BLIND RIVER AND AREA BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION FINAL ... · Ross MacDonald Betty-Ann Dunbar Kelly Brandon Janine Timmermans Blind River Development Corporation Stoney Burton

Working with you to grow together

BLIND RIVER AND AREA

BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION

FINAL REPORT

FALL 2006

Project Partners: Province of Ontario

Blind River Development Corporation

ELNOS

Blind River Chamber of Commerce

East Algoma Community Futures Development Corporation

Misswezahging Development Corporation

Municipality of Huron Shores

Township of the North Shore


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary........................................................................Page 2

Project Overview……………………………………………………….Page 3

Project Team & Volunteers…………………………………………...Page 3

What is BR+E?................................................................................Page 3

Characteristics of Businesses Surveyed…………………………….Page 4

Working Towards and Achieving Objectives………………………..Page 4

BR+E Workshop………………………………………………………..Page 6

BR+E Strategic Planning………………………………………………Page 7 � Strategy #1 – Improving communications between businesses, business support organizations and municipalities………………Page 7 � Strategy #2 – Beautify Highway 17 corridor between the Town- ship of the North Shore and the Municipality of Huron Shores…Page 8 � Strategy #3 – Provide employee and other training locally to

to meet business needs………………………………………….…Page 9 � Strategy #4 – Address shortages of people of skilled trades…..Page 10 � Strategy #5 – Increase high-speed Internet access across the

region……………………………………………………………..…..Page 11 � Strategy #6 – Increase awareness of effect of out-of-town

shopping has on local economy……………………………………Page 12 � Strategy #7 – Support businesses looking to expand and assist

them with planning expansions…………………………………….Page 13 � Strategy #8 – Work with businesses on energy conservation

and efficiency…………………………………………………………Page 14

BR+E and Other Local Development & Planning…………………….Page 15

Proposed Partnership Model and Common Strategies……………...Page 17

Continued Communication on BR+E & other Development…………Page 17


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Executive Summary

BR+E: Working with you to grow together is a volunteer-driven economic development tool used to survey local businesses, identify business concerns, and develop an action plan to address those concerns to retain and expand business in our communities. BR+E must have strong partnerships between businesses, business support organizations and communities to achieve real results.

A total of 74 businesses located between the Municipality of Huron Shores and Township of the North Shore were surveyed between October 2005 and April 2006. This represents over 20% of our business community and gives our survey statistical significance, meaning if we had surveyed every business in the region there would have been little variation in the information we collected from our businesses.

This project has given us: � A better understanding and appreciation of what it is like operating a business in the

region. � Strong input and direction from businesses on how to proceed further with business

and economic development. � An understanding of business needs for training, communications, and support from

business organizations.

In May 2006 we began the first stages of addressing business concerns & issues identified from the survey. Twenty-four people from different businesses, business support organizations, and partner communities participated in a three-hour workshop to review a synopsis of the survey data and help identify issues that are affecting business sustainability and expansion. Participants identified 12 issues.

The issues focused on the need for improved communications between businesses, business support organizations, and communities; business and employee training; technology improvements; business retention and expansion planning; and energy conservation. Eight strategies on how to address the 12 issues are detailed in this report.

It should be noted that the eight strategies presented do not represent an “end all” approach to local business and economic development – they are a starting point and will be revised over time as the recommended actions are implemented. BR+E: Working with you to grow together is an ongoing process. This report references three other area initiatives with parallel economic development activities that will, coincidentally, become public this year. BR+E survey aggregate data was provided to organizations that used the data to determine their strategies. Given the commonalities and the fact that the data represents four communities, our BR+E Project Team feels we cannot work independently of the other development efforts going on. We challenge all businesses, business support organizations and communities to review this BR+E report and information from the other initiatives to identify and establish partnerships, and develop a realistic implementation plan. We offer you to use our BR+E data for development planning, which can be downloaded at www.brchamber.ca, and we look forward to working with you.

It should be noted that prior to each survey, our volunteers and the business being interviewed signed a confidentiality agreement to make certain that information shared could not be linked to individual businesses. The information presented in this report and in the full dataset ensures confidentiality, and as we move forward our Project Team will continue to adhere to this principle.

