By: Karra Barron

Most entrepreneurs feel stressed out when they have to twist themselves in different directions in order to run their business. Sharan Sumal, on the other hand, thinks that getting herself into a twist is absolute bliss.

“Yoga is a way of life for me,” says Sharan. “[As a child] yoga helped me deal with my abundance of energy and bring that energy level down without tiring out the body and mind. In fact, I would often feel more focused and refreshed after meditation.”

After working for seven years in the Mental Health and Addictions field, Sharan found herself wanting to change gears but still stay close to the health and healing part of her career. With a baby on the way, she found that opening her own business would give her the freedom to do what she loves and be a full-time mom. Sharan is now the owner of Yoga on the Flow, a mobile yoga studio that specializes in Yoga Therapy.

A practitioner of yoga for over 17 years, Sharan only discovered this unique form of yoga a few years ago at her old job. She would bring her clients to Yoga Therapy classes and began to notice not only physical changes in them, but that they were dealing with their emotions in a more positive way thanks to this therapy. She explains:

“In Therapeutic Yoga, practices are adapted to suit each individual’s specific needs. Poses are modified to each individual’s body and we do this by using props such as blocks, bolsters, straps and chairs. Modifications help to maximize the therapeutic benefits of the pose while significantly reducing the risk of injury.”

Sharan knows that Yoga Therapy is a flourishing industry and hopes to open a studio in a permanent location one day while hiring more Therapeutic Yoga teachers who’ve graduated from Yoga Therapy International. For now, she’s happy to keep her business mobile, coming to her clients whenever they need her or inviting them to one of her two Downtown spaces- one of them being The Network Hub.

“Through [my] business, I get to help people learn how to do the very thing I have enjoyed doing for much of my life.  How many people can say that?  Being able to share a part of my life with others is a real blessing,” adds Sharan.
For anyone looking to relieve stress at the end of the day, Sharan shares her favourite restorative pose.

“I most often call it a ‘transitional’ pose, it helps me to transition from work to home life.  We all need to reset and recharge for home life – try it out! Namaste.”

Wall Hang

 Cues

• At a wall, sit with your left or right side of the body to the wall
• Swing your legs up to the wall and rest your back on your mat – arms are at your sides with the palms facing up
• If your hamstrings are tight, move your buttocks away from the wall until you no longer feel them (your legs should not distract you in this pose)
• Place a blanket over yourself if you are cold
• Use an eye bag (or place a folded face cloth over your eyes) to facilitate relaxation
• Breathe softly, quietly and gently
• Stay in the pose anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes
• When coming out of the pose, first bring your knees to your chest and hug them for a few breaths, then roll over to your side and come up safely

Benefits

• Rests the heart
• Rests tired legs and prevents varicose veins
• Soothes the sympathetic nervous system
• Relieves palpitations, breathlessness, asthma, bronchitis and throat ailments
• Reduces indigestion and nausea

5 years ago, Gordon Skillen started the Institute of Professional Bookkeeping of Canada and grew it into the largest bookkeeping association in Canada. Despite 30 years of industry experience, Gordon was a victim of fraud

It’s the same story you’ve probably heard a number of times. A “professional” who looked and sounded normal, and even had references stating how fantastic he was. Instead of doing his Due Diligence, Gordon believed the information that had been shared with him. Information that, at face value, showed the professional to be nothing less than a saint among men. Glowing references, a professional designation, and membership in respectable and well known organizations.

Unfortunately, this is what snakes in suits look like. They do their best to blend in, trying to look exactly the same as every other professional. It’s not until you look a bit deeper do you learn that the story they’re telling isn’t quite true. The glowing testimonials were fabricated by their friends. The professional association has never heard of them. And the criminal record they neglected to mention is proof that they’ve suckered someone else before. Yet there they were, offering their services to the next victim, and this time it was Gordon Skillen. He fell for it and it nearly ruined his life.

To ensure he would never have to feel the embarrassment and shame of being a victim, Gordon sought a third party verification system to investigate future business relationships. He was looking for an easy to understand verification system to identify people and businesses; a verified level of trust and transparency. He couldn’t find it, so he created iHonest.com, allowing professionals to prove their honesty and demonstrate a commitment to transparency.

“…there were 90,932 actual incidents of fraud in Canada in 2008.”
- Statistics on Fraud in Canada - Parliament of Canada

“According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 95 per cent of people who are scammed never report it.”
- Canadian fraud cases rose in 2010 - CBC News

“…the poll of 802 firms estimated employees cheated their employers out of a collective $3.2-billion in 2010, the study’s author reckons the true figure is much larger.”
- Canadian small businesses lost $3.2-billion to workplace fraud last year, study finds - Financial Post

“More than half of the businesses in Canada…had been the victim of fraud in the past year.” “…a quarter of the businesses said their losses exceeded $500,000 and a significant portion of those crimes were committed by someone working for the company.”
- Helping prevent businesses from falling victim to fraud - The Guardian

“In 2010 there were 126,655 calls made to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center.”
- Annual Statistical Report 2010 - Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Criminal Intelligence Analytical Unit

For more on iHonest check out their website http://www.ihonest.com/ 

Latest Reach Magazine produced feature for Vancouver View Magazine. Feature on  Nanon de Gaspe Beaubien-Mattrick was written by Karra Barron and pictures were taken by Cindy Wu.  Check it out in the latest issue of Vancouver View Magazine.

By: Karra Barron

It’s no secret that real estate in Vancouver is soaring to increasingly unattainable heights, but what many consumers might not realize is that most housing prices are inflated for your realtor’s benefit. This is to ensure that he or she receives a substantial commission from the deal- regardless of how much or how little work they may have put into selling or buying your home.

“The reality is that many real estate agents are overpaid,” says Barry Allen, co-founder of real estate startup, Click Realty. “94% of consumers start their real estate search online. They are information hungry and in fact, they do most of the legwork required in figuring out which home they want to buy or how they’re going to go about selling their homes. By the time a real estate agent gets involved, the consumer has done most of their job and yet, they’re the ones that reap the financial benefits.”

It’s for this reason that Barry, along with co-founders Fiona and Victor Therrien, started Click Realty. They call it a digital real estate company because it provides consumers with the online tools and information they need to sell or buy their home themselves, such as access to live updates on the Multiple Listings System. This ability comes from recent changes to the Canada Competition Act, which gives Canadians the ability to choose and pay for the services they want from a real estate agent, thus saving them more money.

To access these exclusive tools, consumers simply sign up on Click Realty’s website and create an account. “When we were selling our home a few years ago, we were frustrated with the lack of transparency in the real estate system,” explains Fiona. “With Click Realty, consumers can access the same tools realtors use, which leads to quicker and more efficient sales. We then give them back half the commission fee on the sale or purchase of their home.”

This commission is transferred to Click Realty users in the form of a rebate for 50% of the fee that would normally go into a realtors’ pocket. Their specialized technology eliminates the need for massive advertising and promotional expenses associated with a traditional company, thus allowing them to pass on the savings to their clients.

“We know that consumers are smart and we want to empower them throughout the real estate process. Whatever they need from us, whether it’s just access to information or the full spectrum of real estate services, we’re here to help them and share all the benefits of working together,” adds Victor.

Click Realty plans to continue growing and sharing their unique business model with the rest of Canada. They also hope to continue growing their affiliate partnerships to include everything from financing to moving services.

“The bottom line is that you need to be armed with the best information to make a good decision. The more educated the consumer is, the better the whole [real estate] system will be for everyone,” says Fiona.

By: Karra Barron

ReachMag.ca is excited to bring you Cybele Negris’ answers to our 6 Question Series. Cybele is the President and Co-founder of Webnames.ca. You can learn more about Cybele in our “REACH for Success” section of this month’s  Vancouver View Magazine. Check out her answers to our 6 Questions below:

1. What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?

I believe that business is about building relationships. So I think the best advice I can think of is essentially from the book Dale Carnegie wrote, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.

The key point I remembered most and one that my father had also taught me (he took the Dale Carnegie course decades before I did) was to “give the other person a fine reputation to live up to”. The idea is that by giving the person a good vs. bad reputation to live up to, they will achieve that reputation. If you cast doubt on what that person can do and are constantly discouraging or negative towards them, that’s what that person will be. If you are positive and encouraging and trust that the person can achieve something, then they will. This has direct application from a leadership perspective when interacting with and driving your team but can also be applied to any area of your life including raising your children.

