Sanjana Kapur Bansal

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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Toronto's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:05] SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, I'm Celine Williams, an international speaker and business strategist and I'd like
[00:10] SPEAKER_01: to welcome you to Toronto's podcast.
[00:13] SPEAKER_01: We are part of the Canada's podcast network, your source for great insights for entrepreneurs
[00:17] SPEAKER_01: from across Canada.
[00:19] SPEAKER_02: Today I'm with Sanjana who's the founder and president of Dream Energy Solutions.
[00:24] SPEAKER_02: She was born in India, molded in America and made it in Canada.
[00:29] SPEAKER_02: Thank you for joining me.
[00:31] SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
[00:32] SPEAKER_00: This is my very first podcast and I'm so excited.
[00:36] SPEAKER_02: I'm really excited to have you here.
[00:38] SPEAKER_02: I love the Made of the Canada part of your introduction.
[00:41] SPEAKER_02: So I am going to start by just asking if you can tell our listeners a little bit about
[00:46] SPEAKER_02: yourself, what you do, what you're up to in the world.
[00:49] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
[00:50] SPEAKER_00: Yes, I came up with that line.
[00:53] SPEAKER_00: It was almost like a tagline and I've used it as a nice breaker for the longest time
[00:58] SPEAKER_00: now.
[00:59] SPEAKER_00: So born in New Delhi, India and did my high school there and when I was 18, got a scholarship
[01:07] SPEAKER_00: to play in the United States and I was like, okay, I don't know anybody in the US.
[01:13] SPEAKER_00: Parents knew nobody, no family, no friends, no acquaintances and they decided to send their
[01:19] SPEAKER_00: daughter to the US.
[01:21] SPEAKER_00: Brief parents.
[01:22] SPEAKER_00: So I stayed there for, after I finished my bachelor's, did my master's MBA and then started
[01:29] SPEAKER_00: working there, have seven plus years of experience working in the US and finally decided to move
[01:35] SPEAKER_00: to Canada to start my own business.
[01:38] SPEAKER_00: So that's why I made it in Canada because this is home now.
[01:41] SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
[01:42] SPEAKER_02: So can I ask where you lived, where you went to school in the US?
[01:44] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
[01:45] SPEAKER_00: I went to Texas and then I was in Texas for eight years.
[01:51] SPEAKER_00: Stephen, if Austin is where I did my bachelor's in university of Texas is where I did my MBA.
[01:56] SPEAKER_00: And then finally, I was in Boston before moving to Canada.
[02:00] SPEAKER_02: I feel like Texas is probably as different from India as a first experience in the state.
[02:07] SPEAKER_02: I'm just going to say that that's very true.
[02:10] SPEAKER_00: I think the only thing that was very similar was the weather.
[02:15] SPEAKER_00: I was used to warm weather and other than that, everything was different.
[02:21] SPEAKER_00: For an 18-year-old, right after high school, it was a different ballgame.
[02:26] SPEAKER_00: It was a culture shock, it's too real, too real.
[02:31] SPEAKER_00: I think that's why it's molded me.
[02:34] SPEAKER_00: It's strengthened the rebel in me and the feminists in me.
[02:39] SPEAKER_00: So I think it strengthened all of that and then finally I made it to your in Canada.
[02:44] SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
[02:45] SPEAKER_02: So I'm going to ask the next obvious question, which is,
[02:48] SPEAKER_02: tell me a little bit about what it is that you do and what dream energy solutions is.
[02:53] SPEAKER_02: And a great company name, by the way.
[02:54] SPEAKER_00: Thank you. Thank you.
[02:56] SPEAKER_00: The company name actually has a fun story to it.
[03:00] SPEAKER_00: So dream, it is definitely a dream to be an entrepreneur.
[03:04] SPEAKER_00: It was a dream since I was 11, didn't to do, but I knew that end of the day,
[03:10] SPEAKER_00: I don't want to work for somebody.
[03:13] SPEAKER_00: And it was an 11-year-old dream of my age, your brother then.
[03:19] SPEAKER_00: And saying, you know what, I'm going to do this.
[03:21] SPEAKER_00: I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm going to do it.
[03:23] SPEAKER_00: And right now, I'm going to have dream energy solutions and we are licensed energy brokers in Canada.
[03:29] SPEAKER_00: Nothing to do with Ray Key.
[03:32] SPEAKER_00: But I can't do nothing with Ray Key, but this I procure power in gas contracts
[03:38] SPEAKER_00: for medium to large size businesses and industries.
[03:41] SPEAKER_00: And I was doing this in the US for the longest time.
[03:44] SPEAKER_00: That's where I built the base and I was managing multi-million dollar clients.
[03:51] SPEAKER_00: And finally decided, you know what?
[03:53] SPEAKER_00: I think I know how to do this.
[03:55] SPEAKER_00: Maybe 11, I own.
[03:56] SPEAKER_00: So this is where I got the, this is where the passion was,
[04:00] SPEAKER_00: the passion was from the 11-year-old, but based on my experience in Texas,
[04:05] SPEAKER_00: doing energy consulting for it.
