October was declared Small Business Month, and in order to celebrate small businesses, Community Futures — an organization specifically catered to helping small businesses — offered business advice in rural communities like Fernie.
“Community Futures East Kootenay is proud to have worked with emerging entrepreneurs in local communities like Fernie,” said General Manager Sean Campbell. “We look forward to continuing our support for these small business owners in the years to come.”
Community Futures’ top tips include learning to be flexible as you go about your small business, as things may not always go smoothly and changes or roadblocks are likely to happen when running business day-to-day.
Another identified issue is cash flow and ensuring that as a business owner you are collecting at the same rate that you’re paying for your expenses.
Other sage pieces of advice from Community Futures include learning from your competition, continuing to learn new information on how to run your business over time and treating employees as if they’re customers by being receptive to their feedback.
The Fernie Chamber of Commerce, whose main priority is to look after businesses in Fernie and to provide support for new and established businesses alike also had some tips for Small Business Month.
“It’s a great idea to stay in the loop and take advantage of the many free learning opportunities offered by groups and organizations such as Community Futures,” said Rachael Fitzios, Membership Services Coordinator of the Chamber of Commerce. “Members of the Fernie Chamber get constant updates about organizations like Community Futures, offering free webinars, training opportunities, wage subsidy programs, social media tips and much more.”