Spotlight on Kiera Fogg: Business Success Served on the Rocks

Written By: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Strategist, Futurpreneur Canada

Entrepreneur Kiera Fogg, was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, however, with family ties back in Thunder Bay, she often spent summers camping and exploring the wilderness of Northern Ontario. This is where Kiera’s love for rocks began. “I would find clusters of amethyst and pyrite in the wild and bring them home to my collection thinking they were so magical,” she shared.

As Kiera grew up, she became a more serious crystal collector, learning the different meanings and metaphysical properties which sparked the idea to start Little Box of Rocks. Little Box of Rocks is essentially like a flower shop, but with crystals. You can buy the bouquets in a variety of themes like birthday, success, and friendship that comes in a hand wrapped wooden box. Each box comes with four semi-precious crystals, a personalized letter and a keepsake note card explaining the meaning of the stones.

But before pursuing her entrepreneurship dream, Kiera tried her hand at many different things. In her late teens and early twenties she was an international fashion model and singer, with a music video that was released in 17 countries. However, she discovered the entertainment industry wasn’t for her, so she went to school to study Creative Communications. “Initially I thought I wanted to be a news broadcaster, but found that it was just too nerve wracking for me,” she explained. She then worked briefly in public relations before giving birth to her first son and deciding to stay at home with the kids for the next few years, and eventually starting her own business.

Juggling a family of now three young boys, all under the age of six, along with a start-up can be challenging and Kiera explains that some days she handles it with more ease and grace than others. “Finding the balance between work and parenting isn’t easy, but what I’ve come to accept is that a perfect balance doesn’t have to be achieved,” she says. Kiera admits that some days she has to forget about work because the kids need more of her attention, and other days she relies on her husband to fill in the gaps. “It’s always a give and take and I never feel like I’ve fully mastered it, but I’ve come to learn that’s okay.”

Kiera’s background in public relations however, really helped with her business launch. Little Box of Rocks has been seen in Vogue, Oprah Magazine and Chatelaine, to name a few. She used her PR knowledge to craft her own pitches to media and sent hundreds of pitches to media outlets without hearing back from any. However, her persistence ended up paying off when she heard Little Box of Rocks was going to be featured in Goop, a gift guide by Gwyneth Paltrow only two months after launching. This placement sparked a wave of media interest across North America. However, one thing that Kiera wants people to understand is that all this celebrity and media attention she received didn’t happen overnight, even if it may appear that way. “What they don’t see is all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes,” she shares.

Kiera explains that many people have the “fairy god mother syndrome” where people believe that our success or happiness is going to come when an outside source such as an influential person or pinnacle event happens. “As a society, we tend to gravitate to that fairytale story, but it’s a disease because it keeps us stuck hoping, waiting and not taking matters into our own hands. The truth we need to hold as entrepreneurs, is that there are no outside forces that can shape our destinies as much as we ourselves can. So my advice would be to own your destiny and never hand off the power of your fate to anyone. It’s yours and yours alone.”

The Futurpreneur team looks forward to continue to watch Kiera’s business grow.

UGo Smoothies: Making Healthy Food Convenient

UGo Smoothies is making eating healthy a lot simpler by developing a vending machine that spits out delicious and all-natural, vegan, dairy and sugar free smoothies.

Started by Mitch Schwartz and Morgan Abraham in Montreal, Quebec, UGo Smoothies was developed when the pair wanted to create a way for busy people to eat well on the go. The food system today is still unfortunately so broken. There are almost zero requirements to label your products “all natural” or “organic” and after noticing that fast food was often inexpensive, but healthy food was absurdly expensive, the duo felt a need to bring something to the market.

With Mitch’s background in industrial and mechanical design working in food packaging and Morgan’s background as an electrical engineer building design and medical equipment, the pair set out to bring an affordable, healthy and quick way for people to consume healthier options. “Our society has accepted that anything worth doing takes effort, but when obesity has surpassed lung cancer as the top cause of self-inflicted death in North America, things have clearly gone too far,” Mitch explained for the inspiration behind UGo Smoothies vending machines.

To date, UGo Smoothies has built an engineering department that can work effectively in Mitch or Morgan’s absence and received an exciting letter of intent from a large client that will allow them to distribute their machines across North America. However, the entrepreneurial journey for these two entrepreneurs still has been a rollercoaster just like anyone else’s. “Understanding how to handle the stress without letting it turn into anger or guilt has been one of my biggest learning curves,” Mitch explains.