We want to thank all our volunteers and the 74 businesses that made this project a success. For information on this project please visit www.brchamber.ca or contact the Chamber Manager Ross MacDonald, 705-356-2555 or [email protected].


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Project Overview

In November 2004, the Blind River Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Blind River Development Corporation initiated a regional Business Retention & Expansion (BR+E) project to learn more about the economic climate from the perspective of our 340+ businesses to determine how we can better meet the needs of our businesses. In the months that followed, this initiative strengthened with business support organizations and communities joining the effort. We would eventually form a project team of more than 20 people, representing 12 communities, businesses, and organizations.

Project Team & Volunteers

Blind River Chamber of Commerce

Ross MacDonald Betty-Ann Dunbar Kelly Brandon Janine Timmermans

Blind River Development Corporation

Stoney Burton Steven Meincke Heather Moore

East Algoma CFDC Shawn Heard Francoise Nadon John Smith

Katimavik Christine Scott Trish Buhler Roland Gurney Matt Biddle

Other Project Team Members & Volunteers Debbie Tonelli, Municipality of Huron Shores Alan Chattaway, RBC Royal Bank Ken Kennedy, Town of Blind River William Elliott, ELNOS

Project Sponsorship

Wilma Bissiallon, Misswezahging Development Corporation Heather Pelky, Township of the North Shore

Contribution Province of Ontario $17,500 Blind River Development Corporation

$10,500

ELNOS $10,000 Blind River Chamber of Commerce

$3,200

East Algoma CFDC $3,000 Misswezahging Development Corporation

$2,000

Township of the North Shore

$1,500

Municipality of Huron Shores

$1,500

Project Cost $49,200

Cathy Jensen, Ministry of Northern Development & Mines, Sault. Ste. Marie Area

What is BR+E?

BR+E is an ongoing, volunteer-driven rural economic development initiative focused on existing businesses. While the attraction of new business is an important aspect of overall economic development strategies, BR+E recognizes the need to do more to assist existing businesses, helping them to survive and grow in recognition of the fact that 70% of new jobs in the Canadian economy are created from existing businesses.

The first step in assisting our businesses was to determine their needs, and the main component of BR+E is the business survey. With project funding and a work plan in place, our Project Team focused on the BR+E survey, used successfully in more than 40 communities across Ontario. Our region is different from others, so our team modified the survey, editing and adding questions so that the survey would meet our needs and provide answers that we needed to know to begin working with our businesses on short and long term development strategies.

Once the survey was finalized our Project Team recruited 12 volunteers to conduct the business surveys. Five of our Project Team members had obtained BR+E consultant certification prior to

Businesses Surveyed by Sector

Agriculture: 7 or 28% of Sector

Manufacturing: 7 or 37% of Sector

Tourism: 9 or 22% of Sector Retail/ Service:

51 or 23% of Sector


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the start of this project, and used this training to develop a program to train our survey volunteers. The business surveying process began in October 2005.

In April 2006, after more than 250 project team volunteer hours and 100 hours committed by our businesses, the interviewing process ended with 74 businesses surveyed in the region, giving us the strongest input and direction on improving the economic climate our region has ever had. This report contains the business data related to the strategies developed. Those interested in the full dataset can download this from www.brchamber.ca.

Characteristics of Businesses Surveyed1

� 90% have less than 10 employees � 86% of business owners are residents in our communities � 81% are family-owned � 60% of facilities are owned by business operators � 43% are sole proprietorships, 41% are corporations, and 16% are partnerships � 35% are home-based businesses � 29% have been in operation 35+ years � 12% are franchises

Working Towards and Achieving Project Objectives Objective #1 - Involve businesses in regional economic development planning Unlike many other initiatives, economic development planning with BR+E involves businesses. We have involved businesses by:

� Interviewing them and using the data collected as the centre point of economic planning; � Inviting them to a workshop to review the data and begin action planning to address the

issues raised by the 74 businesses interviewed. At the action planning workshop (discussed further on page 5) we had all the key players in our economy in attendance – businesses, support organizations, and communities, interacting in groups and working together in planning for the betterment of our business climate: Objective #2 – Establish communications between municipalities, organizations and businesses As we continue to move forward with BR+E communications will be key to the success. Communications is a key element in every strategy developed at the workshop. Our communities and business support organizations have to know the needs of business and the issues they face in order to assist them, and businesses must be made aware of the support mechanisms in place there to help them.

