A Gold Mine at Deadwood Junction and Tarnish Turkey Cappuccino in Greenwood, BC, Canada

An Ounce of Gold

Bruce Jepsen, the latest custodian of Deadwood Junction and Tarnished Turkey Cappuccino, acknowledges that he has a gold mine.

He makes a very valid point though, about his mine, "How much effort do you think is required to get an ounce of gold out of the mine?" In the case of Deadwood Junction, a surprising amount of effort is required to operate the small coffee shop, tourism stop, bakery, and summer BBQ joint on BC's Highway 3.

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Deadwood Junction is in a place most people, and some would say time itself, has long gone forgotten. Greenwood, British Columbia and the Boundary Country south of the Okanagan, on the US Border may be the last holdout where small businesses can still stand a chance to mine an ounce of gold.

Ask most small business owner-operators in Canada today, and many will admit that it may not be worth the effort anymore. Many have mines that are abandoned, shut down, or the miners are on strike hoping for another time where small business owners and entrepreneurs will be allowed to succeed again without hindrance from overbearing bureaucracies.

Many, like us, strive to live and work in a Utopia where rules, taxes and operating costs are not an issue. Where entrepreneurs are allowed to hang on to more than half of their profits. Where people can be employed, skills can be developed, where they can create value and can focus on making great products and delivering services that are appreciated by the people around them, their community.

If this is you, then maybe this part of Canada with its rich history, simple pleasures and great weather may have a place for your business. Life here is easier. Much slower and a dollar goes a lot further.

Be prepared to hear more about the Boundary Country in BC from the Two Cowboys.

Deadwood Junction was founded in 2009. It is located in the beautiful City of Greenwood right off Highway 3. It is a must stop and comes highly recommended by the Cowboys. Bruce and Katie Jepsen are the current owners of a business that looks like it pre-dated Canada. Knowing the fascinating history of the area, it probably does date from a couple of centuries ago.

They make great coffee. Bruce has been baking all his life and cannot wait to get out of bed at 03:00 in the morning to get your cinnamon bun hot, sweet, sticky, and ready. He and Katy also make a prize-winning Beef Chilli. That is a story for another time.

Their little store also sells antiques and local artisan work. As small businesses do, they support local small town talent where they can!

Observations

Once a baker, always a baker. Bruce claims that he was born a baker. Nothing can replace the joy he gets from seeing you appreciate his baking and his coffee (which he takes great care to do custom for every one of his favourite clients (you know if you are one ;-))

We are proud to feature Bruce's buns this time and hope to have many more stories for you from Deadwood Junction and Tarnished Turkey Cappuccino and the small communities and entrepreneurs in this fantastic part of British Columbia, Canada.

Hendrik van Wyk 

Cinnamon Cowboy

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Deadwood

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The Junction

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Two Cowboys: A Tiny Saloon and Watering Hole in the Wall, Where the Buffalo Roam in Canmore, Alberta

Big Thirsty

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"Descartes walked into a bar, and the barman said to him: 'Are you thirsty?' Descartes replied: 'I don't think I am'. He then disappeared."

If you were given a chance to design and build your perfect bar, what will it look like? Here are a few simple guidelines to help you set it apart.

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It should be a place with the best there is to drink. Fresh beer, great wine, wicked spirits and amazing one-of-kind cocktails. It should be made with the very best locally produced ingredients, served by the most talented mixologists.

Secondly, the food should be outstanding. Prepared by talented chefs sophisticated enough to entice you with unfamiliar ingredients and exotic tastes, yet hearty enough to be familiar. It should draw from the best Alberta has to offer in beef and pork, and not shy away from the bounty of the rest of Canada.

Thirdly, the atmosphere should be cosy. Not cramped. The music should complement the drumming of laughter of people having fun. The decor natural and the seating comfortable. It should have ample counselling chairs at the bar for easy access to bartender instruction and wisdom. There should be tight-squeeze booths for new lovers and a spot in the sun for lazy late summer afternoons.

Lastly, the perfect bar should be filled with familiar faces. Friends. The people with whom you want to be.

This is exactly what Oona Davis and her business partner Shelley managed to create with the place they named "Where the Buffalo Roam", (also known as Canmore's Saloon). A place where they are comfortable. The kind of place they wanted, but couldn't find anywhere else in Canmore, Alberta.

Observations

For almost 4,000 years buffalo grazed on the Bow Valley's rich pasture and drank from the water of the Bow River. In 2015 the doors of a tiny little Saloon opened on Main Street, Canmore. It took its queue and borrowed its name from these gracious animals. Today it serves up pretty much the same concept. It takes care of the hungry and the thirsty. It is their place to meet, drink, date, socialise or to just to get away after a long working day.

We were welcomed with open arms when we filmed Oona and her team before Christmas 2016.

