A five-way partnership is having a major impact on business in Okotoks.
The Okotoks and District Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Okotoks, McBride Career Group, Community Futures Highwood and Bow Valley College have come together to create Biz Link, a resource for all business owners or potential business owners in town.
Biz Link includes a number of workshops and bootcamps hosted on different topics each month, such as tapping into social media (last November) or strategic planning, which was the most recent session on Feb. 13.
Alejandro Cuellar Diaz Ceballo, owner of Cheap Smokes and Cigars, attended the strategic planning bootcamp and said it was an enlightening experience.
“It was a very fulfilling bootcamp, and the people that we were listening to were very knowledgeable,” said Cuellar Diaz Cabello. “It was amazing, very interesting, and we had a lot of learning.”
He attended with his wife, and the couple intend to take in more of the bootcamps and workshops offered through BizLink in the future.
You never know when a session will really help you with your business, he said. The strategic planning bootcamp changed his outlook for his store.
“I did have a bunch of ideas, but I didn’t know how to use them or put them together, or where to put them,” said Cuellar Diaz Cabello. “I think I’m going to be taking my business to – not necessarily in the short-term – to the next level, but in the long-term I’m pretty sure we’re going to make a better impression to our customers and also to the community.”
That’s exactly the idea behind Biz Link, said Chamber of Commerce president Andrew Gustafson. The program was developed in response to criticism the Chamber took when it changed up the format of its monthly luncheons.
When attendance at luncheons dropped, the Chamber decided to try providing more global topics of discussion rather than having narrow focuses such as, ‘How to get into Twitter,’ he said.
“We were getting a very small segment of the business community for our events,” said Gustafson. “Instead, we started inviting speakers who would talk to bigger, broader sorts of things.”
He said the broader topics are began bringing more people to the luncheons, but the new criticism of the Chamber was that it had lost the education piece it had provided for so long.
After meeting with the four partners involved, Biz Link became a reality. It provided an outlet for education seminars that could draw a smaller crowd and still serve those business owners who needed to tap into specific topics, he said.
“If we put a luncheon speaker on strategic planning, it’s not the sexiest of topics and we probably wouldn’t see a huge engagement with that,” said Gustafson. “But we’ve got the right people now for these topics, and we’re looking at 25 to 30 people at each session. We feel proud to be that education piece again.”
Alexandra Ross, Okotoks economic development specialist, said from the Town’s perspective involvement in Biz Link is all about business retention and keeping a strong economic base.
“We want our businesses to feel supported, and know where they can find assistance,” said Ross. “During an economic downturn or recovery, it’s really very important to support your business, so businesses are retained and can continue to be sustainable.”
She said providing business owners with the tool and resources they need is key to the town’s economic success.
The uptake from the community has been good so far, with some bootcamps and workshops having a wait list due to popularity, she said.
“I’m quite excited about this initiative this year, with the business retention,” said Ross. “Our goal is to assist the businesses in the community to become greater than they already are.
“Hopefully we’ll achieve greater results within Okotoks and other companies will see how supportive we are in collaboration with our partners to support our business community, and relocate to Okotoks.”
