Small Business Week 2021 was a great success.
In case you missed our social media features, please read below for a Q&A with the five small businesses we featured this week.
We would like to thank all entrepreneurs for their dedication, creativity, and vision. Congratulations on your continued success!
Meet Mark Antonious.
Q Tell us about why you became a physiotherapist.
Growing up, I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of something breaking. It gave me the chance to take toys and electronics apart, figure out how they worked and see if I can fix them. As I finished high school, I got a job as a physiotherapy assistant with Pro Physio, and started enjoying the environment and the ability to combine problem solving with the reward of being able to help people within my day. Now as a physiotherapist I get to do all that while fixing people’s physical injuries.
Meet Naj Peterson of Stomping Ground.
Q Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes from many sources. Working in fashion and lifestyle, there is a multitude of artistic influences—from the worlds of visual art, music, sports, high-fashion, and design that energize my creative and entrepreneurial spirit. Working in a medium that is ever-evolving, I find myself continually searching for inspiration from other creatives and entrepreneurs, whether it be from a book, Ted Talk, YouTube video or Instagram.
Q What does prosperity mean to you?
For me, prosperity begins with living a life which fulfills me each day. Being able to be my most authentic self while creating, educating, and sharing culture within my community. While profits are a barometer of success, my greatest achievement is being able to wake up each day knowing I’m doing something I love.
Meet Phil Renaud of Clean Stream Plumbing.
Q What is it like to operate a mobile small business as opposed to a brick-and-mortar store?
From my experience, when working in a brick-and-mortar store I wasn’t able to form much of a relationship with the clients that came in and out on a daily basis. We would exchange a few words but never really got to know one another. What I have come to enjoy about operating a mobile small business are the relationships I am able to develop with my customers. We all come from different walks of life and it is nice to get a bit of a background from my customers who let me in and out of their homes.
Q Who inspires you to go to work every day?
Who—My family. They are the reason I get up and go to work with a smile on my face every day.
What—The customers. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some incredibly kind people over the years and it's always a good feeling when they are in an emergency situation and I am able to alleviate the problem.
Meet Jayme of Purrdy Paws.
Q What inspired you to work with animals?
I have been around animals since the day I was born. Growing up in a less-than-ideal environment as a child I always felt drawn and connected to the animals in my life. They got me through some of the most difficult times in my adolescence as well as into my adult years. The best form of therapy!
Not only did I know I had a way of connecting with and understanding animals from a variety of species and backgrounds, I also recognized their importance in the lives of so many people around me. Soon on I felt compelled to dedicate my life to the health and well- being of domestic animals. This landed me employment in the veterinary world before branching out with my own interests in hygienic care for pets.
Q How does Purrdy Paws contribute to the local community?
Purrdy Paws is unique in the sense of our wide variety of services and how we execute them. We are non-discriminatory in our services both with the pets and the people who love them. Our brick-and-mortar, as well as our mobile locations, ensure that no one is left without the ability to access our services. We have and continue to grow a diverse clientele that includes people (and animals) with physical, emotional and mental challenges. We are often compelled to offer our services pro-bono in select circumstances.
You will find that our brick-and-mortar location is often filled with local products from local small businesses. It is essential, especially at times like these, to be helping other local small businesses in our community sustain and continue to grow. We are so proud to be working with other small businesses in the pet industry that are like-minded in our values. Purrdy Paws also has had the pleasure of helping animals in our community with food drives and charity fundraising to help aid many of the deserving rescues and resources within our city.
We continue to support those less fortunate in our community by aiding them with care for their pets and connecting them with other valuable resources in order to ensure their pets have the best quality of life possible!
We are proud to have our home base in the Glebe where the local community is always generous and supportive in any efforts we put forward for any type of community outreach!
Meet Roberto of Roberto’s Corner.
Q Tell us about Roberto’s Corner and how it started.
After working in the food industry for over 25 years, I decided to take the plunge and start my own small family business three years ago. Inspired by my Italian mother’s recipes, Roberto’s Corner takes pride and specializes in fresh Italian sandwiches, homemade and from-scratch pastas, and pastries.
Q What is it like to operate a small business in your community?
We have a very loyal customer base in our community. Our customers appreciate our from-scratch, homemade recipes that we have become known for and we continuously welcome new customers who have heard about us through word-of-mouth.
Published by Elite Accounting Inc.
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