Welcome to the Shawnigan Village Business Walk

On March 3, 2022, Economic Development Cowichan conducted a Business Walk in the Shawnigan Village and south Shawnigan industrial area. The team spoke with business owners and managers to learn more about the state of local businesses.

The Shawnigan Village Business Walk was the first in a series of Business Walks in communities throughout the Cowichan region. Staff members from Economic Development Cowichan (EDC) went door-to-door speaking with the owners and managers of local businesses. Three to four conversational questions prompt discussion about the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Shawnigan Lake. The conversations took 5-15 minutes, and well help inform future services and programs. EDC also followed-up and provided support for the individual and collective needs of the business community.

A report summarizing the results of the business wall is available here.

Business Walk Questions

The Business Walk Survey is centered around three key questions:

  1. What is the state of your business?
  2. What do you like about doing business in the area?
  3. What do you find challenging?

EDC staff also want to know: what can be done to help you and the overall business community thrive? All these questions include prompts to guide the discussion, to uncover the opportunities for supporting local businesses. The tone is conversational, and the survey or interview should only take a few minutes to complete. If you operate a home-based business, or want to view or complete the survey online follow the link below:

TAKE THE SURVEY ONLINE
Follow-up Event

Are you interested in the results of the Business Walk? Would you like to get together with other local business owners and managers to meet, greet, and share your thoughts? Economic Development Cowichan is hosting a follow-up at Compass Mexican Bistro in Shawnigan Village to present the main takeaways from the Business Walk. Complimentary refreshments are included, and the event will provide an opportunity to talk about some of the broader challenges and opportunities for Shawnigan businesses. Representatives from Work BC, Tourism Cowichan, Community Futures and the Duncan-Cowichan Chamber of Commerce will be invited to provide a brief summary of the programs and services they provide and answer specific questions.

Date: Monday, March 28, 2022
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Location: Compass Mexican Bistro
Unit 5, 1770 Shawnigan Lake-Mill Bay Rd
Shawnigan Lake
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Business Walk Results

A total of 33 responses were received for the Shawnigan Village Business Walk. On the business walk day, a total of 25 businesses were visited, and the team spoke with representatives in-person. Additional businesses completed the online survey or followed up by phone after the walk.

Key challenges for businesses in Shawnigan Lake included:

  • Parking and roads, and
  • Labour shortage

Strengths of doing business in Shawnigan Lake included:

  • Community and clientele, and
  • Location

Download the full report on the results of the Shawnigan Village Business Walk here:

Shawnigan Village Business Walk Report

Think Shawnigan Design Charette

The Business Walk is part of a broader effort to support recovery at the community level, and may help identify further opportunities to act on the recommendations from the ThinkShawnigan Design Charette in 2019. The Design Charette took place over three days, consisting of intensive design and planning sessions with CVRD staff, professional planning consultants, key stakeholders and members of the community. Actions and opportunities for revitalizing the Shawnigan Village area were identified, and arranged into the framework on the Shawnigan Lake Village Plan. In early 2020, the implementation of the Plan was put on pause as priorities changed with the Covid-19 global health crisis. Economic Development Cowichan is now re-visiting the Plan, and the feedback collected on the Business Walk will ensure actions are relevant to the needs of local businesses, and post pandemic economic recovery.

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135 Third Street
Duncan, BC
Canada V9L 1R9
edc@cvrd.bc.ca
T 250.746.7880
TF 1.866.746.2508

Economic
Development
Cowichan

Economic
Development
Cowichan

135 Third Street
Duncan, BC
Canada V9L 1R9
edc@cvrd.bc.ca
T 250.746.7880
TF 1.866.746.2508