OLDS, Alta. – An Ontario woman with a lifelong love of horses has turned her dream of owning a British Columbia guest ranch into an award winning business plan.
Philippa Ruller, a 24-year-old Olds College equine science student, submitted her proposal to the third annual Alberta student business plan competition and placed in the top five among 87 entries. The plan included a 20 page written proposal and a 20 minute oral presentation before judges from the certified general accountants association of Alberta, which sponsors the competition with Alberta Venture business magazine.
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Ruller graduates in June and starts work at a stable in the Whistler, B.C., area when classes finish at the end of April. With her boyfriend Chris Murray, the two are already checking out possibilities for the ranch near Clinton, B.C.
“With this competition, it made me think it was a possibility it could actually happen,” she said.
They hope to find a location by the spring of 2006 and offer year-round activities in the heart of tourist country.
“With the Olympics coming to Vancouver, that is really going to open a lot of international business,” she said.
The plan was conceived as a group assignment with friend Jodi MacAleese in a business class at the college in the fall semester. Five revisions later she entered the plan as an individual and won $500 as a finalist.
The plan included financial aspects, human resources, legal requirements, marketing plans and cash flow projections for three years. Her concept was based on inherited land and gaining access to nearby crown land for horseback riding in summer and winter activities such as cross country skiing, snowmobiling and sleigh rides.
Other details included lists and costs for items such as cutlery, bed linens, staff wages, housekeeping and utilities.
“There are definitely a lot of things in it that I will take out for my own business,” she said. “We tried to keep it as accurate as possible.”
Relying on her background as a teenager working in the tourist industry in Ontario and Alberta, she was able to discuss staff requirements and management because she has learned what works and what does not work with employees.
She next plans to enter the proposal in an Olds college competition with sponsorship from Farm Credit Canada.
Ruller has no background with horses or rural life. Born and raised at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., she loved horses but never became involved with them until she volunteered at a children’s summer camp when she was 17.
Ruller arrived in Calgary three years ago and worked for a bank and at guest ranches in Alberta and B.C. When she heard about Olds College and its equine program, the doors to her dream started to open.
A self-taught horsewoman, she found herself placed among far more experienced classmates.
“It was a challenge for me because I felt set back a bit because I don’t know everything and don’t have a very good foundation,” she said.
The equine program took her from mucking out horse barns to learning how to write business plans.
“The fact I was eager to learn as much as I could has helped a lot,” she said.
“I couldn’t have asked for things to turn out better. I’m doing what I love.”