The co-founder also stressed the importance of taking advice from others, as a new or aspiring entrepreneur you’ll notice that people will come at you from all angles offering their advice. So how do you know when to take it and when to choose to ignore? Mitch shared some insights:

Everyone has an opinion, many of those opinions come from experience, many are vitally important for you to listen to, but some can be distracting or misleading. Even if I’ve done what you’re about to do, I did it as me, so I can’t really know what it would be like for you, since your skillsets are almost certainly different than mine.” So here are some of my opinions on taking advice:

1) Only follow advice from people in the areas of life in which you would like to emulate them.

2) Let advice sink in before acting on it.

3) If you aren’t sure about the advice, rather than disregarding it outright or arguing, attempt to understand why the person feels this advice is important, if only 20% of it is useful, then you’re still better off having understood it.

4) As irritating as unsolicited advice may be, the people giving it want to feel important. As a founder, relationships are your number one job, so politely thanking them and changing the topic is a great route. Explaining why they are wrong is a waste of your time.

5) Sometimes you’ll take advice and want to act on it, but won’t make much progress despite good intentions. This could be a sign that you understand that what but not the how. Generally the person who gave you the advice will be open to follow ups, provided they feel their time with you is well spent.

UGo Smoothies are in the process of installing their first machines and are taking pre-orders as of this month. To learn more, visit their website here.

Mitch and Morgan were part of the Spin Master Innovation Fund program run by Futurpreneur Canada and Spin Master Ltd., to learn more about this offering, click here.

Written by: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Specialist, Futurpreneur Canada

The Pie Hole: Starting Slow & Steady

Focused on bringing the best sweet and savory pies to Vancouver, the Pie Hole uses fresh, local ingredients to make things from scratch just like grandma used to.

The Pie Hole was started when self-taught hobby baker, Jenell Parsons, realized how much she loved the smiles her baking brought to people’s faces. At the time, there wasn’t any shops in Vancouver that focused solely on pies and it took a few years of attending local markets and pop ups before she was finally committed enough to quit her job and start making pies full-time.

But how did a 36-year-old with a background in art and 3D computer animation end up mastering the pie making process after all? Jenell humbly says she wouldn’t say she has mastered the art of pie making yet but the process is about remembering to always learn and grow. However, having pie making come naturally to her definitely helps the case. She told us that she’s worked on a recipe to perfect her crust, which many people struggle with, and now the crust is one of the signature parts of their pies. “One of the biggest compliments we get from our customers is when they tell us that our pies remind them of their mother or grandmothers pies,” she shared. “To be able to recreate someone’s memories of a loved one is a very special gift to give them.”

Jenell is currently in the process of creating her first shop which is set to open in the spring 2017. She describes her entrepreneurial journey as the slow and safe route as far as starting a business is concerned. “I have learned so much as I have grown this business to what it is today,” she shared. “I couldn’t be more nervous and more excited for the next step.”

Although Jenell has had a slow and steady start to creating the business she dreamed about, that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been many challenges in starting up. “I always say it is like being on the craziest rollercoaster,” she explains. “Some days you are on top of the world and others you are wondering why you are doing this.” However, through these ups and downs, Jenell is thankful to live in a city like Vancouver where the support is paramount to the Pie Hole’s success. Despite not having a permanent shop opened up yet, Jenell explained that her customers have gone out of the way to find her pies.

On top of balancing her own business, Jenell also just recently gave birth to her first child, and for the first time in many years, she is finally learning about prioritizing and finding balance between work and life. The Pie Hole was her entire life, and some days she even spent 30+ straight hours in the bakery, and although her business is still a huge priority, remembering the importance of also having a life and making time for family is important to her. “Becoming a partner has been the best thing for me and my business,” she shared. “I have taken my daughter to work since she was four weeks old and she is growing up in the bakery but I have limited hours I spend in the bakery and have learned to depend on our staff.” Learning how to make time for life on top of your business can be one of the biggest learning curves, but also one of the best things you can do for yourself and your business.

The Futurpreneur team can’t wait to see Jenell’s new shop open up later this year! To learn more about where you can get her pies until then, click here.

