2022 RECAP - Oh what a year…

And just like that, we a have crossed into 2023 and a new year has begun!

I would like to take a moment to recap the 2022 year. It’s easy to have a year pass and think, “Hmmm, what even happened over the past 12 months?!” I want to do a recap blog post because it lets me break down the year and see all that has been accomplished for Little Shop Talk, the vendors and our community.

The best part? I’m also going to let you in on a couple secrets for the upcoming year!!!

2022 was the end of Little Shop Talk’s first school year and first edition, which with all of the support from everyone who allowed us to run the second and current edition. It was a year of growth and brand new endeavours.

We welcomed over 60 new vendors to the Little Shop Talk coupon book and the amazing vendor community that we have created. With that growth and the continued support from all of you, Little Shop Talk grew and expanded into the City of Abbotsford, opening the doors for a second edition that ran in both Mission and Abbotsford.

Do you know what my favourite part about Little Shop Talk is?

Fundraising

The fundraisers that were run in the fall helped raise thousands of dollars for our local schools. These funds help with so many wonderful things for our schools; from new playgrounds, to winter wonderland events, pancake breakfasts, treat days or fun days for the students in your community.

In addition to the initial school run fundraisers, the sales of the coupon books in stores and at markets helped raise hundreds of dollars that were donated to local food banks.

This is a huge part of what Little Shop Talk is about, helping fundraise, helping the community, helping families with savings the book can provide and helping small business in the community grow.

Shopping Local at Markets

We decided to do even more for the home-based businesses by running two very successful and amazing markets. The first was in the summer at the Twilight Treasures Market, and the second was the Windebank Christmas Market in the winter. These events gave these small businesses an opportunity to get themselves and their brands out in their community more. I hope you had a chance to see their amazing products and meet some of these wonderful people and support local.

Scavenger Hunts and Giveaways

Let’s not forget about the scavenger hunts. We had so much fun during these events. It was a great way to get connected with the community to have some fun! There were countless posts of families, groups and individuals participating in the search for the shiny blue envelopes with goodies hidden inside, exploring new areas of your own community you may have never visited before.

The QR code giveaway is ongoing and has really helped Little Shop Talk reach so many more people. There has been many other giveaways in the 2022 year and 1000’s of dollars in products have been won and found by so many people in out wonderful communities. Which has led to so many more introductions of these small businesses to everyone.

An honour to be Nominated!

Little Shop Talk has also been nominated for 2 Mission Business Excellence Awards. This is a huge accomplishment and I am so proud of this, I am also so grateful to everyone who contributed not only to this nomination but also to being a part of this adventure.

I encourage you all to click this link and vote for Little Shop Talk and the other amazing business in your community that work so hard to be recognized by you all.

What’s in store for 2023

It’s time for end-of-the-year changes and next year’s business planning! There will definitely be another market or two, we will be doing our scavenger hunts and making them just as fun, a new way to get vendors and their products introduced to the community and possibly an even more entertaining section added to the third edition of the Little Shop Coupon Book. We will also be expanding even farther into the Fraser Valley!

We are so lucky to be in these amazing communities and have had such a successful year. Thank you all for the support, I couldn’t be more proud of all of the businesses involved and the communities we live in.

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