1 Because data is statistically significant, these are characteristics not only of businesses surveyed, but of all our businesses in the region

44 18

12 Blind River

Huron Shores

North Shore

Community Surveying Breakdown

The data in this report is statistically significant. If we had surveyed every

business in the region there would have been little variation in the results.


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Objective #3 - Address short-term business issues We are now at the stage of long-term action planning, but before this we undertook to assist business in the shorter term by organizing information and processes to ensure that known issues were addressed and urgent needs could be dealt with immediately. Our preparations were as follows:

� Created a Guide to Business Support Services brochure and provided it to every business we interviewed and made it available to download off our website. This brochure, which will continue to be available, gives information on the different support services regional business organizations provide such as business planning, employee assistance, financing, marketing, and more.

� We established a Task Force team that met weekly during the business surveying to identify and deal with issues that could be addressed in the short-term.

� Signage – explored and provided options to a business having difficulty promoting their business along the Highway 17 corridor, and brought the issue before the Town of Blind River council requesting that they reexamine some of their green space policies.

� Blind River Water Problems – past water problems and uncertainty around the new treatment plant were concerns of accommodation businesses we interviewed. Town representatives attended one of our Task Force meetings and provided information about the treatment plant and how much of the water problems it will solve.

� Apprenticeship & Wage Subsidy Programs – our Project Team provided businesses with information on different employee programs

� Business Planning – we directed businesses to various organizations for help with succession planning, business assessment, financing and more.

� Created an online business resource section – as we researched and dealt with business issues, we incorporated our findings into a business resource section at www.brchamber.ca. This section includes information on funding programs businesses can access for high-speed Internet, energy conservation and more, business information from the federal and provincial governments, e-commerce, marketing, and much more. This, and the business section at www.blindriver.com, are important 24/7 information tools for businesses that we will continue to improve upon.

Did you know there is assistance for businesses to get satellite Internet to areas that are not serviced by Bell and other Internet service providers?

One of our businesses paid only $225 of a$900 set-up fee for the satellite Internet. Monthly fees start from as little as $55. Visit us online to find out more – www.brchamber.ca

BR+E Workshop - First Step in Addressing Issues and Long-term Objectives

Long-term Objectives: #1 - Establish and implement a strategic action plan for regional economic development #2 - Support business development strategies to create and retain jobs locally In May 2006, a strategic action planning workshop was held: the next step to addressing business issues and concerns generated from the surveying process. The philosophy of our BR+E project from the start has been to establish a communication network between, and involve


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all key players in our economy in order to improve the regional business climate. Unlike many other initiatives, economic development planning with BR+E involves businesses.

Participants were divided into four diverse groups so that each issue had input from communities, organizations, and businesses.

Twenty-four people representing businesses, business support organizations, and partner communities participated in this three hour workshop. Prior to the workshop a sub-committee of our project team created a synopsis of the data to make it easier for workshop participants to identify issues and make recommendations on how we can improve the business climate. The workshop was conducted in two parts: a) identifying the issues and b) strategic planning to address issues.

Identifying Issues Participants were divided into four groups, with each group asked to:

� Review one of four datasets and identify key issues facing our businesses that should be priority items to address.

� Determine the underlying reasons why each is an issue in the region.

� Determine what is preventing us, as businesses, support organizations, and communities, from taking action to address the issue.

Groups identified 12 key issues facing our regional businesses. To determine the top priorities each workshop participant was given eight votes, maximum five votes per issue, to place on the issues that we should focus planning around in continuing BR+E.

Key Issues Facing Our Businesses

� Lack of communications between businesses, support organizations, and municipalities

� No high-speed access in areas outside Blind River

� Visual impact of region � Business closures � Expansion & exporting potential not being

realized � Rising energy costs � Lack of business planning � Out-of-town shopping � Lack of ownership to address business

issues � Support services not being accessed by

businesses � Lack of training availability � Lack of time for businesses to do planning,

training, etc.

Strategic Planning

After identifying and voting on priority issues, the next step for workshop participants was to return to their groups to answer an important question: Now that we have identified the issues facing our businesses, what can be done to address them?

