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Comox Valley

Old House Law & Notary: A LIFT BizOnDeck Case Study

June 20, 2018 by leif

Old House Law & Notary is a partnership between Lyle Carlstrom Professional Law Corporation and T. Dale Roberts Notary Corporation. Lawyers and Notaries both practice law (with Notaries restricted to real estate, wills, contracts etc.). Having them work together in the same office creates new efficiencies and legal solutions for clients. Old House Law & Notary one of the first practices in BC providing lawyer and a notary public services.
You can find out more at ohlp.ca

LIFT: What inspired you to start Old House Law & Notary?
Lyle: I wanted to live in the Comox Valley, and from a professional level I wanted to be in business with like-minded individuals and create something new and dynamic. Working with Dale Roberts has led to a multidisciplinary practice that has a lawyer working with – instead of competing with – a notary. Our type of law is non-contentious. We focus on helping people – buying and selling real estate, estate planning. These services are in high demand in the region, and an office that includes both law and notary services, it makes us very competitive.

LIFT: What was your “ask” at your BizOnDeck workshop?
Lyle: We had several asks. We wanted: feedback on what would make us more relevant to the general public, help in branding our business, advice on keeping existing clients loyal to our new brand, suggestions on acquiring new customers who will appreciate the new brand, help on determining the best ways to give back to our clients and community, and direction on spreading the word about the results of the above.

LIFT: What were the three biggest takeaways (and subsequent actions) from your BizOnDeck?
Lyle: We heard that we are generally on the right track with our marketing efforts, but that we need to spend additional time on social media marketing. We also heard that we need to clarify our company vision and mission. As follow up activities we’ve re-engaged our webmaster digital marketer, and we’re planning a management retreat in mid-June

LIFT: Has putting your business “on deck” helped grow your business?
Lyle: The short answer is yes. We found the BizOnDeck process to be very helpful, and vibrant. We got lots of great feedback. We experienced lots of synergies. Since the workshop, we’ve made positive changes to some of what we do, especially with regard to marketing.

 

Last word

Lyle: For a company like ours, the BizOnDeck was a very unique and valuable exercise. Where else would we get this kind of feedback from a room full of entrepreneurs?

 

Contact information

Telephone: 250-871-7737
Website: ohlp.ca
Vancouver Island business directory: old-house-law-and-notary
Alignable: old-house-law-notary-public-t-dale-roberts-notary-public

 

FMI about LIFT & BizOnDeck

LIFT is an award-winning organization* that helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and non-profits grow on Vancouver Island. We’ve just launched the Vancouver Island business directory to connect and promote entrepreneurs across the Island. To put your business or project “on deck” please fill in the blanks on this form and we’ll start “hustling the help” to grow your business! Or call HPM at 250-792-1408 to get started.

*Awards include:
• Best in BC, Entrepreneur Promotion, Startup Canada Awards, Vancouver May 2018
• Best Social Media Organization, Comox Valley Record Readers’ Choice Awards, 2015 and 2016.

Filed Under: Case Study, Comox Valley Tagged With: #LIFTVIP, #WeAreYQQ, Comox Valley, entrepreneurs, innovation, knowledge sector, resources

GrowWise Health in the Comox Valley. A LIFT business profile

May 13, 2018 by Adil Amlani

The business of medical cannabis is growing – fast – and has many facets. One of these is patient and physician education about the science and the therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis. Toronto-based GrowWise Health provides this service. In 2017 Denise Ropp partnered with GrowWise Health to bring medical cannabis education to the Comox Valley and Vancouver Island.

LIFT: What is the business of GrowWise Health?

Denise: Medical cannabis is a new and exciting area, and there are a lot of unknowns, and lots of new research. Our role is to provide education and support – for both patients seeking help, and physicians who want to learn more.

