Enderby politicians are preparing to lace up their walking shoes and meet one-on-one with business leaders.
City council has endorsed a plan to conduct a Business Walk, likely in early October.
“We will team up with Community Futures and the local chamber of commerce,” said Mayor Greg McCune.
Similar to events that have occurred in Lake Country and Vernon before, the Enderby Business Walk will see city officials and representatives from business organizations meet with merchants and entrepreneurs.
Business Walks are intended to understand the issues and opportunities of existing businesses, build working relationships between decision makers and businesses, recognize the impact and value placed on local businesses and provide local businesses with access to information that can help them grow and expand.
“We will see what they need as part of the business community,” said McCune.
As part of the planning process, the city will use a model developed by the B.C. Economic Development Association.
Those tools include the B.C. Business Counts-Business Walk Survey and the B.C. BusinessCounts program.
“The survey is typically quite short and will assist the community in identifying economic trends, opportunities and threats,” said Kurt Inglis, the city’s assistant corporate officer, in a memo to council.
A team of two or three individuals will approach each business, with the team leader asking the survey questions and one of the other members documenting the answers.
Awareness about the event will occur through a variety of methods.
“Staff will promote the local Business Walk through press releases, updates on the city website and posts on the Our Enderby Facebook page,” said Inglis.
McCune believes the Business Walk will help city council and administration understand the needs of area businesses better when it is conducting long-term planning.
“It’s something that’s never been done before but to actually track their responses is important,” he said.