[04:07] SPEAKER_00: And I decided, let's do this on my own.
[04:11] SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
[04:12] SPEAKER_02: So tell me a little bit about how long you've been in business and, you know,
[04:16] SPEAKER_02: what you love about working for yourself and maybe what some of the challenges have been in running your own business.
[04:21] SPEAKER_00: Fantastic.
[04:22] SPEAKER_00: Love this question.
[04:23] SPEAKER_00: So as an energy consultant, I've been in the industry for seven, eight years now.
[04:30] SPEAKER_00: And most of my experience has been in the US.
[04:33] SPEAKER_00: And the reason we decided to move and it was literally a very funny incidents when my husband's like,
[04:40] SPEAKER_00: I know she wants to do this on her own, but now she's, you know,
[04:44] SPEAKER_00: had a job.
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: He went in the US living life.
[04:48] SPEAKER_00: And thanks to the husband and all the, he just brought it back and said,
[04:53] SPEAKER_00: you know what, you need to do this on your own.
[04:55] SPEAKER_00: Forget job, you know, I'm going to be here to support you.
[04:58] SPEAKER_00: Just do this.
[04:58] SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh God, okay, fine, I'll do it.
[05:02] SPEAKER_00: It's been a crazy, crazy, crazy ride.
[05:04] SPEAKER_00: And after we moved to Canada in two years now.
[05:08] SPEAKER_00: And after all the licensing and all that good stuff,
[05:11] SPEAKER_00: dream energy went live January 1st, 2019.
[05:16] SPEAKER_00: So we're pretty new to Canada doing business in Canada.
[05:20] SPEAKER_00: And I love every moment of it.
[05:22] SPEAKER_00: But of course, there are some, there's always problems that I think entrepreneurship is a very lonely road.
[05:32] SPEAKER_00: And I realized that right off the bat,
[05:34] SPEAKER_00: I think it was a way different ball game for me,
[05:38] SPEAKER_00: given I was working for somebody all my life, right?
[05:41] SPEAKER_00: Almost like seven some years working for somebody.
[05:44] SPEAKER_00: You don't have to scout business.
[05:47] SPEAKER_00: And imagine moving to a completely different kind,
[05:50] SPEAKER_00: not knowing anybody personally, forget business connections.
[05:53] SPEAKER_00: So I knew right off the bat that I needed to have a tribe.
[05:57] SPEAKER_00: I needed to have somebody, you know, your support system, not just
[06:03] SPEAKER_00: years, but somebody who you can go to for advice,
[06:07] SPEAKER_00: somebody who can lead you in the right direction, make introductions.
[06:10] SPEAKER_00: And I think I found my tribe, I can definitely call somebody my tribe,
[06:15] SPEAKER_00: but it was hard work.
[06:16] SPEAKER_00: It was hard work and still there are times when it's a very lonely road, right?
[06:21] SPEAKER_00: You're an entrepreneur, you know, the charade of,
[06:24] SPEAKER_00: hey, everything's going fantastic in my world.
[06:27] SPEAKER_00: And I'm the kind of person, if there's something in my heart,
[06:30] SPEAKER_00: it's literally on my face.
[06:32] SPEAKER_00: So I think that was a challenge for me and that still continues to be a challenge.
[06:37] SPEAKER_00: But I'm loving every part of it.
[06:40] SPEAKER_00: There's flexibility.
[06:41] SPEAKER_00: There's even though I'm working like almost 15 hour days,
[06:45] SPEAKER_00: it's crazy, but it's because I love it.
[06:47] SPEAKER_00: I probably won't give in 15 hour days to a job I don't like, right?
[06:51] SPEAKER_00: But then this is something I love.
[06:53] SPEAKER_00: This is not a job.
[06:54] SPEAKER_00: This is something I want to create of my own.
[06:56] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the whole point of being an entrepreneur.
[06:59] SPEAKER_00: But you need that tribe.
[07:01] SPEAKER_00: You need that support system.
[07:04] SPEAKER_00: I literally am knee deep and muddy in this now.
[07:07] SPEAKER_00: And there's no going back.
[07:08] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'm here I am.
[07:11] SPEAKER_02: So I love that you said that, you know, that there's challenges inside of this
[07:16] SPEAKER_02: because there's lots of challenges inside of the world of entrepreneurship.
[07:21] SPEAKER_02: And I think the fact that you are open about them and that you do,
[07:25] SPEAKER_02: you know, like you said, it shows on your face is really important
[07:29] SPEAKER_02: because we tend to in society in North America, at least,
[07:33] SPEAKER_02: we tend to sort of glamourize the idea of being an entrepreneur, right?
[07:38] SPEAKER_02: Like that's the ultimate goal.
[07:40] SPEAKER_02: That's the thing you should be doing.
[07:41] SPEAKER_02: And you don't, corporate is just like the thing that is traditionally done,
[07:45] SPEAKER_02: but there's glamour in being an entrepreneur.
[07:48] SPEAKER_02: There's rits.
