Clicks and Mortar

In this episode, our CEO Matt Crowell joins in to help with some co-hosting duties as we welcome the Publisher of Retail Insider Magazine, Craig Patterson.

Retail Insider is a prominent voice in retail...offering retail news, headlines from around the world and in depth Canadian Analysis. Craig hosts the Retail Insider podcast, and works on projects with the Retail Council of Canada.

We discuss:

• How there have been both closures and new store openings in retail through the pandemic
• The staffing challenges retail may face in the coming years
• What retail trends shaped by the pandemic will remain and fall away
• The eCommerce Halo Effect that brick and mortar retailers have in eCommerce
• How the landscape of Canadian retail is changing
• The effect of eCommerce on returns
• What new retail concepts have emerged from the pandemic
• How Retail Insider has evolved through the pandemic
• What Craig sees in the future for 2021

You'll find Retail Insider online:

Flipboard

Instagram

Facebook 

Twitter

Retail-Insider.com

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business. Wish marketing your business was easier and more affordable? GetintheLoop for Business is the shop local platform that connects local businesses with nearby consumers right on their phones. Learn more at: GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

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If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

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It’s a story playing out with small businesses everywhere. Rapid consumer behaviour changes combined with constant changes to governmental operating regulations has significantly impacted small business owners. While some businesses have already chosen to, or been forced to close, Janeen Norman and 23 other Calgary business owners have decided to turn their story of struggle into one of self-determination and self-empowerment by establishing an eCommerce and food delivery collective called, "Best of Calgary Foods". In this episode you'll meet Janeen who owns Alpine Sausage and is the President of Best of Calgary Foods. 

Janeen explains:

• Best of Calgary Foods’ vision and mission 
• Why theuy out to create Best of Calgary Foods
• What kind of challenges they’ve faced early on
• How their unexpectedly explosive success forced them to find a new building  after only 4 days
• Why it is so important and urgent that people shop local
• How through their collective reach, they raise one another
• and, why Janeen says now is the time for small business to rise up

You'll find Best of Calgary Foods online:

Instagram

Facebook 

Twitter

BestofCalgaryFoods.com

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

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Restaurants can offer pick-up and delivery options, and retailers provide eCommerce and curb side pick-up options, but what about experiential businesses like bowling alleys, theatres, and other indoor family fun centres? In this episode, you’ll meet Laurel Werbeski of Escape in Caledonia, an escape room and board game cafe in Ontario, and learn how they’re staying afloat, even amidst rolling lockdowns.

Laurel shares:

• Escape in Caledonia’s mission 
• How their business has changed due to COVID,
• Including what will continue to do even after the pandemic
• What they’re doing to stay afloat today
• How they’ve laid the foundation for a comeback 
• How they’re communicating with their customers
• And how the business community in Caledonia is pulling together

You'll find Escape in Caledonia online:

Instagram

Facebook 

EscapeinCaledonia.ca 

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

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Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn

In this episode, you’ll meet Jamie Milton, the owner of Uniglobe Carefree Travel in Saskatoon. 

Jamie is a true pro in her business and I learned so much during this conversation!

We dive into what it was like during those early days in March when everything was being grounded and how travel agents played a major role helping Canadian Citizens get back home before borders closed,  how consumer and corporate travel has changed since then and how her business is adjusting to the times.

Jamie also shares:

• Some things people don’t generally know about travelling today
• How COVID may impact travel costs in the future
• What if any persistent changes may affect travel in the long term future
• What new interesting and positive trends are emerging in the travel industry
• How consumers can support their travel agent 
• Some good advice for other travel agents  

You'll find Uniglobe Carefree Travel online:

Instagram

Facebook 

UniglobeCarefreeTravel.com

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

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In this episode you’ll meet Dax Dasilva, Founder/CEO of Lightspeed, Founder of the not-for-profit organization Never Apart, and author of Age of Union. You’ll learn:

• What Lightspeed is and how it helps small businesses 
• How operating a small business has changed dramatically over the past 10-15 years
• How consumer expectations are vastly different today
• Examples of Dax’s favourite small businesses in Montreal that have been innovating
• What small businesses owners can do to support one another
• How the silos of business, spirituality, the environment, and culture need to come down and be considered more holistically 
• And more about his book, “Age of Union” 

You'll find Lightspeed and Dax online:

Lightspeed HQ Facebook

Lightspeed HQ Instagram

Dax Instagram

Learn more about the small businesses Dax mentioned:

Off the Hook Instagram

Editorial Boutique Instagram

Loreena Saravia Instagram

Etiket Boutique Instagram

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn 

In this episode, you’ll learn the Clicks & Mortar back story including how we were about to launch a podcast called, “Love the Grind” as the pandemic officially arrived in North America in March 2020.

It was then that we saw a much greater immediate need to create a podcast that could become a helpful ideas and lessons resource for small businesses as all business scrambled to change models, stay in business and thrive. So we pivoted to launch Clicks & Mortar instead. 

One of the interviews we did was with Liza Huber, the CEO and Founder of Sage Spoonfuls, which is a line of infant and child products was one of those conversations that has stuck with me. Liza’s raw and honest account of the challenges she has faced, the mistakes she’s made, and the way she thinks about her business and work. 

