Colleen Gibbons is driven to succeed in her role as owner of her newly purchased business, Gibbons’ Courier.  

Gibbons - who operates a package delivery and shopping service from Holyrood to Peter’s River and all the communities between - purchased a preexisting courier business and opened her driver’s door in the spring of 2023 when the previous owner was retiring.  

After a year of helping people get access to the things they need from one tip of the Avalon Peninsula to the other, she’s still enjoying every day of being her own boss and meeting new customers.   

“It has given my self esteem back,” she says of taking on the role and also of working with CBDC Celtic, which helped her start the business with the SEA Program. “(They) helped me with funding and questions I had about starting my own business.” 

CBDC Celtic’s Self Employment Assistance Program offers business counselling and training for new business owners, while also continuing unemployment benefits the owner would normally no longer qualify for when establishing a business. This program gives new business owners a head start and financial stability while starting and establishing a new business.