A new way to market and network your local Vancouver Island business!
To find out how you can win see LIFTlocal.ca
Marshall Property Services offers property maintenance and moving services, including junk removal and deliveries – and more. Owner Spencer Marshall describes his market as people “looking for someone to give [their] property the care it deserves… We enjoy serving our community with a happiness guarantee because that’s what it’s all about. Coming home to a tended home feels amazing!” Spencer put his business “on deck” in Winter of 2018. Find out more about these services at marshallpropertyservices.ca (for reviews, see the Facebook page).
LIFT: What inspired you to start Marshall Property Services?
Spencer: [There’s a need for quality home and property services in the community. I have the skills and the tools to provide the service. I also believe that running my own business is also a way to get the freedom and flexibility I need to be with my family when it counts, while my kids are young.
LIFT: What was your “ask” at your BizOnDeck workshop?
Spencer: How to make odd jobs a full-time business.
LIFT: What were the three biggest takeaways (and subsequent actions) from your BizOnDeck?
Spencer: Get a content-filled website going, offer special packages and discounts, and know my value!
LIFT: What actions have you taken to follow up on these takeaways?
Spencer: The website is up and under construction (see marshallpropertyservices.ca). We’ve been making and sharing more videos and content. And, in a big step towards business sustainability, the feedback we got on what we’re offering gave us the confidence to raise rates for the spring and summer seasons.
LIFT: Has putting your business “on deck” helped grow your business?
Spencer: Yes. It helped me pop a major comfort bubble that was holding me back. With the encouragement of the participants, I now feel a lot less stress, have better time management, and I am finally out of survival mode!
Spencer: Right now we are deep into spring cleaning. That means getting moss of the roofs, skylights clean, roofs blown off, gutters cleared, soffit/siding hand washed, and the sidewalks and driveways pressure washed. We are also offering exterior/interior painting. Marshall Property Services is a one-stop shop to get your property looking cared for!
LIFT helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and non-profits grow. To put your business or project “on deck” please fill the blanks in this form. Or call HPM at 250-792-1408.
Ready to join a dynamic community of entrepreneurs who are hustling the help to grow businesses on Vancouver Island? Be in touch!
Prisym Renewable Developments describes itself as Vancouver Island’s “solar innovation company.” Founder and CEO Kyrle Symons (KS) is an example of the kind of entrepreneurial talent that’s helping grow the “next economy” on the Island. He’d always been interested in business, but after high school, Kyrle first did a tour with the military. This included a stint in maritime patrol out of Comox. In early 2017 he decided to launch his new business here on Vancouver Island. Kyrle joined LIFT in the spring of 2017. In the fall of 2017, he put Prisym Renewable Developments “on deck” to get feedback from a room full of local entrepreneurs.
Find out more about the products and services provided by Prisym Renewable Developments online at prisymcanada.com
LIFT: What inspired you to start Prisym?
KS: I’ve always been interested in business, and majored in business admin at the Royal Military College in Kingston at the start of my military career. As my four-year tour in Comox was coming to an end I saw an opportunity in renewable energy and decided to pursue it. I’ve always been driven to achieve something meaningful to me and this was the chance I had been waiting for. I always imagined running a business would be fun and rewarding.
LIFT: Is it?
KS: It absolutely is. We’re very busy and it’s a crazy adventure but I’m living my dream. I’m excited about helping people get into renewable energy. I’m passionate about sustainability, and things that help us work toward a greener future.
LIFT: What was your “ask” at your BizOnDeck workshop?
KS: I had three asks: What avenue of solar should I pursue? How should I market? What funding should I seek?
LIFT: What were the three biggest takeaways (and subsequent actions) from your BizOnDeck?
KS: Don’t charge a fee for estimates. It’s a barrier that will push customers away, pick employees that are self-motivated because they are doing work that matters to them, and have financing options available since many potential customers don’t have sufficient ready cash to do a solar installation. We are able to refer our customers to VanCity to offer very affordable financing options. We’ve also taken significant marketing steps, including starting to work with LIFT VIPs Jabin Postal Films to create a video series and Lief Jason of Mastermynde to improve our online presence, and this summer we’ll be hiring a summer engineering student that will work with us and progress his studies in renewable energy engineering.
LIFT: Has putting your business “on deck” helped grow your business?
KS: Absolutely! It gave us our next steps for growth focus and got my name out there so that I know more people, and they know about Prisym Renewable Developments. Practising pitching was also a great opportunity.
KS: We currently have four big projects underway, one of which is our first solar pergola, a collaboration with Cascadian Woodtech. We are also introducing electric vehicle chargers to our line in the next couple of weeks and have some pretty advanced tech coming your way in the form of vehicle charging, battery storage and energy monitoring. Follow us on social media to find out more as we roll out these new products.
