2021 Brandon Business Review

BRANDON

2021

Business Review

The success, challenges, and stories from Brandon’s immigrant business owners

@bdnchamber

A conversation about economic recovery in Brandon, Manitoba, and the world

@BdnChamber

Trends and practices in workforce development for today and tomorrow

@bdnchamber

Economic Development Brandon can help.

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BRANDON

06 Message from the President of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Barry Cooper 08 Message from the General Manager of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Carolynn Cancade 10 2021/2022 Brandon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 14 Brandon Chamber of Commerce member benefits 16 Maximize your membership 18 Message from the Mayor of Brandon, Rick Chrest 24 Brandon Chamber of Commerce events BRANDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2021 WINNERS

26 Business Person of the Year – Gus Vasilarakis

28 Business Excellence – Large Award – Joe Beeverz 30 Business Excellence - Small Award - A&L Cycle 32 Outstanding New Business - Chez Angela Bakery & Café 34 Community Impact Award - Rocked Community Fitness 36 Lifetime Builder of the Year Award - Bob Jenkins 37 Young Entrepreneur Award - Matt Berg 38 Westman’s Top Four Under 40 - Danielle Adriaansen, Hailey Jefferies, Jordan Ludwig, and Parker Easter 40 Building up Brandon: The successes, challenges, and stories from Brandon’s immigrant business owners 43 Bouncing back: A conversation about economic recovery in Brandon, Canada, and the world 50 Working on your workforce: The trends and practices in workforce development for today and tomorrow

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

4

Giant Tiger........................................................................18 Glacier Wash Inc..............................................................41 Greenstone Building Products.......................................21 Guild Insurance Brokers..................................................44 Heritage Co-op.................................................................. 8 Horizon Builders Ltd.......................................................36 IG Wealth Management.................................................53 Jamieson Construction...................................................35 Juggernaut Computers...................................................17 Kelleher Ford....................................................................23 Keystone Centre..............................................................34 Koch Fertilizer Canada...................................................IBC Kuipers Family Bakery.....................................................45 Larry Maguire MP...........................................................46 Leech Printing............................................................Insert Manitoba Pork Council...................................................29 Martie Kruger Immigration Canada..............................15 Minute Muffler & Brake..................................................35 MNP..................................................................................15 Myphone..........................................................................48 Paddock Drilling Ltd........................................................29 PC Caucus – Cliff Cullen, MLA Spruce Woods.............13 PC Caucus – Len Isleifson, MLA Brandon East............13 PC Caucus – Reg Helwer, MLA Brandon West............13 Praxair/Linde Canada Inc...............................................24 Quintex Services Ltd.......................................................47

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

is published by DEL Communications Inc. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3L 0G5 www.delcommunications.com President DAVID LANGSTAFF

20 2021 is proving to be yet another long economic roller coaster ride

Affiliated Financial Equipment Leasing........................17 Atom-Jet Industries Ltd.................................................39 Bee Ez Tree Service..........................................................41 Behlen Industries.........................................................OBC Benmarks.........................................................................37 Better Business Bureau...................................................17 Bioscience Association Manitoba.................................. 11 Blue Moon Water............................................................32 Brandon Business Interiors............................................45 Cando Rail Services Ltd..................................................48 Centum Mortgage Choice..............................................33 Christie's Office Plus........................................................33 Coffee Culture Cafe & Eatery..........................................35 Compass Credit Union....................................................23 Construction Association of Rural Manitoba...............37 Crane Steel Structures Ltd..............................................21 D & B Sprinklers...............................................................51 Days Inn & Suites Brandon............................................... 6 Ducks Unlimited Canada................................................27 East 40 Packers................................................................51 Economic Development Brandon................................IFC Efficiency Manitoba........................................................19 Excel-7 Ltd.......................................................................27 Family Visions Inc............................................................23 Farm Credit Canada.........................................................54 Fusion Credit Union........................................................13

Business Review

Redfern Farm Services Ltd.............................................34 Reesor's Jewellery............................................................. 7 Rona – J&G Supply/Brandon.......................................... 7 Rotary Villas.....................................................................29 Royal Canadian Legion...................................................29 Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corp............46 Safe Work Manitoba.......................................................25 Sand Hills Casino.............................................................26 Sheila Tremblay Mortgage Alliance..............................34 Shreem Systems & Solutions........................................... 3 Siere..................................................................................31 Super Thrifty Pharmacy.................................................47 Taylor Jackson Financial Services Inc............................52 The Portage Mutual Insurance Company....................... 9 The Rourke Group Inc.....................................................52 The Skin & Vein Centre...................................................47 The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co...........................27 Trend Collection & Bailiff Services Ltd..........................53 Visa2 Canada Immigration & Settlement Services.....32 Westman Communications Group................................. 5 Westoba Credit Union....................................................30 Wheat City Concrete Products Ltd................................28 Windsor Plywood...........................................................33 Workers Compensation Board......................................49 Workplace Education Manitoba....................................15 Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.......................................... 8

Managing Editor SHAYNA WIWIERSKI shayna@delcommunications.com Sales Manager DAYNA OULION Advertising Account Executives GARY BARRINGTON JENNIFER HEBERT DAN ROBERTS GARY SEAMANS Production services provided by: S.G. Bennett Marketing Services www.sgbennett.com Creative Director / Layout & Design KATHLEEN CABLE

© Copyright 2021 DEL Communications Inc. All rights reserved.The contents of this pub­ lica­tion may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher­.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in and the reliability of the source, the publisher­ in no way guarantees nor warrants the information and is not responsible for errors, omissions or statements made by advertisers.

Opinions and recommendations made by contributors or advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher, its directors, officers­or employees.

Publications mail agreement #40934510 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: DEL Communications Inc. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3L 0G5 Email: david@delcommunications.com

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE

BRANDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

BARRY COOPER

O

n behalf of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, wel­

office. While just getting started, we see great promise for this or­

come to the 2021 Brandon Business Review. We ap­

ganization. We have a seat on its board and look forward to work­

preciate you taking time to learn more about the out­

ing with this new initiative to increase business in our community.

standing businesses that make up our Brandon and Westman community. With well over 2,000 businesses

in the Brandon and Westman area, this review is a snapshot of all the incredible places and things we have to offer.

We have also worked with the City of Brandon to support their Brandon Economic Restart Program. This program was designed to offer a hand up to businesses looking for ways to increase their sales and recover from the effects of the pandemic. The money

This past year has been one of challenges for most of our business

was targeted at Brandon businesses with an emphasis on using

community. Lockdowns, PPE costs and procurement, protecting

the grant money to make local purchases. This allows the maxi­

our teams and customers, changing regulations, supply chain is­

mum amount of economic spinoff to happen.

sues and staffing shortages have all become part of our everyday

2021 has been challenging, but it hasn’t stopped the Chamber

conversations. These have been difficult hurdles to overcome, but

from having a little fun and celebrating our members’ exceptional

we have continued to meet and exceed the public health require­

business strengths. Our virtual gala event this spring changed up

ments. Along the way, a very important change occurred as most

our format to announce winners from a trio of nominees. While

of our community became much more cognizant of where they

each category had only one winner, all businesses nominated

were purchasing goods and services. Their actions moved to­

had completed an amazing year and deserved to be recognized.

wards “shop where you live” and “support local”. As we progress

We also expanded our repertoire with the addition of some new

through the pandemic, this support from our community has

categories. Congratulations to all those nominated and to the fol­

never been more important or had more impact than it does now.

lowing recognized individuals and businesses.

It will also continue to be a strong focus of your Chamber with

•B usiness Person of the Year – Gus Vasalarakis, Pizza Express & Submarine

advertising and promotions continuing.

While much of our focus has been on the immediate concerns of

•B usiness Excellence (Large) – Joe Beeverz Bar and Grill

the pandemic, we have seen much work completed for the future.

•B usiness Excellence (Small) – A&L Cycle

An exciting addition to our local economic growth potential was the introduction of the Rural Manitoba Economic Development

•O utstanding New Business – Chez Angela Bakery & Cafe • Community Impact – Rocked Community Fitness • L ifetime Business Builder – Bob Jenkins •Y oung Entrepreneur of the Year – Matt Berg •W estman’s Top 4 Under 40 – Danielle Adriaansen, Parker Easter, Hailey Jefferies, Jordan Ludwig The next several months will see us all continue to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of safety regulations. Patience and kind­

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

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2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

7

D

MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE BRANDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

CAROLYNN CANCADE

W

elcome to this year’s edition of the Brandon Business Review! Over the last 14 years, this publication has allowed us to profile some excellent award-winning businesses and leaders, and share some of the stories and priority issues of our business community.

In this issue, we also spoke with business leaders and explored the

This year will go down in the Chamber’s history books as one of the

recovery might look like moving forward. As you flip through these

most challenging years for our business community. From adapt­

pages, we hope you will appreciate the incredible strength, knowl­

ing to changing public health restrictions and mandated business

edge, and excellence that exists in Westman.

closures, to managing supply chain issues and working through

Now more than ever we need to continue to support each other.

labour gaps and deficiencies, businesses have been forced to be

As we head into another holiday season, we encourage you to

nimble and resourceful, all while supporting the mental health of

#lovelocal. Whether that is choosing to shop locally, doing your

employees (and maintaining their own) in an often volatile and di­

exploring within Manitoba, or simply recognizing the great work

visive social and political landscape.

of a favourite organization, we all have a part to play. We are stron­

Despite these huge challenges, the resiliency of our businesses

ger together and the Chamber will continue be here to help pave

and community is inspiring. We continue to have much to cel­

a path to recovery.

ebrate, and we hope you agree when you read about this year’s

We are here to help! Please contact us to learn more about the

Business Achievement Award winners – members who are leading

tools the Brandon Chamber of Commerce can give your business

the way in innovation, perseverance, leveraging opportunity, and

to prosper and grow. Visit us at www.brandonchamber.ca or call

giving back to their community.

204-571-5340. ¢

trends and practices in workforce development for today and to­ morrow. We showcase stories of some of our immigrant entrepre­ neurs who are helping to change the fabric of our community, and we feature a Q&A on the economic outlook and what economic

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

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TANYA LABUICK LaBuick & Co., Guardian Fencing, CW2 Construction

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LAURIE BRUGGER Century 21 Westman

MATT BERG Livingstone Outdoor

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CHRIS FINLEY Mazergroup

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RYAN JACOBSON Forbidden Flavours Roastery, Affordable Storage Brandon

MEREDYTH LEECH Leech Printing

JENNIFER LUDWIG Super Thrifty Pharmacy

DIRECTOR

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LOIS RUSTON R & M Homes Ltd.

AIDA HARRISON Aida's Catering

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

KNOW SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SOMEONE.

The Brandon Chamber of Commerce has been the voice of reason for five generations of family run businesses, start-ups, and companies of every shape and size. We stand united with 600 members to get things done for every part of the business community. Join today and let your voice be heard.

SUCCESS STARTS HERE:

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MLA for Spruce Woods 204.827.3956 ccullenmla@mts.net 2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

13

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First Data | Firserv The Chamber has negotiated market-leading rates for our services, which are not open to seasonal price adjustments. If you have questions on the First Data offer or require additional information on this Affinity Program to help your business be more competitive, contact Mohamed-Ali Kessentini at 905602-3548 or visit www.firstdata.com.

