Blooming Online: Planting a Thriving Digital Presence at The Sunflower Farm
The Sunflower Farm is a beautiful tourist attraction based in Beaverton Ontario featuring a stunning 20-acre field with Canada’s only sunflower-shaped trail. Business owner Ursula Kressibucher maximized her online presence with social media and website sales through the CDAP program.
Ursula Kressibucher’s journey to starting her own business was not linear. Born and raised in Beaverton Ontario, she originally planned on exploring the world by searching for a new career path in Toronto. However, trying to find a job in a competitive market had its challenges, so she decided to return to her hometown roots, creating something of her own sprouting The Sunflower Farm in 2020. The farm is planted in two locations: Beaverton and Lindsay, Ontario. This captivating tourist attraction is a place for visitors to experience life on a farm in Canada’s only sunflower-shaped trail through 20 acres of blooming sunflowers.
Visitors can find a variety of exciting events and workshops throughout the summer such as floral workshops, antique car shows, vendor markets, sunset concerts and more. The beautiful sunflowers also provide a magnificent atmosphere for photoshoots and small intimate weddings. At the end of each season, the sunflowers are sustainably harvested and sold for black-oil sunflower birdseed. The farm’s mission is to inspire the next generation to reunite with their agricultural roots and connect with farmers across Ontario. The Farm also promotes supporting local businesses in the area which grows the community and reduces carbon footprint as small business owners purchase from local manufacturers.
Ursula recognized she needed help getting her business into the digital space. Being based in a small town, she wanted to receive more exposure from her target audience and let them know all about the activity blooming at the farm. To stay ahead of the curve and streamline business processes, she realized her business needed a seamless solution to make it possible for customers to purchase events online. So, she turned to the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) for support. The CDAP program provided access to a $2,400 micro-grant and 1-on-1 support with an E-commerce Advisor who gave her the resources and tools needed to implement the farm’s new digital adoption plan.
During her time with CDAP, Ursula was able to discuss her goals and discover new ways she could open her farm to the online world. Through her advisor’s dedicated e-commerce assistance and digital marketing best practices, she was equipped with the knowledge to understand how to make her ideas become a reality.
“I had great support from the advisors and digital workshop sessions to learn how to maximize my online presence through social media and website sales. They were engaging and were able to provide resources and guidance to increase my digital awareness, increase online sales and ultimately grow The Sunflower Farm's digital platforms!”
She used the micro-grant to add a new e-commerce reservation/booking platform to her website, implement social media and search engine advertising, and purchase a one-year subscription to an e-mail newsletter platform. This plan greatly enhanced the business's customer relations, expanding and strengthening its connections.
As Ursula reflected on her progress with Digital Main Street, she shared:
“By leveraging this grant effectively, we expect to see significant improvements in our online operations, customer engagement, and overall market competitiveness…setting a strong foundation for sustained growth over the next five years.”
She rated her experience as a 10/10 and encourages anyone seeking to develop their digital presence to come to Digital Main Street. Her advice to small businesses like hers considering the CDAP program is:
“Do it! This is a great program and offers great resources to increase your digital presence!”
To book your visit to the farm, or to learn more about it, check out their website and social media platforms below:
Website: thesunflowerfarm.ca , Instagram: @thesunflowerfarm , Facebook: facebook.com/findmeatthesunflowerfarm , TikTok: @thesunflowerfarm
If you’re interested in exploring e-commerce opportunities for your business, CDAP may be the right opportunity for you. To learn more about the CDAP program, please visit here.
Digital Main Street was created by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) with direct support from the City of Toronto. DMS is also supported by a group of strategic business partners, including Google, Mastercard, Shopify, Meta, Intuit QuickBooks, Square, Lightspeed, Ebay and Canada Post.
As part of the Canada Digital Adoption Program, the Government of Canada has partnered with Digital Main Street to deliver the Grow Your Business Online grant to small businesses in Ontario. The program offers eligible business owners a micro-grant of up to $2,400 to help with the costs related to implementing an e-commerce strategy and hands-on support from a network of E-commerce Advisors.
