News from St. Albert Economic Development

February 2013

Focus on Business
in St. Albert

Creating St. Albert's Future Breakfast

On Tuesday, February 26 we hosted our 9th annual business breakfast at the Enjoy Centre. We were delighted to have almost 250 in attendance. This year's theme was Creating St. Albert's Future and the Mayor, City Manager and Guy Boston all spoke to the economic vision for St. Albert. Mayor Nolan Crouse discussed business sucesses in 2012, the feedback our community has given regarding the importance of ecoomic development, future priorities and what's happening in the region regarding economic development.

Patrick Draper, City Manager spoke to the concept of St. Albert becoming a Smart City Centre of Excellence as a development opportunity and a competitive advantage for St. Albert. In the new knowledge-intensive and increasingly globalized economy, the success of cities will be influenced by their ability to adapt to advancing technologies and their ability to deliver solutions to residents and business communities. St. Albert can establish itself as a business-friendly and business-ready city in the new knowledge-based creative economy.

Patrick shared the benefits of becoming a Smart City, including innovation, collaboration, environmental sustainability, and economic sustainability.

The highlight of the breakfast was Guy Boston's presentation about upcoming industrial, commercial and residential developments coming on stream in the next 24 months.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

Commercial

Target opens May 2013 and will employ 150-200 people in 100,000 sq ft commercial space
Erin Ridge Shopping Centre - 48 acres on the North side of St. Albert, adds 477,000 sq. ft. of leasable commercial space. Tenants include Costco, a grocery store and more

Industrial

Total of 900+ gross acres of industrial land in St. Albert
31 new industrial business licences were issued in 2012
Significant interest and discussions on remaining 56 acres in South Campbell
Great West Life Realty Corporation purchase 143 acres of Industrial/Commercial land in South Riel with the plan to develop 1.3 million square feet for industrial use and 8 acres of retail zoned development. This is projected to start-up spring 2014

Residential

Planning policy updates regarding lot size, density and housing options
Riverside - Reid Worldwide and Genstar are projecting 2500 units with show homes to open in Spring 2013
Erin Ridge North - Landrex is developing 1500 units including multifamily rentals
South Riel - development will include approximately 700 units with mixed commercial, estimated to start in 2014

If you missed the breakfast you can watch the video online at:
Business Breakfast 2013 - Youtube

View event photos:
Business Breakfast 2013 - Flikr

In This Issue

Creating St. Albert's Future

Turning Trends into Opportunities

Engaging a Talent Team to Grow and Succeed

Creating Outstanding Downtowns

Business Spotlight

New Businesses in St. Albert

Join the Conversation!

Upcoming Events

Mayor's Celebration of the Arts

March 19, 2013

St. Albert Pecha Kucha

March 15

20 Ingredients for Outstanding Downtowns

March 26

Turning Trends into Opportunities

This year's business breakfast featured two small business workshops. Jim Spears from Right Field Marketing spoke about how can you anticipate change and use trends to create opportunities for your business. He discussed seven over-reaching categories and trends that we see in Alberta.

Societal - population growth, aging, household income, debt, role of mothers and fathers
Cultural - learning, sustainably, information gathering, alternative medicine, active lifestyles
Workplace - decline of traditional jobs, crowdfunding, social networks, mobile
Buying Behaviours - QR codes, Coupons, ExpertEASE, sustainability
Leisure - small indulgences, fantasy adventure, pets, sleep, television
Food - impulse purchases, breakfast, locally grown, executive lunches

Jim concluded with a discussion about idea generation and that new ideas sometimes are a matter of inspiration but usually are a result of hard work. Modifying or altering other business ideas is perfectly acceptable.

