepare yet another business plan.
Another accountant was hired, surveys were done, including a high traffic location study and
a better business plan was the result. They approached another local corporation for funding
only to discover that they wanted an excessive amount in interest, their house and their
co-signers house up for collateral. They tried another avenue, Troy’s parents went to their
bank and got a loan for them. With their savings, profit made from the sale of his personal
instruments and the loan they finally had the start up money they needed, $30,000.
This process of accessing the funds needed took them 7 months of active seeking.
Their one full time employee is also a retired musician who covers the day shift while Donna
and Troy maintain their full time jobs. They work evenings and week ends. Their employee is
in the process of becoming a partner in the business as well. They have set up a unique
situation where he gets paid a minimum amount with the remaining portion of his ‘salary’ being
invested and applied to a partnership in the business. This arrangement accommodates all three
partners in their present situations. The third partner is consulted in the decision making
process as though he were already a full partner. Each of them brings different strengths and
creates the success of this business.
Challenges in this business include financial constraints and dealing with suppliers in getting
their orders in a timely manner. They have accessed family and friends to help with the
renovations of the store and other areas of need. They attend Trade Shows to find appropriate
suppliers and to network with other retailers. They also access the Internet to find
information about instruments and to draw up schematics when doing repairs.
Their customer base is primarily local residents. Musicians playing at the Casino in Rama pass
by as well. They have found that public relations is the best means for advertisement. When
they donated the P.A. system and the sound technician for a local youth centre event, they saw
an immediate increase in sales and new customers. They held a ‘Parking Lot Party’ in
conjunction with the other merchants in the strip mall and it proved to be a successful
advertising approach. They also noticed that sales skyrocketed after they put their business
in the yellow pages of the phone book.
Characteristics required to own and operate a business are perseverance, patience and having an
out going personality. They are most proud to have hit the one year mark in their business.
Their greatest joy is in the ownership of their business and that they get out of it exactly
what they put into it.
If they were to start all over in this business they would definitely take a small business
course or accounting course and they encourage high school students to take that opportunity if
it is available. Advice for other entrepreneurs is to research and think it through very
carefully, don’t give up and don’t be afraid to let go unsuitable help, remember that they work
for you. They also recommend starting up with a computer to keep track of inventory. Crucial
to their success is customer service, if you want to be different and stick out you have to go
that extra mile.
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