The Real Bottom Line

The Riches are in the Niches – as business owners we have probably heard this saying a number of times. My guest Mark Chyz, President of CM2 Media. He niches in a couple of ways, but one of the most interesting is by psychographic markers. He also keeps a list ranking his clients – a fascinating exercise. Some of the other roads we go down are: Mark’s 11 years of being a business owner shine through this episode and I just love how he gets his confidence!

Have you ever been fearful of public speaking? Of taking the stage in front of an audience? My guest, Corey Poirer is now known as That Speaker Guy – but he had a huge fear of both of those things. We talk about how his fear of having regrets, of looking back and wishing he had done something was great than those fears. And that set the stage for some pretty interesting and philosophical topics like: It is such a great discussion, I know your thinking will be sparked!

Building a business over 35 years and then recognizing a niche and then going for it – that is Larry Keating story. In this episode, we talk about

The importance of being true to yourself and energy is what Lisa Drader Murphy is all about. Lisa is the founder of LDM Group of Companies – which encompasses her namesake fashion line, Studio, Willow Vale Estate, and coming soon a fabric enterprise. Lisa is a force of nature, extremely focused, and a true businesswoman. She has always carved her own path and is unique in the fashion world – she designs, manufactures, and retails all her own products. The pandemic resulted in a hard stop for all her businesses and the first pivot was to manufacturing face masks – over 55,000 of them! We talked about the slow return to normal – and how that may have shifted. We cover some really juicy topics like: Enjoy the episode!

It was time to turn the tables! In this episode, Andre Brisson is the host and I am the guest! After 100 episodes where I ask all the questions of my guests, we flipped the script so that you could learn more about me. Andre was able to get some pretty interesting stories and philosophies out of me. My favorite story is one that I haven’t spoken of in years – and it is about my mother. I lost my mother to cancer just over 17 years ago. She was and is a driving force in my life. When I was around the age of 5 or 6, she was declared legally blind. But that did not stop her in the least. I think I have a lot of her characteristics – including the fact that the older I get, the more my filter is fading! Enjoy this episode.

2 years and 13 days later, we are at Episode 100 of The Real Bottom Line. Along with co-host Donna Alteen, we are featuring clips from 12 previous guests: The lessons from the past 100 episodes are almost too many to list - and were certainly super hard to narrow down! The big takeaway I had after reviewing a few hundred pages of transcripts is that as business owners we know more than we realize. It has been an absolute privilege to highlight the ones on this episode and the others along the way! I truly appreciate all my guests – they have freely shared their stories and provided some amazing lessons – who have helped me learn and hopefully the audience as well. In this episode, we have built the clips around Donna and I provide some great commentary along the way! It’s a little longer than normal, but well worth the time! And check out the gifts from the featured guests at https://www.blackstarwealth.com/100

I am too small….it won’t happen to me. Thoughts that a lot of small business owners have when they think about Cyber Security. You aren’t. Cyber theft is big business and we cover a lot of ground in this interview. Darryl Cresswell is the founder of MYDWARE a firm that specializes in helping small businesses prepare. For listeners of this episode, he is offering a gift of a free security assessment. www.blackstarwealth.com/cyber to sign up.

In this week's episode of The Real Bottom Line, Jesse Adams, Founder of Ember Experience, shares insights on building a positive workplace culture and how leaders can model behavior that encourages psychological safety. Here's a breakdown of the key takeaways: Overall, this episode offers valuable insights into building a positive workplace culture where employees feel safe to express themselves, and leaders can effectively address issues with empathy and authenticity. If you're a leader looking to improve your organization's culture and create a safe and inclusive workplace, this episode is a must-listen!

