New Westminster is the third best community for small business startups, according to a Vancity report.
The financial institution reviewed 17 municipalities in Metro Vancouver and analyzed seven factors that contribute to entrepreneurial success. They include a thriving market, reliable transportation, cost of doing business, supply chains, personal cost of living, personal support and a cultural entrepreneurialism.
Vancity spokesperson Christine Bergeron told the Record one of the factors that put the Royal City in the top three was access to population.
"Obviously there's a dense footprint in New West, and also the cost of doing business scored quite well," she says. "Everything from business licences, vacancy rates to municipal fees."
Bergeron added the city also topped the rankings for affordable housing, which translates into entrepreneurs being able to live and work in the same area. The average sale price for a home in New West in 2014 was $425,365 (The City of Langley had the lowest cost at $316,016).
Asked if she expects affordability to change over the next decade, Bergeron couldn't say.
"I think that the real estate trends are beyond this particular report. If you're an entrepreneur and you have a good plan, and you know your target market and you're well prepared, you can still thrive no matter where you are," she said.
Other tips for small business success, Bergeron added, include not rushing into things too quickly and using monetary resources wisely.
Tylan Fraser, co-partner of Rain City Juicery on Front Street, which is scheduled to open soon, told the Record New Westminster was definitely the ideal location for their startup.
"We had a lot of options in regards to fixer-uppers and a lot of potential places that needed lipstick and makeup to meet the requirements needed to get a health permit," he said.
Fraser, who's about a five-minute drive away from the juicery, is looking forward to the short commutes.
"What you plan on doing never really happens that way. There’s always things that get added on. ... It's easier to buzz home and back," he added.
The report, titled Open for Business: the top cities to start up a small business in Metro Vancouver, listed Surrey as No. 1, followed by Richmond. The bottom five ranking municipalities were Vancouver, Port Moody, the District of North Vancouver, White Rock and West Vancouver.
The report found small businesses (under 50 employees) in B.C. represent about 98 per cent of all businesses in the province.
"That's a huge driver overall for a healthy community. It provides economic diversity that a couple of large industries don't always do, and so it helps us be a bit more resilient when there's a downturn," Bergeron said.
There were 2,179 self-employed businesses with no paid help in New West in 2014, and 1,992 businesses with under 50 employees. That’s a 2.3 per cent increase when compared to the previous year.
