LEIGH POWER, ABL
VANCOUVER ISLAND – October was Small Business Month, and I’d like to tip my hat to the more than 523,600 businesses currently operating in BC. With a population of about 5.1 million people, that means nearly 1 in 10 British Columbians are small business entrepreneurs! The third week of October was Co-op Week, so let’s also celebrate the benefits of supporting each other by supporting local.
Every dollar spent is a choice we make. Here’s a few of the many benefits of supporting local businesses:
Growing the local economy – Filling your purchasing needs locally keeps your money in your community.
Supporting local employment –Driving the success of local businesses helps keep people employed.
Building more relationships – Shopping local helps you get to know your hardworking fellow entrepreneurs.
Reducing your carbon footprint – Buying local shrinks the distance your purchases have to travel before ending up in your hands.
As a Business Relationship Manager with Coastal Community, I have a few more tips to help entrepreneurs navigate the current landscape:
Do what you do best and pay for the rest – There are a lot of resources out there – you can start with your financial expert, accountant, and lawyer and expand from there.
Know what your cash flow looks like – Understand what and how quickly funds are coming in, and equally importantly, how much needs to go out and when.
Understand what drives employee retention – Retention is a huge issue right now, so work with your employees to really understand what matters to them – it’s not always about the paycheque. Opportunity to grow, a flexible workplace and an engaging environment are huge drivers of retention.
Manage supply chain challenges – The challenges themselves are often beyond your control, but you can control how you communicate with your customers, suppliers and anyone else you do business with.
The sooner everyone knows there will be supply bumps, the sooner all involved can adapt. It’s better to under promise and over deliver.
If you have questions, a good first step is to talk to a financial expert. Don’t hesitate to email me at leigh.power@cccu.ca if you would like to learn more about what Coastal Community can offer.
Leigh Power, ABL, is a Business Relationship Manager with Coastal Community Credit Union.
