Podcast & Prosecco

#110 Sanja Serwa is the founder of Vossity, an online store curating nontoxic, organic and cruelty-free beauty and wellness products. She shares the evolution of her business Vossity and why + how she started her own skincare line. We talk about the lessons she’s learned along the way and why hiring part-time help has allowed her to scale and grow her business. We talk about social media for small businesses, the best practices and why consistency is so important. We discuss the value of influencer marketing and how to properly execute as a small business. Sanja gives her advice for small business owners on using social media, influencer marketing and overall business tips. https://vossity.com/ https://www.instagram.com/vossity.beauty/ https://www.instagram.com/sansanjovs/

#109 Maria Jose is a Calgarian content creator and blogger under the handle @aglimpseofmaria. There she beautifully curates high fashion looks and shares fashion inspiration, travel guides and wellness tips. In this episode, we discuss how Black Lives Matter has impacted us through social media, how we've decided to use our influence to spread information and how brands can move forward in a respectable and conscientious way. We share our perspectives and very different experiences on how to use your platform to stimulate change, how you can reach out to black people in a respectful way, why education and awareness should be chosen over silence, marketing and PR etiquette and what influence means to us in 2020. https://www.instagram.com/aglimpseofmaria/

#108 This episode is a mashup of answers from inspiring and powerful entrepreneurial women that I look up to. They are all answering the question "During this time, what have you learned about yourself and your business and what will you carry forward with you into the future?" Jackie from Lace Brick Design: https://www.instagram.com/lacebrickdesign/ https://lacebrickdesign.com/ Jana from All of Her Business: https://allofherbusiness.com/ https://www.instagram.com/allofherbusiness/ Jess from Love for Lewiston: http://www.loveforlewiston.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/jsjanzen/ Marlo from Barre Body Studio: http://barrebodystudio.com/ https://www.instagram.com/barrebodystudio/ Christine from LifeLet: https://www.instagram.com/christineanne403/ https://www.instagram.com/lifelet.co/ Katie from DWK Interiors: https://www.dwkinteriors.com https://www.instagram.com/dwkinteriors/

#107 Tanya is the brand director and partner of the Upside, Canada's largest online place to shop for and consign authenticated designer goods. Tanya shares her journey of falling in love with consignment as a young girl through her Mom and how she turned that passion into a business. She gives advice for finding a business partner and why being true to your values is important in both business and life. We talk about how COVID has affected The Upside, how they have evolved their campaigns and her advice for business owners as they navigate the current climate. https://shoptheupside.com/ https://www.instagram.com/shoptheupside/ https://www.instagram.com/tawnyp/

#106 Chris Kneeland is the co-founder of Cult Collective, The Gathering and Communo. In this episode, Chris talks about what makes Cult Collective different as an agency and how that translates into their perspective on client work. He talks about what qualifies a “cult-like” brand and shares his insights on how business owners should pivot their own strategies to build a cult-like brand. We talk about how COVID has impacted businesses and brands and what business owners should be doing right now to take advantage of the current climate. He defines what success means to him and why now is the perfect time to redefine what it means to you. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-kneeland-838b2921/ https://cultideas.com/ https://communo.com/ https://cultgathering.com/

#104 Lisa Webb is the founder of Women, Wine and Wellbeing. Lisa shares her story about becoming a Canadian Expat when her and her husband decided to move to France in 2010. Since then she has lived in multiple different countries with her family but is now back in Calgary building a business and community for herself. Lisa shares what she learned about living abroad and how she has incorporated that into her life back in Calgary with her family. We talk about her business, Wine, Women and Wellbeing and why she created it and how she has grown it across the country. She gives her advice for setting big goals and believing in yourself to make it happen. https://www.winewomenwellbeing.com/ https://www.instagram.com/winewomenwellbeing/