Purolator has developed a tiered courier pricing structure for members that offers the most opportunity for savings ranging from 25% to 45% off our rates, depending on your organization’s annual volume. For more information, please contact Tim Hick, Purolator Alliance Partner Program, 1 (877) 324-0002 for a quote for your business.

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2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

15

M ax im ize Yo ur M em bers hip I’ve joined the chamber …n no w w h a t ?

 Stay Updated, Read Your Mail: Chamber at a Glance newsletter, Chamber Insider E-newsletter, & member emails  Display Space: Display your flyer or brochure in our front entrance  Get Noticed, Advertise in Chamber Publications: Chamber at a Glance or Chamber Insider ads  What’s New? Member News Section: Share important news in the Chamber Insider  Website: Log in and update your directory information including hours of operation  Website Upgrade: Add you logo, expanded your description, add photos, YouTube video, increased key word search, banner advertisement  THE Chamber Roster Book: Advertise along with your business listing in the directory  Spread the Word: The Chamber receives countless calls from consumers and visitors who we refer to our members; let us know what you are doing and we will spread the word  Social Networking: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter – we recognize Member achievements, awards, events on our social networking feeds  Community Calendar: Add your events to our website that is visible to members and the community  Member Profile: Answer a few questions, provide a photo and become famous in our publications  Monthly Mailer: We deliver to over 800 delegates  Special Delivery: Purchase mailing labels for over 800 delegates for your own special announcement/event  Booth Sponsorship: Showcase your products and services at one of our Luncheons  Special Event Sponsorship: Take advantage of one of the many levels of sponsorship and show your support for the business community at our Annual Dinner or Golf Tournament  Too Busy at Lunch? Join us at our complementary networking event hosted by your fellow members at their place of business for Business After 5  Put out the Welcome Mat: Host your own Business After 5 and invite customers to your place of business in a casual networking atmosphere  Add Your Voice: Join a committee and learn about the Chamber business, develop your leadership skills, and meet new people on a more personal level  Member-to-Member Deals: Post your exclusive discounts for free on our website  Bring Your Card: Arrive early and share your business cards with members at our monthly Luncheons and increase your profile. Be yourself; wear what you wear to work.  Have a Goal: “I want to meet three new people today at this event”  Out of Space: Rent our boardroom during, or after-hours in the historic Chamber building  Save Money: With the many Chamber Affinity programs, there is bound to be a discount applicable to your business  Advertise for Free: Refer a business that signs up for Chamber membership and earn Chamber marketing credit

16

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

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bbb.org/manitoba 2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

17

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR OF BRANDON

RICK CHREST

A

RESILIENCE! t the time of writing, the cal­ endar has just clicked past Labour Day, school is heading back, and a proverbial switch is toggled in our mindset from

top of mind, a plethora of new practices

is being proven out in real time; whereby

and measures were created practically

COVID admissions to Manitoba intensive

overnight, whether it be plexiglass bar­

care units currently show that zero are

riers, physical distancing markers, hand

fully vaccinated patients, highlighting

sanitizers, mask requirements, and so on.

medical professionals’ pronouncement

summer mode to back to business.

Many businesses reinvented themselves

that it is now primarily a pandemic of the

As we surpass a full 18 months of endur­

adding new lines of product, creating

unvaccinated. I’m not intending to be

ing the global pandemic, the word “resil­

new online e-commerce systems, take

on a pro-vaccine soapbox here, but I am

out, delivery, and curbside pick-up op­

steadfastly advocating for sound mea­

tions, and of course the wide barrage of

sures to keep us safe and healthy while

online meeting platforms. When survival

getting our lives and businesses back to a

is at stake, humans once again proved

greater status of normalcy. So far, the vac­

they will not throw in the towel and

cines are the strongest strategy available

found new ways to persevere. For many

to combat COVID-19, and happily the vast

businesses and organizations, survival

majority of the population has come on

measures they were forced to implement

board with more citizens deciding each

have turned out to be sound improve­

day to accept this protection for them­

ments that enhance efficiency and im­

selves and their community.

prove the bottom line that most claim

The past year and a half have been a tu­

they will maintain long after COVID is put

multuous time for almost everyone and

from every corner of society. Most busi­

under control.

while the pandemic is not yet over, I be­

nesses and organizations had to pivot on

What lies ahead? As I write this, Manitoba

lieve there is light at the end of the tunnel.

a dime and invent new ways to deliver

stands at 78 per cent of people 12 and

their goods and services, navigating suc­

over having been fully vaccinated. The

cessive waves of changing orders and

vaccines are becoming a game changer in

restrictions. With health and safety at the

our ability to live with this virus. Science

ience” stands out as a hallmark for busi­ nesses, organizations, and individuals. At no time in modern memory has our en­ tire globe been forced to endure such a universal threat causing practically every human being to change the way we do things. From my chair, while the munici­ pality like everyone else has had to learn to carry on in the face of COVID-19, what I’ve witnessed the most is the incredible display of the human spirit and the re­ sulting innovation and resilience coming

I’m quite optimistic and encouraged for what lies ahead. The innovation and cando attitude demonstrated by so many will make us stronger, more efficient, and very ready to do business in the months and years ahead. I would like to congratulate and thank all of those who did so much to hold our economy and our community together through all of this. I’m saddened that we have experienced many losses; lives have been lost, businesses forced to close, and many are still unemployed. But I’m certain we will recover and gradually but surely our lives will come back to – do I dare say it – our new normal.

Carry on being so resilient. Best wishes to one and all. ¢

18

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

LOWER YOUR ENERGY BILLS AND REDUCE YOUR MAINTENANCE COSTS. Programs and incentives for energy efficiency upgrades in businesses.

GET IN TOUCH TO START SAVING efficiencyMB.ca/business

As a service centre for some 180,000 residents, a notable portion of Brandon's economy was hit hard and fast by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo by Sandy Black.

2021 IS PROVING TO BE YET ANOTHER LONG ECONOMIC ROLLER COASTER RIDE

I

n early 2020, indications were that Brandon’s economy was on a moderate growth path. Despite ongoing challenging global dynamics, businesses were optimistic with many lo­ cal manufacturers projecting strong growth. Unemploy­ ment rates were creeping downward returning to low his­ torical norms and event sector momentum was strong. The newly launched Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot brought renewed confidence that chronic employment vacancies would finally be addressed. The recently updated Downtown Secondary Plan moved to implementation phase. WestJet buoyed by strong flight bookings, announced an expanded schedule for the Brandon air­ port. Without a doubt, we were perched at the top of what would soon become an economic rollercoaster ride.

Fast-forward 18 months and the rollercoaster ride continues, though in the last few months the trajectory of the ups and downs has decreased. The resiliency and adaptability of our local busi­ nesses continues to be unshakeable, despite changing public health orders, supply chain constraints, labour force woes, and changing customer spending habits. Processing Brandon Eco­ nomic Restart Program (BERP) grant applications has been both a heart-wrenching and heart-warming experience. The applica­ tion review process provides greater insight into the far-reaching 20

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

impacts of the COVID pandemic on business and the unwaver­ ing optimism that continues to drive business owners forward.

The program intake is ongoing with grants approved on a firstcome first-serve basis. Additional information can be found at economicdevelopmentbrandon.com/berp.

As a service centre for some 180,000 residents, a notable por­ tion of Brandon’s economy was hit hard and fast by the COVID-19 pandemic. Once again, economic diversity served the commu­ nity well as many sectors of the economy were able to continue to operate at normal operational levels, albeit under new safety protocols. The decimated tourism sector is slowly starting to open up, but the return to pre-COVID spending levels is not expected until 2024, according to Travel Manitoba. However, we are seeing positive signals such as new Event Hosting grant applications be­ ing submitted, hospitality service businesses actively hiring, and the hotel occupancy rates very slowly improving. Brandon’s first modern-day brewery, Black Wheat Brewing, opened in August of­ fering a brand-new tourism destination. The downtown operation brews beer on-site and offers beer lovers a must visit taproom.

Thankfully, many of Brandon’s manufacturers are reporting solid business outlooks which bolsters Brandon’s economic outlook for the next 12 months.

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WWW.CRANESTEEL.COM 2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

21

Above: Brandon's first modern-day brewery, Black Wheat Brewing, opened in August offering a brand-new tourism destination. The downtown operation brews on-site and offers beer lovers a must-visit taproom.

Left: With economic growth top of mind, the Economic Development Department will be updating the City's Economic Incentive program and the Economic Strategic Plan in 2022.

Photos by Sandy Black.

With two-thirds of Manitoba’s farmland located within a 100-kilo­ metre radius of Brandon, there tends to be a strong correlation be­ tween the local economy and the farming outlook. Brandon area farmers have not had an easy two years with significant rainfall challenges in 2020 and extreme drought conditions in 2021. There is no doubt the ripple effects of a second challenging farming sea­ son that will be felt in the local economy, however the degree to which the impacts will be felt remain to be seen.

Despite the ups and downs of the local economy amidst the CO­ VID pandemic, labour force challenges continue to be a pressing concern for local businesses. In the hard-hit hospitality sector, where most of the labour force was laid off or faced significantly fewer hours of work, it is proving challenging to upsize the labour force in pace with consumer demand. With an extended period away from the workforce, fewer international students arriving in the community, older workers who have opted to transition out of the workforce amidst health concerns, and the unpredictability of employment in the hospitality sector resulting from frequently changing public health orders, the labour pool available today looks quite different than it did pre-COVID. Skilled labour shortages continue to impact local businesses, however the Rural Northern Immigration Pilot has proven to be a breath of fresh air in the search for a solution to chronic skilled la­ bour shortages in Brandon. With the federal government entrust­ ing the determination of labour needs to the municipality, the program has been embraced by businesses of all types and sizes as it provides employers with another tool to meet their chronic 22

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

labour needs. To date, the program has enabled local businesses to extend job offers for a variety of positions, including but not lim­ ited to, a podiatrist, real estate law clerk, pharmacy aide, physician, religious education worker, traditional medical practitioner, heavyduty ag technician, logistics coordinator, retail and wholesale buy­ er, electronic service technician, industrial meat cutter, and pork production technician.

Employers experiencing challenges finding employees are en­ couraged to contact the Economic Development Brandon office at Immigration@Brandon.ca or 204.729.2127 to discuss whether the Rural and Northern Immigrations Pilot can help to address labour challenges.

With economic growth top of mind, the Economic Development Department will be updating the City’s Economic Incentive pro­ gram and the Economic Development Strategic Plan in 2022. De­ partment resources will continue to be devoted to business reten­ tion and expansion initiatives, attracting new industry to the city, optimizing the availability of industrial land for development, and advocating for increased infrastructure investments required to fa­ cilitate ongoing industrial investments in Brandon.

While the COVID pandemic continues to result in economic un­ certainty, all indications are that the local and global economy is rebounding, and despite the long rollercoaster ride we’ve all been experiencing, business optimism remains firmly intact and there exists pent-up consumer demand.

For more information, contact Sandy Trudel, director of economic development for the City of Brandon, at s.trudel@brandon.ca. Visit them online at www.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com. ¢

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2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

23

BRANDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

T

he Brandon Chamber of Com­ merce takes great pride in of­ fering our members and the Brandon business community high-quality events. From casu­ al mixers to elegant galas, there is always something going on at the Chamber! Our event season typically runs from Septem­ ber to June, but with COVID-19 altering the way we deliver our events, we offered virtual events all summer. Currently, many of our events are being delivered in per­ son once again, but we will still be hosting some virtual events too. We are working hard to continue to deliver quality events and programs that our members will find value in. Check out some of our featured events below!