Email: info@prisymcanada.com
Website: prisymcanada.com
Instagram: @prisymcanada
LIFT helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and non-profits grow. To put your business or project “on deck” please fill in the blanks on this form and we’ll start “hustling the help” to grow your business! Or call HPM at 250-792-1408.
Entrepreneurship is often born of a desire to fix something that’s broken. That’s the story behind Blushing Bluebird Essentials (aka Bluebird Pads), which soft-launched in November 2016 and went on to win the PitchFest2 grand prize in September 2017.
Blushing Bluebird Essentials produces organic cloth feminine pads and accessories. It is a family enterprise led by Danielle Farrant. The team includes husband Bern, her parents Leah and David Hope, sister Amie Webster, and Amie’s husband Jeff. Products can be purchased locally at Edible Island, Kradles Baby Boutique or online at www.bluebirdpads.com.
LIFT: What inspired this new product?
Danielle (DF): Allergies. Realizing that there are toxic materials in industrially-produced feminine products. Most women don’t know about healthier alternatives. We saw an opportunity.
LIFT: What was your “ask” at your BizOnDeck workshop?
DF: I had three asks. One, how can we successfully productize our business while maintaining our core values? Two, what are some ways we can help overcome the stigma associated with the use of cloth products? Three, We have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback on our business – how do we turn positive talk into sales?
LIFT: What were the three biggest takeaways from your BizOnDeck?
DF: One, “locally handmade” can mean made in BC, wherever it is most efficient to do so. Two, the face of the business/personal connection is what will grow the business at this stage. Three, have fun with the advertising, whenever possible!
LIFT: How useful has Slack (an online team platform for LIFT members) been to keep the “growth” discussion going?
DF: Probably the most important use of Slack for us has been the channel created by Julian Rendell of Make it Zone exclusively for discussion about textile manufacturing. This has been very helpful. Brooke at Wags Doggy Bags and Julian – and others I hadn’t even thought of as resources for our business! – have been very helpful.
LIFT: Has putting your business “on deck” helped grow your business?
DF: Yes! Thanks to the BizOnDeck and the connections we made there, we were featured in a local magazine. We were also invited to pitch – and win! – at PitchFest2.
I would encourage anyone with a new business idea to pitch at a BizOnDeck. But I would also encourage them to prepare. You’ve got a room full of entrepreneurs who want to help you grow your business. Don’t waste their time. When you prepare your pitch you add value and takeaways for everyone involved. It’s a super experience!
Last word
DF: Exposure and regional connections are exactly what any business needs – LIFT provides these. We’re looking forward to pitching at a BizOnDeck in Nanaimo in 2018!
HPM
I did a short interview with Danielle several weeks after winning PitchFest2. We did this very short FB live teaser to let people know what we’re doing.
https://www.facebook.com/hanspetermeyer.ca/videos/10155589673914220/
FMI about LIFT & BizOnDeck
LIFT helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and non-profits grow their businesses. To put your business or project “on deck” in the Comox Valley or Nanaimo please fill the blanks here. Or call HPM at 250-792-1408.
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LIFT’s BizOnDeck workshops enable entrepreneurs to help each other to grow new businesses, test new business ideas, and launch new products and services. In 2018 we’re expanding to include a Nanaimo BizOnDeck series.
One of the most exciting stories we’ve had the pleasure to be part of is that of Lil Worker Safety Gear.
Recognized as one of Vancouver Island’s “Top 40 Under 40,” James Flawith owns and operates Precision Tree Services. He is married and has three young children. Already a very busy guy, James launched Lil Worker Safety Gear because he saw a need to bring the same safety standards to our families that we bring to our work crews.
LIFT: What product or service do you sell?
JF: Real safety gear for kids
LIFT: Where can readers buy your products and/or services?
JF: Online at lilworkersafety.ca and at locally at ONO Work and Safety, and soon at the Lil Worker Safety Gear Store at Woodgrove Centre (Nanaimo) and at Midland Tools, Pilon Tool Rentals, Planet Kids, and at White’s of Lindsay in Ontario.
LIFT: When was your BizOnDeck and what was your “ask?”
JF: January 2016. I asked about where did people see these products being used, what age demographic should we be targeting, and about sale strategies: retail vs wholesale, online/small outlet(s), box store(s). I also asked about “exclusivity.”
LIFT: Has putting your business “on deck” helped grow your business?
JF: The support and help I received by putting my business “on deck” was an important step. It inspired me to push forward.
I also gained experience pitching. In fact, my [winning] PitchFest pitch was just a boiled down version of the “On Deck” pitch, and those pitches are very similar to the one I made to the Dragons.
LIFT: What are you working on now?
