Saskatoon entrepreneur runs boot camps, helps small business owners

Small business owners in Canada lack the financial knowledge they need to succeed when they first start their ventures. That'sone of the conclusions made by Taunya Woods-Richardson, an entrepreneur running a boot-camp for small business owners in Saskatoon.

She talked to Leisha Grebinski as part of the series calledRiding the Economic Waveon CBC Saskatoon'sSaskatoon Morning.

"One of the biggest challenges is usually under-capitalization," Woods-Richardson said.

"They're not asking for enough money at the very beginning when they open up their doors, including money to actually pay themselves a healthy salary to keep the business running."

She said entrepreneurs should find out more about special, small business loans and programs offered through credit unions and banks, and they should tap into other resources available for them.

These are some of the things she's trying to pass on to other start-ups. She said, entrepreneurs, like all Canadians, are generally struggling to save money and lower their debt.

Woods-Richardson added that despite these struggles, they do havetime to get the skills they need.

Some other mistakes include notunderstanding the financial details or accountingof their business, and using too much personalcredit to get things rolling.

"I started these boot camps, because I'm a start-up too, and I made so many of these mistakes," shesaid.

She noted entrepreneurs are the visionaries who love the ideas, but they can struggle with the details.

"There are so many mistakes being made, and unfortunately in our country, they're typically masked in secrecy and shame, and nobody's talking about them," Woods-Richardson said.

"Some of the best lessons we're learning are when other start-ups come forward, share their story and encourage entrepreneurs not to follow their path when it comes to that specific mistake."