What a dream: partners win $8,600.

Sault Ste. Marie -- Pam Dalton and Katie Oberegger probably never thought they would be handed a trophy for daydreaming.

But their plan to launch the unisex Daydream Spa within a year earned them top honours at the 2005 BIZMAP Business Plan Competition Awards April 5.

The Sault-area competition was the result of a three-year, $77,100 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in December 2004.

"The judges, steering committee members, and I were blown away by the Final Five presentations this year," says project manager Jill Zago. "The passion from our finalists about their ideas was very contagious."

Both Dalton and Oberegger have experience in aesthetics as they are working in the field while finishing their schooling.

Their dedicated and knowledgeable attitudes have put them on the path to success, according to the judges. The top prize package, worth about $8,600, will help them along as well. It includes:

* $2,000 cash;

* A $1,000 account at Copiers Plus;

* A $3,000 account at KPMG;

* A $500 account with Wishart Law Firm;

* $1,200 in Ontera services;

* A $200 Chamber of Commerce membership and

* $700 worth of waived service charges on an RBC business account.

They will also receive application guidance from a RBC agent for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. (NOHFC) Young Entrepreneur Program in case they require additional funding in the beginning.

Rikki-Lee Gibbons from Sault Ste. Marie received second prize for her aspirations to educate and service a unique market in Algoma. Gibbons turned to the Wiccan religion years ago and has drafted a plan to assist those interested in this faith to better understand its positives.

She received $1,000 cash and $3,200 in business start-up services.

It is Gibbons hope to have her store, Wiccan Ways, up and running on Queen Street by the summer months.

Third place went to Margo Beaudoin of Chapleau. Her plans are to open an experimental education and outdoor programming business in Chapleau.

Beaudoin wants to run Boreal Adventures, which will offer services to locals, tourists and schools. Her business will offer mountain biking, kayaking and hiking lessons. Beaudoin was handed $500 cash and $3,200 in business start-up services.

BIZMAP is an Algoma-based competition designed to help young people aged 18 to 20 achieve their business goals and receive the consulting they need to understand these goals.

www.bizmap.ca

By MARIE CLARKE

For Northern Ontario Business