Jonas Nash, owner of JBN Welding
Jonas Nash is the proud owner of JBN Welding located in St Mary’s First Nation since 2017. He has had an interest in welding since a young age and liked it the first time he tried it. “I knew it was something I wanted to explore so I took it to the point where I am at now. I always wanted to be my own boss,” said Jonas.
Mentorship has always been important to Jonas. Before starting JBN Welding, Jonas received great mentorship from Paul’s Welding. Jonas made a connection with the owners and was able to learn from them. With the growth of his own business, he currently has a few trainee students that learn from him and take part in his projects. “I enjoy mentoring youth because I can give them that extra boost to make them feel good about what they are doing,” said Jonas. He enjoys being able to pass his teachings onto youth so it can continue throughout generations. “If Indigenous youth are being trained by Indigenous leaders, they are able to feel more comfortable and connected,” said Jonas.
JBN Welding offers structural steel work and installations, steel fabrications, miscellaneous metals, welding repairs, heavy equipment repairs, and much more. His team does jobs around the community, in other First Nation communities, as well as projects outside of communities. He believes it is important for First Nation communities to hire Indigenous entrepreneurs to help their communities strengthen and grow together.
Jonas’s current goal is to expand his business by creating a larger workspace so he can take on bigger projects and have the space to mentor more youth. “I’m struggling with funding right now, it is a little bit hard, but I am still working at it,” said Jonas. With the difficulty of finding funding, Jonas took out a loan from Ulnooweg and decided to invest in himself by investing his own savings into his business. “I wanted to show my credibility for any potential future financial needs,” said Jonas.
To promote JBN Welding, Jonas uses Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to gain new clients. As well, to develop his business, he took a course from CDI College, along with the Business Accelerator program through JEDI.
“If you are willing to join an Accelerator program, then you are committing yourself to being in business with yourself and that’s a big commitment,” said Jonas. Through the program he met other Indigenous entrepreneurs and was able to gain new contacts. “It refreshed everything for me. It put me back to when I first started,” said Jonas, which again livened his passion for welding.
Jonas believes trades are a good career choice because they are needed for our everyday lives and for everything that we encounter but he thinks there needs to be more people interested. “I would like to see more Indigenous Peoples in trades, it’s always been something that I’ve thought was important,” said Jonas.
Jonas has always been looked at as a leader by his peers which pushed him to become a business owner. He said his favourite part of owning his own business is “making people happy and satisfying customers”. Jonas’s advice for other Indigenous entrepreneurs is to not give up, to stay engaged and committed. He believes if you are willing to learn, you will be a successful person.
Jonas was featured in JEDI’s business Accelerator video, hear what he has to say about entrepreneurship and the program: JEDI Business Accelerator BDO