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Business
This letter submitted by the Red Deer Revitalization Society
The Red Deer Revitalization Society is a group of approximately 40 concerned Red Deer business people.
A few years ago, a collection of concerned members of the Downtown Red Deer Business Community came together after the drug-addicted and homeless population were crippling their operations. These meetings took place concurrently with the City and Provincial initiatives to establish safe injection sites, permanent shelters, and other similar institutions. The volume of people in Red Deer who require assistance makes it obvious that there is a need for these services. The problem however is with their location. We write this to help motivate the relocation of the permanent shelter from the proposed 4934 54 th Ave site.
We are of the view that this proposed site will have two disastrous consequences. First, an increase in residential property tax rates. Second, the slaying of the City’s Capstone Development. A recent history of the Downtown shows that the business community and the homeless and drug-addicted community cannot peacefully coexist. This is – and has been – an underappreciated concern that affects everyone in the City of Red Deer. Over the last 15 years, Downtown Red Deer has witnessed a mass exodus of businesses. The once thriving Downtown core has become repulsive. In speaking with colleagues who have vacated the Downtown, their motivation is always taxes and vagrancy. Who can
blame them? It is difficult to attract enough customers to cover the tax bill (and other costs) when their front door is littered with drug paraphernalia and loiterers. The trend shows that a concentration of social services forsakes the area where they are located and thus surrounding businesses will take their investments elsewhere. This exclusion of business is dangerous for all of us.
Most people do not appreciate how the City makes ends meet. We all know that taxes must be collected – but how does the City determine which property owner pays what? The owners of all properties, whether commercial or residential, pay tax at an amount that is determined using various formulae which all boil down to the property’s true value. Historically, the commercial properties in Downtown Red Deer were valuable enough and producing enough revenue that they bore the brunt of the taxes. But what happens now? The exodus of business replaced with social chaos renders the Downtown Properties valueless. If the owners of these properties cannot be asked to maintain the City’s reserves, the City will have no choice but to look elsewhere. Unfortunately, residential owners will have to see their property taxes increase dramatically for the City to run. The proposed permanent shelter location is yet another mainstay for drug use and vagrancy in a downtown that is nearly dead. This will likely be the last nail in Downtown’s coffin and a direct cause of increased residential property taxes.
Another underappreciated concern is the viability of the City’s Capstone Development. The perpetual bare piece of prime real estate is the City’s crown jewel. It presents a unique opportunity to rejuvenate the Downtown and neglected Red Deer Riverfront (another letter to the editor is required to discuss the City’s squandering of opportunity in the Capstone area over the past 25 years). The proposed permanent shelter is in the shadow of the Capstone Development – where the City has invested a tremendous amount of money. In fact, some say that the City has already invested upwards of $42 Million in the Capstone Development, which is being branded as a business and family-driven part of
town. If that’s the goal, how could it possibly make sense to put a permanent shelter right beside it? We appreciate that services like homeless shelters and safe injection sites are unfavourable, and people generally have the “not in my back yard sentiment”. However, if you sit back and allow City Council to locate the shelter at 4934 54 th Ave., you will see Capstone remain undeveloped, you will continue to see the mass exodus of businesses from downtown Red Deer and you will see a significant increase in your residential property taxes.
How can you ensure that your residential property taxes decrease instead of increase? Contact City Council and your elected MLA’s and tell them that you disapprove of 4934 54 th Ave., and any other downtown location, being chosen for the permanent shelter. Time is of the essence.
Sincerely,
Red Deer Revitalization Society
This week’s Business Spotlight shines on Vietnamese Subs & Rolls! This local restaurant creates mouthwatering subs, rolls and other authentic Vietnamese dishes and is located at 4911 50 Ave, Red Deer. We spoke with them to learn more about their business!
What is your business?
Vietnamese Ultimate Subs & Rolls
When did your business open?
10+ years [ago].
What makes your business unique?
There are only a few authentic Vietnamese restaurants around this area.
What are some products/services that you offer?