FIRST FRIDAY COFFEES

BUSINESS AFTER 5

Fill up your coffee mug and join in on the

Business After 5 events provide an op­

conversation! These hour-long network­

portunity for members to host a Chamber

ing events are held the first Friday morn­

networking event at their facility or an

ing of every month. These events will be

off-site location. These events are compli­

either in-person or virtual, as we feel both

mentary for all employees of our members

formats have huge benefits to those who

to attend. These are casual, come-and-go

attend! No speeches, no agenda, and open

events that allow our members a chance

to all employees of member businesses.

to hear what the hosting company has

Chamber Coffees promote the exchange

been up to! It’s a great chance to visit and

of ideas and discussion while giving you

enjoy refreshments and snacks after work.

the opportunity to meet someone new

CHAMBER 101

and practice your networking skills in a

So, you became a Chamber member, now

casual setting.

what? Chamber 101 helps you get the most out of your membership by giving

AWARDS GALA The Brandon Chamber’s Annual Awards Gala is the premier business event of the

LUNCHEON SERIES These popular events are held monthly from September to June and feature presenta­ tions from business, industry, government, and institutional CEOs on topical informa­ tion of importance to the business commu­ nity. Our in-person luncheons are back, so be sure to register yourself and a friend, and join us for some great information!

year. This gala event boasts a spectacular night of great food, entertainment, and celebration as we recognize the success of

you a complete look at what’s available to promote your business, save money, pro­ vide benefits to your staff, and make the connections that you need to grow your business and your career!

our thriving business community with the

HAPPY HOURS & MEMBER MEETUPS

presentation of our Business Excellence

What is the best way to finish off a work­

Awards. We are currently planning an in-

day? By attending one of our Happy Hours

person gala for 2022! Check in with us for

or Patio Mixers of course! This casual event

more information!

offers a great opportunity to mix, mingle,

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

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and chat with other Chamber members.

These are held both online and in-person.

So grab yourself a drink and join in on the fun!

GOLF TOURNAMENT Fore! Who is ready for a great day filled with golfing, networking, fun games, and great prizes to be won? The Annual Cham­ ber Golf Tournament has successfully run for 32 years now and is always guaranteed to be a great time. Start practicing that swing of yours, and we will see you on the links!

create and support healthy workplaces.

Each year we work to bring you topics that are current and relatable. These topics are delivered through keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and panelists.

ing opportunities for our members. From round tables with visiting electoral of­ ficials, specialty conferences, to election debates – we are always looking for ways to provide value for our members!

SPECIAL EVENTS

Visit us at brandonchamber.ca or contact us to learn more about our upcoming events. ¢

The Brandon Chamber is constantly look­ ing for more event opportunities to edu­ cate, inform, advocate, or offer network­

WORKSHOPS & LEARNING LUNCHES Join us for a hands-on learning experience that gives you new skills to bring back to your workplace. In the past these work­ shops have included: •D igital marketing •D rug and alcohol policy • WordPress • Trailblazer on Fire Women’s workshop •B oost your business with Facebook • F undamentals of closing sales •C yber security • a nd more!

SUPERWOMAN CONFERENCE Hang up your cape for a half-day confer­ ence filled with opportunities for connec­ tion, education, inspiration, and empow­ erment! This event aims to inspire dis­ cussion about the roadmap for success in Manitoba and beyond. We want to bring together ambitious women and men and foster an environment of connection.

With keynote speakers and panelists, you will hear from those in different industries, backgrounds, and experiences. Stay tuned for a spring 2022 event.

Let’s keep moving forward.

Together.

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2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

25

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR

A MONUMENTAL CAREER Gus Vasilarakis wins 2021 Business Person of the Year from the Brandon Chamber of Commerce

F

Gus Vasilarakis is the owner and manager for Pizza Express & Submarine, a company that celebrates their 40th anniversary next year.

or Gus Vasilarakis, the activities that he did the first day he came to Canada in 1979 are the same things he does today.

Vasilarakis is the owner and manager for Pizza Express & Submarine, a company that celebrates their 40th anniversary next year. Vasilarakis immigrated to Bran­ don in 1979 from a small island village called Diafani, Karpathos in the south of

26

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

Greece when he was 14 years old. The day he arrived he went to work right away at his uncle Emmanuel’s pizza restaurant.

“It was first thing in the morning on a Sat­ urday and he said, ‘oh, you have to come with me’. I was 14 and didn’t know what was going on, I thought he would take me to show me around Brandon,” says Vasi­ larakis. “He took me straight to work and I started working at 11 a.m. in the morn­

ing cleaning the pizza pans, making the dough, and telling me ‘get me this, get me that.’ Later that night he took me to a Wheat Kings game. That was my first day in Canada and I’ve been making pizzas and watching hockey ever since.”

After a few years working in his uncle’s

pizza restaurant, Vasilarakis, his brother, his mother and his father, who originally came to Canada working as a carpenter in Gillam and Thompson, ended up opening their own pizza restaurant, Pizza Express, on October 23, 1982, exactly three years to the day that he came to Canada. The whole Vasilarakis family worked there, in­ cluding his uncle (who had already sold his original pizza restaurant), and a cousin from Baltimore. After a few years, the fam­ ily sold the restaurant and moved to Win­ nipeg where Vasilarakis opened a new Piz­ za Express in the St. James area of the city.

The Winnipeg Pizza Express restaurant was a dine-in concept with a lounge and VLTs, and quickly became a popular place in the area. They ended up opening a sec­ ond take-out location on St. Mary’s Road in Winnipeg. Vasilarakis sold both Winni­ peg restaurants in 1998 and moved back to Brandon to be closer to family. In 1990, Vasilarakis bought back the original Pizza Express and has owned and operated it ever since.

Vasilarakis recently took home the 2021 Business Person of the Year Award at the Chamber’s Business Achievement Awards event.

“I was very surprised, honoured, and hum­ bled for receiving the award. This award is dedicated to all the small business owners out there who work very hard each and every day,” says Vasilarakis.

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Although it’s his name on the trophy, Vasi­ larakis quickly credits his family and his amazing staff, both past and present, for making Pizza Express a lasting success.

Vasilarakis also recognizes and thanks the Brandon community for all their love and support over the years.

“I’m a small business guy who has been fortunate enough to have some success.

I’m so thankful that our community has embraced my family and our business.

Without the support of the community, we would be nothing.” ¢ 2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

27

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE – LARGE AWARD

A PLACE TO GRAB A BITE AND WATCH A GAME Joe Beeverz wins Business Excellence Large Award at the Chamber’s Business Achievement Awards

I

f you’re looking for great Canadian pub fare, then look no fur­ ther than Joe Beeverz.

Originally opened in 2011 in Brandon, the restaurant now has locations in Yorkton, Sask., a seasonal location in Wasagaming, and a food truck. The concept came about after owner/operator Chad Wallin moved back to Brandon from Toronto to open a Mon­ tana’s BBQ & Bar franchise. Wallin had previously gone to Saskatch­ ewan Polytechnic (formerly SIAST Kelsey) in Saskatoon and gradu­ ated from the Hotel and Restaurant Management program. From there, he landed a job with Kelseys Original Roadhouse and eventu­ ally went on to open a few Kelseys and Montana’s franchises across Canada before coming back to Brandon.

“Joe Beeverz started going back to my hotel and restaurant school­ ing where we had a class project where we had to come up with our own business and concept. We had to develop and design a restau­ rant. That’s where I first got the idea,” says Wallin, who was born in Minnedosa but grew up in Saskatchewan. “It sat in the back of my head simmering for the whole time and never really fleeted from my brain. I learned a lot in the chain environment, but it was always something I wanted to do, to come up with my own concept and do my own brand.”

The restaurant specializes in what Wallin calls classic Canadian com­ fort food. They offer classic dishes like poutine, burgers and fries, wings, sandwiches, etc. and took their own spin on it. When they first opened, there weren’t a lot of restaurants that celebrated Cana­ dian cuisine, making the concept unique.

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

Joe Beeverz was the recipient of the 2021 Business Excellence Large Award at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Awards.

Joe Beeverz was the recipient of the 2021 Business Excellence Large Award at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce Business Achieve­ ment Awards. In a typical year, they employ over 40 staff, but dur­ ing the pandemic they have been running a lean crew of around 18 people. Seeing as how this past year has been very difficult for res­ taurants, Joe Beeverz has had to think outside the box and expand their offerings to stay current and relevant. Wallin says that they tried to find different opportunities which allowed them to keep the lights on and the doors open. This included a retail grocery outlet concept which they started in March 2020 and still do today. They have 500 people on their grocery list, which gets delivered every second week. They also do meal kits and cater for other businesses to keep staff motivated.

“It’s a very humbling experience to get nominated and selected from your peers and other business people. I’m very proud that we have taken this little wee brand with a goofy name and over the last 10 years have expanded into different markets,” says Wallin. “I’m very proud of own team and we were fortunate enough to win this back in 2009 with Montana’s [as well]. The one constant thing we had, as part of my team other than family, is a couple of managers. My chef Dave has been with me for that whole duration, as well as my assis­ tant manager Brett. We’ve grown up together and they’ve been by my side this whole time, so it’s a pretty neat feeling to be awarded, and twice with two different restaurants.”

Joe Beeverz has been a Chamber member since their inception.

Wallin says that he has always strongly believed in the Chamber, and even more so now with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a small busi­ ness, he says it’s been hard to keep up with all the information and programs that the government has been offering and the Chamber has been a great resource for advocating for small businesses.

“We relied on the Chamber to help us with that and to advocate for small businesses, whether it be a reopening plan or subsidies, or things of that nature,” says Wallin. “They’ve been a tremendous resource for not only the last 10 years, but certainly the last 15 or 16 months. They’ve been a godsend to us and we wouldn’t have been able to figure out all this stuff on our own without their help.” ¢

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2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

29

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE – SMALL AWARD

STAY FIT AND HAVE FUN A&L Cycle takes home Business Excellence Small Award at the Brandon Chamber Business Achievement Awards

F

A&L Cycle, located at 201 Rosser Avenue, specializes in products for running, cycling, paddle sports, fitness equipment, and cross-country skiing. Seen here from left to right are Colleen Wirch, Cam Wirch, Tyler Wirch and James Treloar.

or those wanting to be more active and get outside, A&L Cycle in Bran­ don is the perfect place to visit.

ning, cycling, paddle sports, fitness equip­

& Larry, which is when they changed the

ment, and cross-country skiing. The store

name to A&L Cycle. In the 1980s, the busi­

originally opened in 1936 under the name

ness was sold again and then in 1982, the

A&L Cycle, located at 201 Rosser Avenue, specializes in products for run­

Lacey’s Bicycle & Repair Shop before be­

Wirch family took over the business and

ing sold to two gentleman named Alex

have been running it ever since.

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

Cameron Wirch, co-owner of A&L Cycle,

most 90 years, the company has evolved a

enjoys the networking component of the

says that the company’s goal is to get as

lot and has experimented with the types of

membership, as it has allowed him to get

many people exploring and undergoing

equipment they sell. Wirch says that they

to know a number of different businesses

lifestyle activities.

used to sell a lot of downhill skis and snow­

in the community.