2. What 3 things are in your business toolbox that you can’t live without?

Blackberry – I get a lot of emails every day, typically 100 to sometimes 200 per day. If I didn’t have a Blackberry, keeping up would be pretty tough.

.TEL – I use my Cybele.tel as my virtual business card. It is much easier to give that out to people, have them easily remember it than giving out a paper card that someone will end up tossing in the garbage later anyway. The benefits of using Cybele.tel is that I store all my social media links (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) as well as a map of my office, various contact information, blogs, websites, my involvement with various boards that I serve on and even a page with all my favorite quotes!

Social Media – I’ve been using LinkedIn and Twitter for many years as a business tool to connect and engage with people whether it be clients, suppliers, and others in the community. I’ve been a more recent adopter of Facebook. I don’t post anything personal on any of my social media networks and use them specifically as a business tool. I find these to be extremely great ways to get our message out beyond the traditional methods of push marketing. Social media also allows me to connect with clients and others on an individual level and engage in meaningful conversation that builds relationships beyond just trying to sell a product or service.

3. What is the most rewarding experience you’ve had since starting your business?

There were so many over the years it’s hard to pick a single one.

The startup stage was a lot of fun when we grew really quickly to 30 people in 4 months and had people working shifts pretty much 24 hours a day and sleeping in sleeping bags at the office. Those were great memories that I will never forget. These days, it’s hearing from customers who write me or tell me at different events that I attend how they love our customer service. We have such a phenomenal team and I’m so proud of each and every one of them!

We also had a great 10 year celebration of our business last year with hundreds of people in attendance from past employees, clients, suppliers and partners who travelled from across the country to join the festivities. It felt so great to see all the people who helped over the years and contributed to our success. To be able to celebrate with all of them was extremely rewarding.

Also our participation in the Canary Derby, an annual event where the technology community in Vancouver and Victoria join forces to build and race soapbox cars to raise money for early cancer detection research. HYPERLINK “http://Webnames.ca/”Webnames.ca was named top fundraiser for 3 years in a row by the Canary Foundation of Canada. Being able to give back and make a positive difference in the community and potentially save lives…well it just doesn’t get better than that.

4. If your business had a theme song, what would it be?

“Everything I do I do it for you” by Bryan Adams (kind of speaks to Webnames.ca’s dedication to customer service and aligns with our #1 Core Value to “Amaze Every Customer with Exceptional Service”. Plus it’s Canadian which is such a key part of who we are.)

Or another good one “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive!

5. Where is your favourite place to hang out in Vancouver?

I don’t actually have a lot of time to hang out between Webnames.ca, the various boards I serve on, chairing an annual charity event and especially family.

I do love the Greater Vancouver zoo, Aquarium and Science World though. The Urban Safari Rescue Society is pretty cool too although it is a bit of a trek out to Surrey towards the US Border. The place is small but they have all sorts of lizards, snakes, turtles and insects for kids to check out and you can even touch some of them during the personal guided tour.

6. What is your favourite non-business blog or online resource that you love to read for fun?

Yikes, I don’t really have one that’s non-business related. That’s bad right? Truthfully, I don’t have much time to read for purposes other than business related. I spend enough time at the computer already so for fun, I’d rather get out with the family to do stuff.

We are excited to announce that the Buzz Entrepreneur Event – Fall Edition – will be hosted on Thursday September 15th 2011, at the Joseph Richards Lounge. As always, Reach Magazine and Vancity Buzz have come together to promote and support the entrepreneur community here in Vancouver. For this 2011 fall edition, our 3 main speakers are:

Jill Earthy – CEO of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), a non-profit organization educating, mentoring and energizing female entrepreneurs with growing businesses.

Chris Breikss – CEO and Founder of 6S Marketing

and

Raul Pacheco-Vega – PhD professor at the University of British Columbia and Founder of Hummingbird604.com.

To find out more about The Buzz Entrepreneur Event, and to get your tickets, check out our new thebuzzevent.com website.

As most of you know, The Buzz Entrepreneur Event is known to host young and upcoming entrepreneurs Vancouver has to offer. This event will showcase and host new start ups and award winning entrepreneurs from different industries; and we are excited to continue to host this event in Vancouver.

Don’t forget – Doors Open at 6pm and make sure you click here to buy your tickets.

