For much of her life, Krista Gill was always known as former Canadian defenceman hockey player Todd Gill's wife, being that supportive partner, following his career and mother to their four kids.

But Krista also had a passion for baking delicious homemade cookies and was inspired to bake the perfect one that would go hand in hand with her husband's coffee before he hit the ice. Her cookies were such a hit that it wasn’t long before she was making cookies for Todd’s teammates, fundraisers, team parties, potlucks, and bake sales.

After her husband retired from professional hockey and their kids started getting older, Krista realized it was finally now HER time and after getting that push from her kids, she decided to launch 23&co, her small batch gourmet cookie biz!

In this episode, we chat about:

🏒 What life looked like as the wife of a professional hockey player and how Krista's cookies became entrenched into hockey team culture

🙌🏻 How Krista's love for coffee, community, and conversations led to her creating 23&co.

🤔 Why a little bit of competition is actually GOOD for business

👏🏼How the Small Business Centre's Starter Company Plus Program helped Krista to leverage different opportunities and level up her business

Nancy Scammell was formerly working in child protective services when she realized that she was near the brink of burnout. Her partner André was running Fresh Ink Studios in Kanata and Nancy was inspired to opening her own tattoo and piercing studio in Smiths Falls.

In July 2022, Nancy opened the doors to her own business, Fresh Ink Studios Inc. in Smiths Falls, which is 100% female owned and operated with 4 amazing and talented tattoo artists, a dedicated body piercer and an apprentice.

In this episode, we discuss:

👂🏼Belly rings, eyebrow rings, nipple

rings, ear stretching and more!

😵‍💫 When you could go to Claire's and get your ears pierced?! And it's still a thing...but Nancy tells us why you shouldn't trust a teen to pierce your ears

🪡 Which piercings are the most dangerous and painful

🙅🏼‍♀️ Why Nancy and her team won't pierce young kids or teens without a verbal consent - meaning, THEY must make that choice

Coming from a family of vintage Volkswagen finders, Jenn Vanner stumbled into entrepreneurship after she found her dream Volkswagen bus and friends started asking to borrow it for weddings, photoshoots, and other fun photo ops. Prince Edward County was blowing up in the tourism industry, and Jenn saw an opportunity with her VW "Stella," took a chance and launched Westy Wine Tours!

Prince Edward County is quickly becoming Ontario’s hottest and fastest growing tourist destinations, and has exploded with wineries, vineyards and culinary experiences. Wine lovers from all over the country are falling in love with The County and are wanting to not only wet their palettes with different wines but they also are looking for tips and suggestions from a local expert as to which wineries to explore that are tailored specially to their individual and group needs.

Hear how this babe wants to create an iconic and fun experience in one of her 3 coloured Volkswagen buses while you tour through the beautiful vineyards, wineries, breweries, cider companies and more throughout Prince Edward County!

The Carpentry and Renovation Techniques Ontario College Certificate program at Algonquin College Pembroke Waterfront Campus prepares you for a future in construction and is an ideal way to gain comfort and confidence with skills and techniques associated with a variety of carpentry trades.

Whether you decide to pursue an apprenticeship path after you complete the program, or transition into employment within a trades-related business, the skills you acquire will benefit you in your future career path and personal life. 

Students also have the opportunity to work in a 10,000 square foot shop designed to support their learning. You DO need tools but you DON'T need to be have any previous carpentry experience to take this program.

Katelyn Klisowsky, recent grad of the Carpentry and Renovation Techniques chats about her experience for the program and how she is excited to break more barriers for the next generation of female carpenters and for all women in the trades!

Located in west Quebec Zone 12, north of Pontiac County, you will find the perfect place to relax and enjoy the experience of a remote wilderness vacation. Renowned for its outstanding fishing, Domaine du Lac Bryson is one of the rare outfitters offering four species in 17 different lakes.

Whether you love to fish, hunt, trap or just enjoy the peace and quiet of nature, your adventure begins as soon as your line hits the water!

Laurel LeBrun shares how she and her husband came to owning a nature lover's paradise in a remote wilderness location 30 years ago and how it became one of the few outfitters in the Ottawa Valley with personalized guided hunts, fishing, and more!

In this episode, we discuss:

🎣 Hunting bears and moose, catching a trophy-winning fish, and capturing small game animals

🐻 What Laurel's experience as a female entrepreneur in an outfitter business has been like over the past 30 years

👰🏽‍♀️🤵🏽Why Laurel is on the hunt for an engaged couple to get married (or elope!) at Domaine du Lac Bryson Lake Lodge

And more!

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Situé dans la zone 12 de l'ouest du Québec, au nord du comté de Pontiac, vous trouverez l'endroit idéal pour vous détendre et profiter de l'expérience de vacances en pleine nature. Réputé pour sa pêche exceptionnelle, le Domaine du Lac Bryson est l'une des rares pourvoiries offrant quatre espèces dans 17 lacs différents. Que vous aimiez pêcher, chasser, piéger ou simplement profiter du calme de la nature, votre aventure commence dès que votre ligne touche l'eau ! Laurel LeBrun raconte comment elle et son mari sont devenus propriétaires d'un paradis pour les amoureux de la nature dans un endroit sauvage isolé il y a 30 ans et comment il est devenu l'un des rares pourvoiries de la vallée de l'Outaouais avec des chasses guidées personnalisées, de la pêche et plus encore! Dans cet épisode, nous abordons:

🎣 Chasser des ours et des orignaux, attraper un poisson gagnant d'un trophée et capturer du petit gibier

🐻 Quelle a été l'expérience de Laurel en tant que femme entrepreneure dans une entreprise de pourvoirie au cours des 30 dernières années

👰🏽‍♀️🤵🏽Pourquoi Laurel est à la recherche d'un couple fiancé pour se marier (ou s'enfuir!) au Domaine du Lac Bryson Lake Lodge Et plus!

