OV Boss Babes

Reduce, reuse, and recycle has always been at the forefront for Natalie Surette to find creative ways to minimize waste, reusing products, and recycle any materials that could be used for a new purpose - and she wanted to share her passion with others to follow in suit, buying products made with recycled content and provide a eco-friendly refillery so that folks in the Ottawa Valley could refill their household cleaning and personal care products in bulk, eliminating the need for disposable packaging.

Natalie takes us back to how the idea for a refillery came to fruition, along with:

✳️ How rĒCo Refillery is pioneering sustainable business models and approaches and encouraging folks to rethink the way they consume

♻️ Sharing why sustainability is important in business and how other biz owners can become an eco-friendly brand

❇️ How the support of Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation helped contribute to the growth of rĒCo Refillery

Our anniversary "Where Are They Now" episodes concludes with Jacquie Kuntze, the babe who built her successful bridal hair and makeup team in Ottawa and Prince Edward County !

In this episode, we first try to wrap our heads around how Jacquie even gets to enjoy her summers being #BUSYAF and booked solid every weekend, but then we get into...

🤯 How Jacquie has achieved the unachievable in business - and it's NOT by posting constantly on the socials

🙌🏻 Knowing your worth, having standards and boundaries, and setting your rates when you're a service provider

♥️ How Jacquie overcame her deeply troubled childhood trauma and found her path to happiness and success

🚌 Jacquie's other biz, Astrid Park, that she co owns with biz partner Lana Dingwall, and how their off-grid camper motel are building a project that massively rewards the community beyond your wildest imagations

📲 WATCH and LISTEN to this exclusive anniversary special episode, where Wilder Waters hosted our guests at a gorgeous chalet in Calabogie, ON.

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Our anniversary "Where Are They Now" episodes continue with Stacey Bonfield, the serial entrepreneur behind Flint & Honey, Fawn + Fox, and Dawn and Dusk, three well known businesses for babies, kids and home decor in downtown Perth!

In this podcast video episode, exclusively for you to watch only on Spotify, host Holly Molenaar sits down with Stacey to chat about where her entrepreneurial journey has taken her since last appearing on the podcast in 2021.

In this episode, we're going to break down WHY Stacey initially came onto the podcast during a huge life changing event that turned her world upside down 🤯, in addition to....

🤍 How Stacey decided to go into business at such a young age, investing the little savings that she had, no biz experience and being a young mom

🫶🏼 The highs and lows with business, the good and bad days, and the not-so-successful 💰 days where she feels like throwing in the towel - and how she keeps going!

😡 Familiar customers that decided to shoplift... repeatedly... and why it's an ongoing problem for many retailer / brick & mortar biz owners

📲 WATCH and LISTEN to this exclusive anniversary special episode, where Wilder Waters hosted our guests at a gorgeous chalet in Calabogie, ON.

Tammy Reimer, a former doula and lifelong volunteer, has always had a big heart and dedicated to helping people, and wanted to start a business where she could help others, particularly seniors. She came up with the idea of Valley Angels, a non-medical companion service, where she spends time with seniors that are living alone that may need help decluttering and organizing their home, light cleaning and cooking, and perhaps just have a supportive friend to talk to and play games with.

This past spring, Tammy came across the Starter Company Plus Program offered by Enterprise Renfrew County. After participating in the program, she was successful in her pitch towards a grant that could be used towards her business that proved to be immensely beneficial in enhancing the growth of Valley Angels.

Tammy is excited to be providing this much-needed life enhancement service to those living in isolated home situations, who may have medical struggles, mobility issues, disabilities or even post-surgery limitations. To learn more, visit https://www.valleyangels.ca

In 2021, Jenny Hodgson took ownership over Milano's Pizza Petawawa location. She had mermaid serving and managing the former restaurant Dineamice in Pembroke when the owners decided to close the restaurant and Jenny was sterting to think what her next step would be when this opportunity presented itself... and business owner had a good ring to it.

Now that Jenny's been in business for 2 years, leveraging an iconic franchise and putting her own twist on things, including adding her own signature dishes and specials, like her homemade cheesecake and $10 medium pizza specials, all seems to be smooth sailing.

But the clock never stops when you're a business owner, so in this Where Are They Now video episode, Jenny and I talk about:

✨ How she made the leap into entrepreneurship and how her former years of working in hospitality has contributed to the success of running a business

🍕 How pizza is community - being a staple Friday night meal, birthday party lunch, or late night craving with friends

🤍 What Jenny does differently being in a saturated market where there are a variety of pizza restaurants in her town and close by - and why her business model is successful with a loyal and returning customer base

🤌🏼✨ The secret ingredient to Jenny's success (and no, it's no her signature cheesecakes) 😉

WATCH and LISTEN to this exclusive anniversary special episode, where Wilder Waters hosted our guests at a gorgeous chalet in Calabogie, ON.

