A mission of helping women solopreneurs

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's Entrepreneur, where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen
[00:05] SPEAKER_00: across Canada and deliver the news, trends, knowledge and opinions from entrepreneurs and business
[00:13] SPEAKER_00: influences across the country. Hello, I'm Mario Tonoguzi, Managing Editor of Canada's Entrepreneur,
[00:22] SPEAKER_01: joining me today on Calgary's podcast here is Vera Elnitsky, who is a coach, I guess,
[00:31] SPEAKER_01: we'll talk a little bit about that, in Calgary, with create your best chapter. Thanks for joining
[00:37] SPEAKER_02: us today, Vera. Well, thank you so much for having me, Mario. I'm super excited to chat with you
[00:41] SPEAKER_01: today. Well, let me just ask, I guess, tell me what you do. Well, tell me what I do. Oh my gosh,
[00:46] SPEAKER_02: that's such a big question, isn't it? At the base of it, I work with women solo
[00:52] SPEAKER_02: printers, so women business owners, and I help them increase their impact and increase their income
[00:58] SPEAKER_02: with confidence. So that's kind of at the base of what I do, but essentially I coach them,
[01:04] SPEAKER_02: I also do some strategic work with them, and I really help them grow their business as a solo
[01:11] SPEAKER_01: printer. Now, how would you describe what a solo printer is? Yeah. So basically it's a person
[01:17] SPEAKER_02: who has their own business, and they are the face of their business, so they're their brand,
[01:23] SPEAKER_02: they provide the service, so more often than not, I'm working with people who have a service-based
[01:28] SPEAKER_02: business, so they're providing some sort of service to people. They have one or two people
[01:34] SPEAKER_02: working for them, more often than not, they're doing everything on their own, maybe with a
[01:38] SPEAKER_02: contractor consultant or some sort of outside help on a part-time basis, but for the most part,
[01:44] SPEAKER_02: they're their their their business, they're doing things on their own. Okay, now, you know,
[01:50] SPEAKER_01: when you're looking at this kind of area of entrepreneurship, what would you say the trends are
[01:58] SPEAKER_01: these days in that, is it a growing area, first of all? Well, I think so. I mean, what I'm seeing a lot
[02:05] SPEAKER_02: of is way more women starting their businesses, so kind of like me, I decided to leave my corporate
[02:09] SPEAKER_02: work, you know, a number of years ago, for a wide variety of reasons. So people leave their jobs
[02:15] SPEAKER_02: and start a business for a wide variety of reasons, but I'm seeing a lot more women stepping into
[02:20] SPEAKER_02: entrepreneurship and really wanting to do their own thing, feel like they're doing what they're
[02:26] SPEAKER_02: doing is purposeful, they want to have some flexibility, they want to really step into feeling
[02:34] SPEAKER_02: like they're doing something that's fulfilling their own heart and their own soul. So I'm seeing
[02:39] SPEAKER_02: that as a as a bigger trend, for sure. And then I think just people like I said wanting to create
[02:46] SPEAKER_02: something of their own and feeling really proud of that and, you know, doing their just having
[02:52] SPEAKER_02: the flexibility to create their life in the way that works for them. And now you're finding the
[02:56] SPEAKER_01: from an age standpoint, these are usually women who have done other careers or maybe not done
[03:04] SPEAKER_01: careers have maybe been, you know, stay at home parent that are moving into this.
[03:13] SPEAKER_02: Well, it's interesting because I do a lot of networking as you do as well. So I meet a lot of people
[03:17] SPEAKER_02: and I've met women and men who are starting their own businesses at all ages. I think it's just
[03:23] SPEAKER_02: who I attract probably by virtue of the age that I'm at and by, you know, the experience that I've
[03:28] SPEAKER_02: had. Most of the women that I'm working with are, I would say more in midlife, they have had a
[03:33] SPEAKER_02: corporate career of some sort and they could be mothers, they could be leaders, you know, they could
[03:42] SPEAKER_02: be working in large organizations or small organizations, but something has shifted for them in their
[03:46] SPEAKER_02: life where they feel this desire to really step out onto their own and do what drives them and
[03:54] SPEAKER_02: create something out of their own. Like I said, from a place of flexibility, from a place of purpose,
[04:00] SPEAKER_02: from a place of giving back to the community, like for a wide variety of reasons, but it's just
[04:06] SPEAKER_02: interesting who you attract into your life, right? Like it tends to be the people that you can really
[04:12] SPEAKER_01: understand and resonate with. What are the biggest challenges that they face when they
[04:18] SPEAKER_01: decide that they want to step out and start their own business? Yeah, well, so I actually
[04:25] SPEAKER_02: base my business on three main pillars and these are stemming from what I see being the biggest
[04:31] SPEAKER_02: challenges for women, especially and for entrepreneurs. Number one is getting more visible, right? So
[04:37] SPEAKER_02: finding where are your clients? How do I get in front of them? Because as you know, there's so much
[04:42] SPEAKER_02: noise out there right now, there's so much information, there's so many avenues that people can go to
[04:49] SPEAKER_02: to turn to for help and support. So it's really getting them clear on how they themselves can get more
[04:55] SPEAKER_02: visible and do that from a place that feels really authentic to them and really aligns with their
[05:03] SPEAKER_02: values and their vision. The second challenge that I see is this challenge of confidence, right?
