President, Continental Marble
Chair, Newfoundland
Opportunities are all around you. Even the most unlikely-sounding ideas can be turned into successful ventures, and I speak both as an entrepreneur and as the Chair of the Newfoundland Manufacturer's Association.
In my own business, I contended with scepticism, supplier problems, and opening up a whole new marketplace. In 1979, there were those who thought the idea of manufacturing marble products in Newfoundland was way out in left field. Some even called my wife and me crazy for promoting the idea.
Fifteen years later our company is marketing high-quality cultured marble to customers around the province. Our product calibre has been recognized by awards from international organizations. We are held to be the most innovative company, in terms of developing new cultured marble products, in the entire world. We have the right to be proud of our entrepreneurial spirit, and we are.
In my work with the Newfoundland Manufacturers' Association, I have seen dozens of other entrepreneurs succeed with their ideas, many of which seemed to pessimists just as unlikely.
As long as there are people with dreams, as long as there is energy and creative thinking, people in this province will continue to innovate, to stimulate, to create. Whether your interests are in technical fields or the arts, in downtown St. John's or in the wilds of Labrador, there is something you can do to support yourself.
You'll see that many of the entrepreneurs we profile started around their kitchen tables and grew to need independant premises. Others began at their businesses part-time while they worked at another job. All, from painters to architects, have one thing in common: that they had dreams of succeeding at something out of the ordinary, and did extraordinary work to make their dreams come true.
For centuries, our ancestors scratched out livings from this rock we live on. In the face of an often hostile climate, they flourished and survived. Today, I fully believe the entrepreneurs of our province are continuing that brave tradition.
I hope you, too, will want to carry it on, to seize opportunities where you find them, and to make your lives successful. Hopefully this will provide you with a stimulus for discussion and encourage you to view yourselves in a new context - not as people looking for work, but as people who can make it on their own.
You have the capability to succeed provincially, nationally, and internationally.
Lorne Janes
President, Continental Marble
Chair,
Copyright 2000, Tiffany Marble Molds International, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Lorne Janes
President, Continental Marble
Chair, Newfoundland
