July 15th Newsletter

We are well into the busy days of summer and visitors have found their way into our community. For some, seeing visitors exploring, smelling their campfires and visiting our businesses is a relief, after months of uncertainty and stress about whether we would have a summer Tourism season. For others, seeing out of province license plates causes concerns and anxiety, and they wonder who has the right to be a visitor in our community. These are truly tricky times and tricky conversations.

Empathy is the word that comes to mind when I ponder how to reconcile these seemingly oppositional sentiments. The definition of empathy is to have the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Essentially, to walk in someone else’s shoes. When your face tightens in annoyance at an out of province license plate, ​consider the campground operator who makes 90% of their revenue in 8 weeks of summer. You might also consider families urgently needing to connect with loved ones across provincial boundaries, maybe visiting a newborn grandchild for the first time. Or perhaps, before you celebrate the influx of tourism revenue to the community, you might consider the strain vulnerable people feel when they see visitors as potentially bringing the COVID-19 virus to our relatively isolated and safe communities. And maybe, before you complain about recently announced closures or newly announced programs, consider the difficult position of political leaders who also live and work in our community, making complex budget decisions and implementing strict health orders. And, dear to my heart, before you are tempted to criticize your co-worker or friend for lack of productivity,  consider how she is the mother of small children conducting business meetings over zoom while cooking macaroni and flipping the pages of books for her toddlers. And when you begin to feel stifled and shut into your community, unable to travel and adventure as you had planned this summer, consider the people who live in small apartments in the heart of Victoria or Vancouver and who don’t have the everyday beauty and fresh air of our community.  It’s a pretty great place to be stuck at home! And the next time you see a license plate from outside our province, take a deep breath of that fresh air and consider welcoming those visitors (from a distance of course!) and find out what brings them to our community. You might be surprised by their answer.

Practicing empathy will lower your blood pressure, if it does nothing else.  And you might also receive benefits to your bottom line. For some light summer reading, enjoy this recent article published by Entrepreneur.com highlighting the reasons empathy is so good for your business.

As you enjoy your summer days, we want you to know Tsuts’weye is still working hard for women entrepreneurs of the Shuswap. Our Entrepreneur In Residence is meeting clients virtually, or in person through the EIR program at our office at the Salmon Arm Innovation Centre. We are accepting applications to our new Business Recovery and Expansion (BRE) program starting in the fall. Twenty business women will be selected to participate in this high value, six-month program that will dig deep in to your business with a mentor support program alongside.

Jenna Robins of Trilogy Solutions is working on the next releases of Women to Watch, a much enjoyed series you can read in our News and Blogs page. Watch for upcoming stories of exciting, diverse women entrepreneurs in the Shuswap.  If you have a woman you would like to nominate as a Woman to Watch, contact Jenna Robins at [email protected] to make your pitch!

We will be starting a new Peer Mentor session in the fall and are gathering names of interested women. If you are interested in participating, please email me directly at [email protected]. Please indicate your preference of a morning or evening session. The commitment will be 5 sessions, bi-weekly, commencing mid-September.

Some exciting news! Our province has worked hard to “flatten the curve” and as long as the situation permits, we are hoping to host some face to face Tsuts’weye networking and workshop opportunities later this summer and into the fall. Watch upcoming newsletters and social posts for event announcements.

Keep #tsustweyestrong and for the sake of your heart and your bottom line, practice empathy!

Warm regards,

Carmen Massey

Project Manager, Tsuts’weye Entrepreneur and Innovation Network

Cell: 250-804-3466

email: [email protected]

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged and changed our province.

We’ve made progress because of our commitment to supporting each other and coming together as a community to respond.

As we start our recovery, the choices we make in the coming weeks and months can help us build an economy — and a province — that works for everyone.

To join a telephone or virtual town hall event register here.

The Business Recovery and Expansion Program will offer 6 months of group and private coaching that is preceded by an in-depth, on line assessment of each participant’s business. The assessment tool when complete indicates the issues, strengths and opportunity for growth and improvement in a report format that provides the basis for the business strategy changes.

This program will help you re-invent your business and help guide you through any crisis that you may experience – now and into the future.

More information on how you can be part of this program and how to register!

Local small businesses make our communities run. They support community events and sponsor sports teams. They also provide nearly 70% of all private sector jobs in Canada.

They have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we want to support their recovery in the same way they have supported our communities time and again.

So, we are organizing a one-day event called the Big Spend. On July 25, 2020 be part of helping to revive the Canadian economy by making an intentional purchase at a local small business of your choice.

For more information you can go to their website!