“More people cycling, more people out

boards, but found the category slowed down a lot, so they started adding in more

Although this past year was tough for a

running, walking, getting people out pad­ dling… our goal is to get people as active

fitness equipment over the past 15 years,

as possible,” says Wirch, who has worked

which is a category that has done well for

at the store since he was 15. “That lifestyle

the company. As well, since business is

side more, Wirch says that they have seen

carries forward, you can do it at any age.

slower in the winter, offering fitness equip­

a huge surge in sales, not only for outdoor

We have 90-year-old customers that are

ment has allowed them to service, install,

activities, but for the fitness equipment as

out there as well cycling and staying ac­

and build fitness equipment in the winter,

well.

tive, so it’s just a really healthy lifestyle.”

so it allows them to keep their dozen or so

Wirch says that they pride themselves on

staff employed year-round.

customer service, which results in a lot

A&L Cycle was the recipient of the Brandon

a new category for us in the last few years

of repeat customers, as well as the family

Chamber of Commerce’s Business Excel­

atmosphere. Wirch, as well as his wife and

and they have really taken off. I think that

lence Small Award at this year’s Business

son are all involved in the business, along

will be a huge growth for people that are

Achievement Awards. This was the first

with a fourth partner. They also hold a lot

unable to ride in normal conditions, such

award that the company has won from the

of community programs, such as cycling

as health issues or if there are a lot of hills

Chamber and they’ve been a member for

around. Electric bikes have been a game

over 30 years. Wirch says that it’s an hon­

changer for those people,” says Wirch.

our to receive this award from the Cham­

“There’s lots of innovation for the industry

ber and appreciates all that they do for

we are in, and we have to keep rolling with

local businesses. He also mentions that he

that. It’s been great.” ¢

clubs, run clubs, ski clubs, and triathlon clubs, so their customers have become part of the A&L Cycle family as well.

Of course, having been in business for al­

lot of companies, A&L Cycle has seen an increase in sales due to the COVID-19 pan­ demic. Since people are wanting to be out­

“There is huge growth in the industries we are in. For example, electric assist bikes are

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siere.ca 2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

31

OUTSTANDING NEW BUSINESS

BREAKING BREAD Chez Angela Bakery & Café wins 2021 Outstanding New Business Award Chez Angela Bakery & Cafe, which specializes in French cuisine, recently took home the Outstanding New Business Award at the 2021 Brandon Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Awards.

W

hat started off as a $300 in­ vestment to purchase a table at a farmers’ market quickly turned into one of Brandon’s

tion – and obtained her business degree

staff members at the front of house. It’s a

from Brandon University. With a dream

little bit bigger than what we have imag­

and a business plan in hand, they soon

ined, but we are thankful for what it has

started to make Chez Angela a reality,

become.”

most popular bakeshops and cafés.

and the café now has seating for up to 44

Chez Angela Bakery & Café, located at

people (pre-pandemic), a staff of 26 em­

29-C 10th Street in Brandon, officially

ployees, and over 2,000 unique customers

The café originally started as just a bakery, with the idea that people could pop in and grab a coffee and pastry. Almost right

opened their doors on July 27, 2018, ex­

a month.

actly one year, one month, and 26 days af­

“It was a cool experience, just really awe­

ter Angela Chambers started her booth at

some to see her grow all of those things

a farmers’ market. The husband-and-wife

and build a team. We laugh about it be­

duo of James and Angela Chambers had

cause in our business plan it says ‘James

the idea for opening their own restaurant

will be in the front of house and if cus­

The bakery and café, which specializes in

ever since they were dating as teenagers.

tomers come then he will serve them or

French cuisine, recently took home the

Angela ended up pursuing her culinary

help out’,” says James Chambers, general

Outstanding New Business Award at the

arts diploma from the Manitoba Institute

manager. “Now we actually have five full-

2021 Brandon Chamber of Commerce

of Culinary Arts – graduating with distinc­

time staff members and four part-time

Business Achievement Awards. Chambers

away, customers started asking for sand­ wiches and other meal-type items, so the menu quickly expanded to include items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

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says that although it’s nice to be recog­

a number of different ways and different

taurant industry. He also adds that with

nized, both he and Angela attribute the

contexts. We would like to build niches

the never-ending change in restrictions,

award to their staff. He says that their num­

that we aren’t seeing offered right now.”

they have had to reinvent themselves of­

ber-one goal from day one was to create

Although the business is expanding, like

ten, so it’s like they have been a new busi­

the kind of place that is hard for their staff to quit. They didn’t want to just create jobs,

ness multiple times.

most in the restaurant industry, they were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic over

“We recognize that this was an incredibly

the past year. Chambers says that they had

difficult year for everyone in business,

been following the news prior to March

and small businesses were significantly

2020 and already had a plan in place

impacted, the hospitality industry was

when the government started to man­

significantly impacted, and we are very

date businesses to close. They introduced

humbled to be sitting on the other side of

“Longer term, we would like to see some­

new menu items, retooled the restaurant

this and to be recognized in this way,” says

thing where the reins are easy to take from

to include more freezers and fridges, and

Chambers. “Our thanks, gratitude, and

Angie and myself, and for other people to

expanded their meal kits, which they had

celebration are directed towards not only

step in and fill our shoes,” says Chambers.

been offering since they opened their

the community members who have sup­

“We are looking beyond location two as

doors in 2018. Chambers also credits the

ported us, but our wonderful team here at

well and trying to lay the ground work for

Brandon Chamber of Commerce, of which

the bakeshop who have really carried us

that and ultimately trying to have a hospi­

they have been a member since 2019, for

through and led us through this last year

tality group that serves the community in

rallying for the local hospitality and res­

of business.” ¢

they wanted to give people opportunities to find careers. He adds that they are set to open a second location this year and in the future they would like to create a hospital­ ity group to grow the business even more.

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33

COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD

MORE THAN JUST WORKING OUT Rocked Community Fitness receives the Chamber’s 2021 Community Impact Award

W

Rocked Community Fitness offers group fitness classes and nutritional counselling. They won the 2021 Community Impact Award from the Brandon Chamber of Commerce's Business Achievement Awards.

nutritional counselling. Focused around

hiking, running with your dog, or liv­

CrossFit, each class features strength and

ing independently… but we think you

conditioning moves, and members range

should be able to do whatever makes

in ages from 12 to 76 years.

you happy,” says Jenn McMillan, who co-

“I think our goal here is to prepare people

owns the company with husband Zack

Rocked Community Fitness, located at

for anything they want to accomplish in

McMillan. “I think our style of functional

205 16th Street North in Brandon, origi­

life. We want people to be empowered

fitness prepares people for anything and

nally opened in 2013 under the name

to tackle whatever challenges they seek

everything because it is so versatile and

CrossFit Rocked. The studio rebranded last

with confidence. That might be playing

covers such a variety of different move­

year and offers group fitness classes and

with grandkids, joining a soccer team,

ments.”

hen it comes to fitness, a lo­ cal gym is looking to change the way people think about working out and fueling

their bodies.

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

The company was the recipient of the Community Impact Award at the Bran­ don Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Busi­ ness Achievement Awards. McMillan says that they are always inspired by their members’ involvement in the community and that they’ve run different fundraisers for various causes that their members are involved in. She adds that the initiatives are never the same, but there’s always different ways to go about them, such as t-shirts or events (prior to the pandemic).

Over the past year, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing their doors to close, they took to hosting fitness classes over Zoom and were even doing outdoor classes earlier this spring when the gov­ ernment announced a third lockdown.

McMillan says that they have had to learn to adapt to the ever-changing restric­

tions and it’s let them be more creative in

members to be incredibly useful, as well

their approach to offering fitness to their

as the advocacy that the Chamber par­

members and the community.

takes in.

“When we got the nomination we were

“The Chamber was writing letters to the

very surprised. We are always trying to do better and I know there’s people out there who donate hours and hours of their time, which I feel is probably the most valuable resource,” says McMillan.

“We are just so honoured that people felt

government on behalf of businesses, specifically in ways that we didn’t know how to connect with the government since we are a small business. I felt like I didn’t have a voice to reach out person­

that we had that kind of impact in the

ally, even though I did and tried,” says

community in some sort of positive way.”

McMillan. “To have the whole chamber

Rocked Community Fitness has been a member of the Brandon Chamber for a number of years now and although Mc­

of commerce behind you reaching out to your local government on your behalf was heartwarming, especially in a clo­

Millan says she didn’t partake in events

sure. To know that people are fighting for

their first year, once they dipped their

you and you don’t even know them and

toes, they dove in head-first. She says

didn’t ask them to do it, they just did it. It

that they have found the network of

was pretty powerful.” ¢

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35

LIFETIME BUSINESS BUILDER

AN ICON IN THE COMMUNITY The Brandon Chamber awards Bob Jenkins with the Lifetime Builder of the Year Award posthumously

A

Leslie Robert "Bob" Jenkins, who died in December 2020, was awarded with the 2021 Lifetime Business Builder award from the Brandon Chamber of Commerce posthumously.

notable Brandon businessman

dustry. Jenkins would travel to the United

took home the Brandon Cham­

States often where he would purchase car­

ber’s Lifetime Builder of the Year

pets and then bring them back home since

Award posthumously for 2021.

they were more affordable.

ing the underprivileged. At the time of his

Leslie Robert “Bob” Jenkins was born in

“Bob wasn’t happy with the normal supply

passing, he was working with Samaritan

Winnipeg in 1944. The second oldest of

chain in the carpet industry, so he went di­

House Ministries Inc.

five children to Fred and Eleanor Jenkins,

rectly to the carpet mills and improved his

he enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and

costs, which was able to pass those savings

Jenkins died on December 24, 2020 in the

shortly after completing his service moved

on to his customers,” said Paul Crane, busi­

to Brandon where he met his wife, Beverly,

ness partner and close friend.

whom he married in 1966.

comfort of his home. He is survived by his wife Beverly Jenkins, daughter Tammy and husband David, their children Sarah (Jon),

Jenkins sold his business at a young age

Katie (Devon); son Mark and his wife Bob­

After working at various jobs over the

and loved to travel. He had a home in Ari­

by-Jo and their children Grace and Mad­

years, in 1971 he founded Jenkins Business

zona, where he spent much of his time as

dy. The Brandon Chamber of Commerce

Supply, a company that sold office and

well. He also enjoyed golfing, fishing, trav­

awarded Bob Jenkins’ family with his Life­

janitorial supplies. Over time, Jenkins saw

eling, volunteering, and spending time at

time Builder of the Year Award for 2021 at

an opportunity in the flooring market and

Clear Lake. Jenkins was a notable figure

this year’s Chamber Business Achievement

shifted the business more towards that in­

in the community and was fond of help­

Awards. ¢

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR

SPENDING TIME OUTSIDE Matt Berg wins the Brandon Chamber’s 2021 Young Entrepreneur Award

W

hen Matt Berg got a job work­ ing for a neighbour when he was a teenager, little did he know he would go on to even­

tually own the company.

Berg is the president of Livingstone Land­ scaping, and a managing partner in Liv­ ingstone Outdoor. He initially got involved with the company back in the mid-1990s, working as the sole employee for his neighbour Drew Livingstone, who owned the company at the time. When he turned 18 in 1999, he purchased the business and went on to do his post-secondary studies in horticulture, as well as gain a business degree from Brandon University. In 2003, his brother Josh joined as a partner, and after graduation they moved the business to a proper facility and compound with a commercial address. Recently, the com­ pany expanded and moved to 1610 Byng Avenue and now also offer a store, Living­ stone Outdoor.