Each group was given one of the four top issues and a working template to determine and make recommendations on how to proceed in addressing the issue:

1) The need to improve communications between municipalities, organizations, and businesses

2) Visual impact/ beautification of area 3) The need for high-speed Internet in the Municipality of Huron Shores, Township of the

North Shore, and remote areas in the Town of Blind River 4) The lack of business training available.


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For planning, groups were asked to: � State the priority and the purpose/ objective we are trying to achieve; � Give recommendations on different actions that can be taken; � Determine what organizations should be involved in implementing a strategy to address

an issue. � Determine how we will know if we have been successful in dealing with the issue; and � State the resources required to implement the plan.

Time constraints prevented workshop participants from constructing plans to address all the issues we identified, but we continued to keep everyone informed on development. Following the workshop our Task Force committee met to follow the same process in determining how we can work together as a region to address the remaining issues. The strategy planning completed by our Task Force was distributed to workshop participants, who were given two weeks to review the plans and to provide their input and feedback. Pages 7-14 outline the recommendations of our businesses, support organizations, and communities on how to proceed in addressing eight priority items.


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Strategy 1: Improve communications between businesses, business support organizations and municipalities

Objective – Establish region-wide dialogue on issues to ensure businesses voice their needs and required support services are in place to meet these needs.

Recommended actions: � Determine specifics on what business development issues are � Discuss/ determine what each partner does in way of communicating with businesses

and other agencies and how these communications can be brought together � Develop a multi-faceted marketing and info campaign:

o Develop one newsletter that all business support services create content for to keep business community up-to-date

o Increase municipal communication with businesses and support services. o Develop business awards and other similar events o Continue with Annual Small Business Week Event o Other ways include use Chamber and municipal websites, info seminars and

workshops, brochure of resources, media, community cable channels, bulletin boards, and BR highway info sign

� Hold info sessions/ meetings to promote dialogue in communities � Facilitate/ provide opportunity for networking for different business sectors

Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? Blind River Chamber of Commerce, Municipality of Huron Shores, Mississauga First Nation, Town of Blind River, Township of the North Shore, East Algoma CFDC, ELNOS, Job Connect, Misswezahging Development Corp., Blind River Development Corporation, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, and Sault. Ste. Marie Enterprise Centre

Resources required Agencies to work together in short-term to develop a communications plan

How will we know if we have been successful in achieving objective? � Specifics on business development issues are identified � An annual implementation plan is created and evaluated to ensure business needs are

met. � Increase in promotion/ awareness of business support services

Recommended Time Frame: Fall 2006 to December 2007

Survey data supporting strategy:

� 37.2%, 52.9%, and 66.6% of businesses in Blind River, Huron Shore and North Shore respectively are unaware if the municipality has an economic development plan

� 63.6% and 59.1% of Blind River businesses have no contact with BRDC and East Algoma CFDC respectively

� 63.6%, 58.3%, and 27.3% of North Shore businesses have no contact with economic development office, East Algoma CFDC , and Chamber respectively

� 64.7%, 35.3%, and 52.9% of Huron Shores businesses have no contact with economic development office, East Algoma CFDC , and Chamber respectively

� 50.9% of businesses see “forming strategic alliances with other businesses” as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; 35.8% say somewhat important

� 37% of businesses are interested in pursuing joint marketing and collaboration/ networking with other businesses

� 78.1% of retail/ service businesses said that the Chamber represents the interests of their commercial district

� When asked if there is a plan in place for marketing their commercial district 25.7% said “yes”, 28.6% said “no”, and 45.7% said “don’t know”


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Strategy 2: Beautify Highway 17 corridor between the Township of the North Shore and the Municipality of Huron Shores

Objective – Ensure visual attractiveness of our communities to attract customers to area businesses

Recommended actions: � Champion business property pride as a regional initiative. � Review current property standards in each community regarding building & property

conditions, and facilitate discussion between municipalities on appropriate joint actions that could be taken.

� Assist in encouraging participation of business in creating Community Improvement Plans - an extension of municipal official plans created by bylaw and allowing for the establishment of local incentives to encourage property owner action on defined issues.

� Complimentary action – communities pursue their own beautification projects and Community Improvement Plans.

