By: Craig Donaldson and Amber Sandhu
Amanda Sutton is a small business entrepreneur in Wasaga Beach, Ontario.
She is the proud owner of The Baker’s Bench. Sutton has transformed her passion for baking into a thriving small business. It is located in Wasaga’s Stonebridge Town Centre, just a stone’s throw from the beachfront. Her fresh baked goods attract locals and visitors alike.
Sutton is not alone in her entrepreneurial journey. Whether you are strolling down a city street or driving through a charming town, small businesses are everywhere you look.
“If you love what you do, you can be working for 12 hours a day and it wont feel like you’ve been working away all day,” Sutton said.
Defined by establishments with one to 99 employees by Statistics Canada, small businesses weave themselves into the fabric and culture of cities and towns across Canada.
In 2021, 8.2 million people in Canada were employed by small businesses. That’s 67.7 percent of Canada’s total private labour force. It’s not one part of the country. Their impact isn’t confined to a single city or single town either. In every province and every territory, they form the majority of businesses.
Baking up success
Amanda Sutton's Baker Bench is one small business that is growing and contributing to the local economy.
"At the end of my dad's street, there was a little takeout window and it had been closed for two years. I thought maybe I could see if I can get that spot and have my own commercial space... fast forward just under a year, I moved to the plaza and have been growing the menu one thing at a time."
Sutton went to George Brown College for Baking and Pastry Arts Management. She started her own bakery business, realizing her dream of becoming a small business owner and having a commercial kitchen for baking.
Amanda won the 2024 Female Entrepreneur award at the 2024 Wasaga Chamber of Commerce International Women’s Day event. Amanda is a strong champion of small business and women in business.
"Being a small business and working so hard, it can be tiring but getting recognized for your work makes you feel like you're pushing through and growing along the way."
Amanda hopes to inspire women across Canada to pursue their dreams and start their businesses.
"If you love what you do, you can be working for 12 hours a day and it won't feel like you've been working away all day. There are going to be tough days, but you just have to keep pushing... when it gets tough just look back to where you were a year ago and notice how much you've accomplished along the way. It's all worth it."
In Canada, only 16.8% of businesses are majority-owned by women.
Brian Smith, Mayor of Wasaga Beach, praised Amanda and her work ethic.
"She's a bright young lady, hard worker, but she's been very fortunate to have people around here that have been able to, you know, give her some of that, knowledge, failures and successes, and she listens," Mayor Smith said.
"And so her business is one of those businesses that I just love in the community, those small mom and pops, if you will."
In 2017, the town of Wasaga Beach released its downtown master plan. The plan lays out a vision for how the town of Wasaga Beach wants to redevelop its historic beachfront and downtown. Mayor Brian Smith hopes the redevelopment effort by the town will entice even more small businesses to come to Wasaga Beach and invest in the town and the community.
"I want to see shoe stores and ladieswear stores and menswear stores and, you know, music stores and bakeries and cafes, that open up onto a main street that is hustling and bustling with the locals. What we know is that if the locals love it and enjoy it, so will the tourists," Mayor Smith said.
"And we add to that the longest freshwater beach in the world and the greatest sunsets in the world, and we've got a perfect recipe for success. We just got to get out and get it done."
Wasaga Beach has a population of 25,000 people. Over the summertime, the town sees over two million visitors.
A huge part of the economy
Across the country, small businesses make up 97.9 percent of all businesses in Canada. That is a huge part of the Canadian economy.
The Bakers Bench is an example of a Canadian small business that is growing. But that success depends on local support, Amanda says.
"We need the support just as much if as if, if not more than the big box stores. They have more buying power so they can sell things for cheaper. But there's a lot more like community and culture in small business, and they make the town special," Sutton said.
According to Statistics Canada, between 2016 and 2020, small businesses' contribution to Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) was 50.3 percent on average in the goods-producing sector, and 47 percent in the services-producing sector.
Without small businesses, Canada would look a lot different. Small businesses are not just storefronts. They are dreams rising. And in this case, one freshly basked custard tart, cookie, or cake at a time.
Be the first to comment