OV Boss Babes

Originally from North Bay, Dale Luckey opened her smoothie shop in October 2017 with a plan to sell smoothies to yogi’s after they finished their shavasana, however, when things weren’t picking up, she decided to pack up her smoothies and relocated to Downtown Pembroke... and that’s when things started to immediately pick up! Dale has expanded her business to include healthy meal options, a wide g...

After finding a void in the loungewear market, Ashley Freeborn attended a summer fashion program, and together with her mother, co-founder Teresa, put their creative minds together, and designed and produced a line of comfortable one-piece rompers for women. Ashley talks about Smash + Tess’ comfy, fashionable and inclusive sized rompers, what it was like working with Hilary Duff and collaborating...

Military spouse, longtime community member and owner of the well-loved Country Cupboard, Cheryl Jordan is a prominent face you are sure to have met either in store, at a craft show or through her volunteer work in various community initiatives. The idea around the Country Cupboard wasn’t initially meant to be a gift shop and home decor store. And what is the meaning behind all these “barn stars” p...

Nestled in the quiet hills of the Madawaska Valley, the historic Wilno Tavern has been offering exceptional hospitality for over 127 years, with a building that has been around since 1894. Corinne Higgins, owner and operator of the Wilno Tavern, knows quite a bit of history about the Tavern, and is happy to share everything from the history of Wilno’s founding pioneers, historic community traditio...

Born and raised in Deep River and with over 10 years experience working with clients across Renfrew County, Jenna Walsh, Registered Dietician and Certified Diabetes Educator, helps her clients change their weight, build a healthier relationship with food, or manage a chronic illness and reach their health and nutrition goals.   Jenna gives listeners a new take on the phrase “food for thought” as s...

Amanda and Trisha are two BFF’s and CEO’s of Loop Lifestyle, which offers a fun variety of hair accessories with the main focus on scrunchies! These babes talk about how they initially started their scrunchie line and how it has expanded to offer headbands, face asks and most recently, silk pillowcases. Find out why kids are wearing scrunchies on their wrist... and why this has nothing to do with...

There are only a small handful of female butchery owners throughout Canada and Michelle Brennan’s butcher shop in Arnprior is not only one of them, but her shop is 100% female owned and operated. Growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan, you’d think that Michelle was always meant to get into the agricultural industry... but you won’t believe what she went to school for before deciding that butchery wa...

It was while Erin Thomson was off on maternity leave in 2019 that she realized she wanted to create personalized blankets. Fast forward a few years, she has expanded her inventory to add new items, such as bedding, wooden name puzzles, wall decor and, announced on the podcast, furniture! New moms: find out what nursery items are must-have’s and ones you can do without or get second-hand, while als...

In partnership with  Ottawa Valley Travel ,  Enterprise Renfrew County ,  104.9 myFM  and  Yourtv Ottawa Valley , OV Boss Babes Podcast is pleased to present its first Ottawa Valley's Women's Collective, as we celebrate  International Women's Day ! OV Boss Babes Podcast is recognizing 12 influential and powerful female leaders from our community, as they share how the...

In partnership with  Ottawa Valley Travel ,  Enterprise Renfrew County ,  104.9 myFM  and  Yourtv Ottawa Valley , OV Boss Babes Podcast is pleased to present its first Ottawa Valley's Women's Collective, as we celebrate  International Women's Day ! OV Boss Babes Podcast is recognizing 12 influential and powerful female leaders from our community, as they share how the...

Christal Loback is a wife and mother to four beautiful children, a women’s empowerment coach and the owner and founder of HER Empowerment Boutique in Downtown Pembroke. Christal shares her journey towards self confidence and encourages women to feel beautiful and confident in their bodies through a variety of inclusive apparel, beauty products, and female empowerment programs and workshops. Christ...

At only 22 years old, Payton Forward always knew she wanted to be her own boss and create a badass workspace for her clients and staff to enjoy. Fresh out of hair school and immediately starting her apprenticeship, she worked at several salons, getting a good taste of the industry. “But if you’re not taking risks or getting out of your comfort zone, you’re never going to grow” she told herself and...