� Determine specific business areas in need of beautification and encourage involvement of stakeholder property owners.

� Assist in developing community-specific strategies and action plans or initiatives to increase awareness, recognition of improvements, and public buy-in on development themes. Community outreach could involve high school students, horticultural societies, and other community volunteer groups in implementing.

� Solicit sponsorship for green spaces/ beautification as a community action.

Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? Municipality of Huron Shores, Mississauga First Nation, Town of Blind River, Township of the North Shore, White Pines Cultural Festival, Misswezahging Development Corp., Blind River Development Corporation, East Algoma CFDC, Blind River Chamber of Commerce, and Ministry of Northern Development & Mines

Resources required � Human resources to establish

standards � Funding to remove eyesores

How will we know if we have been successful in achieving objective?

� Region-wide workshop held to present possibilities and background research on CIP and examples of successful efforts elsewhere.

� Community specific awareness and recognition strategies being developed/adopted in each community.

� Specific areas selected and CIP’s being developed locally.

� Visual improvements in region Recommended Time Frame:

� Fall/ Winter 2006 to have research report on first two action items

� Long-term – 4 years to coincide with municipal council terms and to make significant improvements


� When asked to name top three advantages of operating business, many responses related to the beauty of area – we have an advantage point to build on:

� Natural beauty of area, environment, outdoors – seven responses (4

th

highest) in Blind River, 3rd

highest in Huron Shores and North Shore

� When asked what their top three suggestions were for improving the retail business environment, the top response in all communities was to “repair/ remove eyesore buildings”

� When tourism businesses were asked what can be done to make the region a more appealing tourist area, 6 of 8 said “address buildings in poor condition”, 5 of 8 said “improve general appearance of roadside areas”, and 2 of 8 said “enforce weed by-laws”


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Strategy 3: Provide employee and other training locally to meet business needs

Objective – Ensure business workforce training needs are identified and met

Recommended actions: � Create and carryout follow-up survey to find out more about and quantify training needs of

businesses � Determine training needs of workforce by consultation with business sectors � Inventory available training suppliers and identify gaps. � Explore partner opportunities through Elliot Lake’s BR+E project � Structure courses in business off-seasons/ evenings and during Chamber’s annual Small

Business Week event. � Make training cost-effective for businesses and potential revenue source for the Chamber if

Chamber coordinates the training. � Carry out PSA and community awareness activities to build awareness of existing and

customized solutions as well as career possibilities and identified local needs that could be filled through training.

Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? Algoma Workforce Investment Committee, Blind River Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Northern Development & Mines, East Algoma CFDC, Misswezahging Development Corporation, Blind River Development Corporation, Job Connect and other employment agencies.

Resources required Funding to conduct research and develop and implementation plan

How will we know if we have been successful in achieving objective? � Conduct follow-up business survey in 2 years � Training efforts meet business training needs

Recommended Time Frame: � 6 months to develop and carry out survey to determine training needs � 1 year to have ongoing training programs in place


• When asked about factors that are barriers to expansion of existing businesses or new business development, 40.5% businesses said “availability of skilled labour” (3rd highest response)

• When asked to rate factors in doing business in the community: (top two ratings of “excellent”, “good”, “fair” and “poor”)

o “Access to training facilities” - 22 poor, 10 fair in Blind River, 6 poor, 5 good in Huron Shores, 4 poor, 3 good in North Shore

• 54.4% of businesses see workforce development as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; 35.1% say somewhat important

• 75.8% of businesses see improved customer service as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; 17.7% say somewhat important

• When asked what current needs for employees/ skills, top responses were skilled trades (49.6%), unskilled trades (35.7%), clerical & sales (29.3%), and business admin (19%)

• When asked to rate the workforce in the area, business responded…(top two ratings of “excellent”, “good”, “fair” and “poor”)

o Availability of workers – 39.7% poor, 25% fair o Quality of workers – 29.7% good, 29.7% fair o Stability of workforce – 30.4% fair and 30.4% poor

• Top three areas businesses said workforce needs to improve skills in is computer software (41.1%), customer service (40.3%), and sales and marketing (38.8%)

• Significant barriers identified for employee training were distance to training facility (51%), cost of training (38%), and availability of training locally (32%)

• The retail/ service sector identified a number of workshops they would participate in, with “retaining existing/ attracting new customers” (29 of 40), “staff training and development” (20 of 40) were the top two.


