About to fall before the first step

August 29, 2017

To whom it may concern,

I recently started a small fledgling business called virtrabit a virtual reality rental service which specializes in virtual reality time rentals (paying to use the VR equipment per hour). However, things seemed to always be working against me and I fear that I am about to fail and lose everything. I am a First Nations Cree man of Canada and I always had a dream of starting a company that specializes in video games because I myself love video games. When I was a kid growing up in Canada I, along with my people, faced tremendous amounts of hate, racism and prejudice for being indigenous and video games were a sort of escape as well as a place of safety and acceptance compared to the real world that I was living in. So to me video games were a safe haven and a sort of therapy as well but, unfortunately, most of my people turned to drugs and alcohol instead of more positive things just as the generations before us who turned to alcohol and eventually drugs in attempts to deal and cope with the atrocities that were inflicted upon them via the Residential School Era (a true historical story for another post). I missed out on a lot things due to what I had to endure and avoid when going to school, and high school, such as bullies (there were a lot, adults included), racial badgering, stuff thrown at me including rocks, lunch being stolen or sabotaged including lunch money stolen or taken, shoes taken or stolen or sabotaged, coat being stolen or taken, or sabotaged, locker being vandalized or sabotaged, etc etc, and the list goes on and on.

Needless to say growing up in canada was hell especially if you were First Nations or a minority. Anyways, at first I wanted to be an artist for video games but found out that I was no artist. Next I wanted to be a programmer for video games but found out I was unable to adequately learn programming code nor did I have the efficiency for it. I had about given up on my dream until one day an opportunity for VR came knocking at my door and I jumped on it without hesitation and with great optimism. I convinced family members in loaning me money for purchasing VR equipment and these monies were more like life savings to me and my family. Soon after, I moved to Ottawa around mid June, purchased the VR equipment, and got a lease for a store front, or VR center so to speak, which was paid up until Sept but I wasn't able to do business there yet because I needed a business license from the city. From there I went to get the license, however, the business center told me that I needed insurance before they could issue the license. So I then went to to get insurance and the only insurer that would help me took a little over 3 weeks or so to get me a policy and it was by then the middle of July and that's when things started to turn for the worst.

I figured that I still had time and things were still looking good and boy was I wrong, dead wrong! As soon as I got approved for the insurance I went back to the business center and paid for the license and then they told me that before the license gets approved my place of business would have to pass inspections and that the inspectors for the fire, police, health and safety would be calling me in a week or 2 to setup inspection dates but it could take as long as 3 weeks because they have busy schedules. "Ok, this shouldn't take long, I still have time!" I thought, but again boy was I wrong. It was just becoming August and I decided to try a VR rental hosting service where I setup the VR equipment at people's home much like a disk jockey for parties and I adjusted my facebook page and website to reflect it as well. I then started setting paper ads all over the city via bulletin boards in grocery stores, light posts, and anywhere else that I could post them and eagerly waited everyday afterwards for calls and emails for bookings and for the inspector to call but nothing and by week 2 I was panicking. Being cautious I went back to the business center to see if I had put my number right on the application or even to see where I was on the list to be contacted. The business center lady told me that only 1 inspection would be necessary and it was for the fire safety inspection. Right then I was feeling frustrated and a bit angry but I asked her politely and calmly on when I could expect a call and she told me that I should be getting one by the 18th. The days painfully rolled by and when no call came I went back on the 21st and was again told that they had busy schedules and that I should receive a call by the 25th.

So now it is the 29th and I realize that I am screwed, I will lose everything, and I failed not only myself but those who believed and trusted in me. I now realize that I was too naive and too optimistic in believing that Canada was ready for a First Nations business owner, at least not of my type, and that sometimes dreams do not come true for some or most and simply remain what they are called, dreams. However, all is not lost for upon searching for ways to get money such as loans or grants to pay my lease and insurance I came upon this place but I don't get me wrong for I do not expect to get the funds needed from here to save my dream but I am hopeful that I do get enough from here to simply feed myself from day to day until I find a job which that too is almost an impossibility for jobs are scarce and very very hard to get nowadays especially for someone like me with no high school diploma and limited skill set. So that's when I decided to document my downfall everyday via posting on here and it will be a daily struggling journey for me, but more of an interesting journey for you if you wish to follow, to see if there is a light down the dark metaphoric tunnel that I have been stumbling and traveling through so far. So that is what has happened so far and today there still hasn't been a call but we'll see what happens later this evening for today is still not over. I'll be in touch!