Boiling Point Podcast

Introducing Derek Riedle

Sometimes every entrepreneur needs a change.  It could be just a change of scenery, or a shift in mindset.  Derek Riedle recently made a change that involved both.  Derek and his wife Terri are the owners of the marketing and PR firm, Revolution Strategy, as well as the content creative company Talons of Venice, and also under their portfolio is a real estate business called Riedle Urban Spaces. 

Derek and Terri had spent around 18 years working within and growing their businesses, but they were keen for a change.  The first step was for Derek to stop working within the business and to shift gears in order to work on the business.  This gave Derek the room to think and further develop the business.  It also gave him the idea that he wanted to develop a product that he could build and then sell multiple times.  Through the Talons of Venice and with our host, Greg Hemmings, Derek helped to develop a new television series “The Real Houses of…” using the freeing strategy he had used to further develop Revolution.  Derek and Terri took a further leap into their new lifestyle when they decided to pull up anchor and move to Venice Beach, California to further accomplish their goals.

This week’s episode is for anyone who had a vision for his or her future and may have not taken that great leap.  You can do it!

In this episode

Links

- Derek's Twitter

- Derek's Linked In

- Derek's Facebook

- Revolution Strategy Website

- Revolution Strategy Twitter

- Talons of Venice Website

- Talons of Venice Twitter

- Riedle Urban Spaces Website

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Links

- Wicked Idea's Website

- Wicked Idea's Twitter

- Wicked Idea's Facebook

- Lisa's Linked In

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Introducing Tim Ryan

There are times in business when the demand for your work slows down or even grinds to a halt.  These situations can sometimes be completely out of your control, like when your region begins an economic slump.  However, just because there may be a lack of business in your own neck-of-the-woods, it doesn’t mean you necessarily will have to make the hard decisions in relation to your workforce.

Tim Ryan faced a very similar issue with Fundy Engineering when a number of their projects finished around the same time.  Tim is the principle at Fundy, and has worked with them for over 19 years.  During his time with the business, he saw the workforce build from five employees to 50 as a result of work primarily in the Atlantic Provinces.  As a number of significant projects came to a close, Fundy Engineering was seeing a drop in demand for their services and something had to be done to keep the company and it’s employees working.

So, Tim had a mission to find companies to partner with out west that would allow Fundy to provide services for them and for knowledge to transfer to his own people.  In the west, there had be an issue of employee loyalty and retention as the Alberta oil sands offered many high-paying jobs and workers had a choice of who they wanted to work with or who would pay the most money.  As a result, many companies seeking professional services, like the type Fundy was offering, were spending big bucks trying to find employees.  Tim took the elevator pitch for his company’s reputation of hard work, loyalty, and quality, and found companies who needed their services and had compatible company cultures.

Tim says that professional service companies need to start thinking more like entrepreneurs and be more innovative to grow their bottom line.  How you go about doing this is the thrust of this week’s episode.

In this episode

Links

- Fundy Engineering Website

- Fundy Engineering Facebook

- Fundy Engineering Twitter

- Fundy Engineering Linked in

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Introducing Aaron Emery

Daniel Burnham, one of the fathers of the skyscraper, once said, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood... Make big plans, aim high in hope and work."  This quote resonates deeply with this week’s guest Aaron Emery.  Aaron is a B Corp lead, who is responsible for all B Corp certifications in Canada.  As mentioned in previous episodes, a company with a B Corp designation is one who subscribes to a triple bottom line.  This means that the company isn’t just responsible to its’ shareholders, but also other stakeholders, the environment, and society in general.

B Corp is a movement, which certifies that companies are effectively making positive impact across their supply chains, while also building a community of like-minded business leaders.  As Aaron would subscribe, the imagination of governments and non-profits pale in comparison to the imagination of business people and entrepreneurs to make change.  When you consider business interests control that 85% of global capital, imagine what can be achieved morally, and environmentally if even a portion of these companies ascribed to the B Corp mantra. 

So where was the inspiration of B Corp?  Surprisingly, it came from the world of basketball.  And 1 was a basketball apparel company that at its peak was the number two basketball shoe company in North America.  It was doing business the right way by being as ethical as possible with its supply chain, particularly with its employee within North America and overseas.  And 1 offered two weeks paid vacation, as well as two weeks paid volunteer time.  It has nursing rooms for new moms, as well as daycare facilities at work, not to mention a great benefits package. 

When it came time to sell the company, its’ owners were not unlike any other capitalist--they sought the best price for the company.  Unfortunately, within three months after its’ sale, the majority of the mission side of the company had disappeared.  However, from the ashes came the desire to have more companies that believed in the principals that were present at And 1.

