While Alberta is still recovering from a battered oil and gas sector, it appears there are some bright spots in the small business sector in Drumheller.
Over the last year, Drumheller has seen growth in the downtown sector with a number of new businesses sprouting up, showing confidence in the community.
“One of the things we have been trying to do is bolster small and medium sized businesses in the valley and we are making some headway,” said Sean Wallace, manager of economic development. “We are making things a little easier to invest here, so we are filling up some space on Main Street which is really important. Generally, is the first impression that people have of a downtown, and when it’s bustling that just bolsters more investment.”
There have been additions in the service sector as well as retail and even specialty stores. The legalization of recreational marijuana has led to two new businesses alone.
While some of the businesses are traditional, others have the ability to market and sell beyond the borders of the valley.
“That is basically diversifying your product offering to a larger audience,” he said. “Hats off to those companies that make those investments and take the risk and work incredibly hard to make these kinds of businesses happen in Drumheller The nice thing is, in Drumheller you have those opportunities,” said Wallace.
There are good supports for entrepreneurs in the valley, and Community Futures. Business analysis Michael Love says while Community Future is often viewed solely as a developmental lender, their services go beyond this.
“We are focusing on the development and pillars now,” said Love.
He says they want to be a hub for business development. This can be at any stage; from an idea, to evaluating and creating a business plan, expanding, maybe purchasing a business, securing financing and following up. Every Friday they host business workshops. These are casual gatherings where they rotate topics of note.
“They are pretty informal… if two people show up we can talk about their business, or if more come we can be more general,” he said.
Wallace says these additions bode well for confidence in Drumheller.
“That is one of the things that is not only the town responsible for instilling that confidence, but it is the community itself. I believe it is twofold. We are working very hard as a town to cut red tape making development easier and investors realizing this is a really good place to invest,” said Wallace.