Reduce regulatory burdens.
That's just one piece of advice that B.C.'s Small Business Roundtable offered the Province of British Columbia in its sixth annual report to government, which was published earlier this month.
The roundtable, of which Whistler entrepreneur Sue Adams is a member, was established in 2005 in order to provide British Columbia's small businesses with a direct path to government by engaging in regular dialogue and developing recommendations on how to enhance's B.C.'s small business climate.
The roundtable asks the province in one recommendation to continue reducing regulatory burdens on small businesses. It said the province can do this by recognizing other governments for their own efforts to reduce regulations.
The roundtable also recommended that the province assist other government levels to continue to implement regulatory reduction through programs like BizPaL, an online tool that entrepreneurs can go to in order to figure out which regulations they'll have to satisfy to start a business. Whistler adopted BizPaL in 2008.
Other recommendations included enhancing the "entrepreneurial culture" in British Columbia. That would mean continuing to raise the profile of small businesses and their contributions to provincial and community economies through Small Business Month, as well as expanding mentorship programs for new entrepreneurs.
The roundtable also recommended that the province focus on factors that stimulate small business growth, such as expanding businesses' international markets by having them play a big role in international trade outreach activities.