Engaging a Talented Team to Grow and Succeed

Judy Erickson from JME Consulting shared an engaging discussion at the business breakfast on just how intrinsic motivated staff are to your business' success. She discussed ways that your company can attract, motivate and retain the most loyal, productive and talented employees. Gallup research has shown that there are 12 core elements that these employees are seeking an organization. These include:

Clear expectations
Access to materials and equipment need to do the job
Ability to do what they do best
A supervisor that cares about them
Someone at work that encourages them
Regular recognition or praise for good work
Feeling that work is important
Co-workers committed to quality work
Having their opinions valued
Having a best friend at work
Regular discussions about progress
Opportunities to learn and grow

Judy stressed in her presentation the need to recognize attracting, motivating and retaining the best people is a long term process. It requires an authentic effort and can't be superficial. When looking at your team of employees motivation doesn't have to be daunting or expensive. She mentioned there are six professional motivators and a good exercise for management to do is to have all team members personally rank them. Managers can then develop individual, organizational and team programs based on the results. The six motivators are:

Acknowledgement and respect
Camaraderie and fun
Compensation
Flexibility and time off
Increased responsibility and challenge
Personal development

Why not give it try this month?

Creating Outstanding Downtowns

Now that we are officially in the St. Albert downtown core, Economic Development is excited to welcome you to our new office. We will be hosting a series of webinars on the 20 Ingredients to Outstanding Downtowns presented by Roger Brooks. The 3 part series highlights the roles property owners, public sector and merchants play in making our downtown core a vibrant and thriving centre. In addition to the information, the morning will be a great opportunity to network with fellow downtown businesses.

Be sure to sign up early as space is limited. Each session will cost $15 and includes refreshments. Register by calling Michelle at 780-459-1631.

March 26 9 -10:30 a.m. 20 Ingredients to Outstanding Downtowns Part 1

April 3 9 -10:30 a.m. 20 Ingredients to Outstanding Downtowns Part 2

April 23 9 -10:30 a.m. 20 Ingredients to Outstanding Downtowns Part 3

All sessions will be held at:
St. Albert Business Centre
29 Sir Winston Churchill Ave
St. Albert, AB

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT ON... Heaven Essence Spa

Holly Hayes and Sherri Detonnacour opened Heaven Essence Day Spa in 2010. The idea to go into business together seemed like a natural fit for these two friends who had met over spa services years before. Heaven Essence Day Spa is more than a business and passion for these two ladies. The spa is a tribute to Teri, Holly's mother who passed away in 2009. Teri was a regular client of Sherri's and always found peace and tranquility in her spa services. Dedicating Heaven Essence Day Spa to her keeps Teri in their thoughts and she will always be remembered as an elegant lady that could light up the room with her smile and laughter.

Sherri was co-owner of another aesthetics business in St. Albert and had a long list of dedicated clients. Thus opening in St. Albert was a natural choice. They love doing business in St. Albert because it's a big city with a small town feel. They can build a family of clients mostly through word of mouth, which is much harder to do in other cities. Their site at 15 Circle Drive was a blank space when they looked into it. Holly and Sherri though looked past the dirt floor and saw the potential in the bones of the building. They have a beautiful modern space with plenty of room to grow. Since 2010 they've already doubled their staff count from the original 4 to 8. The space also allows them to offer different services than other spas; they have party space available to rent for bridal showers, birthdays or princess parties. They've even been able to host a local art exhibit in their space.

Like most spas, women of all ages are their market. They have clients from 3 to 80 years of age. Women come to Heaven Essence because of its atmosphere. Holly, Sherri and their staff want you to feel like family. It's a very comfortable and clean space. They are proud to be client-focused and offer extended services when compared to other salons and they proudly use Eminence Organics Skincare product.

Word of mouth referrals and relationship building have been key to their growth over the past couple of years. They have found synergies with neighbouring businesses in Campbell Business Park to cross promote. As members of the St. Albert & District Chamber of Commerce, they've enjoyed networking opportunities, especially the speed-meet sessions. Holly and Sherri are also part of a smaller networking group made up of other women entrepreneurs who get to together once a month and chat about business and other topics. Relationship marketing also extends into their use of social media. They recently started using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Both women enjoy the personal connections you can make and the conversations you can have with clients using these media.

Be sure to check them out for next service or as a gift for a loved one.

Heaven Essence Day Spa

#123, 15 Circle Dr.
St. Albert, Alberta
T8N 3Y7
780-460-0555
heaven.essence.spa@gmail.com

www.heavenessencespa.ca/

www.twitter.com /heavensspa