Meet the new non-profit helping Vancouver businesses

On a grey December day, Michael Wiebe unlocked a small, empty storefront within the ramshackle triangle of heritage buildings between Kingsway, Broadway, and Main Street. This is where Wiebe has chosen to start his new venture, a non-profit organization aimed at helping small businesses and entrepreneurs navigate the city’s complex landscape.

Straightforwardly called Small Business Vancouver (SBV), the organization aims to offer technical guidance and support to business owners, especially around city licensing and permit requirements, and advocate for policies and bylaw changes that support businesses. 

Wiebe has extensive experience in local government and business. He’s a former city councillor and park board commissioner with the Green Party, a former president of the Mount Pleasant BIA, and owner and operator of the now-closed Eight ½ restaurant just off Main Street.   

“During COVID, I couldn't get out of my restaurant lease and it killed me. But finding out later there are options, I just didn't know what they were, and I didn't know who to go to,” Wiebe described, saying he wants SBV to be that place that a struggling small business owner can get support from.

SBV is looking to support every type of entrepreneurship, from non-profits, side hustles, and informal economy – like people who rent a chair in a salon or barbershop – to storefronts and legacy businesses, Wiebe said. 

One way they plan to do that is by providing short, free consultations with experts, like lawyers or architects, who can help businesses avoid early pitfalls. That small business clinic, as Wiebe calls it, would first be rolled out as a pilot program in partnership with LOCO BC, with SBV providing funding to cover the costs of the experts. 

“Any business can call and get a 15-minute call with an expert, so they will look at your lease or a lawyer will give you early advice,” Wiebe said, explaining this early intervention can put businesses on the right path and help them avoid big headaches and high costs down the road.  

“The city doesn't have a system to support anybody who's kind of calling in to get guidance or direction, so we're really forced to spend, like, extra dollars and cents bringing in specialists,” Jude Kusnierz told Vancity Lookout. Kusnierz operates Mount Pleasant’s Beaumont Studios, a multi-disciplinary art and gathering space, which she founded in 2004. 

“I know my business. I don't know all the stuff that I need to know to engage with the city,” Kusnierz explained, adding that offering business guidance is one of the things she’s most excited about with SBV.

Kusnierz has joined Wiebe on SBV’s board, along with many local business owners and advocates, including Corinne Lea of the Rio Theatre, Zahra Esmail with Vantage Point, Angela Evans of the Collingwood BIA, Curtis Thomas, who is a Tsleil-Waututh Nation councillor and owner of Warrior Plumbing, architect Bill Uhrich, and Louise Schwarz of Recycling Alternative.

SBV is stepping in to fill some of the role of Small Business BC, a similar province-wide organization that declared bankruptcy and folded in late 2024 after more than 20 years of operations, according to CBC. “In speaking with Small Business BC, they said [the business clinic] was one of the most effective programs they did,” Wiebe told Vancity Lookout. 

The intent is for SBV to also act as a forum for business owners to organize through committees and industry groups, with the goal of collectively advocating with the city for improved regulations. Wiebe said SBV is hoping to work collaboratively with the city, acting as a resource that city officials can direct business owners to for guidance. 

It’s a role Wiebe has already taken on in a more informal capacity, which led to SBV being created. 

“Mike was this guy who was always able to move things forward if you had challenges,” Kusnierz explained. “So it got to the point where I think Mike had enough local businesses frustrated and talking to him that he was like, I think we need to take some initiative to move this forward,” in early 2025. 

“I don't think I'm alone in feeling the frustrations with dealing with city when it comes to permitting and such. It's tedious, long, difficult, and expensive,” Kusnierz said.  

Wiebe described numerous scenarios where he worked with businesses and government to update archaic or misinterpreted bylaws.  

“Greta Bar called me up because they aren't allowed to have arcades in Gastown,” Wiebe said, describing how he worked with city staff to update a bylaw that was originally intended to keep underage youth away from Granville Street venues. Another example Wiebe said he worked on was an old rule that mixed genders weren’t allowed in the same room at a steam bath, a regulation that city council removed in October while also allowing for cold plunges and saunas outside. 

In another case at the Flamingo Room on Commercial Drive, Wiebe said he found that a policy around washroom accessibility wasn’t being interpreted correctly. Wiebe was able to point out city staff’s error, allowing the bar to add more seating while still complying with regulations. 

Wiebe is hopeful that SBV will be able to open its storefront, add members, and start the business clinic pilot this spring.