The Yukon Entrepreneur Podcast

S4E6: Lauren Manekin Beille | Consultant & Facilitator | November 2, 2023

S4E6: Interview with Yukon Entrepreneur Lauren Manekin Beille, Consultant and Facilitator | November 2, 2023   It’s Yukon Innovation Week 20223 and the Yukon Entrepreneur Podcast is once again featuring a mini-series of insightful conversations with Yukon entrepreneurs on what innovation, inspiration, wellness, and community mean to them.   (0:21) Lauren introduces themselves and shares their recent journey into solo entrepreneurship, tackling projects that look at the really tough questions and complex problems we are facing as a society such as the opioid crisis and housing issues.   (2:53) What does innovation mean to Lauren? Anything new or existing that has to be imagined and how we go about that process of looking into the problem and creating solutions. Post-covid, everything is innovation. “We are having a hard time understanding what happened yesterday and we are having a terrible time predicting how to solve the problems of tomorrow.”   (4:13) When it comes to wellness, Lauren finds themselves going in and out of balance and recognizes their attitude of being all in is both a superpower and a great weakness. They have been working on how to prioritize their work in ways that can support better balance.   (5:33) What inspires Lauren in the work that they do? For Lauren, they are inspired by how and how critical the work is. People are desperate to be heard, seen, and made feel they are valuable. Once people are made to feel cared for, valued and seen, they are drawn to be part of the solutions.   (7:20) Lauren describes how debilitating fear is and how we let our fear, and our insecurities hold us back from doing the right thing which may be different for each and every one of us. They are bothered by how there are not more opportunities for restorative justice and for people to come together in conversation but are hopeful that we will be able to get there.   (9:21) How can we transform the systems not serving us well? Lauren has learned so much through meeting people where they are and how there are different solutions at an individual level. It is asking the question, given people’s truths, what will it take for them to step in and up to be a part of a finding shared solution to something much larger? “This type of work takes creativity, courage and deep vulnerability and a lot of people are ready to do it, they just need the avenue and conduits to do it.”   (11:04) What lesson does Yukon have to share with the world about innovation? Lauren speaks about how the First Nations people of this territory have been tremendous leaders in showing the world an example of self-determination and creating systems for themselves that work. They feel as a smaller community we have the power to create a tipping point to create change at a human-centered level, and we could have the influence to develop solutions in a grassroots sense partnering with government that reimagine a beneficial, new future.   (13:30) What’s next for Lauren? They are having conversations with many people around finding new ways to go about having hard conversations, and they want to continue to embrace the power of community by working with the systems in place and other trailblazers to come together to solve the big problems.   Thank you for listening!   For more information about Lauren please visit: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/laurenmanekinbeille [https://ca.linkedin.com/in/laurenmanekinbeille]   For more information about Yukon Innovation Week please visit: https://yukoninnovationweek.com/

S4E5: Amber Berard-Althouse | Amber Heals | October 30, 2023

S4E5: Interview with Yukon Entrepreneur Amber Berard-Althouse, Owner – Amber Heals | Recorded on October 30, 2023   It’s Yukon Innovation Week 20223 and the Yukon Entrepreneur Podcast is once again featuring a mini-series of insightful conversations with Yukon entrepreneurs on what innovation, inspiration, wellness, and community mean to them.   (0:24) Amber introduces themselves and shares a bit about their background which has lead them to their business today both in plant medicine, and walks and talks in Indigenous culture and history.   (2:36) For Amber, innovation means creating something new, changing things, and breaking out of the old paradigm, mold, structure, or breaking out of the box.   (2:57) Wellness is Amber’s whole business. They share how through their entrepreneurial journey they realized they care deeply about the health and wellness of everybody, but specifically Indigenous people, and recognize the importance of self-healing in building capacity to care for our families and community.   (4:04) What inspires Amber in the work that they do? When they give their walks and talks on Indigenous culture and history, they are able to provide education that would normally take much longer for people to learn and understand. And when they give their yoga classes, they love to see people connect to their bodies and let their mind rest.   (6:21) As a one woman show, Amber shares that letting go of their 9-5 is very difficult, and also navigating how to develop their business, get support and funding, such as creating a business plan has been incredibly overwhelming for someone who is creative and idea-driven, but maybe not so logistics-focused. They discuss the need for making more step by step supports in creating a business available to budding entrepreneurs.   (9:29) Amber speaks to how to transform the systems not working through helping each other more, networking, and sharing tips. She sees value in entrepreneurs coming together more so that they do not feel they are so alone.   (10:24) What lessons does Yukon have to share with the rest of Canada about innovation? Amber shares that the amount of support they have received is something special that the Yukon has to offer. The feel the more they have put themselves out there, the more they have received in return.   (11:06) Looking at opportunities, Amber discusses how Indigenous tourism is blowing up and what people want when they come to Canada. They are working on developing more content both in their walks and talks, as well as online programming that combines everything they do in their life (plant medicine, recipes, meditation, yoga classes, walks, etc.) focusing on healing.   (12:58) Amber shares their closing thoughts. “Don’t sell yourself short. Your passions, your projects, the things that light a fire in you, even if you can only do them an hour a week or one day a month, just keep going forward because you never know where you’re going to take yourself…Your voice matters and you are here for a reason.”   Thank you for listening!   For more information about Amber and their business please visit: https://www.instagram.com/amberbelove/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/amberbelove/?hl=en]   For more information about Yukon Innovation Week please visit: https://yukoninnovationweek.com/

