January 12, 2009
Sydney River’s Scott McIntyre has invested everything to live and raise a family in Cape Breton
Herald
By TERA CAMUS Cape Breton BureauSCOTT McINTYRE turned 30 this week.
The former graphic designer and photojournalist was teased publicly on his birthday Tuesday by The Gi ant 101.9 radio station for “looking amazingly well for someone who turns 60 today."
Scott Boyd, one of three hosts on the station’s morning show, told The Chronicle Herald they poked a little fun at Mr. McIntyre be cause he’s “one of the good guys Cape Breton needs to keep" if the economy is ever going to bounce back.
“It’s a young people’s world, we know . . . but it’s nice to see the young people we have stay here," Mr. Boyd said, noting many of the staff at The Giant, including the news director, are in their 20s.
Several officials, including Mayor John Morgan, say the departure of young, intelligent men and women is hurting Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
But Mr. McIntyre decided to take a risk in a tough local photography market by putting every penny of the $50,000 he saved while working at the Cape Breton Post to open his own business in Cape Breton, where he wants to raise 18-month-old son Ben with his sweetheart Helen Prentice.
The inspiration to open his own studio came from another young entrepreneur who did the same — hair stylist Mike MacDonald at Revive. Mr. MacDonald was under 30 when he took a chance on Cape Breton.
“I didn’t get any help, which I’m proud of. Everyone was saying, ‘Oh no, you should get a loan, get a loan,’ but I said, ‘I don’t want a loan,’ " Mr. McIntyre said. “I don’t have to pay anyone back but myself."
Mr. McIntyre opened his Sydney River stu dio on Sept. 2 and has two employees. So far, he’s made money and is encouraged by the number of clients he has attracted.
Although he focuses on family or individual studio portraits, he uses the outdoors as well, including using what most would con sider ugly industrial structures as a setting to enhance the beauty of the people he shoots. “It’s a huge risk," he said.
“I had lots of faith in myself so I just did it. . . . This gives me a chance to have my own business at home. I don’t have to leave and go anywhere else to work. My goal was always to never leave Cape Breton," he said.
“I would never go away, especially now with my family. My little guy, Ben, is the most important thing in the world to me, and I would never (leave); I just couldn’t. I’m not saying it’s bad that some guys have to go away from their families but I just can’t do it. I could never bring myself to be away from here."
Stephen Tobin, president of JCI Cape Breton, says Mr. McIntyre is inspiring to other people who are digging in their heels and sticking it out in Cape Breton.
“His continued success is proof that Cape Breton can not only be a great place to live, but also a great place to work," Mr. Tobin said.
According to a recent labour market study conducted by Mr. Tobin’s group, between 2000 and 2005, Cape Breton Island had a net out-migration of 4,942 residents, 72 per cent of them under the age of 25.
“The factor that most influenced people to consider leaving was, not surprisingly, lack of appropriate employment opportunities (52 per cent)," the report states.
“This was followed by a desire for a higher income (20 per cent) and a lack of social opportunities in Cape Breton (15 per cent)."
Although the report says people leaving the Island for points west isn’t something new, the problem is that “we are experiencing a dramatic aging of our population coupled with the high rates of youth out-mi gration.
“This will lead to potential human re sources shortages in the near future."
The 35-page report suggests the best way to stem that tide is to encourage residents to be come entrepreneurs like Mr. McIntyre.
It also recommends several other ways to keep Cape Breton’s younger people home, for example, encouraging the foreign students at Cape Breton University to stay and to get young people in general to consider “non-traditional and innovative career pursuits" like organic farming, production of energy from wind or water, or the arts.
JCI Cape Breton also recommends developing a database of expatriate Cape Bretoners so local businesses can tap that “pool of skilled labour" by highlighting the island’s lower cost of living and other attributes.
It also suggests creating a better communication plan to reach out to Cape Bretoners who have moved away, but might consider returning, including developing an “online job bank."
Research also showed that if more is done at the high school level to encourage that spirit of risk-taking entrepreneurship, more young people will stay in Cape Breton and help the economy rise again.
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