GULL LAKE, Alta. — The conversation is easy and relaxed like friends catching up. Laura Siebenga chats with a longtime customer who stops for eggs at Small Circle Foods and Retail, the store located on her and husband Cal’s 17-acre Brown Eggs and Lamb farm. “That’s a huge part of what this store is,” says […] Read more
Tag Archives rural entrepreneur
Couples falling in love with Willow Lane Wedding Barn
Once the dream of owning a cattle farm came true, the couple invested some of their profit into a building and planning project
OLDS, Alta. — Retired businessperson Fred Huizing feared his daughter and her husband were about to lose their farm. “He thought we were crazy,” Ken Holgerson says, describing his father-in-law and former employer’s reaction to his and Ria’s new plan. They were setting up financing to build Willow Lane Barn, a special-event building in which […] Read more
Couple creates thriving butcher shop
WESTLOCK, Alta. — A hunting blind that greets customers entering the Westlock Butcher Shop signals the time of year when wild game needs to be processed into steaks and sausages. “I’m surprised by the amount of walk-in traffic,” said owner Brian Mendieta. He opened the shop recently after he and his wife, Jen, outgrew the […] Read more
Program helps women start business
New Alberta program is designed to help rural women tackle challenges of financing and time management
A woman’s idea for a rural-based agri-food business may be excellent but seeing that idea come to fruition can be fraught with obstacles. She may be juggling many demands on the farm, such as machinery operation, child care, livestock care and an off-farm job. She might lack confidence in her business skills or would benefit […] Read more
Transforming clay makes potter’s day
After 13 years, pottery artist Jeffrey Taylor plans to give up his part-time job as a bus driver. He took on the job to earn extra cash after he began working out of the 85-year-old schoolhouse-turned-studio in Duval, Sask. “I can’t make pottery for eight hours a day and driving bus at 3 p.m. breaks […] Read more
