28 — Sunday, July 5, 1992 - North Shore News

Chamber of Commerce

Naomi
Yamamoto
a business
SUCCESS

@ NAME: Naomi Yamamoto

e@ AGE: 31

@ OCCUPATION: President,
North Vancouver Chamber of
Commerce; owner, Laser Color
and Laser Printer
e@ RESIDENCE: North Van-
couver .

@ BORN: Vancouver

@ FAMILY: Divorced, two cats

SHE’S THE new president
of the North Vancouver
Chamber of Commerce, she
owns her own business’ and
her mother still brings her
toast in the morning.

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

At 31 years of age, Naomi
Yamamoto is probably one of the
youngest people ever to’ be elected
president of the North Vancouver
Chamber of Commerce.

But this self-employed
businesswoman does not fit what
some may see as the typical image
of a chamber president.

When she’s not busy with
chamber business or working on
the operations of her iwo
businesses, Laser Color and Laser
Printer, Yamamoto can usually te
found strapping on her skates,
grabbing 2 hockey stick and hit-
ting the ice at the Karen
Magnussen Recreation Centre.

She has deen operating her two
businesses for the past four years
and before that, ran her family’s
Japon Camera Centre and one-
hour photo operations in North
Vancouver.

She was asked to join the
chamber shortly after opening her
two businesses but turned down
the request because of a lack of
time. But she did join three
months later and was recently
elected its new president.

Yamamoto says she realized
that the business could benefit by
connections with potential clients
if she joined the chamber of
commerce.

“The North Shore is so smali
that I think a lot of people who
are involved with business on the
North Shore would like to keep
their business on the North Shore.

“Statistics that I just found out
about show that there is a better
than 50% chance of a business
succeeding if it belongs to a

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HIGH PROFILES
elects young president

WHEN SHE’S not busy with chamber business or working for her two businesses; Naomi Vaenamoto can usually be found with
wockey stick in hand at the Karen Magnussen Recreation Centre.

That’s
says

chamber of commerce.
kind of interesting,’’

Yamamoto. *
Her work involves doing a Jot
of business with the local televi-

. sion and film industry in North

Vancouver. Her companies are
often called upon to make props
for TV shows or movies being
shot here.

Those props can range from
printing up an I.D. card to prin-
ting a cover for a fake telephone
book.

But Yamamoto’s interest with
the film and TV business goes
beyond simply making props. She
studied film and television while:
going to university.

“Twas going to pursue film and
television but unfortunately that is
one of the things I haven’t done,”
she says. |

Yamamoto adds that there are
several advantages for businesses
joining a chamber of commerce.

“One of the major benefits is
local contacts. There is also a
good insurance plan that a small
company might not be able to get
into.”

She adds that the chamber of
commerce must act as a voice for
local businesses and encourage
more businesses to stay in North
Vancouver.

“it’s tough for business right
now. Taxes are going up and a lot

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of businesses are leaving North
Vancouver. They’re going to Bur-
paby ard places like Annacis
Island,”’ says Yamamoto.

“I think there has to be a
focused voice that reinforces the
need for businesses to stay m
North Vancouver.”

Yamamoto is a business success
story. She says that she found it

easy to start up her own business
despite what some may see as ob-

young.

“I don’t think that those fac-
tors have cver come in the way of
me succeeding. It’s really easy to
Cooke ft yon tos ‘ancouver and

dcn’t know how some of these
businesses stay in business,”
Yamamoto says.

“1 think you have to work hard
but you aiso have to provide a
good service, have a good product -
— and that combination can’t
fail. But I know there are dif-
ferences in the way'I do business

. than if | were @ man."

woes

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