Pearson Tire – Justine & Curtis Schmidt
Automotive and Mechanical, First Nation | Port Alberni, BC
Justine is a member of Toquaht First Nation and Curtis’ grandparents owned Pearson Tire starting in 1969.
Curtis and Justine Schmidt proudly own and operate their family business which has been passed on from 2 generations. Curtis has worked in the shop since he was 15 years old. He worked his way up first starting off cleaning floors. Their daughter also takes part in the business by doing the bookkeeping. Pearson Tire specializes in tire and mechanical services for all your automotive needs. They love working with people and focus on good customer service. As with many businesses COVID -19 and the recent Cameron Lake Closure affected their business. 
However, they did make it through.
Advice they would give to new entrepreneurs is to “be prepared for a lot of work and stress” and to “do a tonne of research so you know what you are talking about when working with your customers” When taking over the business rather than going to the local banks they instead went to NEDC.
Curtis said that Denise and Al, at NEDC, made a super stressful time in their life much easier. The future of Pearson Tire lies within their family. Next in line to take over the business is Curtis and Justine’s daughter.
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