Lisa Hrabuk is a former award-winning writer and journalist turned business strategist and problem solver. Through her company, Wicked Ideas, Lisa helps shift power dynamics, untangle problems, and access the money and influence needed to create sustainable change that sticks. We get philosophical, yet also practical, as we discuss wicked problems, what they are, and how they can be solved. If you want to find out what FAST and SLOW mean when it comes to these wicked problems and ideas, and how to embrace being a disruptor and stepping into the power of shifting your ecosystem, then this is the episode for you! Listen now to learn the importance of your values, and how identifying where you want to go (not where you are) is integral to finding your success. Learn more about Lisa at wickedideas.ca LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisahrabluk/

Alison Taylor is the Co-founder, CEO, and Portfolio Manager of Invico Capital – a leader in the alternative investment space. She is the winner of several prestigious awards, including Female Executive of the Year in 2019, and made the 2021 Top 100 list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women. We dig deep down into how Alison and her Co-founder started Invico, the products they have, and how they work. We also talk about how she grew the company from 3 employees to 50, and the importance of investing in your employees, inspiring your team, and giving back to your community. She is a proponent of women in Finance, and the high number of females working in all levels of the company certainly stands out in this traditionally male industry. If you would like to understand more about how your business can access debt capital, even if you don’t fit in the bank mold or benefit from a fund that does that type of investing, take the time to listen to this episode. You won’t regret it!

Kristen’s business was started as a side hustle that became the main act in the Pandemic. She is a true purple brain – what I call people who are equal parts of logic/math and creativity. Her husband also owns a business in the creative side of marketing and they are definitely helping each other grow. She didn’t always like math, but she has truly gained respect and appreciation. We covered a lot of ground in this interview –

In part two of this special episode of the Real Bottom Line we are concluding the Master Class – Mixing Love and Business. If you are part of an Entrepreneurial Couple, you are going to want to take a listen and find out about

We recently ran a live masterclass for Entrepreneurial Couples – Mixing Love and Business: Crafting a recipe for success. And boy did we delve into the meat and potatoes of how to be successful – and Eleanor Beaton and Neil Stephen deliver the goods. So much so that we have taken the class and made it into a special two-part episode of The Real Bottom Line. In part one, we cover decision making It’s soo good….enjoy!

Have you ever gotten a key chain or some other branded product and wondered – what are they trying to tell me? Justin Lee is trying to change things. Justin’s journey to entrepreneurship was a bit winding and a big learning process for him. His focus now is on Promotional Products done differently. Some key subjects we discussed were

Valentine’s Day is all about love, friendship, and showing others that you care. Last year, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Tareq Hadhad, CEO of Peace by Chocolate, who exemplifies all these qualities and more. A native of Syria, Tareq knows all too well how important it is to share peace and hope, especially during difficult times. The messages he shared in this episode are timeless and really worth a listen. The recent earthquake in Syria and Turkey was devastating, and the aftermath of the disaster is nothing less than heartbreaking. The death toll is already over 33,000 and growing, and now more than ever, the survivors need hope and to know that the world is thinking of them. While thoughts and prayers aren’t nearly enough, in situations like these, every little thing helps. Tareq and Peace by Chocolate are raising money to assist with rescue and recovery efforts by donating proceeds from several of their products. The link is the comments to help – spread the love today by buying some chocolate to support an extremely important cause https://peacebychocolate.ca/pages/earthquake-in-syria-and-turkey-relief

In this episode, we are going to talk about the next most important book for your reading list and how building a vision of your future life will change everything.

In this episode, Anthea Mumby and I talk about the importance of having a vision statement for your company and your life. And the extra importance this takes if you are an Entrepreneurial Couple.

In this episode we talk about building wealth as a business owner Discussed in this episode:

Our first business couple interview!! Before we got there we talked about some of the ways they have structured their business operations so that they can work well together. Some key points: And we talk about Crypto and Blockchain – not as an investment, but rather as a tool in business. Some of the topics we dug into were It’s a great 30 minutes on some pretty interesting topics.

In this episode, we talk about profit and available money in your business and what to do with it. Discussed in this episode: Replay Link: 3 Key Decisions You Need To Make To Thrive As A Business Owner During A Recession