Clear float spa: Floating to Business Success

After discovering the benefits of meditation at the age of 23, Bryce Weeks found it difficult to return to that deep meditative state while struggling with the demands of everyday life. This is when he discovered floating. Floatation therapy is where clients enter a special solution of salinated water, where the buoyancy makes you float on the water without any effort. Bryce found that this helped him return to his meditative state easier with great transformative benefits. This is where his passion grew to help others who were struggling with stress, energy and life goals and he opened clear float spa in Calgary, Alberta.

When you arrive at clear float spa you are taken through an experience which is designed to remove anxiety and stress. “From the moment you walk in you are put at ease with a warm smile and a lot of information to help ease you into a brand new environment,” he explained. After you finish your float you are greeted with a personalized message and a hot tea or kombucha that you can take with you into a post-float Zen room where you can read, relax or connect with other floaters.

After 30-45 minutes floating, you’ll move into a natural meditative theta brainwave state that activates the parasympathetic nervous (PN) system. This activation of the PN system reduces the release of stress chemical, cortisol which leads to a reduced heart rate, lowered blood pressure and numerous other benefits. Your brain will also begin to release elevated levels of dopamine and endorphins, the neurotransmitters of happiness.

Although floating is becoming more and more popular, the approach that Bryce takes at clear float spa is different than other spas. “Our approach is different in the sense that we promote consistency,” he shared. “Most float centers offer 90 minute floats but most people don’t have two hours out of their day to float so they then rush to get back to their life and feel anxious all over again.” Instead, clear float spa offers 60 minute floats with a relaxing post-float Zen room to decompress and relax after the float instead of jumping back into your chaotic life.

This unique atmosphere and relaxing experience has attracted many customers into the spa but in particular, some high profile celebrities which Bryce asks to remain anonymous. “I would say the only way we attracted them was through our strong online strategy coupled with a strong high end branding strategy,” he says. “We attract high profile clients because we appear to be the elite brand in town due to our online presence, social media strategy and website.”

Bryce says that his biggest challenges he’s faced with starting his business was getting the financing he needed and opening the doors. “Financing and construction were probably two of the toughest milestones for me so far and when I look back I still cannot believe the doors are open for business,” he shares. The help he received through Futurpreneur Canada has been incredibly helpful for keeping him on track. Through the Futurpreneur program, entrepreneurs are paired with a mentor for up to two years, and he explains this as being monumental for him and his business. “My mentor has been through the battle of starting a business so the reassurance that you are on the right path and that someone has been in a similar situation before is very comforting.”

We can’t wait to continue to see the success of clear float spa blossom. Bryce wanted to leave other entrepreneurs with one piece of advice: “Don`t listen to what anyone else says.  If you find a product that you are passionate about and you think it can help people then focus hard on that and only that.  If you do that nothing can stop you.”

Talking Self-Care with TranQool

After graduating from mechanical engineering, Chakameh Shafii found herself working for a fortune 500 company in a leadership program, but with her personal experience living with anxiety, she wanted to start something that would make access to therapy easier. This is where the idea for TranQool started to blossom with the other two co-founders, Babak Shahabi and Saeed Zeinalidanaloo.

TranQool is an online counselling platform that connects people to accredited therapists and lets them have their sessions online from the comfort of their homes. Many people feel like there is a stigma around seeking out help, so a solution like TranQool allows them to receive the support and help they need without having to feel uncomfortable with  going to sit in a waiting room before seeing a therapist.

The three masterminds behind the platform wanted to change the mental health system’s biggest problem and built a solution from a user’s point-of-view. In doing that, they’ve learned a lot about the mental health industry in Canada, the rules and regulations, client-therapist relationships, as well as building a technology that assists an existing service in a non-intrusive way.

Since launching the beta in February 2016, they managed to build a team and also attract active and regular users. They are currently present on university campuses and are facilitating hundreds of therapy sessions that might have not otherwise happened. “We are so touched by the testimonials we get from our users,” Chakameh said.

However, being entrepreneurs who run a platform that promotes self-care, it’s especially important that they take the time to also take care of themselves. Chakameh shared that she is a huge advocate of self-care and the importance for entrepreneurs specifically due to the nature of their demanding jobs. “If we are not resilient ourselves we can’t build a strong team,” she shared. “It’s important to learn to regulate our emotions and learn to cope with turbulence.”

In an article she wrote for Huffington Post about being a selfish entrepreneur, Chakameh explained that when deciding to be an entrepreneur, in order to build a business without burning out, you likely are going to have to be selfish. She provided some examples that can help you, unplug from work and take time to mentally and physically regroup and stay healthy.

