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![\"RUTH](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4085023_web1_260324-Indig-Chamber-2-.jpg\")
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RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Matthew Sabourin of Nonsuch Brewing Co. speaks about his business experiences during the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Manitoba panel discussion at the Delta Hotel on Tuesday. Fellow local entrepreneurs Shyla Niemi, founder of Giigido Mikinaak, and Alexander Hup\u00e9 of Shortline Moving Solutions participated, along with moderator Noah Wilson (right).<\/p>\n
\u201cI now realize looking back \u2026 I have been an entrepreneur all my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sabourin shared his journey from being a child who didn\u2019t believe in himself to working in the film industry after university to eventually opening Nonsuch during the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Manitoba\u2019s third annual \u201cLaunching Success for Leaders of Tomorrow\u201d luncheon on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Alexander Hup\u00e9, who started a moving company, and Shyla Niemi, who owns a small business dedicated to creating language learning tools, appeared alongside Sabourin during the panel discussion.<\/p>\n
Perseverance is key, Sabourin said, after moderator Noah Wilson of Futurpreneur asked the panelists what advice they would give a young Indigenous entrepreneur who is just getting started.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t take no for an answer,\u201d Sabourin told a crowd of about 130 people at the Delta Hotel. \u201cIt\u2019s remarkable how many times those nos have turned into yeses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nonsuch will open a retail store and taproom in the South Osborne area later this year, he added.<\/p>\n
Hup\u00e9 shared his time as owner of Shortline Moving Solutions has taught him it\u2019s important to be decisive.<\/p>\n
The entrepreneur started Shortline in 2015 with one employee and a single truck. Today, the company has more than 100 people on staff and a fleet of 50 vehicles that serve clients across Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay healthy, read a lot, always be learning \u2014 that\u2019s important, too,\u201d Hup\u00e9 said. \u201cAnd if you do make something of yourself, give back. Give back to the community that helped get you to where you are. Nobody\u2019s truly self-made. Anybody who\u2019s achieved any kind of success has had a lot given to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Niemi, who runs Giigido Mikinaak, encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to find or build a community for support. She wouldn\u2019t be where she is today without the help of programs for young entrepreneurs and the support of her friends, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so meaningful when you have a community and you\u2019re there to support each other (and) lift each other up,\u201d she said. \u201cA little bit can go a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Niemi launched a successful Kickstarter campaign that exceeded its $7,000 goal by 24 per cent. More than 115 people contributed $8,700 to the campaign, which will allow Giigido Mikinaak to produce a card game that helps players learn the Ojibwa language.<\/p>\n
Niemi encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to believe in themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it can be scary coming into a room like (this) where you\u2019re surrounded by a lot of people, a lot of professionals and you\u2019re like, \u2018Man, they all have everything put together. They\u2019re so successful.\u2019 But they also have their (bad) days, too. Not everyone has everything figured out. Everyone has to start from somewhere, so don\u2019t underestimate yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier Tuesday, Michelle Cameron shared her journey as an entrepreneur during a keynote presentation.<\/p>\n
Cameron started Dreamcatcher Promotions as a home-based business in 2011, and has developed it into Canada\u2019s largest Indigenous-owned promotional company, with revenue in the millions.<\/p>\n
She concluded by reading a message for Indigenous peoples from her forthcoming memoir.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour dream does not have to be perfect,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou do not have to have it all figured out. You simply need to start with one step, one sale, one connection, one moment of courage, and when you succeed \u2014 because you will \u2014 try to remember to hold the door open for the next one behind you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is how we lift our people. This is how we honour those who came before us. This is how we build the future our children deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Manitoba organizes the annual luncheon to promote the next generation of Indigenous business leaders, said Chris Henry, interim president.<\/p>\n
The chamber was founded in 2004. It has more than 250 members.<\/p>\n
aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Reporter
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