Your first step, when you visit our centre, is to meet with a physician who actually listens to you about what you are trying to accomplish with regards to your health. GrowWise Nurse Educators then provide education about medicinal cannabis: licensed producers, safety, dosing, strains, compounds – that kind of thing. After that, we’re here to give you ongoing support to reach your own, personalized goals.

LIFT: What makes your business “special” or different from what others are doing with regard to medical cannabis?

Denise: Let me be clear, because there is often confusion around this, we are NOT a medical cannabis dispensary. Our business is supporting patients in their healing journey, without charging extra fees.

GrowWise started about three years ago. The founders recognized that more and more physicians were authorizing medical cannabis, but patients were being left on their own to fulfill their prescription. With an ordinary script, a patient would be able to walk into a pharmacy and ask for help – the pharmacist will tell you what time of day to take your medication, what side effects to be aware, and will fulfill the prescription for you. That doesn’t exist for cannabis patients.

So GrowWise partnered with a half dozen Licensed Producers – companies authorized by Health Canada to legally producer cannabis for medical purposes – to help connect patients with the support they need to be successful with their treatment. GrowWise nurses are embedded in clinics where there are physicians authorizing cannabis – they work in pain clinics, fibromyalgia centres, family practices, and cannabis clinics like White Cedar here in the Comox Valley. The physicians bill MSP like any other clinic, and the education service is provided free-of-charge to patients.

LIFT: Who are the people that will most benefit from what GrowWise Health is offering?

Denise: Most of our patients are in their 50s and 60s. Active adults highly motivated to improve their health. But really, our target market is anyone who seeking an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical solutions. And so we have patients of all ages, from all walks of life.

LIFT: What inspired you to start the Comox Valley office?

Denise: I saw an opportunity to provide access to a natural health solution to the community. There are a lot of people for whom traditional pharmaceuticals have failed. This is a choice in healthcare, an alternative to traditional solutions. I must say, this is not about getting “high.” Most of our patients have not been recreational cannabis users. Many are unfamiliar with any type of cannabis. They’re people looking for a solution to health issues, a solution that’s eluded them in the traditional healthcare system to date.

We have a lot of patients that have been curious about this medication. There are also those who have tried using medicinal cannabis and are not aware of finer details about strains or components, or even how to properly dose themselves. They need proper education and support. I saw this opportunity as a way to support people on their healing journey.

LIFT: What / who have been the biggest factors in the growth/ success of your business?

Denise: Number one is our patients! GrowWise has worked with over 6000 patients across Canada to date. Hearing their success stories is incredibly motivating for us as a company, as well as for the greater community. These patients go on to tell their family and friends about their success, they share their story with their family physician, their colleagues, and so on, and the message spreads from there.

Another key piece that has been incredibly helpful is the expansion in research. It feels like every day there is a new study released about how cannabis might help – about how it is displacing opioid prescriptions, or how it is improving quality of life for our veterans. We have so much anecdotal evidence that points to cannabis be a valuable treatment options, but in order for healthcare practitioners to fully embrace cannabis, rigorous, academic research is needed.

Finally, the federal government’s decision to legalize cannabis for adult-use this summer has really helped to break down the stigma around cannabis for medical patients. All of a sudden, cannabis is everywhere. It’s on every newspaper cover, on the radio, in magazines – it has become far less taboo, and that has encouraged patients to take the first step and talk to their doctor about it.

LIFT: If you had one piece of advice for someone starting a business on Vancouver Island / in the Comox Valley today, what would it be?

Denise: Get out and network!

CONTACT
For more information about GrowWise Health in the Comox Valley:

Telephone: 250-941-4999
Facebook Messenger: https://www.facebook.com/Comox.3322
GrowWise Health in the Comox Valley is a LIFT member business (aka LIFT VIP). If you are a LIFT member ask Denise and the team at GrowWise Health about the 10% discount on hemp-based products like Bully Bites (doggie snacks), Canna-9, lip balm, body cream, and facial serum.

For more information about LIFT and how we help grow Vancouver Island businesses, please see https://liftstartup.wpengine.com or call Founder & CEO Hans Peter Meyer (HPM) at 250-792-1408.