You can be selfish by:

• Going to the gym
• Spending time catching up on Netflix
• Reducing your circle of friends to those that you really enjoy spending time with
• Having meaningful conversations instead of chit chats
• Cooking healthy meals for yourself
• Making time for family and friend gatherings and important days like birthdays

Self-care is a critical component to building a successful business, and ensuring you remain healthy and at the top of your game as an entrepreneur. Chakameh wanted to leave other aspiring entrepreneurs with this piece of advice: “Find what you love and just do it. But before quitting your day job, assess the consequences of jumping into entrepreneurship. Is there really a market need for it? How much do you really believe in it and how far are you willing to go to make it happen? Realize that you will have to sacrifice many important parts of your life and question whether or not it will be worth it to you.”

TranQool was a 2016 recipient of the Spin Master Innovation Fund, a program by Spin Master Ltd. and Futurpreneur Canada for innovative entrepreneurs. To learn more about the Spin Master Innovation Fund, click here.  

Written By: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Specialist, Futurpreneur Canada

Volcano Bakery: Bringing a Taste from Home to St. John’s

Both Icelandic, Haukur Hauksson (Hawk) and Adalbjorg Sigurthorsdottir (Adele) moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland in 2013 and decided to bring a part of home to Canada.

Hawk had learned to be a baker in Iceland, as well as took courses to be a pastry chef in Denmark. Following, he worked in Norway for a year where he learned how to make even more Scandanavian treats and eventually opened a bakery with his father in Iceland which multiplied into three bakeries over the course of 18 years. His wife, Adele, was always working in the office helping with the administrative side of the business like payroll, accounting, ordering, etc. Today their bakery, Volcano Bakery is located in St. John’s and brings unique and delicious sweet treats to the neighbourhood.

Volcano Bakery, whose name was inspired by the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, stands out among the crowd. The bakery bakes their goods fresh every day. Their bread is sugar free with no preservatives, which is common to Iceland, and the Scandinavian pastries are different than anything you’ll find in Newfoundland.

Starting a business in Canada however is much different than in Iceland. Adele explained that the biggest challenge for them was understanding all the permits they needed from the city. The pair depended on the help from the YMCA Business Planning Program to help get their business off the ground and the financial support from Futurpreneur Canada. “We needed the financing for our start-up to help us make Hawks dream come true,” Adele shared. “He wanted this from the day we moved to St. John’s.”

Since opening, Adele and Hawk saw a busy August and September with several customers coming in to look at their delicious offerings. Over Christmas they also have a lot of new customers coming in and thinking about them for the holiday season. They’re both really happy at the progress they’ve seen in their business and had to hire even more staff then they originally thought to keep up with the demand.

The couple hopes to work to get their products sold in stores. They’re currently struggling with this process but hope that eventually people won’t just be able to get their products in their bakery, but also in other retailers in Newfoundland.

We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Adele and Hawk. To learn more about their bakery, visit their Facebook page here.

Written By: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Specialist, Futurpreneur Canada

Two Bears Coffee: Starting from Scratch

David and Moustafa have been friends since they were 12 years old. They connected because they had similar life goals and hobbies, from playing basketball when they were teenagers to their opinions about starting a business. Being so alike, not only made them lifelong friends, but successful business partners who started Two Bears Coffee only two years ago.

The pair both believes that a business should be thought of backwards. Instead of deciding what you want to do, decide why you want to do it. “The why for us was to travel, have fun, make a positive difference in people’s lives and sell a product we love,” David shared. He remembers being an entrepreneur for as long as he could remember as he’s always enjoyed building something from scratch to a real product.

Their business, Two Bears Coffee, specializes in cold brew coffee, which most people didn’t even know about when they launched. To make their product they take premium specialty grade direct trade beans that are then cold brewed over 16 hours to produce a naturally sweet tasting coffee that can be enjoyed in several different ways, including over ice.

However, being a product that no one was really doing was a huge barrier for David and Moustafa. There wasn’t a recipe book out there, and when they had questions, not even Google could help them out. “We really had to MacGyver on coming up with solutions. We did everything we could to grow, from cold emailing food scientists off LinkedIn to speaking with plumbers to develop a way to make bigger batches,” David explained.