Sponsors are still needed for this awesome event. If you are interested in sponsoring this event, email us at info@thebuzzevent.com

Check out the video below to find out what happened at our last buzz event.

The Buzz Event – June 2011 from Yellow Hat Media Inc. on Vimeo.

By: Karra Barron

Many people are afraid of going to the dentist…including Dr. Sam Daher, owner of Fresh Smile Orthodontics. Sound a bit strange?

“It’s not really dentists that terrify me, it’s the sound of the dental drill,” explains Dr. Daher. “That’s part of the reason I went into orthodontics- we don’t use any drills or needles here.”

An orthodontist is a dentist that specializes in straightening teeth using braces, retainers or, in the case of Dr. Daher’s practice, Invisalign braces. Dr. Daher is considered to be one of the top Invisalign specialists in North America.

“I chose to specialize in Invisalign because I liked the technology and its tremendous potential,” Dr. Daher says.

Invisalign’s are a series of clear, removable plastic aligners that are custom-made for your teeth. Because of the added responsibility of remembering to put on the Invisalign’s, Dr. Daher says that his patients are about fourteen years old and up. “If you’re old enough to remember to take your vitamins, then you can probably get the Invisalign,” he jokes.

One of the best parts of his job is getting to meet new people. “With dentists, you see the same people every time,” he explains. “As an orthodontist, you get to see your clients grow and leave with a newfound confidence to smile. It’s interesting getting to listen to their stories and be a part of their lives during this time.”

Dr. Daher’s practice has grown to two locations now and he sees himself only continuing to improve his practice with the advent of each new dental technology. When he does hit retirement age, he hopes to become a full-time teacher at a dental college. He currently lectures on behalf of Invisalign and believes it’s one of the most tiring and rewarding experiences he’s ever had.

When it comes to running your own practice, he offers one piece of advice for not only aspiring orthodontists but entrepreneurs as well:

“You can never compromise on quality. You can sugarcoat anything, but unless the quality is good, the business will not last.”

By Sandra Garcia

1986: Colin McKay, Rob “Sluggo” Boyce, and Moses Itkonen meet at Kevin Harris’ Skate Ranch in Richmond, BC.

2011: Centre Distribution is a multi-million dollar international distribution company; RDS is one of the most well respected brands in the skateboard industry.

Friends McKay, Sluggo, and Itkonen formed the underground skate crew The Red Dragons (RDS), spray-painting on walls in downtown Vancouver. It wasn’t long before they started rolling with skateboarding pros, earning $60-100K annually, skipping high school classes to travel and represent brands like DC. Sluggo discovered the Chinese Mahjong symbol for Dragon after reading Red Dragon, and RDS made it their own. The crew soon envisioned running an enterprise.

When they approached a major brand about creating a distribution company, they were told to start a store and see if it could stay in business for half a year. With credit cards, $40,000, and no formal business education, they financed their first shop in 1996, RDS Skate Supply, in North Vancouver. “We were promoting Red Dragons as a crew for about eight years. If there’s a secret to our success, that’s it right there,” says Itkonen, now General Manager of Centre Distribution and RDS.

In 1997, McKay and Sluggo started Centre Distribution, named after the Asian meaning of the RDS logo. Out of a small warehouse, they distributed their favourite brands, including the Red Dragon Apparel line of shirts that Itkonen got off of the ground a year later. McKay’s father joined the company as a partner.  Centre moved into the international distribution arena, demanding advance deposits for big RDS orders from as far as Japan. Videos, block parties, and the 20,000 square foot RDS Indoor Skatepark followed in 2003, which closed three years later.

RDS Designer Dave Boyce was also an original RDS member and became a full-time employee in 2003 because of his apparel experience.  He constantly researches trend styles and colours, and travels to Los Angeles and New York annually.  “I’ve had to learn to remove my ego from my designs,” he says. “Design for your market, not yourself.”

The company finds ways to market to the 900,000 skateboarders in Canada alone. When someone is sponsored by RDS, it comes with prestige.  Just ask spokespeople Jason Ellis, model/actress Marie Agveropoulos, Donald Schultz, and Rick Yemm, along with the loyal followers who’ve gotten the RDS logo tattooed on themselves (see Red Dragon Apparel website for photos).