Filed Under: Comox Valley, Member Profile Tagged With: #LIFTVIP, entrepreneurs, innovation, knowledge sector, profile

Making economic shift happen in the Comox Valley

June 1, 2017 by Adil Amlani

Two dates. November 22, 2014. Ian McKay, Vancouver’s economic development commissioner, talks to me about the city’s emerging “talent economy.”

May 31-June 3. Downtown Courtenay hosts the 6th annual Elevate Arts Festival. The absolute best time to experience the Comox Valley’s emerging talent economy.

Context

In 2015 I interviewed Susan Mowbray, Senior Economist with MNP, at Vancouver Island Summit. Susan is the  author of VISummit’s annual “state of the Island” snapshot of economic trends. In 2015 Susan was telling me about the growing importance of the “knowledge sector” to the Island’s economy, including the Comox Valley.

I interviewed Susan again in 2016. The trends had shifted. Infrastructure spending was now the driver of whatever growth was going to happen in our region. Uncertainty about the softwood lumber agreement is going to have an impact on our economy, even though many of us don’t acknowledge forestry as a local economic fact of life. Interestingly, she made no comment about the knowledge sector.

Resources

When Ian McKay said, “talent economy,” I had an idea about what he was talking about. I’ve seen five decades of talent attracted to my community. Not for jobs. But because we’ve got something that talented people are attracted to.

I believe talent is our biggest resource. McKay’s words inspired me to follow WeAreYVR’s lead to create and promote #WeAreYQQ as the Comox Valley’s own talent tag and brand. It inspired me to launch a speaker series that’s become something much bigger. As at the beginning, we’re still focused on talent (the LIFT acronym stands for “Leading, Inspiring, and Fuelling Talent”).

Mowbray may be right. By measurable indicators, the “knowledge sector” may not be as significant in 2016-17 as it was in 2015. But our “talent economy” is more important than ever.

That’s because talent is what moves us to take our knowledge and create things. Solve problems. Safety gear for kids. Niche marketing services. Art. Books. Videos. Etcetera.

With regard to our “traditional” natural resources, it’s our talent with forests, fisheries, food that’s inspiring creatives and entrepreneurs to create new kinds of businesses and jobs. Fuelling that talent should be our primary concern when it comes to growing the economy.

Commitment

I’ll argue that a talent economy is synonymous with a “startup community.” It’s a place where experimentation is encouraged. Shift happens. New experiences – music, art work, businesses – are created.

The research on successful startup communities says that they require a generation of commitment. Very few people make that kind of commitment. Politicians, bureaucrats, and agencies? Sorry. Their interests wax and wane with economic trends – ag tourism, tech, innovation, local booze.

On May 31 we gave Meaghan Cursons our #MakingShiftHappen Award, in part because she’s put over 20 years service into making shift happen with local talent. That includes six years plus as one of the prime movers with Elevate.

At LIFT, we support committed, long-term shift disturbers. Like Meaghan Cursons. She is one of the leaders in creating the vibrant talent economy we need to thrive. May she inspire many others. Because talent, more than chasing trends, is the solution.

