In this conversation, Kim Westlund interviews Glenn Street, the founder of Street Characters, who shares his journey of building a successful mascot company and his new venture in the coffee industry. Glenn discusses the importance of vision, mission, and organizational culture in driving success, as well as the impact of his new coffee brand, Change is Good, which aims to support communities in need. He emphasizes the significance of storytelling and purpose in business, and reflects on his legacy of making a difference in the industry and community.

Chapters00:00 The Birth of Street Characters09:54 Vision and Leadership in Business19:20 The Importance of Mission and Values29:17 Launching a Purpose-Driven Coffee Company39:13 Legacy and Making a Difference

We are diving into the subject of financial health; it's more than having a great retirement plan and the right budget or insurance (which we all know are important). Financial health is just one component to success and Dustin Serviss shares how having the right mindset and perspective around money are critical, and even how having too much focus on money can affect important relationships.

I appreciate how Dustin gets real and candid about how struggles with fertility to start a family and business upsets set him on a path to understanding his priorities and what really matters at the end of the day. Some of the hardest places he found himself in are exactly what connects him to his clients today. The magic in what he does lies in a holistic approach and understanding with his clients — wealth is not all about the money. It's so much more.

More about Dustin:

Dustin Serviss is a financial advisor living in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada, who has been working with high net worth business owner families since 2005. He has won numerous awards throughout his career and his years of community focus has earned him a Court of the Table seat in the Million Dollar Round Table. He and his partners have generated over $400M in wealth for their clients across Canada.

With a background in civil engineering, he has used a combination of science and psychology to help his clients realize dreams they never dreamed of. He is also an advocate for Fridays off and living more NOW.

Where you can find Dustin: Serviss Wealth

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Our businesses are online and digital — why aren't our business cards?

George El-Hage, Founder at Wave, has created a digital business card, something probably long overdue for most of us when you really stop and think about it.

Our conversation goes way beyond the awesome products he has available, to the importance of betting on yourself. George shares his story and humble beginnings of sleeping on his Grandfather's couch in Montreal until he finished his education and got a job in finance. But that wasn't enough. Entrepreneurship was knocking and there was no looking back.

"I was happy at the chance of failing. You don't really fail at a 9 to 5." — George

The company is young and making great strides already. It can be attributed to not putting a focus on motivation and feelings.... consistency is the key.

Enjoy!

Have you ever felt misaligned with your purpose? Trying to make things happen in your business that should feel right but doesn't? Chances are your purpose has been left behind, ignored or side-tracked. Join us for this in-depth discussion on the importance of aligning purpose with your big life goals.

Kyle Craik is the passionate owner of The Wellness Dojo where he and his team of wellness experts create a space for people to learn and develop the necessary tools to live their lives better! We dive into the importance of recognizing what your true purpose is and how to shift and align with it through various stages of life and career. There are many signs that show up when we're not living in our purpose and Kyle shares personal examples of how those signs showed up in his own life and how he addressed them.

Kyle has learned to use his life experiences from achieving a black belt, becoming a young father, starting a business and more to help others succeed. He is a Father, Husband, Coach, Speaker and friend who believes you have what it takes to achieve your big life goals!

Enjoy!

"I'm not done creating. I'm not done exploring. Terminator isn't the finish line." - Vanisha

Vanisha Breault founded Terminator Foundation with the hopes of helping those struggling with addictions, trauma and mental health issues. And that's exactly what she's done. Because she has built such a successful company doing such important work, she thought that was what she'd be doing forever.

After an eye-opening meeting with a mentor, a seed was planted and that all changed.

Vanisha and I have a real and raw heart-centred discussion about what life after Terminator Foundation looks like. The idea of succession planning never even entered the picture. Vanisha describes growing Terminator like raising a child — and eventually they grow up. We talk about new goals, getting out of her comfort zone and how a milestone of turning 50 has been a bit of a catalyst and a "beautiful collision of seasons".

Tune in for inspiration on what's possible just when you think you've reached the top.