[07:48] SPEAKER_02: You're going to create a startup and get billions of dollars of funding
[07:51] SPEAKER_02: and be that unicorn.
[07:53] SPEAKER_02: And we really ignore and don't talk about the challenges
[07:58] Speaker UNKNOWN: of being an entrepreneur.
[07:59] SPEAKER_02: I agree.
[08:00] SPEAKER_00: That's very true.
[08:01] SPEAKER_00: And I think just like anything else in this world, being an entrepreneur
[08:05] SPEAKER_00: is a challenge in itself.
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: And yes, the world has glamourized it.
[08:10] SPEAKER_00: But I think there's no glamour.
[08:12] SPEAKER_00: They don't see the back end of things.
[08:15] SPEAKER_00: They don't see the 15, 16 hour days.
[08:18] SPEAKER_00: They don't see the misdeals.
[08:20] SPEAKER_00: They don't see the cash flow that does not happen for the longest time.
[08:25] SPEAKER_00: They don't see the 20 meetings that you take to get that one deal.
[08:30] SPEAKER_00: They don't see that.
[08:31] SPEAKER_00: In the end, what they see may be, hey, after five years,
[08:34] SPEAKER_00: look how awesome she's doing.
[08:36] SPEAKER_00: They don't see the closed door tears.
[08:38] SPEAKER_00: They just don't.
[08:39] SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of that.
[08:41] SPEAKER_00: And I'm okay with that.
[08:42] SPEAKER_00: I think it's a to win some, you got to lose some.
[08:45] SPEAKER_00: And I've been an athlete all my life.
[08:47] SPEAKER_00: And I think how my parents have taught me, they've taught me so much.
[08:52] SPEAKER_00: But I think they've taught me that nothing comes easy.
[08:56] SPEAKER_00: It's going to be hard.
[08:57] SPEAKER_00: If you're working for somebody, it's going to be hard.
[09:00] SPEAKER_00: If you're working for yourself, it's going to be hard.
[09:02] SPEAKER_00: There's pluses and negatives to everything.
[09:05] SPEAKER_00: And this is a decision you make.
[09:06] SPEAKER_00: And I made this decision to be an entrepreneur.
[09:08] SPEAKER_00: I'm going to just run with it.
[09:11] SPEAKER_02: So I love you, Broward, that what your parents say.
[09:13] SPEAKER_02: So I'm going to ask the question that comes to my mind when you say that
[09:17] SPEAKER_02: is what have been, whether it's your parents or someone else,
[09:20] SPEAKER_02: but what have been the most important lessons that you've applied to this journey as an entrepreneur?
[09:27] SPEAKER_00: Oh, there is.
[09:28] SPEAKER_00: This is a very good question.
[09:30] SPEAKER_00: And I need to literally deep dive into not just a few years back,
[09:36] SPEAKER_00: but I think this story needs to go out because I think my mom,
[09:42] SPEAKER_00: oh my goodness, she has been one of the,
[09:46] SPEAKER_00: she quit her job to raise me.
[09:51] SPEAKER_00: And when I was four, she put me into classical dancing.
[09:56] SPEAKER_00: I literally, as a four-year-old, I performed, I did a solo performance in front of 200 different people.
[10:03] SPEAKER_00: Why? Because she thought that my daughter needs to be a little different.
[10:08] SPEAKER_00: And growing up in a society where girls are, you know,
[10:12] SPEAKER_00: it's like a male dominant society.
[10:14] SPEAKER_00: I growing up, I never felt that my brother was different.
[10:19] SPEAKER_00: And if you ask my brother, he'll say, hey, it was always all about Santana.
[10:24] SPEAKER_00: But after that, she put me into swimming.
[10:26] SPEAKER_00: I'm a state-level swimmer.
[10:28] SPEAKER_00: Then she put me into roller skating.
[10:30] SPEAKER_00: I'm a national roller skater.
[10:32] SPEAKER_00: She put me into tennis.
[10:33] SPEAKER_00: I've represented my country.
[10:35] SPEAKER_00: So all of that, I think it's her.
[10:37] SPEAKER_00: She put me in a spot where I was confident that, okay, fine.
[10:43] SPEAKER_00: If I can quit my job, that's paying me regular for something that's paying me $0 now.
[10:49] SPEAKER_00: I think I was confident enough to do that because of her.
[10:53] SPEAKER_00: And my dad, the constant support, he was quiet.
[10:56] SPEAKER_00: He was quiet through it all, but all the support came from him, right?
[10:59] SPEAKER_00: So I have seen all that.
[11:01] SPEAKER_00: And that, I think, kind of gave me the confidence to be in an industry that's completely male dominant.
[11:08] SPEAKER_00: I still get questions, you know, first few questions around what I'm going to say.
[11:13] SPEAKER_00: And I'm talking to the prospects or the suppliers.
[11:17] SPEAKER_00: Hey, is your husband a part of this?
[11:20] SPEAKER_00: As if that's going to lead to some kind of a credibility for my business.
[11:24] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I love that man to that.