by hanspetermeyer
founder, LIFT
@hanspetermeyer on Twitter and Instagram

Filed Under: Comox Valley Tagged With: WeAreYQQ

CVFM: Growing farmers – and the local economy – for 25 years

April 3, 2017 by Adil Amlani

LIFT (as hanspetermeyer.com) sponsored social media marketing at the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market from 2012-2016. Why? Because I’d been writing about food since 2004. Writing about the Farmers’ Market was a “feel good” thing to do. I thought that writing about farmers would me more interesting and wholesome than writing about restaurants.
I did a lot of farmers’ profiles. (You can watch them here.) And, over those 40+ interviews it sank in: the Market isn’t just about local and fresh and “local food” cool. The Market is about the economy.
I’d interviewed Vickey Brown, CVFM Executive Director, a number of times over the years. We’d had a great time, helping tell the story about farms and food in the Comox Valley. But I recently interviewed about something different: the bigger picture. I asked her about the role of the Market in the local economy, a role that many of us take for granted or don’t understand.
INTERVIEW (April 2, 2017)
HPM: You’ve described the Market to me as a “business incubator.” What does the Market do that helps grow food businesses?
Vickey Brown (VB): We were started in 1992 by farmers, for farmers, so this is our 25th anniversary year of doing what I call “growing farmers,” and helping farmers sell their food. Even with our processors and concessions, are required to use locally grown ingredients as much as possible.
At the most basic level, the Market recruits customers with our marketing. We provide farmers with an opportunity to introduce products, test flavours, and hear directly from customers. We also provide a number of opportunities for farmers to meet a variety of customers, in a variety of locations. For example, during the peak season, we have three weekly Markets: Wednesday in downtown Courtenay, Saturday at the Exhibition Grounds, and Sunday in Cumberland.
The Market also connects farmers with organisations like the North Vancouver Island Chefs’ Association, local restaurants, Lush Valley, to name a few.
At another level, the Market provides an educational service. People need to know who our producers are, and why they do what they do. And, importantly, we’re here to educate people about the realities of local food economics. It’s difficult to make a living farming. The Market plays a role telling the story about the value of local food, beyond simple price.
Most farmers work in isolation, not only from customers, but from each other. So l, the Market is also a place where farmers learn from and support each other. It gives them a place to talk about farm and business issues, like how they’re doing irrigation, pest control, etc. It’s a learning place.
HPM: How many businesses are currently active in the market?
VB: Just under a 100. Vendors come and go, but that’s number’s been fairly steady since I started working here in 2010. Of course, the number of vendors actually at the Market changes with the season. We have a maximum of between 70-75 during peak season.
HPM: What are some examples of businesses that have “graduated” from the market?
VB: Some of the more visible success of the Market-as-incubator are Tannadice Farm, DKT Ranch, Tree Island Yogurt, Green Acres Pies – to name a few. Others, like Prontissima Pasta, Natural Pastures, Healing Bliss, and Big D’s Honey have grown into storefronts, but are still active at the Market. Recently local wineries and distillers have added to what the Market offers. Wayward Distillation House won the People’s Choice for their vodka at BC Distilled in 2016, but they’re still at every Saturday Market. Stone’s Throw Winery, 40 Knots Winery, Hornby Island Estate Winery, and Blue Moon Winery are other high profile businesses that are active at the Market even as they grow their own storefront businesses.
HPM: What are some of the biggest obstacles to growth for local food businesses, and how does the Market help address these?
VB: The biggest obstacle is early stage revenue. Like many startups, farmers struggle to generate enough cash flow to keep going. So food producers are juggling multiple jobs to get their business growing. For example, Cottage Farm was at the Market for several years before they were able to give up their “day jobs.” It’s a bit of a catch-22: you’re not putting enough time into the farm to grow it, but you need the other job to to invest in the farm. We’ve created the New Farmer Bursary to help with some of this early stage difficulty. But we could do much more.