“We basically built a landscaping compa­ ny that was firing on all cylinders, but the missing link was to retail the products, so we launched the store last summer right when the COVID shut down happened,” says Berg, who also runs the company with his wife, Michelle. “So, we launched it and had to shut down and then lift our way through the summer which helped us plan the greenhouse construction. We built the greenhouse over the wintertime and it was ready to go on May 1, this summer.”

In addition to landscaping, they also offer grounds maintenance, snow services, and sweeping and painting.

Berg originally got into the business since he enjoyed being outside and creating things and watching them grow.

“I remember one day I was driving to pick up sod and at that time it was a sod farm right on the river bank,” he says. “It was a beautiful summer day and I thought, ‘man, this is where I want to be’. I don’t want to be in an office with no windows and breath­

Matt Berg is the president of Livingstone Landscaping, and a managing partner in Livingstone Outdoor. ing recycled air. This is what I want to do.”

Berg was the recipient of the Brandon Chamber’s Young Entrepreneur Award at their 2021 Business Achievement Awards.

Having been a member of the Chamber for over a decade, Berg, who is 40 years old, says that he was humbled to win this award as most times you don’t really get any recognition being a business owner.

He also adds that although it’s his name on the award, he also credits his brother Josh and wife Michelle with winning this award.

“I want to say how thankful I am for the rec­ ognition and for the community to be so inviting,” says Berg. “[We have a] great cus­ tomer base and great vendors and suppli­ ers. Brandon is a small town, so it’s tough to carve out a market share. A lot of our com­ petitors are really great at their jobs too, so I’m just thankful everything is working out for everyone and we were successful in this award.” ¢

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37

BRANDON CHAMBER CELEBRATES

Westman's top four under 40 The Brandon Chamber of Commerce recently introduced a new award category to their Business Achievement Awards for 2021. The award recognizes the outstanding achievement by an individual under the age of 40 who works in a leadership role in any size organization from the public, private, or non-profit sector.

The ideal candidates are active and engaged in work and the community, as well as being a creative problem solver, disciplined in performance, and generous in spirit.

Below are the winners for 2021.

Danielle Adriaansen

ASSINIBOINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Danielle Adriaansen is the director of public affairs at Assiniboine Community College (ACC). In her position she leads the college’s recruitment, marketing, and communications teams. Outside of work, she is part of the steering committee that saw the rebirth of Habitat for Humanity in Brandon. She is also a long-standing volunteer with the Art Gallery of Southwest Manitoba, having served on the organization’s board since 2019.

Last August, Adriaansen was asked to serve as interim vice-president, international, in addition to her role as the director of public affairs at ACC. She recently undertook the college’s next generation of international strategy to lead them through its pandemic recovery and has been reappointed to continue in the VP role through to mid-2022.

Hailey Jefferies PRAIRIE FAVA

Co-owner of Prairie Fava, Hailey Jeffries established Prairie Fava as a link between fava bean growers, food processing and manufacturing companies, and the end consumer. Prairie Fava manufactures high-quality Canadian fava beans into a variety of whole food ingredients, including flour, splits, whole beans, flakes, and more. The fava bean stands out among other pulses thanks to its better nutrition, flavour, functionality, and sustainability.

Under Jefferies’ leadership, Prairie Fava was awarded the Start-up of the Year award in 2019 from the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. The company aims to link fava bean growers, food processing, manufacturing companies, and the end consumer together and they are committed to value-added development of fava from seed to farm to fork.

To help contribute to the industry’s growth, Jefferies has sat on the board of the Manitoba Pulse Growers and Pulse Canada, and is a voting member on the Prairie Grain Development Pulse and Specialty Crops Committee.

38

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

Westman's top four under 40 Jordan Ludwig

BRANDON BUSINESS INTERIORS

A born and bred Brandonite, Jordan Ludwig is the president of Brandon Business Interiors, a commercial furniture and design office.

Shortly after graduating from Brandon University, Ludwig began working with the family business and become involved with the Brandon Chamber of Commerce at a committee level.

In the community, he cofounded and established the Westman Ultimate Disc League, volunteers with the Westman Dreams for Kids on their golf tournament committee, co-chaired the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, served as chair of the Brandon Family YMCA Board, and is chair of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce.

Parker Easter RENU HYGIENICS

Parker Easter is the founder and CEO of ReNu Hygienics, a soap recycling start-up that is dedicated to creating hygiene access and protecting the planet.

Easter is currently in law school at the University of Calgary, but was born and raised in Brandon.

Growing up in a self-described privileged lifestyle, Parker found himself with a diverse friend group that would open his eyes to the many harsh realities of the world. He got his entrepreneurial spirit from his father, and used to that start up ReNu Hygienics during his final year of undergrad at Brandon University, where he received a bachelor of business administration (honours). ¢

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39

BUILDING UP

BRANDON

By Shayna Wiwierski

The successes, the challenges, and the stories from Brandon’s immigrant business owners

O

ver the past 10 years, Brandon has welcomed close to 6,400 newcomers to the city, accord­ ing to Economic Development Brandon. Of those 6,400, many

of them were new Canadians.

permanent residency he moved to Win­ nipeg and worked for a number of Indian restaurants there before managing the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) at St. Vital Mall for three years.

“I worked [at KFC], and because I started

Brandon is home to a large immigrant

[The Chilli Chutney] in Brandon, I always

population, many of whom own business­

missed Brandon,” says Negi, who also has

es in the city. Laxman Negi, director of The

experience in Italian, Chinese, and Thai

Chilli Chutney, is originally from India and

cuisine. “The small city, the people are

came to Canada initially in 2005. Landing

very nice and friendly, as well as reliable

in Edmonton with a background in culi­

as long as you are serving good food to

nary arts, he started working for The Chilli

them. My previous boss couldn’t run the

Chutney out there, and after talking with

place so he wanted to sell it. I called him

his boss, moved to Brandon shortly after.

and took over.”

Negi started up The Chilli Chutney in

Negi moved back to Brandon in 2011 and

Brandon and then once he obtained his

transformed The Chilli Chutney into what

Manitoba is home to a large immigrant population, many of whom own businesses in the city.

40

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

it is today. He says there were a number of challenges to overcome in running a busi­ ness, one of which is learning the culture.

Additionally, he mentions that having good credit is extremely important since that’s the key to secure financing and a mortgage from the bank. Negi says that since he had been in Canada for a few years before taking it over, he already had good credit and was able to finance the restaurant purchase and obtain a credit line. Also, because he was the one who started the restaurant initially, his custom­ ers knew the business and were happy to support him once he moved back to the city.

Having good credit is just one of the ob­ stacles involved in starting a business in a new country, something that many immi­ grants don’t have right away when mov­ ing to Canada.

“When you land in Canada, you have no credit record at all,” says Martie Kruger,

immigration consultant at Martie Kruger Immigration Canada. “I have had clients with a million, two million dollars in the bank in their own country, but they don’t have it in Canada. So, they have nothing in Canada to prove they have security. I meet with lots of people who aren’t qualified for loans or mortgages, so it’s a challenge to get money.”

Although Kruger works with newcomers to Canada, she’s also an immigrant herself.

She moved to Brandon from South Africa in 2008 after spending eight years trying to get here. Kruger was a business owner in South Africa and obtained her real es­ tate license shortly before immigrating to Brandon. Once her and her husband came over she completed another real estate course, obtained her Canadian license in 2010 as a real estate agent, and started working for Century 21. After a year doing real estate she took an immigration course and then got licensed in 2015 as an immi­ gration consultant. She now specializes in getting workers from other countries to come over and work on Canadian farms.

“I was very fortunate because one of the agents at Century 21 was a farm special­ ist and he immigrated from the UK many years ago. At that time, he assisted farm­ ers to immigrate to Manitoba. I asked [him] to go with me to South Africa to recruit South African farmers because of the hard times that South African farm­ ers are going through,” says Kruger. “We went in 2011 for the first time and we did seminars to recruit farmers to immigrate

Clients that Martie Kruger has assisted in doing their immigration to move to Canada. to Manitoba.”

Kruger says that over the past year she has had an increase in inquiries about moving to Canada, especially after the Canadian government’s response to COVID-19 and the ability to get vaccinated. She says though that once people do come over they often run into many challenges, such as the economics of running a business.

New immigrants need to learn the by­ laws, regulations, and the laws in Canada.

There is also the fact that since Brandon is a smaller city, it’s tough being a newcomer when the community is so tightknit.

“It’s difficult to settle in a smaller city like Brandon, or even some of the smaller plac­ es. People grew up in Brandon and have families and support systems. You come in as a newcomer,” she says. “Although people are very supportive and helpful,

they still go to their family members and friends to assist them. That’s just life. I do business with people I like. If I don’t know you, as a new immigrant from somewhere else, I would like to check you out before I do business with you.”

With that being said, thankfully there are many options available to newcomers to help them set up a life and a business in the city. Brandon was selected as one of only 11 communities across Canada to be a part of the Rural and Northern Immigra­ tion Pilot (RNIP) program. The program creates a pathway to permanent residen­ cy for skilled foreign nationals who are able to fill local job vacancies and want to live in Brandon and the surrounding area.

Although the program is targeted to help immigrants find jobs for other employers in Brandon, Sandy Trudel, director of eco­

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41

Emelio Brown (left), CEO of Intritech Digital Marketing, is originally from Kingston, Jamaica. He came to Brandon in 2014 to attend Brandon University. He is seen here with his business partner Tapiwa Magwati from Zimbabwe.

nomic development for the City of Bran­ don, says that although they are coming as employees, after a few years of experi­ ence working in Canada they may even­ tually start a business in the community.

The RNIP program launched in Brandon in 2019 and Trudel says that there were a number of factors as to why Brandon was chosen to take part.

“First off, we have a really solid and dem­ onstrated track record at not only attract­ ing newcomers to our community, but retaining them. If you think back to prior to 2006, we were only attracting on aver­ age 65 newcomers a year,” says Trudel. “In 2006 things started changing and our an­ nual immigration numbers increased dra­ matically. We eventually reached a point during where we welcomed over 1,100 newcomers in one year. For a lack of a bet­ ter word, we have proven ourselves.”

In addition to RNIP, there are a number of other programs available to newcomers in Brandon who want to start their own businesses. These organizations include Economic Development Brandon, Com­ munity Futures Westman, the World Trade Centre in Winnipeg, the Women’s Enter­ prise Centre of Manitoba, Futurpreneur, the Business Development Bank of Cana­ da, and of course, the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, among many others.

42

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

Trudel highly recommends getting in touch with an agency to help make the process of starting a business more seam­ less. She says that it’s important for new­ comers to build their credit score as a new Canadian and that people should rely on experts for things that they may not nec­ essarily know as a new business owner, especially one that is new to the country.

“When you think about all the legalities of owning and operating a business, you think about the submissions that need to be made to government bodies, whether that’s GST, PST, payroll deductions, those kinds of things, and understanding it from a Canadian context,” says Trudel. “For a newcomer not familiar with Canadian regulations and requirements, it is easy to miss something and then get in trouble.

That’s why I recommend relying on the experts when you need to, which allows the business owner to focus their energy on what they do best.”

