If you’re a small business owner in North America, the past couple of weeks have certainly been anxiety-inducing. According to a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), 23% of U.S. small business owners are already feeling negative impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak. Another 43% of small business owners anticipate they will feel the impacts very soon, especially if the virus spreads.
A pandemic is a very stressful event for individuals and communities. It’s normal to feel some stress and anxiety. It’s also very common for people to display great resilience during times of crisis. We should remember that this is absolutely the time to lean on each other. Even if we can’t be close physically, we need to stay close emotionally. So, while you’re staying in, stay in touch with each other, and reach out if you need support.
Those who are self-employed face additional risks. There is no employment insurance to fall back on and often few surplus financial resources to sustain cashflow. Fortunately, they may have a home office in which they are already set up and should be in the habit of working alone and online.
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) has put together some resources and suggestions to help support your mental health at this time of uncertainty. We encourage you to share this page.
They will be updating it regularly, please check back for new resources.
Emergencies and disasters, big and small, can occur at any moment. It’s important that you and your business are prepared when, and if, they do. Having an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) in place can offer guidance for you, your employees, and your customers in times of uncertainty, and will support an effective response to the challenges that may present themselves.
In an interconnected global economy, the new COVID-19 is affecting Canadian businesses and their operations. It has resulted in restrictions on travel and public gatherings, as well as supply chain disruptions and market uncertainty. The Government of Canada is committed to providing you with the information and support you need to make informed decisions as your business navigates through these challenges.
Time for hope. I hope that we take the time to create new opportunities. I hope that we take time to imagine a better world on the other side of this crisis.
Historically these large challenges have been catalysts for giant leaps forward. They bring out our best hidden collective capacities. The Renaissance followed the Black Plague.
Hope is not only powerful, it is essential. You know it! Imagine the rediscovery of something deep inside us all, something we thought might have been lost forever. Imagine that in quarantine we find new friends online and make a sustainable community.
These are the hopes of Wayfinders I have been talking with. The new world on the other side of the crisis is a world that we will create. And we first create that world with a vision using our imaginations.
Let us stand together in resolve that we are agents of development. We together create our world and define what it means to be human.
What does this mean?
It means that you should take time to talk with your friends about the serious things on your mind. It means working through your ideas with a trusted friend. It is the art of conversation that separates us from other animals and makes civilization possible.
Dave Yadallee is the Owner and Administrator of NetKnow, an Internet Knowledge Company. NetKnow hosts websites and provides related web hosting services. Dave has a long history of working in the computer networking industry, going back to 1995. He is skilled in Sudo, Open Source, Httpd, Amavis & Strategic Planning.
Dave brings to Wayfinders a strong entrepreneurial drive and a desire to help our platform coop grow and succeed. Dave is also an active Toastmaster fellow and sits on some provincial political boards. He has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) focused in Economics & Mathematics from University of Alberta.
You can visit his website for further details: https://www.nk.ca:8443/ (or) if you prefer, you can call him at: 780.669.2000 for more info.
Welcome to the Wayfinders Business Cooperative & Social Enterprise community Dave! May your journey be fruitful.
We welcome David Dodge. David is the producer of Green Energy Futures, a series of more than 240 documentaries on clean energy leaders, projects and technologies from across Canada. You can see his documentaries at www.GreenEnergyFutures.ca and listen to his features weekly on CKUA Radio across Alberta.
David is the founding and former co-chair of Edmonton’s Energy Transition Advisory Committee and the founding & former chair of Energy Efficiency Alberta. David also produced 330 episodes of the award winning EcoFile Radio series on sustainability for CKUA Radio, has published two magazines and was production manager of Lone Pine Publishing. He has worked as a journalist and a photojournalist.Â
He’s a past president of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) and Evansdale Community League. He’s currently the Director of Sustainability at Evansdale where he carried out an energy efficiency retrofit and two solar projects that now produce 100% of the electricity for Evansdale on a net-annual basis. He is also an advisor to the Green Leagues program at the EFCL and a member of the EFCL 100th Anniversary Committee.
David is delighted to join us and looks forward to contributing to the development and growth of Wayfinders Business Cooperative and to offer his knowledge and expertise on energy use and urban environmental issues.
What I always enjoy most this time of year is the mirror of reflection that
turns to a window on the future. Its a time to measure and celebrate successes
and plan for new ones. Its a time to indulge in the memories of good times,
good works and good people. Its then time to project our best intentions and
plot their realization.
Wayfinders has been making great progress of late, thanks to a team of
committed people in their chosen land. I would like to thank them especially, for their contributions to our developing websites:
Darry Heuman and William Fritzberg
have provided a indispensable guidance and leadership through this effort.
Thanks to Dean Heuman and Focus Communication for the use of their meeting
space.
I’d like to thank my fellow board directors for their contributions and
guidance:
Thanks to great facilitation by Bill Moore-Kilganon
we now have a working strategic plan! We worked through the annual financial
statements and now our strategic plan is unfolding.
Thanks to Marie Gervais, Rena Chiovelli and Kirsha Campbell for preparing the important member survey, and Rena Chiovelli for helping with our FB Group and hosting our summer gathering. These are critical components of serving our member’s needs.
Summer Social Gathering at Rena’s home
Spring Mixer at Ricky’s All Day Grill
Leo at trade show booth at EREIC Connector event
Thank you to Fresia Pilquil and Paul Cheung for their
video productions. We can expect to see more of this coming soon.
Fantastic Cleaning LTD is a cleaning commercial Company which was founded in June, 2019 in Edmonton, Alberta. Their office is located on 16421 Stony plain Road. It is owned and operated by Michael Gilazghi and family. Their vision is to be an environmentally friendly company by cleaning commercial and residential spaces to foster healthy and happy communities. Michael provides customer focused, environmentally friendly cleaning services that ensure customers’ satisfactions.
Services | Fantastic cleaning operates on contractual basis with a range of customers. The main targets of its businesses are commercial & residential spaces. The company provides the following services: custodial cleaning; sanitation/disinfection cleaning; floor restoration/floor maintenance; floor matting/cleaning services; window cleaning; post-construction cleaning; pre/post-mobilization cleaning.
Michael and his family are delighted to join WBC and look forward to a mutually health & beneficial relationship.
For more information please contact: Michael Gilazghi, CEO
