Southeast Alaska Business Competition Announces Finalists

A dozen small businesses in Southeast Alaska are finalists in this year’s Streets of Prosperity competition. This year, 23 businesses were selected from those who applied. All finalists will receive training in business management and two will walk away with a $25,000 prize.

Angela Denning of Coast Alaska reports:

Aaron Angerman grew up in Wrangell and watched the tourism industry grow. On busy summer days, the city of 2,000 sees hundreds of visitors disembarking from small and medium-sized cruise ships. So Angerman and his wife, Mickey, came up with a business idea: electric scooters, like the stand-up kids pedal, but powered by batteries.

“Totally electric,” Aaron Angerman said. ” No release or anything. Nice quiet ride.

You may have seen them rented through phone apps from companies like Lime or Bird in big cities. Still, it will be new business for Wrangell and Angerman said they will be cheaper and easier for tourists to get around.

“You can just pick one of these up and go, you don’t have to worry about putting it away, you just park the car, take a picture and push ‘end ride,'” Angerman said. “That’s all you have to do. You don’t have to go back anywhere. You can get from point A to point B and not worry about getting back to point A if you don’t want to.”

The scooters can be charged as needed, which the couple can also manage online. They plan to start from 12 to 16 and grow from there.

Angerman and his wife are finalists in the annual business competition held by Spruce Root, a regional nonprofit that promotes economic growth. Spruce Root was launched in 2012 by Ha Aani, a subsidiary of Sealaska Corporation.

For the second year in a row, the Street of Prosperity race continues to be tourism-related and especially benefiting local residents.

Isabella Haywood is the tournament manager.

“We want to make sure that local businesses are equipped to not only attract visitors to the region, but to build businesses in a way that brings deep economic benefits from those visitors to their communities,” she said.

In October, the 12 finalists will go through a workshop learning how to refine their business plans.

Rebecca Kamika is looking forward to it. She is a baker in Hyannis and wants to open a small restaurant focusing on tapas, wine and dessert. Tapas are part of Spanish cuisine and Cuban heritage.

“When people eat [cruise] Ship, I’m thinking of the tapas thing. . . You don’t have to commit to eating a whole meal. Maybe they’re walking around, you know, ‘Maybe I’d like a glass of wine or a beer’, bring a small plate or a piece of cake. You know, something a little “boogie,” I guess, would be the word, and it’s a little bit synonymous for the environment.

Not sure if she would have dinner in her condition. Either way, she’s looking forward to the extra kitchen space. Currently, she bakes from an apartment.

For Kameika, baking is an art. She keeps pictures of her thoughts on the wall.

“I sketch my cake designs here, look at them until the wedding, see if I need to make any adjustments,” says Kamika.

She said she was happy to do the Road to Prosperity race because she wanted to consider all her options, including perhaps signing with cruise companies.

Jim Silverthorn is another finalist. He wants to start a catch of steelhead trout on Prince of Wales Island to attract tourists every year and release a fly fishing competition.

“Between all the native art and local artisans and things like that, we’re looking at bringing it all together as one province,” Silverthorne said. “It’s going to be a big deal.”

Silverthorne runs a fishing charter business out of Thorne Bay and says the fishermen bring money to the town every summer. He says the steelhead event kicks off the tourist season early–in April, when the trout run he wants. This in turn generates additional income for remote towns on the economically stressed island. He says the city gets sales tax from their purchases.

“Those people are buying gas or buying groceries or buying booze or, you know, renting vehicles or staying in apartments,” he said.

Guides are required to accompany the fishermen, so Silverthorne said the tournament creates jobs for residents around the island.

The two Road to Prosperity winners will be announced in February. The annual contest began in 2013 and has awarded a total of $610,000 to 19 winners.