The annual Bussiness Walk is coming back for its third year on May 1, with the District of 100 Mile House, Community Futures Cariboo-Chilcotin, South Cariboo Chamber of Commerce and the Provincial Ministry of Forests Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development teaming up to conduct the survey.
An estimated 240 businesses are expected to be interviewed during the ‘volunteer blitz’.
By taking the pulse of the local business community through Business Walks, the District can identify common successes and obstacles faced by local businesses which will help inform resources and services needed to support and stimulate economic activity in the District, says Mayor Mitch Campsall.
Following the second annual Business Walk, conducted in November 2017, Campsall said he “wasn’t quite expecting” the 75 per cent of businesses that rated the state of their operations as steady or growing compared to the previous year, or the 71 per cent indicating it was steady or growing compared to “pre-wildfires.”
The survey will be delivered by local volunteers and used to inform business retention, expansion, and attraction programs to strengthen the local business sector. The intention is for the program to continue to gain momentum and success in the community, helping to connect business owners to existing programs structured to meet their needs, and help to inform potential new programs and policies.
The program complements activities already taking place in the municipality, including the Business Façade Incentive Program, the Business Supply Chain Connector, and the Love 100 Mile House buy local program.
Information collected will be held confidentially; however, a response team will be enacted to help follow-up on specific needs that businesses identify during the “Business Walks” event and a public report summarizing the findings will be issued.
The business surveys will take place in the downtown and industrial areas between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Businesses that are not visited are encouraged to contact the Municipal Office or Chamber of Commerce to request a follow-up survey which will be conducted after May 1.
Those interested in learning more about these programs can contact Joanne Doddridge at the District of 100 Mile House 250-395-2434.
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