Jennifer McGuire started her canning and pickling career after she had moved out to Vancouver and was inspired after seeing all of the local food and farmers markets. She then set off to make 300 jars of jam, learning how to pickle vegetables a year later and then officially kicked off Redneck Recipes in Arnprior!

Over the years, Jennifer has been busy been working on pickling and preserving the best pickles, jams, jellies, and condiments, using the best ingredients from local farms.

This babe's business model is built around supporting other local businesses and sponsoring local initiatives, whether she is teaming up with Christina's Studio to cover the cost of a colour on Arnprior Pride's crosswalk, working at Bee Savvy Fine Foods or connecting with other food entrepreneurs at Farmers Markets across the Ottawa Valley.

In this episode, we discuss:

🥬 Why shopping at a Farmer's Market je a fresher and healthier choice vs. shopping at the grocery store in the produce department

💡 Why Jennifer incorporated her business and what that process looked like

👏🏼 Where Jennifer first heard of Enterprise Renfrew County's Starter Company Plus program and how she has become a business mentor

🫶🏼 Why mentors and key players contribute to the success of every business, big or small

At 25 years old, Sylvie Neville opened her store, Pick-It-Fence in the Renfrew Mall and then opened her second location in Arnprior, and the second year in business, she opened her third store at the Pembroke Mall. Although the Arnprior location wouldn't last long, Sylvie successfully ran both the Pembroke and Renfrew stores.

At only 14 years old, Emma started working for Sylvie at the Pembroke Mall location after being recommended by a friend. Over the years, Sylvie offered Emma more responsibilities and management tasks, then when Emma was 19 years old, she presented Emma with the opportunity to purchase the Pick-it-Fence location. Emma was in school pursuing the Business program at Algonquin College, and had thought about becoming an entrepreneur but wasn't sure what to do. After giving Sylvie's offer some thought, she decided to go all in!

In this exclusive Spotify video episode, Emma and Sylvie share:

✨ Why Sylvie decided to sell Emma the Pembroke Pick-It-Fence store instead of co-owning it together and how both locations are different

✨ Why both Emma and Sylvie decided to move their former locations inside the Pembroke and Renfrew Mall to downtown Pembroke and Renfrew before downtown was the place to be

✨Why Emma and Sylvie were never nervous or worried when home decor stores like Homesense and Pottery Barn started becoming popular

✨ What happened to all their loungewear after the pandemic?!

And so much more!

Amy Kelly's passion for quilting, sewing, and beautiful fabric started as a side gig, making quilts and giving them to friends and family, and then business really started to pick up and she started making handcrafted scarves, bags, home decor and even essential oil pouches- and the response became overwhelming!

She decided to go all in with her business and officially The Plaid Cow, in Downtown Perth! 

In this episode, Amy chats all things behind the scenes in business including:

👉🏼 How she knew it was the "right time" to go all in with her business and go from operating out of her home to purchasing a brick-and-mortar (and advice she gives to other "small" biz owners on how to take that leap!)

👉🏼 The importance of investing in yourself, whether it be hiring a bookkeeper, product and branding photographer, or a business coach

👉🏼 Setting boundaries, knowing when to say no, and why providing an explanation isn't required

Amy is also a Starter Company Plus Program grant recipient, and she shares how this program helped to level up her biz!

When Kristin Leitch first relocated back to the Ottawa Valley, she decided to launch her mobile makeup service, as she always enjoyed the beauty industry and making women feel confident and beautiful. Kris' business eventually expanded as her entrepreneurial brain went into power mode and she launched permanent makeup, brows, botox, and laser services, eventually opening Hela in downtown Pembroke in 2018, with her beautiful second location to follow in Petawawa

Kris and her white coat team are devoted to quality medical-grade service while educating their patients on the benefits of personal care, while helping them take their self-care game to the next level.

In this episode, we discuss:

💄 Kristin's first biz, a hugely successful mobile makeup biz, and how she came becoming the CEO of a medical aesthetics, laser clinic and luxury spa

❌ The former stigma in our society attached to having cosmetic surgery ... and do women still feel embrassed to admit it?

🌸 How Kris and her team are advocating for women to prioritize self care and why it's an investment beyond your appearance

👩🏽‍⚕️ Botox, micro needling, IV drips, and SO much more!

Local Immigration Partnership Renfrew & Lanark County aims to strengthen the role of local communities across Lanark and Renfrew in integrating and serving our newcomer population, bringing together service providers, settlement agencies, community groups, employers and other key municipal organizations to create a welcoming and inclusive community for newcomers.

The work of Local Immigration Partnerships is administered by Algonquin College’s Pembroke Campus. In this episode, Jodi Bucholtz, Manager of LIP and her team identify challenges that are preventing newcomers from fully participating in the economic, social, cultural and recreational life of the community, while also cultivating new opportunities with a goal of helping newcomers settle in rural areas.

LIP is also hosting its second annual Culture Connect, a celebration of beauty in diversity and the importance of culture. There will be a variety of fun events and activities happening throughout the Ottawa Valley throughout the month of June, and there LIP is excited to create a space to educate our community members and enhance intercultural learning. Check out their website, Facebook and Instagram page for more details on all the activities taking place each week in June!