S4E4: Vanessa Ægirsdóttir | Vanessa Ægirsdóttir | October 28, 2023

S4E4: Interview with Yukon Entrepreneur Vanessa Ægirsdóttir, Co-Owner and Founder - Vanessa Ægirsdóttir | Recorded on October 28, 2023   It’s Yukon Innovation Week 20223 and the Yukon Entrepreneur Podcast is once again featuring a mini-series of insightful conversations with Yukon entrepreneurs on what innovation, inspiration, wellness, and community mean to them.   (0:22) Vanessa introduces themselves and shares a bit about their business, celebrating six years of operation this month!   (2:13) What does innovation mean to Vanessa? Vanessa defines innovation as something new, an idea, a method, or a technology. Specifically looking at the products their business provides, their innovation was to create a unique product that due to the materials being used (Indigenous-trapped, wild Yukon fur) each piece is inherently one of a kind.   (3:28) When it comes to featuring wellness in the work they do, Vanessa discusses that being a small business owner, especially one that manufactures consumer goods and has peak busy seasons in retail, can mean having downtime is non-existent. They celebrate that they have now settled into a more sustainable rhythm, with a fantastic in-store retail team, which has allowed them to focus more on refining their production system which in turn has ensured their overall business processes are now smoother than ever.   (5:33) Vanessa speaks about the privilege and responsibility of using Yukon fur in their products, and how important it is to be able to answer hard questions around the sourcing, utilization, and wearing of a material that can be very polarizing and emotional.   (8:19) What inspires Vanessa in the work they do? The people. When they started their business, they did not realize how much education would play an important role, and how much learning, humility, and vulnerability they would have to do.   (9:28) On a deep and personal level, the notion of competition versus community bothers Vanessa, especially when operating in a tight-knit community that has limited resources and product overlap. To them, no one can do something the exact way as someone else, and they feel more collaboration should occur that could support and lift up businesses so that everyone can be successful.   (13:09) “If you want to make something out of nothing, look at a Yukoner.” When it comes to lessons that the Yukon has to share with the world about innovation, the key to success is having that formula of Yukon entrepreneurs seeing a need or a group to be served and people having the appetite to support that.   (14:41) Thinking about opportunity, Vanessa reminds everyone that your greatest weakness is also your greatest strength. This means that whatever you perceive as being a shortcoming, will allow you to get crystal clear and focus on what you want to specialize in and ask questions about what you’re doing in order to see those amazing opportunities for what they are.   Thank you for listening!   For more information about Vanessa and their business please visit: https://www.aegirsdottir.com/ [https://www.aegirsdottir.com/]   For more information about Yukon Innovation Week please visit: https://yukoninnovationweek.com/

