LIFT Startups

A new way to market and network your local Vancouver Island business!

innovation

The LIFT Podcast interview with Sharon Marshall of Cree8iv Collaboration

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Sharon Marshall is an inspiring force for change in our BC economy! She is founder and CEO of Cree8iv Collaboration – and Virtual eAdmin. In this podcast interview Sharon talks about her passion and her vision for creating employment and economic development opportunities for Canada’s remote indigenous communities. She also tells us about hard lessons, and amazing results. You’ll also hear about her favourite novel and her favourite business book.

Find out more about what Sharon does at virtualeadmin.com and (coming soon) Cree8ivCollaboration.com.

And, Sharon Marshall is putting Cree8iv Collaboration “on deck” at our February 4, 2019 BizOnDeck Focus Group workshop. Be there and be inspired about making a difference to our rural indigenous economies.
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BE FEATURED ON LIFT PODCAST SERIES

To be featured in a LIFT Podcast please apply to join our Vancouver Island entrepreneur community at applyandgetlifted.ca. Once you’re a member you’ll be invited to benefit from our approach to networking and our award-winning promotions, including being part of our LIFT Podcast series.

LISTEN TO MORE LIFT PODCASTS

Find more LIFT Podcast episodes at liftpodcast.ca
Subscribe to the LIFT Podcast series on iTunes at iTunesLIFTPodcasts

FMI ABOUT THE LIFT COMMUNITY

We are a community of Vancouver Island entrepreneurs and creatives, working together to grow the Island’s grassroots, entrepreneur-driven economy. In 2018 LIFT was awarded Best in BC, Entrepreneur Promotion, at Startup Canada Awards in Vancouver, for its innovative work as a marketing and business development network.

LIFT offers:

  • Innovative networking and business development workshops
  • Award-winning social media marketing solutions (starting at about $1/day)
  • A “hustle the help” community – our members are helping each grow
  • Access to $4000+ in member-to-member discounts and offers, and
  • Great pricing – that gets even better with our current 25% off “first 300” discount.

Get started by applying at applyandgetlifted.ca

 

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

GrowWise Health in the Comox Valley. A LIFT business profile

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The business of medical cannabis is growing – fast – and has many facets. One of these is patient and physician education about the science and the therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis. Toronto-based GrowWise Health provides this service. In 2017 Denise Ropp partnered with GrowWise Health to bring medical cannabis education to the Comox Valley and Vancouver Island.

LIFT: What is the business of GrowWise Health?

Denise: Medical cannabis is a new and exciting area, and there are a lot of unknowns, and lots of new research. Our role is to provide education and support – for both patients seeking help, and physicians who want to learn more.

Your first step, when you visit our centre, is to meet with a physician who actually listens to you about what you are trying to accomplish with regards to your health. GrowWise Nurse Educators then provide education about medicinal cannabis: licensed producers, safety, dosing, strains, compounds – that kind of thing. After that, we’re here to give you ongoing support to reach your own, personalized goals.

LIFT: What makes your business “special” or different from what others are doing with regard to medical cannabis?

Denise: Let me be clear, because there is often confusion around this, we are NOT a medical cannabis dispensary. Our business is supporting patients in their healing journey, without charging extra fees.

GrowWise started about three years ago. The founders recognized that more and more physicians were authorizing medical cannabis, but patients were being left on their own to fulfill their prescription. With an ordinary script, a patient would be able to walk into a pharmacy and ask for help – the pharmacist will tell you what time of day to take your medication, what side effects to be aware, and will fulfill the prescription for you. That doesn’t exist for cannabis patients.

So GrowWise partnered with a half dozen Licensed Producers – companies authorized by Health Canada to legally producer cannabis for medical purposes – to help connect patients with the support they need to be successful with their treatment. GrowWise nurses are embedded in clinics where there are physicians authorizing cannabis – they work in pain clinics, fibromyalgia centres, family practices, and cannabis clinics like White Cedar here in the Comox Valley. The physicians bill MSP like any other clinic, and the education service is provided free-of-charge to patients.

LIFT: Who are the people that will most benefit from what GrowWise Health is offering?

Denise: Most of our patients are in their 50s and 60s. Active adults highly motivated to improve their health. But really, our target market is anyone who seeking an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical solutions. And so we have patients of all ages, from all walks of life.

LIFT: What inspired you to start the Comox Valley office?

Denise: I saw an opportunity to provide access to a natural health solution to the community. There are a lot of people for whom traditional pharmaceuticals have failed. This is a choice in healthcare, an alternative to traditional solutions. I must say, this is not about getting “high.” Most of our patients have not been recreational cannabis users. Many are unfamiliar with any type of cannabis. They’re people looking for a solution to health issues, a solution that’s eluded them in the traditional healthcare system to date.

We have a lot of patients that have been curious about this medication. There are also those who have tried using medicinal cannabis and are not aware of finer details about strains or components, or even how to properly dose themselves. They need proper education and support. I saw this opportunity as a way to support people on their healing journey.

LIFT: What / who have been the biggest factors in the growth/ success of your business?

Denise: Number one is our patients! GrowWise has worked with over 6000 patients across Canada to date. Hearing their success stories is incredibly motivating for us as a company, as well as for the greater community. These patients go on to tell their family and friends about their success, they share their story with their family physician, their colleagues, and so on, and the message spreads from there.

Another key piece that has been incredibly helpful is the expansion in research. It feels like every day there is a new study released about how cannabis might help – about how it is displacing opioid prescriptions, or how it is improving quality of life for our veterans. We have so much anecdotal evidence that points to cannabis be a valuable treatment options, but in order for healthcare practitioners to fully embrace cannabis, rigorous, academic research is needed.

Finally, the federal government’s decision to legalize cannabis for adult-use this summer has really helped to break down the stigma around cannabis for medical patients. All of a sudden, cannabis is everywhere. It’s on every newspaper cover, on the radio, in magazines – it has become far less taboo, and that has encouraged patients to take the first step and talk to their doctor about it.

LIFT: If you had one piece of advice for someone starting a business on Vancouver Island / in the Comox Valley today, what would it be?

Denise: Get out and network!

CONTACT
For more information about GrowWise Health in the Comox Valley:

Telephone: 250-941-4999
Facebook Messenger: https://www.facebook.com/Comox.3322
GrowWise Health in the Comox Valley is a LIFT member business (aka LIFT VIP). If you are a LIFT member ask Denise and the team at GrowWise Health about the 10% discount on hemp-based products like Bully Bites (doggie snacks), Canna-9, lip balm, body cream, and facial serum.

For more information about LIFT and how we help grow Vancouver Island businesses, please see https://liftstartups.ca or call Founder & CEO Hans Peter Meyer (HPM) at 250-792-1408.

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: info@prisymcanada.com
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: Blushing Bluebird Essentials and #wearcloth

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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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BizOnDeck entrepreneur case study: Lil Worker Safety Gear and #vizyourkids

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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.

Introduction: James Flawith, founder, 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 and the Dragons

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. 

Last word

JF: It all started with the “On Deck” experience I had with LIFT!

 

FMI about LIFT & BizOnDeck

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.