February 3, 2022

Wishing you the happiest holiday season

What’s your Passion? – February is the Month of Love & Passion!

Do you get up every day and say “I Love what I do?” If you do then you are on the right track. We’ve all had jobs, careers or tasks in life we didn’t like but had to do. Yet what if we got to do every day what we are really passionate about? What would that look like?

Do you remember when you were a kid and you had that School Memories book, and each year you checked off what you wanted to be when you grew up? An astronaut, baseball player, a rock band singer or even a doctor. Are you doing what you dreamed of all those years ago? Maybe, maybe not, but those dreams and passion are still within you. Are you following that dream or passion now?

Sometimes it’s hard to make a living from our passions but that shouldn’t stop us from dreaming. It’s never too late to find that dream job or fulfil that passion you have inside.

Most entrepreneurs are living out their dreams and doing what they are passionate about because they created it and made it happen!

How do we find our passion? What motivates us and gives us that sense of Success?

Are you working at what you love?

Here is an article that may help you discover your passion!

How To Find Your Passion in 13 Steps (and Why It Matters)

Find something that you are naturally good at, find out how to make a living at it. - Judge Judy

- Written by Deanna Weder

Water Smart Business Grant could save businesses $1000s

Book a visit!

The new Water Smart Business Grant for the commercial, industrial and institutional sector allows businesses to apply for money toward indoor and outdoor water-conservation projects and upgrades. It’s got $40,000 annually to help businesses invest in water-conserving projects.

Not only can a business get up to $10,000 back on the cost of the initial installation for these projects, but you’ll also see savings on every utility bill for years to come. So it’s really doubling down on the savings!

There are indoor and outdoor projects that are eligible. As an example, not only does the indoor water project category cover upgrading to low-flow toilets, faucets and showerheads, but it also covers the cost of other things like an ENERGY STAR qualified ice machine. So a restaurant could not only save the cost to purchase the machine, but also save upwards of an estimated $4,000 a year on their water bill! Deadline to apply is March 31st!

Learn more

Book a visit!

In small towns like Okotoks, the general store provided many necessities of daily life. Wentworth's, for instance, carried "everything from china to dry goods to groceries to hardware to writing paper and tricycles." In an age before modern refrigeration, ice cut from the Sheep River was stored in sawdust in the "ice house" and was then made available for sale.

The shopping experience was quite different from what most of us are used to today: A customer would present their shopping list to a clerk at the counter, who would then gather it up for the customer. This was an intense social experience, and Jack Wentworth claimed to know 75 percent of his customers by their first name. An article about Wentworth's from 1961 waxed nostalgic about the decline of this style of shopping in favour of the customer wandering up and down the aisles: "You realize how anti-social the shopping cart is once you get inside and look along its 140-foot shelf-bordered length, with five employees bustling about between counters."

Did you know?

  1. Process improvements at the Town over the past three years have resulted in:
  • Reduction in average response time for business license inquiries by 66%
  • Reduction in average processing time for business use development permits by 58%
  1. Policy and regulatory changes over the past two years have resulted in:
  • Reduction in the proportion of new businesses required to obtain a development permit prior to business licensing from 15% to less than 4%
  1. The Town has initiated an Industrial Tax Incentive policy for the construction of new, employment and tax-generating industrial buildings in Okotoks
  1. The Town will be launching a new e-Permitting system by mid-2022 to further improve convenience, processes and timelines for applicants.

News

Town Seeking Input on Ethel Tucker Centennial Park Play Space

In 2020, as an element of the Town’s Arts and Learning Campus project and in alignment with the Town’s commitment to providing quality infrastructure, Okotoks Town Council approved a play space to be installed at Ether Tucker Centennial Park, located near the former public library building in downtown Okotoks. Construction of the play space is expected to occur this summer.

Learn more and take the survey

RCMP Operation Cold Start has begun in Okotoks

Operation Cold Start has begun and is running until February 7. RCMP will be checking for unattended idling vehicles within the community. The objectives of this initiative is to proactively seek out idling vehicles left unattended and make contact with the owner to provide education on risks associated with leaving vehicles idling. This initiative supports the idle-free Bylaw 18-15 to limit excessive idling in Okotoks.

Read more

Upcoming Events

Biz after 5 - Black & White Bookkeeping

February 24, 5:00 p.m.

Attendance is FREE!

Location: 26 Crystal Ridge Drive

Join the Biz after 5 event at Black & White Bookkeeping's new location!

Event information

Digital Economy Program - Level Up Series: Email Marketing

February 10, 1:00 p.m.

Registration: FREE!

The Digital Economy Program is offering a FREE marketing learning series hosted by Kelly Doody from Social School!                                                   

Register to attend

Business Support Programs and Resources

Join the Business Visitation Program

Your Business Matters!!!

This program has been developed to support your business as an integral part of the Community Growth and Investment (CGI) framework. Request an in-person or a virtual visit to help you improve! All businesses are invited, Department store, store-front or home-based. If your business is operating within Okotoks, CGI is here to assist.

As we learn about your business, think about your unique story. Why did you locate your business in Okotoks? What makes you stay? How can we help you grow?

Contact us to book a visit

Local Business Success Stories

The Town of Okotoks wants to create more opportunities for the Okotoks community to celebrate our local businesses! Through the Success Stories project, we aim to showcase our flourishing business sector and all their great offerings.

If you are a business owner and would like to participate in the Success Stories Initiative, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Community Growth and Investment team.

Learn more and participate

Get connected with a Social Check-In!

The Social Check-In program connects residents with someone to talk to and helps create regular social interactions. You can sign up for a casual chat over phone, text, video chat or email from one of the Town’s caring volunteers, who have been screened and undergone a police security check.

Whether you want to hear a friendly voice a few times a week or a few times a month, the Social Check-In program is a great way to get social support that fits your needs, at your convenience. This program is for all residents of Okotoks.

Learn more & sign up

Submit your event with the Town

Are you organizing an event or webinar you want to share with the public?

If your business is in Okotoks, we can help you spread the word. Submit your event and we'll list it on the Town's business events webpage.

Submit an Event

New businesses in Town

New Business Listings

The Town of Okotoks is thrilled to welcome the following new businesses to Town:

Homebased:

  • The Headwater Collective – Art & photograpy
  • Taym – Hair extensions, retail hair products
  • True North Holistic Healing – Biodynamic cranial sacral treatment
  • Puncturesafe Canada Inc – Biodegradable sealant for tires
  • Windy Pines Ltd. – Snow removal, landscape, underground sprinklers
  • Hands For Feet- Professional Footcare – Home footcare service

Storefront:

  • Spotted Sage – Sales of crystals, beads, incense & dried herbs
  • Bliss Box Gifts – Gift boxes
  • Foothills Family Counselling – Family counselling service

You can find more information on these new businesses as well as many others at our online business directory.

Did you know that the online business directory is a full list of all Okotoks businesses that have chosen to be included. The Business Directory is another helpful resource for sourcing companies, products, services and expertise located in the Town of Okotoks. Check it out!

Online business directory

Town Information

Council meetings
COVID-19 updates
Business Events
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