Are you a Wetaskiwin-based business owner/operator and have no idea where to start with re-opening your business?
You’re not alone, and the City’s economic development team has developed a guide to assist local businesses with navigating the realities of re-opening amidst COVID-19.
Titled ‘Your Business Partner,’ this resource guide – available online at wetaskiwin.ca/covid19 – outlines the Province’s requirements of businesses that plan to re-open. Provincial and federal business resources, safety management, and a relaunch consideration template are also covered in the document.
“We continue to work with our local business community and hope this guide helps to provide clarity on what businesses need to consider before re-opening,” said Candace Coughlan, Economic Development Manager with the City of Wetaskiwin. “While this has certainly been a difficult time for many local businesses, it has been heartening to see the community pull together and support the business community at large.”
This resource document is a component of the City’s economic resiliency strategy, which was developed by Coughlan earlier this year to help support local businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. General guidance and sector-specific guidance, planning for operations, and personal protective equipment considerations are also captured in the resource guide.
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“Working with local business owners and operators throughout this challenging time has been both humbling and inspiring,” said Coughlan. “I’ve heard the stories of their beginning; how they built their business out of dreams and elbow grease. It’s incredible to see their drive to thrive, and I hope this resource guide helps make that happen.”
Also included as a resource are a series of vibrant, accessible signs to be displayed in local business windows communicating one of five messages: now open, we’ll be back, shop online, open for take-out, or curbside pick-up. These have been created as downloadable PDFs for business owners to self-print on standard 8.5” x 11” paper.
Business owners are encouraged to visit www.wetaskiwin.ca/covid19 and find both the ‘Your Business Partner’ guide and the print-ready posters under the ‘Business Resources’ section of the online portal. The City’s economic development team can also be reached at