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Opportunity Salt Spring

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georgep

February 13, 2022 By georgep

Gerard is a focused, energetic entrepreneur with a results driven, positive perspective. His business experience in growing companies to become nationally and internationally recognized are success stories. He worked for several large corporations over the course of his career and then started his own company in 2005.

Gerard has had volunteer board/committee experience with an American based international truck parts association for over 8 years, as vice chair for two years and chairman for two years.

The commitment to Salt Spring Island began in the early 90s when his family first moved to the island. A job transfer meant a move away, but the desire to someday return stayed strong. Slowly transitioned back to the island after purchasing a home a few years ago, and now living here full time.

With a results driven viewpoint, Gerard hopes to bring his skills to help Salt Spring become stronger, with a view of creating an economy that will continue to grow in keeping with the values and essence of what Salt Spring is about.

Filed Under: Commissioners

February 13, 2022 By georgep

Theresa Duynstee is a Professional Agrologist with expertise in agriculture, food systems and land stewardship. During her career as a regional planner at the Metro Vancouver Regional District, she led numerous studies to support policy development and decision-making on regional land use. Her formal education includes B.Sc.(Ag) Major in Soil Science, a M.A. in Environment & Management as well as diplomas in horticulture and communications. 

Theresa is a collaborator and champions the importance of sustaining local food production and viable farm businesses. She is Vice Chair of the SSI Agriculture Alliance. Her passion for growing food and protecting nature has inspired Theresa to enhance the ecology of a 5-acre property she shares with Jason on the south end of Salt Spring Island.

Filed Under: Commissioners

May 1, 2019 By georgep

CEDC is working with EcoPlan International to identify the best model for a Green Learning Lab on Salt Spring that can help us demonstrate that investing in the green sector is good for the economy and our environment.

Why A Green Learning Lab?

We understands the need to invest in clean tech and green solutions that are part of a circular economy. This systems approach is important for an island community to find ways to sustain both the natural environment that we live in, our lifestyle and our ability to earn a living. It’s also something that the world is grappling with – we believe we can offer a rural location for testing various products or innovations that could lead to global solutions.

We don’t subscribe to a philosophy of endless economic growth. We believe there is a way to support economic activity that considers the impact on our environment. The CEDC is introducing a “lab” idea to address our own problems and potential to contribute to the larger global issues. While we don’t currently have a physical place to call our lab, we do see the value in a virtual lab to support the shift to an economy that values “green” solutions.

We believe that future services of the lab could be to act as an R&D centre, a maker lab, an education hub and more.

What Are "Green Services"?

There’s a lot of “green” solutions touted today. Our Green Learning Lab will focus on the creation of products or services that seek to:

  1. Reduce – products or services that would reduce consumption of natural resources (water, energy, etc)
  2. Reuse or Recycle – products or services that use waste for production (ugly vegetables become delicious soup) or innovate ways to use a by-product.

OUR ISLAND COMMUNITY IS CURRENTLY CHALLENGED BY:

  • Water (quality and quantity)
  • Energy
  • Food security
  • Transportation
  • Waste Management

A "Green Lab" Will...

1. Provide a place in our community to pilot and test solutions for providers, government and interested innovators. We’ll work to support user testing and document the outcomes in a way that will make implementation easier. Clients would manage their own technical information.

2. Investigate and identify the red tape in going green. For example – we believe that it is too expensive for many people to retrofit their homes to low-flush toilets. Our hypothesis is that we’d identify the right incentive and communication to change this in concentrated pockets (neighbourhood to neighbourhood) then more people would switch. It might help us identify barriers to going green and assist us with creating a set of plays that we put in our playbook.

3. Enable local providers to partner with us on the “barriers” and uncover other market opportunities. A “lab” will help them test their business hypothesis and then incubate their solutions. This is in essence our Rural Business Accelerator, or an “entrepreneur in residence” program.

What's needed: We need to capture metrics for the local market and document the local sector. By working to coordinate information and generate a community dashboard that shows how we are working towards zero-emission or other goals (aligned with CleanBC), we can also mentor those that are working in this sector.

Filed Under: Blog

January 30, 2017 By georgep

Getting the word out about your business/opportunity can also be challenging. There are some local opportunities you can check out.

Social Media

Twitter
Find us via our Twitter handle: @OpportunitySSI to follow us or learn more about our activities. https://twitter.com/OpportunitySSI

Facebook
Look up our Facebook page to discover the stories, and news impacting Salt Spring. https://www.facebook.com/OpportunitySSI/

Hashtags
Use our hashtags #OpportunitySSI and #RurallyInspired to find out how we’re helping people discover and enhance opportunities that exist here.

Or use #saltspring, #saltspringisland to look for products and services on the island, and you’ll be sure to land on some things of interest.

Digital Traveler
A good resource for digital travelers to the island is saltspringmarket.com, it’s a one-stop-shop and guide to let you know what's happening around the island.

Salt Spring Digital
Are you keen to stay connected to all things digital, look no further than the Facebook page for the Salt Spring Digital Group, a socially connected bunch who get together for socials to exchange ideas and knowledge?

