| Canadian Small Business of The Month | |
by Susan Ward
|
Just because a business has been operating for many years, however, doesn't
mean that there are no new challenges to meet. Whyte's Framing wants to attract
new customers. "We are well known", Phil says, "and advertising
blitzes have not raised our customer count." He's currently focusing on two
ideas to draw new customers; a sustained ad campaign and diversifying the business'
products and services. One avenue of diversification that Phil is exploring is presenting more
showings of local artists. There's an amazing number of talented artists living
in the Comox Valley, an area famed for its picturesque scenery. The size and
layout of the shop allows for an attractive display space for art works of all
kinds. Phil has also diversified by becoming an independent distributor for
Awareness Health Corporation, a herbal health product company. The goal of
Awareness Health is to improve world health one family at a time, and Phil finds
the products easy to sell, as they've helped him and several of his
friends. Awareness Health Corporation, a network marketing company, is entering its
seventh year, and poised to go international. Phil's goal for 2001 is to help
six others get their Awareness Health business off the ground. Phil feels that
the company's growth will be explosive. Besides displaying products and
information at Whyte's Framing, Phil also has a Web site, which he finds is an
excellent way to get the word out about
Awareness Health's herbal products.
"Once people give the products a try," he says, "most will
continue to use them and if given enough time will see results." What do you need for business longevity? You need to develop the professionalism
to deliver the quality
product and customer service that wins and keeps customers. And you need to have the ability to
assess your business' changing needs and plan strategies to adapt to new
challenges. In Phil's words, there's "nothing exotic here, just going about
the tasks at hand to achieve the end result." It may not be exotic, but it's
worked for Whyte's Framing for more than twenty years. First page > Lessons in
Longevity > Page 1,
2, 3
Whyte's Framing is located at 1225 Lazo Road in Comox, B.C.. You can contact
Phil Whyte at whytes@hotmail.com or
visit his Awareness Health Corporation Web site.
Disclaimer: The Canadian Small Business of the Month feature is provided for information purposes only.
If you would like your business to be considered as The Canadian Small Business of The Month, email me at sbinfocanada.guide@about.com, and I'll send you a questionnaire. While completing a questionnaire is no guarantee of being featured in this series of articles, all completed questionnaires will be considered.