Weather is a factor that we have no control over. But we can play a role in telling the story. For example, the reason your local food sometimes costs more is because the weather has been hard on farmers. A long, cold winter this year has meant that many early season crops weren’t ready for sale, and that the spring season will be later. That puts a squeeze on cash flow. A couple of years ago we had a long, dry summer. That reduced yields, and has even had an impact on livestock and meat in years following. We’re used to the industrial food model, where we, as consumers are somewhat insulated from the real world of what farmers deal with. That’s not the case with the Market. Because farmers sell direct to customers, we get both the freshest and tastiest produce, and the real cost of that produce.
Another issue facing our local food producers is capital investment, whether it’s production space or cold-storage and distribution. Some farmers’ markets are creating production and testing spaces. These could also include co-operative cold storage and distribution. All of this could spin-off of an enhanced farmers’ market function.
HPM: What’s stopping the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market from addressing these issues?
VB: We don’t have the capacity. There is a significant need for infrastructure in our local food economy, and we don’t have the money or the staff to do what we could be doing. Even though we were voted Best Large Market in BC in 2015, we know we could do more.
HPM: How is the Market currently funded?
VB: The majority of funding to run the Market comes from the farmers, from vendors’ table fees and member fees. Local government contributes close to 4% of our current operating budget, and we pay local government about 10% of that budget in venue rental costs. Occasionally we are eligible for grants for special projects, like promotion and advertising. We also are seeking sponsorship support.
HPM: What are the priorities if there were better funding?
VB: We would definitely like to do more for our vendors. Priorities would include office space accessible to the public and vendors, more staff support for education and promotion for farmers and local food. We also see a great need for more direct supports for farmers. For example, the New Farmer Bursaries are helping people get started, but we could also help farmers replace weather damaged greenhouses, help them set up irrigation. I’d really like to see us expand the nutrition coupon program to go year-round, not just summer-only. We’d also love to do workshops for our vendors, to help them grow their business.
HPM: How can we – the public, other businesses – support the Market?
VB: Sponsorships are a big help. A sponsorship from Hinterland Studio is helping with the Cumberland market. Jace Pierson has helped with New Farmer Bursary. Courtenay KIA is providing a tow-vehicle for our Market stage and gear. We’re also looking for sponsorship of our music program, for a kids’ area, and for specific markets – eg downtown, Winter, Cumberland – and for special events at the market, like Farmer Appreciation Week, and our Food Fests. That kind of thing.
HPM: Have you considered a non-vendor Market membership as a way for the public to support the work you’re doing?
VB: We are looking at a “Friends of the Market” type program. We’re hoping to have this in place in 2017. We’re also working on a “donate” button for the website, for people who want to help in that way. And, we always welcome cash or cheque donations at the Market table.
—
At LIFT we’ve recently created a Young Entrepreneur Fund that will enable food entrepreneurs – in local food, business, the arts, and more – to participate in business development workshops. We’re also re-engaging as social media sponsors to help tell the story of the Comox Valley’s food entrepreneurs at the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market. Watch for profiles on our social media channels on the blog, on our Facebook page notes, Instagram, and Twitter.
hpm for LIFT
@hanspetermeyer on Twitter & Instagram
liftcomoxvalley.ca: Growing the economy, one entrepreneur at a time.
ps. Our local economic development body is doing some good work to promote our local food sector. Hat’s off to them. That’s a very good way to spend the almost $1M they get from local taxpayers. I just wish that the CVFM would get some help doing its work at the grassroots. That’s why I support individual giving and business sponsorships. That’s why LIFT is doing what it can to support the Market. Without you and me making sure that good food is grown locally, it won’t happen.