This challenge however didn’t stop the business partners from pushing through and pursuing their dreams. Staying the course can be one of the biggest challenges for new entrepreneurs, and David definitely agreed that it was easy to come up with new ideas that seemed better but realized that if you make too many changes you end up spinning your wheels. So David and Moustafa stuck with their idea, and worked their butts off to make people understand and want their new product. “We brewed and hand bottled through the night and drove around selling brew to stores one-by-one during the day until we grew into distribution.”

Their hard work paid off as Two Bears Coffee is now available in over 350 retailers across Canada, including well-known giants like Whole Foods, and when we caught up with them recently they were hoping to expand beyond the Canadian borders in the near future.

The Futurpreneur team can’t wait to follow David and Moustafa on their cold brew journey. The pair wanted to leave other entrepreneurs with this one piece of advice: “Just show up. A great part about being an entrepreneur is the planning and brainstorming, but I think some people have internal fear when it comes to executing. If you have a good product and love what you do, then go for it. Plan and execute.”

Lyndon and Derrick: Two Brothers in the Saltwater Fish Business

At five years old, brothers, Lyndon and Derrick Jameson had their first fish tank and after visiting the Vancouver Aquarium when they were 12, the two fell in love with saltwater ecosystems.

After both completing their Bachelor in Science degrees with an emphasis on ecology and environmental science from the University of Manitoba, and working for four years conducting research in the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, the brothers decided to open a retail fish store, Into the Blue. Into the Blue specializes in saltwater fish and believes in providing environmentally friendly alternatives to purchasing wild stock in the hopes of helping their industry and revolutionizing aquaculture. They also offer personalized aquarium maintenance programs for both residential and commercial customers.

At only 25 years old, Lyndon and Derrick have already hired their first full-time employee after only two years in business. For them, entrepreneurship was second nature. At 13, they were already breeding leopard geckos and selling them to local pet stores to help them pay for their saltwater fish hobby. “We often made jokes that when we would retire we would open a saltwater fish store,” Lyndon explained. “Upon graduating from the University of Manitoba, we were offered full-time positions as fishery consultants but noticed an opening in the saltwater market and decided to take the leap.”

But although they appear to be two peas in a pod, starting a business with your family can have many learning curves. Lyndon explained that often things can get frustrating and communication is key to understand what the other is feeling and thinking. “It’s important to be patient and listen to avoid conflict as much as possible,” he said. He shared these three things that are critical when starting a business with your family:

• You both have the same vision and mission for the company
• You have good and open communication
• The ability to find your weaknesses and strengths to help you work together

Recently, Lyndon and Derrick won in the youth business category for the Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce’s Indigenous Business Awards for being positive role models to Indigenous youth. The pair got a call about their win and immediately gave each other a high five in excitement. “We are very proud to be metis and be part of the community,” Lyndon said. “But to have been recognized by our community and to have won something like this award is truly meaningful. As biologists learning to be entrepreneurs is new and different and little more difficult than we expected but to know that we have won an award for something we did not go to school for is incredible.”

Lyndon shared one piece of advice for other aspiring young entrepreneurs: “Never give up and always try to look forward. Remember that you will have a lot of cloudy days but it is looking forward to that sunny day that drives you.”

Written By: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Specialist, Futurpreneur Canada

Entrepreneurship and Mental Health: Tackling Your Anxiety

Written By: Sarah Landrum, Founder, Punched Clocks

Although many don’t realize it, Canada is home to many prolific entrepreneurs, long-running enterprises and even new start-ups. With names like John Molson of Molson Brewery fame and a shortlist of new business launches that includes the likes of Shopify, the country has provided the world with some of its most innovative and forward-thinking minds. And you’re on track to be the next big mind. It’s a lot of pressure.

Regardless of how progressive or advanced entrepreneurs’ thought patterns may be, the human brain is still susceptible to anxiety and other mental health disorders. While such obstacles can make your road to the top a little bumpier, they can be overcome with knowledge, dedication and career focus.

A problem amongst millennials

The issue of anxiety is a growing problem throughout the country. With nearly 3% of Canadians aged 15 or older indicating some amount of anxiety, most of whom are under the age 25, it’s safe to say that our country’s millennials are more susceptible to the issue than our established business professionals.

Mike Gozzo, Montreal-based entrepreneur and mobile app developer, experienced this problem firsthand after founding his first start-up, Appifier. After drawing a large share of the market and seeing near-instantaneous profits, Gozzo experienced a number of setbacks in the form of bad investment advice as well as the lack of promised funding. The company was ultimately sold, but it took Gozzo some time before he embraced the situation as a learning opportunity.

