Today's guest has made a huge difference in my business! There are just some things in business you need to hire a professional for and she was able to take my ideas and turn it into a professional online presence!

Stephanie Perreault-Bittner is the owner and graphic designer behind Summer Street Creative! In this episode, we talk about the differences between having a brand and having a brand identity! Where is social media going, and how can we take the overwhelm out of it? What platforms should you be on?

If you like any of my branding, websites, or graphics... that's all thanks to Stephanie! A small investment on your brand identity and creating a unique visual story specific to you, can make all the difference in looking professional or NOT!

So come join us while we talk about all things brand identity and social media!

You can find Stephanie at www.summerstreetcreative.com and don't forget to check out the Thriving Tides Podcast!

Today's guest is going to educate us on the power of inclusion in the workforce! Don Gallant is the National Director with Ready, Willing and Able. 

My first impression of the RWA program was that they worked with employment 'seekers' with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder...boy was I wrong and it’s WAY better! They work with employers, to create opportunities to address a need for skilled labor, that can be filled by qualified workforce. 

Leave your preconceived notions about persons with Intellectual Disabilities and ASD at the door. You're about to be enlightened and I’m so fired up about it!

If you are an employer, and are struggling for a skilled, quality labor force, you want to listen to this episode!

Head over to www.readywillingable.ca to find out more!

Today’s guest is Luke Elias is the owner of Muskoka Cabinet Company in Alfred Ontario and Co-owner of SMART MRP which is a shop management tool.

As you will hear, I met him through SMART MRP, and while I didn’t spend a lot of time directly with Luke, you don’t need to, to see what a brilliant mind he has in business, processes and technology. I’ve always been interested in his forward thinking and ability to keep moving forward.

This episode is all about automation and processes! Luke shares his insights for shops for their road to automation, and I think you’ll be surprised his response has nothing to do with purchasing equipment!

And another guest saying the same thing: if you want buy-in, it has to come from the top, management! I think we might be onto something!?!

Enjoy today's episode with Luke! And make sure you head over to www.SMARTMRP.com to catch some footage of the automation in his shop!!!

Today’s topic for the podcast created a lot of intrigue when I asked my social accounts if they wanted to know more, so here we are!! Chris Leonard from Kaizen Institute Canada, is going to answer all our questions!

We talk a lot about 'lean', or 'just in time', processes in Cabinet Manufacturing. What I was most curious about was how Kaizen has a people first focus! We're going to learn the similarities and differences in this episode! This isn’t just for manufacturing, they work with all industries. If you have people, the system can be adapted!

If you want to produce more, without increasing space...listen up!

You can find more about Kaizen on their website www.ca.kaizen.com or email him direct at [email protected].

Make sure you share this podcast and episode on your socials! In these crazy times, all businesses could use help being more efficient, and this just might be the information that helps them! Also... not sponsored, I just see value in the information!

First episode of 2021, and it's with 3 of the best guys you'll ever find! Jamie, Jono and Jon from Oakridge Cabinets are our guests today. We chat about current challenges, what's working well in their shop, taking the time to give back to the community. And what do we do with a sunset software, and moving to a new one. Can we limit clients choices when designing their kitchen? These guys have been clients for a long time, they are full of knowledge (even if they don't think they are) and laughter! So you know I had to make a blooper segment at the end! 

 

You can find these guys on Facebook as Oakridge Cabinets or check out their website www.oakridgewoodworking.ca

Here we are, the end of 2020 is coming close! This episode I do a recap of my Top 5 favs from this short 2020 season, how I'm spending my 2020 Holiday, and some lesson I've learned in my business over 2020.

 

Remember to take the time to say an extra thank you to your staff and co-workers, it's been a year! And shop local! Get the takeout, cause dang it that local eatery appreciates your business! And bonus, you didn't have to make supper!

Jolanda Slagmolen-Flores is the owner of Casa Flores in Calgary, Alberta. Jolanda shares with us their almost 15 year journey that started with just her and her husband to the current staff of 7! We talk about the resistance to automation, a fear that it would bring ciaos, and how that’s not what happened at all! I give a mini lesson on pricing in software and how to use Order Entry in Cabinet Vision, so I left that in there for any users.

Disclaimer: Not sponsored, we both happen to use it in our businesses, and I’m trying to keep this podcast Team Neutral! All software welcome!

Now today’s guest took a little convincing but I knew she’d have so much value to share with all you listeners, so it was worth my persistence!

Sandra Wood is the Executive Director for the Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association. The CKCA...You’ve heard that come up a few times on this podcast and Sandra’s going to give us more details on the association, it’s members and how one way they are helping their members is through member surveys! We talk about the challenges shops are facing today, you know we discuss the labor shortage and Sandra brings up an interesting point: do we have a perception issue?

We have another good one this week! Enjoy

If you are a cabinet shop, you want to listen to this episode!

Jim Lawrence from Avondale Kitchens is our guest today! We’ll get to hear how Jim finally let go of his misconceptions in lean manufacturing and totally changed his business to a smaller footprint, 6 employees on the shop floor, a 2 week delivery guarantee and they don’t start producing the kitchen until 48hrs before it needs to ship...did I get your attention yet?

One thing I know for a fact about Jim...he is always willing to share how he does what he does, in hopes of helping other shops with their production!

In today's episode I am interviewing Tammy Roach. Tammy is the only female sole owner of a dealership in PEI. She owns Charlottetown Mitsubishi. 

We get to hear her journey in the automotive industry that started as a bookkeeper, all the way to owning her own dealership. Tammy shares her views on how we can support women in trades, and it starts with management! She shares her advice for women in a male dominated industry, and why we, as women, need to have a seat at the table.

You can find Tammy and Charlottetown Mitsubishi www.charlottetownmitsubishi.ca and on facebook @charlottetownmitsubishi