Times of economic gloom for some are windows of opportunity for others.
So when opportunity knocked for Pablo and Lisa Arsenault, the entrepreneurial couple jumped on the back of a motorcycle, kick started it into gear and drove through the door of their new business … figuratively.
At the beginning of September, the new owners and operators of Summit Motosports in Canmore officially re-opened the doors to the public after a brief closure.
Summit Motosports is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Arsenaults decided to keep the shop’s name and stay put in the six-year location in Canmore’s industrial area at 104 – 109 Bow Meadow Cres.
The shop’s brand name is known within the community, and for Pablo to pick up the telephone and say, “Hey, it’s Pablo at Summit Motosports, there’s been a change in ownership” that was the relatively easy part.
What the Arsenaults are now trying to promote are plans to evolve the business, starting with making Summit Motosports a year-round, one-stop shop.
“We’re not just a motorcycle shop anymore,” said Pablo.
Summit Motosports aims to hit a number of power sport markets, working with a journeyman in the shop to work on, but not limited to, motorcycles, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, and quads – a service not previously offered at the garage.
And with regard to those vehicles, they’ll do rentals, service, parts, repairs, insurance (evaluations, inspections, claims), sales and consignment.
“The other thing, service-wise, we’re tapping into,” Lisa continued, “is with the community of Canmore, there is a lot of transient people that don’t have workshop space, so we’ll have some (do it yourself) rental space, we have the tools so people can come in.”
The couple would like to call it a “community space” of sorts.
“Shops like this are community pieces,” said Pablo. “We really want to bring people in, we want people to come in and work on their own things as part as our business model.”
The couple decided to invest in the local business earlier this year despite the former Canmorites now trading in the mountains for the plains of Cochrane.
But it wasn’t their first choice.
The Arsenaults moved out of Canmore to buy their first home together due to skyrocketing house costs in the valley, but they wanted to keep the business in Canmore because they knew there was a customer base.
“For us, we believe in really good service, and we also believe in community,” said Lisa. “Knowing that there is a demand here and knowing that people lost a service that was really important to them, and being from Canmore, eventually we hope to transition back at some point; we wanted to provide that for people.”
The first-time business owners knew before getting the wrench to an engine it would take tireless – and long – hours to reach this point.
It also means Lisa works a full-time job outside the shop and Pablo works part-time on his days off.
No one said being an entrepreneur was a piece of cake, but the couple described owning a business like being homeowners: the time you invest into it has a completely different vibe and that’s something you can get excited about.
To help with their investment, Pablo and Lisa worked with Community Futures Centre West, ATB and Futurpreneur Canada. The latter hooks up would-be entrepreneurs with a local business mentor(s).
In Pablo and Lisa’s case, they set up with business mentor and friend Jordy Shepherd and will meet once a month.
“I think (Futurpreneur) is a neat thing because it’s helping set us up for success, which is better than, ‘here you go, here’s your money,’ ” said Lisa.
Summit Motosports can be contacted at 403-609-2706, summitmotosports.com, or its Facebook page: Summit Motosports.
