The Quarry Site will continue to develop, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of small businesses in Cochrane.
At least, not for Karrie Peace, owner and operator of the Heavenly Outhouse and Poor David’s, two shops located in the heart of Historic Downtown Cochrane.
“We have to be prepared for a bit of a challenge,” said Peace, who opened her first shop in Cochrane five years ago. “We have to be on our game.”
And Peace’s game strategy: distinguishing her shops from the big box stores — like Wal-Mart — that are on their way to Cochrane.
“I’m starting to shift the focus,” said Peace. “I need to look at expanding my store hours, increasing my customer service, bring in unique inventory and find different price points.
“And we have time to make these changes now.”
This isn’t the first economic curve ball to be tossed Peace’s way. In her five years as the mastermind behind the two boutiques, she’s fought her way through a recession, along with other challenges that come from running a small business. She gets scared of the unknown, she admitted, but added the fear keeps her moving forward.
Despite her positivity, Peace admits she understands the concerns of colleagues who may be a little fearful of competing with big-name businesses.
“Owning a small business, you put your heart and soul into it,” she said. “And then you come up on all these challenges. And every challenge that is unexpected — you tend to get a bit afraid.”
Peace’s no-defeat attitude is the right one for a small business owner to have, said Mike Korman, economic development manager for the Town of Cochrane.
Like Peace, Korman said the big-box stores shouldn’t act as competition for local small businesses. And while he said business might dwindle for the small shop owners when the big-name businesses open, he said he doesn’t think the effect will be permanent. In fact, he said the big-name stores should “enhance” the appeal of the boutique-style shops.
“The aim is to keep people in Cochrane,” said Korman. “We don’t want them travelling to Calgary, we want them to do all their shopping locally.”
But even with shoppers staying local, Korman said it is up to the small business to find their niche and thrive. To help with this, the town’s economic development department is partnering with Bow Valley College to host two workshops for business owners.
The first session, Real-life Marketing Strategies to Boost Business, is slated to run at the Cochrane RancheHouse from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 22. Another, entitled Real-life Applications to Move your Business into the Cloud, is set for Nov. 8, also from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The fee for each workshop is $60. To register, visit cochrane.ca. The town’s website is currently offering a business survey for licensed owners to fill out with information about services that may be required or any concerns that owners have.
Korman said economic development is open to working with and listening to small business owners to help navigate any challenges.
