You Can Do That Here

Taking investment into your company. It can be the accelerator that launches you on to great success, or it can be an anchor that changes your direction and mires you in turmoil. How you play those cards is up to you, and will determine your ultimate outcome. 

Bradley Roulston who we first talked to way back in episode two is a cofounder of timely, one of the biggest events listing events services on the planet. Shortly after our last interview they took on 1.6 million dollars in investment and haven't looked back. In this episode we discuss how that investment changed things, rocketed them along, and how they work to maintain balance amidst the hectic world of a tech start up.

Writing your own script. It’s one of the many benefits of being an entrepreneur. Yes you get to start a brand new venture from scratch with no history behind you and a wide open road in front of you. But what about the other side of the coin? What about the entrepreneur who takes over an existing, longstanding business with a wealth of established history in place?

Scott Weatherford the CEO and co-owner along with his wife of ATCO Wood products in Fruitvale BC came from a background in engineering, and a childhood in New Jersey. He ultimately married in to the family business which his wife’s grandfather had launched nearly three quarters of a century early.

Facing the unique challenge of trying to put his stamp on a longstanding family business, it was the great recessions of 2008 of all things that helped him put the mill on a path towards being one of the most technologically advanced operations in the business, and set it up for another 100 years of business.

The future economy. Every City and town is trying to grow it and attract the workers that will make it happen. With the advent of digital design and fabrication the need for the 100,000 square foot manufacturing plant is going the way of the dinosaur. Indeed new technology has allowed even the smallest towns to have high end digital fabrication technology at their fingertips. Yes the new manufacturing industry looks more like a home office or studio rather than big time machinery. The products of tomorrow will be shipped out as digital files rather than hard goods, that the customer can then print when and where they need them.

Jason Taylor is at the forefront of this new economy in The Kootenays. From a start as a 3D animator on the popular Reboot TV show through to the chair of New Media at Selkirk College as well as his own Digital fabrication business on the side, he has been both teaching the leaders of the new economy as well as working in it himself.

Telling others your ideas. Depending on your personality you might see that as terrifying prospect you may not be able to live up to. Or, you may well find like-minded people who want to get behind your idea, help you push them forward, perhaps become your first customer or even help you launch your entre business.

Roger and Mary Austin are of the latter. Having met as chemistry partners in high school, they ultimately became partners in life, work and business. After leaving Rossland for school and work opportunities, they recently decided they had learned what they needed to know and were ready to take back control of their own destiny.

 The result was the launch of an innovative and thriving engineering company called Austin Engineering in Trail, BC.

Social Media. We all know we need to have an online presence, but many of us struggle to do it well. Just what is that secret to an effective social media presence? How do we lure in our target audience, get them to like us, be our fan, follow us, post and share our content? Whether running a non-profit or a business, how do we effectively use a Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or other community to achieve our goals? 

As the original community builder/ manager/ producer of CBC Radio, John Paolozzi has a long and successful history as an online community builder. Now living in Nelson and curating many of the most popular Nelson based online communities, I sat down with John in the Kootenay Coop Radio Studios to hear his story, and chat about just how we can all up our social media game and achieve the results we’re seeking.

Collabo opening Essay

 So you’ve got a webpage. Great! But does anyone know about it? Is your target market finding you? Are you showing up in the places they are looking for you?

Yes these days with the near infinitely cluttered world of the web your company’s internet marketing abilities are king.

 Bradley Higham originally from Kingston Ontario knew from an early age that computers were both something he loved and where he saw the most future opportunity. After a stint at Canada’s largest tech company, RIM in the heart of their heyday as well as a few other corporate giants, he had the longing to break out, to get away from the big corporate world, to travel and to find himself. The goal quickly became one of working for his self and doing it from anywhere.

 After a short sting in Vancouver he found his way to an acreage in the Slocan Valley where he continues to help other companies make some big time noise on the web.

I sat down with Bradley in the Kootenay Coop Radio studios to hear his story and learn a few basic tricks to boost your online presence.

 During my chat with Eddy Boxerman of Hemisphere games for Episode 47, we ran through the 7 Quick Hits section. 7 quick questions and 7 relatively quick answers ranging from his favourite video game to who plays him in the movie of his life.

Doing what you love for a living. It's the dream that drives many entrepreneurs. Eddy Boxerman of Nelson, BC had his calling when he turned 30. That's when things began changing and he ended up in The Kootenays.

Upon arrival, this reluctant entrepreneur, by necessity, turned his life-long hobby and passion into an award winning independent video game company.

I caught up with Eddy at the Kootenay Coop Radio studios in Nelson for a chat about his inspiring tale.

Prolific. Are you revving your creative engines and cranking out work?

There is a lot to be said for being prolific as a means of improving our craft and getting our name out there.

 We know from many applications that this is the best route to the end game of ultimate success. Yes practice makes perfect is something we have been taught over and over again for most of our lives. 

Quite simply, the more you do something. The better you get at it. Eventually you hit that magic point where the volume and quality of work you are putting out gets noticed and people are ready to start paying you for it.

If we know that why do we not often practice it in the business world. Yes there can be fear of showing off our work, especially in the early days when it may not be completely perfect. Overcoming that however and simply getting out there into the marketplace with our products and abilities opens up the most important factor of all. Serendipity.

Eric Gonzales of Fruitvale is a young and prolific filmmaker who has followed just this formula. At 19 years of age he has only just made the leap into film as a business two years ago. In that time he has put out a whole load of work and made a name for himself with his use of drones.  Since that time he has been noticed and gone from being asked to do his high school video announcement to now filming and producing a commercial for national TV. Eric is letting his talent, business sense and drones to fly him to entrepreneurial success.

Advice. We’ve all received it whether requested or not, and we've all given it, requested or not. It is also one of the key founding principles of this very show. One of the best ways we can getter better at our craft, whether it be distilling vodka or launching a global adventure travel software solution, is to hear the stories, be inspired by and learn from those who have been there before, done that and got the T-shirt.

Now to get all meta, this episode is about the best advice, the people who have given the best advice on the show have ever received themselves, giving that advice back to us. Whoa.

Let's take a walk down entrepreneurship lane from concept to making it and get the best advice from seven innovative and successful Kootenay entrepreneurs.