Boiling Point Podcast

Elect Handsome Dave! Wait….that doesn’t sound right? No, despite the signs that seem to continue to appear every election, Dave hasn’t decided to pursue a political path. We are fortunate to have someone that is running in the upcoming Saint John municipal election join us to share what motivated him to throw his hat in the ring, our guest Chris Daigle. 

Dave and Greg have both worked with Chris in his day job at BDC and know personally the passion they all share for the city of Saint John. This episode gave Dave and Greg a chance to ask Chris about what motivates him to get involved, his views on diversity and growth for the city, and where he thinks the balance is for fiscal responsibility and quality of life. We want to wish Chris the best of luck in the election on May 10th! 

An episode bonus, if you listen to the end, you might just learn the identity of the Elect Handsome Dave prankster….

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The B Corp community is full of businesses who are industry leaders while putting the idea of doing business with a purpose at the forefront of their culture. Our guest today Karen Hoskin, is a B Corp leader who, over the last 13 years, has overcome the barrier of a rum distillery not being something people expect to find in the mountains of the USA, the gender bias that comes along with being a woman in a predominantly male-dominated industry and being seen the outlier when pushing to be as sustainable as possible in all aspects of her business and life. Karen shares her story of growing a business, her views on doing business with a purpose and the wonderful feeling when finding her people in the B Corp community. Giving back to the B Corp community and mentoring other female entrepreneurs in the rum industry who are just starting on their journeys are a few different ways that Karen is taking actions that make a massive impact. 

Speaking of impact, she may have also inspired Greg to figure out a plan to bootleg some of her company @Montanya Rum rum back to Atlantic Canada in a true Maritimer tradition. Dave Veale was unable to be there for this episode, but he’s already setting aside the bail money. 

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No matter what device you are using to read this right now, you couldn’t do it without electricity. But as we all try and figure out how we lessen our carbon footprint on the globe, where will we get that sustainable power from so we can keep listening to The Boiling Point Podcast? Luckily for us, folks like our guest Mark McAloon of The Smart are taking the lead on making sustainable electricity choices available to businesses in New Brunswick. 

Mark gives us the rundown on how his company, The Smart Energy Company, has been working to bring solar power to New Brunswick, focusing on the B2B market. He gives us insider knowledge about how they are trying to win against their biggest competitor, The Price of Electricity. Showing off his Boiling Point Podcast knowledge, he ties back into our recent episode with Kristy O’Leary of Decade Impact to talk about how the B Corp methodology is mirrored right now in solar energy efforts. It’s about not waiting for change but being a leader and taking any step toward sustainable solar energy.  

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Are there some business tasks you do that drain your energy? Maybe you believe there’s a problem you can’t overcome that’s stopping you from getting away from that task? If you feel like your business is a little chaotic for you right now because of these feelings, we think you need to meet our guest who loves playing in the chaos, Dolores Hirschmann. 

Dolores’ perspective has Greg and Dave, two self-proclaimed chaotic entrepreneurs, wanting to talk to her more about projects they could pursue together because what she shared with them resonated fully with their entrepreneurial experiences. The group talks about the energy and drive a startup entrepreneur full of ideas has and believes they can do it all. Over time, as they accomplish their goals, they start to develop limiting beliefs that prevent them from achieving their next stage. Whatever it is that their limiting believes are preventing them from achieving, Dolores works with people to make clarity in the most chaotic situations.

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Sometimes there are people in your life that grow with you as you explore and find your path. Kristy O'Leary is not just one of those people for Greg, but for our podcast, as a frequent guest we love to catch up with. And catching up with Kristy means hearing all about how she is helping to lead the way in getting businesses to stop making excuses, better understand what doing business with purpose means, and help them achieve their B Corp Status. 

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What is your value? It’s a simple but complex question all at the same time, especially for those who lean a little more on the creative side like musicians, artists and yes, entrepreneurs. Knowing your value and sticking to your narrative of what is key to you can be all the difference in making your way through the world. If you are an aspiring musician and need a little help and guidance on that path, our guest this week Steve Waxman, can help. 

Steve worked his way up in the music industry from the mailroom to managing promotions for major record labels. He’s been in the room when acts like Billy Idol worked on some of their most well-known hits. Greg and Dave geeked out to some of the acts that Steve mentioned, and Greg dropped the news of his recent sighting of Maestro Fresh Wes right in the City of Saint John. Beyond the music history that Steve brings, he also brings a perspective on making it in the music industry that isn’t always about chasing fame. Instead, he talks about chasing your narrative and sticking to what matters most to you. 

If you love this episode, make sure to check out Steve’s podcast, The Creationists. 

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If you are a listener of The Boiling Point, you know that music is a huge part of Greg’s life. You’ll also know that we are massive advocates of improving mental health. Last year we launched a partnership series, Shifting The Employee Experience, that saw Dave joined by Dr Bill to share his mental health expertise in the workplace. Today’s guest is bringing the two worlds of music and mental health together in a series of projects we couldn’t be more excited to learn about. 

In his day job, he works with Deloitte Canada, but Terry Stuart co-founder of The Awesome Music Project opens our eyes to how music should help improve mental health. He and his co-founder Rob are not just putting that idea out there. They are selling a book and using other methods to raise funds to support research led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to get the scientific data to prove what every music lover knows. Music can evoke emotions to help us through our mental health struggles. The Awesome Music Project has even started another piece of their efforts called AMP4LIFE that is bringing music therapists virtually into long-term care, schools, and other locations being so harshly affected by the pandemic's mental stress.

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Poverty plays a huge role in children's experiences in the arts, culture, recreation, or sports as they grow up. But as today's guest helps to explain to us, being a part of a team can help children learn the life skills needed to pull themselves out of generational poverty. Jen Brown joins us to educate Dave and Greg on the P.R.O. Kids Saint John program.

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As we enter full swing into the holiday season and head towards the end of 2020, it is a time to take stock of everything that's happened this year. It's been a lot. In talking about businesses and organizations building resilience, we had to catch with our friend Alexya Heelis, Executive Director of the United Way serving Saint John, Kings and Charlotte. 

Alexya shares with us how the pandemic has affected their efforts, how they've seen organizations and people shift and grow to focus on what matters most. She gives us some great ideas on how we can all contribute to our communities and non-profits. 

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We talk about leadership a lot in the entrepreneurship space. We talk about gaining knowledge, knowing your audience and building your presence to support your business growth. But how do you make everyone around you in any setting feel welcome? How do you build the skills to be a good host? Our guest, Laura Calder, has some ideas to share. 

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