#104 Jana Boyko is the founder of All Her Business, a conscious business coaching company that focuses on helping women transition from an employee to an entrepreneur in a holistic way. Jana talks about conscious entrepreneurship and why establishing your values is so important for the outcome of your business. We talk about creating moments of nourishment, joy and gratitude during a chaotic time in the world and why learning to control how your perceive events is key to your mental wellbeing. Jana gives her advice for business owners on evolving your business and using this time to ground yourself in what you want to be doing. https://allofherbusiness.com/ https://www.instagram.com/allofherbusiness/ https://www.instagram.com/janaboyko/

#103 Johanna Adriaansen is a digital marketing coach for driven and passionate females. She has grown her own freelancer business by helping businesses and influencers level up their social media presence. Johanna shares her journey from the path of a nutritionist to marketing business owner, how she transitioned from managing social media accounts to coaching macro influencers on turning their influence into a business. We talk about how engagement is affecting everyone and why building and fostering a community online is so important when it comes to growth. She shares her best tips for people who want to jump into the influencer world and grow their Instagram into a source of income. Johanna says why it's important to diversify platforms and have a blog or email list that you can connect with your audience. https://www.johannaadriaansen.com/ https://www.instagram.com/johhhanna/ https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/girl-meets-gram/id1376049524

#102 Tony McGrath is the CEO of the Grand, the oldest theatre in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and presents cutting-edge contemporary performing arts from around the world. Tony McGrath walks us through his journey of his lucrative investment banking career, to starting a consulting business with his wife and now his journey as the newly appointed CEO of the Grand. He talks about how his definition of success has changed over the years and why having an impact is more important than income. Tony is very open and real about the ups and downs of a career and life, but how to channel that into a new perspective and to move forward. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomcgrath/?originalSubdomain=ca https://www.instagram.com/tonymcgrathyyc/ https://www.thegrandyyc.ca/

#101 Forrest Zeisler is the co-founder of Jobber, an award-winning platform that helps small home services businesses organize their entire operations. Forrest shares his journey of starting Jobber after his first failed start up. He talks about the lessons he learned from that experience and how he applied them to start the second company. He talks about why you should narrow your focus on a niche first before you expand. We talk about hiring your first employee, what they looked for at Jobber and why hiring for culture was (and still is) so important to them. Forrest shares why building culture deliberately is so important, why it's worth the work that goes into it and some practical tips for business owners. https://getjobber.com/ https://www.instagram.com/getjobber/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/forrestzeisler/?originalSubdomain=ca

#100 Episode 100 is an interview with yours truly and Mitch Jacobsen (episode 83 if you want to listen to his story). We talk about why I started this podcast, how it's grown and what I've learned from all the people I've interviewed. We talk about growing on social media, what it takes to be an influencer and my advice for someone who wants to get into the space. www.instagram.com/almostffamous

#99 Mandy Balak is the Founder and The Ace Class and It's Date Night (see episode 6 for her full story). On this episode, we talk about what it means to level up, the tools and resources that help her do that and why she schedules her calendar minute by minute. We talk about the importance of saying no to the things that don't light you up to make room for the things that really matter to you. Why you should keep your goals and intentions front of mind and create a value system to base your decisions on. She shares the story of Rise, a conference for women to connect, rise higher and uplevel their life. https://www.jointherise.ca/ - use code RACHEL15 for 15% off tickets http://instagram.com/jointherise_ https://www.theaceclass.com/ http://instagram.com/theaceclass_

#98 Michelle and Brian McGrattan have a unique relationship story with Brian's past career as an NHL player. They talk about how they met and how the NHL impacted their relationship in terms of relocating, expectations and overall way of living. Michelle and Brian share their advice for tools that have helped them grow together such as sharing a calendar, being aware of screen time and going to therapy. They give their advice for a successful relationship and why communication is so important. https://www.instagram.com/themichellemethod/ https://www.instagram.com/bigern16/

