Ian Simmons, co-owner of Kool Breeze Farms, brought the message of their success to the Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce kick-off to Small Business Week.
Incorporated in 1990, the business caters to the general public, wholesale and the landscape industry on Prince Edward Island.
Started as a hobby back in 1986, the company has come a long way.
"Last year we just finished building our 15th greenhouse," Simmons said. "As time has gone, we've added more products. Consumers have asked us for certain products. We've brought products into the market. It's really challenging because you need to find the right products to sell in Summerside and P.E.I. and you also need to make sure that the products you have are actually selling."
Along with a large variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, shrubs, trees and other landscape items, Kool Breeze Farms is also involved in offering Christmas decorations, snow removal and real estate.
"We're trying to fill in all the gaps as the seasons come," he said.
Two of the most popular undertakings at Kool Breeze Farms are a corn maze and scarecrow contest.
One of the progressive moves that has been made at Kool Breeze Farms is the installation of a wind turbine to generate power.
"Since 2008, we've got a rolling average of about 6,300 kilowatts of power per month," Simmons said. "It looks after about half of production. When we put it up originally it looked after about 70 per cent but due to the fact we've expanded some of our operations we now use more power."
Plans are underway to erect a second wind turbine at the business with the goal of producing all of the power needed to run the operation.
MESSAGE DELIVERED
Simmons took the opportunity to deliver a message to all three levels of government - make sure the decisions made by politicians consider the impact they have on small business.
"We work hard in our business every day to make sure that we're a little bit better than we were the day before, a little bit smarter in what we're doing," Simmons said. "It's just a message to the municipal, the provincial and the federal (governments) to make sure they look at all their options."
Simmons said there were no specific issues he was looking for in his remarks but rather to put the message out in general terms.
"They have to understand that the decisions that they make affect small business, when they affect small business they affect the local economy as well," he said. Generally, the concerns that we always have are anything that might affect taxes, or fees. Or inspection fees there are all kinds of things. It's really unlimited."
"Go and register a house," he said. "It costs you hundreds of dollars to register a house. It costs you so many dollars in transfer costs. There are all these fees that are there. If those fees weren't there the ordinary consumer and the small business would have more money to invest in the local economy. I think that every politician should make sure that they're talking to small business and find out what is happening in their business."
Journal Pioneer