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Strategy 4: Address shortages of people of skilled trades

Objective – Work with businesses and job placement agencies to fill skilled trade gaps Recommended actions:

� Establish dialogue with training providers and funding agencies to explore opportunity to deliver customized local solutions to fill gaps including possibility of “in-school” program and coop education, internships, apprenticeships etc.

� Increase business awareness of apprenticeship and other skilled trades development programs available for them to access.

� Develop communications plan to target skilled labour outside the region to relocate in our region

Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? Algoma Workforce Investment Committee, Secondary schools, Blind River Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Northern Development & Mines, East Algoma CFDC, Misswezahging Development Corporation, Blind River Development Corporation, and employment agencies – HRSDC, Service Canada, Service Ontario and Job Connect. Resources required

� Money for communications plan How will we know if we have been successful in achieving objective?

� Conduct follow-up business survey in 2 years � Businesses are able to find skilled workers to meet their needs

Recommended Time Frame:

� 6 months to survey businesses to determine skill trades shortages � 1 year to implement communications plan


� When asked what one issue would have greatest impact on growth of business, the 4th

highest response from retail/ service businesses was an “increase in availability of skilled trades people”

� When asked to rate factors in doing business in the community: (top two ratings of “excellent”, “good”, “fair” and “poor”)

o “Availability of skilled labour” – 18 fair, 15 poor in Blind River, 6 good, 5 fair in Huron Shores, 5 poor, 4 fair in North Shore

� When asked to rate the workforce in the area, business responded…(top two ratings of “excellent”, “good”, “fair” and “poor”)

o Availability of workers – 39.7% poor, 25% fair o Quality of workers – 29.7% good, 29.7% fair o Stability of workforce – 30.4% fair and 30.4% poor

� 50% of businesses see labour availability as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; 35.5% say somewhat important

� When asked to name top three disadvantages of operating business the top 3rd

and 4th

responses in Blind River and Huron Shores respectively was “lack of workforce/ skilled labour”


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Strategy 5: Increase high-speed Internet access across the region

Objective - Determine high-speed options and increase access at reasonable cost to rural businesses Recommended actions:

� Create “Internet Options” document outlining options available to businesses and pros/ cons of each.

� Identify programs available to help businesses with set-up and ongoing costs � Lobby Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) and governments as necessary

Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? East Algoma CFDC, AdNet, Internet user groups, Blind River Chamber of Commerce, Blind River Development Corporation, Misswezahging Development Corporation, Municipality of Huron Shores, Mississauga First Nation, Town of Blind River, and Township of the North Shore Resources required East Algoma CFDC staff – currently working on Chamber for lobbying How will we know if we have been successful in achieving objective?

� Internet option’s document prepared and distributed to businesses � Broadband availability across region

Recommended Time Frame: September 2006 to have Internet Options document completed and distributed through websites and Chamber newsletter Survey data supporting strategy:

• When asked specific recommendations on how to improve local business climate, the 2nd

highest response of businesses in Huron Shores was “high-speed Internet infrastructure/ access.”

• 57.1%, 53.8%, and 75% of businesses in Blind River, Huron Shores, and North Shore respectively say Internet access is very important to their business

• When asked to name three disadvantages of operating business in the community, two businesses in Huron Shores said “no high-speed Internet”

• 64.1% of businesses see availability of telecommunication services as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; 20.3% say somewhat important

• In Huron Shores and North Shore when businesses were asked what, if anything, is preventing them from implementing telecommunications technologies, the main factor was telecommunication infrastructure in the community, 43.8% and 63.6% respectively


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Strategy 6: Increase awareness of effect out-of-town shopping has on local economy

Objective – Increase consumer and business shopping locally Recommended actions:

� Using BR+E and 2002 Retail studies, estimate money spent by consumers and businesses on out-of-town shopping and determine its affect on the local economy (multiplier effect, etc).

� Work with Festivals/ event committees and businesses to coordinate joint marketing campaigns and link to community events – create a “shopping experience”.

� Create awareness campaign of negative effects to economy out-of-town shopping causes and to make residents aware of businesses significant contributions towards local charities and events.