Today’s millennials are even using their own fight against anxiety as a means of reaching out to their peers and helping other entrepreneurs overcome their own personal issues. The team with TranQool, headquartered out of Toronto, provides group workshops as well as face-to-face mental health counseling via streaming video.

Dealing with anxiety on a day-to-day basis

Anxiety is best handled one step at a time. Moreover, it’s an issue that can be tackled at home as well as on the job. Exercising regularly and eating healthier is a great place to start. The improved flow of endorphins as well as the increase in brain chemistry associated with this type of healthy lifestyle will lead to happy thoughts, good feelings and a positive demeanor.

Sometimes, simply talking about your problems to a peer, friend or family member can be enough to ease the growing anxiety you face as an entrepreneur. The Internet provides plenty of resources, including online message boards, discussion forums and bulletin boards, where you can connect with other millennials, entrepreneurs and professionals who are battling their own similar issues.

You might find that it helps to remind yourself of why you started your entrepreneurial path in the first place. Not only does this ensure you maintain focus on your goals and dreams, but it can be used to find your sense of motivation when you’re in the darkest and lowest of places.

If you’ve tried every other solution imaginable, you may have no other choice than to reach out to a professional. There are a plethora of different services available, many of which are centered on anxiety and related disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy, for example, has been proven highly effective against anxiety as well as stress. As it turns out, both of these issues tend to be common problems amongst today’s entrepreneurs.

Becoming a successful entrepreneur in spite of your anxiety

The issue of anxiety and mental health is a problem that has the potential to affect us all. Although entrepreneurs and self-made professionals are often viewed as happy-go-lucky, optimistic and charismatic individuals, many of them suffer from the same mental health issues as any other Canadian worker.

Seeking help doesn’t make you weak, and people, especially entrepreneurs, should make sure to take care of their mental health before anything else. This is what’s going to allow you to build a strong and successful business.

Cake & Loaf Bakery: A Winning (and Tasty) Business

After being laid-off, Josie Rudderham saw an opportunity to focus her career on the food business which she’d always dreamed about and college friend, Nicole Miller, had already been working in the baking industry for over a decade but was eager to start her own business. That’s where the two reconnected after four years of losing touch with one another after college. With their passion and desire to open a bakery, and their roots in Hamilton, Ontario, Nicole and Josie started Cake & Loaf Bakery, a from-scratch neighbourhood bakery focused on shaping living wage careers and showcasing creative talents in the community.

The employees of the bakery, which they call “Loafers” are encouraged to develop their creativity in all aspects of their business, while creating custom, special occasion cakes, artisan breads, pastries, chocolates and confections, coffee and light lunches that have an emphasis on organic, fair trade and local ingredients. The pair wanted to create a workplace that not only they love, but that their employees love too. “First, we try to make sure our employees have the tools they need to do their job properly whether that’s training, physical equipment, a living wage or access to the right ingredients,” Josie explains. “Then we let them do what they do best.”

Recently the Hamilton-based bakery beat out 3,400 other small businesses from across Canada in the TELUS Small Business Challenge. This annual event is hosted by TELUS and The Globe and Mail and shines a light on Canada’s small business community. The contest invites entrepreneurs to submit their biggest business challenge and propose an innovative solution for a chance to win a grand prize of $100,000. Josie and Nicole entered this contest on a whim with no expectations of winning against all the other great businesses that entered. When TELUS selected their final five and Cake & Loaf was one of them, Josie said they were shocked and honoured.

The pair traveled to Toronto to present with the other finalists and met entrepreneurs from across the country. “That in itself was a really meaningful experience and helped us focus our business goals and aspirations for Cake & Loaf,” Josie explained. After the trip to Toronto, Josie and Nicole received the exciting news that they were the winners of the 2016 Small Business Challenge. “Winning an award this big means that we have many more opportunities than we did before and we’re very excited to put it to good use.”

Since winning the Small Business Challenge, Josie explained that they had been cautious with the funds they won and have kept their projects fairly small. They did however, finally have the chance to throw their staff an amazing Christmas party that they had deserved for years but never had the budget for. The bakery also recently held a community event called Lights of Dundrun to raise money to help reunite a Syrian refugee family, and have been able to hire for an administrative position which has transformed how they run their business. “Having someone take care of the day-to-day admin details really frees you up to think big,” she said.