Centre, the only large skateboard company in Canada, has 300 retail accounts across the country. Brands under their roster include Plan B Skateboards (owned by Colin McKay), Fallen Footwear, Independent Truck Company, Santa Cruz Skateboards and Snowboards, Flip Skateboards, Ricta Wheels, Rogue Status, DTA, Diamond Supply Co., Markisa Co., 9five Eyewear, and Skateboarding is not a Crime. “We make sure the deals are good for all parties involved to ensure mutual, long term profitability,” Itkonen says, in the words of a seasoned entrepreneur.

With its staff of 25, Centre moved from North Vancouver to a 10,000 square-foot East Vancouver facility, where warehousing expenses are more reasonable.  The RDS Skate & Snow Supply flagship store is still in North Vancouver. The company grows each year by leveraging new technologies, working smarter than its competition, and never becoming complacent. Looking into the future, Centre plans to grow the brands it represents in Canada, fine tune its licensing programs, and move RDS into the USA, where giants Billabong, Nike, Burton, and Monster are now moving into the skateboarding world. All while staying proudly Canadian.

Today, the RDS crew can use two letters to define their success and where they’re going – UP.

www.reddragonapparel.com

By: Karra Barron

When you blast a CD by an indie band in your car or a go to a live music show at The Roxy, you probably never stop to think about what the band has done behind the scenes to make it all happen. If you’re a band trying to make it big in Vancouver, the answer is probably everything.

“Having a business and running a band is exactly the same thing,” says Corey Allan Hawkins, lead singer of Vancouver-based rock band, Azimyth. “The difference between hobby musicians and a professional band is that we treat it just like a real business. You have to spend money to make money, pay attention to your promotion and sales, and even license your band. Not a lot of people are willing to do all that.”

And this entrepreneurial spirit is paying off for Hawkins and his bandmates- brothers Rory (bass) and Arlen Chudley (drums) and Andy Laissue (lead guitar):

Azimyth just released their self-titled debut album in June 2011.

The album- engineered and mixed by Steve Albini (Nirvana’s In Utero) and mastered by Tom Baker (Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral)- preserves the band’s rock ‘n’ roll roots and touches on issues such as war, domestic violence, and sexuality, without passing judgment. When asked how the band got to work with such big name producers, Hawkins replies, “I really just sent an e-mail asking if he (Albini) was available to do our album.”

Azimyth was also recently voted “Fan Favourite” in the 2011 Fox Seeds Competition. When asked if social media (the band is very active on Twitter and Facebook) plays a huge part in their promotions, Hawkins says, “Yes, but it’s not as important as everyone thinks. What’s more important now than ever is to sit down with someone and have a one-on-one connection. That’s what social media is to us. We don’t have fans- we have friends.”

Azimyth will be playing at The Roxy on Tuesday, July 19^th at 7pm and tickets are available through Facebook. Their debut album is available on iTunes and Azimyth.ca.

We recently sat down with Devon Brooks and chatted about her success, current projects and future endeavors.

Reach – The Details…

Devon started a blow dry bar business with the perfectly suited name ‘Blo’ several years back and experienced a lot of success. She is now involved with some different projects, while venturing into new networks and industries. We wanted to know what her secrets are behind becoming such a successful entrepreneur at such a young age.

Devon was recently named as one of “Top 13 up-and-coming Canadians you need to know” by Flare magazine. It seemed fitting to ask her how she felt about such an accomplishment?

Devon expressed how proud she is of accomplishing such a status and was quick to mention that everyone has “different measurements of success”. For her, the coolest part of being named as top Canadians to look out for was the simple fact that “it feels good and tingly inside to be acknowledged for hard work and perseverance”. She stated that it’s an “honor and responsibility” to have people seek you out for “advise, guidance and your unique vision”.  “When you’re in a place in your life were what you say starts to have merit in the eyes of others you need to learn to be clearer, more confident and more articulate in your delivery”. She noted the importance of perspective and understanding that no one person’s advise should be considered “be all, end all.”  We create our opinions based on our own unique experiences, and while I think it’s important to share knowledge, it’s equally important to encourage clarity – things aren’t always as they seem. In other words, the grass is not greener. There is a whole story to how I got where I got in life, and it’s not what you think.

