These Are The 3 Small Businesses That Got An Extra $50K Each Thanks To Your Nominations
You nominated. Mazda donated. Here are their reactions.
You've heard it before: it’s never been more important to support local. Over the past 20 months, cities across the country have seen thousands of small businesses close their doors.
Canada's mom-and-pop stores, hip neighbourhood cafés, barbershops, restaurants and more have struggled for too long, and recently, Canadians got the opportunity to give their fave small businesses a little boost to the tune of $50,000.
Narcity readers were asked by Mazda to nominate "local legends" that they thought needed some support to continue to do what they do best.
And you delivered! Of the more than 4960 small businesses nominated, three were selected as the winners.
These small businesses across the nation received a $50,000 donation each from Mazda as part of the automaker's Local Legends campaign, made possible by you and your love for supporting your communities.
Narcity caught up with the winners to get their reactions to the great news.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
For This Regina-Based Salon, Obstacles Lead To Opportunities
Miyosiwin Salon, an Indigenous-led salon offering spa, hair and beauty services in Regina, Saskatchewan, faced adversity even before the pandemic pulled the rug out from under them.
In 2019, the salon's Broad Street location went up in flames after a neighbouring restaurant caught fire. Shortly after Miyosiwin Salon resumed services, COVID-19 stopped them in their tracks — making it one wild journey for founder Jennifer Dubois.
"The hard truth we had to accept was that permanent closure was something we needed to prepare for," Jennifer told Narcity.
Pivoting was the name of the game, and Jennifer stepped up with a revised business plan, an e-commerce store, speaking engagements as an Indigenous entrepreneur, and a new “bringing-the-service-to-you” format.
"Obstacles lead to opportunity if you keep a positive outlook and an open mind to new ways of doing business,” Jennifer shared, adding that asking for help and being surrounded by people who support you is key.
"This donation means more than words can express," said Jennifer.
"To know there is a program such as [the] Mazda Local Legends Program fills my heart with love and appreciation. We know the work we do mean so much more to our community and it only gives us more motivation and drive to keep striving for success!
"The financial support will help us continue offering services to our First Nation communities in the local Regina area."
Jennifer told Narcity that Miyosiwin Salon also plans to launch training and certification programs for Nation citizens with the help of Mazda's donation.
"It would be our hope that these participants create their own small businesses and/or we are able to provide them with certification so that they can begin a career in the salon industry, or even with us!"
Keeping The Fire Burning In St. John’s
Kaylen and Luke Janes are the proud owners of Firewood Factory, a Newfoundland-based family business that sources and supplies high-quality firewood in their region.
Since its launch in 2016, the business saw steady growth, Kaylen told Narcity, but when the pandemic hit, everything became uncertain.
"Business opportunities we were pursuing were suddenly paused, we had to lay off staff," she said.
"Summer firewood sales (for campfires, campgrounds) is typically an important big part of our business, but suddenly we were all being directed not to gather together.
"The classic Canadian activity of ‘enjoying time together around a campfire’ just wasn’t happening."
Seeing a trend emerging with Canadians stuck at home, the company pivoted to supplying gardening supplies, like topsoil and mulch, while working with a skeleton staff.
"Our family is so grateful to Mazda Canada for this support, and the broader community for nominating us as part of Mazda’s Local Legends campaign," said Kaylen.
"After two very uncertain and ‘lean’ years, we are excited to finally be able to invest in our business again."
The donation will go toward constructing a new storage facility that'll help Kaylen and Luke operate more efficiently and boost product quality.
To other struggling small-business owners out there, Kaylen shares that seeking opportunities to become involved and give back to their communities is essential to staying afloat during these uncertain times.
The Vegan Hummus Creators Putting Sudbury On The Map
Best-known for their line of hummus, Zaher's Small Batch is bringing their vegan foods (that are also nut and gluten free) to Canadians from their Sudbury, Ontario, restaurant and local grocery stores.
They'd just opened their own storefront in 2019, and business was doing great, with record sales and new stores carrying their products. The pandemic hit the company right in the middle of a period of incredible growth, owner Deke Zaher shared with Narcity.
"Like anybody else, we had no idea what was right around the corner!" he said.
Zaher's Small Batch relied heavily on social opportunities to spread the word about their products with fans and customers, like sharing samples, partnering with local events and running demo booths. When the pandemic hit, everything changed.
"We had to re-invent the company a couple of times over since, just to be able to survive up until today!" Deke told Narcity.
But the team never gave up. The Sudbury store opened for curbside pickup immediately, and Deke set to work inventing new products like the De-Constructed Falafel Box, which could feed four people for just $25, and a DIY-hummus kit.
Having always been community-oriented, Deke and the team are incredibly honoured to be nominated by their Sudbury fans and customers as a Mazda Local Legend.
Deke told Narcity that the money will help fund the testing and lab approvals they need to crack the puzzle of extending the shelf life of their all-natural products. Next, they're setting their sights on growing the business from local to provincial by summer, 2022.
As for advice, Deke is the ultimate hype man:
"You only live once so don’t be afraid to set that bar HIGH for yourself," he told Narcity.
"At the same time, be original, be yourself, be bold and don’t forget to enjoy the journey and process towards your destination! The time is now, go for it!"
If you want to see the power of community, you can't look past how Narcity readers came together to support their local legends all across Canada.
With the help of Mazda Canada, Canadians have truly made a difference for these small business owners, and that’s something everyone can all be proud of.