The Kootenay List

For businesses

Why your business is on the List, free

I am Brett. I live in Castlegar, and I kept running into the same problem: every time I tried to look up a business in this region, the directory was out of date, half the phone numbers were dead, or the good stuff was locked behind a membership I had no reason to pay for. The listings that were supposed to help residents had quietly rotted.

So I built the open one. The Kootenay List is one public record of every business in the Kootenays, traced to a public source and kept current. As of the last full sweep there are 5,682 businesses on it, stamped 24 JUL 2026. Your business is one of them, and putting you here cost you nothing, because that is the whole point.

What being listed gives you, at no cost

The listingA real page for your business, with your town, your category, and your details as I could verify them.
The linkIf you have a website, your listing links straight to it, and that link is a real, followable one that helps people and search engines find you.
The stampThe date your entry was last seen in a public source, shown in the open, so your neighbours can trust that what they are reading is still true.

See the difference

Here is a real listing on the List with the claimed layer switched off and on. Flip it.

Web Design & IT

Kootenay Made Digital

Castlegar · claimed by the owner

Websitehttps://www.kootenaymade.ca
HoursFiled by the owner
What they doIn their own words

In the owner's words

I hand-build websites for businesses here and anywhere, out of Castlegar. Custom code, not a template. Templates help you launch. Custom code helps you compete. What I build is yours outright, not rented from a platform that can put the price up whenever it likes. Most builds are live in two to three weeks. Websites start at $2,000, or $189 a month for a year. Those prices are on my site, not behind a discovery call. I built this register too, and I keep it. Free, always.

LAST CHECKED 24 JUL 2026

This is a real listing, not a mock. The stamp is on both, because the register keeps its own record either way. Everything that appears when you flip the switch is something only the owner can supply.

What claiming adds

Claiming your listing is also free, and the biggest thing it buys you is being found. I file every business from whatever its public record said, and for a lot of them that was one vague word. Claim your listing and you can say what you actually offer in your own words, add your hours, your photos and your logo, a booking or quote link, and your service area if you travel to jobs. You also wear the claimed check that tells people the record is yours and up to date. Nothing about claiming signs you up for anything you did not ask for.

Claim your listing

If your listing says “No website yet”

Plenty of good businesses in this region do not have a site, and your listing works fine without one. But if you have been meaning to fix that, I run a web studio here in Castlegar called Kootenay Made Digital, and building honest sites for local businesses is what I do. It is a separate thing from the List, there is no catch, and your listing stays free either way.

See Kootenay Made Digital

Straight answers

Does it really cost nothing?
Yes. Your listing is free and it stays free. There is no paid tier that makes you show up higher, because nothing on the List is sorted by who paid. I do not sell placement, and I do not sell the list.
Why is my business already on here?
The List starts from the region's own public record: municipal licence rosters, regulator registries, chamber directories, and businesses' own sites. If you are on here, it is because your business turned up in one of those sources, and your listing names the source it came from.
Do I have to claim it?
No. Your listing works whether or not you ever touch it. But claiming is how you get found for what you actually do. The List files you from whatever the public record said, and for a lot of businesses that was one vague word like “services”. Claim it and you can say what you offer in your own words, add your hours, your photos, a booking link, and your service area if you travel to jobs, and get the claimed check next to your name.
What is the stamp on my listing?
It is the date your entry was last seen in a public source. The List is built from the region's public record: municipal licence rosters, regulator registries like Technical Safety BC, chamber directories, and businesses' own websites. The stamp says when your entry last turned up in one of them, and your listing names the source, so you can go and look for yourself. A directory that only tells you it verified something is asking you to take its word for it. Every directory this region has ever had died of going stale, so the List wears its freshness in the open. When an entry gets old, it says so instead of pretending.
What if I do not have a website?
That is fine, and it is common: as of the last full sweep, hundreds of businesses on the List have no site yet. Your listing still gives you a real page people can find. If you ever want a proper website, my studio Kootenay Made Digital builds them, and there is no pressure either way.
Will you email me a bunch?
No. There is no mailing list at all. The only email you would ever get from me is a direct reply to something you sent, and claiming your listing does not sign you up for anything.