Felix: Today, I'm joined by Kelly Bergeron from the Cornwall Gift Certificate Program and Mayor Bernadette Clement from Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The Cornwall Gift Certificate Program provides a gift certificate program where shoppers can purchase gift certificates from a slew of local businesses. And was started this year, in 2020, and based out of Cornwall Ontario, Canada. Welcome both of you.
Kelly: Thank you.
Bernadette: Hi.
Felix: So this is a special episode that we are rushing to the podcast presses to uncover a business that's sprung up to help a local community dealing with effects of COVID-19. I've got to say, this is a very quick turnaround for an entrepreneur stepping in, to not only offer solutions to a clear and a novel problem, but also help their local community at the same time. Because I was certainly seeing other people suggesting this idea of going out and buying gift certificates to support local restaurants and shops, to support them while they have to shutter their doors for the time being, but it never crossed my mind that there should be an online way, or directory, to support businesses like this. So what sprung you into action, Kelly?
Kelly: Oh, my goodness. Well, we're in almost full lockdown with a pandemic and everyone is talking about flattening the curve. So obviously, I work online, and I understood that many of our restaurants and local establishments would have to shutter, within days, knowing the trends that were happening with COVID-19 in China and Italy. So essentially, I put together a minimum viable product, an MVP, in six hours and I uploaded a very small list of businesses that I knew would need the support, and started messaging people at our chamber of commerce and basically just sprung into action.
Kelly: I learned a lot through a lot of hackathons that I hosted in my hometown, and the mayor was part of those hackathons, where she was a judge. And you're always trying to come up with ideas and a lot of the times we would have kids, as young as eight, come out to these hackathons. So I thought, well it's a good example for them to see this, right, using technology for social good.
Felix: Got it. Now, I think one of the keys to be successful in what you've been able to do is, execution mode as quickly as possible. So when you decide that you want to do this, what were some of the key things that you wanted to focus on and what are some things that you're like, you know what, I can deal with this later and maybe it's not as important, that typically, a lot of people might spend a lot of time on when they have too much time on their hands.
Kelly: Yeah, I think the circumstances are quite different here, because we just wanted to go live as soon as possible. So I wasn't thinking too much about descriptions and going over details with each business, because then you start getting into the weeds. I thought, I'm going to put a product out there, I'm going to tell them about it, I'm going to show the community and just get the word out that we built this, and worry about those extra details later. We wanted to spring into action because restaurants, their margin is so small that they would be at risk of closing down more quickly than other businesses with more cashflow. So, it wasn't about getting to the nitty gritty details, it was just about getting something out there, showing them what was possible. And the response has been phenomenal. You know, we're a small city of 50,000 people, a very resilient, a very beautiful city on the traditional-
Bernadette: Territory.
Kelly: Yes. Bernadette, do you want to give the traditional territory spiel?
Bernadette: So yes. So we always acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Mohawk people of Akwa Saucony along the Saint Lawrence River. So, I think that the beauty of this size of community, is that you can spring into action, and you actually know the local businesses. We know them by name. And so, when we went into a provincial declaration of emergency here, and we heard, listen, restaurants have to close for in-dining experiences, bars have to close. I mean, we knew who that would impact right away. We know these folks. They're our friends and neighbors and family.
Bernadette: So it was really great to see Kelly spring into action as she describes and it had to be done quickly because the responses needed to be dealt with right away. People had angst and anguish, and so we wanted to be responsive. And I always appreciate, in this size of community, that we have entrepreneurs like Kelly, who at can move that swiftly, because this is a rapidly evolving cloud. We know hour by hour that things are changing, and so to be able to respond as quickly, has been really impressive.
Felix: Yeah, I think that the most interesting, to me, during these times, I'm based in New York City, is that as I'm observing what's going on, is seeing the creativity of local businesses learning how to adapt a situation. I think there's a bar down my street, that literally opened the front windows, and has a drive-thru cocktails to pick up and go. Everyone is finding new ways to adapt. I think what's really interesting to see what you're doing, is that you have been able to work with the local government, Kelly, to get this thing rolling.
Felix: And I think for a lot of entrepreneurs, they don't even think about "How do I work with the government". They almost think like, "If I involve the government, it will slow things down," and I want you guys to tell us, basically break that myth for us here, what are ways that the local government, and glad to have both of you on to talk about this, have been able to assist in moving things along? And is that typical of a normal situation where, not this pandemic that's going on?
Kelly: Well, I think we can speak to the federal government and how they operate, right, mayor Bernadette?
