Program bolsters young entrepreneurs. (Sault Ste. Marie).

You are fresh out of school with a great business idea and all the academic know-how and moxie to do it, but who do you approach for a loan? With no real world experience and no business track record to speak of, what financier will take a chance on you?

The Sault's Enterprise Centre and the Royal Bank have introduced a new program that builds on a multi-pronged approach to foster a greater entrepreneurial spirit in the community.

My Company is a free training workshop program launched in September that provides hands-on business training and offers competitive loans of up to $15,000 to help young people start their own businesses.

The program is open to fledgling entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 29 who are not attending school full-time. After completing 12 hours of business training available through the Enterprise Centre or online, which includes preparation of a comprehensive business plan, participants can submit an application with their plan and a certificate of course completion to the nearest Royal Bank branch.

A recent Angus Reid study commissioned by the Royal Bank found that one in three young people between the ages of 18 and 34 regard entrepreneurship as the most desirable profession ahead of traditional occupations such as lawyer, teacher or stockholder, says Terry Sheehan, general manager of the Enterprise Centre.

And in northern cities like the Sault, he says, small and medium-sized businesses are the "life blood" of the community. But without question, Sheehan adds, the greatest challenge for northern entrepreneurs is access to capital, particularly among young people without business experience.

As well, post-secondary graduates can be saddled with crippling student debts, which is why a $15,000 loan can be a helping hand, providing the program participants can present a 20 per cent equity contribution.

"This program trains them and gives them more of a chance for success through access to capital."

Thus far, four would-be entrepreneurs have signed on with My Company to undergo what Sheehan calls a "rigourous" instruction on writing the components of their business plan while learning the basics of how to run a small business, such as bookkeeping skills Lawyers, accountants, bankers and a successful "mentor" entrepreneur are brought in as instructors.

The centre instructors then drill the program participants in knowing their business plan inside and out, a useful exercise when being quizzed by bankers or potential investors.

Sheehan says entrepreneurs have to keep in mind that banks generally do not take a whole lot of risk for the benefit of their shareholders.

"This program generates part of that risk," Sheehan says.

"What this program demonstrates is that these people have gone through a process of training and that they've thought through their idea, the various risks associated and tried to minimize them, therefore the bank can take a greater risk."

It comes down to a bank sizing up an individual, doing their research and examining an applicant's business plan and their ability to pay the bills, he says.

Sheehan says participants can either come into the Enterprise Centre with a business idea or they can get help for brainstorming for ideas on how, to generate an opportunity. To test if a business idea has legs, the Royal Bank offers a template through their Web site or in CD form called the Interactive Planning Guide for Entrepreneurs.

The Enterprise Centre also provides other similar programs such as My Summer Company offering business training, mentoring and grants up to $3,000 for students aged 15 to 29. They also have plans to kick off a future entrepreneurs program in the Sault and Algoma grade schools in January.

The centre, which operates out of the Sault's economic development office at city hall, is teaming up with a sister agency, the award-winning BRIDGE program at Algoma University College in looking to accelerate youth entrepreneurship from grade school on up.