The Business Development Podcast

In Episode 349 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with mindset expert, transformational coach, and entrepreneur Stacey Berger for a powerful conversation about why external success is never enough if it comes at the cost of fulfillment, purpose, and personal well-being. Stacey shares her journey from growing a corporate subsidiary from a million-dollar balance sheet to $60 million, to realizing that the career she once loved no longer aligned with the life she wanted to create.

This episode explores burnout, leadership, work-life harmony, mindset, purpose, and the hidden beliefs that keep high achievers stuck. Stacey opens up about the hospital wake-up call that changed everything, the decision that helped her double her income while working half the hours, and why success begins by asking better questions. For entrepreneurs, executives, and ambitious leaders, this conversation is a reminder that you can never outperform your mindset, and that building a life you love starts with choosing a different way forward.

Key Takeaways:

1. You can never outperform your mindset. Your beliefs ultimately determine the actions you take, the opportunities you see, and the results you create.
2. Success without fulfillment will eventually catch up to you. Titles, income, and achievements are not substitutes for purpose, alignment, and joy.
3. Burnout often disguises itself as ambition. Many high performers don't realize they're burning out because they view exhaustion as a normal part of success.
4. The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask. Replacing "I can't" with "What if I could?" opens the door to new possibilities and solutions.
5. Work-life balance is a myth. True success comes from creating harmony between the different areas of your life rather than trying to perfectly balance them.
6. Your subconscious beliefs are driving most of your decisions. If you want different results, you must first identify and challenge the beliefs that are shaping your behavior.
7. Purpose does not need to be complicated. Knowing what gives you life, energy, growth, freedom, and fulfillment is often enough to start moving in the right direction.
8. Success is not about working longer, harder, and faster. Sustainable success comes from combining the right mindset with the right strategy rather than relying on hustle alone.
9. If you are unhappy, waiting rarely changes anything. Transformation often begins with a decision to stop accepting the status quo and take responsibility for your own happiness.
10. Life is too short to live someone else's version of success. The greatest regret is often not what we did, but what we failed to pursue because fear, comfort, or circumstances convinced us to stay where we were.

Get in Touch with Stacey Berger

Connect with Stacey Berger on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-berger/

Learn more about Stacey’s coaching, programs, and transformational work:

www.staceyberger.ca

Get your tickets for Passion to Purpose Live, happening in October 2026:

https://staceyberger.thrivecart.com/ppl-super-early-bird/

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies & Hyperfab, 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, community, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high-level, human-centric thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

In Episode 348 of The Business Development Podcast, Colin Christensen returns for his fourth appearance on the show to explore one of the most fascinating and misunderstood industries in the world today. As CEO of Tidal Care Inc. and a mentor to more than 2,000 founders, Colin shares his journey into the mushroom industry, the differences between functional mushrooms and psilocybin, the emerging research surrounding mental health and wellness, and why entrepreneurs, researchers, and healthcare professionals are paying close attention to this rapidly evolving space.

Throughout the conversation, Kelly and Colin discuss entrepreneurship, mentorship, human potential, innovation, and the future of mushroom-based therapies. From lion's mane and cordyceps to the commercialization of mushroom products and the challenges of building a business in an emerging industry, this episode offers an educational and thought-provoking look at a topic many people have heard about but few truly understand. Whether you're curious, skeptical, or simply interested in learning something new, this conversation will challenge assumptions and expand your perspective.

Key Takeaways:

1. Entrepreneurship rarely follows the plan you start with. The pieces appear as you keep moving.
2. Mentorship matters because no founder can see every side of the problem alone.
3. Wisdom is not about having the only right answer. It is about helping people see more clearly.
4. Experienced leaders should not simply retire and disappear. Their knowledge needs to be passed on.
5. Business is still deeply human. You cannot separate life, grief, family, purpose, and work completely.
6. Impact matters more than ego. The real question is whether you made the world better.
7. Mushrooms are far more complex than most people realize, ranging from culinary to functional to psychedelic.
8. Functional mushrooms like lion’s mane, cordyceps, and reishi are gaining attention for focus, energy, and wellness.
9. Emerging industries require patience, education, regulation, and a real business model, not just hype.
10. Human potential sits at the intersection of health, mindset, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and the courage to explore new ideas.

