Darren Hall sees entrepreneurship as a strong industry in Alberta and the impactful work Community Futures Entre-Corp has contributed to the business community over the last 30 years.

During his time with the organization in his role as project coordinator, Hall works towards the common goal of enhancing the business community with various business owners and organizations, through business advisory, program development, and loan processes.

“Each entrepreneur may be in a different market, but if you consider them all an industry, it is a huge industry here. Listening to clients’ ideas and connecting them with relevant and valuable resources to help them realize their dream or goal of starting a business is really neat.”

Hall’s career began when he graduated from the Medicine Hat College with his business admin diploma with a major in marketing, and then with a bachelor in management, major in marketing, at the University of Lethbridge. He has experience in management, sales and marketing, data analysis, and practice improvement.

He sees the strong interest in entrepreneurship in the area with people utilizing their experiences and skills to create something new, and supporting them along the way is what he enjoys most about his role.

“There is doubt sometimes in a business owners’ mind. I feel here we go above and beyond to lend and support people financially and help them look past those challenges and make an informed decision on how to proceed with this venture,” says Hall.

He believes there is a larger opportunity for business owners when they reach out to Community Futures Entre-Corp, because they may leave with more information and knowledge then they originally intended to find.

“Running many programs out of the office, there is a lot of crossover with clients. After they’ve received support from one thing, we can easily refer them to other programs we offer that would be of benefit to their business.”