Labrador StraitsBusiness & the Future in the Labrador Straits
Traditional businesses in the Labrador Straits, like much of rural Newfoundland and Labrador, were involved directly or indirectly with the fishery, or provided essential services and supplies to local people. Frequently, a business did both of these things. This situation has changed dramatically and will continue to do so in the years to come. The fishery today is markedly different from that of past decades, and it will be even more different in decades to come. The result is that the "business" of the fishery is no longer community-based; instead it has become a provincial, national, and even global matter. As our primary industry changes, so must our view of small business and entrepreneurship in rural communities.
The last two decades has seen an explosion of small business in the Labrador Straits. As recently as the 1970s small business in the region consisted of a handful of enterprises offering a limited range of services to local residents. In comparison, the business community of 1997 offers a vastly expanded range of services to local residents and visitors alike. New products are produced for local consumption and export in ways that would have been unfathomable in the 1970s, such as computer-aided embroidery and mass-manufactured wood mouldings. It is these sorts of new enterprises that hold a key for future business in the Labrador Straits.
As a participant in the process of regional economic development, the business community in our region must focus primarily on production for revenue generation. In the future we must focus attention on creating products and services which bring new dollars to the region or which decrease the dollars exported from the region, instead of merely recycling the revenues which exist here. New and increased revenues can be attained in several ways: by producing goods for export, by producing goods for local consumption to substitute for imported goods; by increasing tourism visitation to the region.
To accomplish this requires a very different way of viewing small business (new at least for traditional rural communities). It also requires a strong, cohesive and mutually supportive business community. During the past two decades the Labrador Straits has made significant strides in this direction, yet much remains to be done. The objectives outlined in this plan will help build that strong and vibrant business community, a community that is able to envision, develop and act upon new business ideas and new approaches to regional businesses partnerships.
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An extract from: A Plan for the Business Community of the Labrador Straits
Doug Robbins
July 1997
The last two decades has seen an explosion of small business in the Labrador Straits. As recently as the 1970s small business in the region consisted of a handful of enterprises offering a limited range of services to local residents. In comparison, the business community of 1997 offers a vastly expanded range of services to local residents and visitors alike. New products are produced for local consumption and export in ways that would have been unfathomable in the 1970s, such as computer-aided embroidery and mass-manufactured wood mouldings. It is these sorts of new enterprises that hold a key for future business in the Labrador Straits.
As a participant in the process of regional economic development, the business community in our region must focus primarily on production for revenue generation. In the future we must focus attention on creating products and services which bring new dollars to the region or which decrease the dollars exported from the region, instead of merely recycling the revenues which exist here. New and increased revenues can be attained in several ways: by producing goods for export, by producing goods for local consumption to substitute for imported goods; by increasing tourism visitation to the region.
To accomplish this requires a very different way of viewing small business (new at least for traditional rural communities). It also requires a strong, cohesive and mutually supportive business community. During the past two decades the Labrador Straits has made significant strides in this direction, yet much remains to be done. The objectives outlined in this plan will help build that strong and vibrant business community, a community that is able to envision, develop and act upon new business ideas and new approaches to regional businesses partnerships.
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An extract from: A Plan for the Business Community of the Labrador Straits
Doug Robbins
July 1997