Small business week ends with just desserts
How I stirred things up at the end of small business week in Calgary
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge champion of small business.
If you own a small to medium business, I will be your champion, your cheerleader and your supporter. I have spent the last 7 years teaching my kids the value of shopping small, and tonight, they got to witness that in practice.
As part of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce‘s small business week events, I had the opportunity to visit Fiasco Gelato, tour their modest facility and taste some freshly made gelato and sorbetto.
The energy in the office and kitchen was fantastic: the night before, Fiasco Gelato won Breakout Business of the Year. Well-deserved and honestly-earned. The company has a great story, and James Boettcher is happy to tell it. To me, James embodies all that is amazing about entrepreneurship: self-deprecation, gratitude to the team, and listening to the clients.
It’s a small company still, with expanding revenues. Fiasco Gelato sells more than $1 million in frozen treats every year – a remarkable feat for a two-truck, one retail location company in a city that has winter for 6 months (James says).
But here’s the lessons my kids learned.
1) That you can own a successful business and still get excited when a 9-year-old loves the same flavour you do.
2) That when you love your business, you will eagerly answer any and all questions because you want to share, not boast. And when someone asks you to talk about your failure, you do so with a smile.
3) That being an entrepreneur means trying a lot of different things, learning from the mistakes, and putting in a lot of hours in sweat, stress and DIY projects.
and 4) That when you buy from a small business, there is a very good chance the owner will thank you, give you a high five and tell you to drop by anytime.
And in the case of Fiasco Gelato, James really means it.