b'YOUNG ENTREPRENEURSJOSHUA COLLINS-MOODY Toronto-based provider of scaffoldingAs the contracts increased, so did the for residential and commercial proper- crew. The company began with just ties. The company has found successCollins-Moody and one other worker. providing a host of scaffolding solu- Today, it operates with a small core tions to construction and other compa- staff composed primarily of Indigenous nies, including rentals, installationskilled workers. His team not only and dismantling.includes tradespeople, but also a busi-ness advisor, accountant, bookkeeper Since launching his business in 2023,and receptionist.Collins-Moody has been intentional not just about attaining business success,Despiteearlygrowth,accessto but about using his success to upliftfinancing has remained one of the his community. My goal when I startedbiggest challenges. For Collins-Moody, this business is the same as it is todaythis reflects a broader issue that manyto make a bigger impression for myIndigenous entrepreneurs face. When community and help bring up theyou dont come from a place of assets people around me, he says. Thatsor wealth, its really hard to get a loan been one of my mission statementsfrom any direction, either personal or since day one. business, he says. And to date, Im still Collins-Moody started PEAK Scaffoldingworking on getting a business loan.Founder, PEAK Scaffolding Ltd.after spending several years working Age: 38 with his brother Ace in Albertas oilCollins-Moody is currently working and gas industry. After recognizing thetoward securing funding through the potential in starting his own venture, heMtis Voyageur Development Fund, began saving to fund the start of hiswhich he hopes will support PEAK own business. I came from a family thatScaffoldings expansion into industrial was pretty humble and didnt have a lotcontracts. But he is candid about how of capital to help, he says, so I was indifficult the road has been: Access a position to either save for it or moveto capital has been very difficult up away from the idea, and I decided tountil this point. Its made it really chal-save for it. lenging to grow.Resources were limited when PEAKFor Collins-Moody, entrepreneurship R eaching new heights is businessScaffolding first opened its doors.has always been about more than as usual for Joshua Collins-Moody.Collins-Moody began by renting equip- businessits about impact. Beyond He is the proud Mtis founder andment for jobs and reinvesting everypersonal fulfilment, he says, Promoting owner of PEAK Scaffolding Ltd., adollar he earned. We rented the mate- more skills in the trades and creating rial at first and then used the capitalemployment for people in our commu-from those jobsalong with what I hadnity is a big part of our mission.savedto purchase our first batch of equipment. Once we owned our equip- As for whats next, Collins-Moody plans ment, we could take on smaller jobs,to expand beyond the Greater Toronto and from there it just kept escalating. Area into Eastern Ontario, with proj-The business model worked. In itsects already underway in Kingston first year, PEAK Scaffolding earnedand Trenton. Eventually, the goal is just under $200,000 in sales. By yearto establish a stronger foothold in two, revenue more than doubled tothe industrial sector, where his career climb past $500,000. A large part offirst began.that growth came from Collins-Moodys decision to prioritize an online pres- Asked what advice he would give other ence. Within six months of launching,Indigenous entrepreneurs, Collins-he built a company website and devel- Moody is forthright: We face a lot of oped a social media strategy to attractroadblocks as a community, but the clients. One of the key things that reallykey is we dont give up. I started this helped us grow was our social pres- company with a goal to create job ence online. I used organic marketingopportunities for the people around to really drive home our online visi- me and get to a place where I can give bility without having to pay for tradi- back to my community, and thats what tional marketing, he says. Im going to do.Indigenous BUSINESS REPORT31'