If you enjoyed this conversation and would like to learn more about Colin's work in entrepreneurship, mentorship, startup growth, and the mushroom industry, you can connect with him here:

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinchristensen/

🔹 MYCĀO: https://mycao.ca

Colin has spent more than 30 years building businesses, mentoring founders, and helping entrepreneurs navigate growth, innovation, and uncertainty. Whether you're interested in entrepreneurship, mentorship, functional mushrooms, or emerging opportunities in the wellness space, Colin is a wealth of knowledge and experience.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies & Hyperfab, 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, community, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high-level, human-centric thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

In Episode 347 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Paul Riismandel, President of Signal Hill Insights and one of the leading voices in podcast audience research, to explore the future of podcasting, media, and audience attention. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in digital audio, podcasting, advertising, and audience measurement, Paul shares what creators, entrepreneurs, marketers, and business leaders need to understand about where the industry is headed and how audiences are consuming content in 2026 and beyond.

From the myth that everyone skips podcast ads to the reality of audience growth, community building, content discovery, and the evolving relationship between audio and video, this conversation is packed with practical insights and thought-provoking perspectives. Paul challenges conventional wisdom around virality, explains why community matters more than most creators realize, and reveals what successful podcasters are doing differently to build loyal audiences in an increasingly competitive media landscape. Whether you're a podcaster, content creator, thought leader, marketer, or business owner, this episode offers a valuable look at the forces shaping the future of attention and influence.

Key Takeaways:

1. Audience quality matters more than audience quantity.
2. One podcast listener is not the same as one passive TV or radio listener.
3. A hundred downloads can represent a room full of people who chose to hear from you.
4. Podcasting is a long game, not a viral lottery.
5. You need to know who your audience is and why they should listen.
6. Discovery starts by finding the audience, not just finding podcast listeners.
7. Audio is not dead, but creators need to remind people how and when to listen.
8. Short form content may be losing some of its hold as people want their attention back.
9. Community is one of the strongest drivers of podcast growth and loyalty.
10. Podcast ads work better than many people think because listeners do not skip them as much as they say they do.

Want to learn more from Paul?

Check out Signal Hill Insights and subscribe to Paul's newsletter. If you care about podcasting, media, audience growth, advertising, and the future of audio, it's one of the best sources of industry insights available.

Signal Hill Insights Newsletter

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies & Hyperfab, 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, community, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high-level, human-centric thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

In Episode 346 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Rudy A. Zacharias and Terry Elkins of About That... to explore one of the most misunderstood topics in business: branding. Drawing on decades of experience helping organizations navigate growth and transformation, Rudy and Terry explain why a brand is far more than a logo. It is the sum total of what people think, feel, and experience when they interact with your company. Together, they unpack the warning signs that your business may have outgrown its brand, the importance of aligning perception with reality, and why successful companies often reach a point where evolution becomes necessary.

The conversation also provides a behind-the-scenes look at About That...'s own transformation from G Squared to its new identity. Rudy and Terry share the intentional process behind the rebrand, the challenges of balancing existing brand equity with future growth, and the critical role of employee buy-in, change management, and communication throughout the journey. Whether you're considering a full rebrand, a brand refresh, or simply want to better understand how your organization is perceived, this episode offers practical insights into building a brand that reflects who you are today and where you want to go tomorrow.

Key Takeaways:

1. A brand is not your logo. Your brand is the sum total of what people think, feel, and experience when they interact with your company.
2. The biggest reason companies rebrand is misalignment. When who you are as a business no longer matches how you are perceived in the market, a rebrand may be necessary.
3. Growth often creates branding challenges. As companies evolve, expand into new markets, add services, or change leadership, their original brand may no longer accurately represent them.
4. Living things grow and living things evolve. Businesses that remain exactly the same year after year risk becoming stagnant and losing relevance.
5. Rebranding should never start with design. Before changing logos, websites, or visual identity, organizations must first understand their values, purpose, positioning, and stakeholder perceptions.
6. Internal alignment comes before external messaging. Employees must understand and believe in the brand before the marketplace ever sees it. Your team becomes your most important group of brand ambassadors.
7. The truth about your brand is often found through listening. Leadership's perception of the company can be very different from what employees, customers, vendors, and partners actually experience.
8. A rebrand is not always the answer. Sometimes a refresh, updated messaging, service clarification, culture improvements, or operational changes can solve the real issue without a complete overhaul.
9. Successful rebrands require change management and communication. If stakeholders do not understand why a change is happening, they will create their own narratives and assumptions.
10. Values must be lived, not displayed. Trust is built when customers and employees can clearly see an organization's values reflected in its actions, decisions, and relationships every day.

