October is Small Business Month

It’s Small Business Month!

October spotlights local shops and all the hard work

and dedication they put in to lifting our local economy.

For Chris Nicholls, Executive Director of the Gibsons and District Chamber of Commerce, supporting small businesses happens all year ’round. He says, “this month it takes a higher profile, but (operating a) small business is 365, 24/7; they’re passionate about it and we are here to find ways to continue to support that”. 

Small businesses are the bread and butter of our local economies, and Nicholls reminded us to always try to shop local first: “It becomes very easy, if something’s not available on the coast, to go to the mainland, and when you’re there, it’s ‘why not, do your other shopping for products and services’? So we are very active in trying to develop programs and communication and activities that will promote shop local”. The Gibsons and District Chamber of Commerce are hosting events all month to celebrate small businesses on the Coast, and are developing a local coupon incentive program for residents to frequent local shops.

Nicholls highlights that the entire province is keen on supporting local businesses, as he says: “British Columbia is very active in supporting small business. It’s the characteristics and make-up of the market place. We don’t have, in Vancouver or BC, the large corporations or industrial entities, that they may have in provinces like Quebec or Ontario. The emphasis has to continue to support small businesses, as they’re trying to meet the needs of the consumer”.

All chambers of commerce are hosting events for Small Business Month; for more information visit the links below:

http://www.gibsonschamber.com/

http://www.whistlerchamber.com/

http://squamishchamber.com/website/