BARRY’S BAY – Sixteen-year-old Kali Borutski had a busy summer, but she didn’t spend it at a summer camp, working at a clothing store or doing usual teenage activities.
Instead, she decided to start her own business.
With the help of a program called Summer Company, which was run by Enterprise Renfrew County, Borutski was one of seven teen participants who opened and ran their own businesses.
Borutski appealed to the public sweet-tooth and started her own baking business called Sprinkle, selling cookies, sweets, baking and specialty cakes.
Taking a cue from her older sister, Borutski saw the benefits of the program from her sister’s past successes.
“My sister Alyssa had done it last year, so I knew that it was a really good program, so that sort of pushed me to do it. She ran a jewellery business and had dabbled in it before and used that experience to start her business,”
Borutski said.
Borutski said.
Naming her company Sprinkle, Borutski originally wanted a name that people would remember.
“Sprinkle just kind of came with thinking about the name. I wanted something short and sweet that wasn’t too long
for people to say,” Borutski noted.
for people to say,” Borutski noted.
Going beyond the expensive overhead of a modern-day store, Borutski decided to make her business mobile and traveled to different local markets to sell her baked goods.
“I didn’t have a store but I went to the markets. I sold at the Barry’s Bay Farmers Market and the Combermere one, as well. I really enjoyed the markets and I personally enjoyed the atmosphere of the Combermere market. There was a lot of variety in the vendors and among the people who bought things there,” Borutski said.
Calling on her mother for the odd tall order, Borutski did most of the baking and preparation all on her own, but was grateful for her mom’s help.
“I made everything myself. My mom would help me sometimes on the morning of markets, so she was definitely a big help as far as that, and she had done markets before with my sister, so she knew how everything was run,” Borutski said.
Wanting to get their applicants on the right track, the Summer Company program gives successful applicants a down-payment to start up their business, and another payment at the end.
“I got $1,500 to start up and then $1,500 at the end,” she noted.
Borutski also took full advantage of two successful business-women from Renfrew County, who helped her to
develop a solid business plan.
develop a solid business plan.
“There were two women from Renfrew County Enterprise and they helped right from the beginning with the business plan to everything right through to the end. Kim Fraser and Colleen Sadler were both amazing resources,” Borutski said. They helped me to create a business plan and the anticipated cash flow, as well as what you wanted to spend your money on,” Borutski said.
Dealing with tight timelines, Borutski learned some necessary skills in the area of time-management.
“I learned how to manage my time, or manage it a lot better, along with people skills,” she added.
Remembering a specifically hectic weekend, she remembers the stress of having too much to do with barely enough time to do it.
Story continues in the September 19, 2012 issue of The Valley Gazette.