Advertising

You can use local publications (links):

  • GI Driftwood: http://gulfislandsdriftwood.com/
  • SS Exchange: http://saltspringexchange.com/
  • Fishbowl Magazine: http://www.fishbowlmagazine.com/
  • Islands Marketplace: http://islandsmarketplace.com

 

Filed Under: Enhance

January 30, 2017 By georgep

Growing Opportunities

Building on the SSI-Community Economic Sustainability Commission’s (CESC) 2016-18 Rural Business Accelerator
program, the CESC learned that more support was needed to help local producers grow and sustain their businesses.
To achieve this goal, a Feasibility Study, was conducted in 2018, and served as the basis for a 2019 Rural Dividend
Fund Award to establish a shared business services program to enhance the economic productivity of local
businesses. To learn more: Shared Business Services Enterprise-overview

In 2017 we introduced an exciting program, thanks to funding from a Rural Dividend Grant, the Rural Business Accelerator provided training, mentoring, and access to funding and returns in 2019/20.

We’ve selected three specific sectors to work with. These sectors are maturing and have an existing presence on the island:

  • Food and Beverage
  • Green Services
  • Craft or Lifestyle

If you’d like more detailed information about the program, visit the RBA section.

Add Some Skills

We've partnered with Small Business BC to provide you with tools to help you grow your venture. There are many resources available on the Small Business BC website, including how-to's, checklists, advice and articles.

You can also register for webinars that can help you market, streamline, and grow your venture. There are hundreds of topics offered each year, ranging from one hour to multi-day bundles.

Here's a link to BC Jobs, Training & Tech Webinars.

Another resource for small to medium-sized businesses is the Export Navigator Program. If you're wishing to grow and diversify, by developing markets outside of BC and Canada, they offer a way to expand your business beyond the local market.

 

Tech Links

Assistance for tech companies via:

The Venture Acceleration Network – VIATEC in Victoria:
http://www.viatec.ca/cpages/accelerator

Innovation Island in Nanaimo:
http://www.innovationisland.ca/

New Ventures BC:
http://www.newventuresbc.com/accelerate/

Filed Under: Enhance

January 30, 2017 By georgep

Banks and Credit Unions

BMO Bank of Montreal: https://www.bmo.com/main/business
CIBC Branch & ATM: https://locations.cibc.com/search/bc/saltspring+island
Island Savings: https://www.islandsavings.ca/Business/

Micro Loans

Transition Salt Spring Society: http://transitionsaltspring.com/solutions/enterprise-co-op/
(A cooperative lending group that will provide small investments to green organizations.)

Grants

Foundations that offer Grants:
Salt Spring Foundation: http://ssifoundation.ca/
Vancouver Foundation: https://www.vancouverfoundation.ca/grants

Grants for business and non-profits may be available through the Province of BC or the Government of Canada.

Filed Under: Enhance

January 30, 2017 By georgep

This page is under construction, more to come.

Filed Under: Discover

January 29, 2017 By georgep

With a knack for finding unique and beautiful places to live, Inga, who immigrated to Canada from Germany in 2000, first lived in Whistler, then moved to Salt Spring in 2012. Drawn by its natural beauty and charm, Inga came to the island to raise her kids in a rural setting. In her work, Inga coaches, and trains leaders of organizations on innovation and changing systems. She also consults small companies on business strategy.

Inga holds a BComm in Entrepreneurship and has a particular interest in using business as a force for good. She is the vice president for Transition Salt Spring Enterprise Co-Op, which supports green initiatives and businesses with low-interest microloans. Inga helped the Wagon Wheel Society draft a business plan for the Laundromat and supported the Island Comeback Campaign with administration tasks. In her Commissioner role, Inga plans to contribute to a sustainable economic strategy that creates opportunities for locals to make a right livelihood while respecting the environment.

Filed Under: Commissioners

January 29, 2017 By georgep

Dr. Daniel Muzyka is Dean and Professor Emeritus at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He has also been President and Chief Executive Officer of The Conference Board of Canada and Vice-President and Chair of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Previously, he served as the IAF Professor of Entrepreneurship and Associate Dean at INSEAD and taught at other institutions.

Dr. Muzyka has experience in academia, business, and the public sector and has participated on a number of corporate boards, venture capital funds, as well as not-for-profit, regulatory and government organizations, committees and commissions. He worked in industry with General Electric in finance and strategy and was a strategy consultant. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration (Harvard), an MBA (Wharton), and a BA in Physics and Astronomy (Williams College). He was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by the Government of France.

Filed Under: Commissioners

January 28, 2017 By georgep

Francine is a highly energetic and proactive volunteer and a strong supporter of teamwork as the means for realizing strategic initiatives. She has extensive executive level business experience in marketing, government relations, and organizational leadership. In particular, her service as a trusted advisor for family-owned businesses across Canada and the US has provided her with first-hand understanding of the importance of honest, open communication for achieving shared goals.

As CESC Chair, Francine has been instrumental in establishing– opportunitysaltspring.ca . She co-lead efforts to establish a Destination Management – Marketing Organization for the Southern Gulf Islands Region, is Co-founder of the Rural Islands Economic Forum and the Rural Islands Economic Partnership Society. Francine is a passionate advocate for designating SSI rural. She believes the CESC can be a means for supporting Salt Spring as a creative, collaborative community where all sectors of our community can thrive, sustainably within a protected rural environment.

Filed Under: Commissioners

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