Bernadette: Yes. So, Felix, that's a really good point. Here, we have three levels of government, federal, provincial, municipal. So really, the closest level of government to the people is really the mayor and council. And so, local entrepreneurs have access directly to us. I mean, Kelly messaged me immediately, when she had this idea, and you know, that means that I can go on Twitter and start to say, "Oh, you know what, the city and the city council are interested in this," and start a quick dialogue so that entrepreneurs understand that they have access to us, that they can message us, that they can tell us what their needs are. And that's the beauty of a local government. We're close to the folks and they know how to reach us.
Kelly: Yeah, definitely. And you run into government officials all the time in the city. It's just like Parks and Rec.
Bernadette: It's true.
Kelly: It is. It feels very much like Parks and Rec. I'm basically dating Ben Wyatt.
Felix: That's funny. So, what should an entrepreneur be prepared with, when they do want to approach their local government to get assistance, or just get access to the community? What are some tips that you have on ways to be prepared, when meeting with a local government official, especially when you need to have some kind of help essentially from them?
Kelly: I think you need to have a lot of confidence in yourself in order to do that. And you need to be able to own your ideas. I mean, I just made a presentation to council about two months ago, about city, urban design, placemaking and how art in the city is so important.
Kelly: And I know, I've only been here for four years. I had moved away for 20 years and I moved from San Francisco back to my hometown. So, it took me a while to build up those relationships and that trust. But you definitely have to build up trust. You can't just go in and be like, "I'm going to take over, and I have all these ideas, and you have to listen to me". You have to show people that there's a good trust there, and that you're not out in it for money. And so this platform is, is not a business to me. It's a social enterprise. I'm not taking a cut of anything. I'm all about helping our entrepreneurs, and brick and mortar shops, get what they need in order to feel supported and to survive during this time of need.
Bernadette: And the other thing that local officials are looking for, when we're approached by entrepreneurs, is how much collaboration has taken place before they come to us. Right? So if an entrepreneur comes to us and says, "Listen, I've been working with these three others in partnership, or 10 others, or I have a petition, or I have a group," that's always more impactful for local officials if we know that the petitioner has worked in collaboration with others, who have a similar concern or issue.
Felix: Got it. And you mentioned that the Chamber of Commerce was involved as well. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs out there, they pride themselves or almost don't even see as an option, other than to go solo and figure out everything themselves. But for you, you've been able to recognize, Kelly, that it's been a resource. Tell us more about that. How can an entrepreneur work with their local Chamber of Commerce?
Kelly: It's really funny, because we actually just hired a new executive director for our Chamber of Commerce here. And he's very innovative and he has been in tech, and has been a coder. So when he took over the position, he invited local entrepreneurs into his office, to meet with them, to find out what their pain points were, what their suggestions were. And so, I really took to that way of doing business, and I knew that in order to get the word out quickly and get as much buy in as possible, then I needed to contact him right away and let him know what I was doing, show him what I was doing. And he scheduled I believe an E-news letter the next day, at seven in the morning. And then we, we've just been flooded with responses all week. And honestly, I've been talking to people all over the world from the Netherlands, Philippines, UK, US, Jamaica, all these different countries have reached out to say they've either replicated what we've done, or that they want to, and they want feedback on that.
Felix: Can give us an idea of the timeline that's involved, like what was happening. I think this is evolving as the day goes on. I think in New York, we're glued to the television to figure out what are the new rules and guidelines, and what is the new environment that we are essentially living in. Give us a timeline of what was happening in your area. And then, how quickly were you able to start basically developing this website and building the store?
Kelly: Sure. So I think probably last... Oh, it feels like decades now, right? Bernadette?
Bernadette: I know.
Kelly: ... So last Thursday... Yeah, go ahead.
Bernadette: So, for us here, in Ontario, it started with the school closures, right? So once the province declared the schools closed for three weeks, people started to get nervous, right? Like what was this going to mean? But the following week, was when the province determined, on an emergency basis, that they would start closing down the bars and the restaurants. So that happened in the space of about five days. That's from school closures to declaration of emergency on a provincial level. That was about five days. So I don't know, Kelly, when did you start in that process, in that five days.
Kelly: So I remember being in the grocery store, I believe on the Thursday, and at four o'clock people were lined up, it was busy. And then my boyfriend's a local journalist, and he got a text saying that the schools were closing, and I thought, "Oh my God, this is going to start happening. And we got to move quickly". And I think, that night, I said to him, "We need to have a worldwide gift certificate platform, because we don't want people risking their health to go out into stores and restaurants, because this is going to get bad real soon if we don't stop and flatten the curve".
Bernadette: Exactly.