Filed Under: Comox Valley Tagged With: #WeAreYQQ, Comox Valley, cvfarmersmarket, entrepreneurs, resources

The #WeAreYQQ brand: From the Comox Valley and proud of it!

August 2, 2016 by Adil Amlani

Where is here? Here is the Comox Valley. Who is here? Talent.

On July 20-22, 2016 the Comox Valley Art Gallery hosted the Where is Here? symposium. The symposium focussed on the issue of defining where we are, and who “we” are in this place. CVAG’s Sharon Karsten says this is an important part of community economic development. I agree. That’s why branding our emerging talent economy is so important: because our individual talents (in business, the arts, and more) are the building blocks for the emerging economy that will take us beyond our current economic challenges.

Branding talent economies

How do we brand talent economies? Here’s an example from Vancouver. WeAreYVR was launched several years ago to brand and map Vancouver’s emerging tech talent sector. I like the WeAreYVR example. It’s strong. It provokes curiosity. It’s inclusive. It’s geo-locatable, and distinct.

Following suit, I created #WeAreYQQ to brand our Comox Valley talent economy. #WeAreYQQ  tells the world, “From the Comox Valley and proud of it!” It’s a tool, generated to serve our talent economy. Here’s how it works.

Provocative / clickable

Love them or hate them, hashtags are provocative. They make people stop and think. Using a hashtag also means the brand is searchable (clickable) on most social networks, making it easy to see who’s doing what. #WeAreYQQ also raises questions like: Who is “we?” What is “YQQ?”

Inclusive

As a search term, #WeAreYQQ can’t belong to any one person, business, or agency. It belongs to everyone who uses it. The “we” of #WeAreYQQ is anyone who wants to use the brand to attach to their work – or to the work of people and organizations who are doing good stuff in our region. I routinely tag people doing good stuff with the phrase “#WeAreYQQ ★.” It’s my way of saying “heroes of the Comox Valley” – but in a concise, branded, and collaborative way that works well on social media.

Geo-locatable and distinct

#WeAreYQQ uses the IATA code for Comox Airport (YQQ). IATA codes are often used by businesses and organizations in other locales because they’re short, distinct markers that cannot be confused with other locales. (For example, the “CV” brand is great for locals. For the rest of the world, the people we’re branding for, it most often means “curriculum vitae” – or more close to home, Cowichan Valley.) IATA codes only point to distinct locales. Just as WeAreYVR = Vancouver and WeAreYEG = Edmonton, WeAreYQQ = Comox Valley.

Is it working?

Search via Google, Twitter, Facebook – and especially Instagram. #WeAreYQQ is being used by all manner of creatives and entrepreneurs – painters, musicians, fish charter operators, bakeries, blacksmiths, and more. They’re using #WeAreYQQ to brand what they’re doing in and beyond the Comox Valley. By using it, they’re inviting others to click through to discover a community of creatives and entrepreneurs in the Comox Valley.

Screenshot 2016-07-24 09.54.36

Collaboration and competition

Generating a talent economy is about collaboration. It’s also about competition. We compete with other regions endowed with natural and cultural amenities, relatively “affordable” housing, etc. Having a brand helps differentiate us. It also shows that we’re serious about supporting our talent economy.

How we provide support is by growing and sustaining trust and grassroots collaboration. This is already part of the culture of some organizations and businesses in the Comox Valley. Elevate the Arts Festival is one of my favourite examples. Having an inclusive brand like #WeAreYQQ makes collaboration easier. Here’s what I mean:

Whenever anyone uses the #WeAreYQQ tag they are identifying with and amplifying our talent economy. By following, retweeting, commenting on, and reposting #WeAreYQQ stories – in any media – people are extending the impact of the brand, and the reach or visibility of our Comox Valley talent economy. When we support businesses, organizations, and artists that are self-identifying with our Comox Valley talent economy, we are directly helping to grow the local talent economy.

Growing our talent economy

Macro level support from agencies and institutions is a positive when it comes to growing a talent economy, and it’s great to see movement after the pot got stirred a couple of summers back. Our small tech talent pool now is on the radar. But our talent pool is much larger than our tech sector, and the evidence of decades of community economic development, and more recent examples of “startup communities,” is that what’s most important is an abundance of diverse grassroots, micro-level activities – across all sectors. For the Comox Valley, that means we need to grow our capacity to support entrepreneurs in the arts and in food, big time.

At LIFT Comox Valley (formerly the #WeAreYQQ Project) we launched the #WeAreYQQ brand as a tool for grassroots creatives and entrepreneurs to use. It’s your brand, not ours. You are the people creating the home-grown economy reflecting the values and aspirations of the people who live here. By using the brand you’re making this place – this “here” – visible as an emerging talent-driven economy. Let us know how we can help. That’s what LIFT Comox Valley is all about: Leading, Inspiring, and Fuelling Talent to grow a new economy in the Comox Valley.

