When Sundre businesses succeed, the entire municipality benefits, said a local entrepreneur.
"We find that when we market ourselves, we not only market our business but Sundre in general," said Kelly Brink, who owns and operates Rustlers Lodge with Kit, her husband of 12 years.
The couple, who have four girls under the age of 10, recently participated in the annual Growing Rural Tourism challenge, which was held Feb. 13-15 in Camrose.
"This challenge kind of showcased our business of course, but a lot of people asked about Sundre," Brink said recently during an interview with the Round Up.
"You not only talk about your business, but the whole area."
Having first attended the Growing Rural Tourism conference last year to get an idea about what the event offers, Brink said she was intrigued by the annual challenge and so decided to return this year as a participant.
Essentially an entrepreneurial challenge, the event ó which is organized in partnership with Travel Alberta ó offers rural business owners an opportunity to present a plan to grow their enterprise, she said.
"In our case, we wanted to propose a fully exclusive wedding package."
Although a variety of packages have previously been available at Rustlers ó including for example partnerships with other local businesses such as Otter Rafting Adventures ó Brink said the idea to make available a special offer for newlyweds or couples about to tie the knot had always been in the back of her mind.
To build their proposed business plan, winners receive support in the form of cash as well as assistance from a consultant. Placing third was basically just the icing on the cake for Brink.
"For me, the big thing was just sitting down and going through the process of building a proper business plan."
Of course a cash prize of $4,000 and guidance from a consultant will certainly provide some helpful outside-the-box perspective, she added.
"That was more what I was after ó a professional opinion."
With a background in tourism, Brink was also seeking a family-friendly business when she and Kit decided to become the owners and operators at Rustlers more than five years ago.
"I was looking for something that I could be at home with the kids and still work. I'm really enjoying the family business aspect."
Developing the property's full potential has been an enjoyable and exciting pursuit, and she said patronage has increased over the years but that every day is a work in progress.
Winning third place at this year's conference undoubtedly has a positive ripple effect for the whole town by generating interest in the municipality from people who might never have even heard of Sundre, or known what there is to do in the area, she said.
"The networking at such a conference is phenomenal."
The Brinks plan to return to the conference again next year, when they will outline the results of the new business plan they are now working to implement.
"I'm hoping that through this whole process, we can push Sundre a little bit more and ourselves a little bit more."