In this Episode

Links

- B Corp's Website

- B Corp Canada's Twitter

- Take the B Impact Assessment!

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Introducing Craig Norris 

There is a popular biblical analogy which says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  Perhaps there is something missing to this axiom however.  Our guest, Craig Norris would add, “Teach a man about fishing, and he’ll figure it out for himself.”

Craig is an entrepreneur and filmmaker, who previously spent time in the world of big business, but left due to a conflict of ethics and lifestyle.  He now runs his production company, Video Band, and also an environmentally friendly daycare called Earthlings with his wife out of their home in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Recently, Community Forests International approached Craig after their brain trust had seen a nature documentary that Craig had produced.  They wanted him to travel to Pemba, Tanzania in order to film a few instructional videos on agriculture, as well as a documentary about the work CFI was doing with the community there and their pursuit of sustainability.  Pemba is a small island in the Zanzibar Archipelago, which had been mostly deforested.  The deforestation caused more problems then just lack of wood and shade.  Without enough trees issues arose including lack of fresh water, and under performing farms due to lack of moisture in the ground.  CFI had started a program to reforest the area, and in the last six to seven years have planted over a million trees with the help of the local community. 

Craig was struck by Africa and the experience helped to dispel a lot of the stereotypes of the continent in his mind.  These stereotypes include a perception of helplessness, danger, and corruption.  In fact, Pemba was not hopeless at all; the only help they needed was a little information and a small investment of materials.

In this episode 

Links

- Community Forests International's Website

- Video Band's Website

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Introducing Curtis Kleisinger

It is incredible how one woman from the other side of the world can inspire positive change in your own backyard.

A number of years ago, a group of CEOs and businesspeople travelled to India and were granted an audience with the famed humanitarian Mother Teresa.  After hearing her speak, many in attendance were interested in how they could help her mission.  Mother Teresa was not interested in their money; instead she urged the group to return to their home community, identify a need, and to give their time and resources to inspire change.  Paul and Carol Hill were two of the people in attendance took this message to heart.  They returned to their home in Regina, Saskatchewan and started the process of creating a school in Mother Teresa’s name that would serve the province’s disadvantaged aboriginal community.

This is where our guest this week enters the picture.  Curtis Kleisinger is the executive director of the Mother Teresa Middle School and a former schoolmate of our host Dave Veale.  The Mother Teresa Middle School opened in 2011 and serves a small group of students from grades six to eight. 

Though the Saskatchewan economy has been fairly good over the last number of years, this good fortune had generally not extended to Regina’s aboriginal population.  Up until recently, only 33% of aboriginal students in the area would graduate high school on time, and many students came from backgrounds of poverty, foster homes, trauma, and abuse.  In fact, many current students will be the first in their families to graduate high school.  The MTMS seeks to end the cycle of poverty by giving these kids a chance, not only to learn but also to thrive.

In this episode  

Links

- The Mother Teresa Middle School

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Introducing Don Fillmore

Don Fillmore is in an industry where the only thing they don't deliver is babies. Don is in the trucking industry and is the president of Atlantic Pacific Transport and of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association.

It has been a dream of many to hit the open road and live the convoy lifestyle. Surprisingly, however, Don finds it difficult to find staff. Though his business is located in a region with high unemployment, it seems many haven't thought of a career in the transport industry.

Don started in the family business right out of high school and has since grown his company to over 40 trucks and close to 75 employees. Don has a passion for developing the business, as well as helping out his employees and the region in general.

Could you see yourself piloting a big-rig? Check out this episode to find out.

In this episode

• Don tells us how the trucking industry, like many other industries, is a people based business.

• He explains his decision NOT to be a driver himself

• Don explains his biggest challenge of finding qualified workers.

• He explains how being a business owner gives you a much bigger voice to help those in need.

• He also gives us insight of how to manage relationships in a family business.

• Greg relays his secret dream to try out trucking.

• Dave is inspired by Don's ability to convey what he does and to build awareness.

• Greg appreciates Don's thoughts regarding having a bigger business means you have a bigger voice. 

Links

- Atlantic Pacific Transport Website

- Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association

- Don's Linkedin

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This week’s episode of Boiling Point is going to be a little bit different as we turn the table and our own Greg Hemmings is the guest. In conjunction with a group of New Brunswick thought leaders, Greg has recently started work on his newest documentary, “The Millennial Dream”.

