If any of you know me, I am an obsessive horse lover and that is how I first met Andrea. Then I recognized her as a familiar face at the Western Fair Farmer's Market one Saturday.  I was excited to learn that Andrea also has her own business and had to invite her on the show.  She has had a great journey in life and the holistic industry when she decided to create her business Wholistic Health Care.  Enjoy her interview and find out more about what Wholistic Health Care can offer you during this cold and flu season. www.wholistichealthcare.ca http://youtu.be/Kv6GR_zjNMQ Listen to the Audio here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/Andrea_Coulter.mp3 Right Click this link to save the .mp3 file to your favourite device.

I met Michelle during my networking and at first I really didn't like her. Here was this tall, good looking, confident woman who seemed to have it all.  Everything that I wanted, and I was jealous.  After I shook my head at my ego, the Entrepreneur in me started looking for opportunity.  Maybe if I got to know this business leader better some of her confidence would rub off on me. :D Then, as you will soon learn in our interview, I learned her story goes deeper.  You can also check Michelle as the MC for the Women In Business Conference this Friday Jan 23, 2015 for more details about that, visit: www.wibusiness.net Find out more about KapCan Business Services at www.kapcan.ca Listen to the interview here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/Michelle_Kaplan_Podcast.mp3 Download the .mp3 file by right clicking on this link and save to your favourite device.

I just love meeting new people in all types of industries.  I met Amy at a new networking group called the London Wedding Professionals created by Rebecca Nash Emerson who has already been on the show.  Amy has a beautiful showroom that she has added to her home and makes you feel inspired as soon as you enter. In this interview Amy shares what she loves about her business as well as her struggles with money mentality. Also, if you are thinking about becoming a wedding planner you need to listen to Amy's extremely important advice. It could just save you years of stress and heartache. http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/amymcnall.mp3 Download episode here To find out more about Amy, please visit her website: www.UnmistakablyYou.com Are you part of the Wedding industry? What did you like most about our discussion?

Hey guys thanks again for listening to my podcast.  I can't wait for it to go to video and I can really provide some great value!  My guest today is Joe Ornato who was referred to me by Patrick Dunham from episode 15. Joe just started his coffee and food business and is also following the similar relationship marketing model that Patrick does.  He really enjoys providing his attention to his customers I think the a huge value opportunity to capitalize on. Plus it just makes doing business good for the soul! Question for you listeners, would you like to see a show with Patrick and Joe where they talk about coffee and the local food & restaurant industry? http://www.ojoecoffee.com   http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/joeornato.mp3 Dowload File Here  

I must say, the Entrepreneurs of London have had some amazing guest speakers that I just couldn't wait to sit down and get to know them a little better.  That is where I met Patrick Dunham.  Patrick has had a lot of experience in the coffee business and finally decided to start his own brand and do business they way he enjoys doing it.  Face to face from wholesale to customer.  This guy understands the meaning of relationship marketing. He makes sure that he reconnects with each person he does business with on regular basis.  I can't wait to get my hands on some of this Chocolate Covered Cocoa Coated Coffee Confections. To find out more about Patrick's Beans you can visit his website at www.patricksbeans.com  or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patricks-Beans/935472286468167 Entrepreneurs of London www.entrepreneursoflondon.ca    http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/patrickdunham.mp3

I met Rebecca at a networking group that she created called the Wedding Professionals. Now I know you might be asking what I have to do with the wedding industry and I figured I could offer websites or blog for couples to document their wedding planning or offer my services to the other wedding industry businesses. It was a lot of fun and we still meet once a month except during wedding show season (which happens to be September). Rebecca offers a lot of insight about what creatives often struggle with.  Pricing.  How to value your time and charge accordingly.  She also talks about how her daughter at age 8 is starting to get the Entrepreneurial bug. :D You can find Rebecca upstairs at the Western Fair Farmer's Market every Saturday from 8 am - 3 pm. Click here to find our more. Website – www.rebeccanashphotography.com Etsy – www.etsy.com/shop/rebeccanashphoto Facebook – www.facebook.com/rebeccanashphotography Twitter – www.twitter.com/rnashphoto Instagram – www.instagram.com/rebeccanashphotography Email – info@rebeccanashphotography.com Phone – 226-973-7115   http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/rebeccanash.mp3 Download this Episode

I met Jennifer Slay from Pink Ink at my first Women In Business networking event back in May 2014 and learned about their contest called The Face of Pink Ink.  She and her partner Rita Perepelitsky both work full time as well as run their own business and take care of their young families. She offers great advice and I commend them for bootstrapping their business. That means not using credit.  They reinvest their profits back into their business. By doing so they have received some generous help from other entrepreneurs including: Michelle Kaplan from KapCan business services Melanie Rhora from MVR solutions Ang Wencel from Visions - graphic atistry by Ang Shelly Shepherd from 100things2do blog (my next guest) Sal from The Salon downtown London Mompreneurs Janet from face trends Women In Business To find out more about Pink Ink you can visit them at http://pinkinkimage.com   http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/jenniferslay.mp3

I am learning quickly in business that a plan is not concrete. Its great to have but it needs to be flexible to incorporate all the opportunities and struggles that start popping up. I have learned more clearly what parts of my business I am strong in and what parts I am weak. Writing is one of my weaknesses and it takes a lot of evergy out of me to even just write these short intros. Sigh. So since my marketing plan was to blog about building my business, I've decided to create vlogs (video blogs) instead. You can check out the first one at https://londonpreneurs.ca/category/news/ and hopefully not notice how awkward I am on camera.  I am hoping that will go away with practise. I met my next guest, Lisa Austin from It Fits Personal Training at a couple networking events this past summer and was attracted to her passion for fitness.  Since then we had a coffee meeting and I have accepted her 30 day challenge to create a habit of regular exercise. I even promised her that I would record my progress on camera so she can share my progress as her testimonial. Yikes! Talk about accountability. If you interested in doing the 30 day challenge with me, please post in the comments below and keep me up to date.  You don't necessarily have to record yourself doing so (but it would be awesome if

