Basil Hicks opened The Bicycle Specialist in Amherst, Nova Scotia in 1991, turning a home repair service into a full shop. The Community Business Development Centre provided the financial help and marketing support that made it possible. He credits strong community backing and direct customer service for keeping the business going.
Chapters
Hi, I'm Basil Hicks. I'm with The Bicycle Specialist in Amherst, Nova Scotia. My history goes back to 1991, if you will, fresh out of high school, working in bicycle shops, a number of different bicycle shops, and, and learning the trade over a number of years in those stores. I've worked in Amherst for quite a few years and been fortunate enough to to settle here and have a family. And one of the things that I did here was work in bikes. And there's been a need in Amherst for quite a few years, probably a good 15, 20 years, there's been no bicycle shop in Amherst. So my family and I slowly started to kind of lean towards that and what we were doing and offering repairs and so on out of our home. And there seemed to be a need and it was a growing need and we saw that and kind of grasped onto it. And the opportunity came where we could into business for ourselves, and here we are. We've got a full-service bike shop now as a result. The CBDC has really allowed us to just do our business. They've facilitated in a financial way that allowed us to really start our business on the right foot and really be able to offer more than what we could have on our own.
The help from the CBDC, we've been doing a lot of programs that they offer. I still continue, even though I'm in year 3, I still take the programs in marketing, and it's been very helpful. My business. What I like best about the CVDC is that if I need any help, I can go to them. They're there, they take all my calls, and they give me all the information that I possibly need. If they don't know the answer, they'll look for it and let me know.
If things continue on the way they are, we're hoping that The Bicycle Specialist will just continue to grow, you know, and maybe expand beyond the four walls that we're in now. Who knows? The future seems pretty bright. We're getting support from not only our community but neighboring communities as well. There's been really great support and need, and I think genuinely people genuinely want this business to succeed. It's very hands-on, it's very personal. You know, you're dealing with people face-to-face, and I think people really respond to that and enjoy having that personalized service. You know, it's one of those things that when there's something wrong with the bicycle, it's right in front of you. You don't have to go looking for the problem. And that's very gratifying to be able to solve those problems for customers.
