Pies, partnerships and profit margins: How a pizza purveyor is inspiring new entrepreneurs

Pizza shops throughout Waterloo Region are offering advice to young business owners.

Some pizzerias in Waterloo Region are sharing their business skills in hopes of inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

A general manager at a Domino’s store in Kitchener, Nicole Brisevac, has been running the program for the last four years.

“This is something that we’re doing in the tri-cities, so Kitchener, Cambridge, we are also in Paris, New Hamburg, Waterloo and our new Elmira location as well,” Brisevac said.

Through the program, children are invited to sit down with Brisevac or other franchise leaders to discuss goals for their own small businesses, such as lemonade stands.

“They come in with a lot of awesome ideas,” Brisevac said. “We’ve had kids come in with posters before, drawings. I’ve had some kids come in with resumes and they’re just as excited about it as we are.”

The kids also receive pizza coupons which they can sell to customers at their roadside stands.

“They told us we could sell it for how much we wanted,” explained Emma, a 13-year-old participant. “We talked about the prices of a regular large pizza and two toppings so that would help us choose how much money we’re going to sell it for.”

Emma’s partner Owen, who also happens to be her 11-year-old brother, believes customer service is key to success.

“Our business plan was we were going to go out there with a smile and sell as much as we can,” he said.

For Brett-Lee Jones, Owen and Emma’s mother, watching them run their business brought back childhood memories.

“They also wanted to do things like selling freezies,” she said. “How much is a box going to cost? How much are we going to sell them for and profit? It was really neat watching them talk about that and argue about pricing. It was really good to watch them come to a consensus about what they wanted to do at their lemonade stand.”

Since the program’s inception, Brisevac said they have been able to help approximately 100 budding business owners.

Anyone who wants to take part is encouraged to email [e-mail]