For Emelio Brown, CEO of Intritech Digi­ tal Marketing, asking for help in starting a business really helped him get his idea off the ground.

Brown, who is originally from Kingston, Jamaica, came to Brandon in 2014 to at­ tend Brandon University. He was doing his degree in computer science at the Univer­ sity of Technology, Jamaica and wanted to attend a university in Canada that was

inexpensive and had good courses. Af­ ter graduating from Brandon University, he started Intritech Digital Marketing in 2017 to gain work experience. Although he could have moved away to a bigger city, he liked the size of Brandon, as well as the people.

After five years in business, Brown says that his business has been doing very well, especially after the pandemic hit, with a lot of companies pivoting to online sales and needing help to create websites and expand their social media presence.

He credits his success to the people he has met along the way, many of whom he met while doing research into starting his own business.

“People are out there who would love to help. I was scared to ask for help from people who would be strangers, but go out and ask. Ask for someone to be a mentor for you, they would be happy and say sure,” says Brown, who also cred­ its his business partner Tapiwa Magwati from Zimbabwe for his success. “There’s [organizations] who will give you a lot of free resources for starting a new busi­ ness, as well as fellow business owners who would love to offer free advice. Even myself as well. Anyone who wants to start their own business, just reach out. We love giving advice and love meeting new friends.” ¢

BOUNCING BACK

A conversation about economic recovery in Brandon, Canada, and the world

A

fter a year and a half of eco­ nomic uncertainty, things are starting to look up.

On September 21, 2021, the Brandon Chamber of Com­ merce hosted a Zoom panel on eco­ nomic recovery featuring three industry experts. Moderated by the Chamber’s vice-president Tanya LaBuick, we spoke to Chuck Davidson, president & CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce; Non­ nie Cancade, vice-president, relationship management at Cardinal Capital Manage­ ment Inc.; and Rob Kavcic, director and senior economist at BMO, on what the future of Manitoba will look like in a postCOVID world.

Which sectors of the economy are likely to recover the fastest? Which are the slowest?

Chuck Davidson (CD): It’s an interesting question because when you talk recovery there are certain parts of the economy who haven’t been as impacted as others.

I think there are a number of key sectors; when you are talking about recovery you are talking about hospitality, you are talk­ ing about tourism, you are talking about retail; anything that is sort of front-facing,

public-facing are the industries specifi­ cally that have been impacted. In regards to when I talk to businesses, when I talk to manufacturing companies, when I talk to agriculture companies, and a variety of others, the message I get is it’s either the best year they have ever had or it’s the worst year they have ever had. There is re­ ally no in between.

The recovery for those industries in tour­ ism and hospitality will be years in the making; that’s not going to return to pre-pandemic anytime soon. This will be something I would suggest two to three years before we are back to where we were from a tourism perspective and from a retail perspective. Those are some of the key challenges I’m seeing and hearing from businesses out there.

Tanya LaBuick (TL): You would say those were the slowest to return?

CD: Absolutely.

TL: And what about the fastest?

CD: When it’s fastest… it really depends on the recovery, and again, a lot of busi­ nesses don’t necessarily need a recovery.

They just need businesses to be open and a lot of businesses never closed

their doors. They continued to work right through. A lot of manufacturing compa­ nies, aerospace, bus manufacturers, ag­ riculture continued. It’s businesses that had to shut down at some point over the course of the pandemic that were most impacted.

In terms of fastest, I don’t think anyone was fastest. I think you were either signifi­ cantly impacted or you weren’t impacted at all is what I continually hear. It is those businesses that were impacted, it will take a long time for them to rebound since they are also having workforce challenges on top of this as well. They have a variety of issues and everything keeps piling up.

They have increased debt and they have all these measures against them.

I think it will be a long recovery timeframe.

“Fastest” is not an issue or a timeframe we use right now.

Nonnie Cancade (NC): Chuck has given a Manitoba perspective, but locally what I have been hearing is similar. I would say that as a consumer, we have all felt that hospitality and retail have been hav­ ing trouble getting supply from differ­ ent manufacturing, downstream issues.

I would suggest that, looking forward, I 2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

43

ness we have seen in the labour market is not going to be going away. I think a lot of the exit in the labour market has been permanent and that’s going to be some­ thing that pressures the job market and pressures prices for a long time.

would agree that it will be a gradual re­ covery, but it will be a shift on supply is­ sues on the retail side to actual supply or capacity issues on the service sector side.

So, further to Chuck’s point on the re­ covery to tourism and hospitality, etc., in what capacity will we be back at and how quickly will that happen? I think that has everything to do with how we sort out how we live with COVID going forward.

From a local perspective, I think people are talking about disruptions in supply chains from a retail perspective and I think slowly, or faster than we expect, it will switch to the service sector.

Rob Kavcic (RK): I totally agree with the other two guys. There is this perception that the pandemic will end and we will

44

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

flip the lights back on and everything will come back over night. It’s obviously not the case, especially in tourism and these face-to-face service industries. This is just on and off kind of staggering back towards pre-COVID type of activity, and I agree, it will probably be years in terms of when we get there.

Towards your point on the supply con­ straints, we see it in the macro data as much as you guys see it at the local lev­ el and street level, where even in some cases, be it industries like bars or restau­ rants or areas of retail or even distribution centres who are coming back strong but don’t have the staff to bring in and meet the demand or get back to capacity like we saw pre-COVID. I think that’s going to stick quite a bit longer. I think the tight­

On the positive side, there are some in­ dustries that did not get impacted. Yes, some industries like real estate or areas of consumer spending where we saw a temporary freeze in activity early last year when the pandemic started, but when ac­ tivity came back it came back with levels that were a lot stronger than pre-COVID. In those industries there isn’t any recover­ ing left to do, we already blown well past pre-COVID levels of activity. Now it’s a question of will we see consumer spend­ ing on goods or housing settle back down towards something that looks more nor­ mal, rather than recovering from here? In a sense we could see a bit of a shift in that way as services come back and some of those other industries settle back down.

TL: I think those are valid points. I’m a partner in two construction businesses, so obviously we were deemed essential and didn’t shut down at all. We slowed down in the first part of last year but didn’t shut down.

I can tell you as an employer, although our profit and revenue would be up, it’s been a bit gruelling just managing the informa­ tion, how it impacts our team and what it means for them and where do we go and

what do we do and how do they do this on the site, all those kinds of things. For the folks who stayed open, and although it didn’t impact them financially, I think we are all a little bit exhausted from the CO­ VID. I think we are okay for the slow down and trying to hire people again and all those things we face being open as well.

Kind of a crazy situation…

Will the supply chain issues continue or will they settle out in the coming months?

RK: I think they will persist longer than most think. I always kind of say this, but whenever we get hit with the big econom­ ic shot, the immediate consensus is that this is temporary, it will go away. What we find, as you live and work through these things, or look at the history when you get shocked to this degree, the impact is usually stronger and it usually persists longer than anyone thinks at the offset, be it central banks or analysts or econo­ mists, or whoever the case may be. Here we are and getting almost into 2022 and this hasn’t gone away. This was supposed to be long gone by now.

At its root I think it is transitory in a lot of ways. Things like chip shortages and shortages of semi-conductors, which have found their way into the auto sector; things like that and eventually they will go away. Shortages of goods or steel or lum­ ber which have gone into renovations, the demand side of that activity will eventu­ ally go back down and it will ease itself out, but it will take a while. It might be the case that we have to wait for services and travel to come back to draw some of

the dollars away from goods and housing and renovations. When that happens, you will probably see those shortages ease off a bit. As we have all said off the top, this might take longer than we think.

NC: I don’t think I would add anything to that. I think I have already made the case where the shift, when it does start to allevi­ ate itself on the supply chain issues we are having, it will eventually make its way into services and I think the bigger concern is then what capacity is there left in services?

Of course, they have been led along dur­ ing this period of inactivity and I think this is where consolidation and the rest will happen to shore up balance sheets and make sure these service providers that are around, the strongest companies will sur­ vive, and it’s a natural cycle. That might be something that the industry likely didn’t foresee.

RK: I think there is no question that it will continue and I think there is an opportu­ nity with this as well. The one thing when I talk to a lot of businesses and the one thing we are trying to encourage is, is just really looking at your local supply chain.

In the past, we have done a lot of things oversees. Is there a way where you can bring your supply chain closer to home?

One of the things we talk about is the ‘sup­ port local’ mentality, and when I say ‘sup­ port local’, everyone always thinks support your local restaurants, support your local retail… What I’m suggesting to businesses is to look at your local supply chain and the way you are doing procurement. Can it be done closer to home and give you that greater certainty? I think it’s one of the things that I’m taking away from this

as well. This is an opportunity for a lot of local businesses who are doing things to increase what they provide, or looking at those businesses who have done well, to look at their local supply chain and see if there are other opportunities that might exist closer to home. I think looking at this as an opportunity rather than ‘well, we aren’t going to get our goods and services for another six months since it’s on a boat from China’ or wherever it’s coming from, we need to look a little bit closer.

This is similar to what we looked at when we had the economic downturn in 2008.

That reliance on the U.S. and where those markets are is trying to bring things a little closer to home so we have more certainty on what that supply chain will look like.

That’s something that I see as a potential opportunity that will come out of this.

What is your opinion on the continuation of CERB vs. shortages of labour?

Our western provinces are seeing shops shut down due to the inability to find staff. Locally, we know the restaurant and hospitality industry is being hit hard with the same issue, what economic impact will this have if it does not get corrected?

RK: This is one that’s very interesting in terms of what’s causing the workforce shortage. I think it’s easy to say ‘well it’s just CERB and everyone wants to stay home and not go to work’, and that’s part of it but I think it’s a little more complicat­ ed than that. I think that when you look at the individuals who would have collected CERB, especially in those industries they have been in, you are typically looking at

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people in retail, hospitality, and tourism. If over the course of the last three months you have been laid off three times and on various occasions, it could have been a month, three months, four months, the chances are you probably made decisions that probably it’s not an industry you want to work in anymore. I think that’s part of it as well. While CERB might be a small part, and you occasionally hear anecdotal cases where that’s an issue, I think there has also been an exodus from some of those key industries where people have gone on to find other things.

The other element which doesn’t get talked a lot about over the course of the last 18 months is immigration. I think what has also happened as a result of the pandemic is that we pretty much shut off that tap to immigration, which is typi­ cally been something that has attracted in places like Manitoba, 10,000 to 15,000 employees on an annual basis. When you turn off that tap, at the same time, you are dealing with things like this, those wouldbe individuals who would be working at some of those front-line industries.

It’s really a combination of a number of things right now which are causing this huge workforce shortage. Is it going away anytime soon? It’s not and it will be a huge problem if you are in the hospitality industry, if you are in the tourism indus­ try, if you are in the restaurant industry, to be able to maintain your business and to think you will have people coming back.

Across the board again, this is what I’m hearing. People can’t find anyone who wants to work or they can’t find neces­ sarily people who are available to work

for a better part of that, which is why you are seeing even restaurants in this point of time offering bonuses and sign­ ing bonuses to get people to work. That’s become the norm since that’s been chal­ lenging out there right now. What’s the long-term impact from this? I think you are seeing a number of restaurants and those in the hospitality industry having to shrink their hours of operation. Having to tighten up in regards to what they can provide. It’s not going to be what it would be pre-pandemic and that will be some­ thing that will take a lot of time to change.

