Tara Anderson鈥檚 entrepreneurial efforts throughout the past 15 years definitely read like a small-business success story.
She gave up her job working for the Vancouver Parks Board, a career she loved, in order to pursue a better work/life balance. Knowing something had to change, she purchased a Budget Blinds franchise on the Lower Mainland.
While simultaneously raising her four young daughters, Anderson鈥檚 鈥榞o big or go home鈥� philosophy fuelled her efforts, growing the start-up business from her garage and living room and quickly expanding it into two additional franchises.
In 2016, Anderson eventually succumbed to the draw of Vancouver Island living, opening three new locations in the , Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo. In 2021 she sold her Lower Mainland franchises but continues to operate the three on the Island where she is supported by an incredible team of 25 staff members, all of whom play important roles in the operation.
Anderson says each employee is an important face of the business and believes it鈥檚 essential for each team member to be accountable to her customers, from their first call right through to the final installation. She says that philosophy in supporting customers is just as true outside of the business.
Her three locations generously support groups like Y.A.N.A. and youth baseball, soccer and hockey teams up and down the Island. Anderson believes it is important to support the community and believes in return, the community will support her business. She says despite purchasers becoming accustomed to ordering products on-line, hers is a business that benefits from face-to-face interaction.
Anderson notes customers want to see, touch and learn about the products in person 鈥� a product line that goes far beyond simply just blinds but also includes draperies, shutters, soft treatments as well as bedding and pillows.