Amplify Your Business

Amplify Your Business The Power of Peer Networks

For Episode 216 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Kit Lisle, the founder and moderator of the Operators.pe. Acting through their Strategic Growth Council, the Operators.pe is a peer community of private equity-backed C-level executives that are ready to act as a board of advisors for SMBs that need that network to help solve strategic growth dilemmas that will allow them to grow and thrive. They match clients with the best peer group for their industry and provide a safe, confidential, trustworthy environment, as well as experienced moderating using a format proven to drive results.
 
In addition, the Operators.pe, in itself, is an online community where executives can go to bounce questions off of one another. They also hold annual events that allow private equity backed executives to get together and network with one another.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:11 - What are the three most important things that every entrepreneur needs to know?
05:30 - Tell me a little bit about the Operators.pe.
15:10 - Did the idea of the Operators.pe come out of a need that you had?
19:00 - What did you find the most challenging with this startup versus your previous experience as an entrepreneur?
23:02 - Has it been a struggle to build both sides of the market at the same time?
27:11 - How do you determine what success looks like?
31:32 - What do you feel is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to achieving growth?
35:39 - How can our audience members connect with you?

Amplify Your Business Cleaning up the City with Integrity

For Episode 215 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Ryan Brown, Partner and former Sales Manager at Integrity Waste Solutions. Integrity is a waste solutions and management company that serves local Edmonton residential areas as well as commercial properties in the Edmonton Region. They chose the name Integrity because it is their mission to bring honesty and integrity back to the waste management solutions industry and the customers they serve, which they do mainly through upfront pricing, which the larger companies don’t offer.To learn more, visit their website at https://www.integritysolutions.ca/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:16 - What are three things that every entrepreneur should know?
05:34 - The backstory of Integrity Waste Solutions
09:30 - Can you tell us a bit about Integrity Waste Solutions?
14:13 - How do you cultivate the innovative culture within your business?
17:25 - How challenging was the decision to walk away from Integrity?
21:02 - What are the criteria when trying to determine your next venture?
22:11 - What would success look like for you in your next venture?
23:06 - What do you think is going to be easier this next go-round?
23:56 - Do you have any advice for anyone else at this point in their journey?
25:50 - How can our audience members connect with you?

Amplify Your Business Limelight: Ryan Malloy of Liquid

For Episode 214 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Ryan Malloy, Managing Director at Liquid. Liquid Software Corporation exists to provide business owners with state-of-the-art digital tools so they can extract more money from their businesses. They do this by enabling the flexibility of legacy software platforms that many businesses cling to, despite the ever-changing tech and software industry.
 
Their EDGE-QL solution is a platform designed to help business owners better manage the complexity of their day-to-day operations. It provides the users and their teams with the advantages of modern technology to enhance sales, reduce errors, and optimize productivity, enabling them to concentrate on expanding their business.To learn more, visit their website at https://www.thinkliquid.ca/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:14 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
05:21 - Tell me a little bit about Liquid Software Corporation. 
15:15 - How do you manage to juggle so many different ventures simultaneously?
21:37 - What’s gotten easier through each business venture you’ve become involved with over the years?
24:23 - What does success look like to you?
26:06 - If you could write your younger self a letter, what would it say?
28:07 - What books have you been reading that have really resonated with you?
30:32 - How can our audience members connect with you?

Amplify Your Business Kid-Drop is on the Road to Success

For Episode 213 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Julieta Miranda, the CEO of Kid-Drop in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Kid-Drop is a transportation solution for busy families. In a world where kids are constantly on the move, school, sports practices and games, extracurricular activities, and everything else, it can be a challenge to get them to and from all of those things in a safe and timely manner–especially if you’re a parent of more than one child!
 
Kid-Drop was designed to support parents in those movements in a safe manner, with in-vehicle cameras, carefully vetted drivers in uniform, and backed by transparency and consistency. They’ll get your children from Point A to Point B, whenever you need them to, and you have the peace of mind of knowing that they’re in good hands.To learn more, visit the Kid-Drop Inc. website.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:05 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
02:39 - Can you tell us a little bit about what Kid-Drop is?
06:36 - Do you have plans to expand through franchising, or do you have another strategy there?
09:27 - Can you explain your business model?
11:14 - What are some of the challenges you faced in the early days of Kid-Drop?
16:53 - What were some of the biggest surprises that you’ve had along the way?
18:48 - Can you take us back to the beginning of the business and talk about the struggles you experienced?
23:54 - You seem to have a lot of strength and mental fortitude. Where do you think that comes from?
26:28 - What’s easier this second go-round of entrepreneurship than it was the first time?
30:41 - If you could write your pre-entrepreneurial self a letter, what would it say?
34:59 - How can our listeners connect with you?

Amplify Your Business Driving Business Growth Through Recruiting

For Episode 212 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Jason Byrne, the founder and CEO of Icon-IQ. Icon-IQ is a recruiting company that focuses on sourcing senior technical talent – such as developers, engineers, product managers, data scientists, etc. – from Latin America for Alberta-based businesses. They work exclusively with companies who are having difficulties acquiring and recruiting this senior tech talent.To learn more, visit https://icon-iq.ca/ or hit up Jason on his LinkedIn.
 
