Amy Robillard

In some ways, Amy Robillard has come full circle. She was a young entrepreneur who founded her own business and now she inspires and teaches youth how to do the same.

Little Miss Gelato was her baby in Nelson many years ago. Now she shares her entrepreneurial passion with students in grades 4 to 12 in the Columbia Basin through her position with Junior Achievement of British Columbia (JABC), the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to educating young people about business.

Robillard also volunteered at the Next Generation Leaders Forum in Peterborough, Ontario, working with youth from around the globe who competed in a business challenge.

How did you come to choose this line of work?

I started my own business—Little Miss Gelato—in Nelson when I was 29 years old, and I became very involved in the small business community in the area. I started doing freelance work for the Nelson Daily News and wrote its bi-weekly business column highlighting local entrepreneurs. Both experiences were very rewarding. After eight years of running Little Miss Gelato, I sold the business and took a break from life and cycled through South America with my husband for a year.

I came back to Nelson and was lucky enough to start a job with JABC. My position combines my two passions: the entrepreneurial spirit and youth. I now work all over the Basin area recruiting volunteers to deliver programs about Work Readiness, Entrepreneurial Leadership and Financial Literacy. It is amazing to see dedicated volunteers tell their story and see how students react. Statistics show that small business ownership is very likely for our communities' youth, and to see people give of their time to tell students of the struggles and triumphs of owning a business is amazing. Being an entrepreneur is all about innovation, and we have so much to look forward to with the youth who hopefully will stay in, or return to, their communities.

What is it about your work that has you excited to get out of bed in the morning?

I get to work with amazing volunteers who want to see their communities’ youth succeed in the local and global business climate.

What’s your focus for 2016?

I have specific program delivery targets—hitting those is my goal.

Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur in the Kootenays?

I initially decided to become an entrepreneur because there were no jobs when I moved here from Ontario.