Chatter that Matters

In LIFE MATTERS , Tony Chapman counters the firehose of negativity that is impacting our lives and careers, with positive stories of ordinary people, who despite their circumstances do extraordinary things. In doing so we learn life lessons that we can apply. What would you do if you were Orlando Bowen ?  Orlando was a professional CFL football player whose career, and almost life ended by being i...

Entrepreneurs are optimists by nature. They find opportunities everywhere and want to do it all. But even the most driven entrepreneurs need to have the discipline to prioritize and focus on what will drive their business forward. Fatima Zaidi has always been one to watch. She was born in Oman, with all the cultural norms and expectations of a Middle Eastern woman. Yet, regardless of circumstance,...

Paul Rivett-Carnac's parents met on a herbalist walk on Vancouver Island in the late 1970s. That walk led them to pursue a lifetime passion for healing rooted in nature.  Together they moved to Ontario and St Francis Herb Farm was born. What began as a business selling herbs and tinctures to Naturopaths and Health Food Stores has grown into a family-owned business that is truly a farm, to having i...

If you believe that Canada can't compete in the design and creation of wonderful garments, then I encourage you to listen to this episode. And if you ever question the value of immigration, then I suggest you listen to it twice. For everyone else, get ready for some goosebumps, and some incredible advice from one of the worlds thought leaders on fashion, Jeanne Beker , as well as David Kincaid , a...

Electrify your day by listening to the story of Connie Stacey  who calls herself a Mad Scientist and for a good reason. Connie is an inventor with a brain, burning to solve some of the world's most pressing problems. In this episode, we look at her Grengine , a solar-powered generator that addresses energy poverty. One-seventh of the world lives without power, and cooks and heats with biomass fuel...

Patrice Mousseau , First Nations, single Mom, watching her eight-month-old daughter scratch her arms and legs until they were bloody. The only prescription the Doctor offered to help with her daughter's eczema was a steroid cream, something Patrice didn't want to do. So Patrice researched and identified five natural and organic ingredients that could help. Her research proved right and within two...

Joe Parenteau is one of the co-founders of Vancouver based startup Fable. They want to become a world-renowned direct to the consumer brand, that sells dinner plates and cutlery, and eventually other accessories for your home. Finding and acquiring customers is crucial, but it is both challenging and expensive in a crowded marketplace. Our three thought leaders have different opinions about Fable'...

Wonderkind brings unique & tailored gifts right to your door. They represent over one-hundred and twenty Made in Canada businesses, support communities, empower female entrepreneurs & spread kindness. One gift at a time.   Now that's some kind of wonderful. Or is it? Is it possible that all of this good is complicating Wonderkind's offering and making it harder for the consumer to buy? Are the fou...

As a mother, Sheri Allain wondered why there wasn't more focus on STEM for children, especially girls and why her children's school had nights devoted to drama, music, arts and crafts, but not one on technology. So Sheri created CODEZILLA to provide hands-on coding classes, camps and parties, and lunch and after school programs for kids ages 4 - 14. And Sheri's business takes off as she isn't the...

Thirty thought leaders step up with profound insights, compelling ideas, and much-needed and deserved inspiration to help small business owners get to where they need and deserve to go. In Series One, Small Business Matters personalized the stories of 10 small business owners so that we take their dreams and challenges personally.   Why? Small business is the heart of our economy, and it is in our...

Meet the Heroes of Small Business Matters Series One. Each week, during the darkest days of COVID-19, we produced a podcast featuring a small business owner, and three thought leaders who help them get to where they need and deserve to go. All made possible through the incredible support of RBC. We went remotely across Canada to explore many sectors of our economy. We talked to startups, establish...

Sheena Russell is the co-founder of Made with Local, and her story will inspire anyone who wants to be their own boss, and act on their beliefs and values.
 Made with Local sources local ingredients and then works with social enterprises to employ people who have barriers to the mainstream workforce. When COVID hits, the government orders this 'high risk' segment of the population into isolation,...

Jeanne Beker , one of the world's leading fashion authorities, Sabrina Geremia , Head of Google Canada, and Lolita Guerrera , VP of RBC Retail, are the experts in this episode.  They offer powerful advice to co-founder Francois Theriault on how to reposition Surmesur , an innovative, personality led tech-enabled made-to-measure men's wear retail chain, to compete in a post COVID economy. Two of th...

