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Bosses movies – it’s just that he wants to be his own. De Paz worked as a crewman in con-
Ain’t nobody got time for that I
t isn’t that Alejandro De Paz had an ex- perience with a boss that was anywhere near those depicted in the Horrible
struction while attending university. “Tey were nice bosses, but at the same time, I don’t want to work for anyone else,” says De Paz. He dreamt of owning his own restaurant,
so he decided to start small and began us- ing his weekends in the warmer months to man a hot dog stand. Between the two jobs, he raised enough
capital to open up a restaurant, but he started to worry about the risk involved. “I realized that it was competitive and the margins were small,” he says. Instead, like a savvy entrepreneur-to-be, he started look- ing for a need to fulfill in the community. A need to satisfy
“I found when I was working in construc-
tion, I didn’t have time to buy groceries,” says De Paz. He also drew on inspiration from the
challenges his family went through when they first immigrated to Winnipeg and didn’t have a car. “It’s hard to go to the store, especially without a car, and then there’s six of us, so that’s a lot of groceries,” he explains. Realizing he was on to something, he
began exploring other markets that could benefit from outsourcing their grocery shopping. He found that parents with young kids, persons with disabilities, transit commuters, busy professionals, and elderly people all have a tough time getting to the store.
Business idea for InstaGroceries was born out of a perceived lack of time for grocery shopping By Brenlee Coates
So far, InstaGroceries has all of Real
Canadian Superstore’s and Sobeys Canada’s products available, with more on the way. De Paz wants to allow con- sumers the freedom to choose their preferred store. “People say they’ve seen (this) before because some grocery stores deliver. But I think what I’m doing is very different because I go to your store,” says De Paz. Te cost of the shopping and delivery
service is dependent on the number of items you purchase. Tere is a base cost of $11.98 and then for the first 12 items, an added charge of $0.45 per item. The cost added per item goes down as you climb up in number of items, and the base fee drops to $9.98 after 25 items. An estimate of your total cost is tallied
online when you place an order, though you pay when you receive your delivery. Price discounts and any discrepancies are applied at the point of sale at the grocery store. Right now, De Paz is doing the deliver-
ies himself, though he hopes to expand his business to include more delivery drivers. De Paz began his business venture
Alejandro De Paz, the brains behind an e-commerce website and delivery service, InstaGroceries. “It’s been getting a lot of response,”
he says. “It’s mostly elderly so far… (but) there’s a lot of markets I can try. “I found people bus there (to the gro-
cery store) and they cab it back because of the bags. It’s not as comfortable as just getting it delivered to your door” – and
likely, the costs would compare. InstaGroceries, as it’s called, is an e-
commerce website, where customers can select the products they want to buy, add them to a cart, and schedule a delivery in a minimum of two hours from the order time, or schedule a specific drop-off time.
through the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg Self-Employment Training Program. Te program offers people who meet the criteria courses and support in produc- ing a viable business plan. Ten, they continue to receive business coaching while operating the approved business and receiving Employment Insurance Benefits or a Living Allowance (up to a maximum of 39 weeks). Though he plans on continuing his
political science studies in the future, one thing’s for sure: De Paz’s happier being his own boss.
Working for Your Family Greg
Selinger MLA for St. Boniface Premier of Manitoba 204-237-9247
GregSelinger.ca
Melanie
Wight MLA for Burrows 204-421-9414
MelanieWight.ca
Andrew
Swan MLA for Minto 204-783-9860
AndrewSwan.ca
Lemieux MLA for Dawson Trail 204-878-4644
Ron-Lemieux.ca
Ron
Sharon Blady
MLA for Kirkfield Park 204-832-2318
SharonBlady.ca
Theresa
Oswald MLA for Seine River 204-255-7840
TheresaOswald.ca
Erin Selby
MLA for Southdale 204-253-3918
ErinSelby.ca
Jennifer
Howard MLA for Fort Rouge 204-946-0272
JenniferHoward.ca
Kerri
Irvin-Ross MLA for Fort Richmond 204-475-9433
KerriIrvinRoss.ca
Peter
Bjornson MLA for Gimli 204-642-4977 1-866-253-0255
PeterBjornson.ca
Flor
Marcelino MLA for Logan 204-788-0800
FlorMarcelino.ca
Chomiak MLA for Kildonan 204-334-5060
DaveChomiak.ca
Dave
Bidhu Jha
MLA for Radisson 204-222-0074
BidhuJha.ca
January 2015
www.smartbizwpg.com
Smart Biz 9
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