New Brunswick, like a number of rurally based economies, has a problem.  Many of it’s smart, and talented young people are moving away to “greener pastures” in order to retain good, well-paying jobs.  These young people come from a generation called the Millennials and they consist primarily of those who have grown-up during the Internet age.

This out-migration is draining the province of not only population, but also skills, and tax revenue.  So, how does a community go about fixing this problem?  Greg’s answer is through better business.

Millennials are leaving because of a lack of opportunity.  However, opportunity can take on alternate forms than just salary and career growth.  Millennials are also interested in making a real impact globally, locally, socially, and environmentally.  “The Millennial Dream” seeks to change the way many businesses act to develop a triple bottom line: profit, but also social and environmental impact.

Is your business up for taking on this challenge?

In this episode

Links and References

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Introducing Ja-Nae Duane

Ja-Nae Duane is the definition of the Renaissance woman.  She is an author, a public speaker, a nondenominational Christian minister, a university lecturer, a serial entrepreneur, and even an opera signer.  Her books include “How to Start Your Business with $100”, “How to Create a Revolution”, and “The Startup Equation” which was co-written by her husband and previous Boiling Point guest Steve Fisher. 

Ja-Nae always had an eye for improvement and evolution.  As a young girl interested in singing, a teacher brought her to the Metropolitan Opera to inspire her.  Upon leaving, the teacher asked Ja-Nae what she thought about the performance, and she said it was the most boring thing she ever watched.  The characters just stood there and sung without any dramatics, and the performance seemed very antiquated.  However, the performance didn’t dissuade her from becoming a singer, in fact it inspired her to revolutionize how opera was performed.  Ja-Nae has a brain for exploring traditional systems and turning them on their head.

Ja-Nae has taken this revolutionary approach to everything she has done in her career.  Ja-Nae tells us if we want to think and act like a revolutionary; we must do a few things.   First of all, our head and heart need to align.  This means in order to be revolutionary, you must have not only acquire the skills needed for the task, but a passion for it as well.  Next, there needs to be a trigger to disrupt the status quo.  This causes a level of unrest that continues to grow.  Finally, one event sparks the need for change.  In the chaos of thinking revolutionarily, you will develop a framework for change.  Your framework for change may need some modification, but thinking outside the box is never easy.

In this episode

Ja-Nae tells us how to think like a revolutionary and what it means to one’s self worth to think creatively.   She tells us not necessarily emulate someone else’s version of success because what makes success is different for different people.  She also recommends that entrepreneurs that are playing it safe should decide step out of their comfort zone because trying new things allows for learning opportunities and evolution of how you conduct business.  If you fail, often failure ignites ideas of how to do better next time.  Dave is inspired by Ja-Nae’s willingness to be uncomfortable and how her head and heart are definitely aligned.  Greg takes the revolutionary leader idea to heart and practice. 

Links and References

- Ja-Nae's Blog

- Ja-Nae's Twitter

- Ja-Nae's Books

- Ja-Nae's TED X Talk

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Introducing Janna Hare

There comes a time for every entrepreneur when they would relish the opportunity to pick the brain of those who have come before.  Mentors give us the power of knowledge from experience that we do not personally have.  They also can give us insights, short cuts, and anecdotes that can save greener entrepreneurs an immense time, effort, and money.  Normally, a person would have to stumble upon a worthy mentor, or beg an experienced person to share a few moments together in conversation.

Our guest this week, Janna Hare, is the executive director of an organization that is looking to simplify the process of people finding mentors and mentors finding mentees.  Janna helped to form the Mentra in 2014 with the help of 12 different leadership organizations.  Though they are currently only in beta testing, the plan is for Mentra to be a center of excellence for mentorship.  They seek to offer a sustainable community of credible and connected mentors through an online portal that will have social media functions as well.  Not only will the website be available as a database, but Mentra will be offering programs to teach those with experience how to mentor, and those looking for mentors there will be programs regarding how to get the most out of your mentee experience.  Janna hopes that the ability to find quality mentors quickly will help younger entrepreneurs grow and thrive in Atlantic Canada.

In this episode

Janna introduces us to the Mentra concept and tells us the importance of mentorship for both the mentor and mentee.  We learn the difference between mentoring and coaching.   Greg and Dave are both impressed with the steps New Brunswick is taking with innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship.  Greg notes a difference he sees with Nova Scotia entrepreneurs being more competitive, and New Brunswick entrepreneurs being more collaborative.  He also sees the importance of being mentored and then passing on what you learned as a mentor.  Dave believes mentorship is critical and that the majority of major business leaders needed their own mentors to get to where they are today.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

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