Small firm operators loved business conference

Two local guys who operate a small startup firm in Olds say they enjoyed an entrepreneurs' conference in Olds and would gladly go to another one.

Dan Kemmere and Tyson Gardner run TyKem Electric Ltd.

When the firm started up about two and a half years ago, Kemmere was its only worker. Now it has three, including Gardner.

Kemmere explains why they attended the POWER UP! Conference, held March 29 at the Pomeroy Inn & Suites.

"We just thought it would be a good chance to kind of gain some knowledge from some of the speakers and stuff like that - see what we could take away from them, both good and bad," he says.

Gardner says they were impressed with what they heard.

"I think that the keynotes especially were really good. It's always good as a startup company to hear from basically success stories that are doing really well," he says.

"It's kind of twofold for us too I think because not only was the conference itself good, it was also good to network and meet with other business owners and other people in the community that are around."

Gardner says one very useful piece of information he gleaned was how to manage company growth in a small community like Olds. He also attended a session on how to manage human resources (employees).

He says he obtained another piece of advice via the conference: focus on the vision for your company and where you want to take it instead of getting bogged down in the day-to-day running of the firm.

Kemmere says he'd attend another such conference for sure.

"I think if you think you have all the knowledge you need, then you're kind of in the wrong headspace already," he says.

"So if another one were to happen, then I'd definitely promote it and go again, just because I think any time you have something in this area, like pretty local to Olds and area, then you might as well take advantage of it."

Kemmere notes some of the speakers at the conference run businesses that are successful internationally.