#97 Christine and Les come together on this episode to talk about the dynamics of being in a relationship with one partner as an entrepreneur and the other with a traditional job. Christine is the founder of Enlightened Benefits and Lifelet as well as a spin instructor, Les is a financial controller, small business owner and a boxing instructor. They are both very busy and motivated which we discuss in the podcast on how they schedule their time and make sure they spend enough quality time together. They both describe the transition and experience of Christine starting two businesses within a nine month period, what tensions it created in the relationship and how they have worked through them. They discuss the importance of communication, not only just with business and finances but with energy levels, expectations and values. https://www.instagram.com/christineanne403/ https://www.instagram.com/lifelet.co/ https://www.instagram.com/enlightenedbenefits/ https://www.instagram.com/les_evangelista/

#96 Sancia and Mitchell Toth are the owners of The Toths Photo & Film. They met at a job and have been working together ever since. We dive into what that looks like in terms of managing a relationship at the same time, what the challenges have been along the way and their advice for couples who want to work together. They share their process for managing their schedule, how having a baby changed the way they work and live, and why they chose to stick with their own business rather than going back to the corporate world. https://www.instagram.com/thetothsphotofilm/ https://thetoths.com/

#95 Jackie and Ben are both entrepreneurs, Jackie owns Lace Brick Design and Ben owns TFB Leather. On this episode, we talk about how to manage two businesses + twin boys, why communication is key when it comes to any relationship and how to organize so that everyone feels important and heard. They share their tips, tricks and advice for starting a business and a successful relationship. https://www.instagram.com/lacebrickdesign/ https://www.instagram.com/tfb_leather/

#94 Jarom Moriyama-Bondar is the co-founder of Pride In Business and a consultant at Gallagher Benefit Services. Pride In Business was established in 2011 to support, encourage and promote small to medium-sized LGBTQ+ owned and operated businesses and those that support the LGBTQ+ community in the Calgary area. He shares the story behind starting Pride in Business and why having a like-minded community is so important. They recently became incorporated and Jarom talks about why they made that decision and how it has helped with growing the events and being able to accept sponsorships. We also talk about stereotypes, myths and challenges within the LGBTQ+ community, how businesses can support equality and what we can look forward to this year with Pride in Business. https://www.prideinbusiness.ca/ www.instagram.com/prideinbusinessyyc https://www.facebook.com/PrideInBusiness/

#93 Kayla Paradis is a yoga teacher specializing in emotional angelic healing and spiritual awakening in mothers. Kayla shares her journey of finding her own spiritual path through her daily yoga practice after her third child. It changed the trajectory of her life and now she helps women and mothers do the same. We talk about how letting things go can be the biggest obstacle but the most rewarding when it's done. She shares her thoughts on 2020 and what we can expect moving forward. Kayla explains how important having a meditation practice is and why tuning into your intuition daily can really help slow you down and refocus on what's important. https://www.keeperofkeys.net/

#92 Garrett McCoy is a healer and energy medicine practitioner and the founder of Align Market. In this episode, Garrett shares his journey on how he became a shaman and a healer, what that means and how he has turned it into a successful business. He gives amazing practices and tools for letting go of the past year and looking ahead into 2020, how to set goals and intentions and why he prefers to focus on how he feels rather than strict goals. Garrett talks about the energy of 2020, how someone at home can begin to shift their energy and mindset, and why it's so important to build a community around you. http://www.instagram.com/garrettmccoy http://www.instagram.com/alighnmarketyyc https://www.garrettmccoy.com/

#91 Sanja Avramovic is a life and business coach helping women entrepreneurs to build a conscious brand around their passion. Sanja also is an astrologist and uses the planets and moon to strategize her own life and business as well as help direct others. She shares her journey of becoming an entrepreneur, how she was able to tie spirituality and business together, and how she is setting her intention for the upcoming year. She gives her advice for people wanting to start a business or evolve a current one into a more conscious brand, as well as her tips for staying connected and grounded. https://www.instagram.com/sanja/