Success Stories

Should you — and how do you — turn a hobby into a business? Those questions dogged Julia Brown when she was at university. In her freshman year, she started roasting and blending almonds into nut butter for fun. By third year, as word spread about her sweet and savoury butter, she was whipping up batches of it regularly for

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Running a business is a bit like exercising: You need to be motivated and persistent to see results. Matt Gentles knows a thing or two about motivation and persistence. As owner of Gents Fitness, a personal training service that prioritizes overall well-being over “quick fixes,” he inspires his clients to stick with, and reach, their fitness goals. It’s been a

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For Dash Bylykbashi, it’s easy to throw himself into his work. When he’s DJing a wedding, he moves and grooves right along with the guests. “I really get into it. I’m dancing the whole time,” he says. “That’s the reason people love my services.” In 2014 the Aurora entrepreneur—known as “DJ Dash”—launched his business, which provides music, lighting and MC

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After a 20-year banking career, Anu Bidani had a decision to make: She could continue in the corporate world or she could channel her passion for technology and innovation into her own business. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart,” she says, so she chose the riskier route and created STEM Minds, which provides STEM — science, technology, engineering, math — and now arts — programs for children.

When clients walk in the door of Nicole Weston’s office they are greeted by a chalkboard sign that reads “Welcome. What you focus on expands.” Weston knows all about focus. A lifestyle coach and counsellor, she’s intent on building her business, Professional Lifestyle Services, and empowering others to live their best life. Her drive to succeed led her to Starter

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When business economics grad Rachael Senjule launched Love Lakeri, a clothing accessories business, she was pretty confident she could manage the financial side of the venture. It was the marketing side she wasn’t so sure about. “A successful business owner told me that, when you’re new, 75 percent of what you do should be marketing,” says Senjule. She took that

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Certified financial planners Marlene Falcon and Thuy Lam are in the habit of providing advice and information. But as small business partners, they’re just as open to receiving guidance as they are at offering it. In 2006 their curiosity led them to the York Small Business Enterprise Centre (YSBEC). Back then, both were self-employed consultants working for a large financial

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In high school, Paul Pires drove a forklift truck part-time. By age 19, he was training co-workers on a variety of lift trucks. And now, at 40, he’s launched OHSpros, a company that specializes in province-specific online forklift training and health and safety documentation software. “I saw where safety training was heading and that was one of the main reasons

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With a degree in kinesiology and four years at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Dr. Judith McCann is proud of the education she’s earned. She just wishes she’d had more of a grounding in business while in school. “I received some business training in my final year of chiropractic college, but not much,” says McCann. Unlike a lot of new chiropractors

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Recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year and Excellence in Small Business award by the East Gwillimbury Chamber of Commerce Three years ago Greg Moulton decided to start his own business—quite literally—overnight. On a Sunday, the kinesiologist and personal trainer was told that the gym he’d been working at for eight years was closing its doors. The next morning, he picked

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