Spring 2010 Newsletter

Venture Kamloops welcomes 2 new staff members

Venture Kamloops is pleased to announce two new members to the VK team, Mike O’Reilly, New Business Development Specialist and Gregg Murray, Business Retention and Expansion Manager. Mike and Gregg will bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and background to help Venture Kamloops fulfill their mandate to diversify the economy of Kamloops through business attraction, business retention and business expansion.

Mike has gained a wealth of knowledge in sales and marketing working as the regional sales representative for Xerox Canada for the Interior of British Columbia and will be very effective in attracting the new businesses to Kamloops. Mike has a very strategic approach to identifying new potential businesses and prospects for Kamloops and will be focused on targeted companies and sectors. Mike brings with him a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for the City and will be very convincing when he demonstrates how Kamloops is the place to invest their business. Mike is very involved in the community he has grown up in, he is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Kamloops Fusion and was the president in 2007-2008. Mike enjoys public speaking, skiing, business and travelling.

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Mike O'Reilly, New Business Development Specialist

Gregg’s business experience as an accountant (CA), financial analyst and most recently a Commercial Account Manager with RBC will be a huge asset as he leads the City’s Business Expansion and Retention program at Venture Kamloops. Gregg has created and used strategic business information to support executive level decision-making in multinational organizations. Gregg is excited about working with the local business community to promote business growth from within our City. He enjoys the Kamloops lifestyle with his wife, Karen, and their two dogs. They recently moved here from Vancouver after completing his MBA at UBC. He is also active in the community as a member of the Kamloops Rotary Club Daybreak, and has a passion for the great outdoors.

Gregg Murray, Business Retention & Expansion Manager

“We are quite excited to have these two talented individuals on our team at Venture Kamloops. Mike and Gregg will be able to build on all the good work that Venture Kamloops has done in the past as the catalyst for economic development and business growth in Kamloops.” said Dan Sulz, Executive Director of Venture Kamloops.

China Trade 2010 Workshop - China Trade Officers Share Expertise

On Friday, March 26th Venture Kamloops with support from the Interior Technology Industry Association (ITIA) hosted a China Trade 2010 Workshop. To a room of over 45 current and potential exporters and importers, speakers presented valuable information on how to take advantage of the booming Chinese economy. Presenting at the workshop were Connie Li from the Canadian Consulate in Guangzhou China and Leanne Yi from the Province of British Columbia’s International Trade and Investment Representative Office in Guangzhou. Accompanying the speakers were two area representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Government of British Columbia. “We were very pleased with the amount of interest and support in the community. China is open for businesses and we as a community need to build on the connections we have made here today.” Dan Sulz, Executive Director – Venture Kamloops.

The workshop included presentation topics on the Chinese business environment and Chinese culture. Finishing off the workshop was a panel discussion on Establishing Your Presence in China. Joining the two presenters on the panel were David Lloyd, Technical Director Domtar Pulp Sales and Tom Hughes, President of the Ratio Group. The panel provided valuable insight and advice on how to export your product to China as well as valuable importing advice. Key messages that were stressed was the need to be patient and to ensure that the agent you have working for you understands your product and your company well.

Following the workshop Venture Kamloops as well as representatives from the City of Kamloops, TRU World, Tourism Kamloops and the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce met privately with the trade officers to discuss a possible fall China trip. More information regarding that mission to follow in the coming months.

Venture Kamloops New Business Start-up Web Resource

Venture Kamloops has a new tool for persons wanting to start a small buisiness. With information obtained from the Ministry of Small Business, Technology, and Economic Development, Venture Kamloops has created a one stop web page with direct links to essential resource needs when starting a new business. Specific links and information can be found on; resources for women, entrepenurers, business licence registration, taxation requirements, and exporting are are just a few that are listed.

Click here for VK's 14 Steps To Starting Your Own Small Business

Top 10 Employers and Latest Statistical Information

The Venture Kamloops website provides visitors with a wide range of statistics for the Kamloops area. Demographics, Housing and Real Estate, Business Licenses and Employment statistics are made readily available to everyone and are updated on a regular basis. Our list of major employers for the Kamloops area has just been updated and now include 4 employers that have more than 1000 employees currently working there.

The population of Kamloops, according to BC Stats, has increased to 87,017 with a projected annual growth rate in the 1.0-1.9% range. New business start up is doing well with 298 new business licenses being issued by the City of Kamloops as of the end of April 2010. These are just some of the many key statistics that can be found on the Venture Kamloops website.

Click here for Kamloops Community Facts

Strauss Products Featured at The Healing Restaurant in Tokyo

Did you know that Strauss Herb products have made its way into the Japanese Market in a unique way?
Yohiro, or the Healing Restaurant, an upscale diner in the business and entertainment district of Tokyo exclusively features products from Kamloops-based Strauss Herb Co. in its menu items.

Congratulations to everyone at Strauss Herb co. for their international achievement!

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To view Yohiro’s website visit: www.healing-restaurant.com

2010 Business Success Stories

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are now a part of British Columbia history. These amazing Games would not have been possible without the commitment of a large number of innovative and hardworking companies like yours.

The Province of British Columbia would like to record as many 2010 business success stories as possible in the next short while. The 2010 Commerce Centre is reaching out to ask you to let us know what you did for the Games. None of your private information will be made public without your consent. If you supplied goods or services to the 2010 Games or a related project, as a prime contractor, sub-contractor, supplier or any other capacity, the Province of BC would like to know about it.

Please take two minutes of your time to follow this link and share some basic background with us.

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ASPECT Small Business Training Program

The ASPECT Small Business Employee Training Program is focused on helping small businesses to grow the potential of their lower skilled workers (known as "growth employees") by providing them access to government funded training courses that are tailored to the needs of small businesses and their employee(s).

This pilot project has space available for 1,000 "growth employees" across different regions in British Columbia that fit the eligibility requirement for this project. Each eligible "growth employee" will be provided with up to a maximum of $900 to be used towards training courses that are specific to the employees need.

Visit Aspect Small Business Training Program for program details.

Build For The Future Project: Helping You Build Your Business

No money, no time, or no expertise to attract, retain or grow your people? If you want your business to succeed, something needs to be done.

For a limited time, 10 companies will be selected to gain up to 40 hours of expert human resources assistance through the Build for the Future pilot project. This innovative project is sponsored by the BC Government to address the HR issues of small but rapidly growing companies, at no dollar cost to the participants. The Build for the Future Project is created by FutureWorks in partnership with BCTIA, DigiBC, Life Sciences BC, and the Ministry of Housing and Social Development: Employment and Labour Market Services.

Contact: Thavy Phonsavath thavyp@fwt.bc.ca for an application or call 604-684-4176 x 24.

Export USA Webinar On-Demand

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada provided valuable information for Canadian compaines preparing to do business with the USA by way of Webinars.

Listed a below are only a few of the many Webinar On-Demand sessions in the past:

	Opportunities to Sell Your Food Products Under Private Label in the U.S
	Contracting with Distributors or Sales Representatives in the U.S. – Find the Best Fit!

Click here to access additional past Webinars. You may want to consider bookmarking this site allowing you to quickly access the site to get information on future Webinars that may be of interest.

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