It seemed like now would be a good time to share this interview as so many small business owners are facing huge challenges,

I think regardless of what challenges you have, you’ll come away with some inspiration to carry on. 

Please enjoy this special Clicks & Mortar presentation of the Love the Grind podcast as we talk with Liza Huber, CEO of Sage Spoonfuls.

You'll learn what prompted her to leave her successful acting career with NBC to start Sage Spoonfuls and how she decided to set out on her own entrepreneurial journey.

Liza also shares her experiences:

• Financing her company
• The question she asked her credit card company that saved her thousands of dollars of interest
• About asking for help and mentorship
• Intellectual property - and whether or not it has been worth obtaining a patent
• Balancing a fast growing business with an equally fast growing family
• and so much more

You'll find Sage Spoonfuls online:

Instagram

Facebook 

SageSpoonfuls.com

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn

Welcome to our interview with Chris Pinkerton who is the President of GetintheLoop. Prior to GetintheLoop, Chris was Head of the Mediative Consulting Group, an award-winning digital media and research company, which was acquired by Yellow Pages in 2010. Chris has a deep understanding of the intersection of technology and small business.

Also in this episode is an update from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as their Senior Director of Tax and Financial Policy, Patrick Gill shares the results from an ongoing study the Chamber is doing with Stats Canada to provide the Government with local business level information about the pandemic and how it’s affecting small businesses. 

In this episode Chris Pinkerton talks about:

• The media trends small businesses need to know
• Why small businesses on average have lagged in benefiting from technology
• How small businesses on the average have historically adopted technology
• The accelerated rate at which technology is being adopted by small businesses
• The consumer behaviour trends caused by the pandemic
• How small businesses are adapting to consumer trends
• Some free resources for small businesses to get started

Also in this episode, Patrick Gill:

• Explains the joint Canadian Survey on Business Conditions: Impact of COVID-19 on  businesses in Canada, May 2020
• What they’ve learned from small businesses at this stage of the pandemic
• What small businesses and consumers can do to support small businesses
• Where to find more about this study

You'll find GetintheLoop and The Canadian Chamber of Commerce online:

GetintheLoop

Canadian Impact of Covid Study

Canadian Business Resilience Network

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn

Restaurateur Justin Tisdall is a partner in two restaurants in Vancouver, Juke Fried Chicken and Beetbox.

In this episode Justin talks about:

1. The early steps they took to protect their business and their customers
2. Menu pivots and process changes they’ve made
3. How they’ve vertically integrated by selling restaurant made products
4. The unique ways they’ve adapted to new restaurant regulations while staying on brand
5. What other innovative restaurants are doing in Vancouver to survive and thrive in a pandemic
6. Hospitality advice for restauranteurs during the pandemic
7. How restaurants might collaborate in the future 

You'll find Juke Fried Chicken and Beetbox online:

BeetBoxVeg.com

BeetBox Instagram

BeetBox Facebook

JukeFriedChicken.com

Juke Instagram

Juke Facebook

Learn more about their in-restaurant kiosk bar concept, ChickadeeLounge 

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn

Welcome to our interview with Chef and entrepreneur Maurice Boire who is a partner in BZB Test Kitchen.

In this episode Maurice talks about:

• Their unique multi-faceted food service operation concept
• How they’ve rethought the food service industry
• The importance of selling and purchasing locally
• Their creative, flexible lease agreement
• How they were uniquely positioned when the pandemic hit
• The challenges traditional restaurants face with take-out and what they do differently
• His vision of change for kitchen workers 
• His idea for improving profitability by merging front of house with back of house 
• What traditional restaurants need to be doing right now

You'll find BZB Test Kitchen online:

BZBTestKitchen.com

Instagram

Facebook

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn

Welcome to our interview with Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor. 

In this episode, GetintheLoop’s Founder/CEO, Matt Crowell joins me for a conversation with one of the most popular retail thought leaders in the world, Bob Phibbs - The Retail Doctor. Bob has over 400,000 followers on LinkedIn and If you’ve ever looked up retail sales training on Google, you’ve probably come across the retail doc’s website or one of the many articles or videos featuring the work he does through his online and in person training and consulting programs. Bob is definitely outspoken and opinionated but whether you agree with him on everything or not, you have to appreciate his passion for retail.

In this episode Bob discusses:

• How the pandemic has impacted retail 
• The potential negative impact of some pandemic induced practices
• Which pandemic induced practices are most likely to survive post Covid
• What it will take to be a successful retailer going forward
• Why it makes sense to invest in your retail staff and elevate the position
• What the traits are of a good retail salesperson today

You'll find Bob online:

RetailDoc.com

Twitter 

LinkedIn

Facebook

Clicks & Mortar is brought to you by GetintheLoop for Business, the modern marketing platform that connects small businesses with people who want to shop local, first. Find out how easy it is to get started at GetintheLoop.ca/business

Discover how you can bring GetintheLoop to your community and help small businesses, when they need it the most. Franchises now available. Learn more about becoming a GetintheLoop Local owner at GetintheLoopLocal.com

If you know someone in small businesses who is defying the odds, adapting to the changed market conditions, finding ways to survive and thrive and think should be a guest on the podcast contact me:

Twitter

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may also enjoy "Love the Grind" a blog written by GetintheLoop's Founder/CEO Matt Crowell.

Follow GetintheLoop on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn