We are speaking with Leeanne Bayley-Hay who is a women entrepreneur, business owner and mom who will share with us her perspective on the coronavirus and its effects on her business, herself and family as well as what she's doing to cope and sharing strategies to help your business adapt.

Leeanne does not sell to the public, however, if someone has invented a baby product or has an eco-friendly product they would like to get into a store, she offers consultancy for a fee. The fee varies depending on how viable the product is and if she sees potential, and how much work is required to get it to a store level.  No product we see on the market just appeared on the first try. It is hard work and not for the faint of heart. There are also many regulations with Health Canada and the TSSA for safety. But Leeanne is always there to help guide you and she knows people and distributors in the industry who might also be interested. It is amazing though to see a product start from an idea, then turn into a design prototype, go through testing and then production, get packaging and make it onto a store shelf.  

Tips from Leeanne

• Staying connected with current clients both directly and via Social Media
• Keep looking for new clients even during the crisis at this time, if a business is slow, focus on connecting with new and existing clients.
• Branch out and consider the skills you have and how they can be transferable to other product lines and services
• • Leeanne specifically does natural products and buy local or responsible
• COVID Situation - When you’re a salesperson and your job is to sell but during COVID dial back selling to be empathetic to people and their situation.
• Contact our guest: Leeanne Bayley-Hay of Pickney Gear - https://pickneygear.com/about/
• Canadian Resources Available to help Businesses https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html#businesses