OV Boss Babes

✨💜 Ottawa Valley Fourth Annual Women's Collective 2024✨💜 This past International Women's Day, we welcomed four trailblazing boss babes: Jodie Primeau of Primeau Law, Kristin Leach of Hela Beauty and Medical, and Dr. Morgan Welburn of Renfrew Eye Clinic, where we will celebrated their personal empires and chatted intensely around three key themes: ✨Invest✨Inspire✨and Impact✨. This year, our...

Many of us stumble into entrepreneurship by pure destiny. And often times, what we envision our business will look like typically changes once we do decide to go all in. And that stands true for Jessica Yazdani, who initially had a dream of opening up a business in Merrickville but wound up purchasing a well known location in downtown Almonte. But her vision for carrying Canadian brands that value...

Located in Perth, ON, HLK Macarons is a micro-bakery born out of passion from baker and dessert enthusiast, Heather Kay, who specializes in making Italian macarons. In this episode, Heather and I chat about: 🍥 How Heather started her micro-bakery and how she approached HLK Macarons with a business mindset 🍥 How Heather determined her price points by adding her mark up to calculated costs so that...

Nala's Kitchen aims to provide delicious, authentic Indian cuisine, including rare South Indian delicacies, to the Ottawa Valley and surrounding areas throughout Ontario and Quebec. And with Divya Vivekanandan's expertise, traditional family recipes, and commitment to sustainability through local sourcing and eco-friendly practices, she ensures that you will enjoy a wholesome culinary experience t...

For more than a decade, Becky Wright has been helping organizations identify challenges, navigate change, and turn their plans into reality. Two of her favourite words are “challenge” and “change," which are the concepts that drives and fuels her passion for Project Management. With her career starting out as an administrative assistant CNL and flourishing over the next 15 years of progressive res...

Growing up, Amy Robinson was immersed in her family-owned floral business, Keith's Flowers and Plants. Since early childhood, she accumulated a wealth of creativity and design expertise, finding her passion in the floral profession, but this wildflower realized that the 9-5 work-life just wasn't for her - and so, she opened Fleurish in the heart of Petawawa. Although this passionate floral entrepr...

Dr. Isabelle Gagnon is a highly skilled and experienced chiropractor based in the Pontiac. With a passion for helping others and a commitment to providing personalized care, Dr. Gagnon has built a reputation for delivering exceptional chiropractic services to her patients. But being a chiropractor and business owner hasn't been an easy road, as Dr. Gagnon reflects back to the beginning of her busi...

Born and raised in Belleville, Dr. Sarah Wilson saw a need for comprehensive women’s healthcare in the area and decided to move closer to home in @city.of.kingston to fill that need and raise her family. @drsarah_nd is passionate about helping women feel their best, as she herself spent many years with brain fog, fatigue, constant digestive upset, an unpredictable period and unexplainable weight g...

Julie Savory started out in business as a hairstylist and busy salon owner for 12 years, until one day when she was at the Calabogie Dam when they opened the flood gates, causing two deaths. Julie's doctor strongly advised her to switch careers in order to recover from her injuries effectively. She was stunned and heartbroken, as she had absolutely loved hairstyling and had such a strong client ba...

In 1997, Cheryl Jordan combined her skill for crafting and her passion for decorative painting and established her successful business, The Country Cupboard, on Petawawa Blvd. Inspired by the home-style business shops she had seen in her hometown in Nova Scotia, Cheryl found the perfect location for her business in a charming yellow cottage. Over time, The Country Cupboard has evolved from creatin...

Heather Jobe, the Community Development Coordinator for the Renfrew County OSPCA and Humane Society meets hundreds of animals every month, and to Heather - these animals that are in need become more than just pets. They truly become family! In this episode, we get to learn all about Heather Jobe, her role at the Renfrew County OSPCA and why it's so much more than being around the sweetest fur anim...

Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation is a non profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario that offers free business counselling, financial loans for start-ups and businesses looking to expand, strategic planning on local projects and community economic development in our rural community. This organization has been fostering economic growth in Renfrew County since 19...

Sarah Trafford and Kim McPherson are a dynamic "Pink Panther" duo offering medical aesthetics services at Uplifted Medical, where they are all about empowering women ti regain their self confidence and self love! This medical beauty spa includes cosmetic injections, radiofrequency microneedling, skin peels and medical-grade skin care products. These babes wanted to bring high-quality medical aesth...

