At Small Business BC, we’re lucky to sit at the centre of an incredible community of small business owners working each day to achieve their dreams.
When you shop local and support these businesses, your dollars can make all the difference to their success. You support your neighbours and friends, you keep your money where your home is, and you directly contribute to building a thriving local economy.
In celebration of Small Business Week, we asked some of the inspiring small business owners we’ve worked with to share their thoughts on why supporting small business is so important.
Ryan Popoff, Popov Leather, Nelson
A key reason to support local businesses for me is sustainability. We love being able to manufacture our goods here in Canada, using locally sourced binding. We’re not outsourcing any of our work and everything is done in-house. We experience every part of the manufacturing process firsthand so we can ensure the end result is something we’re proud of.
The other main appeal is being able to provide quality jobs within our community. Where we live is also where we work, and we’re really proud to be able to do that. Most people who have a hobby and start selling that skill, they come to a crossroads where they can decide to keep doing it as a hobby, or excel and run a business. I took the latter path because it’s important to me to provide a place to work where I would be proud to work and to support our community here in Nelson.
Kaisha Scofield – Keto My Heart, Victoria
I think small businesses really add a special flavour to a community. They’re the places you’re going to find something unique and interesting, or meet somebody memorable. On a community level, the people who own these small businesses are the people who are volunteering in your community, they’re fundraising for local sports, and they’re your neighbours.
Local businesses are owned by your friends, they’re owned by your future friends, and I have a couple of really good friends I met just from shopping at their small business. When you shop at these stores you bump into your neighbours, family members and there’s just such a sense of community about them. I feel like supporting local small businesses may be the easiest way to put love back into your community.
Claire McLoughlin, Friendly Composting, Kamloops
In our time running Friendly Composting it’s become patently clear to us just how much blood, sweat and tears goes into keeping a small business afloat. We’ve also learned how much we need the continuing support of our community to keep doing what we do.
Entrepreneurs have all these wonderful ideas and passions but it’s a lot of work to turn those ideas into a business. When you have a community behind you supporting you it just means so much. It validates the long days, and it validates the hard work. Ultimately, it gives it a purpose.
We get to live our dream of a life filled with purpose, doing something we love, and without people coming out to support our business it just wouldn’t be possible. Whenever you’re thinking about where to shop in your community, think of all your friends and neighbours that are working hard behind the scenes to keep those businesses going.
Katie Gamble, Nature Bee, Victoria
When you support a small business like ours, you’re supporting 12 individuals, their careers, their lives, and their goals.
When you buy a beeswax wrap from Nature Bee, those funds are going to support my staff members. It’s paying for their tuition; it’s helping to pay the rent of staff members with disabilities, and it’s helping people discover their careers and begin fulfilling their potential. Having that personal touch, and knowing where that money is going, it’s super impactful and it’s just the best. To me, that’s why it’s so important.
Laurie Weitzel, Earth’s Own Naturals, Kimberley
When you support a local small business, you’re supporting your community and putting dollars back into your local economy. This is massively important because we employ local residents, we support our local charities, and so much more. From a tourism standpoint it’s also really important. Tourists are always looking for cool little cafes, artists and shops to get a flavour of the place they’re visiting. Both in Kimberley and Fernie we’re blessed with so many amazing little businesses, wonderful restaurants and our winter sports, biking and golfing. It’s really what sets us apart from other destinations.
Specifically talking about the cannabis industry, when you support a regulated store like ours you can shop comfortably knowing we’ve gone through a rigorous process to be regulated. You know our products will be thoroughly tested and licensed producers are held to a very high standard for their growing and processing practices. It’s a much safer and pleasant experience.
Kari Morgan, Kari Morgan Designs, Terrace
I think it’s so important for people to support the artists we have here in BC because they depend on that support to keep producing their work.
We’re lucky to live in a place that not only has so many talented artists, but also has an abundance of rich history for those artists to call on. That history serves to inspire them to create so many amazing pieces of art.
I’m so appreciative of the people who have supported me in my career and allowed me to keep making my art. These people understand the wealth of knowledge and talent that exists here in BC. The only way we can preserve artists and ensure their work continues is by supporting them.
Alina Cerminara, Folklife Magazine, Gulf Islands
When you shop with local businesses it’s more than just purchasing a product. It’s a way to connect with the people around you and support them. It brings a vibrancy to the community you just don’t get with bigger businesses. It’s amazing to me to see small businesses come together and support one another.
We work with local photographers and makers to make Folklife happen. They are all their own business and they’re all supporting each other online and through word of mouth. It makes you feel loved to see that support, it becomes like a family around you.
Linda Adimora, Batiqua, Vancouver
I advocate for local small businesses because I believe they make a difference where it matters most – in our communities. When you support a small business, you’re supporting a person, you’re supporting a family, and you’re supporting your community.
One of my favourite quotes is: ‘We cannot do great things, but we can do small things with great love’ and I think that really speaks to supporting small businesses. Literally, it’s a small gesture but you’re doing it in an area where it matters most. Ultimately, that’s what brings the great changes we want to see.
How Small Business BC Can Help
If you’re thinking of starting your own small business, Small Business BC has the resources you need to succeed. Check out our range of business webinars, on-demand E-Learning Education, our Talk to an Expert Advisories, or browse our selection of business articles.
