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Podcast: Fabien Gendron talks about Duncan & Co. – and Fabien Gendron!

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Fabien Gendron works with Duncan & Co., an accounting firm based in the Comox Valley, You can find out more about Duncan & Co – and Fabien Gendron – by listening to this podcast.

GET YOUR BUSINESS FEATURED ON VANCOUVER ISLAND’S LOCAL BUSINESS PODCAST

LIFT Podcasts are one of the ways we’re LIFTing entrepreneurs and local businesses on the Island.
To get your business or venture featured in a LIFT Podcast see FMIaboutLIFTPodcasts

Enjoy!
~ hpm,
on behalf of the leadership team at LIFT Startups and the Vancouver Island Business Directory

  • TOP 10, Innovation, Small Business BC Awards, 2019
  • Winner, Best in BC, Entrepreneur Promotion, Startup Canada Awards, 2018
  • Best Local Social Media Organization, Comox Valley Record Readers’ Choice 2018, 2017, 2016

LIFT Podcast: Rosemarie Barnes talks about Confident Stages – and Rosemarie Barnes

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The cover image on Rosemarie’s Vancouver Island Local Business Directory listing says it all: Speak to engage. Speak to succeed. An international speaker, best-selling author, and “executive presentation trainer,” Rosemarie has a passion for helping people find the voice they need to succeed. And, she’s the guest workshop leader for the Comox Valley Women’s Business Network event on November 15, 2018. Details and tickets here.

We’re excited to have Rosemarie in our LIFT community for several reasons.

  • One, she’s offering a 20% discount on “presentation training” to LIFT members.
  • Two, Rosemarie is an example of Vancouver Island talent serving markets far beyond our local communities. In her case, she’s working with clients across North American and in Europe.

I talked to Rosemarie on October 26, 2018, She told me about her business, why she started it, and her passion for the work she’s doing. We also talked about her biggest challenges in life, her favourite books, and her favourite place to eat cinnamon buns on the Island.

Rosemarie is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, the Public Speakers Association, and the National Speakers Association, Rosemarie has presented in theatres, boardrooms, conferences and in the bathroom shower. I hope you enjoy our conversation!

Get LIFTed – get 20% off with Confident Stages

If you’re already a LIFT member and you need help with your presentation skills, contact Rosemarie via the Vancouver Island Local Business Network directory at https://liftstartup.wpengine.com/listing/confident-stages/

If you’re a member and you’re ready to have your business featured in a LIFT Podcast, please see this link for more information: http://bit.ly/FMIaboutLIFTPodcasts

If you’re not a LIFT member and you want the benefits of access to member-to-member discounts (like the one Rosemarie is offering), award-winning (and affordable) social media and PR support, as well as access to signature LIFT events and workshops please apply here: http://applyandgetlifted.ca

Business collaborations

Thanks to conversations initiated by Comox Valley WBN board member (and LIFT member) Dennyse Harris, LIFT is happy to help WBN promote Rosemarie’s workshop in the Comox Valley. If you’re a member of an Island-based business network or organization, we’re keen to connect the dots. Let’s find ways to collaborate and support each other!

Listen to more LIFT Podcasts

You’ll find more LIFT Podcast interviews on our blog here: http://liftpodcast.ca/

You can also subscribe to the LIFT Podcast series on iTunes at http://bit.ly/iTunesLIFTPodcasts

~ hpm
Founder, LIFT
250-792-1408
hpm@liftstartups.ca
We do award-winning local business promotion for less than $1/day on the Island via the Vancouver Island Local Business Network & Directory
Apply today and Get LIFTed! http://applyandgetlifted.ca

 

LIFT Podcast with Wendy Johnstone and Keystone Eldercare Solutions

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Wendy Johnstone is an entrepreneur in the growing “seniors’ services” sector. She is the owner of Keystone Eldercare Solutions and has a passion for providing quality support for families with ageing parents and grandparents. In this episode of LIFT Podcasts, I ask Wendy about her business, how she got started, her favourite reading as a child, and her favourite places to eat in the world.

You can find out more about Keystone Eldercare Solutions at. keystoneeldercare.com and on Facebook @keystoneeldercare.

Ready to be featured in a LIFT Podcast?

If you’re a LIFT VIP (a LIFT member at the Champ/ Regular, Community Partner, or Solution Sponsor level) and you’re ready to have a podcast interview of your own, please sign up via this link. We’re all about promoting our members!

If you’re a Vancouver Island business ready for LIFT benefits please apply here.

Want to hear more from LIFT Podcasts?

To listen to more LIFT Podcasts please visit liftpodcast.ca or subscribe via iTunes.

 

Talking with Amie Webster about Motif Music Studios – and winning the 2018 #HustleTheHelp Award!

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Amie Webster is a music educator, an entrepreneur, a mother of three young sons, and a social media rockstar. Amie is, in fact, the winner of the #HustleTheHelp Award in 2018, an award that acknowledges the outstanding work she’s done to support other entrepreneurs in LIFT’s Vancouver Island community.

In this podcast we ask Amie about why she is so passionate about supporting other local businesses, and for some tips that others might use to win the award in the coming year.

We also talk to Amie about Motif Music Studios, the business she shares with her husband, Jeff Webster. In the final section we talk about her current reading, favourite places to visit on the Island, and where she likes to eat.

FMI about Amie and Motif Music Studios see:

~ hpm, Founder, LIFT & The Vancouver Island Talent Economy Network

Ps. Ready to get your business LIFTed? Apply now for up to 60 days of free award-winning promotion on the LIFT & The Vancouver Island Talent Economy Network

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.

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://liftstartup.wpengine.com or call Founder & CEO Hans Peter Meyer (HPM) at 250-792-1408.