Amanda Jeffery, Free Press
A local business owner has been recognized by Alberta Women Entrepreneurs and was featured for their November blog.
Carmen Roberts-Kowalchuk first started her business four months ago, when she began operation of Willey West campground under the name of Elevated Experience Camping.
Previously, Roberts-Kowalchuk had a career in social work. When she decided she wanted to spend more time with her family she looked at the different options available. After a stay at Willey West, where she learned they were looking for a new operator, she decided that was the opportunity she was hoping for.
Roberts-Kowalchuk says she has taken courses with AWE for the last year in an attempt to brush up her business skills. “I’ve done a lot of their workshops on business planning and financial planning and marketing.”
Over time she has kept in touch with the group. She says that many people were quite fascinated with her decision to pick a campground as her business, mainly because it’s a seasonal business. “They’ve really just kept in touch with me and followed all of our social media,” she says.
In October, they reached out to Roberts-Kowalchuk saying that they wanted to feature her as their November woman entrepreneur. “I was really excited, especially because we really were only operational for four months.”
She says the fact that their business was considered over all of the other businesses run by women was an honour.
Roberts-Kowalchuk says she’s not a member of AWE, but she’s accessed their services and their programs. When forming the business, she says that she and her husband had decided the business should go under her name because there are more support systems in place for women who were starting businesses.
That was when she looked for the organizations to align with. “My background is social work, so I don’t have a business background in any way shape or form.”
She says working with AWE and other organizations like Business Link have helped her to feel confident in her business decisions.
Roberts-Kowalchuk says she recommends AWE for every woman, regardless of where you are in your business. She says things are constantly changing and it’s helpful to learn what the current trends are even if you have an established business.
“I would highly recommend it,” she says.
Another area that the organization can help with is stressing the importance of being in the business for the long haul. She says that at some of the events she can see that some people have misconceptions about what owning a business means, believing that they will work four days a week, four hours a day and just draw money whenever they need it.
“That information is invaluable, anytime I’ve gone to the workshops or done anything online, you can see that some people have an idea or want this startup, but you know the grit’s not going to be there,” she says.
She says that she believes those who access AWE courses and information will leave with a deeper understanding of what it means to be a business owner.
For Roberts-Kowalchuk one of the best pieces of advice she can offer to those looking to start their own business is to create a great team environment. She says while her business is seasonal and the employees are working at minimum wage, the number of employees who wish to return or remain a part of the campground by being members of the board, is high: five out of six of the employees are staying on.
She also aims to offer moments for her campers that go above and beyond what most expect. She says for example, last summer they would choose random campgrounds and leave carafes of coffee on their tables, just to give their guests something pleasant to wake up to.
“It’s the little things,” she says. “The appreciation and the gratitude that the staff were able to get out of that was amazing.”