It is taking me some time to find my peeps in this city. By peeps I mean, other digital artists who are creating on WordPress, vlogging and/or podcasting. Maybe I just haven't been looking in the right direction. If you are a 'techie', please let me know or if you know where the web designers all hang out, could you send me an invite? I did however, meet one very exuberant digital artist the Entrepreneurs of London lunch networking events. His name is Brook Watson and he shared his story about how the need for beer money motivated him to make more then one attempts at starting a business. He now is the co-founder of Eye Look Media a creative media company with a focus on Digital Signage deployments. I hope you will enjoy this interview and comment below. http://www.eyelookmedia.com/ http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/brookewatson.mp3 Download the .mp3 file by right clicking this link and save as.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/jaymecousinsfinal.mp3 I cannot stress enough how thankful I am to have a mentor in the web design industry as talented and open as Jayme Cousins. Not only has he given me great insight as to what to expect in my first few months, but also offer support and an ear to vent some frustrations.  If you are starting your own business, don't be afraid to reach out to your competition for mentoring.  The saying "you don't know, what you don't know" can truly make your first years in business a roller coaster.  Since your competitors have already been there and done that, they can save you not only time and money but also a few grey hairs too. Show Notes: Even though we are both in the web design industry, we do serve different types of customers Currently working on Mapleton's Organic and Geek Stop Games Starting In House Logic with the help of the Ontario Self Employment Benefit Jayme offers Online Presence advice for only $20/30 mins at the London Small Business Centre Balancing relationships and managing expectations Becoming a student at Western University London politics and potential Jayme has mentors too :D What business books can teach you (or not teach you) Getting your first web site done using tools like Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly, WordPress, etc. Gender balance in tech Firing clients and company culture 2nd stage web design, how to upgrade your online presence For more info please visit: www.inhouselogic.com/

Kay Habib is another classmate of mine and its been exciting to see how her business is also growing quickly. Skill Decor offers home staging and home decorating services in the London, Ontario area.  I have hired her myself, and even though my home isn't nearly ready for decorating, Kay still offered great advice from her years of experience and GREAT taste.  She has a much bigger challenge due to the fact that she is new to London having recently moved here from Vaughn near Toronto.  I hope our conversation helps you get to know Kay Habib more personally and if you are looking for inspiration or assistance with decorating for this Holiday Season, be sure to contact Kay before its too late! www.skilldecor.com http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/KayHabibfinal.mp3   Other Show Notes Itza Acosta - Business Adviser at the London Small Business Centre    

During the SEB program, I had the opportunity to meet 25 other individuals also embarking into Entrepreneurship. For 2 weeks we sat in class together developing and writing our business plans as well as hear from speakers who offered insights into what it would be like on the 'other side'. One such speaker was the lovely Sue Regier. Sue shared with us stories about her life and struggles as well as taught us business writing strategies and effective networking skills. I learned how to craft an excellent marketing message and elevator pitch. The most intriguing idea that Sue put in my ear, was that we should think more in term of 'coop-petition', cooperate with your competition. We go into this idea more as Sue explains why she works with and trains her competitors and that we should think of our competition as opportunities more then threats. I agree we can't work with everyone and I hope I will start to put into practice the great advice Sue has given me about my mindset. http://traffic.libsyn.com/londonpreneur/sueregierfinal.mp3 Other notes: Networking Today - number one online resource for finding networking groups across Canada (in my opinion) with over 40 groups just in London alone Vantage One Writing - Sue's content writing services Passions to Profits London Small Business Centre - Ontario Self Employment Program My favourite quote "Get comfortable with getting uncomfortable" ~ Sue Regier If you can’t see the above embedded player, here are

I met Amanda at her networking group Entrepreneurs of London  which meets every Monday for lunch at Crossings Pub & Grill.  She has been accepted into the OSEB program and has just started her own business called The Friendly Visitor which provides non medical services to seniors or individuals with health issues. We chat about where she is in the program, what are her plans for the coming months and what she likes most about becoming a new Entrepreneur in London, Ontario, Canada. I hope you will forgive the audio quality as I had forgotten to switch the mic input on my recorder to my Blue Snowball and instead it was recorded off the built in mic on my laptop. We had discussed re doing the interview but were concerned about it sounding more rehearsed and less authentic.  So I opted to try and edit out most of the clicks and pops and hope you will still get some value out of our conversation. Amanda has been in the media on several occasions of late including RogersTV, The London Free Press and YouTube. All of which you can see for yourself on her website http://www.thefriendlyvisitor.ca To learn more about the networking group that Amanda heads visit: www.entrepreneursoflondon.ca Photo belongs to Craig Glover, The London Free Press http://www.lfpress.com/2014/09/08/crash-survivor-turns-hurt-into-an-asset  

In case you didn't know, this show was created to document my journey in entrepreneurship in the beautiful city of London, Ontario. My guest this week is Jennifer Mercer from I am HR consulting. Jennifer Mercer is a human resources consultant whom I met through the SEB program.  We have since become good friends and share much of our ideas for business and share in our struggles. I hope you are enjoying these stories as much as I am and if you have any suggestions for future guest, please don't hesitate to let me know :D www.IamHR.ca Telephone: 519-280-1758 E-mail: Jen@iamhr.ca