JF: Aside from the full-time work of running Precision Tree Services I’m establishing more retail partnerships for Lil Worker Safety Gear. I’m constantly working to improve digital marketing. I have plans to set up a test kiosk slated for the last week of October in the Woodgrove Centre. I’m also actively exploring more opportunities to sell in person at events.
LIFT: How can LIFT help?
JF: Can you stop time so I can work more?
James went from pitching at a BizOnDeck and winning at PitchFest 2016, to pitching to CBC’s Dragons’ Den. That episode of Dragons’ Den aired at 8pm on October 12, 2017. LIFT organized a community viewing for that evening at The Creator Space where we cheered for James and Tweeted our support for Lil Worker Safety Gear and the #vizyourkids message to the world.
Did James win with the Dragons? Watch the video.
Follow the Lil Worker Safety Gear journey online via the #vizyourkids tag.
JF: It all started with the “On Deck” experience I had with LIFT!
LIFT helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and NGOs grow their businesses. To put your business or project “on deck” in the Comox Valley or Nanaimo please fill the blanks here. Or call HPM at 250-792-1408.
40 entrepreneurs packed The Prime Chophouse September 28. The sold-out crowd was there as part of the second annual PitchFest and #WeAreYQQ Party, hosted by LIFT Comox Valley.
Keynote Luke Aulin, CEO of Vancouver’s RTown online social media marketing business, talked about the importance of pitching. Aulin then joined on the judges’ panel, with Mina Haghighi of Futurpreneur, a youth-focused entrepreneur development program, and the owner Canada’s top Hyundai dealership in 2016, Sue Finneron.
PitchFest2 was sponsored by Duncan & Company CPAs and Pacific Coastal Airlines. Generous prizes were supplied by Douglas Magazine, 98.9 The GOAT, TRIO Magazine, and the LIFT organization. It’s the culmination of a year’s worth of businesses pitching at LIFT’s twice-monthly BizOnDeck workshops. LIFT’s Hans Peter Meyer calls these entrepreneurs the “new face of business in the region, the talent that’s changing everything.”
LIFT’s Hans Peter Meyer congratulates the entrepreneurs who pitched at PitchFest2: (front, left to right) Jordan Savard, Matthias Hansen, Denise Ropp, Pieter Vorster, Julian Rendell, (back, l-r) Andrea Postal, Jabin Postal, Danielle Farrant,
photo © Paul M Hansen
Kicking things off was Pieter Vorster, setting a high bar with an enthusiastic description of the online magazine and community calendar at TideChange.ca. Jabin Postal had mouths watering as he garnered support for his already successful BBQ YouTube channel. Danielle Farrant wowed with her tight and cheeky pitch for Bluebird Pads: organic, locally-produced menstrual pads. Julian Rendell impressed with his description of Make it Zone as education and training for the workforce of 2020 and beyond. The growing health sector importance of cannabis and related services by Grow Wise Health was Denise Ropp‘s pitch. Jordan Savard and Matthias Hansen, winners of the Teen Entrepreneur Club “Tycoon Challenge” in June, reprised with an even tighter pitch for their Age-Sex-Location fashion line. Andrea Postal made a powerful pitch for doula services and In Bloom Births.
The ASL team of Savard and Hansen, and Andra Postal’s In Bloom Births shared second place media advertising prizes. The grand prize, a $3600 package by LIFT that includes branding and photography by McKinnon Photography, digital marketing support by Mastermynde Strategy, PR services by 50th Parallel PR, print services by Sure Copy Courtenay, and content marketing by LIFT, went to Danielle Farrant and Bluebird Pads.
“I’m excited to be working with Danielle and Bluebird Pads,” says Karen McKinnon. “They’re the kind of positive, earth-friendly business that I think is representative of the values of our community here in the Comox Valley.”
As with all of LIFT’s five annual special events, PitchFest2 featured a #WeAreYQQ Party. The focus is on fun – and social media games with over $4000 in prizes, contributed by LIFT member businesses. One of these is The Waverley Hotel, a LIFT Community Partner.
“These kinds of events are an important part of building an entrepreneur culture in our community,” says Don McClellan, owner of The Waverley Hotel. “We need to encourage young entrepreneurs. The Waverley is proud to be part of a welcoming culture, through what we do as a venue for entertainment, and our support of LIFT and its activities.”
For more information about upcoming LIFT events, including the region’s annual Festive Cheer “entrepreneur holiday party” and fundraiser on November 24, see the online listings at LIFTevents.ca
Join the LIFT community of entrepreneurs, and grow with over $4000 in membership benefits and perks, plus discounts with digital partners like RTOWN, Spring Activator, OfficeHours, Rebel, and more.
Or contact LIFT CEO and Founder, Hans Peter Meyer (aka HPM), at:
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