Deep down, I think most people dream of owning their own business.
For so many, they think about what it would be like to be their own boss, to be able to find something that they're passionate and knowledgeable about, and channel that to meet the needs of customers.
Of course, there's so much more to being an entrepreneur – things that people don't realize until they have their own business. They don't think about the long hours, the unpredictability, the frustration, the obnoxious customers, the supply chain issues, the employment challenges and the razor-thin profit margins. But it's still the Canadian dream.
The importance of small businesses to our communities is immeasurable. It's not just the opportunity they provide for people to live a dream. They are a source of employment for people of all ages in our communities. How many kids get their first job working for a fast food restaurant, a service station or a store? Lots of them.
They are a place we turn to for merchandise. When you look at the Estevan area, we have a wide variety of shopping interests to choose from. Take a stroll through downtown Estevan, the Estevan Market Mall and other commercial areas with an open mind, and you'll see the options. There are a lot of businesses to choose from. And it's not just shopping, either. We have restaurants, professional services and more.
(If you need a reminder of the diversity in our business community, just take a look at the Estevan Mercury's Best of Estevan promotion earlier this year, the different categories that we offered and the number of businesses that won. And then think about the other businesses that could have been chosen in many of the categories).
Businesses are a source of property taxes and other sources of revenue for government, which are then used to provide services that we rely on, although it's important for governments to keep taxes as low as possible, to eliminate red tape and to make it as appealing for companies to set up shop in their community or province.
And our business owners provide tremendous support for organizations in the community. We just saw it with the United Way Estevan's annual fundraising telethon, which raised $357,001 for local organizations. Listen to the names of the donors. Yes, there was support from people of all ages and contributions from large corporate partners, but many of the donors are small businesses.
Do you know whose name you didn't hear? Amazon. But hey, when has Amazon ever given anything to this community?
It's not just the United Way that owes much of its success to small businesses. Other organizations receive great support from local companies throughout the year.
You also have the franchisees that own a local business which is part of a much larger corporation. They provide lots of support for the community, too.
When you're in a smaller community, it's important to deliver quality customer service. If a customer has a bad experience, it doesn't take long for that negative visit to become public knowledge, especially in this day and age of social media. (Unfortunately, there are also those bitter people out there who will lie on the internet, fail to put their name to it, and have people believe them).
This week is Small Business Week in Saskatchewan. We should use this opportunity to reflect on the contributions that small businesses make in our community and the opportunities they provide. I'm sure we all have our favourite small businesses and entrepreneurs.
The end of this week will be the Estevan Chamber of Commerce's Estevan Business Excellence Awards, which will be a celebration of our local business community, the great achievements they have made and the long hours entrepreneurs have to put in.
Most of us will never get the opportunity to own a business of our own. In some cases, it's due to a lack of opportunity. For others, we might not have the resources, the ability, the vision or the people skills. That's not a bad thing; few become entrepreneurs. And even fewer are successful.
Let's celebrate our entrepreneurs. And with Christmas a little more than two months away, let's make supporting small business a priority over the coming weeks.