When you take into consideration when you look at the public health protocols and to have someone at the front now checking QR codes and all those different elements and even having to look at do we need to have security at the front since people are yelling at our 16-year-old host­ ess who has only been working with us for two months, that’s a problem. For some of these industries, people don’t want to work in those industries when you have a certain segment of the population that are not happy with the public health mea­ sures that are in place. And so, they aren’t even wanting to work in these industries.

This is something that will be long term and won’t be resolved anytime soon. We need to get through this pandemic before we will see any kind of rebound in any cer­ tain industries.

NC: CERB I think has been integral to the economic wellbeing to the average Cana­ dian. It’s been interesting since with hind­ sight, we were able to look back at it and say ‘hey this should be staged to the areas that were facing the shut downs and/or

restrictions’. That becomes a nightmare to manage the logistics, but of course, Canada has been in different waves and different times, and so to be supporting the population in general in times where they didn’t need support has led to some of these issues and concerns. I’m not sure how you can do a better job. If you should be letting provinces manage it. It doesn’t matter. That’s hindsight and doesn’t make a difference, it’s already done. The eco­ nomic impact on not fixing this now is all in capacity in how quickly people can get back to normal “operations” of their busi­ nesses. This will find a way to allocate the capital and cashflow and business model appropriately. They always do, but it’s try­ ing to figure out a way to get government out of the way while doing that and man­ aging the health care aspects of the pan­ demic. It’s a tricky balance.

CD: Maybe if I can just hop in on that, and Nonnie raises a good point – it’s the way the program is rolled out. As we got into the pandemic, the first program the fed­ eral government rolled out was the CERB program. Obviously, in terms of looking out for citizens it was important. The sec­ ond program they rolled out, which was also important, was the wage subsidy pro­ gram. If it had been done a different way, from an employer perspective, the way subsidy programs have been a saviour for a lot of businesses and allowed them to have their staff, it wouldn’t have put them in a position to lay them off the first time.

If it had been done the other way, we may have a different situation today where a lot of those employees wouldn’t have had to have been laid off to the point where

Represent

Inform

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••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

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they had to be, but that’s part of the chal­ lenge we are in right now because of the way the program has been rolled out. It was easier to collect CERB and to make sure Canadians were looked after. It took them a lot longer to make sure businesses were looked after. If you were to do it all over again, I’m guessing most govern­ ments would want to reverse it.

NC: Good point Chuck because I think we all know where the economic engine is and that’s in business.

TL: I’m sure you guys have seen it too and what I have seen from some of my col­ leagues who own businesses and have had folks working at home, they don’t want to come back and work in the office, so that’s become a bit of an issue for them.

To get them back into their spaces to work, which who would have seen that?

How has and how will the pandemic impact entrepreneurs?

CD: It’s interesting and when we look at this, what the pandemic has done for so

RK: I think what is funny is, through the election campaign, we heard parties promising to create a million jobs, or look­ ing to create an X number of jobs. We got the vacancy data just this morning and there are 700,000 vacant jobs in Canada.

We don’t need to create jobs or create demand for labour. We need to fill jobs, which is a different approach.

many businesses, it has made them relook at their business, it has made businesses pivot, and a big part of that pivot has been access to their consumers. A big part of that has been use of technology. Eighteen months ago, we never did events like this virtually and this was something that was unheard of. Now you do it all day. I think what it has done has it really sped up that process for a lot of businesses. The tech­ nology and the things they might have wanted to upgrade and modernize, over

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I think CERB has been a factor, I think im­ migration has been a big factor, and just incrementally a little bit more, we have seen some early retirements. We haven’t seen participation rates come all the way back. The pandemic has been a good ex­ cuse to pull some of this forward. We have seen some cases where we have seen an exodus out of bigger cities to find more affordable real estate and then by doing so, banking equity and in a lot of cases, at least anecdotally, younger families haven’t had to have two people in the labour force now post COVID because of that shift. Little things like that, which incrementally add to the shortage we are seeing. By and large, I think Chuck cov­ ered it really well off the top.

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47

the course of the last 18 months, I would suggest we have gone probably five to 10 years quicker.

If you are an entrepreneur who is able to adapt quickly, understand who your mar­ ket is, understand who your customer is, and understand how to get to them, I think you have done very well. You are seeing that with a number of businesses who are able to make those pivots. What we are seeing is those businesses who are continuing to do things, whether it’s in re­ tail or restaurants, and continuing to work

in just that bricks and mortar model, they won’t last very long. The quicker that busi­ nesses are able to make that adaptation, the better they will do.

If you are an entrepreneur that has quickly identified where some of those gaps are and how you will get your customers – and a lot of times you will be able to do it in a cost-effective manner – you have done al­ right and will be able to get through this.

That’s what we are continuing to see with businesses, is that they have to be able to adapt and modernize. They have to be

able to do it at a quicker speed then they would have in the past and that’s where we are seeing some success stories.

NC: In terms of things to add, again the planning part of any entrepreneur’s sort of vision for their own future, we have seen it all. This is a once-in-a-100-year event and pressure testing or asset testing your business plans for almost any eventuality is the lesson that the pandemic should teach any entrepreneur. You should look at every scenario and figure out what your contingency plan is.

RK: The only thing I would say at the macro level, if you look at the data on this, business formation in Canada has come back quickly and net business formations openings versus closings have actually been quite strong coming out of this. At the macro level, that’s encouraging.

What do you predict will be the longterm changes, for better or for worse, that we will see in our economy due to the pandemic?

RK: I think the fascinating thing, and we started to get a sense of this very early last year, was that a lot of what this pan­ demic is doing is taking things that were happening very slowly anyway, is pulling them forward in a very short window.

There was no reason before why we could not do a meeting like this virtually. It took a pandemic to bring that culture into real­ ity.

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Another example is in real estate, we see this gradual shift in Toronto or Vancouver or Montreal. A gradual shift of younger households outside the city towards more suburban areas or more rural areas of the province with more space. Demographi­ cally this was all coming down the road in the next 10 years. The pandemic took 10 years of activity and compressed it into the 18 months. So we have had this boom in residential real estate outside of the core of these big cities. So, that’s my take away from this. Whether good or bad, the pandemic has been a real magnifier of pulling forward economic trends that were coming forward anyways and mak­ ing them happen a lot quicker than we otherwise would have seen.

NC: I too am an optimist. I think the prem­

48

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

ise of sort of battle testing your plans from an entrepreneurial or business standpoint, against any eventuality will be more front and centre. Having an emergency plan that one can look at from various different perspectives in making long-term deci­ sions. I think that will creep back in fast and I hope that, from a health or governance standpoint on a national level in our case, we will also look at things like the supply chain for vaccination supply, supply chains for our various suppliers, saying hey, can we pull some of these things and make it more local? I remember when the BSE cri­ sis hit and farmers around this area were looking at it. It never materialized because the same problems that existed before, which were capital, access to markets, etc. were the same problems post crisis. So, I think there will be a lot of testing to try to figure out if the economies of scale match the problems that we exposed during the pandemic. I think those things are all positive and we will be more prepared for whatever the next crisis is going forward.

way out of this situation. There has to be a point in time where we put in place the environment where businesses are mak­ ing those investments and the economy has to be a key part of this. That will be something that will be difficult, to turn that tap off. The current federal govern­ ment that has just been elected, I see no intention from them to turn that tap off anytime soon and that’s a little bit prob­ lematic. We need to understand that there are long-term implications as a result of that. From a long-term perspective, that’s

a concern I have and we need to get some of those key attributes and key assets on what we need to grow the economy and make it easy for businesses to make those investments, and for businesses to create those jobs, and for government to stop talking like they will create a million jobs in Canada. That’s not who creates jobs and we need to get past that as well. That’s my long-term concern, how reliant we have become on the various levels of govern­ ment to do everything for us over these past 18 months. ¢

for better business and better recovery

CD: I would agree with both Nonnie and Rob on that case. I think the businesses that are able to get through this are the ones who have modernized, are the ones who have plans in place, they are the ones as well who have taken their pivot and been able to move forward. That’s the good thing. You have businesses who are better prepared moving forward and better prepared for something like this to happen again.

The downside of this, of course, are the businesses who aren’t able to make it through this. We know there will be thou­ sands of them across Canada. That will be problematic, there is no question about that.

Other challenges I’m concerned about as well is how dependent we have become on our various levels of government and the amount of debt that has increased as a result of this pandemic. Eventually that will have to be paid back and what does that look like for future generations? If we are talking about the federal election, there is no plan to get back to a balanced budget anytime within the next 20 to 50 years. What is the impact of that going to be? We can’t continue to spend our

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2021 ••• Brandon Business Review •••

49

WORKING ON YOUR WORKFORCE The trends and practices in workforce development for today and tomorrow

Megan Foster is the owner of Mosaic Engagement.

T

he workforce in 2021 looks a lot different than it did in 2019 or even 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in a lot of business’ plans, and workforce development has had to adapt and grow over the past 18 months because of it.

We spoke with three business leaders in 50

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

Rob Starkell is the co-owner of West-Can Human Resource Solutions.

Cora Dupuis leads the Co-operative Education (Co-op) program at Brandon University.

Brandon about the trends and practices in workforce development for today and tomorrow, as well as the changing labour market and what the future holds.

on a number of topics, including strategic

INCLUSION IN THE WORKFORCE

within an organization - they're the experts

Megan Foster is the owner of Mosaic En­ gagement. Her company helps organiza­ tions unlock their own creativity through custom facilitated sessions or workshops

on their company, and their ideas can lead

planning, auditing organizational culture, and leadership development. Mosaic's ap­ proach always revolves around the people

to brilliant solutions. Mosaic Engagement facilitates and fosters an environment where those ideas can shine and those solu­

tions can be put into action.

What organizational changes are you seeing that will positively impact economic recovery?

Megan Foster: I am seeing so many busi­ nesses that are taking the opportunity to use COVID and the pandemic as a point to pause. We hear the term “pivot” all the time, but now that we are done pivoting in the midst of the pandemic, now is the time to pause and reflect on the pivots we have done.

I am seeing lots of companies and organiza­ tions that are intentionally looking back at what did we actually learn and what went well in such a difficult time and how can we turn these things that went well into longlasting change? I think those changes com­ ing from the ground and those who are out there doing the work will have such a posi­ tive impact from that recovery.

How do you see training and development changing moving forward?

I think organizations, employers, and super­ visors are realizing there are different ways that people learn best and different ways that people work best. So rather than say­ ing ‘let’s get back to normal’, I think it’s im­ portant for employers and supervisors to consider getting back to better rather than what we knew was normal. So, what that might mean are virtual opportunities or hy­ brid training sessions, or what it might look like is for employees to learn at their own pace and doing module-type training rath­ er than in-person face-to-face-type training.

I also think that employers are realizing the different needs and work styles of their dif­ ferent employees. They are taking that ex­

tra effort to see what individual learning or professional development opportunities each person needs and putting together an individual work plan that will better reflect their employees’ individuality rather than a one-style-fits-all type of approach.

How can organizations address increasing mental health challenges in the workplace?

So similar to the individual way people work, I think it’s important people are taking time to first reflect on their own needs and what they need personally for their mental health and the wellbeing of themselves, then be able to look at how that fits in with the team as a whole. What might work for one person might not necessarily work for the other and it’s very important for people to recognize those differences between one another. So, if the person beside you comes in a little bit later in the morning or stays lon­ ger, or works in the evening rather than the day, there are different ways people work better. I think it’s important for employers to support that and listen when their employ­ ees are telling them what they need and to be able to support that and taking it as to be true. It might be different for you, or you might be experiencing something else, but what that person is experiencing is what that person is coming to you with. I think it’s important that we pay attention to that and we service what they need.

