LIFT Startups

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Comox Valley

Keith Ippel’s top 5 tips for your Island business success

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On September 27, 2018 LIFT is hosting its third PitchFest event. This event features six Vancouver Island entrepreneurs pitching for prizes to a panel of four judges, and kicking off with a keynote by Keith Ippel, founder and CEO of global startup school Spring Activator. Afterwards, our #WeAreYQQPartyCrew will be hosting another signature “definitely NOT your Dad’s networking event” party.

I interviewed our keynote, Keith Ippel in 2017. This is a re-post of that interview with some additional notes at the bottom. FMI about PitchFest3 and to get your early bird tickets click this button…

Buy Tickets For This LIFT Event

I’ve asked Keith to keynote because I think his value-focused approach to business will resonate with business owners in our region. He’s a four-time serial entrepreneur, and currently the CEO of Spring Activator, a global startup school based in Vancouver. Over the past 10+ years, he’s been an advisor and a mentor to many startups in tech, non-tech, and non-profit sectors. In three years with Spring Activator he’s helped over 300 aspiring entrepreneurs launch over 150 “impact” (social, environmental) businesses, some of whom have reached $1M in sales in that time.

Top 5 tips for startups success

Keith’s fun to be around. I’ve interviewed him several times over the past few years, and I’m looking forward to working more with him and with Spring in the coming months. LIFT and Spring have put together an agreement where LIFT members (aka LIFT VIPs) get a 30% discount on Spring courses. More on that later. For this interview, I asked Keith about his top five things every entrepreneur needs to do to ensure business success.

1. Speed

That doesn’t mean running around like a chicken with your head cut off. It means having a plan A, plan B, and a plan C – and then moving as fast as possible within the bounds of plan and structure to make sure that you’re ahead of the competition. Every business idea has 16 competitors. Those who execute well will win.

2. Know your strengths, know your weaknesses

As leaders, we need to know where we are strong and passionate. But it’s just as important to know the things that we’re not good at. This enables us to build a team of people who have complementary skills and frees us to focus on the most important things. Sometimes the team is in-house. Sometimes they’re consultants. Sometimes they’re advisors and mentors.

3. Spend as little as possible

Time is money. In our early days, we need to be really tight with our budgets, because we want to maximise the amount of time we have to prove that there’s a market for our product or service. We maximise that time by making our money go further.

4. The five Ms: market, management, money, momentum, magic

We need to know explicitly who our target market is. We need to know how to invest in the team that will grow our business. We need to know how to make and raise money. We need to show traction, both to our customers and to the people we’re working with. And the magic? It’s how we’re unique to customers, how we’re different from everybody around us.

5. Learn about “no”

It’s important to know that “no’s” have different meanings. With customers and partners, we can’t take no for an answer. We’ve got to dig deep, understand why people are saying “no,” so that we can get to a “yes.” On the flip side, we need to learn to say “no” to ourselves. We need to use “no” to protect our time so that we avoid distractions and stay focused.

LIFT Special Events: Free tickets when you’re listed on the Vancouver Island business directory!

If you’re a LIFT member, you get free tickets to most of our Special Events (the exception is our Festive Cheer community fundraiser). To sign up for LIFT membership, list your Vancouver Island business on the Island’s only social media-powered directory at wearevanisl.ca

What are #WeAreYQQ parties all about? Here’s a video sampler from our September 2016 #WeAreYQQ PitchFest & Party by LIFT Community Partner Island Soul Films…

Want more information, ideas, and stories about startup success?

Check out 11 Entrepreneurs Stories – Inspiring People That Found Startup Success.

hpm
@hanspetermeyer on Twitter and Instagram

Old House Law & Notary: A LIFT BizOnDeck Case Study

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Old House Law & Notary is a partnership between Lyle Carlstrom Professional Law Corporation and T. Dale Roberts Notary Corporation. Lawyers and Notaries both practice law (with Notaries restricted to real estate, wills, contracts etc.). Having them work together in the same office creates new efficiencies and legal solutions for clients. Old House Law & Notary one of the first practices in BC providing lawyer and a notary public services.
You can find out more at ohlp.ca

LIFT: What inspired you to start Old House Law & Notary?
Lyle: I wanted to live in the Comox Valley, and from a professional level I wanted to be in business with like-minded individuals and create something new and dynamic. Working with Dale Roberts has led to a multidisciplinary practice that has a lawyer working with – instead of competing with – a notary. Our type of law is non-contentious. We focus on helping people – buying and selling real estate, estate planning. These services are in high demand in the region, and an office that includes both law and notary services, it makes us very competitive.

LIFT: What was your “ask” at your BizOnDeck workshop?
Lyle: We had several asks. We wanted: feedback on what would make us more relevant to the general public, help in branding our business, advice on keeping existing clients loyal to our new brand, suggestions on acquiring new customers who will appreciate the new brand, help on determining the best ways to give back to our clients and community, and direction on spreading the word about the results of the above.

LIFT: What were the three biggest takeaways (and subsequent actions) from your BizOnDeck?
Lyle: We heard that we are generally on the right track with our marketing efforts, but that we need to spend additional time on social media marketing. We also heard that we need to clarify our company vision and mission. As follow up activities we’ve re-engaged our webmaster digital marketer, and we’re planning a management retreat in mid-June

LIFT: Has putting your business “on deck” helped grow your business?
Lyle: The short answer is yes. We found the BizOnDeck process to be very helpful, and vibrant. We got lots of great feedback. We experienced lots of synergies. Since the workshop, we’ve made positive changes to some of what we do, especially with regard to marketing.

