Happy Valley-Goose Bay business owners map road to success in small, remote town

Even though there are less than 10,000 people in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, business is booming. 

It is, at least, for entrepreneurs who identified distinct gaps in the town’s services, and jumped at the opportunity to fill them. 

Business owners in the community will tell you that responding to specific needs and providing good quality work and service is enough to keep you going.   

Terry Whey is one of them. 

He took his shoe repair business to Happy Valley-Goose Bay in 1992 after learning the town was in need of one. 

Because he was moving from St. John’s to a rural area, he was able to get a hand setting up shop from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). 

We don’t go looking for work. It just keeps coming in the door.– Terry Whey

The shoe repair shop was busy, but after a little while he learned customers were often looking for specific canvas products that weren’t locally available. 

That’s when Whey’s focus shifted into manufacturing canvas tents and knapsacks, and Terry’s Tents was born. 

“We don’t go looking for work. It just keeps coming in the door,” Whey said. 

“I think people have seen our products and they’re happy with them, and then they just tell their friends … and sometimes good products just sell themselves.”

Whey works six days a week and hasn’t spent a dime on marketing in the last 20 years.  

The work isn’t slowing down, but he is. After 32 years, Whey is preparing for retirement. 

He’s trying to find a buyer for Terry’s Tents, but if he doesn’t find one his booming business will have to close its doors, and people in Happy Valley-Goose Bay will have to look elsewhere. 

MÓR Meats is a specialty butcher shop in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Owner Niamh Roche said business is good, but could be better, so she’s decided to expand. (Mór Meats/Facebook)

Niamh Roche, meanwhile, only opened her butcher shop in 2022. But after 18 months in business, she’s ready to expand. 

“We feel that we’ve kind of maxed out what we can do in our current location,” Roche said. 

“I feel in order for the business to survive, it really does need to take this step. It’s a huge investment for us and it’s a huge risk, but we feel that we’ve built up a strong customer base.”

Roche believes a larger and more centralized storefront

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Small business owners balance rising costs with keeping customers happy: survey

Almost a third of Canadian small business owners raised prices by more than 10 per cent in 2022 to offset rising costs, a survey found — and the trend is continuing this year.

The survey by Ownr, a small business and legal management platform backed and operated by RBCx, found that so far in 2023, more than 23 per cent of small business owners have raised prices by more than 10 per cent.

“The two major concerns for entrepreneurs right now are both cash flow issues and then the backdrop of inflation,” said Derek Hopfner, chief revenue officer at Ownr.

Inflation has been moderating from last year’s highs, but remains elevated, with a reading of 4.3 per cent in March. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada is holding interest rates high in its bid to fight inflation.

Some of the other pressures most acutely facing small firms right now are labour supply and cost, borrowing costs and supply chain issues, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ monthly Business Barometer index report.

Though it’s a difficult decision for a small-business owner to make, Hopfner said eventually entrepreneurs have to translate those concerns into higher prices.

“There is this kind of balance between what makes sense from a margin perspective as a business owner, and then making sure that you’re able to attract customers as well,” he said.

Hopfner said he’s seeing more people start businesses as a reaction to economic uncertainty so they can make additional income.

“It’s really interesting to see both if you’re operating the business already, how you react to (inflation), but what you might do if you’re not operating a business yet, and how you might choose entrepreneurship as a path for supplementary income,” he said.

Almost a quarter of the small business owners surveyed said they started their business as a way to make additional revenue, a number Ownr said is increasing from previous surveys.

Natasha Acuba-Bailey is one of many entrepreneurs whose side hustle has turned into their full-time job. Acuba-Bailey launched Burnaby, B.C.-based Telly’s Manila Kitchen in 2020, selling jarred adobo flakes, a Filipino food, featuring her grandmother’s recipe.

At the beginning of 2022, Acuba-Bailey decided to leave her job in retail and make Telly’s her main gig.

Since she took that leap, inflation has soared, sending the costs of materials and raw ingredients up with it. For example, she said the cost

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