Everybody likes recognition in different ways but for Devon – a culture-pusher and vibe-curator. She said that although her ego appreciates recognition, and that it’s nice to leave a trail of “press-hits behind you”, the most important thing to her is how she leaves people feeling.

Reach – The Beginning…

Devon went to the London College of Fashion and got her BA with Honours in Communications and Public Relations, with a focus in Business. She defined her educational experience as extremely valuable. The school’s system worked for her because she was being taught by people who were actually in the industry, in one example, she had a project which had to be pitched to and basically graded by Proctor and Gamble at the end of the semester. This was a perfect fit for Devon and really transpired into her professional development. In her 2^nd year of studies, Devon wrote up the business plan for Blo. That summer, Devon and her mother Judy (a well established business woman in Vancouver), realized that there was a vast potential market for a blow-dry bar. They realized that “important and successful women kept showing up to events with terrible hair” Devon said “everything was pointing the need for a more convenient, quality and more affordable blow-dry service.” Because the salon market and business model didn’t cater to “busy women that needed fast cat-walk quality hair on the go” At that time, the price points were unreasonable for a simple styling session, with the average salon blow dry costing roughly sixty-five dollars. They set on to address this market with a service which was convenient, affordable, hip and fresh, while setting a throwback to the 40’s/50‘s when women used to get their hair done every day. The concept was simple, and Devon believes entrepreneurs “need to take the grade school approach – simplicity is the key to success” and that “the best ideas can be explained in 30 seconds or less”.

‘Blo’ currently has 18 locations in North America and operates as a franchise model. “The business is all about the experience, team culture and branding, so it was crucial that we had people involved in growing the concept that had some skin in the game. Franchising seemed to be the best way to ensure that location operators had the sense that culture needed to be cultivated on a minute to minute basis,” Devon states. She believes that having “liability is pertinent to a having a sense of duty”.

It doesn’t seem to do Devon justice to say she is ‘passionate’ about the concept of branding and culture. It’s clear she believes both are of undeniable importance in the development of a successful business. In her business, it proved to be even more important since they only provide one service, which is to wash and style hair. No haircuts or dye jobs, nothing extra, therefore, the experience and branding is crucial for such an uncomplicated business model. Although Devon would say “we knew that we didn’t just sell a blow dry service, we sold confidence and that’s what got people through our doors, while the culture and simplicity of the model sold the franchises”.  Devon is clear on her belief that consumers will continue to yearn for experiential interactions with the brands the love, and that branding 4.0 is a “full-body experience that activates all the senses”,

Reach – Current Projects…

Devon is involved with a couple of different projects at this point. She recently completed working with FWE – Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, an organization focused on providing the necessary tools and knowledge for business women as a form of support and guidance. Devon is very adamant about the importance of this organization within the local business community and believes that every woman should surround themselves with “a group of successful and strong women that will challenge you”. She believes people learn best through stories and that it is particularly helpful to women to be able to have healthy, supportive friendships with other female professionals who will be honest about their trials and errors. She herself went to FWE events when starting out and recalls on the experience as being insightful and having a major impact on her career because she was taken seriously by woman who were sometimes 30-40 years her senior and FWE put her on the map in the local business community when she first started attending their events at about 20 years old. She spent time with them in 2010 helping them navigate their growth potential, consider their community and brand as well as lend some creativity to the development of the programs and systems

In January 2011 Devon was asked to join MetroLyrics.com, the world’s largest music lyrics website. She joined as Director of Communications and Value to build out the company’s first ever communications department and curate the team accordingly. She manages the marketing aspects, social streams and is currently working with development to create turnkey contest solutions and a totally new community-space on the site.  Her role asks that she work directly with record labels, publishers, managers, publicists, artists and industry-influencers to coordinate content partnerships and often identify potential business-development opportunities. She seems to gain an understanding of her audiences quickly, case in point, Devon coordinated a contest with Universal Music Group Canada and they were quoted saying that it was the most engaged social campaign they had ever ran.

Dev, as she likes to be called, says her current project with MetroLyrics means that she gets to engage most of her communications strategies but that the best part for her is relationship building. “The ability to build meaningful relationships with industry taste-makers and seek out partnership opportunities where MetroLyrics can spread its creative wings is very fulfilling”.