[11:26] SPEAKER_00: He's done so much.
[11:27] SPEAKER_00: He's a constant support.
[11:29] SPEAKER_00: But hey, he's got his thing.
[11:30] SPEAKER_00: I got mine.
[11:33] SPEAKER_00: And dream energy is completely my baby.
[11:35] SPEAKER_00: But you know, in this, in this completely, I do, I think it's a male dominant in society.
[11:40] SPEAKER_00: And it's a male dominant industry specific.
[11:44] SPEAKER_00: But I'm okay there.
[11:45] SPEAKER_00: I'm okay in that space.
[11:46] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's very important.
[11:48] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's all because of what I've gone through.
[11:52] SPEAKER_00: And you know, the support system that I have in place, I think that is so, so, so important.
[11:58] SPEAKER_00: And more than anything, I'm in this industry to kind of take away the stigma.
[12:02] SPEAKER_00: Take away the stigma from talking about energy.
[12:05] SPEAKER_00: People don't talk about their energy.
[12:07] SPEAKER_00: Like 10 years from now, you know, 10 years before what happened in the market.
[12:12] SPEAKER_00: People are like, it's a scam.
[12:14] SPEAKER_00: I'm like, it's a scam until you are educated around it until you empower yourself to make the right decisions.
[12:22] SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's going to be a scam until forever.
[12:24] SPEAKER_00: But you've got to educate yourself around it.
[12:26] SPEAKER_00: And that's why I think more than anything, I want to empower businesses.
[12:32] SPEAKER_00: Guys, this is an option.
[12:33] SPEAKER_00: You all need options.
[12:34] SPEAKER_00: You need to know your options personally, professionally, or just about in any, any walk of life.
[12:41] SPEAKER_00: And that's what I'm doing here with the energy.
[12:44] SPEAKER_02: So there's two things.
[12:45] SPEAKER_02: The first thing I want to say is it sounds like your mom by, by also, I love that you were a roller skating champion.
[12:53] SPEAKER_02: I didn't know that that makes me super happy.
[12:56] SPEAKER_00: Imagine there's no snow or ice in India.
[12:58] SPEAKER_00: So it has to be roller skating.
[12:59] SPEAKER_02: But it sounds like your mom by constantly challenging you with different things and suggesting these things that were maybe out of the norm or a little bit more unique meant that you were comfortable stepping into places that were more unique as a result.
[13:17] SPEAKER_00: That's very true.
[13:18] SPEAKER_00: I haven't thought of it as a unique perspective or, you know, hey, in a unique, different world.
[13:23] SPEAKER_00: But yes, she did challenge me to be myself.
[13:27] SPEAKER_00: She challenged me to behave.
[13:29] SPEAKER_00: You can exceed in whatever else you want.
[13:32] SPEAKER_00: It's hard work.
[13:33] SPEAKER_00: There is no substitute for hard work.
[13:35] SPEAKER_00: I think that's what she taught me.
[13:37] SPEAKER_00: And the second thing she taught me, it's not just, hey, if a guy can be good in that field, you can do it too.
[13:44] SPEAKER_00: Look, you've done it.
[13:45] SPEAKER_00: You, you know, I pushed you in a direction.
[13:47] SPEAKER_00: So I think it was important for her because coming from a society in India where it's all about the boy child, the girls are ignored, right?
[13:57] SPEAKER_00: And I think my mom, I think she knew it in the back of her head that I'm not going to raise my daughter like that.
[14:04] SPEAKER_00: And I think all because of that, I'm actually ready for challenges.
[14:09] SPEAKER_00: I'm ready to step into whatever shoes this entrepreneurship is.
[14:14] SPEAKER_00: And just ready to take it as another challenge in life.
[14:17] SPEAKER_00: And I actually love this challenge, which is a good thing, right?
[14:20] SPEAKER_00: I love being an entrepreneur.
[14:21] SPEAKER_00: I love all the pluses and minuses that come with it.
[14:25] SPEAKER_00: And I think I'm ready for it.
[14:27] SPEAKER_00: So we'll see how it goes.
[14:29] SPEAKER_02: It's obvious that this has shaped you and formed you and really, you know, it's part of the drive and the desire that that has helped you to create dream energy solutions.
[14:39] SPEAKER_02: So I love that.
[14:41] SPEAKER_02: You said something around the idea that, you know, there's choices inside of energy and that that if you're educated and you know what they are, you can make better decisions and doesn't it's not a scam.
[14:51] SPEAKER_02: And I want to know, I don't know a ton of energy.
[14:54] SPEAKER_02: So I want to understand a little bit about what you mean by that.
[14:57] SPEAKER_02: I think it's really interesting to our listeners who, you know, may not be aware of this industry or may not be aware of what you're talking about there.
[15:06] SPEAKER_00: That's a very good question.
[15:08] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's one of the biggest reasons I decided to start shop here instead of the US.
[15:15] SPEAKER_00: The American market when it comes to energy is quite saturated and mature.
