Small But Mighty Biz Stories

Karen Wilson welcomes Ariadni Athanassiadis, founder and lead IP attorney of Kyma Professional Corporation, to the show to talk about intellectual copyright law. Ariadni shares small business advice from a wealth of legal experience. She also explains how she views collaboration and conversation as the ideal way to conduct business, and how she guides her clients in that direction.  

Ariadni imparts education about intellectual copyright law to her clients, helping them become capable of doing the legal end themselves. She explains that the legal end is about relationship issues: disagreements about expectation, ownership, creator rights. Business is about collaboration so she urges owners and creators to open communication with each other, collaborate on the bounds of their shared vision.

In this episode, Karen and Ariadni Athanassiadis discuss creativity and creative ownership, small business relational issues, Ariadni’s The ART of Law workshops, and why mediation and facilitation have become her focus. They talk about the purpose of law and the different types of law, and where Ariadni sees intellectual property copyright heading. The information in this discussion is paramount for small business owners to consider. 

About Ariadni Athanassiadis:

Ariadni Athanassiadis is the founder, lead IP attorney, and patent agent of Kyma Professional Corporation. She applies relationship and learning centered approaches to client service and counselling to help you make decisions, be resourceful and maintain the integrity of your enterprise. 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Kahlil Gibran
• Small But Mighty Episode 21: “Tanya Parker Wallace on uncomplicating divorce and helping families in transition”
• “Chokepoint Capitalism” by Cory Doctorow and Rebecca Giblin
• “The Natural Order of Money” by Roy Sebag

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Karen Wilson | podcast host / Karen C. Wilson Consulting: website | linkedin | facebook

Ariadni Athanassiadis | Attorney / Kyma Professional Corporation: website | facebook | linkedin  

Karen Wilson invites Loreto Cheyne of Lola Designs to the show. Loreto is a graphic and brand designer by trade, but the pandemic afforded her the opportunity to pivot her business into her true passion – building connections through greeting cards. 

Through fun designs, sassy sayings, and her own unique touch, Loreto’s greeting cards have not only given her business a new sense of purpose but have brought joy into the lives of her friends, family and her growing client base.  

In this episode, Karen finds out the story behind Loreto’s business and how much personal fulfillment she gets from designing cards. Loreto shares how the art of sending a greeting card never goes out of style and reveals how the tangible gesture of cards becomes additionally meaningful in this digital age.

About Loreto Cheyne:

Loreto Cheyne is a graphic designer specializing in greeting card design which she creates through her company, Lola Design.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Lola Design Greeting Cards
• Brené Brown: “Creating Transformative Cultures”
• “Everything Is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo
• Sue B. Zimmerman
• Anna Epp Photography: 50 Over 50 Project
• “Find Your Why” by Simon Sinek

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Karen Wilson | podcast host / Karen C. Wilson Consulting: website | linkedin | facebook

Loreto Cheyne | graphic designer: website | instagram | facebook 

Karen Wilson welcomes Sonya Boersma, Founder and Principal Consultant of Lactation Care, to the podcast to address the importance of lactation and breastfeeding information and support for new parents. Sonya promotes evidence-based and compassionate care and support for parental goals. 

Sonya explains how there is a lot of evidence and statistics to support breastfeeding but that there are conflicting sources of information from friends, family, healthcare workers, and the internet alike. She is an advocate for prenatal breastfeeding information or obtaining that support directly after giving birth, but ultimately having access to the proper lactation information right from the start.  

In this episode, Karen and Sonya Boersma discuss the cost of lactation consulting versus the cost of formula, the ways in which parents can feel emotionally rejected when breastfeeding doesn’t go smoothly, the misinformation circulating from corporate pressure and within healthcare circles, and the World Health Organization’s push for their baby-friendly initiative to be widely adopted in hospitals. This is an important, informative episode for all new parents, soon-to-be parents, and families of new parents. 

About Sonya Boersma:

Sonya Boersma has an eclectic resume focused on mothers and infants. This has ranged from including direct work with parents such as teaching prenatal, providing labour support as a doula, nursing in the Yukon including labour and delivery, nursing at Ottawa Public Health, starting and coordinating a breastfeeding peer support program, opening and running a breastfeeding drop-in clinic, and lactation consulting in independent practice.

It also includes many knowledge translation activities for healthcare professionals such as research and writing, developing and facilitating professional workshops, initiating new projects, coaching health care organizations, and leading collaborative teams. She has also enjoyed many opportunities as both a conference and webinar speaker. While earning her Master of Science in Nursing she led a hand expression quality improvement project at a large multi-site teaching hospital. Sonya is honoured to have worked with so many new parents as well as healthcare professionals and continues to be fascinated by this field and finding ways she can support evidence-based care. 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Lactation Care website resources
• World Health Organization baby-friendly initiative
• World Health Organization Ten Steps

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Karen Wilson | podcast host / Karen C. Wilson Consulting: website | linkedin | facebook

Sonya Boersma, BN, MScN, RN, IBCLC | Founder & Principal Consultant of Lactation Care: website | facebook | instagram  

Karen Wilson welcomes Finance Coach Nicole Barham, creator of the life-changing 5 Minute Bookkeeper, to the show to discuss financial control. Nicole has a passion for helping business owners - especially women entrepreneurs - learn to manage their finances with ease. She explains why it’s such an important thing to manage yourself.

Nicole was once bankrupt with 6 figure debt, still working to support her family of four. With her background in accounting, it was a subject of some embarrassment for her. But she and her husband decided to turn things around with strict budgeting, and Nicole taught herself all the tracking systems she needed to stay on top of their personal finances. She poured that learning into creating 5 Minute Bookkeeper.  

In this episode, Karen and Nicole discuss what makes 5 Minute Bookkeeper so revolutionary and in demand, how personal and business finances can be easily managed with the correct tools, and the changes to Nicole’s life since 2020 when she launched 5 Minute Bookkeeper. Nicole shares her bankruptcy to entrepreneurial success story, which includes a spotlight segment on Good Morning America, and just why she gets such rave reviews from her clients.

About Nicole Barham:

Nicole Barham works with women entrepreneurs, helping them go from being stressed-out about money to financial peace of mind. She shows them how to organize and automate their finances in just a few minutes a day so never again will they say "where in the heck did all my money go?!"

Nicole ensures clients won’t have to scramble at tax time to find old receipts and download 12 months of bank and credit card statements to pull numbers together. She understands how easy it is for finances to get away from people. She had to declare bankruptcy with 6 figures in debt. If she had looked at her numbers a year or two before, she could have saved a lot of heartache and stress for herself and her family. She didn’t want to go through that again, so she learned how to create simple systems to start tracking her own finances. That work eventually led to Nicole creating 5 Minute Bookkeeper®️

Nicole has been featured in First For Women, Medium, and Essence magazines and was seen on Good Morning America sharing simple secrets to get and stay on top of finances in just a few minutes a day.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Good Morning America segment
• Rachel Rodgers
• The 5 Minute Bookkeeper demo video

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Karen Wilson | podcast host / Karen C. Wilson Consulting: website | linkedin | facebook

Nicole Barham | Finance Coach and creator of 5 Minute Bookkeeper: nicole barham website | 5 minute bookkeeper | instagram  

Karen Wilson welcomes Business Expansion Coach and Strategist Shaniece Wise to the show to talk about her company and her goals for helping women in business. Shaniece advises that everybody in business needs a business coach and after listening to her, you’ll understand why. 

Shaniece Wise shares her business experience that started, after school, with a short time in corporate before she moved to being a Mary Kay consultant. She quickly ascended the ranks in Mary Kay and became an executive director with a pink Cadillac. However, the success was not her own, so after fourteen years and a spiritual decision, she launched into business for herself. Shaniece pours all her energy into her coaching career and one of her prime goals is to help women expand their businesses. 

In this episode, Karen and Shaniece Wilson break down some of the common struggles business owners face, the things they do that are hindering their growth, the things they should do to expand, and why business coaches are a vital part of any business team. Shaniece shares insight from her years of experience and keen understanding of the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. 

About Shaniece M Wise:

Shaniece M Wise is a Certified Business Expansion Coach and Strategist that helps six-figure business owners build beyond six figures by gaining visibility, increasing profitability, and improving systems and strategies.

Through her strategic blend of coaching, consulting, and mentorship, Shaniece’s clients experience guidance, support, and accountability and are able to grow their businesses on an average between 60-200% in 12 months after joining her Coaching Programs.

She has a mission of helping business owners expand their mindset, business, and profits. She has traveled across the country for events, seminars, coaching programs, and workshops where she teaches the strategies in her Business Expansion Institute for Entrepreneurs. Shaniece was also selected by Influence Digest as one of the top 20 coaches in Columbus, Ohio!

Shaniece has had the opportunity to speak on platforms for JP Morgan & Chase as well as Essence Magazine, WELD, NAWBO Columbus, NAWBO Leadership Conference June 2019, TBN Broadcasting Network, National Black MBA, McKesson Pharmaceutical Company, Charter Communications, Columbus Urban League, The Ohio State University, and WICT "Women in Telecommunications" to name a few.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• “Activating Your Gifts: 15 Steps To Identifying Your Gifts To Prepare for Entrepreneurship” by Shaniece M Wise

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Karen Wilson | podcast host / Karen C. Wilson Consulting: website | linkedin | facebook

Shaniece M Wise | Business Expansion Coach and Strategist: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | twitter 

Karen Wilson welcomes money mindset coach, financial planner, and Founder of Unapologetic Wealth, Natalie Bullen to the show. Natalie gives honest talk about money matters, bettering your financial situation, and why wealth is not a shameful thing to desire and pursue. 

