PIVOT Spotlight: Boreal Clinic
Boreal Clinic’s teamwork allowed the business to pivot quickly and expand its services
Evie Allen started Boreal Clinic six years ago. It was a small speech and language clinic and she was the only therapist. In 2018, she incorporated and hired a few employees. Two years later, she has eight full-time employees, working across the Yukon and northern B.C..
When COVID-19 hit, she wasn’t sure what the future would look like. The clinic was in the middle of a spring camp when the territory shut down. Evie said her team jumped into action to pivot quickly.
We talked with Evie about growing and some of the lessons she’s learned while pivoting her business during COVID-19.
Tell us what surprised you most as you look back at how you adapted to COVID since its onset in relation to your business?
I knew my team was amazing before we went into COVID. They're young, dynamic and smart. We adjusted so quickly. We shut down to in-person services on a Wednesday night. And by the next Monday, we were online and doing remote therapy. Looking back, we were months ahead of the game.
What's come out of COVID and all that adjustment we had to make has really paid off because we have been able to expand our services that much more.
[Remote therapy] has been really neat because we've been able to offer sessions to kids where we hadn't been able to travel before. In the communities where we again travel regularly, we'll do follow up Zoom sessions as well so that we have more continuity.
What are you most proud of having done, seen, worked on, etc. during the early stages
of COVID?
The support from our community has really allowed my team to focus on our clients and what we could offer them. Some of our clients couldn't go online right away. And my team went to work immediately, creating therapy care packages. We had a huge mail out ready within the first week or so which went out to all the clients so that they had materials and activities that they could do with their parents at home to continue working toward their goals.
What’s one thing you would say to Yukon business owners today as we look ahead to a
still unpredictable future?
Invest in your people. Knowing that their work is important and appreciated and that they are part of a team is huge. An engaged and invested team goes a long way in getting you through tough times.
We also invested financially on technology and online resources for each of my employees to make sure that they could work successfully from home.
What qualities do you believe SMEs need to have to run resilient businesses?
Knowing your staff, knowing your clients, and investing in both, that's what makes you resilient.
For more information, like and follow Boreal Clinic on Facebook and visit their website: www.borealclinic.com