Last summer we brought you the story of Jacqui at Streatside Cuisine, and since we can’t believe it’s been a whole year since we heard Jacqui’s story, we thought it was time to get an update from her on how the business is going.

With the influx of microbreweries in Alberta, hearing about another one may not catch your interest. But I can assure you this: Village Brewery is different. Jim Button, one of the co-founders of the brewery, is a driving force behind that fact. Not only does he have a strong background in marketing and brewing, but he has an infectious passion for his community and a strong commitment to volunteerism and philanthropy.

[Note from the editor: Alberta Culture and Tourism, linked below, is now known as Parks, tourism and recreation.]
 

Update April 2018: some of the programs highlighted in the blog post are no longer running, but the organizations have newer projects and easy to use websites so you can find them.
 

When “working for the man” just wasn’t cutting it anymore, Justin Ladouceur and his partner Billy Kay believed they were capable enough to branch out on their own. Having grown up with exposure in and around construction sites, they decided to take a stab at it and forge their own path in the concrete business. Aside from skill and experience, the desire to build a better life for themselves and their families led them to starting their own concrete business, Advantage Concrete Solutions Ltd.

During summer in Alberta, festivals, rodeos, farmers’ markets, and other events flourish throughout the province. Edmonton in the summer is known as festival city, and with good reason – there are over 55 festivals in the capital region during the summer! Calgary is home to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth: The Calgary Stampede.

Last May we brought you the story of Sam Chow and his business, Hobblit: Calgary’s “Airbnb” for Activities. We know that in business, things are always changing, so we caught up with Sam to see what he’s working on now.

Our team at Business Link has been keeping very busy this summer. We have fully embraced festival season in Alberta by attending, hosting, and partnering on as many events as we can!
All of our team members are dedicated to visiting and serving as many cities, towns, and communities as possible to help clients start and grow businesses. They are often travelling around the province to ensure everyone has access to our services. Let’s take a peek at what they’ve been up to so far this summer!

We had the pleasure of introducing you to our client Massey Whiteknife, a successful Indigenous business owner, in the June 2016 blog post: “First Nation entrepreneur stays true to himself”. His tremendously successful company, ICEIS Safety, continues to grow while Massey also takes time to pursue other interests.

One of the most challenging considerations when developing a business idea is incorporating quality characteristics to make it successful. With so much clutter out there when searching for “successful business idea characteristics”, it was essential to create an improved list that echoes the thoughts of successful entrepreneurs.