Let’s make this shift happen!

hpm
for LIFT Comox Valley

@WeAreYQQ on Twitter

Filed Under: Comox Valley Tagged With: #WeAreYQQ, business services, creatives, economy, entrepreneurs, innovators, knowledge sector

Local food entrepreneurs on the high seas: Vancity Seafoods

July 10, 2016 by Adil Amlani

In the Comox Valley, aka the “land of plenty,” food entrepreneurs are an important force in shaping the future of the economy. One of the most important “incubators” for local food businesses is the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market. That’s why we regularly feature food entrepreneurs from the Market who are making shift happen – like Vancity Seafoods.

Joel Nagge and Aaron Newson are the principals at Vancity Seafoods. At the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market, however, it’s Aaron’s mom, Kella-Lee Newson and Joel’s wife Tatiana Baron, who are selling their specialty product: fresh frozen spot prawns, caught at a secretive location off the Vancouver Island coastline.

While Joel and Aaron grew up around fishing, it was a new venture for Tatiana. “I was complaining about my office job in Vancouver,” Tatiana recalls. “Joel said, quit. Join us on the boat.” The decision to leave a desk job, and ultimately to leave Vancouver and settle in the Comox Valley, has been a life-changer for Tatiana.

A passion for sustainable seafood

“I love being out on the ocean,” she says. “But more than that, it’s being in a place that’s surrounded with life. Whales, dolphins. So much to see!” And yes, there are spot prawns.

Tatiana is passionate about the fishery. Not only is it providing a livelihood for her family, it’s also a sustainable fishery. There’s little or no by-catch (unwanted and unmarketable fish caught by mistake), and the fishery is highly regulated.

She also likes that there’s lots of room for growth in local markets. Tatiana says that until recently 90% of the spot prawn catch went overseas. That’s changing, and she sees Vancity Seafoods as having a role in building a local market for this international delicacy.

How important is the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market?

The Market is very important, for several reasons. One, it gives Tatiana and Kella-Lee first hand access to new customers. They want to educate people about this relatively new seafood option.

They also like respondIng to people’s questions. There are a lot of them. “People want to know how to prepare spot prawns, where we catch our prawns,” but most of the questions are about the business and about the sustainability of the fishery.

“If we’re going to grow our share of this fishery the Market is one of the best places we can do that.”

More opportunities for local food: the summer Sunday Cumberland Market  

Vancity Seafoods is one of the vendors that is participating in the new Sunday  market in Cumberland (11am-2pm) in 2016. Stop by and ask Kella-Lee or Tatiana about BC’s famous spot prawns. They have lots of information, as well as ideas about how to prepare these tasty ocean morsels.

FMI

For more information about Vancity Seafoods, please see:

  • Instagram: http://instagram.com/oceantotable

For more information about the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market, please see:

  • Website: http://cvfm.ca
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cvfarmersmarket
  • Instagram: instagram.com/cvfarmersmarket
  • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CVFarmersMarket

Grow your business with a #WeAreYQQ / LIFT Project subscription

Does your business need more exposure? Do you want to make your marketing easier?

If you’ve got a story about entrepreneurship or innovation in the Comox Valley we’ve got a business development and marketing service package to get you exposure in print media, on our blog, and via our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and more. Subscribe and you’ll get significant discounts as a #WeAreYQQ Champion or Ambassador – and you’ll be listed in our updates to our extensive mailing list.

It’s all part of our service packages to help grow business in the Comox Valley! Come on board ⛵

hpm
for Team #WeAreYQQ and the LIFT Project
@WeAreYQQ on Twitter

LIFT: Leading, Inspiring, and Fueling Talent in business, the arts, and more – in the Comox Valley! 

We’re building an entrepreneurial culture in the Comox Valley. Join us this summer and win! You’ll get perks that’ll grow your business. Sign up here

Filed Under: Comox Valley, Food Industry, Member Profile Tagged With: #WeAreYQQ, cvfarmersmarket, entrepreneurs, localfood, profile, talent

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