If you want to be swept away in a story about resilience, reinvention and catching dreams, this episode is for you. Then combine it with compelling advice from three experts, Robert Carter ,  Chris Barrett and Duke McKenzi e on how to engage the head, heart and wallets of customers. It is appointment listening for anyone wanting a post-COVID comeback. Ernesto Gomez is a first-generation Canadian w...

Jennifer Menard's life has been about reinvention, regardless of her circumstance. She openly shares her life story growing up in a broken home but perseveres to become a successful entrepreneur. She found her path through a mentor who employed her and then subsequently encouraged her to buy the business she helped build.  She rebrands, brings in a partner and Staff Shop  is now staffing events ac...

After a five-year stint with Sesame Streets Labs in New York, and getting her Masters in Education at Harvard , Carly Shuler returns to Canada. She creates Hootreading.com . Why? Carly knows that kids who love to read will spend a lifetime loving to learn. Hootreading.com matches students with real teachers, and with Carly's proprietary technology and teaching methods, her business takes off. Her...

Kristi knows that the company needs a rebrand if they are going to battle international food giants for market share.  Mother Raw is born, and the legacy of the Founder, and her mission of 'Good on Good'  is woven across every consumer, retailer, and employee touchpoint. Kristi chooses to manufacture in Canada.   Mother Raw continues to innovate into a lineup of plant-based, organic salad dressing...

Joe O'Brien is a gifted entrepreneur.  His tourism operation, O'Brien Boat Tours , includes three boats, two restaurants, gift shops, and shuttle buses.  His base is St John's  Newfoundland, and he captains his guests to the edge of the world where they get so close to a whale that they can smell its breath. Giant icebergs, a wild bird sanctuary, mixed in with the songs and spirit of Newfoundland...

Lisa Taylor leads a team of a hundred people when she uncovers an insight that would change her course in life, and possibly the future of the Canadian economy. Many people were satisfied at work, but not fulfilled. Even successful people in their mid-career strides described their situation as "hanging in and hanging on". Lisa left the security of a great job to launch Challenge Factory , a resea...

Paul Hemburrow and his partner find the capital to purchase a profitable business that rents TV sets to patients in hospitals. The partners rebrand as HealthHubSolutions.ca and reinvent the entire company by turning the TV into a digital hub, offering a suite of tools for the patient that gives them access, connectivity, and control while making it easier for the hospital to provide better care. P...

Traci Shepheard's lifelong dream was to be an entrepreneur building a health and wellness business.  She had hundreds of ideas, but nothing caught her imagination more than a mobile meditation studio.  She did her homework,  received immediate acceptance with some of Canada's largest businesses, and invested her life savings, including the purchase and retrofitting of an Airstream Trailer to creat...

When Cirque de Soleil files for bankruptcy protection you realize how fast the sun has set on the event business. To find out what it will take to stage a comeback I chat with brothers David and Stephen Shaw , who are Canadian born, and have become global thought leaders in different segments of the event business. David Shaw is the Senior Vice President, International and Content at UFC . David t...

In this episode, I chat with John Ruffolo, Founder, OMERS Ventures and Co-Founder - Council of Canadian Innovators. John Ruffolo name is synonymous with possibilities and the new economy. I first met John when I moderated a panel in support of our mutual friend Chitra Anand and her incredible book the Greenhouse Approach John was the CEO of OMERS Ventures . Today John is the co-founder and Vice-Ch...

The forces of change are rendering much of what we know of business obsolete. Automation, e-commerce, the Amazon effect, increasing bureaucracy and all of this combining with customers wanting more and less. Wanting more personalized solutions, more what matters to them but also want all this with less friction, less effort, and less cost. And then the Covid-19 shows up like a sledgehammer. So wha...

The Coronavirus has presented Canadian businesses with unprecedented challenges. There is no compass for these uncharted waters. New approaches to customer, supplier and employee engagement require consideration and businesses underlying "operating systems" need to be updated and re-written. In this episode, Tony Chapman a luminary of Canada' Marketing Hall of Legends (2008) discusses these challe...