� Create online database of product/ services available locally to increase consumer and business awareness of what is available locally

� Conduct follow-up retail study in 2007 Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? Blind River Chamber of Commerce, Municipality of Huron Shores, Mississauga First Nation, Town of Blind River, Township of the North Shore, businesses, Festivals, municipal and First Nation event committees Resources required

� Money to hire salaried/ contract Chamber employee � Money for marketing campaign


� Increased spending locally by businesses and consumers � Shop Local campaign created

Recommended Time Frame:

� Winter 2006/07 – have committee established for event and joint marketing coordination � Spring 2007 – implement awareness campaign � Spring 2007 – build online database of product/ services available locally � Fall 2007 – conduct Retail Study


� 80% of businesses import products/ services outside region � 82% of businesses import products/ services for their business - 26.1% under $10,000,

34.8% between $10,001 - $49,999, and 39.1% over $50,000 � Main reason for importing is products/ services unavailable in region (69.8%), next

reason is lower cost outside area (13.2%) � When asked if there is a plan in place for marketing their commercial district 25.7% said

“yes”, 28.6% said “no”, and 45.7% said “don’t know” � When asked specific recommendations on how to improve local business climate, the 2

nd

highest response of Blind River businesses was to “promote shopping locally and benefits to economy.”

� When asked to name three disadvantages of operating business, three businesses in Blind River said “out of town shopping.”

� Over last year business sponsorship for community events, local charities, and non-profit groups is estimated at $800,000 o Average small business with less than 10 employees contributes over $1,500

annually


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Strategy 7: Support businesses looking to expand and assist them with planning expansions

Objective – Increase business awareness of options related to business planning, consulting, and financing Recommended actions:

� Review and evaluate current communications with businesses on planning and options � Create and implement group communications plan � Contact businesses who said experiencing difficulties in survey to find out more about

their situations – possible follow-up survey Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? Blind River Chamber of Commerce, Blind River Development Corporation, Misswezahging Development Corporation, ELNOS, Sault Ste. Marie Enterprise Centre, East Algoma CFDC, Ministry of Northern Development & Mines, and Business Development Bank of Canada Resources required

� East Algoma CFDC staff � Money for communications


� Increased communications with businesses through newsletters, brochures, and websites

� More businesses accessing business resources

Recommended Time Frame: Fall 2006 to start communications plan


• 20 businesses indicated that they have expansion plans over next three years. o 11 of 20 businesses are having problems with expansion - between 33.3%

(Huron Shores) and 61.5% (Blind River) of businesses are experiencing difficulties with expansion plans

o Main problems are financing (87.5% in Blind River) and labour availability (two in Blind River and one in each of Huron Shores and North Shore)

• When asked about factors that are barriers to expansion of existing businesses or new business development, 33.8% of businesses said “availability of financing” (6

th highest)

• When asked what one issue would have greatest impact on growth of business, the 4th

highest response of retail/ service businesses was “access to business financing for operations/ expansion”

• 57.6% of businesses see accessing capital as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; 22% say somewhat important

• 56.4% of businesses see business planning as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; 32.7% say somewhat important


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Strategy 8: Work with businesses on energy conservation and efficiency

Objective – reduce energy costs for businesses Recommended actions:

� Research funding programs and other options to assist small businesses with energy conservation and efficiency

� Explore possibilities and options with energy auditing � Join/ use Northeastern Ontario Chambers of Commerce, Ontario Chamber of Commerce

and other lobbying initiatives. Who should be involved in forming and implementing action plan? East Algoma CFDC, Destiny SSM Energy Committee, Ministry of Northern Development & Mines, Municipality of Huron Shores, Mississauga First Nation, Town of Blind River, Township of the North Shore, Blind River Development Corporation, and Misswezahging Development Corporation Resources required

� Chamber for lobbying � Energy auditor

How will we know if we have been successful in achieving objective? Businesses exploring ways to reduce energy consumption Recommended Time Frame: Spring 2007 to have options in place for businesses


• When asked what one issue would have greatest impact on growth of business, the highest response by tourism businesses and 2

nd highest by agriculture businesses was

“lower energy costs (hydro, gas)” • When asked if they had concerns about energy supply, management, or efficiency,

64.4% of businesses said “yes”. Main concern (76.6% of “yes” respondents) was the cost of energy.

