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Business on the Point

Therapist sets up shop on the Point

A new arrival in Point Roberts, family therapist Emily Bouchard is offering classes at the local community center to help families learn tools to grow together rather than apart. “We chose Point Roberts for the people, the small community, the lack of traffic and the ability to make a difference,” she said.

Bouchard holds a master’s degree in social work and has founded Heartpath Family Coaching and StepHeroes, a support organization for families formed through second marriages. “My mission is to save one million second marriages,” she said. “Two out of three fail because no one is taught how to blend a family. The tools I have are incredibly effective for blended families so think how well they’ll work for families who don’t have those issues.” Bouchard’s website at www.blended-families.com offers online support, workshops, teleclasses and private coaching services.

In October Bouchard plans to offer a class on dealing with strong emotions which would run once a week over three weeks. Subsequent classes are planned looking at ways to deal with grief and loss and different learning styles. Those interested in attending should call Bouchard at 945-0250 or email stephero@pointroberts.net to indicate when they’d like to see the classes scheduled.

It’s a small world

Byron Velasquez has customers as far as California, even Thailand. Now he has a few in Point Roberts, where he’s relocated his web design and support business, Small World Tec, and expanded it to include computer technical support. “I just know computers,” he said.

Velasquez and his family moved to the Point in May from rural northern California to make his wife’s airline commutes a little easier. They chose the Point because it was close to a major population center but had a lot in common with the rural isolation they were leaving behind. “We saw Point Roberts and saw the solution,” he said.

A web site designer since the early 1990s, Velasquez not only creates new web sites for customers but offers maintenance service and hosting on his own servers. “Since I was in web design from the beginning and kept up with the learning curve I’ve kept busy,” he said.

At their home in Leggett Valley, Velasquez also ran the school system’s computers, taught technology classes and helped solve other local computer problems. “Out in the country you have to do everything, like here,” he said. For local customers he’s been doing everything from setting up networks to installing software and teaching customers to use it. As needed, he works at his home office or goes to a client’s location.

To make an appointment call 945-2810 or visit the web site at www.smallworldtech.com.

Help is here for beleaguered businesses

“We’ve got to grow the community ­ fix it up,” said Jeffrey Davis, and how he plans to grow the Point Roberts community is one business at a time.

Davis is running a new satellite office of the Western Washington University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) out of the Sterling Savings Bank office on Tyee Drive, one of eight the center has across the county. “We help businesses, one, thrive and two, grow and prosper,” he said. “We offer free, confidential, personalized business consultation and support.”

Davis is already meeting with clients in the Point Roberts office by appointment, and a wealth of materials is now available for pickup in the new SBDC office during bank hours, including marketing materials, business plan guides, small business planning tools and information on securing financing.

By scheduling an appointment with Davis, local business owners can get individual help with cost analysis, marketing strategies, developing policies and procedures, building a business plan or planning for growth and expansion. “Our emphasis is on existing small businesses but we can help with startups,” Davis said. “We help them with in-depth technical assistance.”

The SDBC also offers research services, analyzing industry trends, local, regional and national demographics, industry financial standards and new market channels. “We can help you measure your own results against the industry,” Davis said. The SBDC is operated by the Western Washington University’s College of Business and Economics in cooperation with the Small Business Administration, the Port of Bellingham, the city of Bellingham, the Bellingham/Whatcom County Chamber of Commerce and other local and regional partners.

Davis said he plans to attend the local chamber of commerce meetings but his role is not to work on community-wide economic planning or strategies. “Our business is to help the economy by helping one business at a time,” Davis said. “We have at some time seen 40 percent of the businesses in this county. Last year we helped create or save 366 jobs in Whatcom County. We also created capital investment of 8.9 million dollars for our clients.”

The satellite offices were put in place to help reach business owners for whom the trip to the Bellingham office was too much out of their workday. “Point Roberts is an underserved area,” Davis said. “It’s more difficult for them. It’s better if they can go into a local office and not spend time away from their business.”

Davis said the businesses he’s working with now on the Point show the potential richness of the local small business driven economy. “Everything up here is small but it runs the gamut,” he said. “I’m dealing with technical types, the artistic community, some retail and I’m starting to deal with manufacturing. A lot of people are choosing the lifestyle and doing their business over the internet.”

To book an appointment with Davis call the Bellingham office at 360/733-4014 or email him at Jeffrey.Davis@wwu.edu. The SDBC website at www.cbe.wwu.edu/sbdc also has more information on services they offer and business planning tools.

Time to expand?

If the results of a recent registered voter’s association poll are anything to go by, there seems to be a pent-up demand for longer hours and better service at the local post office.

Of 132 ballots returned, 104 respondents felt the post office should be remodeled or enlarged to better accommodate both commercial and private customers. Asked about window hours being extended to 5 p.m., 105 agreed while 22 people did not.

According to Mike Peters of the voter’s association, the U.S. Postal Service western Washington supervisor Les Stewart is planning a trip in early October to check out the situation. “We don’t have a problem with the hardworking and dedicated post staff but we have a unique situation here with all the Canadians coming down here to mail.”

Wilkowski resigns from chamber

At a special chamber board meeting held on September 10 Arthur Wilkowski resigned as president as well as from the board of directors.

In a prepared statement he said “I believe the chamber needs a lot of fundamental work to make it functional. I do not have the time available to dedicate to this endeavor. It would be best to find someone else to lead during that process.” He then went on to point out issues concerning how the chamber functions, such as member participation and membership value, and the chamber’s role in the Point Roberts economic development committee. He included recommendations for the directors to consider in the future.

The remaining chamber directors are Heather McPhee, Louise Mugar, Mark Furno, Angel Vredenburg and Tom Hollett. Terrie LaPorte was appointed at the September 10 meeting to fill Wilkowski’s seat. The next scheduled board of directors meeting will be Tuesday, September 30 at 7 p.m. at the community center. Any interested business people are encouraged to attend the meeting. The annual general meeting and election of officers is set for November 12 at the Marina Club.

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