What strategies can be implemented to address labour market challenges (recruitment, retention, etc.)?

I’m a very firm believer in if someone leaves an organization and there is a vacancy, not to just basically fill it status-quo. It might be someone who was there for 27 years, and

over those 27 years that business or com­ pany has evolved and that role may not need to be filled in that same exact way. So, whether doing a needs assessment or just a simple debrief with those who know the position or know what the organizational outlook is, I think it’s important no matter what the vacancy is, but take that time to figure out what does this role need? What do we need? And how can we best fit and fill that role? And then start to recruit based on what we want and where we want the role to go, not necessarily how it always is.

I also think now that the need has been identified, as well as the direction you want to go with that vacancy, you would then look at what types of people are we looking for and where are those people? So, are we looking for an administrator? Okay, great, and this is where we can reach a pool of ad­ ministrative candidates. Or are we looking for someone who is really innovative and creative? That may not necessarily be that same pool of admin candidates. So, what is it we are looking for? What types of people tend to have those qualities and attributes and where do those people typically hang out? Where can I find them and approach and target those areas?

What effect will flexible work arrangements have on company culture?

It’s going to be an interesting time going forward as some companies explore this new flexible thing for the first time and oth­ er companies are learning how to do it after we have all been forced into work-fromhome situations. I really think that by pay­ ing attention to what your employees and staff are telling you and understanding and fully embracing what your company values

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51

are, those two parts can help decide what are the behaviours we are looking for in our company and employees to act upon those values? What behaviours can we do to put those values into action? That is how we will accept and build our culture. Culture is be­ ing built whether we are doing it intention­ ally or not and successful companies will build their culture with intention based on their values and the behaviours associated with those values.

EDUCATION IN THE WORKFORCE Rob Starkell is the co-owner of West-Can Human Resource Solutions, which provides HR support to small- and medium-sized businesses in Brandon. They specialize in re­ cruitment, temporary labour support, and HR policy and process.

What organizational changes are you seeing that will positively impact economic recovery?

Rob Starkell: The war on talent is going to affect a great deal. Companies are compet­ ing to keep and attract top talent as work­ ers look to transition into more meaningful, balanced (work/life balance), and satisfying careers. This will do two things economi­ cally. Firstly, employers in some industries (such as retail, hospitality, and foodservice) will look to increase wages with a focus on a living wage versus minimum wage. Others will be using increased wages as a lever for “sweetening” a role. Secondly, organizations are staffing up for many reasons, including reducing stress/burnout, take advantage of back to work opportunities, and adding support where maybe none or minimal support existed before, such as in the HR function to help retain top talent and create

strong company cultures and brand.

Another positive economic impact is the back-to-business mindset. Now that busi­ nesses have changed their operations to deal with COVID and we are seeing a light at the end of the COVID tunnel, organizations are again ramping up advertising and mar­ keting budgets, getting back to strategic planning, and focusing on sales. All these ar­ eas have been on hold for the last two years and businesses are ready to spend again.

Lastly, with the pandemic forcing shut­ downs and economic slow-down, busi­ nesses had to get lean and mean with operational budgets. They found multiple ways to cut costs and become more effi­ cient, and now with businesses returning to a pre-pandemic level of operations, those efficiencies will be translating to increased profitability.

How do you see training and development changing moving forward?

The biggest change will be in delivery methods. Many organizations previously sent employees on multi-day training and development workshops and seminars, or large organizations would bring in trainers to train dozens and dozens of staff mem­ bers in-person in large purpose-built loca­ tions. Now, online training, either live or pre-recorded, is and will be the norm. The cost savings alone in moving to online train­ ing makes it a no brainer (never mind the increased safety to those getting trained) as long as the online training material and format are engaging. Of course, going on an all-expense-paid training for a star employ­ ee is a perk or a benefit organizations and employees will miss out on going forward.

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52

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

For those types of training/development, organizations are going to need to either pay higher fees for smaller in-person class sizes or find other ways to develop future leaders and decision-makers going forward, such as mentor programs, local community networking/volunteer opportunities, etc.

As organizations realize the need to do more in terms of attracting and retaining talent in the future labour market, provid­ ing young staff with a multitude of devel­ opment opportunities that look to develop them into directions that they have interest in (not necessarily the traditional develop­ ment path your organization have followed in the past) is going to become more and more important. This leads us to another consideration, job sculpting (tailoring a role in an organization to fit the desires and needs of the employee). As this is becom­ ing a more popular tool for attracting and retaining talent, training and development activities need to become more agile in or­ der to deliver the tailored content for each unique situation that arises. Maybe it is less of a need for pre-canned training, and more of a case for on-the-job mentoring and coaching.

How can organizations address increasing mental health challenges in the workplace?

Acknowledging mental health concerns and providing supports is first and fore­ most. Too many organizations still like to bury their head in the sand thinking that it is not their place to worry or do anything about their employees’ mental health. Pro­ viding support can be direct, such as men­ tal health and sick day benefits, job sculpt­

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ing to help alleviate stress and burnout for heavily burdened positions within the organization, open-door communication policies to hear employees out about their concerns and encouraging employees to be open and discuss their mental health status and any personal issues affecting their work/life balance. It should be part of your company mission, vision, and values, and be promoted through discussions and social media posts on your organization’s channels and websites. Providing support can also be indirect, such as letting your team and staff know you care by being a public advocate for mental health and sup­ porting community initiatives. This can be done by providing links and access to social support organizations in the community and promoting their use within your orga­ nization. You should be leading by example, such as leadership letting teams know how they have used the supports to help them­ selves.

What strategies can be implemented to address labour market challenges (recruitment, retention, etc.)?

Well, there are a number of things. First, get rid of the pandemic Canada Recovery Ben­ efit payments. Nothing has been keeping potential workers from rejoining the work­ force as much as the government handouts that were necessary in 2020, but have been going on for way too long this year.

Secondly, making improvements internally like job sculpting, allowing work flexibility and hybrid work (home/office), increasing wages, and focusing on company culture and mental health supports are absolutely needed. These efforts are important to en­

sure that a) employees feel valued and see improvements that are important to them, and b) let future employees know that the company values a strong work/life balance and its employees.

Finally, organizations need to get creative in addressing the direct issues new entrants to the labour market are more often creat­ ing. For example, 50 per cent or more young job applicants are “ghosting” recruiters (not showing up for screenings or interviews, some even ghosting employers on day one of a new job). There is also a general lack of good application practices: no cover let­ ters, poor grammar/spelling in a resume, little regard for posted qualification require­ ments. In addition, many new job seekers have high anxiety around starting a new job while others have too high expecta­ tions in terms of impact and accountability levels in entry-level roles. To combat these challenges, recruiters need to have frank, open, and honest conversations with candi­ dates about the proper application process, new employee expectations around work ethic, mannerisms, and the normal lack of flexibility in the terms and conditions of employment. These conversations are not easy, but there is a clear need to level-set expectations in a large percentage of young workers. Steering the conversation to posi­ tive work culture and the opportunities for career progression (given strong perfor­ mance) can help.

WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING IN THE WORKFORCE Cora Dupuis leads the Co-operative Educa­ tion (Co-op) program at Brandon Univer­ sity where she works with dozens of small,

medium, and large Brandon and Westman businesses to successfully integrate BU Co-op students into their organization and leverage wage subsidies. The BU Co-op stu­ dents gain relevant experience to jumpstart their careers, while businesses benefit from students’ energy, education, and fresh per­ spectives. Dupuis is also a member of the Brandon Chamber Workforce Alignment Committee, therefore she has a unique view of what’s happening in the city and the re­ gion when it comes to building back better for Brandon's businesses.

What organizational changes are you seeing that will positively impact economic recovery?

Cora Dupuis: Certainly, we’re seeing more remote work available, which means that businesses can hire the best person, no matter where they are located. But on the flip side, I am also seeing some companies determinedly choose to hire locals. In gen­ eral, I think the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns made everyone think more about their local economies and empha­ sized shop locally, buy locally, and with all of that comes hire locally. The BU Co-op Pro­ gram helps our local businesses do just that.

How do you see training and development changing moving forward?

Over the last two years we’ve all become more comfortable with Zoom or other vid­ eo conferencing software, and as a result, training and development moved online in big and exciting ways. The organiza­ tions that are doing this well are using dif­ ferent platforms in different ways to create connections. For example, last December during the third lockdown, the Chamber

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hosted an online soirée where everyone was provided with a box of ingredients and we were guided by a local restauranteur to make a few recipes; it was exciting and fun!

This is the kind of creativity that I’m seeing when it comes to training and develop­ ment moving forward. How can we learn “together” while still being apart?

How can organizations address increasing mental health challenges in the workplace?

Mental health challenges in the workplace

have been a growing concern for years, so they weren’t introduced by the pandemic, but certainly, they were impacted by it.

What I am seeing is that organizations that are best addressing this are having regular, timely conversations with their staff. They are providing mental health services in a variety of ways to make it more accessible.

Some businesses have also embraced flexible work arrangements, for example.

There are lots of things that employers started doing to support their staff dur­ ing the pandemic that they found will be

valuable in the future as well. I think too, companies that continued to find ways to create community among their teams are supporting good mental health. I know of one Brandon company that pre-pandemic had these big monthly lunches for all 60 of their staff. During the pandemic, they got creative and found ways to continue this practice, while adhering to the public health guidelines. It is organizations like this, which recognize their staff as people, not just workers, that ultimately also sup­ ports mental health too.

What strategies can be implemented to address labour market challenges (recruitment, retention, etc.)?

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Remote work has lots of potential, but as mentioned above, you’re competing with employers all over the world; so embrac­ ing and developing local talent may be better for the long-term growth of your company. Given the work that I do, con­ necting employers to students, I definitely think that employers can gain huge ben­ efits by welcoming a BU Co-op student or two into their organization and cultivating that early talent. Some Brandon businesses have been able to scale up select depart­ ments within their organization ahead of schedule because they hired a BU Co-op student. And I’m also happy to share that 100 per cent of BU Co-op employers said that they would hire BU Co-op again in the future. So, if you’re looking for ways to address some of your labour market chal­ lenges, hire BU Co-op.

What effect will flexible work arrangements have on company culture?

Tyler Thompson

Jim Bambridge

tyler.thompson@fcc.ca 204-726-7506

jim.bambridge@fcc.ca 204-726-7875

Senior Relationship Manager

54

••• Brandon Business Review ••• 2021

Senior Relationship Manager

Morgan Cuvelier

Senior Relationship Manager, Commercial Financing morgan.cuvelier@fcc.ca 204-441-0844

That’s a great question that I think we’re all trying to figure out. One thing that I know about culture is that it is cultivated. Similar to a field of wheat, you plant your seeds, nurture them, but you can’t make them grow. With a company culture, you can cre­ ate it, foster it, guide it, but you can’t make it happen. With all of that said, as your teams are coming back to the office, or you’re introducing flexible work arrange­ ments, you have an opportunity. Now is the time to start to “plant those seeds” of the culture you want in the future so that you can enjoy the harvest for months and years to come. ¢

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