5 young Canadian entrepreneurs reveal secrets to
success
- Business - CBC News
As jobs for young people become increasingly scarce, many Canadians under
the age of 30 are trying
their hands at starting
their own businesses.
The Canadian economy
added 61,000 jobs in
September, but the
private sector actually
posted a loss of
15,000 — the growth
came from the public
sector, and from a jump
of 38,900 in the number
of self-employed workers.
Statistics Canada's latest numbers show 3 per cent of small business
owners were under 30 in 2007, and as the population ages, this number is
expected to grow.
CBC News spoke to entrepreneurs across the country about their business
ventures, and about what advice they would give others who are starting or
running small businesses.
April Glavine, founder of Lean Machine Inc., started her company in 2005. The
Moncton-based company leases vending machines stocked with healthy snacks
to high schools and health care facilities. Lean Machine recently expanded its
operations to British Columbia and won a gold medal at the Halifax Business
Awards in 2010.
Inspiration: Glavine, who left a successful job as a financial analyst to start her
business, says she has always taken an interest in healthy eating but felt
compelled to start Lean Machine because of the alarming rates of childhood
obesity. "It really disturbed me because there’s no reason for it — there’s plenty of
healthy food available," she said. "I really felt that this was my place and I believed
in the fact that I needed to start this."
What sets the business apart: In a business Glavine says is dominated by a few
major snack companies, Lean Machine is alone in offering only healthy snack
options.
"The one thing that has helped us stand out has been the fact that we were the
first for healthy vending company in Canada," she said. "We also have a hardworking and dedicated team of passionate entrepreneurs who believe they can
make a difference by starting their own Lean Machine business in their
community. They’re definitely key to our ability to grow."
Looking ahead: Glavine says she wants her business to expand across Canada,
but understands the major snack companies could introduce their own healthoriented vending machines at a moment’s notice.
"They have deep pockets," she said. "There is a risk that the massive corporations
who control such a large share of the market could start their own version of our
service."
She says her biggest hope is that as her business grows, she will be able to cast
a stronger light on the problem of childhood obesity. "Our goal is to grow and
make a difference one machine at a time," she said. "What really need is a food
movement that is really pushed from government or private enterprise."
Advice: If you are planning to become an entrepreneur, Glavine says it is
important to remember that being your own boss is radically different than working
for someone. "You are your own motivator, so tenacity is imperative," she said.
"There’s nobody setting your schedule, so if you don’t believe in yourself and if
you don’t do it, who will?
"You will realize that working 40 hours a week for someone else might have
seemed like a lot, but you’ll easily do 70 hours and never account for it. When
you’re passionate about your work, you can easily fall into becoming a bit of a
workaholic."
Cassandra Rush, founder of Sassy Cassy’s Boots Inc., started her company in
2009 with help from the Canadian Youth Business Fund. She specializes in boots
with varying calf sizes and was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year prize from
the Langley (B.C.) Chamber of Commerce in 2010.
Inspiration: On numerous trips to the mall to find boots, Rush found herself
increasingly frustrated at the lack of choice when it came to size. "My whole life I
wasn’t able to find a pair of boots to fit over my calves," she said. "I thought that
someone needs to cater to different calf sizes in the marketplace, because no one
does it."
What sets the business apart: Rush, who says she has wanted to be an
entrepreneur since childhood, was able to identify a niche market not satisfied by
other boot companies.
"Every other boot company only does standard sizing for calves. which is about 15
inches around the calf of the leg," she said. "The market calls for bigger sizes
because a lot of women can’t zip up regular boots. My product is different
because I offer different calf sizing so the boots are better customized to the
woman’s leg."
Looking ahead: At the moment, Rush’s boots are sold online and at a number of
shoe stores in the Lower Mainland. She says although it would be great to have a
retail store of her own, she wants to focus on developing the brand first.
"I’m trying to figure out the best way to expand globally," she said, indicating she
does have global experience as she works with Chinese firms that manufacture
her boots. "I have been looking into bringing on sales reps in Europe and I have
been looking into other countries for manufacturing, like Pakistan. It’s hard to find
good manufacturers that create high quality boots and don’t believe in sweat shop
labour."
Advice: Rush says that, above all else, passion and dedication are instrumental
to a successful small business. "I’m very passionate about what I do so I started
out being a sales rep and going door-to-door and showing retailers the boots."
She adds that doing the proper research before making decisions and signing
contracts has also helped her succeed.
She says it is important to avoid spending too much money up front, because
unexpected expenses will crop up and you never know when you might need that
cash down the road. "I try and do a lot of free marketing, especially on social
media," she said. "You have to be smart, especially in the first couple of years of
your business."
What I’m Wearin’
Monica Mei is the CEO of What I’m Wearin’, a Toronto-based company with a new mobile
application that allows users to share photos of their style choices. Users are part of a
community which also includes designers, brand representatives and members of the
fashion media.
Inspiration: Mei joined founder Jamie Alexander and developer Chris Lancaster in 2010.
She says she helped make the decision to take the initiative from its web-based roots to its
current mobile incarnation.
"What I wanted to do when I came into the project was to make it stand out from our
competitors," she said. "When I came in, the team was made up of two very knowledgeable
tech gurus, but it lacked a bit of the style and fashion they wanted it to be about."
What sets the business apart: As Mei also runs her own fashion label, Aime, she says the
company’s old web-based platform was not conducive to attracting the right people to the
What I’m Wearin’ community. " I’m in the fashion industry, but I’ve never posted on other
style websites in the past because I found them difficult to access," she said. "Everyone
these days has a smartphone, so what better way do to this than with a mobile application?
It’s a snap-and-share."
Looking ahead: Mei says the response to the mobile application, available on Apple and
Android platforms, has been positive. Earlier this year, Mei and her colleagues were among
20 Canadian tech teams to be selected to pitch for a number of Canadian venture capital
firms in Silicon Valley.
"The response has been surprising," she said. "We managed to keep our hopes in check
before we went to California, but when we got there we quickly realized people could see
the viability of the project. And their excitement drives us to continue to perfect the product."
Advice: According to Mei, her experience in California further cemented her belief that it’s
important to be enthusiastic about your product. "I saw some other presenters that, while
they had great ideas, were not projecting themselves very well," she said. "If you don’t
believe in your own product, no one else will — your passion shows through in the way you
talk about your product."
QUESTIONS
1. April Glavine, founder of Lean Machine Inc., is considered a social
entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur is defined as “Social entrepreneurship is the
process of pursuing suitable solutions to social problems. More specifically, social
entrepreneurs adopt a mission to create and sustain social value. They pursue
opportunities to serve this mission, while continuously adapting and learning. They draw
upon appropriate thinking in both the business and nonprofit worlds and operate in all
kinds of organizations: large and small; new and old; religious and secular; nonprofit”
How does she fall into this category?
2. What evidence do you have that her idea was a logical – progressive move?
3. What advice does April Glavine have for other entrepreneurs?
4. Entrepreneurship is about innovation what was innovative about Casandra Rush’s
idea?
5. What advice does Rush provide for would be entrepreneurs?
6. Summarize Monica Mei’s business.
7. What do the three entrepreneurs seem to share in common?