Coincidence, that magic energy that makes connection fun!

Well, Scott Archibald has a happy grin on his face these days… this talented graphic designer, tucked at the end of hall 5 in Barrie’s popular entrepreneurial rental space–80 Bradford St.–is still shaking his head after running into a fellow entrepreneur this week.

Cass Howarth, proud owner of fledgling Green Hydro, was taking a small business exploration course a few weeks ago. Cass and I connected during the three intense days of meeting other entrepreneurs, finding out about the whole concept of networking for business development, deciding whether or not his desire to explore the business of capturing energy from wind would ‘fly’ in the Barrie region.

Pleasant, helpful, Cass even helped a car-less entrepreneur go site-seeking for her business idea. He stayed in touch, and continued to care.

And how to tell the story of Scott and Cass?

Scott tells it well… “I knew Cass years ago when he, his father and brother moved to Fredericton, NB; in fact, his younger brother and I were quite good friends when we were kids. For years we hung out with the same group of kids.

“Cass is only one year older then me, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to participate when we played road hockey and football.”

“And, his dad married a lady with whom my family was quite close… so other kids I grew up knowing quite well became his step siblings.”

It doesn’t end there…

“When Cass and his brother and dad moved back to Ontario, my parents bought the house they lived in. My folks still live there today,” Scott continues.

And as the coincidence continues, both Scott and Cass end up in Barrie, both starting their own businesses, both launching through the federal government’s Self Employment Assistance Program.

It wasn’t until Scott received an email from Cass who saw his picture in one of my annual reports during the business idea exploration class… “are you the same Scott Archibald????”

Indeed he is. And isn’t it great that Barrie’s still small enough to make the world a smaller place?

Thanks, Scott. Thanks, Cass.