Social media marketing is all about building and boosting brand awareness, increase sales revenue and drive website traffic, while using the right methods to engage with your target audience on social media platforms. But jumping onto the online space doesn't exactly come with a guidebook - or maybe it does but you don't have time to learn all the tricks and tips, since social media is ever evolvi...

Valerie Hyska started working in the grocery store industry when she was in high school and fast forward 25 years later, she now owns one! Val talks about her journey to owning one of the best loved grocery stores in Petawawa and the long process it takes - because “you can’t just walk in off the streets and decide you want to purchase a grocery store!” Val also shares how the global pandemic impa...

What started as a hobby pickling dilly beans beets in her kitchen, to selling them to her friends and folks on Facebook yard sale sites, eventually led her to entering (and winning!) The City of Pembroke's "Win this Space" contest in 2017 in Downtown Pembroke. Stacy gives us an inside look into her store, sharing where the name "Little Things" came from (and what her husband originally suggested s...

In this episode, Holly chats with (in her opinion) the Ottawa Valley's most sought-after tattoo artist, Liz Davis, owner and operator of Bombshells Tattoo Studio in Petawawa. Liz has always been creative and artistic, enjoying hobbies like woodworking, baking, artwork and doing hair but was always told that she wouldn't be able to find a successful career in an artistic setting, despite her being...

Do you consider yourself a feminist? If you're a female entrepreneur or business owner, do you incorporate feminism marketing strategies in your business or are you just using feminist "buzzword" language?  She is known in the area as one half of the Paperback Girls, but Jessica Khouri has been busy exploring a number of professional opportunities, including her own venture helping entreprene...

Portia Hoffman-Strang’s journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur wasn't an easy one. The owner of The Urban Lounge Salon & Spa, co-founder of The Urban Bride and creator of Lounge Life scrunches opens up about her experience as a teen mom in high school and her struggles trying to make ends meet, as she went from being on welfare to now running a six-figure business. Portia talks about her jo...

If you live in the Ottawa Valley and need a kennel for your fur-baby, the Wylie Kennel East is the way to go! Kirstin Charette is the owner and operator of this full-service kennel and pet spa, offering canine & cat suites, daycare, secured and ample play areas for social interaction, on-site grooming services, premium treats and more. Holly asks Kirstin what it's like to be the owner of an an...

Just because gyms are closed and we're all stuck at home (yet again!) doesn't mean that we can find an excuse not to get in shape. Personal Fitness Trainer, Healthy Eating and Weight Loss Coach, Stacey Le Poivre, founder of GRL Fitness, has the programs for you! During the first lockdown, she helped current and new clients transition from gym circuits and workouts to creating two new at home worko...

Back in early December, pre pandemic lockdown round two, Holly took a road trip to Renfrew, ON where she met with several local business women who recently launched their businesses in 2020 (with Ottawa Valley Coffee opening in 2021).  Holly invites local podcast host and entrepreneur Kathleen Barr as her co-host on the pod.  Kathleen is the host of the Above Twenty Podcast and founder o...

Many know her as "the spray tan lady" in the valley, but she is also a business woman working in the Economic Development department for the County of Renfrew. Jacklyn Stott always knew that she wanted to get into the business world when she first came up with the idea of purchasing ponchos from the Dollar Store and selling them at outdoor music festivals. After stumbling into a salon in Montreal...

Holly welcomes business owner, Taryn Stewart, who started her own subscription company called Local Motives, right here in Petawawa.  These unique subscription boxes for women contain eco-friendly health, beauty and lifestyle products delivered right to your door. Local Motives also supports Canadian and military home-based business products and proceeds from every box go towards the Support Our T...

Born and raised here in the valley, Kayla Janke had big dreams of venturing into the business world, and so came not one, but two event and party rental companies, Valley Tent Rentals and Parvati & Athena Events, while working for the Township of Laurentian Valley. She decided she wanted to focus on both of these businesses and quit her job at the Township in January 2020...and then the pandemic h...

It all started when two friends, Laura Brown and Carrie Broughton, were making homemade signs in their garages and decided to go into business together and opened a homey shop in downtown Pembroke to provide local, Canadian merchants a place to display their products in a "market-like" environment. Of course, they also brought along their personalized homemade signs and decor, not only selling the...