The
Toronto Star writes on entrepreneur Andrea Brockie and her St Lawrence Market-based business
Selsi Sea Rocks. Brockie got her start selling bath salts at a temporary sidewalk stall outside the St. Lawrence farmer's market on Saturdays. Now, 6-years later, Selsi Sea Rocks has moved to a permanent stall inside, is open seven days a week, and sells over 40 different kinds of salt from around the world.
"Adrea Brockie likes salt. So much so, she's turned it into a business"
"Through
Selsi Sea Rocks, a six-year-old company based at the St. Lawrence
Market in Toronto, Brockie sells and distributes about 40 different
kinds of salt from around the world."
"It's something I enjoy doing, but it's not what I studied for," says Brockie, of Toronto."
"She
started with a temporary stall outside the St. Lawrence farmer's market
on Saturdays. There were a few problems, and those close to her were
skeptical at first."
"Out on the sidewalk, the rain would come and it would start dissolving the salt, so I decided to get a stall inside the market."
"She moved indoors, where the lamps and the increasingly-large selection of salt were safe from the rain, and she could operate five days a week. She rents out warehouse space as she needs it."
"That kind of business discipline was part of the plan she'd developed during a year out of the working world, under a federally-funded program. Anyone on EI can apply to join the program, today called the Ontario Self Employment Benefit Program.It gives successful applicants a year to come up with a business plan, and coaches them how to start and run a small business.Earning income while on EI usually means your benefits are clawed back, but people who make money while in OSEB don't experience this as long as the money is invested in their business."
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original source
Toronto Star