Spring Activator’s business resiliency program comes to Powell River
POWELL RIVER – With the gradual reopening of the province underway, many business owners and entrepreneurs are struggling to recover from the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and plan for more changes in the future. To assist local businesses, Powell River’s Coastline Colab has partnered with First Credit Union, Powell River Community Futures, and the City of Powell River to make Spring Activator’s online business resiliency course free to entrepreneurs in Powell River.
“We felt it was important to bring these tools to the business leaders and entrepreneurs in our community,” said Scott Randolph, Director of Properties, Development and Communications for the City of Powell River. “The landscape for many businesses has changed – and continues to change – because of COVID-19, and those changes can be overwhelming. Resilient Powell River will help people move forward through the rest of 2020 and into the future.”
Launching for sign-ups Friday, June 30, Resilient Powell River will help business owners, artisans, and entrepreneurs make informed decisions for the future. Modules include: how to assess current state and opportunities; creating a clear action plan; and tangible tools and resources to implement the plan.
“As an entrepreneur, I know the importance of having the information you need in difficult times to save or grow your business,” said Jamie Smith, Spring program manager and founder of THRIVE Art Studio. “This program gives practical step-by-step instructions to take control of your business’s future.”
With support from the City of Powell River, First Credit Union, and Powell River Community Futures, the online program is free to all businesses in the Powell River and the qathet Regional District. Business owners can join the program anytime after June 30, and will have access to the program until June 2021. The program allows people to access resources and tools relevant to their business, and includes bi-weekly live support sessions and a community of entrepreneurs sharing best practices and ideas, locally as well as provincially.
“Entrepreneurs and businesses need a roadmap and tools to survive the recession and prepare to emerge on the other side thriving,” said Keith Ippel, founder of Spring. “Our resilience program is designed to reach the largest number of entrepreneurs possible, and provide the crucial framework necessary for increasing levels of tailored support necessary to overcome the crisis.”
The program also includes local support through Coastline Colab, Powell River’s new coworking space and business incubator. “We launched Coastline Colab into the teeth of COVID-19,” said Julie Froekjaer-Jensen, a member of the Coastline Colab steering committee and project lead with the Powell River Creative Economy and Innovation Initiative. “Like other organizations, we’ve had to pivot quickly to address the needs of our community, and we recognized that business education and training was a role we could fit into. Our new program coordinator Jessie MacDonald will be available to help with course onboarding and other questions.”
A webinar introducing the program will be held on Friday, June 26 from 12 noon to 1 pm. Anyone interested in learning more about the program is encouraged to visit https://bit.ly/resilientpr to register.
For more information about Resilient Powell River, visit https://www.coastlinecolab.ca/resilient/, or email jessie@coastlinecolab.ca.
Coastline Colab 