COLLABORATION BENEFITS THE SMALL BUSINESS

Something we often hear—and say—when talking about Campbell River’s business community is how incredibly supportive it is. When Christine Lilyholm, owner of Stonehouse Teas, reached out to suggest an article on this very topic, we took the opportunity to speak with her about how collaboration benefits her business and what she feels it can do for others.

Christine is an established Campbell River entrepreneur, having lived and worked here since 1996, except for a short leave of two years.

“Having options for ocean, mountains and forests right at my fingertips is what I love,” she said when asked what drew her here, noting that she enjoys the community’s recreational activities and amenities as well. “I also love the community feel. Since being an entrepreneur and a downtown business, I feel very grounded in my community. I love knowing my ‘neighbours’ and customers becoming friends.”

Christine approaches business with a collaboration-not-competition mindset. Customers are often surprised she allows them to bring in food and beverages from other businesses when making a purchase at Stonehouse, for example.

Small Business BC wrote about the benefits of business owners working as partners rather than competitors in their article, “How Small Businesses Can Work Together for Better Results.” They explained that joining forces can help small businesses “harness the power of the community and grow together.”

“For us, this is common practice, and it’s great to see our customers supporting other businesses in our community,” Christine said. “We can’t be everything to everyone, so we are happy to be part of people’s day.”

“I would love to see the food and beverage industry follow the leads of some of our tourism industries, like whale watching companies,” she added. “When there are whales in the area, they tell everyone on the radio, they share their knowledge. Now imagine restaurants or even coffee shops working together. We are not fighting for customers; we are making sure customers have options.”

Christine also makes a point of building local businesses into her supply chain, which supports the growth and diversification of locally produced goods.

“I love being a business that has local products for my customers,” she enthused. “For years, we have carried local coffee roasted on Quadra Island. We source local honey and chocolate bars. We have RavenSong make us custom tea soaps and Beach Fire Brewing Company makes tea beers. Recently, we have teamed up with a local photographer to design mugs and tea postcards. I am always looking to what other products (related to coffee and tea) are local that we can carry.”

To the surprise of her customers, Christine has even been spotted at other downtown shops, like Freyja: the Croissant Story.

“I was at Freyja grabbing a delicious croissant and a coffee, and I ran into a few of my customers,” she recounted. “I said ‘hello’ and how much I enjoyed a croissant as a treat. Then they told me that they will come to Stonehouse next time, which made me laugh and say, ‘glad to see you supporting all local businesses.’”

Emese Tóth-Harasztos co-owns Freyja with her husband, Géza. They moved to Campbell River from Hungary, with Emese writing in a recent issue of Strathcona Collective magazine that they were attracted in part by the spectacular natural setting and the people—the same things that drew Christine here.

Emese told us that Christine’s support “has been a big help” to her and Géza as they establish their business.

“I love supporting entrepreneurs, especially new start-ups or new businesses,” Christine explained. “I am happy to share some of my challenges and what tools I have used to overcome them.”

Christine especially enjoys discussing staff recruitment and training. In spring 2022, she was one of the keynote speakers at the City of Campbell River’s Modern Entrepreneur at the 50th Parallel Speaker Series about workforce recruitment and retention. If you missed this fantastic series, not to worry! Recordings are available online, so you can still benefit from the keen insights of all our expert guests.

Emese also told us that she and Christine share a common vision for Campbell River’s downtown core. When asked, Christine explained that despite the challenges the downtown area is experiencing, she sees opportunities to view the area through a different lens—one focused on place and community.

“I see activity, diverse people, restaurants, coffee shops, shopping,” she said. “We need to move forward and upward, and look at the beauty of our downtown as well as the diversity.”

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