Natalie Bullen always had a head for money and finance. She got into banking in her twenties and managed her money well. But after a string of unfortunate simultaneous events - a health scare, losing a job, and a bad breakup - left her no choice but to file for bankruptcy, she realized the money rules laid out for everyone will never make people rich. The system is stacked against the middle and poor classes. So she started to really examine the system to find out how to rise above it.

In this episode, Karen and Natalie discuss the enormous snowball effect of student loan debt, the financial dangers of being middle class, and why Natalie recommends that money trauma be unpacked with a therapist before you work on your financial future plan. Natalie has a passion for letting people know how to seize wealth, especially women of colour. She shares tips and advice on how to lower your debts to get ahead year by year so your money situation is under your control.

About Natalie Bullen:

Natalie Bullen is a Money Mindset Coach and the Founder and Owner of Unapologetic Wealth. She is a former Brokerage Associate for a Fortune 100 Financial Institution and holds a BS in Business Management from Alabama A&M University. She has additionally closed over 200 inbound and 1000 outbound sales calls in corporate America.

Natalie is all in for the women who don’t want to compromise between buying nice things and making smart investments because they have the cash to do both. She’s all in for the women who want to experience wealth, not just “get rich.” And she’s all in for the women who want to do the work to battle the negative voices in their heads that tell them they can’t have a million-dollar business because they’re Black or a single parent or too uneducated or too overeducated or whatever it is that society says makes us not worthy of wealth.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Natalie Bullen on Clubhouse

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Karen Wilson | podcast host / Karen C. Wilson Consulting: website | linkedin | facebook

Natalie Bullen | Money Mindset Coach and Founder of Unapologetic Wealth: website | instagram | facebook 

Karen Wilson invites Lisa Van-Reeuwyk, a business coach who runs Bloom Business Development, to the show. Lisa is Karen’s own business coach and an entrepreneur, she understands the ups and downs of business and the power a positive mindset can have on success.

Lisa started in a very different industry and career but through several traumatic setbacks, she started herself on a different path. Now she helps small business owners, focussed very much on empowering women, and takes joy in fostering valuable connections between friends and clients. 

In this episode, Karen learns about Lisa’s passion for connecting people and how she works to set a positive tone for her day. Lisa shares secrets she has for setting genuine intentions and combating the snooze button. She also addresses the power that words have, especially the words we use towards ourselves, and how women especially need to feel more free to ask for help and task-share things not in their ‘genius zone’. It’s a powerful episode full of insight.

About Lisa Van-Reeuwyk:

Lisa Van-Reeuwyk of Bloom Business Development is a born and raised BC business coach, keynote speaker, educator, blogger, workshop leader, mom, and wife who goes to work each day feeling like a kid in a candy store. It makes her soul sing every day to live, work, and play in the coastal paradise of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Lisa’s unique blend of sweet and savoury experience with roots in broadcast television enables her to support business development in key areas while mapping out the key performance indicators (KPI’s) for success.

Entrepreneurs hire her so they can effectively make an explosive impact with their brand, build an authentic community while increasing revenues and profitability. Good people do good things with their money and our world needs more successful and influential change makers leading the way for a more inclusive and harmonious business culture.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Lisa Van-Reeuwyk: Bloom Business Design
• BloomLisa Blog
• Elizabeth Gilbert “shit sandwich” story
• “Tiny Habits” by BJ Fogg, PhD

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Karen Wilson | podcast host / Karen C. Wilson Consulting: website | linkedin | facebook

Lisa Van-Reeuwyk | Bloom Business Development: website | instagram | linkedin 

After a five-year stint as a corporate account manager in the sock industry, Marisa Sheff knew she wanted to combine her passion for socks with giving back to the less fortunate. For each pair of socks purchased through her business, Sock Footage, a donation pair is provided in hopes that the person purchasing will donate them in-person or select one of the partner organizations for the socks to be donated to. Although other brands have similar models, Marisa encourages her customers to create conversations with homeless individuals by personally donating the socks. She does so with the belief that one person does have the power to change the life of a total stranger. Marisa Sheff doesn’t just sell socks. She sells meaningful connection and conversation with a purpose - to #PayItFootward.

You can learn more about Marisa Sheff and Sock Footage here:

Website: https://www.sockfootage.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sockfootageco/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sockfootageco

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sockfootageco

Stephanie is an independent education consultant who helps both kids and parents take ownership of their education through self-directed learning so they’re engaged, happy and confident in all areas of life, not just school.

You can learn more about Stephanie Sewell here:

Website: https://www.stephaniesewell.ca/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieSewelIEducation

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniesewelleducation/

Chris Peacock is a Certified NeurOptimal® Trainer who uses Neurofeedback to help individuals reset their nervous system to help them cope with learning disabilities, anxiety, behavioural challenges, and more. This unique method of training the brain helps calm the central nervous system and helps the brain develop new neural pathways which help people feel better and prepare them for everyday situations.  

You can learn more about Chris Peacock here:

Website: https://2beinflow.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OttawaNeuro/  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/2beinflow/