🌐 About That...

Website: www.weareaboutthat.com

📧 Email

[email protected]

📞 Phone

780-465-0682

💼 Rudy A. Zacharias

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rudyazacharias/

🎨 Terry Elkins

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/terry-elkins-23234315/

About That... is an Edmonton-based branding, communications, and marketing agency helping organizations align their brand, strategy, and story to drive meaningful growth.

This keeps it clean, professional, and consistent with your recent episode descriptions.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com

🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

Episode 345 of The Business Development Podcast dives into a conversation that almost never gets talked about in entrepreneurship: what happens at the end. Kelly Kennedy sits down with Robert Welke, business growth strategist, Certified Exit Planning Advisor, entrepreneur, and Co-Founder of MExit Inc., to explore why so many business owners spend decades building companies only to discover they have nothing they can actually sell. Together, they unpack Canada’s growing entrepreneurial challenges, the reality that more businesses are closing than opening, and why owner dependency may quietly be destroying business value long before owners ever think about exiting.

Drawing from more than 35 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience, Robert shares a practical framework for building businesses that are scalable, transferable, and capable of surviving beyond the founder. The conversation explores what makes a company truly sellable, why systems and leadership matter more than most owners realize, alternative exit strategies including employee ownership, and why building with the end in mind may be one of the most overlooked business disciplines today. Whether you plan to exit in three years, twenty years, or never at all, this episode will challenge the way you think about growth, legacy, and the future of entrepreneurship.

Key Takeaways:

1. If you want to sell your business, you have to build it to be sellable from the beginning.
2. Owner dependency is one of the biggest threats to business value and transferability.
3. Exit planning is not an event. It is a process that usually takes three to five years.
4. A business that cannot run without the founder is much harder to sell successfully.
5. Most business owners are experts at their craft, but not always experts at the business of business.
6. Systems, processes, people, and leadership structure are what make a company scalable and transferable.
7. Your employees may be a viable exit path, especially through employee ownership structures.
8. Revenue alone does not determine business value. Readiness, attractiveness, profitability, and risk matter deeply.
9. The future of Canadian entrepreneurship depends on helping more owners transition businesses instead of simply closing them.
10. A great business should survive beyond the founder and continue creating value for employees, customers, and communities.

Connect with Robert:

Robert Welke on LinkedIn

MExit Inc.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com

🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

After launching CTK at just 24 years old in the middle of a global pandemic, Chris Vasiliou didn’t wait for perfect timing, certainty, or permission. In this episode, Chris shares the realities of scaling a construction company in one of Canada’s toughest industries, the lessons learned from growing from a handful of people to a national operation, and why entrepreneurship can’t truly be taught, it has to be lived. From earning trust as a young founder to building credibility through responsiveness, authenticity, and consistency, this conversation is packed with practical insight for anyone trying to grow something meaningful.

But this episode goes deeper than business growth. Kelly and Chris unpack the hidden side of entrepreneurship, including risk, cash flow pressure, sleepless nights, non payment challenges, and the responsibility that comes with leading people. They also tackle the future of construction in Canada, why contractors should be treated as partners instead of commodities, and how trust, transparency, and long term thinking can create stronger businesses and stronger communities. Whether you’re building a company, leading a team, or standing on the edge of taking your first leap, this episode is a reminder that success rarely comes quickly, but it is built one decision at a time.

Follow Chris:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-vasiliou-a05752262/

CTK Website: https://ctksys.com/

Key Takeaways:

1. Entrepreneurship cannot really be taught, it has to be experienced.
2. There is no perfect time to start, sometimes you have to put both feet into the fire.
3. Starting young is an advantage because time, risk, and learning can compound.
4. Credibility is built through consistency, responsiveness, and doing what you say you will do.
5. Soft skills can become a major competitive advantage in established industries.
6. Growth starts with small wins, strong relationships, and proving yourself over time.
7. Authenticity and transparency are not just values, they are business development tools.
8. Construction is brutally hard, and the hidden challenges are often cash flow, non payment, risk, and tight margins.
9. The best contractors act like partners, not vendors chasing the lowest bid.
10. Canada’s next major opportunity will require builders, tradespeople, and contractors who are willing to step up and do good work.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com

🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

In episode 343 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy breaks down the 10 must-have tools every business development professional should be using in 2026 and beyond. From timeless essentials like the phone, email, LinkedIn, notepads, Excel, and CRM systems to modern tools like ChatGPT, Apollo.io, Surfe, AI note takers, and Canva, this episode provides a practical look at the tools that can improve efficiency, consistency, prospecting, follow-up, meeting preparation, and overall BD performance.

