This is a great story I found in the Reader-Post about a Canadian entrepreneur named Mary Ready Weimer. When Mary Ready Weimer was  22 years old she started her own business by buying an art gallery. Regina’s Assiniboia Art Gallery has since been relocated, put online, and has won Mary a number of young entrepreneurship recognitions and awards.

When Mary graduated from university with a degree in political science her plan was teach swimming at a local YMCA before going out to get a “real job” in the fall. When Mary’s mother saw an ad in the paper that the gallery was looking for a new manager, Mary eagerly applied as she had long admired the work they were doing.

She was selected out of 70 candidates for the position and later on in the year as the owners joked about selling the business Mary joked about buying it. A year and a half later, she worked out a 6 year financing deal with the owners and she took over the gallery. Without even having a credit card to her name, Mary was the proud owner of her own business. “It was really good of them to offer the financing. I didn’t have a credit card, I didn’t want to go to the bank, and they were willing to take that chance.”

The first two years as a business owner were “overwhelming” for Mary as she worked 15 hour days. “In the beginning it was hard, really hard, just because it was only me. But eventually it started to slow down.” Mary convinced her husband to leave his job at Sears to help her out and she credits her website for helping her manage and market the gallery. “If we didn’t have the Web site, if we didn’t send pieces all over the world, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

“I never thought I’d own a gallery, my Web site was an accident. I guess you never know what’s coming next.”

Evan Carmichael

Evan Carmichael
YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog Manager

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