OLDS — Business owners in Olds and area received some strong praise as Small Business Week got underway recently.
Regional Business Support Network (RBSN) business development advisor Michelle McFadden spoke to about 35 people during a Small Business Week kickoff breakfast, held Monday, Oct. 21 at the Cacio e Pepe Italian Bistro in Olds.
McFadden applauded businesspeople in Olds and area for not only spurring employment and the economy through their businesses but also for enhancing the quality of life in the community.
“(You’re) not only running your business, managing your families, your children's sports, your employees and all the ruckus that comes along with that, you're also supporting your community. Kudos to you,” she said.
McFadden, who noted that she too is an entrepreneur, praised those who’ve taken the risk to start up a business.
“It takes immense courage to run a business, to get it started,” she said, “but more importantly, to ride the highs and lows of the challenges the business comes with.
“I mean, I don't know about you, as a business owner, I've been high-fiving myself one moment for getting this amazing gig, and then the next minute, I'm under my desk crying with a box of Kleenex and possibly a box of wine, not a bottle, the whole freaking box,” she adding sparking laughter.
“It's a roller coaster process. It requires resilience, adaptability and unwavering belief in your vision.”
She asked all those in the room to each raise an arm, then pat themselves on the back “because kudos to you, you're the ones who are driving this economy.”
McFadden described business owners as “the backbone of the Canadian economy,” noting that in Alberta, small businesses employ more than 80 per cent of the province’s private sector workforce.
McFadden and Olds chief administrative officer Brent Williams noted that the RBSN, launched in mid-June, is a partnership, between the Town of Olds, Invest Olds and Community Futures Central Alberta, funded in part by Prairie Canada.
It provides one-on-one, confidential business coaching and consulting, advice, navigation on how to get funding, and suggests different marketing strategies.
It also provides advice on strategic planning, business planning, succession planning, and people management.
McFadden said since its launch, RBSN has served 40 businesses in Olds and 21 businesses in the region between for a total of 133 one-on-one business development appointments.
“We've been busy, and I'm so incredibly excited for the uptake in Olds and the region,” she said.
McFadden highlighted a $6,000 promotional package which she said is available to business owners in the region at no cost and which she said has “never been offered in any project I've ever seen before.”
She urged those in the room to subscribe to Invest Olds to take advantage of services and videos available.
McFadden said now is a really exciting time to be in business because technological advancements like artificial intelligence (AI) provide businesspeople with “new tools in the toolbox in 2024 that we've never had before.”
“We have credibility marketing strategies that we've never had before, we have consumer-based content lighting up social media to give you more credibility online,” she said.
McFadden said the whole point of creating the RBSN is to provide businesspeople with help and advice right in their own “back yard” instead of having to go all the way to Edmonton for assistance.
“We're here to help,” she said. “This is not a cookie cutter templated advisory form where you walk in and say, ‘I need something,’ and we give you a piece of paper and say, ‘good luck.’
“We basically are here to make sure that you get the advice and guidance that you need, and maybe where you're at, no matter where you're at.
“Whether you're just a start-up or whether you've been in business for 30 years, we can still help.”
