Steele O'Neil & Associates
Basin Business Advocates Program
The Basin Business Advocates Program assists small and medium sized independent business operators in the Columbia Basin by providing free one-on-one confidential business counselling.
Business Advocates are experienced, successful business people who work one-on-one with businesses interested in being involved in this free program.
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| Deanne Monroe is the Advocate for the West Kootenay region | Will Nixon is the Advocate for the East Kootenay region |
Program Services
At a meeting between the Business Advocate and the business, it will be determined if the business could benefit from business counselling. If counselling is requested, the Business Advocate and the business owner work closely to prepare an Assessment of the business, define key issues, discuss solutions, and next steps.
If the client wishes to expand on the assessment by working with a consultant on one or more of the areas identified in the Assessment, a funding contribution may be available to support the cost of this specialized assistance.
Common Management Concerns and Program Themes:
- Improved Financial Planning
- Enhanced Communications, Systems Management
- More Effective Marketing Strategies
- Managing Costs, Pricing
- Human Resource Planning.
- Better Inventory Management.
- Succession Planning
Eligibility for Service
Businesses must be located within the Columbia Basin (call us if you're not sure if your business is included in this area) and must be established. Business Owners must be willing to provide information to the Advocate and commit the time needed to ensure that the counselling process is meaningful to the business.
Contact Information
- West Kootenay: Deanne Monroe: Phone 250-825-4171 Email: dmonroe-bba@shaw.ca
- East Kootenay: Will Nixon: Phone 250-427-2783 Email: wjnixon@xplornet.com
Downloads
- BBA Guidelines: Making the Lending Process Work.doc
- BBA Guidelines: Preparing a Sales Agreement.doc
- BBA Guidelines: Preparing a Financing Proposal.doc
- BBA Presentation: Basin Business Advocates Information_2008.ppt
The Columbia Basin Trust
The Basin Business Advocates Program is managed by Steele O'Neil and Associates, Inc. and funded by the Columbia Basin Trust. The Columbia Basin Trust is a regional Crown corporation created in 1995 to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin.
Columbia Basin Trust is a regionally based Crown corporation created in 1995 to deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. For information about the Columbia Basin Trust, visit http://www.cbt.org/