After five years in business, Josie and Nicole are ready to tackle the busy holiday season, and can only hope that 2017 will be an even more exciting year for the two of them and their business. Their biggest tip that they wanted to leave other entrepreneurs is: “Take time for yourself. Taking time for your family, your friends, your pets or whatever it is that grounds you is extremely important to being your best self.”

Written By: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Specialist, Futurpreneur Canada

Launching While Working? Three Pitfalls to Avoid as you Grow your Business

Written By: Chivon John, Founder & CEO of Secrets of a Side Hustler

There was a time when starting a business and keeping your day job was seen as taboo but nowadays you’d be hard pressed to find a person who isn’t a proud ‘employedpreneur’.

Although starting a business as a side hustle can give your start-up an edge, here are three pitfalls to avoid if your plan is to grow your business from hobby to profitable venture.

Pitfall #1: Getting side tracked by ‘side hustle shame’

As sexy as the ‘fire your boss’ or ‘escape from cubicle nation’ narratives sound, quitting your day job to immediately start a business is not realistic for every aspiring entrepreneur. In reality, many well-known businesses such as Mailchimp, Freshbooks and Convert Kit originated as ‘side projects’ and research is revealing that doing so can give your business a leg up on the competition.

A study entitled ‘Should I Quit my Day Job?” in the Academy of Management Journal revealed that businesses that are launched while the founder is employed and later become their full-time gig, are one third less likely to fail than those begun as full-time enterprises. So if you’re feeling self-conscious about your ‘employedpreneur’ status take comfort in knowing that hanging on to your job and taking intentional steps may help your business have a greater chance of success in the long run.

Pitfall #2: Slacking at your full-time job

Answer honestly – Are you giving the same effort to your full-time role since starting your business? If the answer is no, you may be missing out on a great opportunity to learn to become a better entrepreneur.

Why? Because your full-time role is the ultimate training ground for how great and not so great businesses are run. Not to mention, as a full-time entrepreneur you don’t have the luxury of checking out when you no longer feel interested or inspired to do something, so why should you show up this way at your job?

As a full-time Executive Assistant and Founder of three profitable businesses, Pauleanna Reid regularly shares with her clients the importance of not letting your ambition for entrepreneurship cloud your judgement and performance at your full-time role. “When you get into the office, give your best effort. Not just some days, but every damn day.”

As a side hustler, think of your job as your ‘angel investor’ in your business growth that may eventually lead to future leads and opportunities for your career. When you’re on the job, commit to being fully present and identify the ways how your current role can actually contribute to your business growth or entrepreneurial knowledge.

Pitfall #3: Over-scheduling your time and under-scheduling self-care

Don’t let the excitement of having a business cloud your judgment of how much you can actually get done in a day. When you work full-time you have to factor in:

• The 7.5+ hour investment at your full-time job
• The time to commute if you don’t work from home
• 2-3+ hours to actually work on your business
• Personal and family commitments
• Sleeping

Typically sleep is the first thing to go when we’re in hustle mode but self-care should be your sidekick when you’re living the side hustle life.

Stacking your to do list without giving any thought to how much effort it will take to complete the work will contribute to you becoming a stressed out entrepreneur instead of a successful one so pay attention to where you invest your energy and time.

Weekend Reading List

It’s time for a roundup of some great content we found over the last few weeks online for entrepreneurs. Need a weekend read? Here is a list to power through and help motivate and inspire this weekend.

Nine Business Tools for Working Smarter Instead of Harder – Entrepreneur
Serial entrepreneur, Matthew Toren, shares nine tools that will allow you to work smarter instead of harder. These tools can help you cut down on busywork and focus on creating results.

Six Tips for Launching a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign – Shopify
Futurpreneur-supported business, Magnetree Books, launched a successful crowdfunding campaign which landed them $20,000 in 30 days to help them reach their business goals. Founder, Josie, shares her tips for crowdfunding success.

How to Achieve Your Goals without Going Crazy – YouInc
We have a tendency to hold ourselves up to impossible standards and when we have trouble living up to them, we beat ourselves up. Here are some tips that will help you achieve your goals without making yourself crazy.

The Value of Adopting a Side-Hustle Mindset – Virgin
“Side-hustle” is becoming the new buzz word in the entrepreneurship realm. Managing a passion project/business on the side of your 9-5 career is becoming more and more popular. These side-hustlers share their experiences.

Happy reading!