Enjoy!

Ren Crawshaw is the owner and founder of Palehorse, a sustainable western fashion brand that believes in quality over quantity. Ren is also living the western lifestyle on a farm, a longtime dream of hers, which is now very much a reality. But this dream didn't come without challenges along the way.

Like many entrepreneurs, Ren found herself taking a long detour to get to where she is, and even sustained significant bullying while attending fashion school. In her words, "If I had taken that direct path to get there I would just be another fashion brand". She has a fierce loyalty to her authentic followers and always keeps in mind that the number of likes or follows you have on social do not necessarily reflect success in your business. Empty numbers don't really mean a lot to her at the end of the day.

We cover a lot of ground in this candid interview, from the burnout of hustle culture to the current state of the textile industry. Ren is putting her stake in the ground creating a brand with an important message even if it takes a slow, steady road to get there.

Enjoy!

Stephen & Melissa Ramkissoon are a dynamic couple raising 3 incredible girls and also the founders of Marketing Guardians, a successful marketing agency in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

We take a deep dive into this couple's leadership as a whole and how the values they landed on as a family has been an integral part of how they run their business day to day. Their approach to servant leadership is foundational to everything they do and has helped them navigate their incredibly different cultures and upbringing as they raise their own family. As 2 first borns with natural leadership qualities (actually Melissa is an only child), they have had their challenges with conflict and how they co-lead a business with very different styles. This couple is incredibly transparent and candid as they share how they've come up with creative solutions and healthy boundaries in life and business.

As they put it, leadership between them is like a relay race, handing off and picking up the baton when needed. And at the end of the day, it all boils down to one word that matters..... tune in to find out.

Enjoy!

Ron Bettin, President of Aducco Inc. and Co-Founder of ResourceYYC Coworking joins me to share his story of his career transition when an unexpected accident happened on a trip with his son. The last thing Ron could have ever dreamt of was breaking his neck on an ATV in the sand dunes, and from there started a journey of recovery and an entrepreneurial adventure he had no script for.

Ron talks candidly about how he overcame this challenge in his life and how it helped shaped his outlook on what he is doing today in business. We also discuss the pros and cons of diversifying a career, current leadership gaps and how a significant setback can set you up for an unexpected comeback. This episode is inspiring and has many nuggets of wisdom and insight you won't want to miss.

Enjoy!

On this episode, Frank Lonardelli, Founder, President & CEO of Arlington Street Investments joins me for a candid discussion about leadership, his success as an investment entrepreneur and the wisdom he gleaned from a family of strong Italian women. 

Frank has SO many quotable statements in this conversation. He shares what his biggest struggle has been as an entrepreneur, some thoughts and insights into what it takes to be a successful investor, and my personal favorite part of our talk; what happens when fear takes the driver's seat as a leader and some of the effects that can have. Leadership has been challenged in many ways over the past couple of years, and Frank takes a deep dive into how our mindset and perspective play a significant role to coming out on top.

This conversation wouldn't be complete without wrapping things up with how his Mom and sisters have helped him understand what true leadership is.

Enjoy!

"I still have coats in my closet from when I was in high school.... [laughing ensues]. I'm not someone who chases fashion that often." — Amish

It was such a pleasure sitting down with my friend Amish, who takes us on his personal journey of starting a brand new apparel company, Pluto Apparel. It's an inspiring and unique lifestyle brand that celebrates everyone's journey, but he also describes his real soft spot for the underdog. I think the majority of us are hard-wired to appreciate a good overcoming story! In short, Pluto is a representation of being YOU. 

Launching Pluto also comes on the heels of celebrating 10 years of building his first company, Forward Level Marketing. If this wasn't enough, Forward Level is offering some brand new services as of September 2022.... YES, you heard it here first! Tune in and find out how this marketing company is making huge innovative strides forward.

Even though in one of Amish's many quotable moments, he says "You can't boil the ocean and be successful," it feels like he's trying. 

Enjoy!