 Across Elgin County there are seven area municipalities, which are home to many quaint and welcoming communities surrounded by farmers fields, Carolinian forests, and country living. Their downtowns are lined with historic brick buildings, many of which house beloved small businesses where locals can be found catching up with one another over a homemade meal, strolling down the main streets, and enjoying day-to-day life. The municipality of Dutton Dunwich is no exception, and this Sunday, May 31, marks the official opening of the Dutton Farmers Market from 9am-1pm.
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 There's a version of this story where Michael Crich never makes the call. Where he sits on the information a little longer, talks himself out of it, and Wildflowers Farm goes to someone else.
But he called on a Friday. At 11:11 in the morning. And everything that came after that phone call has been, by most measures, exactly what it was supposed to be.  A bakery should feel like home.
At Huckleberry Cakes & Coffee, located at 49 Talbot St E downtown Aylmer, owner Ria Renjith hopes that feeling begins the moment customers walk through the door – greeted by the smell of baking, a carefully made coffee, and a menu full of treats made with love. Huckleberry is more than a place to pick up a cake or an afternoon coffee. It is the kind of space for gathering, celebrating special moments, studying, catching up with friends, or treating yourself to something sweet on an ordinary day.  When many entrepreneurs picture business growth, they imagine more customers, more sales, bigger spaces, or even hiring staff. While growth is exciting, there is one thing that often gets overlooked in the rush to scale: systems.
It may not sound glamorous, but having simple systems in place can make the difference between a business that feels manageable and one that constantly feels chaotic. If you are spending hours digging through emails, forgetting follow ups, scrambling to find invoices, or answering the same customer questions over and over, that is usually a sign your business may need stronger systems before bigger growth. The good news? Systems do not have to be complicated.  For many business owners, the word “networking” brings to mind awkward small talk, crowded rooms, and pockets full of business cards that never seem to turn into anything meaningful. But real networking — the kind that actually helps your business grow — isn’t about collecting contacts. It’s about building relationships.
Here in Elgin–St. Thomas, we’re lucky to have a strong and supportive business community. Organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and initiatives such as the Young Entrepreneurs Initiative (YEI) create regular opportunities for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to connect. But the real value of these spaces isn’t in how many people you meet, it’s in how well you get to know a few of them. |