The Power of Being Seen

On June 7th I came across a Facebook post from Gilles and his wife Melissa, the owners of Café Gilou and the new management team behind the restaurant located inside The Sands Hotel. What caught my attention was the reason they were posting. Because Café Gilou is located inside The Sands Hotel, many people, myself included, may have assumed it was for hotel guests. Gilles and Melissa were simply trying to let the community know something important: “We’re here, we’re open, and everyone is welcome.” And it made me realize something. It wasn’t really about Café Gilou. It was about visibility. How many businesses in our area face the same challenge? Great food. Great products. Great experiences. But people don’t know they exist, don’t know they’re open, don’t know what’s happening there, or have assumptions that simply aren’t true. Being local to the area, I know the problem isn’t that we lack great businesses. Information is scattered across websites, Facebook pages, Google searches, tourism sites, old posts, and word of mouth. Unless you’re actively looking, it’s easy to miss some of the best places right in front of you. That post became one of the proof points that what I’m building with Sauble Today is needed. Not to replace Facebook. Not to replace websites. But to create one place where locals and visitors can easily discover what’s happening in Sauble today, who’s open, what specials are running, what events are taking place, and what hidden gems they might otherwise miss. Sometimes businesses don’t need better products. They don’t need a bigger building. They don’t need more staff. Sometimes they simply need to be easier to find. And sometimes, all it takes is one simple Facebook post to remind you there’s a problem worth solving.