Authentic Vietnamese subs (banh mi), soups, salad rolls, noodle/rice bowls, spring rolls, coffee, bubble tea, etc.
Why did you choose Downtown Red Deer as the location for your business?
The customer base.
What do you think makes Downtown vibrant?
The local shops, live music and the people.
I love Downtown Red Deer because… of all the people who are regulars at the local shops.
Check out Vietnamese Ultimate Subs and Rolls in Red Deer, for pickup or delivery, through SkipTheDishes.com!
Website: https://vietnamesesubs.com/
Check back next week for another business spotlight! If you would like to see your Downtown business spotlighted, please contact us at 403-340-8696 or [email protected].
At the beginning of the pandemic, people rightly feared for the future of small businesses. The reality was that while big corporations could see out an extended period without profit, many small businesses collapsed after just a couple of months. Keeping a small business going has traditionally meant running a tight ship, and that became unsustainable during the first few months of COVID-19.
But what about starting a business in 2022? There are still plenty of people who are holding off on creating their dream startup until things get back to normal. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that “normal” is a mirage. Should you risk starting your business now? This has always been a hard question to answer, and nowadays it’s even harder. But the truth is that our current worldwide scenario might be more optimistic than you think.
Post-COVID Startups: Reasons for Optimism
The good news is that, when it comes to startups in a post-COVID world, there is more reason for optimism than negativity. While it is true that certain types of businesses will never get back on their feet in the same way, many other modern businesses are better placed for success than ever before.
The reason for this is simple. The pandemic forced the world to become comfortable with remote work. This was something we were moving towards for two decades, but a torturously slow transition was expedited in just a few weeks in March 2020.
People running online businesses or working as freelancers already knew the potential in the digital space. It took a pandemic for everyone else to catch on. This is not great news for people intent on running brick-and-mortar stores, but it does create more room in the global market for digital startups.
The pandemic is still not over, but now is as good a time as any to create your startup. In fact, creating a startup today means factoring in an ability to adapt and evolve, which will put you in good stead for the ever-changing world of the future.
The ABCs of Digital Business
Creating a digital startup requires a very different approach than the one small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would traditionally take. Your headquarters is no longer a localized, physical space. Rather, it is your website.
Because of this, if you do not put in the work on your website, you are setting yourself up for failure. It is simply not possible to run a successful startup if potential clients are put off by their first encounter. Going to a website that does not work properly or that renders badly on mobile is a deterrent for even the least fussy people.
Fortunately, it is not difficult to create a website in 2022. You can use a website builder like Wix or hire a web designer – there are many excellent freelancers out there with reasonable rates. Your website is your headquarters, but that cannot be where your web presence begins and ends.
Social Media Marketing for Digital Startups
When looking at social media as a regular user, it is easy to see everything wrong with it. The Facebook leaks of 2021 certainly confirmed what many of us already suspected. Social media is not good for you as a person. However, you cannot take that approach into your business.
The simple reality is that social media marketing is one of the most effective ways of reaching clients. It is extremely cost-effective as well, as you reach millions of people with even the smallest budget.
Your social media pages should lead people to your website, but they need to be worthwhile in their own right. In other words, you need to put in the time and effort to build up content and followers, and use the platform to connect and engage.
Today, you should have a Facebook page for your business at the very least. It is highly beneficial to use Instagram for marketing as well. Platforms like Twitter are also useful, although more for engagement than for actual marketing.
Full-Time vs Part-Time Employees
One of the most significant differences of running a startup post-pandemic is that you are less likely to hire people on a full-time basis. Whereas a growing group of permanent staff members used to be a sign of a successful business, today you should have a small but dedicated skeleton staff. For many jobs, you can hire freelancers or other small businesses as and when you need them.
Since you are less likely to rent offices, you will be working with your staff remotely in any case. Hiring freelancers and contractors makes sense, both in saving money on your side and creating relationships with people for whom accountability is built into the work they do.
The good news is that creating a startup post-pandemic is not as difficult as we thought it would be. It is simply necessary to rethink how businesses in the modern world work.
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