[15:20] SPEAKER_00: It's a lot more mature than one of the provinces in Canada are not even deregulated.
[15:25] SPEAKER_00: And when I talk about deregulation, that does not mean that the government is saying, hey, we've got all these pipelines.
[15:30] SPEAKER_00: We've got all these come here and replicate it.
[15:33] SPEAKER_00: No, when they're opening up their markets, that means the supply portion on their bill on any of the businesses bill.
[15:39] SPEAKER_00: There are two portions delivery and supply delivery is the transmission lines that the utilities responsible for.
[15:46] SPEAKER_00: But on the supply portion, you can actually forward hedge and negotiate a price.
[15:52] SPEAKER_00: So people don't see electricity and gas as a commodity, which it truly is.
[15:57] SPEAKER_00: It is a commodity that's traded on the open market.
[16:00] SPEAKER_00: It is a commodity that people buy and sell.
[16:03] SPEAKER_00: They buy box when market is down when rates are down and they sell when rates are high.
[16:09] SPEAKER_00: This is something that's been happening forever.
[16:12] SPEAKER_00: But because it's not something you can't touch or you can feel or you have it in a bank account, it's not sitting there.
[16:17] SPEAKER_00: So you don't really, you can't wrap your head around that.
[16:21] SPEAKER_00: It's not that easy to wrap your head around it.
[16:23] SPEAKER_00: But it is traded on the open market.
[16:25] SPEAKER_00: And when the government says, go for deregulation.
[16:28] SPEAKER_00: Hey, competition, come on in.
[16:30] SPEAKER_00: That means a lot of suppliers.
[16:32] SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of suppliers who can who are hedging in advance for you.
[16:37] SPEAKER_00: And you can participate in forward hedging for your business.
[16:41] SPEAKER_00: So you can be, you know, it's for gas contracts, the projected savings, some of the projected savings for the businesses of mine.
[16:49] SPEAKER_00: Have been somewhere in the 20 to 40% range.
[16:51] SPEAKER_00: So that's that's the kind of difference you're kind of seeing.
[16:55] SPEAKER_00: And there's so much out there.
[16:57] SPEAKER_00: There's demand generation for bigger manufacturing guys or for they can get off the grid for certain time frames when it actually makes sense for the business.
[17:07] SPEAKER_00: And they can literally get away from the government.
[17:09] SPEAKER_00: They can manage their demand.
[17:11] SPEAKER_00: So all of these different things.
[17:12] SPEAKER_00: I think all the because I was in a mature market, I worked my way to managing these businesses.
[17:19] SPEAKER_00: That's that that was a big reason.
[17:21] SPEAKER_00: And here I have like three or four competitors in the province.
[17:24] SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to thrive on the fact that I have the experience.
[17:30] SPEAKER_00: And but I have no experience being an entrepreneur.
[17:33] SPEAKER_00: But can and I can go together in this in this arena, right?
[17:39] SPEAKER_00: They they don't have.
[17:40] SPEAKER_00: It's not well, some of them do have the education around it.
[17:43] SPEAKER_00: And that's why they don't consider it a scam.
[17:45] SPEAKER_00: They're all for forward hedging.
[17:47] SPEAKER_00: But but I think it's very important to educate businesses around it.
[17:52] SPEAKER_00: I think in the US it was 10 minutes over the phone and I've deal has done here.
[17:56] SPEAKER_00: It's 10 meetings and then they're finally getting to it, which is totally okay.
[18:00] SPEAKER_00: I'm you know, I offer complimentary energy consultation.
[18:02] SPEAKER_00: We we do a lot about let me talk to you about it.
[18:06] SPEAKER_00: I'm not just coming in and saying just sign this contract.
[18:08] SPEAKER_00: We're done.
[18:09] SPEAKER_00: No, let me tell you where the energy market was.
[18:12] SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you what's happening in the energy industry now.
[18:15] SPEAKER_00: Let me look at your business.
[18:16] SPEAKER_00: Let me do an audit.
[18:17] SPEAKER_00: Let me do a complimentary audit and see when are some of the good spots in your energy usage where we can hedge.
[18:24] SPEAKER_00: We don't have to hedge 100%.
[18:26] SPEAKER_00: Let me see if we can do something percentage wise for hedging.
[18:30] SPEAKER_00: So all these different things.
[18:32] SPEAKER_00: If you educate yourself around it, businesses still have an option.
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: They don't have to go with it.
[18:37] SPEAKER_00: But you should know back of your mind where your hard and dollars are going.
[18:41] SPEAKER_00: Are you paying ridiculous extra amounts for your electricity and gas just because you think it's a scam.
[18:49] SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's not a scam when you educate yourself around it.
[18:52] SPEAKER_00: And that's the whole thing.
[18:53] SPEAKER_00: I think there's a stigma.
[18:55] SPEAKER_00: And this year we're launching Hashtag Talk Energy Initiative because it is so important to talk about it.
[19:02] SPEAKER_00: There have been some businesses who are like, Sanjana, 10 years back, this happened.
[19:06] SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about it.
[19:07] SPEAKER_00: I don't want to deal with it.
[19:08] SPEAKER_00: I'm okay.
[19:08] SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you're okay paying 20 or 20 to 40% higher just because you don't want to talk about it.
[19:15] SPEAKER_00: You do understand as a business or that doesn't make sense to me.
[19:18] SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I'll talk to you for 10 meetings.
[19:21] SPEAKER_00: There have been clients.
[19:22] SPEAKER_00: We've been going back and forth for 65, 66 emails because they want everything in writing.
[19:28] SPEAKER_00: Right?
[19:29] SPEAKER_00: That's okay.
[19:30] SPEAKER_00: Trust.
[19:31] SPEAKER_00: It takes a while to trust things.
[19:32] SPEAKER_00: But being licensed by the Ontario Energy Board, that means that I work within this parameter that the government has set.
[19:42] SPEAKER_00: And if I do something wrong, my license is a stake.
[19:45] SPEAKER_00: I have probably fines in the millions of dollars that I don't have.
[19:50] SPEAKER_00: So, why would I do something wrong?
[19:52] SPEAKER_00: I think it's all about education.
[19:55] SPEAKER_02: It's really interesting because I think that that's true for entrepreneurs in a lot of areas.
[20:00] SPEAKER_02: Right?
[20:00] SPEAKER_02: Not just energy, but that idea of educating yourself at least enough to be able to have a conversation.
[20:06] SPEAKER_02: I talk about this a lot with people, which is a lot of there are times where entrepreneurs, especially, but they're not the only ones that do this.
[20:15] SPEAKER_02: But we're there.
[20:15] SPEAKER_02: We're you're running a small medium business and you just want to, okay, I don't want to do this.
[20:21] SPEAKER_02: I don't want to think about this.
[20:22] SPEAKER_02: I'm just going to hire someone to do it without knowing enough to know if it's right.
[20:27] SPEAKER_02: If it's best, if there's another way to do it, nothing.
[20:31] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[20:32] SPEAKER_02: And so, I think in general, the idea of educating ourselves enough to have that intelligent conversation, to make a good decision is key.
[20:42] SPEAKER_02: And it sounds like that's something that you're passionate about in this way.
[20:46] SPEAKER_02: But I would guess in your own business.
[20:48] SPEAKER_02: And this is kind of where I'm going.
[20:50] SPEAKER_00: I agree.
[20:51] SPEAKER_00: I agree.
[20:51] SPEAKER_00: And I think education just in general is so important for me because I support a lot of NGOs, you know,
[20:57] SPEAKER_00: that support women education back in India.
[21:00] SPEAKER_00: Because I think education is so important.
[21:03] SPEAKER_00: There are so many problems that can be just solved if you're educated around it.
[21:08] SPEAKER_00: I'm just I'm not even talking like just be educated around what what the political scenario around you is or X, Y, Z, right?
[21:15] SPEAKER_00: Just about anything.
[21:17] SPEAKER_00: And and my businesses like businesses don't pay me to do this.
[21:21] SPEAKER_00: So when they sign it just like another insurance broker, I get paid by whoever gets my clients business.
[21:27] SPEAKER_00: They're all the eight nine different suppliers whoever gets the business pays me a commission.
[21:32] SPEAKER_00: So end of the day, I don't care if ABC or Z get the business.
[21:37] SPEAKER_00: My agenda is to educate businesses, give them an option, tell them what the options are and let them make a decision.
[21:45] SPEAKER_00: I'm going to facilitate not just getting the lowest price for you.
[21:49] SPEAKER_00: I'm also going to facilitate.
[21:51] SPEAKER_00: Negotiate contract terms.
[21:52] SPEAKER_00: Some of my clients hate the auto renewal clause.
[21:55] SPEAKER_00: Two business names clause gone and repensined.
[21:58] SPEAKER_00: So that's the whole thing because I've seen probably 100 200 different contracts being in a mature market in the US.
[22:05] SPEAKER_00: So I can use that use my experience and you know, as an entrepreneur and grow here.
[22:10] SPEAKER_00: That's that's the whole point around education.
[22:12] SPEAKER_00: I think everything in life just boils down to education.
[22:16] SPEAKER_00: And I'm a firm firm believer in education, you know, not just business wise, but in general.
[22:21] SPEAKER_00: I think it can solve so many of our roles problems.
[22:25] SPEAKER_02: Information and education, right?
[22:27] SPEAKER_02: Be informed and be and have enough education to understand it.
[22:30] SPEAKER_02: You don't have to be the expert in it.
[22:31] SPEAKER_02: It's not about that, but have enough information and be educated enough to understand what's happening.
[22:37] SPEAKER_02: Yes.
[22:38] SPEAKER_02: So true.
[22:39] SPEAKER_02: So I would like to know what has been your biggest lesson as an entrepreneur.
[22:46] SPEAKER_02: If you were to share with someone else, if you were to say, OK, you're stepping into being an entrepreneur,
[22:51] SPEAKER_02: you're looking to grow your business or whatever that.
[22:53] SPEAKER_02: What is the lesson that you want to share with someone else?
[22:57] SPEAKER_00: I think the first thing that actually my husband talked me, oh God, he's going to hear this and be like, I'm so awesome.
[23:04] SPEAKER_00: But the first thing I think he taught me was, son, do not believe in your passion.
[23:10] SPEAKER_00: You are passionate about this.
[23:11] SPEAKER_00: And if somebody who ever is listening here is in a complacent zone right now, has a good job.
[23:17] SPEAKER_00: Hey, I want to be an entrepreneur.
[23:20] SPEAKER_00: I'm really passionate about something, but I have a set job.
[23:24] SPEAKER_00: I'm set in my ways.
[23:25] SPEAKER_00: Everything's fine.
[23:26] SPEAKER_00: Life is going.
[23:28] SPEAKER_00: I tell them, believe in yourself.
[23:32] SPEAKER_00: Believe in your passion and just jump.
[23:34] SPEAKER_00: Just jump.
[23:34] SPEAKER_00: Need deep and muddy.
[23:36] SPEAKER_00: And once you're there, there's no substitute for hardware.
[23:39] SPEAKER_00: You're going to have to work.
[23:40] SPEAKER_00: You will have to work really hard to actually make it possible.
[23:46] SPEAKER_00: Make your passion a success.
[23:48] SPEAKER_00: I think I've learned that there's a huge difference between being passionate about something and being successful at your passion.
[23:56] SPEAKER_00: So I think that's one thing that I've learned.
[23:58] SPEAKER_00: And this is, but first thing, jump in, you know, literally get into the pit, get into the dirty business of being an entrepreneur,
[24:06] SPEAKER_00: or pulling your passion.
[24:07] SPEAKER_00: And that's something that I think my husband pushed me into.
[24:10] SPEAKER_00: He's like, follow your passion.
[24:12] SPEAKER_00: And he continuously, even to date, there are days.
[24:14] SPEAKER_00: My life is as an entrepreneur is like this.
[24:17] SPEAKER_00: Every day, you know, I'm one day.
[24:20] SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, I'm so awesome.
[24:21] SPEAKER_00: Look how awesome I'm doing.
[24:23] SPEAKER_00: Ten minutes after I'm probably calling him and saying, this sucks.
[24:26] SPEAKER_00: I should just go back.
[24:27] SPEAKER_00: Why did we move from the US?
[24:28] SPEAKER_00: You know, all of that stuff.
[24:30] SPEAKER_00: It's going to happen.
[24:30] SPEAKER_00: But I'm going to tell them, hang in there.
[24:33] SPEAKER_00: And as I mentioned prior, the second thing I want to tell them is, it is so important to have a support system.
[24:40] SPEAKER_00: You will need a support system.
[24:43] SPEAKER_00: I mean, they'll have friends.
[24:44] SPEAKER_00: They'll have people who are supporting them.
[24:47] SPEAKER_00: But I think business support system.
[24:49] SPEAKER_00: Somebody who's going to tell you, hey, I've been there, done that.
[24:54] SPEAKER_00: This is what you can try.
[24:56] SPEAKER_00: Business people, people who have done something.
[24:59] SPEAKER_00: You're in a position, maybe they were there 20 years back.
[25:02] SPEAKER_00: Maybe they were there five years back.
[25:03] SPEAKER_00: Maybe they did this yesterday, right?
[25:06] SPEAKER_00: So I think that support system is very important.
[25:09] SPEAKER_00: So finding the people, finding the right mix of business people who've probably been in your spot.
[25:14] SPEAKER_00: And I think other than that, just work hard.
[25:18] SPEAKER_00: Keep your head down and just be true to yourself.
[25:21] SPEAKER_00: Do it.
[25:22] SPEAKER_02: So I'm going to ask the question, which is what is your business support system look like?
[25:27] SPEAKER_00: Ooh, that's a very, very good question.
[25:31] SPEAKER_00: I have a lot of referral marketing folks who are in this business.
[25:35] SPEAKER_00: Because for me, as I said, there were no personal connections.
[25:39] SPEAKER_00: They forget commercial or business connections.
[25:42] SPEAKER_00: So there are people who know people who are making this introduction.
[25:45] SPEAKER_00: Who are they?
[25:46] SPEAKER_00: Oh, just talk to Sanjana.
[25:47] SPEAKER_00: Maybe she has something to say that you don't know about.
[25:50] SPEAKER_00: Again, educated.
[25:51] SPEAKER_00: They're all there saying is talk to her.
[25:53] SPEAKER_00: Have this education moment around it, right?
[25:56] SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of referral networking that I'm a part of.
[26:00] SPEAKER_00: I go to, I literally call myself a serial networker.
[26:04] SPEAKER_00: I go to so many networking events.
[26:06] SPEAKER_00: I think when I started my business, I would meet at least 50 to 100 people a week.
[26:14] SPEAKER_00: I would literally, I would go and just show up and meet so many different people.
[26:20] SPEAKER_00: My LinkedIn network for anybody who's listening, I'll just tell you that it is possible
[26:25] SPEAKER_00: to come to a complete new country and become an entrepreneur.
[26:31] SPEAKER_00: My LinkedIn connections were somewhere 300 and all from the US.
[26:36] SPEAKER_00: I had never said foot in Canada.
[26:37] SPEAKER_00: And now I'm an entrepreneur suddenly.
[26:40] SPEAKER_00: And now from being an entrepreneur, I think one year and a couple of months,
[26:46] SPEAKER_00: my LinkedIn network has grown to about 760 or something close to that.
[26:52] SPEAKER_00: And my business followers, LinkedIn followers, forgery, energy are 250 plus.
[26:59] SPEAKER_00: So I think network network network.
[27:02] SPEAKER_00: I think it should not be taken lightly.
[27:05] SPEAKER_00: And there are a lot of referral networking groups and for anybody listening.
[27:09] SPEAKER_00: If they need any help with that, I would love to help because just let me know.
[27:16] SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, you can, Celine, you can share my email with them with anybody who's listening.
[27:21] SPEAKER_00: And if you want to know how to grow your network, I can help.
[27:27] SPEAKER_00: But because this is all that I think entrepreneurs helping each other,
[27:30] SPEAKER_00: we should all do this for one another.
[27:32] SPEAKER_00: And I would be very happy to help.
[27:34] SPEAKER_02: That's a super generous offer.
[27:36] SPEAKER_02: And we will in the show notes, we will include your business website,
[27:39] SPEAKER_02: which is dreamenergysolutions.ca.
[27:42] SPEAKER_02: And we'll put a link to your LinkedIn page as well.
[27:45] SPEAKER_02: So if anyone is listening or watching, if they're watching on YouTube,
[27:49] SPEAKER_02: they can, they will be able to connect with you in the show notes of this episode.
[27:54] SPEAKER_02: And I'm going to wrap this up with a question that I always like to ask,
[28:01] SPEAKER_02: because I'm a book nerd.
[28:02] SPEAKER_02: And that is, are there any books that you are reading that you would like to share with our listeners
[28:08] SPEAKER_02: as any type of book that you, you know, have found inspiring or helpful?
[28:14] SPEAKER_02: Or you just really thought the writing was amazing?
[28:17] SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love it.
[28:18] SPEAKER_00: I love this question.
[28:19] SPEAKER_00: I'm a book nerd myself.
[28:21] SPEAKER_00: I looked at the background and I'm like, oh, my God, I love it.
[28:24] SPEAKER_00: And it's funny because even as a kid, I would have, you know, those little books.
[28:29] SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love the library.
[28:31] SPEAKER_00: I love it.
[28:32] SPEAKER_00: And personally, I'm a Jane Austen fan myself.
[28:36] SPEAKER_00: But a staple, a staple that I found for myself, I'm actually rereading it,
[28:42] SPEAKER_00: is how to win friends and influence people.
[28:44] SPEAKER_00: That thing, I mean, that, Bill Carnegie, that is, it's like that black dress in your closet
[28:52] SPEAKER_00: that never goes out of style.
[28:54] SPEAKER_00: That's something I literally two days back, I told my husband,
[28:57] SPEAKER_00: now you have time in your hands, maybe you should read it.
[29:00] SPEAKER_00: I just feel the world has evolved, but the human nature has not.
[29:07] SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, that book just connects you with people on a human level.
[29:13] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's so important.
[29:15] SPEAKER_00: And for, I reread that book so many times, I think it's just going to fall apart one day.
[29:21] SPEAKER_00: But that's one book that I would definitely, definitely recommend.
[29:25] SPEAKER_00: And I'm actually rereading it again.
[29:28] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's, that's one thing that's a staple for me.
[29:31] SPEAKER_02: I think it's a great suggestion and a good reminder,
[29:33] SPEAKER_02: because oftentimes we get focused on what the next book is or what the newest thing is.
[29:37] SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of a classic that is a great reminder for our listeners and our viewers.
[29:41] SPEAKER_02: So thank you, Sandra, for joining me today.
[29:45] SPEAKER_02: It's been wonderful chatting with you.
[29:46] SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate it this.
[29:48] SPEAKER_02: And I hope to see you again soon.
[29:51] SPEAKER_00: Fantastic.
[29:52] SPEAKER_00: And when all of this corona madness stops, maybe we all can have coffee, virtual coffee.
[29:58] SPEAKER_02: I love it.
[29:59] SPEAKER_02: I'm really impressed with this.
[30:01] SPEAKER_01: Thanks everyone for taking the time today to listen to Toronto's podcast on the Canada Podcast Network.
[30:07] SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed the podcast today, please make sure to write us a review on iTunes
[30:10] SPEAKER_01: and share this episode with a friend.
[30:12] SPEAKER_01: You can also check us out online at canvasspodcast.com
[30:16] SPEAKER_01: where you can listen, discover, and engage, and learn more about what other off-conners are doing across the country.
[30:22] SPEAKER_01: See you next time.