Kelly: So yeah, and I sat on it for a couple of days, and then one day I was on Facebook, which I don't really use for personal reasons, but there was a young lady who had shared like, "How can I support local business? I want to get a gift certificate," and everyone's like, "Whoa, don't go in. Stay at home". And then that's when I set up a Google spreadsheet and I started sending it around and saying to local businesses, "If you want to participate, say yes. If you don't, take your name off, but let's share this around and let's go LFG, as they say sometimes". Right? I don't know.
Kelly: I don't know... That's like a democratic thing.
Felix: That's funny. So, you mentioned that there have been other communities out there that reached out to you, that want to do the same thing, want feedback on the programs that they're rolling out. Can you walk us through a little more about the logistics that's involved? If someone out there is listening, and they're inspired, they live in an area that is also being affected, I guess everywhere now by COVID-19, and they want to do something similar. Give us a step-by-step over the things that you have to start hitting, these milestones you have to hit along the way, that you hit along the way, in order to successfully launch this.
Kelly: Sure. I would say first of all, get your list together. Go to whomever you need to go to, to get a good list of businesses. I know all the businesses in town and knew who was still active, and who wasn't, and kind of worked with that. It's easier in a small town, I have to say. What we did do, is I have a great friend, her name is Chantal Tranchemontagne and she is the Chief Creative Officer of Big Catch Communications. She went in and created a logo for us, and we decided to share the template with whoever reaches out to us. We set up a tab on the website that says, start your own campaign. We've created a template, that they can take that logo, that is basically, Save... what is it called? Save Main Street. Yeah.
Bernadette: Save Main Street. Yeah.
Kelly: Yeah. It's a campaign to Save Main Street. They can change the name to their own city. A lot of people already have their own logos, but we thought that would be a nice touch. I downloaded our template, and linked to it on the website, and then we've created and are working on a social media campaign, where we're putting entrepreneurs out there with a sign that says, "I am Main Street." And Main Street represents everywhere. It's not just here. Like our Main Street, is called Pit Street. But we wanted it to make sense in other communities as well. So we made it so it was generic enough that people could take it and make it for their own areas.
Felix: Okay, got it. So when you reached out to all of these businesses and they were saying yes, what were the logistics of digging in place over that someone would come to your website, click the certificate. How does that all plug into getting a certificate actually delivered to them, from the stores that they were buying the gift certificates from?
Kelly: I have to say it was so easy to build out. I've worked with Canada learning code, I've taught people how do you Shopify, but I am in no means an expert. So I would say I'm intermediate level, and I was able to build the store in less than six hours. It was super easy and the certificate is automatically, or as we say in tech, automagically created an email to the customer. So the system is robust, it's easy to use. I'm working on integrating some other features into the site as well, but there's all kinds of tutorials out there. It's super easy to use and I've just been getting a lot of compliments on the user experience, and the UI, and the graphics that Big Catch created.
Felix: Now, how did the customers that are purchasing these gift certificates redeem them, when the opportunity is available? How can they redeem the certificates? What are they actually presenting to the businesses?
Kelly: Yeah, so we couldn't really create a store where we could keep track of everyone's purchases, so we left it up to the business to keep track, because a lot of the businesses here, or some of them at least, don't use automated POS systems. Right? So what we do is, we have the customer print off their email with the confirmation, the gift card numbers, and they go into the store and the store will have a list of how many gift cards were purchased, under what gift card numbers. So we don't give the whole number, we just give the last four digits for security reasons. And they're able to manage their balances through that as well. However, moving forward, what I would love to do, is come up with an even more robust way to do it. It's just that we had to move quite quickly in this instance, because we didn't want anyone feeling that they weren't being supported.
Bernadette: Right.
Felix: What have you been learning that has been the biggest challenge of getting this up so quickly?
Kelly: Oh, man. What am I learning? It's really hard to work under these types of circumstances, and I am sure the mayor probably has it a hundred times worse. I think everyone is feeling very overwhelmed with what's happening, right? We've never seen something at this scale in our lives.
Bernadette: Never.
Kelly: Yeah. And so you're working diligently, you feel like you got to do something, you got to help the community. And I'm lucky, because I work contract work, so I don't have to work remotely for eight hours a day. I can make my own hours. You start to realize, we're probably in this for the long haul. And so you want... [crosstalk] yeah, go ahead.
Bernadette: I find too, that when you're under this kind of pressure, and you're working with in collaboration with people, you're more innovative. I feel like the ideas that are coming from the community, that are coming from council and all of these groups, it's astounding to me that this kind of pressure also leads to some very heartwarming stories, but also some very innovative stories. So, out of all of this strife and struggle comes some quite brilliant innovations.
Kelly: Yeah, for sure. It's a weird time, but you're also seeing so many people doing really cool things in their communities, and so you got to encourage that entrepreneurship in helping your local community. I feel like at a time like this, it's a call to action.
Bernadette: Exactly.
Felix: Now, what are you learning from local businesses, as you are setting this up, about the challenges that they're facing beyond this problem that you are currently solving, that other aspired entrepreneurs that are trying to solve problems might want to try to help and tackle. Is there any other opportunities that you see that, as an area that might not be necessarily in the same realm that you're trying to solve, but that you're also recognizing is a new promise coming out of the situation?
Kelly: Oh, for sure. I think Fintech is a big one. So financial services would be a huge opportunity, right now, to develop a system that can handle the amount of money coming from government and distributing it amongst the population. I was thinking about that today, and Fintech, I think there's a lot of opportunity there, to be innovative and our government actually created a portal, really quickly, that welcomes people to pitch their ideas to the federal government in this time of crisis. And obviously, health services is a huge one as well. So you see manufacturers shutting down and using their facilities to build ventilators. So, I think it's up to entrepreneurs to think about how they can use their knowledge for the betterment of this situation.
Felix: Yeah, it's interesting to see it. Here in New York, Governor Cuomo was saying how if you can turn your textile manufacturing business into producing masks, he'll fund it. They're looking for any ways. The government's asking for entrepreneurs to step up. And I think there's a great opportunity for anyone that has the resources, that has infrastructure to come in and help contribute, for sure. So what are some ways that you've been able to get the local community to hear more about this program? So you have the website set up. How do you actually drive people to learn more about this program, so that they can actually support these businesses?
Kelly: Yeah, for sure. We've been doing a lot of PR. We've been talking to local media. I've been featured on television over the phone, and then local newspapers have covered the story. We've pushed it out on social media, and a lot through Twitter as well.
Bernadette: And also-
Kelly: Yeah, go ahead.
Bernadette: And also, through my channels as the Mayor as well. So I also do Facebook Lives regularly, and have been talking about that. So yeah, using also the elected official local government channels as well.
Kelly: Oh yeah. If you get acknowledged by a mayor, most popular mayor ever...
Bernadette: Don't overstate that, Kelly. Don't overstate that.
Kelly: ... She definitely has some clout around here. When she won her position, people definitely welcomed the change. So a lot of people really look to her, and I need to say this, we had 130 people quarantined in our city, about a month ago, right, mayor?
Bernadette: Yes.
Kelly: And we had 130 people quarantined from one of the cruise lines, and so the mayor had to spring into action and get the word out as quickly as possible. And she has been the light in the darkness as we move forward. She's calming, she's good at making people feel safe. So, I think having some good leadership like that really makes it easy to collaborate and be innovative in this city.
Bernadette: Well, right back at you, Kelly. I think when you have a community with a terrific entrepreneurs that are so community minded, it certainly makes it a lot easier to be in an elected, community leadership position.
Felix: Yeah, I think the silver lining in this situation is always to see communities come together, and to seeing private individuals and public officials working together. I've never seen it to this scale before, because we've never been in a situation like this before, of course. So I appreciate it, both of you coming on and sharing your story, hopefully to inspire others that want to do the same.
Felix: So the website is cornwall-gift-certificates.ca and just to be a little forward-thinking on this, since we don't know yet how long this pandemic, the situation will last, and how long communities will be affected by this. What is next in your plan to keep this program running or expanded?
Kelly: For sure. So I've started recruiting partners, at the municipal admin level, and the Chamber of Commerce. So, we definitely want to keep scaling, in terms of getting the word out, telling these businesses that it's okay to promote it, because some of them have been very humble, and very community minded, and very polite and have said, "We don't need the money". And I say to them, if you don't need the money and someone buys a gift certificate, why don't you buy a gift certificate off another business? And that's exactly what they've been doing.
Kelly: And so, you see this circle of giving back. And so, we just have to keep pushing this out and we just have to show up for people. I mean, they're very hard hit. The sick people that end up with this virus, they're definitely hardest hit. But I look at other people in the community, and I think our small business owners really, really need our support. So, this is a great way to do it. And the response has just been so great. And I love that the mayor has been on board since the minute I told her.
Felix: Awesome. So, we also set up a COVID-19 landing page for Shopify resources, including government resources, over shopify.com or.ca/COVID-19.
Felix: Thank you so much for both of you coming on, Kelly and Mayor Clement. I really appreciate again, you coming on and sharing this inspiring story.
Kelly: Thanks so much.
Bernadette: Thank you, for having us on.