More importantly, Episode 343 reinforces that no tool can replace authentic human connection. Kelly explains why structure, consistency, personalization, and relationship-building remain the foundation of great business development, even as AI and automation continue to advance. The right tools can make you faster and more effective, but your humanity, voice, judgment, and ability to build trust are still your greatest competitive advantages.

Key Takeaways:

1. Your humanity is still your greatest business development advantage, even in the age of AI.
2. The phone remains the most powerful business development tool for building rapport and booking meetings.
3. Personalized emails consistently outperform automated AI outreach when it comes to real connection and trust.
4. Consistency matters more than intensity in business development. Small actions repeated weekly create momentum.
5. A CRM is only valuable if it is used consistently and structured in a simple, actionable way.
6. Writing goals and tracking metrics physically improves accountability and increases the likelihood of success.
7. LinkedIn is no longer optional for business developers. It is one of the most powerful prospecting tools ever created.
8. AI should be used to refine and enhance your work, not replace your voice, ideas, or authenticity.
9. Tracking your numbers weekly helps you understand your pipeline, improve performance, and stay accountable.
10. The best business developers combine modern technology with authentic human relationship-building instead of relying entirely on automation.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com

🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

Episode 342 of The Business Development Podcast features the return of entrepreneur, speaker, author, and Foureva Media founder Jamar Jones for one of the most powerful conversations yet on reinvention, visibility, personal branding, and becoming the person your future requires. From opening for artists like Snoop Dogg, T.I., Common, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to losing his voice and rebuilding his entire life through entrepreneurship, Jamar shares the hard-earned lessons that transformed his mindset and ultimately led him to building one of the most respected personal branding agencies in the space.

Together, Kelly Kennedy and Jamar dive deep into what it actually takes to build a brand people remember in 2026. They unpack why most people stay stuck, why visibility matters more than ever, how to position yourself for bigger opportunities, why your offer might not be converting, and the mindset shift required to stop waiting and start building momentum. This is not a surface-level branding conversation. It is a powerful discussion about identity, growth, purpose, and learning to put yourself out there before life forces you to reinvent yourself. If you are an entrepreneur, creator, leader, or someone trying to reach the next level, this episode will challenge the way you think about your brand, your future, and your potential.

Key Takeaways:

1. Don’t tie your identity to one vehicle. Tie it to your mission and purpose.
2. Reinvention is not optional. At some point, life will force you to evolve.
3. Most people are not failing because they are incapable. They are failing because they have not started.
4. Opportunities do not usually come to people who wait. They come to people who are actively looking.
5. Your personal brand is how people talk about you in rooms you are not in.
6. If people do not know what you do, they cannot help you, refer you, hire you, or advocate for you.
7. More visibility creates more opportunity. In today’s world, you need to put yourself out there consistently.
8. Your offer should sell the transformation, not the features, details, or deliverables.
9. Social proof matters. Capture testimonials, case studies, wins, and proof every chance you get.
10. Do not let a proposal sell for you. Align on the offer, investment, and expectations before you send it.

Follow Jamar, grab a copy of Change Your Circle, Change Your Life, and learn how to build a brand people actually remember with Foureva Media.