 

Last word

Lyle: For a company like ours, the BizOnDeck was a very unique and valuable exercise. Where else would we get this kind of feedback from a room full of entrepreneurs?

 

Contact information

Telephone: 250-871-7737
Website: ohlp.ca
Vancouver Island business directory: old-house-law-and-notary
Alignable: old-house-law-notary-public-t-dale-roberts-notary-public

 

FMI about LIFT & BizOnDeck

LIFT is an award-winning organization* that helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and non-profits grow on Vancouver Island. We’ve just launched the Vancouver Island business directory to connect and promote entrepreneurs across the Island. 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 to get started.

*Awards include:
• Best in BC, Entrepreneur Promotion, Startup Canada Awards, Vancouver May 2018
• Best Social Media Organization, Comox Valley Record Readers’ Choice Awards, 2015 and 2016.

Leif Jason talks about Mastermynde Strategy – and Leif Jason

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In this episode of LIFT Podcasts we feature one of our LIFT Solution Sponsors: Leif Jason, owner of Mastermynde Strategy. Leif operates a digital marketing business in the Comox Valley, serving customers locally and far beyond. Leif is very active in enhancing the “interestingness” of the Comox Valley – from helping clients be more interesting online, to helping individuals, non-profit organizations, and businesses create a more interesting community.

Contact Mastermynde Strategy

More information about LIFT Podcasts

More LIFT Podcasts are available here on our blog or subscribe via iTunes and get the latest podcasts delivered to your favourite listening device.
If you’ve been a member of LIFT Startups for over 18 months, please put yourself in line for a LIFT Podcast interview. Details here.

LIFT Podcast: James Flawith talks about Lil Worker Safety Gear – and James Flawith

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In this podcast James Flawith.tells us about Lil Worker Safety Gear. In second part, James answers questions about himself: being an entrepreneur, what he considers to be his smartest choice in life, his favourite books as a kid, what he’d do with $1M to support entrepreneurs, and his favourite place to eat in the whole world.

James has been nominated and selected for several business-related awards in recent years (Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce, Vancouver Island Top 20 Under 40, Startup Canada Awards), for good reason: he’s an inspiration for many of us who are trying to make a difference in our communities. Thanks, James!

FMI about Lil Worker Safety Gear see lilworkersafety.ca. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Lil Worker Safety Gear is a LIFT member.

 

More LIFT Podcast about growing your business

You can find more podcasts with Vancouver Island entrepreneurs, and resources to grow your business on the Island on our blog here. You can also subscribe via iTunes.

Ready to grow your business? Join us!

BizOnDeck Case Study: Prisym Renewable Developments

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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.

Last word

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.

Contact information

Email: [email protected]
Website: prisymcanada.com
Instagram: @prisymcanada

FMI about LIFT & BizOnDeck

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.

BizOnDeck Case Study: Sea Salt Design

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Vanessa Raven-Vipond (VRV) owns Sea Salt Design here in the Comox Valley. She grew up in Ontario, but several years in the Martimes convinced her that she “had to live by the ocean.” In 2010, after 11 years in Victoria, Vanessa and her family moved to the Comox Valley where she says they are enjoying both the outdoors and a “wonderful, supportive community.”

Sea Salt Design offers custom illustration and graphic design services for web and print. Vanessa is also working on a line of printed products including t-shirts, posters and cards, and gift items. Products and services are available online at seasaltdesign.ca. Vanessa put the business “on deck” in Fall 2017.

LIFT: What inspired you to start Sea Salt Design?
VRV: As a child, I’d always wanted to be a children’s picture book illustrator. As I got older I started exploring graphic design. My first assignment, designing a sign for my parents B&B when I was a teen, led to work with a local sign shop. After high school, I started my own business as a portrait artist. That was my first experience as an entrepreneur. I then went on to study visual communications and illustration. I worked as a freelance for many years while I studied. I worked for a magazine and in-house with printers, but I always wanted to get back to owning my own business again.

LIFT: What was your “ask” at your BizOnDeck workshop?
VRV: I wanted feedback on whether I should continue with web design, which has been my bread and butter, or whether I should drop it altogether and focus more on illustration and print design. I also asked about the best way to go about getting back into T-shirts and gifts, as these are my passion.

LIFT: What were the biggest takeaways from your BizOnDeck?
VRV: I loved the feedback! While all agreed that I should continue to offer web along with print design, they also encouraged me to get out more, to be the face of my company, because I was so much better at selling my services in person.

LIFT: Has putting your business “on deck” helped grow your business?
VRV: Yes. I gained several new clients from my exposure from that one BizOnDeck, and since then I’ve been busy, primarily with illustration work.

Last words
VRV: I am now working on a graphic novel for a writer in Nanaimo, branding a new RMT, and re-branding a local potter. While I had a snag in the release of my online store for T-shirts and gifts, I’m anticipating a launch this year soon.

Please tell LIFT members that Sea Salt Design is offering 25% off all custom illustration and graphic design services, including print design.

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 please fill the blanks at http://j.mp/BIZONDECK. Or call HPM at 250-792-1408.

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