SMALL BUSINESS WALK. Photo courtesy of Tourism Kelowna.

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1 C E N T R A L O K A N A G A N SMALL BUSINESS WALK Photo courtesy of Tourism Kelowna info@investkelowna.com

2 Partners: District of Lake Country City of Kelowna City of West Kelowna Westbank First Nation District of Peachland Lake Country Chamber of Commerce Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Greater Westside Board of Trade Peachland Chamber of Commerce Uptown Rutland Business Association Downtown Kelowna Association Accelerate Okanagan Women's Enterprise Centre 221 businesses visited representing 2, employees * 0 Declining Steady Growing 78% of businesses are growing Average State of Business: 7.6/10 *1-3 Declining, 4-6 Fair/Steady, 7-10 Growing Skilled/Prof. 23% Entry Level 37% 41% Semi-Skilled 41% 41% of businesses are experiencing staff recruitment problems, ranging from general labourers to trained chefs to architects.

3 6th Annual Small Business Walk On October 4 th, 2017, the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC) and 13 partner organizations from Lake Country, Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, West Kelowna and Peachland embarked on the region s 6 th annual Small Business Walk. During the annual Small Business Walk volunteers went door to door to small businesses in communities from Lake Country to Peachland to ask business owners, management and staff a few key questions about the current state of business, future trends and barriers to growth. The annual Small Business Walk captures the pulse of businesses throughout the region, connects business support agencies to the business community, communicates industry intelligence to multiple civic and business stakeholders and identifies opportunities for COEDC s Business Enhancement programming. This report summarizes the key findings.

4 : A Brief History In 2011, the Central Okanagan business community reported feeling weakly connected to the region s municipalities. To combat this disconnect, the COEDC implemented Canada s first Business Walk in The Business Walk program gives government and business service provider organizations an opportunity to listen directly to the local business community, identifying common themes for action while bringing together educational resources, services and representatives of the business community for specific action plans. To date, over 2200 businesses have been visited through the Central Okanagan Business Walk program. The program has been recognized as a best practice in the Province of British Columbia s online Business Attraction (Site Selection) toolkit. The COEDC Business Walk program was also awarded Community Project of the Year from the Economic Development Association of BC (EDABC) in Since 2012: One-on-one post-walk assistance provided to 160 companies across all sectors; The Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Technology (formerly Ministry of Jobs Tourism and Skills Training) is using the Business Walks program as a best practice; Barriers to conducting business have been communicated directly to municipalities, Chambers of Commerce and business improvement associations throughout the region. These have included issues such as the need for information related to truck routing, signage, recruitment and training, local development plans, networking and buy-local campaigns. More than 75 communities throughout British Columbia and Alberta conduct Business Walks annually. Business Walks are one element contributing to an improved business environment in the region and were a strong factor in the Province of BC naming the District of Lake Country as an Open for Business award winner and the region as a whole as a finalist.

5 2017 Key Findings Workforce Development: 41% businesses surveyed experienced difficulties finding and recruiting staff in the past year. Of the 91 businesses reporting staffing challenges, 34 were seeking entry level workers, 38 were seeking semiskilled workers and 21 businesses were looking to fill key skilled or professional positions. Many businesses reported difficulties recruiting staff with soft skills like work ethic and communication skills, as well as a reduced number of applicants for posted positions. Key positions in demand cited include: Architects and engineers Residential care aides Doctors Specialized health care including audiologists, opticians and nutritionists Developers Financial service including insurance agents and financial advisors Administrative staff and specialized admins including legal secretaries Retail management and sales Construction trades Butchers, bakers and chefs Food service and kitchen staff including servers, baristas and dishwashers Mechanics and tire technicians Hairstylists and nail technicians Barriers to Growth: 125 businesses surveyed indicated barriers to growth, while 96 businesses indicated no barriers. Barriers cited ranged from a lack of space to expand in current facilities to increasing operational costs to difficulties attracting and retaining staff. Businesses in proximity to each other often expressed common barriers. Some geographical trends include: Lake country: lack of local and tourist awareness of Main Street retail area, signage Kelowna: lack of parking in several areas including South Pandosy and downtown, homelessness in the downtown and Kirschner Road areas

6 West Kelowna: staffing challenges and signage/awareness of local businesses Westbank First Nation: staffing challenges Peachland: lack of winter tourism/retail traffic, several businesses expressed a need to increase number of year round residents Specific concerns about parking, signage, zoning and homelessness identified as unique to geographical areas are communicated to the appropriate municipalities/governments and business improvement associations. Impact of Wildfires and Flooding: Businesses were asked about the impact of wildfires and flooding in the spring and summer of Close to half of businesses surveyed indicated an impact from wildfires or flooding this year. The majority of the impacted businesses cited a reduction in sales due to a decline in tourism and local traffic as the primary impact. Many businesses lost access to facilities or experienced flood damage and others stated that while they were not physically impacted, their local customers were. Businesses in the District of Peachland and downtown Kelowna area reported the greatest impact from flooding. Peachland businesses also reported a greater impact from wildfire smoke during the summer months. Businesses in Westbank First Nation reported the greatest impact from ongoing Boil Water Advisories as a result of flooding. A small number of local businesses acknowledged a positive impact from widespread smoke as tourists and locals were shopping or accessing indoor activities to avoid exposure to smoke. Many local businesses offered services or products to support wildfire evacuees and firefighters. Several businesses expressed frustration over national media coverage that they felt overstated the severity of the situation and made tourist reluctant to visit the region. Succession Planning: A lack of succession planning continues to be a significant risk for business continuity in the Central Okanagan with 10.4% of businesses indicating a desire to exit (sell or close) in the next 5 years and only 4.5% having a clear succession plan.

7 Partners: