The Bay of Fundy Tourism Partnership, headed by Terri McCulloch, is expanding its network of Recommended Experiences by opening up the program to new applicants in the Fundy region.  As you probably know, Terri's work to promote the Bay has reached an international audience with its inclusion in the the New7Wonders contest.  This is an opportunity you shouldn't miss!

You can tell summer's over.  After a relatively quiet couple of months, this week there are a ton of great events to help you run your business.  Check out a couple of Centre for Women in Business workshops ... the CME Supplier Development Conference... and exactly how green are our farm operations, anyway?

More and more tourists are asking for Canadian-made, environmentally friendly products, even if it means paying more for the item.  Based on customer requests, Brier Island's Icehouse Gift Shop has found a top quality Quebec supplier to design and produce the store's funky new T-shirts.  Here's how, and why, owner Joyce Devries decided to rethink the store's retail strategy.

Since arriving here in Annapolis Digby last year, I've been asked for my best marketing advice many, many times. It quickly became my mantra to respond: "In terms of marketing, the best thing you can do for your business is to get a website up and running." Lately, I've added a caveat: "If creating a website is out of reach at this moment, then build yourself a blog -- it's free, all it costs is your time."

If you are a small business owner who wears many hats, technology is not a thing you're likely to conquer.  The average person simply can't keep up with the speed at which technology grows these days.  However, with free options like blogging, e-marketing is at least becoming more democratic and not just an option for those with pots of money. So the idea then is to make the internet your friend, a tool that can help you build your business.

There are a growing number of blogging formats available at no cost: Check out blogspot.com, typepad.com, wordpress.com, and there are others. Find the one that suits your style and comfort level. If you still feel uneasy about the process, give the job to a teenager -- they'll have it done in no time!

An article published recently in the Globe and Mail by Leah McLaren caught my eye. 'Maybe square dances are the kind of bailouts we need,' she writes from her new perch in the UK. In Toronto on business and a family visit, apparently Leah's mother shamed her into attending a community fundraiser - a square dance, no less - which she first laments, then lauds.

Considering Leah's position as the Globe's resident fashionista, could it be that the good old-fashioned square dance is poised to make a comeback?  Perhaps, in the face of economic downturn, it simply reflects our desire to get back to basics, hold hands with loved ones, and forget our troubles for a few hours.

Whatever the reason, when you're planning your next community fundraising event, consider a square dance -- it's just retro enough to be guaranteed fun!

The idea of life in the Maritimes seems to stick with a person. I know this from experience. I was born here in Nova Scotia and spent much of my youth moving between this province and Ontario.  After graduation, I spent many years building a career in Toronto, much of the time dreaming how and when to make the move back, and then...

One summer day, I was driving back to Toronto after spending the weekend at a friend's cottage in the Muskokas. What should have been a two hour trip had become a three hour hassle, and -- ughhh -- sometimes a four hour nightmare! Worse, as we passed Barrie, I could see three distinct layers of yellowish gray smog on the horizon. It was time to get out of there.

We can help you become an urban refugee too! Check out our Test Drive the Community program to learn about relocating to Annapolis Digby. We also encourage you to visit Nova Scotia Come to Life -- we're a proud Charter Member of the program!

According to Laurel Douglas, CEO of the Women's Enterprise Centre, "Women are changing the business world without even knowing it. They're doing it by just trying to meet the demands of their lives." Perhaps that is why 4 out of 5 new businesses in Canada are now begun by women, creating the fastest growing economic segment in our country: the female entrepreneur.

Underpinning this growing trend is the willingness to embrace web-based marketing. Take for instance Heather Gorringe, worm farmer extraordinaire based in rural England. Check out her not-to-be-missed video, and more about her amazing retail company, Wiggly Wigglers.

We congratulate Heather, winner of the first ever Global Dell Small Business Excellence Award ... this just goes to show that we can do it too! Make It Here in Annapolis Digby, home of the FUNDYweb broadband network and all those lovely fibre optic strands of cable just waiting to announce your goods and services to the world...