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur should know?
04:04 - What are you doing over at Icon-IQ, and where did it all begin?
12:12 - Would you say that where you are today with Icon-IQ is a better business model than where you were pre-pandemic?
17:11 - Walk me through the decision-making process of your rebrand.
25:41 - What do you feel was the most critical element to your future success?
28:39 - As an entrepreneur, how do you make it through the lean years?
38:01 - What do you think is going to be easier now for you to achieve growth?
39:58 - If you could go back in time and write a letter to your younger entrepreneurial self, what would it say?
41:45 - How can our audience members connect with you?

Amplify Your Business EstateSpace: Slowing Down to Speed Up

For Episode 211 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Jonathan Fishbeck, the founder and CEO of EstateSpace. At a high level, EstateSpace is solving the problem of difficult estate management by simplifying it. In particular, EstateSpace deals with the non-financial asset management side of estate management, both from an operational perspective, as well as a portfolio perspective, by helping their clients to improve their economic outcomes.To learn more, visit https://estatespace.com/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
02:57 - When you suggest that entrepreneurs get a good advisor, are you talking about paid advisors or unpaid advisors and mentors?
05:09 - Was retaining a good advisor something that you learned through your first venture?
06:23 - Can we talk a little bit about your business, EstateSpace?
08:43 - Where did you see the opportunities to pivot from a service-based model to a SaaS model?
11:05 - Are your clients the actual owners of the non-liquid assets you deal with, or are they service providers?
12:03 - When it comes to your experience, how do you navigate going from the construction world to the tech world?
15:34 - What’s easier this time around with the founding of this particular business than with your previous entrepreneurial ventures?
17:15 - What are the most difficult aspects of being an entrepreneur?
19:27 - Are you bootstrapping EstateSpace, or do you have outside investments?
21:38 - If you could write your younger entrepreneurial self a letter, what would it say?
25:13 - If our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?
25:56 - Outro

Amplify Your Business Creating a Brighter Future With VR and Mental Healthcare

For Episode 210 of Amplify Your Business, we’re spending Blue Monday with two women who are working to make every day brighter for all people. We’re joined by Danielle Bragge and Leanne Brownoff, co-founders of VR Pathways. The idea behind VR Pathways is leveraging Virtual Reality to change the brain and give people the relief they need to take them out of stressful situations and get them back to a place of fully functioning cognitive behaviour and cognitive thinking.
VR Pathways offers personal, on-demand mental health support for cognitive behavioural therapy and phobia therapy through two distinct apps within the world of virtual reality. Their mission is to help reduce negative thoughts and feelings through creating new, positive pathways within the brain that deliver long-term results.
To learn more, visit https://www.vrpathways.com/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:01 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
02:18 - Can you tell us a bit about your entrepreneurial history?
04:13 - What is VR Pathways, and what are you trying to solve?
08:26 - What is VR Pathways’ target market?
10:55 - Have you noticed an uptick in entrepreneurs using your service?
12:36 - How do two people, neither of which have a tech background, develop a solution planted in technology?
13:52 - How did you decide on VR being the solution?
15:58 - What do you feel are the advantages of not being in the tech space and starting a tech-centric company?
19:03 - For the next 12, 24 months of growth, what do you think are going to be your biggest challenges, and how do you think you’ll overcome them?
20:30 - How do you plan to finance the growth?
22:35 - What or who inspires you as entrepreneurs?
25:55 - If you could write a letter to your younger entrepreneurial self, what would it say?
 29:28 - If someone wanted to connect with you and learn more about VR Pathways, how could they do that?
31:20 - Outro

Amplify Your Business How Technology is Changing the Restaurant Landscape

For Episode 209 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Luke Butterworth, the co-founder and COO of JustCook Kitchens. JustCook is a Canadian proptech company that uses cutting-edge technology to construct and oversee restaurant spaces for restaurateurs and property owners. The first collective that JustCook opened was the 5th Street Food Hall, where chefs and entrepreneurs come together to create an amalgamation of restaurants to choose from in a single place. The 5th Street Food Hall is a one-stop-shop for all your cravings, offering a diverse range of cuisines such as South East Asian street food, vegan options, Mexican-Asian fusion, brunch choices, and the top burgers in the city.
 
Coming in the summer of 2023 is JustCook’s second location at Station Park, where they will be filling up two floors of mouthwatering meals for Edmonton foodies.
 
To learn more, visit https://www.justcookkitchens.com/ 
 
00:00 - Intro
00:44 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
10:08 - Can you tell us a little bit about Just Cook Kitchens?
15:52 - Is this a model that you saw somewhere else and replicated?
20:10 - Do you rotate different chefs through your space?
22:00 - How does your business model work? Where are your revenue streams coming from?
23:42 - Is the marketing done under the Just Cook Kitchen brand or under the individual brands of the entrepreneurs?
25:25 - If I was to order something from one of the restaurants, do I search for Just Cook Kitchens or order directly from the restaurant’s brand?
26:52 - How does your business model play out where we might be heading into a recession?
31:44 - When you first started Just Cook Kitchens to where it is now, what are some iterations you’ve done that you didn’t anticipate?
39:45 - Where do you get your inspiration?
47:12 - How can our audience connect with you?
47:33 - Outro