Shuswap Economic Development, Shuswap Tourism, Salmon Arm Economic Development Society, Community Futures Shuswap and the Tsuts’weye Women’s Entrepreneur and Innovation Network have come together to develop and implement a Phase I response to the economic impacts currently facing Shuswap businesses and organizations. The plan is designed to respond directly to the needs expressed by the local business community and stakeholder organizations and invite partnerships and collaboration with other regional business and economic development groups wherever possible. For more information please go to the website.

For more information on this program please go the website, call 250-833-5928 or email [email protected].

Support Local BC provides a place for communities and businesses throughout the province to support each other. It connects all regions and is a platform where you can show your love for your favorite local businesses by purchasing gift cards for future use. This is a great way to encourage family and friends to purchase gift cards to use when they can discover the Shuswap region…later! For more information or to add your business go here and then let your know your business is listed on this website! This initiative is sponsored by Salmon Arm Economic Development Society, Shuswap Economic Development, Shuswap Tourism, and Downtown Salmon Arm.

Join the Tsuts’weye Network Business Directory and share your business on our website. Business Profile listings are free. We encourage our members to #ShopShuswap as much as possible. Let’s support each other. To get your business profile on this page, simply fill out our Business Profile Form and email it to us! Check out the listings on the Tsuts’weye website.

Destination BC has completed their Road to Recovery Webinar Series. The recordings can be found on the Safety and Emergency Preparedness page on the DBC corporate website, where you will also find other COVID-19 recovery tools and resources. Catch up on any webinars you might have missed—and share them with your networks to learn more about the COVID-19 travel market, visitor experience, business operations, digital marketing and more.

Tsuts’weye Women’s Entrepreneur & Innovation Network can provide services to your business, whether you are a new business, or have been in business many years. These services are provided free of charge, thanks to the financial support of Community Futures Shuswap and Western Economic Diversification.

To access these services please complete the Client Intake Form and then send to Caroline Grover, our Entrepreneur in Residence by email or call her directly at 250-300-4757.

For more information about this program go to the Tsuts’weye website.

NEW! CECRA for Small Business Extended Through the End of July 2020.

Property owners and small business tenants will soon be able to access funding for the month of July through Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA).

For more information go here.

NEW! Final Components of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations Announced.

For more information go here.

NEW! Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Extended to December 2020

The program covers 75% of wages, up to a weekly maximum of $847, for workers at eligible companies and non-profits affected by the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on the Federal Government updated COVID-19 benefits programs and more resources.

NEW! Province of BC – COVID-19 resources for BC Businesses and individuals – updates as of July 8, 2020.

NEW! Find PPE for your business to safely reopen – Small Business BC hascreated a Non-Medical PPE Marketplace to connect businesses with suppliers of non-medical safety equipment.

NEW! – Women’s Enterprise Centre – Free Legal Webinars for Business Owners – Breaking Contracts during COVID-19 – July 15 – More information here.

NEW! – Small Business BC – FREE COVID-19 Webinars

WorkSafe BC –  COVID-19 information and resources updated for safe operations for Phase 3.

BC Economic Development Association – COVID19 Resources for BC Businesses.

BDC – COVID-19 – Resources and support for BC businesses. Webinars for businesses resources recovery.

Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) -Shuswap-Revelstoke – for resources to assist you please click here

Community Futures BC – COVID-19 Business Resources.

Destination BC – COVID19 Resources for the Tourism Industry – updated July 7, 2020.

GO2HR – Restarting business operations after COVID-19 industry sector best practices guides here.

Greater Vancouver Board of Trade – Business Reinvention Series Webinars – more information here.

Salmon Arm Economic Development Society – Business Restart Toolkit – Resources for businesses to reopen and more.

Small Business BC – Resources for restarting your business in the new normal.

Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association – Tourism Resiliency Program – Resources for Tourism businesses in the Thompson Okanagan Tourism region.

Tourism Industry Association of BC – C-19 Bulletin – July 13, 2020

Women’s Enterprise Centre – Assisting women entrepreneurs through recovery – Resources and Support..

(Pronounced “Soots-way-e”, means butterfly, in Secwepemc)

Tsuts’weye is a federally-funded project through Western Economic Development Canada, to support women entrepreneurs in the Shuswap through building skills, knowledge and networks.

MEET OUR TEAM:

Carmen Massey – Project Manager

Caroline Grover – Entrepreneur in Residence

Kari Wilkinson – Toliver Design – Website and Marketing

Jenna Robins – Trilogy Solutions – Social Media and Technical Support

Robyn Cyr – Brabyn Business Solutions – Communications

Please visit Tsutsweye.ca to learn more about the project and the team.

CONTACT US:

Online at  Tsutsweye.ca 

Please call ahead to make an appointment.