Starting a business is never an easy endeavour but St. Albert is the best place to get a head start, said Kelsey Bulmer, co-owner of Cerulean Boutique.
Alberta Venture magazine recently named St. Albert the best community for young entrepreneurs in Alberta. A title well deserved, said Bulmer, who also received the young entrepreneur award of distinction at this year's chamber gala.
"It's a phenomenal place. There is lots of rentable space in St. Albert, the lease rates are reasonable depending on where you are looking and there is lots of room for growth," she said.
In its article, Alberta Venture wrote that St. Albert offers big city amenities with tranquil scenery, small-town feel and ample foot traffic in the downtown. That draws young entrepreneurs who "want to stay connected to an urban centre without living in a huge city."
Bulmer added that the city is also just small enough to keep competition manageable and yet close enough to the Edmonton market to attract a wide range of customers, she said.
Nonetheless, young entrepreneurs should consider the city's demographics before starting a business – looking at how people like to spend their time and money, she said.
"If (a business) offers a product, even if it's unique, that doesn't mean that customers need that product," she said.
Another perk is the city's engagement in helping entrepreneurs, she said. Much of the information needed by business owners is made available by the city, and businesses licences are easy to fill out and inexpensive.
She did, however, emphasize that St. Albert needs to do more to promote and advertise its businesses at events, such as the St. Albert Farmers' Market, so visitors stay longer afterwards to shop and eat downtown, she said.
Entrepreneurial city
'Young' entrepreneurs are often considered people up to the age of 35 years, sometimes as high as 40 years, said Joan Barber, manager of business retention and expansion with the city's economic development department.
Barber could not say how many entrepreneurs in the city are considered 'young,' as the city only has partial statistics on the age of its business owners. But the community is a first choice for many, she said.
The cost of doing business is quite reasonable and there are many assets, such as NABI (the Northern Alberta Business Incubator), that entrepreneurs can rely on, she said.
"I think a healthy community always has a really good mix of every demographic so I think definitely attracting young entrepreneurs is something we need to do," she said.
Executive director Guy Boston added that the economic development department is helping to nurture budding entrepreneurs through its Gen Y CEO program. The program helps students craft a proposal for their first start-up company, which then goes into business for a summer.
The department is also developing a new incubation strategy, to look at what type of incubation services will be needed in the city in the next five to 15 years.
"Our demographics of being highly educated and a fairly well-heeled community also helps support that interest for start-ups," said Boston. "And typically where young entrepreneurs start off, they stay."
Nothing but support
The city also provided "nothing but" support for its newest bistro, the Vinyl Rock Café.
In a previous interview, co-owner Ana Calado told the Gazette that the city supported the family through the entire start-up process, answering questions and providing the necessary paperwork whenever needed.
The café recently opened after only a few months of planning and much earlier than the Calado's had anticipated.
Calado's daughter Andrea, who works in the family business, said the support was much to her surprise. Having grown up in Edmonton, many family members who opened businesses there were often left to their own devices, she said.
"St. Albert is probably the best city to start off with. Especially downtown," she said. "They just support you, even people from local businesses. We all just want to see each other succeed."