When asked about what it’s like working for another company after having worked for herself Devon said “Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, nobody is born an entrepreneur and it’s not genetic. Being an  entrepreneur is about calculated risk-taking and the ability to see beyond the horizon – it’s having the dexterity to make tough calls and the diligence to execute numerous tasks regardless of your fears. The truth is, even before becoming a business owner, I haven’t ever felt like I’m not working for myself”.

Devon is always pushing onwards and upwards. She is an active mentor and advisor to students and start-ups – look out for the ‘Juice Truck’ one of her mentees through CYBF (Canadian Youth Business Foundation).  Devon notes she is particularly excited about the launch of the ‘Juice Truck’ (which comes to downtown Vancouver on four wheels this summer) because the founders Zach Berman and Ryan Slater have known her since high school and sought her out for mentorship after following her career.  “I take mentorship very seriously as far as it playing a supportive role in the launch and maintenance of a business, as I mentor it’s important to have a system, ask the right questions, share contacts and provide emotional support to the operators who often need the most guidance. The foundation of mentorship is trust and I hope Zach and Ryan would agree that I have added value to the launch phase through guidance and those little nuggets of knowledge that can only be learnt through some success and some great mistakes. The best mentors will actively spill their worst and most hysterical failures”.

Devon says she is “married to the ‘climb’” in other words she digs the process, the creation and she loves building teams because of the energy it evokes. She would say, “Behind every great product or service there is a greater team”.  It appears that there will be more projects to come from Devon, as she put it she is “in the process of curating her next adventure”.

Reach – Being Fearless…

Throughout my interview with Devon, several points that she made stuck out in my mind because of how insightful they were, and yet they weren’t the ordinary remarks that one might expect to hear from successful professionals.

Devon mentioned that during her studies, the one thing that made her stick out from everyone else and resulted in her success was the fact that she was self-assured.

“It’s wasn’t new for me really, even as a two year old I would just march up to a woman and let her know she had great shoes. So when I was a young adult trying to make my way it wasn’t different. It’s sort of like dating; the confidence comes from having clarity about what you have to offer. It’s about being clear on what you bring to the table. You’ve got to trust what you have to contribute, and that will get you next to the people or the opportunity you want to get to know. If you struggle with confidence you’ve got to give yourself positive affirmation, no one else is going to believe you unless you believe in yourself first.”

The most interesting point that Devon made came about when I asked her how she handles stress and juggling different projects all at once. I stated that many people claim that it is the passion that they have for what they do that helps them deal with stress, and they love waking up every morning because they get to do what they love. Devon’s blunt response was extremely refreshing:

“I think it is complete bull when people say they love waking up every morning because they get to do what they love. Not a soul can ever feel like a million bucks every single day of their lives. There are just too many variables in life.  It’s like the ‘don’t sell your soul to the devil working for the corporate giant’ attitude. Some people aren’t wired to handle the liability that operating your own business requires. Some people don’t manage others well. Some people are better leaders then followers and vice versa. It’s unfair to promote that every day you wake up thrilled and loving what you do. It’s much braver, and frankly more honest, to say ‘most of the time I get up and love what I do and then there are the days that I don’t and those days feel like shit’. My advice is to keep momentum and execute relentlessly. The only time you need to do a game change is when you are the person saying ‘most days I wake up feeling like shit and then there are the days where I love what I do’.  The cold hard truth is being fucking-unbelievable at what you do and loving it everyday is hard work but it allows you to check in with yourself and see what your values are. Don’t jump ship because you have a bad day, or even a few.  The tough moments are the gems that give you perspective, and perspective is the best gift.”

Devon’s Contact Info

Contact Dev:
Mentor.Speaker.Biz-Advisor.
Twitter: @devsdevelopment <http://www.twitter.com/devsdevelopment>
LinkedIn — devonbrooks <http://ca.linkedin.com/in/devonbrooks>
Director of Communications and Value MetroLyrics.com <http://www.metrolyrics.com/?preview=dev_sig>
Co-Founder of Blo Blow Dry Bar / www.blomedry.com <http://www.blomedry.com>
Thought Pilot at BravoLimaOscar / www.bravolimaoscar.com <http://www.bravolimaoscar.com>

***Devon was just shortlisted for Chatelaine Magazine’s Women Of The Year Awards (Vote for her daily as of July 7th): http://site.chatelaine.com/womenoftheyear/default.aspx