• Between 29.4% and 45.5% of businesses in the region said they would benefit from energy conservation and efficiency support

• 82.1% (highest of 15+ factors) of businesses see energy costs as a very important factor over next three years to remain competitive; only 1.5% say not important at all

• 68.8% said “cost of utilities” was a serious concern to the success of their business


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BR+E and Other Local Economic Planning & Development

There are a number of organizations in our region with business & economic development as part of their mandates. Within our BR+E Project Team alone, these organizations include ELNOS, East Algoma CFDC, Blind River Development Corporation (BRDC), Misswezahging Development Corporation (MDC), Ministry of Northern Development & Mines, and the Blind River Chamber of Commerce. These organizations frequently partner and work with municipalities and First Nations on other development initiatives. Can and do these initiatives tie together?

Economic Development Linkages

The general public (and in particularly the business community) tend to be unaware of the agendas of communities and organizations involved in economic development. Furthermore the communities and organizations involved are not fully aware of economic development activities outside their own projects, but all these initiatives have the common goal of improving the economic climate. Most economic development organizations in the region also struggle with the process of staying in sync with the regional environment to maintain relevancy. Regional dialogue for coordinated planning and execution is required to achieve durable and meaningful results on common goals.

Municipality of Huron Shores Development Consultation

� Recent public consultation undertaken for development strategy to identify key roles government, services they provide, and prioritizing development.

Town of Blind River/ Mississauga First Nation Investment Attraction Planning

� Preparing situational analysis � Preparing detailed community profile � Identifying sectoral strengths and weaknesses � Identifying potential growth sectors � Detailed recruitment activity plan

The final report with recommendations on how to proceed with development and attracting new investment to these communities is due later this year. Many of the recommendations in the current draft report relate to BR+E findings.


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East Algoma CFDC – Regional Development Strategy

The East Algoma CFDC initiated this East Algoma-wide economic development strategy in late 2004, and this strategy includes our partners – Municipality of Huron Shores, Mississauga First Nation, Town of Blind River, and the Township of the North Shore. The full strategy is expected in September 2006.

� Preparing community profiles – East Algoma CFDC, BRDC, and MDC consult and share information to ensure accurate and common profiles for ongoing initiatives

� Preparing a situational analysis and regional and community capacity identification � Identification of growth opportunities � Identification of community priorities and positioning statement to leverage best regional

results as a regional organization

Pan-Northern Investment Attraction

The Blind River Development Corporation and Misswezahging Development Corporation joined this initiative, which fits well with Investment Attraction planning. The final report, expected August 2006, outlines a number of activities undertaken to better organize Northern Ontario for investment attraction outreach activities, including:

� Preparing regional profiles � Identifying investment capacities based on geographic areas � Identification of target sectors and growth targets/ trends � Developing a templated process for community specific investment attraction activities

and profiles for inclusion in subsequent investment attraction outreach activities. � Development of a partnership model for implementation of a standardized branding and

marketing of a cohesive Northern Ontario to domestic and foreign markets in conjunction with and building on existing efforts (such as Ontario’s “Go North” program and the Community Investment Support Program guidelines).


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Proposed Partnership Model and Common Strategies An organized, predictable, and repeatable communications process is proposed by which all area partners, organizations and stakeholders can be brought together to remain current with area initiatives, exchange ideas, share tasks and expertise, and reduce duplication and resource expenditure. While the lead role to organize and deliver this event-based activity is being discussed, the targeted time frame is Fall 2006 with a commitment to meet again in Fall 2007 to review results.

Continued Communication on BR+E & other Development We will keep businesses, support organizations, and communities up-to-date on BR+E activities through:

� www.brchamber.ca � Business section of www.blindriver.com � Blind River Chamber of Commerce quarterly newsletters – download on our website � BR+E: Working with you to grow together newsletter – mailed to businesses participating

in the survey and downloadable off www.brchamber.ca

Documents

BLIND RIVER AND AREA BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION FINAL ... · Ross MacDonald Betty-Ann Dunbar Kelly Brandon Janine Timmermans Blind River Development Corporation Stoney Burton