🌐 Foureva Media: www.fourevamedia.com

📘 Change Your Circle, Change Your Life: https://www.amazon.ca/Change-your-Circle-Life-Anyones/dp/1737191903

🔗 Connect with Jamar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/relatablejamar/

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com

🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

Episode 341 of The Business Development Podcast features an incredibly honest and inspiring conversation with Stephanie Gross, Founder & CEO of Bumby Wool, a Canadian wool clothing brand built from the ground up through resilience, creativity, and relentless determination. Stephanie shares her journey from working in oil and gas and raising a family to launching a sustainable manufacturing company that has grown from homemade cloth diapers into a recognized Canadian apparel brand focused on ethical production, innovation, and purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

This episode dives deep into the realities of entrepreneurship, including burnout, tariffs, financial pressure, leadership, reinvention, and the emotional weight of nearly losing everything. Stephanie opens up about hitting a breaking point, rebuilding her mindset, rediscovering her purpose, and ultimately turning the business around by embracing community, visibility, partnerships, and a renewed vision for the future. It is a powerful conversation about resilience, Canadian manufacturing, and what happens when entrepreneurs refuse to quit.

Follow Stephanie Gross and Bumby Wool

Stephanie Gross: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-gross-bumbywool/

Bumby Wool: www.bumbywool.com

Key Takeaways:

1. Entrepreneurship is rarely a straight line. Stephanie’s journey moved through oil and gas, customer service, HR, safety, and motherhood before eventually becoming Bumby Wool.
2. Sometimes the best businesses start by solving your own problem. Bumby Wool began because Stephanie simply could not find the cloth diapers she wanted for her son.
3. Grassroots entrepreneurs succeed through resilience, not perfection. Stephanie built the business without major advertising, polished systems, or outside investment for most of its existence.
4. Your “why” matters more than growth for growth’s sake. For years, Stephanie intentionally structured the business around raising her children and supporting her family life.
5. Big setbacks can become turning points. COVID, website failures, and tariffs pushed the business to its breaking point, but those moments forced Stephanie to rethink and rebuild the company.
6. Entrepreneurs need to stop occasionally and recognize how far they’ve already come. One of Stephanie’s biggest breakthroughs came when she paused and reflected on the impact she had already created.
7. What gets you to one level may not get you to the next. Stephanie realized she had to change direction, build new systems, expand her network, and become more visible to move the company forward.
8. Relationships and community matter deeply in entrepreneurship. From The Catalyst Club to Alberta Women Entrepreneurs and Trade Accelerator programs, Stephanie’s turnaround accelerated once she leaned into community and collaboration.
9. Young people need opportunities and mentorship. Stephanie now works closely with students, interns, and work-integrated learning programs to create real-world opportunities while also helping grow her company.
10. Quitting is sometimes easier than continuing, but purpose changes everything. Stephanie repeatedly emphasizes that Bumby Wool became bigger than herself, and that realization gave her the strength to keep going during the hardest moments.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com

🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

Join The Catalyst Club Community

If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.

Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

Episode 340 of The Business Development Podcast features a powerful conversation with Manja Horner, founder of Boost LD, on the hidden skilled trades crisis happening across North America. As experienced tradespeople retire, companies are losing decades of knowledge, systems, instincts, and expertise that were never properly documented or passed down. Kelly and Manja dive deep into workforce development, retention, onboarding, leadership, and why the future of the trades depends on capturing and transferring knowledge before it disappears forever.

This episode also explores how AI is changing the future of workforce training and why companies need to rethink how they develop people. From building internal “YouTube style” knowledge systems to creating better onboarding and career development processes, Manja shares practical strategies that can dramatically improve retention, performance, and long-term growth. If you lead a company with people in the field, this episode will completely change the way you think about training and the future of business.

Key Takeaways:

1. Skilled trades companies are not just facing a labour shortage, they are facing a knowledge transfer crisis.
2. When experienced tradespeople retire without documenting what they know, decades of wisdom can disappear forever.
3. Training is not just information sharing, it requires practice, feedback, repetition, and measurable behaviour change.
4. Companies need to stop relying on informal “watch and learn” systems if they want consistent performance.
5. AI can help companies capture, organize, and retrieve internal knowledge faster than ever before.
6. Every company should be building its own internal knowledge library so employees can learn how things are done properly.
7. Retention starts with better onboarding, stronger culture, and real career conversations.
8. Skilled workers need more than pay to stay, they need growth paths, leadership, recognition, and purpose.
9. The future of workforce development will blend technology, live coaching, field-based learning, and structured practice.
10. Companies that invest in training now will reduce risk, improve quality, retain better people, and build a stronger competitive advantage.

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If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to connect with Manja Horner and learn more about the incredible work happening at Boost LD.

🔹 Website:

Boost LD

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🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶

The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐

🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com

🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com

🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

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Mentioned in this episode:

Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums