Never listen to the naysayers

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_02: Hello, this is Robert Smigel with Canada's podcast where we talk to the entrepreneurs
[00:09] SPEAKER_02: who are making it happen here in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
[00:13] SPEAKER_02: Today our guest is Aaron Zidr, a good field good.
[00:18] SPEAKER_02: Ari is a fun-loving fitness instructor, nutritionist and health coach who focuses on making
[00:23] SPEAKER_02: her clients feel good and creating a health food products that are good for you and
[00:29] SPEAKER_02: taste amazing at the same time.
[00:31] SPEAKER_02: Laura, thank you for coming on Canada's podcast and representing British Columbia entrepreneurs.
[00:36] SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
[00:38] SPEAKER_01: This is such a treat and when you reached out I was just like very delighted.
[00:43] SPEAKER_01: So this is wonderful.
[00:45] SPEAKER_02: Cool.
[00:45] SPEAKER_02: Okay, tell us a little bit more about yourself and your current business.
[00:49] SPEAKER_02: I know that you're from South Africa, is that right?
[00:52] SPEAKER_01: Yes, I grew up in South Africa but I've been in Vancouver for almost 25 years now.
[00:57] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[00:58] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a little bit more than half my life.
[01:04] SPEAKER_01: I always had a passion for nutrition.
[01:07] SPEAKER_01: I always had a passion for wellness, for helping people to feel their best.
[01:12] SPEAKER_01: I had my own struggles with emotional eating so I had to find ways to overcome that.
[01:19] SPEAKER_01: And so in my early 20s I opened a corporate wellness company and became a personal trainer
[01:24] SPEAKER_01: and did my nutrition training degree.
[01:29] SPEAKER_01: And then I went on my way and for about 10 years worked with clients and then I got more
[01:35] SPEAKER_01: into the wellness space.
[01:37] SPEAKER_01: Psychological wellness space took a number of courses, energy work courses and then about
[01:42] SPEAKER_01: five years ago developed the Ecofield product line which is a healthy food line that tastes
[01:48] SPEAKER_01: delicious and is still very good for you.
[01:50] SPEAKER_01: So a lot of people when they think about health food they think about tastes not good.
[01:56] SPEAKER_01: But my mission was to create a full line of foods that were very good for you, full of
[02:03] SPEAKER_01: essential fatty acids and fiber and plant-based proteins and vitamins and minerals, superfoods
[02:10] SPEAKER_01: but it's also completely delicious.
[02:12] SPEAKER_01: So I think we've achieved that with the Ecofield brand and we're in 150 stores now and growing
[02:18] SPEAKER_01: this year.
[02:19] SPEAKER_01: So I think the goal of getting into about five to six hundred stores this year.
[02:23] SPEAKER_02: Okay, now what kind of products is it is in a powder or what is it?
[02:27] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a smoothie powder.
[02:29] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[02:30] SPEAKER_01: And you just mix it in a blender with some fruit of your choice depending on the flavor
[02:36] SPEAKER_01: and vegan milk and off you go.
[02:38] SPEAKER_01: So it has everything, you know, all like I said, the superfoods, the fiber, the essential
[02:45] SPEAKER_01: fatty acids, ham protein, but we made it taste really, really delicious.
[02:50] SPEAKER_01: So it's almost like drinking a healthy milkshake.
[02:53] SPEAKER_03: That's what we're obsessed with.
[02:54] SPEAKER_01: And I keep saying shade because yeah, because a lot of times I just have protein powders
[02:59] SPEAKER_01: in the morning you're hungry within an hour but because of all the extra added components,
[03:05] SPEAKER_01: you're satiated for four to six hours with our product.
[03:08] SPEAKER_01: And we have all these unique flavors like Pina Calada and Cogan Avonila, Cinnamon Van
[03:13] SPEAKER_01: Flavor and Sorbina Anna and, you know, so doing things a little bit different from just the regular
[03:20] SPEAKER_01: chocolate and vanilla.
[03:21] SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay, what inspired you or motivated you to become an entrepreneur to take this journey?
[03:28] SPEAKER_02: What kind of push you all in the edge to do that?
[03:30] SPEAKER_01: I think I was just kind of born that way.
[03:33] SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm very creative and I like to just visualize things and then just make them.
[03:40] SPEAKER_02: So, yeah.
[03:44] SPEAKER_02: In terms of starting a company, obviously takes money to do that.
[03:48] SPEAKER_02: Are you self-financed or do you have investors or how do you generate money?
[03:52] SPEAKER_02: Obviously you're selling the product, but do you get things going?
[03:55] SPEAKER_02: What does that look like for you?
[03:56] SPEAKER_01: I got some bank business loans to start the company.
[04:00] SPEAKER_01: There's a program out there called FuturePanero, which is in partnership with BDC.
[04:06] SPEAKER_01: So, they have a great startup with a, give you $45,000 and then there were a couple grants
[04:13] SPEAKER_01: that I got as well and I also have an investor.
[04:18] SPEAKER_01: It does take to get into this business.
[04:21] SPEAKER_01: It does take quite a lot of capital.
[04:22] SPEAKER_01: Actually, didn't know how much it would be when I started and it was probably a good thing.
[04:27] SPEAKER_01: It would have been scary, but yeah, it's about pushing through and just never giving up.
[04:35] SPEAKER_00: With over 700 episodes and 500 news articles, we are your go-to source for all things
[04:41] SPEAKER_00: entrepreneurship. Canada's podcast.com subscribe now.
[05:05] SPEAKER_02: I think there's so many things.
[05:10] SPEAKER_01: When I got into it, I really didn't know much about the industry.
[05:14] SPEAKER_01: I just had an idea and I just started and I just did it.
[05:18] SPEAKER_01: If I were to go back, I definitely would have hired a consultant or spoken to somebody in the
[05:23] SPEAKER_01: industry who knew more than I'd fit because unfortunately, I had to learn through my mistakes.
[05:29] SPEAKER_01: The biggest thing is packaging is really important and making sure that your packaging
[05:35] SPEAKER_01: is compliant and regulated because we had to change our packaging and the sizing.
[05:42] SPEAKER_01: I would hire a consultant for that because we had to change our packaging on numerous times
[05:46] SPEAKER_01: and that can get very expensive.
[05:49] SPEAKER_01: That was definitely a learning lesson for sure because I had no idea.
[05:55] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[05:57] SPEAKER_01: Right, so that was a big little bit.
[06:03] SPEAKER_01: The packaging is really, really important.
[06:07] SPEAKER_01: The poor thing.
[06:08] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[06:09] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[06:09] Speaker UNKNOWN: 
[06:10] SPEAKER_02: But I also imagine there must be a lot of products out there that aren't really healthy,
[06:14] SPEAKER_02: but say they are, is that not happening a lot?
[06:18] SPEAKER_01: I mean, it depends on what your level of health.
[06:23] SPEAKER_01: I think that's a bit of too much of a broad generalization.
[06:27] SPEAKER_01: You know, everyone's healthy is like a scale, right?
[06:31] SPEAKER_01: So, food might have something good in it, but then something not so good in it.
[06:37] SPEAKER_01: And that might be still healthy and that might be still healthier than something terrible for you.
[06:43] SPEAKER_01: Like you may have, for example, some of these sugar-free chocolate bars.
[06:47] SPEAKER_01: They'll have maybe a sweetener that's not the best for you, but it might be a little bit
[06:55] SPEAKER_01: better than a whole bunch of sugar from a Rayleigh's top of our.
[06:59] SPEAKER_01: So, depending on your health, our products are also in phytoganics and everything in there
[07:04] SPEAKER_01: is super healthy for you.
[07:06] SPEAKER_01: So, I think people that are health enthusiasts know that about our product,
[07:11] SPEAKER_01: and that's why they like it so much.
[07:14] SPEAKER_01: But it's such a wide range and scale.
[07:18] SPEAKER_02: So, okay.
[07:20] SPEAKER_02: What is the long-term vision of your company?
[07:23] SPEAKER_02: Do you see your company expanding into other areas beyond BC or even Canada?
[07:28] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we have some contracts in the works with some distributors, international distributors.
[07:36] SPEAKER_01: So, we're on our way there, we're not there yet, but we're on our way there.
[07:40] SPEAKER_01: So, it's definitely lots of work in progress.
[07:45] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so you want to go global, eventually.
[07:49] SPEAKER_01: I think for myself, no.
[07:55] SPEAKER_01: And yes, I think that once I get to a certain point, which I'm hoping to get to this year,
[08:00] SPEAKER_01: that I'm going to sell to a larger company and then let them go.
[08:04] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[08:06] SPEAKER_01: And I'll just be on an advisor.
[08:09] SPEAKER_02: Okay. Well, it sounds like you've had a lot of, you know, you've worked hard, but you've had a lot of,
[08:14] SPEAKER_02: I guess, opportunities working in starting business in British Columbia.
[08:19] SPEAKER_02: This next question is, what are the biggest benefits for being an entrepreneur in British Columbia?
[08:24] SPEAKER_02: Can you share some of the good points of things starting a company here,
[08:27] SPEAKER_02: but also give us some of the challenges you had along?
[08:32] SPEAKER_01: I would say working in British Columbia is very lovely.
[08:35] SPEAKER_01: People are very kind and people like to give you a chance.
[08:43] SPEAKER_01: Vancouver is very much a small town in a big city.
[08:49] SPEAKER_01: Everyone I find is very helpful and tries their best to see people succeed.
[08:56] SPEAKER_01: I don't feel there's a little bit of a competitive vibe, but I don't think it's nearly as much as
[09:03] SPEAKER_01: you would find in Toronto or New York or some of those bigger places.
[09:08] SPEAKER_01: I would feel like there's, I mean, business is competitive, but I feel like there's definitely
[09:13] SPEAKER_01: more of a helpful vibe and people are much more supportive. So yeah, so very grateful for working
[09:21] SPEAKER_01: here, starting here and you know, we live in a very creative town, a very health conscious town.
[09:27] SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's been a wonderful, been a wonderful opportunity.
[09:34] SPEAKER_01: Any challenges? I mean, because it is sort of a small town, big city, you're probably not
[09:39] SPEAKER_01: going to grow as fast as if you're starting in a place like Toronto, but you will get there.
[09:44] SPEAKER_01: It just is a little bit longer, a little bit of a longer process.
[09:50] SPEAKER_02: Jesus, let's talk about how you stay healthy and as much as we were obviously, we need to be on the
[09:56] SPEAKER_02: game all the time. What are your keys to being put into place to start your day, keep you motivated
[10:03] SPEAKER_01: to do things that you do? Oh, the mental health game is really important because it's definitely
[10:10] SPEAKER_01: you know, lots of ups and downs and you got to have your ego and check for sure.
[10:15] SPEAKER_01: That the spiritual game is even more important than the mental game, because you've got to have
[10:22] SPEAKER_01: a really strong faith and belief and you've got to be patient and you know, you can't let
[10:28] SPEAKER_01: rejection stop you or get you down, you know, you've got to be really committed to just powering
[10:33] SPEAKER_01: through like, just going through that brick wall. So hammering through that brick wall.
[10:41] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and if you decide you want to do something, you just have to keep going until you get there.
[10:46] SPEAKER_00: Stay ahead of the game with our expert tips and strategies that will help your business thrive
[10:50] SPEAKER_00: in a digital era. Canada's podcast.com subscribe now. Right now, how long have you been up this
[10:57] SPEAKER_01: certain app? How long have this happened? I think we saw that I saw this company about five years ago.
[11:01] SPEAKER_02: So, we're done five years ago, yeah. From concept to then, and then business plan and everything.
[11:10] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, and we've been going, you know, at a moderate pace could be going slower, you know,
[11:16] SPEAKER_01: could be going faster, I would say moderate pace, but we're definitely ready this year to leap.
[11:22] SPEAKER_02: So, if you weren't doing what you do now, what would you like to do for a connection?
[11:28] SPEAKER_03: I want to do this.
[11:34] SPEAKER_01: So, I wouldn't do anything else.
[11:36] SPEAKER_02: So, I just didn't help in the health industry, like the state.
[11:39] SPEAKER_01: In the health industry. I have plans to eventually sell a company and open a health for
[11:46] SPEAKER_01: treat, probably in the Caribbean, like helping with some treats, something like that.
[11:50] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and to help because I do coaching for people with binge eating disorder.
[11:53] SPEAKER_01: So, to have people come to the retreat and stay with me for a month or six months and to help
[11:59] SPEAKER_01: them get on track with their with their goals and their fitness. Okay, as an entrepreneur,
[12:06] SPEAKER_02: what keywords you would you use to describe yourself?
[12:14] SPEAKER_03: Tenacious. Tenacious and patient.
[12:19] SPEAKER_02: Anything keeping you up at night is not your job.
[12:23] SPEAKER_02: A lot of people are different things. Do you turn it off or do you keep doing
[12:28] SPEAKER_02: how do you handle that?
[12:30] SPEAKER_03: I think I'm good at turning it off, but it is on a lot. So, it's often a need to be.
[12:40] SPEAKER_01: And you know, it's having that spiritual game in check is what help you manage your stress.
[12:47] SPEAKER_01: And actually, speaking of that, what's really helped me a lot, what a who is helped me a lot.
[12:53] SPEAKER_01: It's listening to Joel Olstein. He's like a motivational speaker with a spiritual base.
[12:59] SPEAKER_01: And he just, yeah, he really hits those notes and says the right thing and just kind of helps me
[13:05] SPEAKER_01: to keep going and keep on target and focused. So, that's a really important part of the process.
[13:13] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, any advice on how entrepreneurs can deal with fear and doubt as you're going,
[13:19] SPEAKER_02: you've been at the store five years now and probably have a lot of challenges up and down.
[13:23] SPEAKER_02: If you're speaking to another entrepreneur and they said, you know, I'm starting this off and
[13:27] SPEAKER_02: up fears and doubts and insecurities and challenges, what would be your advice to them?
[13:34] SPEAKER_01: He's don't listen to the naysayers.
[13:37] SPEAKER_01: You just never know what's possible. Like, if something is meant to be
[13:42] SPEAKER_01: for you, if something is meant is part of your faith and part of your path, it will unfold.
[13:48] SPEAKER_01: And the universe will just unfold it for you. You just never know who you're going to meet
[13:52] SPEAKER_01: or who's going to come into your path or what opportunity is going to just land.
[13:57] SPEAKER_01: It's just going to happen. So, you just have to sit back, relax and just keep a real tunnel vision
[14:05] SPEAKER_01: about your vision and where you're going and don't stop. But it's funny enough, the people,
[14:13] SPEAKER_01: I think we have Brian Tracy. He wrote in a book and he said, the people that are going to be your
[14:19] SPEAKER_01: biggest critics or the people closest to you because they're like your spouse or your family.
[14:26] SPEAKER_01: Because they're the ones who are anxious because they don't feel in control. They're watching you
[14:31] SPEAKER_01: taking all these risks and they see it and they're not in the driver's seat. You're on the driver's seat.
[14:38] SPEAKER_01: So, you have to stay in the driver's seat the whole time and just stay on target and stay focused.
[14:46] SPEAKER_02: Now, you obviously do a future pranumer and then probably have talked to a lot of different people
[14:51] SPEAKER_02: along your entrepreneurial journey. Is there any advice that you've received from a mentor or
[14:57] SPEAKER_02: anyone that you've had worked with you or just give you advice? I've been very blessed in that
[15:06] SPEAKER_01: my investor, Andrew Resma, has 50 different businesses and many, many years of experience.
[15:13] SPEAKER_01: So, we talk a lot and he coaches me and I've had other mentors very experienced business people
[15:19] SPEAKER_01: from the US and friends and people. So, and the more people you talk to, especially people who
[15:27] SPEAKER_01: experience in business, the better. Just talk to everyone. Just talk, talk, talk, get as much
[15:33] SPEAKER_01: information as you can and then filter it out and do what's right for you but the knowledge is power.
[15:40] SPEAKER_01: And the more knowledge you have, the more people you speak to, the more ideas you're going to get
[15:45] SPEAKER_01: about financing or about how packaging or about how to deal with problems or connections of people
[15:52] SPEAKER_01: of who can introduce you to somebody, to somebody who knows somebody who will be able to help you
[15:56] SPEAKER_01: get a little bit further. So, it's, you know, yeah, there's some luck involved but it's more hard work
[16:03] SPEAKER_01: for sure. And having it be your focus, you know, then the universe will just gravitate those
[16:11] SPEAKER_00: opportunities towards you. Join our thriving community of like-minded individuals who share a
[16:17] SPEAKER_00: passion for success and innovation. Canada's podcast.com subscribe now. Okay, entrepreneurs are
[16:25] SPEAKER_02: steadfast readers as well. You put any business books or anything entrepreneurship. Yeah, every day
[16:35] SPEAKER_01: I get a newsletter from scappalism.com, Ryan Moran and he's, every day he gives like a business
[16:44] SPEAKER_01: training and teaching. It's a quick five minute read and he'll do a little video but I find
[16:48] SPEAKER_01: actually very helpful and he'll always give like, well, often give business case studies of
[16:54] SPEAKER_01: different businesses that have had certain problems and then, you know, there are solutions. And
[16:59] SPEAKER_01: I get a lot of education and and training through podcasts and I've able to foresee problems
[17:08] SPEAKER_01: that may occur by listening to podcasts and other entrepreneurs who have been on the same
[17:13] SPEAKER_01: journey and hearing about things that have gone wrong and how they fixed it and I've been able to
[17:17] SPEAKER_01: avoid a lot of things through, again, talking to people, listening to podcasts and other entrepreneurs
[17:25] SPEAKER_02: reading is really important. Yeah. Okay, so other than capitalism.com, or is there any books that you've
[17:33] SPEAKER_02: read in particular that we could pass on to the first? I think sales book Brian Tracy is an excellent
[17:41] SPEAKER_01: mentor as well. You know, we all know acne robins and the gym rowings and all of that but
[17:46] SPEAKER_01: but what's really helped me the most for my mental game has been the has been the
[17:55] SPEAKER_02: pastor. You know, motivational talks. Yeah. Okay. Good. So you obviously have this company going,
[18:07] SPEAKER_02: is this your full time gig at this point or do you have other businesses that you work with?
[18:14] SPEAKER_01: I do wellness. I do massage as well. Okay. So that's something, yeah, energy healing. That's
[18:20] SPEAKER_01: something I've done for 20 years and we'll do forever. So I'm gonna stop doing that. It's also another
[18:25] SPEAKER_02: passion. So yeah, I juggle those two things. Right. Yeah, it's good to have a lot of them. Okay.
[18:32] SPEAKER_02: So I said, well, entrepreneurs have to have lots of different businesses like that. Yeah.
[18:38] SPEAKER_02: That's a new channel in your investors, right? Andrew was at his name. Yeah. Andrew was with yes.
[18:42] SPEAKER_02: Yeah. So a lot of multiple streams of income, that's what we say. Exactly. He's got 50 of them or more.
[18:52] SPEAKER_03: So too. Absolutely. He has known show too.
[18:58] SPEAKER_02: Okay, we're gonna wrap things up. Or how can our listeners get a whole of you? Is there anything
[19:04] SPEAKER_02: you'd like to add before you leave us today? As I said before, you know, don't listen to the
[19:11] SPEAKER_01: naysayers. If you have a dream, a vision, a passion, just jump in, just go for it and just trust
[19:18] SPEAKER_01: that you will find the solutions along the way. Like you'll become the problem solver. You don't
[19:24] SPEAKER_01: have to have all the answers right away. Mistakes will happen, but you'll figure them out and just move
[19:28] SPEAKER_02: through them. Maratiously. Okay. Positive thinking. Okay. We're coming on the show. I've learned a lot
[19:35] SPEAKER_02: about you. Now I'm sure our listeners know this well.