GS1 Canada Member Wins CAMSC Business Achievement Award
2007 GS1 Journal profiled small business, Little Miss Chief, wins big
Little Miss Chief, a British Columbia-based business that serves gourmet smoked salmon around the globe, took home the Canadian Aboriginal Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) Business Achievement Award for Small Business of the Year on October 15, 2008 at the association's annual fundraising event.
Profiled in the 2007 edition of GS1 Journal for its use of ECCnet Registry, Canada's national product registry, which Little Miss Chief credits for allowing the business to develop competitively on a large scale despite its small size.
Owner Ellen Melcosky (who also handles the marketing and shipping for her business) started the company in 1996 and told GS1 Journal that one of the most challenging tasks for a small business is to effectively use technology.
"When I started my business I was taking all the night courses I could, just to learn. I didn't have a clue about computers because I stayed home for 14 years. It all came together, but it is a never-ending learning curve."
One of Melcosky's first moves into technology was to register her products with ECCnet Registry, enabling Little Miss Chief to exchange detailed and up-to-date product information with such large retailers as Sobeys Inc. Melcosky's small business now not only sells within its native Canada, but also to the U.S. and the Netherlands.
The CAMSC Business Achievement Awards support the delivery of programs to promote and facilitate Aboriginal and minority economic development through access to purchasing opportunities at major corporations. Winners of the awards receive increased media coverage and brand awareness and credibility with customers.