This city means business

Already known for its outdoor scene, Rossland has been recognized for another thing: being welcoming to small businesses

Rossland's downtown has many one-of-a-kind businesses catering to the shopper with a discerning eye. — Sara Rainford/Tourism Rossland photo

Look at the six winners of the 2011 B.C.'s Most Small Business Friendly Community Award. Some, like Surrey, have bigger populations. Others—Kamloops and Ladysmith, for example—have larger trading areas. Playing against these bigger centres indicates that Rossland offers something special for its small business owners.

Renee Clark, the executive director for the local chamber of commerce, was attracted to Rossland for many of the same reasons that a lot of its residents are: the lifestyle opportunities. The resulting business community is a small operation-big corporation dichotomy; residents may work for one of the large nearby companies, such as Teck, or within the downtown core, which is filled with niche boutiques and opportunities for shopping. The chamber organizes sidewalk sales and downtown events—another draw that helps Rossland build on its year-round appeal.

Speed is an important part of the small business community in Rossland. The city has cut down on the regulatory barriers and red tape in order to speed the turnaround process for new business licences, making the process easy for the many new business owners. Another important aspect of Rossland's business landscape is how it fosters relationships with other municipalities.

"We work with other communities in the areas—it’s called intermunicipal licensing," said Clark. "Quite often a business just needs a Rossland licence, but a business can get an intermunicipal business licence that allows them to operate in the region. Instead of having five different licences, it's one licence for every community—that’s a really great thing for small business, especially the contractors in a community."