S4E3: Kyra Chambers & Nataschaa Chatterton | Shäwthän Näzhì | October 31, 2023

S4E3: Interview with Yukon Entrepreneurs Kyra Chambers, Equine Director & Nataschaa Chatterton, Clinical Director – Shäwthän Näzhì | October 31, 2023   It’s Yukon Innovation Week 20223 and the Yukon Entrepreneur Podcast is once again featuring a mini-series of insightful conversations with Yukon entrepreneurs on what innovation, inspiration, wellness, and community mean to them.   (0:24) Kyra and Nataschaa share a bit about themselves and how their business came to be.   (4:12) What does innovation mean to Kyra and Natasscha? For Natasscha, innovation is seeing and creating based on what is there as opposed to not there, and for Kyra, innovation is not following the status quo or having rules that dictate your life. They share how important it is to them to create innovative ways of bringing families out on the land, empower young people to be the best that they can be, and show ways of healing through horses.   (6:38) Kyra is inspired in their work by the strength of the families and their willingness to be vulnerable in order to empower themselves. Nataschaa shares how their amazing team inspires them and the relationships they get to build through connection and trust.   (9:26) As a non-for-profit business focused on breaking down barriers, they share the difficulties of being pulled towards bureaucracy, and recognize that the expectation of policy and rules or the colonial way of being, being viewed as a functioning system creates additional challenges such as the time it takes for actions to happen.   (12:12) In order to help transform the systems not working, Kyra discusses the need to check in with themselves, take a moment and think about why they do the work they do, and connect back to what it means as an Indigenous person to be Indigenous. For Nataschaa, getting back to the land and remembering the importance of that relationship has as much value as getting stuff done or making money.   (15:44) What lessons does the Yukon have to share about what it means to bring innovation at the community level? For Nataschaa, the Yukon is a place where there are some wild spirits, where we have less fear and inhibitions about trying things, and where we tend to see each other as support instead of competition. Kyra shares that most people in the Yukon either work or use their spare time doing something they love with a focus on community.   (17:42) What’s next for Kyra, Nataschaa and their organization? They share that hopefully they can stop growth for a little while and really build all the meat into the growth they have had. They share that growth isn’t always getting bigger, but rather strengthening the relationships and heart of the business. They are however looking to expand further onto the land, venturing into wilder places, and spending time connecting families back to their roots. They are also focusing on their training and capacity building, working hard to understand what their role is in the Yukon, and how they can continue to support more land-based healing.   Thank you for listening!   For more information about Kyra and Nataschaa and their business please visit: https://shawthannazhi.ca/ [https://shawthannazhi.ca/]   For more information about Yukon Innovation Week please visit: https://yukoninnovationweek.com/

S4E2: Ammanda Partridge | Elements Hair Studio and Day Spa | October 25, 2023

S4E2: Interview with Yukon Entrepreneur Ammanda Patridge, Owner, Service Provider and Instructor – Elements Hair Studio and Day Spa and Elements Esthetics Academy | Recorded on October 25, 2023 It’s Yukon Innovation Week 20223 and the Yukon Entrepreneur Podcast is once again featuring a mini-series of insightful conversations with Yukon entrepreneurs on what innovation, inspiration, wellness, and community mean to them. (0:22) Ammanda introduces themselves and celebrates their newest venture as starting Yukon’s first registered trades school for training in esthetics.   (1:31) Ammanda describes the business model for their new school, focusing on creating inter-generational space and accessibility, including hybrid program availability, single skill courses and remote training.   (3:11) What does innovation mean to Ammanda? When they think of innovation, they think about it being just figuring out how to make things happen. They also share that they think of Yukoners when it comes to innovation because of how people located here are doing it every day and having to come up with creative solutions daily.   (3:40) Ammanda shares how their entire business is built around wellness through not only providing wellness services, but also teaching their clients ways to incorporate wellness into their own lives.   (4:18) What inspires Ammanda in the work that they do? Building connections. They love that they get to be involved in both the happiest and most difficult moments in their client’s lives.   (5:06) Ammanda discusses how the esthetics industry deregulated about 20 years ago which has made things more challenging due to misconceptions around the necessary training and regulations that should be adhered to. They would like to raise awareness around the expectations of practicing esthetics and making sure people are properly trained to ensure quality and safety.   (6:51) Ammanda believes that the Yukon has to share that there is always a way to make it happen in regard to innovation, and that Yukoners have clearly demonstrated this.   (7:28) What’s next for Ammanda and their business? Leading their first cohort of students through the diploma program, watching them graduate, and hope that they will bring some services to the communities.   (8:54) If you are interested in esthetics make sure to check out Element Esthetics Academy as registration starts soon!   Thank you for listening!   For more information about Ammanda and their business please visit: https://www.elementshairandspa.ca/ [https://www.elementshairandspa.ca/] https://www.yukonestheticsschool.com/ For more information about Yukon Innovation Week please visit: https://yukoninnovationweek.com/