Small business owners, service club representatives, councillors and township staff joined Mayor Neil Driscoll for the inaugural Mapleton Mayor’s Breakfast at the Alma Community Centre on March 25.
Driscoll spoke briefly on the open communications promise that was made during the 2014 election.
“The ‘Who cares, they don’t really listen,’ is the mentality that needs to be changed and the current Mapleton council is in the process of changing this,” Driscoll stated.
Business development and marketing coordinator Crystal Ellis provided an overview of the new township “brand,” its user-friendly, informative website and the recently-released township guide.
Guest speaker Harold DeVries, a small business advisor with the Guelph-Wellington Business Enterprise Centre, explained the centre’s function. The ultimate goal of the centre is to help new and current small businesses find the optimum path for their individual businesses. Each advisor helps small businesses launch and grow through training and teaching over a 42-week program. In the past year, the business centre has provided 3,400 free consultations.
DeVries said, “Strategic planning begins with a starting point and ends with a destination. Research is an important factor in the survival of a business.”
DeVries stressed business owners should always talk to their customers, ask questions and listen to the responses. Choose an optimum route but don’t be afraid to change, he suggested. Change is inevitable and necessary for business growth, he pointed out.
“Of all the businesses in Canada today, 98.2 per cent are small businesses with less than 100 employees. Seventy-eight per cent of small businesses in Wellington County have fewer than 10 employees. Every dollar in a small business is turned over seven times in the community. Small business is an important part of the economy of Mapleton Township,” DeVries stated.
He suggested anyone in small business or contemplating starting a new business venture would find the centre in Guelph helpful. The staff is more than happy to answer any questions and provide information, he said.
Driscoll took the podium and provided a future outlook that he foresees for Mapleton Township.
“Building for a Better Tomorrow Today” is council’s focus, he said. Driscoll noted grants from upper levels of government are diminishing, causing the township to aggressively change its outlook in the current budget. A five-year plan on infrastructure, 20-year equipment plan and a municipal plan are being undertaken by council, Driscoll said.
He also discussed plans to bring the township’s public works shops into one yard at the administration centre property on Sideroad 16, making services more efficient and cost effective. The County of Wellington will also build a new state-of-the-art public works facility at the Peel yard property. The lifespan of the facility is expected to be 50 to 60 years.
“The township needs to be responsible and accountable. Tax payers will see that reflected in the current council’s decision making,” Driscoll said.
