Cali Bernard founder of Butter Me Up Co speaks about her success with the ShopHere powered by Google initiative ( Colton Mckee/ CHAT News)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Local small businesses see growth thanks to ShopHERE program

Sep 25, 2020 | 6:19 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Cali Bernard, owner and founder of Butter Me Up co checks her list of orders and begins packing. Body butters, soaps, face masks, and an array of bath and home products each get delicately packed and ready to ship for new customers.

For Bernard, unlike the cloudiness the pandemic has painted for many small businesses, her business has actually grown, going from selling products at the Medicine Hat and District Farmer’s market to customers around the country.

“Since my launch date September 1 we’ve shipped to Manitoba, we’ve shipped to Saskatchewan, we’ve shipped to PEI, we’ve shipped to Ontario, British Columbia,” she said.

The ability to expand her business was made possible thanks to the ShopHere powered by Google initiative, which was announced by the city in July.

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In May, Google announced a $1 million investment towards the program which allows more businesses the opportunity to build their own online store. The City of Medicine Hat became the second municipality outside of Ontario to launch the program as a way to help local businesses navigate COVID-19.

“People literally couldn’t visit their local stores, and our stores they need to survive. These are mom and pop’s that need the support of the community to continue to do business. Getting online just allowed them to pivot and look at new opportunities to sell their products to people in Medicine Hat to people in the province, and to people across the world,” Keli Ireland, marketing specialist with Invest Medicine Hat said.

Since launching in July, 77 Medicine Hat businesses have taken advantage of the program. The initiative pairs business owners with a web development student, who provides the business owner with support and constructs a website equipped with an online store.

“I applied right away. It took no time. They got back to me, approved me in a matter of days, hooked me up with my student who helped me build my website and it’s been great,” Bernard said.

The program also allowed her to hire a professional photographer, through the Business Innovation Grant to make her products stand out. When asked where her business would be without the program, Bernard said it wouldn’t be as strong as it is today.

“ I would of had to take a huge step back. I would have been very dormant probably in my business this year, just not being able to do markets, that’s probably 50 per cent of what our income was,” she said.

With the exception of website hosting, the program comes at no cost to local business owners, which for many navigating the uncertainty of COVID-19 is a huge relief.

“Being able to apply for a program like this and be able to go online so easily, and have that extra money invested in their business from another source, not their own bank accounts is a really big deal. I think it has helped a lot of people not only make it through COVID-19, and the challenges that come with it but also flourish in that same aspect, ” Bernard said.

The initiative is not just for traditional businesses selling products. The Medicine Hat & District Food bank is also taking advantage of the program as a way to raise donations.

“Certainly we were excited to hear about an opportunity to sell our services a little differently, and so what we’ve done is packaged it up on our website so we can buy a program, we can buy a crockpot, you can buy a deep freeze through this Shopify program,” Celina Symmonds executive director of the Medicine Hat & District Foodbank said.

As for Bernard, with new professional photos, and her website up and running, she’s continuing to focus on growth.

Businesses interested in applying for the ShopHere powered by Google initiative can do so online at ApexAlberta.ca/Shophere.