Ariessa Black was a single mom and former aesthetician whose initial business, Platinum Black, took a turn after the pandemic but she didn't let that stop her, as she decided to put her heritage roots, love for supporting local Canadian businesses, and an idea with her best friend and came up with the Witch Haus, a store that embodies femininity, spiritual products, witchy wares, and more!

Unfortunately, a sudden accident took the life of her friend but Ariessa took this as a sign to persevere and carry on her dream to open her magical and dark aesthetic store... and that's what she did, originally opening in Carleton Place and relocating to her business' permanent home in Almonte.

In this episode, we chat about:

🧙‍♀️ What the modern day feminine witch looks like and how witches symbolize female empowerment

🧙🏼‍♀️ A unique perspective on the witches in Disney movies and why Ariessa thinks they were perhaps misunderstood or misrepresented

🔮 Tarot cards, psychics and mediums, and Ariessa's popular ghost ceramics

🫶🏼 How The Witch Haus is an inclusive and welcoming store, supporting various local and Canadian biz owners, and why Ariessa's favourite customers are the ones who just pop in for a chat!

Katie Turner is a well known psychic and medium who has the ability to tap into timelines providing glimpses into the past, present and future. She is also a Paranormal Expert and Paranormal Investigator with the Canadian Supernatural Research Society, and you can also check out her show Paranormal Investigator on Netflix to watch some paranormal investigations in some haunted places right here in the Ottawa Valley!

But how does someone know they're actually psychic? Are they really able to see and correctly predict someone's future? What about talking to loved ones that have passed, not to mention ghosts and spirits. And why should those who haven't been properly trained in dealing with ghosts really mind their own business before opening up portals that they might not be able to close themselves? Katie Turner explains it all to Holly and her co-host, Katie Hyska, Pure Country 96.7's afternoon show radio personality!

Madison Broad is an Carpentry Renovations Techniques Program Algonquin College Pembroke Campus alumni and a Weston Family Foundation grant recipient, currently a couple hundred hours away from completing her general carpentry apprenticeship at Dugan Hawkins Construction, with a goal of receiving the red seal designation.

In this alumni spotlight episode, Madison shares how she first initially thought to pursue a career in social services as a nurse or personal support worker. But after assembling an IKEA bunk bed and discovering that carpentry ran in her family, she realized that she enjoyed building and constructing things, and moved to Pembroke from Sudbury to take Algonquin Clllege's Carpentry Renovations Techniques Program.

Tune in to hear the "unique opportunity" that Madison took upon herself that landed her carpentry apprentice, her perspective on the changes in the industry's attitude towards women in carpentry, and advice she would give to other women who are interested in pursuing a career in the trades!

Breaking the Stigma: A Candid Conversation on Mental Health and Therapy with Tory Baker-Reed and Kathryn Baker-Reed of The Thrive Centre in Smiths Falls. Tory and Kathryn are two registered social work counsellors who wanted to create an inclusive space in providing greater access for therapy and counselling services, while also making it more affordable, inclusive and accessible for everyone.

Tory and Kathryn's services focuses on life skills coaching, Psychodramatic Bodywork, Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and tapping. They also focus on trauma healing, both working work from an anti-oppression, trauma-informed lens.

In this episode....

🤍 We explore the concept of mental health and wellness, emphasizing its significance in overall well-being, shedding light on common mental health issues and the impact they can have on individuals and society

🩷 We talk about the importance of self-advocacy and times when you need to be your own advocate for immediate action to happen

🤍 We delve into the stigmas surrounding therapy and mental health, addressing misconceptions and societal barriers

🩷 Tory and Kathryn provide guidance on how to challenge and overcome these stigmas, encouraging open conversations and destigmatization efforts

Kiki Keskinen not only identifies as a witch, but also a professor at Carleton's School of Journalism and Communication, a marketing coach for witches and their businesses and is the founder of Witch School Canada, which encompasses the sacred feminine within all individuals and also serves as the spiritual backbone of activism and personal transformation for the students.

By studying ancient philosophy and practises, and looking back towards nature and archeology’s ceremonialized rituals, WitchSchool expands the diversity of thought and aims to grow feminine thinking for problem-solving in today’s society.

But how did Kiki realize that she was a witch and why are there so many others "still in the broom closest" that might not be aware that they too encompass traits of a witch deep inside them?

In this episode, Kiki and I chat all about....

🧙🏻How someone becomes a witch and why more women especially are choosing the way

of the witch

🧙🏿‍♀️Ways that Kiki views and incporates magic into her own life and how she and her WitchSchool faculty members teach their students to do the same

🧙🏽‍♀️The growth of the #WitchTok community and of Kiki thinks that witches are becoming more accepted and mainstream in today's society

🧙🏼‍♀️Magic, spells, curses, sex magic, and so much more...

The next cohort for WitchSchool Canada opens on October 25 if there are any interested witches or people interested in beginning their spiritual awakening. You can learn more, apply and enrol at WitchSchool.ca ✨🧙🏼‍♀️