Mike Wignall - Westbrook Consulting - Small Business Testimonial

Listen to a brief testimonial to the Small Business Sector by Mike Wignall, Partner with Westbrook Consulting. Mike was a guest on today's (October 5th) Facebook Live session with Kelly Darwin, Liberal Candidate for Langford - Juan de Fuca. 

Kelly is a Small Business advocate for the Westshore. 

Westshore Business Corridor - an in-depth discussion with Colwood Mayor Rob Martin, Citified Media CEO Mike Kozakowski and Langford Acting Mayor & Councillor Matt Sahlstrom

Colwood Mayor Rob Martin (5:57 - 24:50)

- families are attracted to the Westshore…"the place to be"

- Colwood's focus is on creating prosperity in the household…i.e., household wealth

1. Housing affordability
2. business support, especially small business

- Development activity:

1. Wale Road "hole" - 147 affordable housing units
2. Colwood Corners Corridor
3. Royal Bay - 2100 residents / 300,000 sq ft commercial 40,000 sq ft supermarket / 10,000 sq ft Day-care
4. within the next 5 years we'll see a billion dollars of development spending between all the numerous Royal Bay projects
5. Rob reviews how Colwood can help the region in total
6. Olympic View, Allendal District and Colwood Corners round out the balance of developments that will generate $2.5 Billion in development activity

Read the rest of this entry »

A fun chat with V2V Black Hops Brewery CEO Graham Hafey about their great beers!

What a totally fun podcast Kelly Darwin and I had with Graham Hafey, CEO of V2V Black Hops Brewing Company. We had an in-depth discussion about the 8 fabulous taps at V2V. The top 3 sellers are: 

#1 - Brig Blond Ale

#2 - Sea King IPA

#3 - Victory Ale 

Other taps include the Langford Lager, the Nigh Shift Dunkel, the Gunpowder Stout, Barley Wine and Fire Hose Gose. We briefly chat about V2V's extraordinary growth in Alberta! We can't wait to chat again soon.

Graham Hafey - CEO, V2V Black Hops Brewing Company

We chatted with Graham Hafey, CEO V2V Black Hops Brewing Company.

• we review the background business objectives to V2V Black Hops brewing
• we chat about the myriad of V2V products (8 beers on tap) and the motivation behind the beer themes
• outdoor patio is open...we chat about re-opening strategies & psychological impact of customers re-initiating demand & their buying environment (must be safe)
  • live music entertainment planned
  • military movie nights 
• we review Graham's overview of the Westshore hospitality business
• Graham reviews his charity oriented business model
  • we review government business subsidy programs

Re-union show with Mike Wignall, Owner, Westbrook Consulting

We review the Westshore economy with a Langford based Civil Engineering leader (https://www.wbrook.ca/): 

• they are busier than ever / construction is busier than ever
• reviewing their digital office transformation (ZOOM, Microsoft Teams)
  • we review implementation protocols…brand new skills have been learned…a draft team meeting etiquette has been created
  • amazed at the staff productivity from home, but healthy, creative banter is missing…team morale could be impacted…we chat about staff coffees at Timmy's - can they be replaced online?
  • "only as strong as your staff" - look after them…Mike talks examples
  • a new workplace might remain hybrid (home & office)
• business in Langford hasn't stopped
• revenue has increased for many companies, including Westbrook

SOHO Summitt - Martin Newham, Membership Ambassador, Westshore Chamber of Commerce

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin​ & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Read the rest of this entry »

SOHO Summitt - Humaira Ahmed - CEO Locelle

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin​ & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge​ for your vision and organization! We listen to the amazing Humaira Ahmed, CEO of Locelle.

SOHO Summitt - Linda Mackie Photography

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin​ & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge​ for your vision and organization! We listen to the amazing services being provided by Linda Mackie, conference photography.

SOHO Summitt - Jessica Woollard & Daphne Wood - Greater Victoria Public Library

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin​ & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge​ for your vision and organization! We listen to the amazing stories being provided by Jessica Woollard & Daphne Wood from the Greater Victoria Public Library. 

SOHO Summitt - Ingrid Vaughan - Leadership Coach

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin​ & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge​ for your vision and organization! We listen to the amazing services being provided by Ingrid Vaughan, Leadership Coach.

SOHO Summitt - Alexandra Dawes - Virtual CFO

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin​ & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge​ for your vision and organization! We listen to the amazing services being provided by Alexandra Dawes of www.Virtualcfo.ca!

SOHO Summitt - Julie Lawlor

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge for your vision and organization! We listen to the amazing services being provided by the Westshore Chamber of Commerce & ED Julie Lawlor!

SOHO Summitt - Nicole Bentham - Victoria Buzz

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge for your vision and organization! We listen to the amazing services being provided by Nicole Bentham @ Victoria Buzz!

SOHO Summitt - Brand 2 Sales.com

#SOHOsummitt - Kelly Darwin​ & I are broadcasting from the amazing SOHO Summitt in the glorious Elements Casino in View Royal - celebrating small business! Thanks to Chris Burdge​ for your vision and organization!

This episode highlights the guys from www.brand2sales.com!

SOHO Summitt - Kris & Bria - Monk Office

Welcome to our initial podcast from the very exciting SOHO Conferencde...many more to come. 

SOHO Summit 2019 - The most profitable day you’ll have all year

This week John (Harbour Digital Media) & Kelly (Seriously Creative) sit down with Chris Burdge from SOHO Summit to talk about the challenges facing Small OfficeHome Office businesses, entrepreneurs and nuances of employing Millennials. Read the rest of this entry »

Ocean Dennie - Coastal Offices

Why are there 40ish companies currently leasing at the shared office spaces located at Coastal Offices? That's more than most, if not all, of all the shared office spaces in Lower Vancouver Island...why do companies like doing business in the Westshore? Hear more from Ocean Dennie, office manager with Coastal Offices.  

Business in the Westshore with Mike Wignall of Westbrook Consulting Ltd.

Welcome to our first episode of our new series on Business in the Westshore. Its our goal to highlight local businesses, talk about the challenges business owners in the Westshore face and generally discuss what is happening and how are the small business in our community. Read the rest of this entry »