Michelle Jozwiak, the owner behind "The Wizard of Pawz" in Renfrew, was at a crossroads in her career, formerly working as a hairstylist and working with adults withdisabilities. But it was during the end of the pandemic when she caught the attention of dog owners when they admired her own dog's well groomed coat and couldn't believe she wasn't a groomer herself. It was then that Michelle knew wha...

Marie-Anik Gagné was inspired to provide caregiver support after her husband's long-term illness and ultimate passing in 2016. She recognized the importance of advanced care planning and having sensitive conversations around death. This experience led her to pursue a career in helping individuals and their families navigate the end-of-life journey with compassion and comfort, eventually receiving...

Rebecca Hamilton had created a very successful local bakery business that locals and tourists alike were obsessed with, expanding into a chain of bakeries across Southwestern, Ontario - and it has a massive following of loyal customers who looked forward to the wide array of custom cakes, cupcakes and sweet treats. After over a decade of growing Chick Boss Cake from the ground up, building it to o...

The journey to becoming a dairy farmer is a unique and rewarding experience. It involves a combination of passion, hard work, and dedication to the care of animals and the production of high-quality dairy products. Although Eline van der Veen didn't grow up on a dairy farm, she did have a background in agriculture and was able to gain some hands-on experience, learning various aspects of the indus...

The Pie Bar is a small batch bakery located in Westport that provides modern baked goods using traditional techniques and unique flavours, tailored each season incorporating fresh, local produce. Products among the fan favourites include: Sourdough, Fruit and Custard Pies, Croissants, Cruffins and extra large cookies! Stacy Blair, a former Structural Engineer, discovered the world of baking during...

Dr. Rachel Worth-Cappell is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor, a fertility, birth and postpartum doula and business owner of Sacred Grove Naturopathic, based out of the Natural Health Centre in Madawaska Valley. Originally from Ohio, she relocated to Canada, graduating from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and relocated to the Ottawa Valley, immediately finding solace on the Ottawa River...

Amanda Welk and her husband Donavan first started the Cottage Cup as a gift shop that featured locally sourced items, fresh coffee beans and loose leaf teas, along with Canadian cottage style decor that locals and visitors could shop from, eventually expanding to include trending fashion, local lake ware, and delectable eats from their street food style patio, The Boat House BBQ & Fries. Amanda ha...

The hairstyling queen whose jaw-dropping story is ONE FOR THE BOOKS 📚 🤩😮‍💨 - this is the episode you ✨DIDN'T KNOW YOU NEEDED!" Elyna Tremblay of Modern Mane Hair spent years working her way up to becoming one of the most sought-after hairstylists in the Ottawa Valley. Along the way, she experienced the highs and lows of both the hair industry and motherhood, becoming a single mom at a young a...

Micheline Dumont always seemed to have a creativitve and artistic flair, realizing early on when she was picking paint colours and stencilling walls with her mom. But never did she think that this would be the start of her interior decorating career. Micheline decided to pursue Interior Decorating at Algonquin College, graduating with honours, and launched her own business, Micheline Dumont Design...

Liz Cobb has always had a passion for forest management and didn't think twice about taking Algonquin College's Forestry Technician program, graduating in the 80's. Liz has over 34 years of experience working in forest management, joining Natural Resources Canada as a Forest Operations Manager. Taking the Forestry Technician program prepared Liz for a career in nature, as she learned how to protec...

Donna Saal and her husband Paul were unsatisfied with the quality of care in the facilities where they initially worked as physiotherapists in Niagara Falls and Sudbury. They decided to open their own clinic, Physio in the Valley, in her hometown of Pembroke in 2001. Their goal was to combine the best of traditional physical therapy with osteopathic manual therapy, focusing on patient-centered car...

Jackie Rhind is a Canadian female founder of Ovry, an innovative, sustainable and low-cost pregnancy and ovulation test strip brand that is revolutionizing the pregnancy test industry. Ovry’s business model sounds simple enough - sell pregnancy tests, ovulation tests, and male fertility tests at a more affordable price than the popular name brands, performing the same function the same as the othe...