What appeared at first glance as a tiny, unassuming watering hole surprised us with a variety to drink that shows a real commitment to featuring local brewers, distillers and nearby wine producers. The food is inspirational. We recommend the slow braised beef rib with Christmas colour garnishing (see photo below). However, nothing comes close to the creativity that goes into the cocktails. A cocktail is something we usually pass over because of cost. At this Saloon, it is the feature attraction. Make it count.

I am told it is just the way it is done "Where the Buffalo Roam".

Hendrik van Wyk
Buffalo Cowboy

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Two Cowboys on a Journey: Natural High Fitness in Okotoks, Alberta

It's Your Life, Live it

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Andrew Gustafson and his team at Natural High Fitness in Okotoks proclaim to mould dynamic lifestyles by helping their members follow the most effective and encouraging path to aspire to their peak fitness goals. A lofty statement and a lofty goal indeed.

"For as little as $1/month you will get the inside track on content like this and follow the travels of the Two Cowboys & A Camera. Join here."

Simply put, it is a place where you can hang out with your friends and enjoy your workout. They have everything you need for reaching your fitness (and your social) goals.

A gym is a gym, is a gym. There are a few places in Okotoks where you can deposit your sweat, move and pick up heavy stuff. Natural High Fitness is different in one very large respect. They are a community focussed enterprise. They are dedicated to supporting the community by giving back. They do it through charity work and other community-related involvements.

They help local Okotokians live healthy and active lifestyles. “Being an active part of the community is just good business, plain and simple,” says Andrew Gustafson, the founder and co-owner.  “It shows that we care enough about our town to help out in more than one way, we help many important local causes and feel we truly make a difference by creating a stronger and healthier community.”

The business is locally owned and operated by the Gustafson's who also work in partnership with the Town of Okotoks.

When we met up with Andrew, we were struck by his enthusiasm and passion for people. When I asked him about it, he made it clear that his passion for people is the single most important driver for his business. We don't find this surprising. Every small business owner in a healthy community can only be successful if they care about their people and that of their community.

At Natural High Fitness this stands out above everything else.

It's About the People

Being an entrepreneur is supposed to be simple. Firstly, find something you love to do. Something that has value for you personally. Do it. Enjoy it. Get personal value from it. Secondly, share it with those around you. Your family. Your community. If they like it too and get value from it, then keep doing it. Continue to share it with even more people.

By sharing it, you exchange value for a measured return. If you can get a large enough and profitable return, you can continue to share it and enrich more people's lives. Without this return, it remains a personal affair.

The next step is to use the return incentive and find ways to improve what you do even further and share it with more people. Then you are in business. Then you are an entrepreneur and a Producer.

The difference between a hobbyist and an entrepreneur in many cases simply comes down to the incentive or return. Return can take several forms. Monetary return or profit is the simplest, most obvious and flexible means of unlocking the value. There are other ways for value to be rewarded. Increasingly, people do what they do for more reasons than for profit. The ultimate success is to do it for profit that can be applied to add even more value to people's lives.

Community focussed businesses, or as we call it - businesses with a purpose - are taking the path of obtaining a return through social incentives. They are doing it for a cause. The cause can be to address a social or community shortcoming, such as feeding hungry children (http://www.eatmylunch.nz) or to address a lack of awareness or knowledge through education (http://www.socialenterprise.academy). There are many examples of businesses that stepped out of the more conventional profit structure by taking on a social or community cause. If a small business in a community does not have a community focussed cause, they can no longer compete on value alone. Large corporations can do things much cheaper, faster and better.

This is not a new phenomenon. If you are familiar with community-based businesses, you will know that this is the operating norm. Supporting a local business keeps money and value in the community.

The town's baker is the business that sponsors the Peewee Hockey team's uniforms. The butcher donates hams to the Foodbank. The builder donates time and materials to fix the Recreation Centre's roof. These businesses trade with each other and befit from each other. The dollars stay in the community for longer. The examples are endless. Local businesses employ the people of the community, often at incomes higher than the norm. They do it because they invest in their community's people. The value they provide benefits the community.

It should then be simple to realise that buying a cup of coffee from your local coffee roaster puts a dollar back into the dancing school. Getting a loaf of bread from your local baker pays for the hockey rink's ice. Getting your eggs from the local farmer puts shoes on a kid that otherwise may not have it. Supporting your local fitness entrepreneur supports a local cause.

If you want to take care of the people in your community and have a healthy community, then take care of the local businesses that support each other. These are the people that matter.

The best way you can do it is to spend your dollar locally and do at least twenty push-ups every day.

We enjoyed telling Andrew's story. It is not a gym story. It is a community story. We are proud to know him and hope this is the first of many stories we get to share about Natural High Fitness.

Hendrik van Wyk
Getting Fit Cowboy

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