Suffocating. That's exactly how it can feel for somebody trying to run a small business. Suffocating when they have to try to figure out how many permits, licenses and approvals (not to mention taxes) they have to come up with. Most small business operators already have enough to contend with. Few of them know what an eight hour day is. More likely they deal with 14, 16 or 18 hour shifts, six (or seven) days a week.
Along with everything else they do, guess who gets called on most extensively when groups are fund raising for worthy causes? You got it. There is a non-stop stream of community charity appeals which land like a thud on the counter tops of business owners everywhere and time and again these hard working people step up to the plate and do what they can to help yet another noble initiative for the needy or less fortunate.
The federal, provincial and municipal governments should make it a virtue to constantly assess the layers of requirements which often hit our local businesses like a triple whammy. To that end, Hon. Rick Thorpe (Provincial Liberal) and I spent a good part of a day this week with the Mayors of 3 municipalities rolling out a new program called 'Biz-Pal'. This program allows prospective small business persons to go online at the Biz-Pal website, enter the type of business they're considering going into and 'Presto' there before them appears a comprehensive list of necessary permits and license requirements.
You know that scary phrase "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."? Well this time it's a program that really will help by providing a kind of one-stop- shop 'to do' list. That means the business person can spend more time on their area of expertise and less time bogged down in running around trying to figure out all the form filling and permit seeking being demanded of them.
I have to admit, as I watched the video presentation and then actually did a couple of real live searches on the screen I was caught off guard a bit. Not just by how effective the program is but also by the surprise of seeing just how many hoops a struggling small business person has to leap through just to get started on their dream of running a successful operation.
For instance, if you're like me you were probably unaware that you need something called a 'Sign and Awning Permit' for your business. OK, fair enough. But do you realize that separate from that there is also a 'Sign and Awning ENCROACHMENT permit? And you know how nice it is to listen to good music in a store while you shop? Well that store owner has to have a permit to play those tunes. Not doing so can land the entrepreneur into hot water.
So this Biz-Pal program will help to reduce the burden and the stress of small business owners. That, along with our earnest public servants showing a welcome 'can do' attitude to the requests for help from businesses, should make life little easier for the people who truly create the jobs and the revenue streams in our communities.
Hey, talking about vibrant communities, I attended the Vaisakhi Parade in Vancouver this weekend. Media was estimating a hundred thousand people flooding the streets and it sure felt like there was at least that many. Bright colours, great outdoor music and food and business people all along the route making participants and visitors feel totally welcome and wanting to come back again next year. Amazing time, I recommend it.
Speaking of solid citizens, everybody in the Nicola Valley is thankful for Kim Robinson, the outdoorsman who tracked down and 'arrested' the fugitive suspect in that awful slaying of those 3 precious kids in Merritt. As often happens with local heroes, Kim figures he really doesn't deserve all the accolades he's getting.
Well Kim, we figure you do. Your willingness to be out there 'on the hunt' for hours on end in cold weather and rugged terrain, speaks volumes of the type of person you are.
A great example of citizenship. Thanks for being 'there', for all of us.