[05:10] SPEAKER_02: Like how do I do this? I feel vulnerable. How, what are people going to think about me? I'm a little
[05:15] SPEAKER_02: bit nervous or I'm scared or I have some limiting beliefs or I have some sort of, you know, stories
[05:20] SPEAKER_02: that I'm telling myself that are that's holding me back for some reason. So we really do a lot of
[05:24] SPEAKER_02: work around mindset and things like that. And then the third piece is staying on track because
[05:30] SPEAKER_02: there's a lot of distractions and the shiny object syndrome, right? Where like what I need to do this
[05:36] SPEAKER_02: and someone's telling me I need to do that and oh this new technology came out and what about this
[05:41] SPEAKER_02: platform and what about that event? So there's a lot of distractions and a lot of folds up to your
[05:48] SPEAKER_02: attention, right? So we're juggling a lot of balls as entrepreneurs, especially as solar printers.
[05:53] SPEAKER_02: So for me, it's really important to keep my clients on track and focused on what's most important.
[05:58] SPEAKER_02: Like what is actually going to drive your business forward as opposed to what's a distraction?
[06:04] SPEAKER_02: So those are sort of the three main challenges. Okay. What were you doing before this?
[06:09] SPEAKER_02: Well, I worked in the corporate world, my background is marketing. Okay. So, you know, again,
[06:14] SPEAKER_02: I'm bringing that to my business right now, I'm working with my clients in a lot of marketing
[06:17] SPEAKER_02: things and a lot of messaging, things and communication things. But I've worked in a wide variety of
[06:22] SPEAKER_02: different industries. I worked in the real estate sector, residential and commercial, in the shopping
[06:26] SPEAKER_02: center industry. I worked for an architectural firm. I did a little stint at an author's profit
[06:31] SPEAKER_02: and at the government. So, you know, a lot of different types of industries and sectors in
[06:36] SPEAKER_02: Calgary and primarily always on the marketing communication side and then got into leadership,
[06:42] SPEAKER_02: which is where this love of coaching really came from because I really, really enjoyed
[06:47] SPEAKER_02: leading a team, inspiring them, mentoring them, guiding them, and then most importantly,
[06:53] SPEAKER_02: seeing them flourish as an employee. And that's essentially what coaching is, right? We kind of like
[06:59] SPEAKER_01: help people flourish and thrive. So what can, so maybe explain to me how that transition to place
[07:08] SPEAKER_01: and why, of going in from the corporate world to what you're doing now?
[07:14] SPEAKER_02: Well, I started coaching back in 2016. That's what I got my certification and something I kind of
[07:19] SPEAKER_02: did on the side, so to speak. And even though 10 years ago, isn't that long ago, there was no
[07:24] SPEAKER_02: zoom at the time. So it was a lot of in-person. And it was just really challenging to do with a full
[07:29] SPEAKER_02: time job. So, you know, I was doing a little bit of consulting. I was doing some freelance work.
[07:34] SPEAKER_02: I had my own business, you know, a number of years ago and I really enjoyed that. And then ended up
[07:39] SPEAKER_02: going back into the corporate world again for some, a variety of different reasons why I did that.
[07:43] SPEAKER_02: And then when COVID hit, I was like, okay, it's time to step into doing my own thing again because
[07:50] SPEAKER_02: the worlds are really uncertain place right now. But in my own business, I can control what I'm doing.
[07:56] SPEAKER_02: And also people need support and help. And so it took me a little bit of time to actually transition
[08:01] SPEAKER_02: and make the decision to leave my corporate job because initially I thought I could do both things.
[08:06] SPEAKER_02: Like I can grow my business and also work a regular nine to five job. And that was burning me out. And
[08:13] SPEAKER_02: I needed to make a decision like one or the other. Yeah, I couldn't do both things. And I decided to
[08:17] SPEAKER_01: step into my business full time. Now, when you look at entrepreneurship in general, what do you think
[08:26] SPEAKER_02: the keys to success are for people? Well, I think number one, it's always being open to learning
[08:33] SPEAKER_02: new things because it's this constant learning. It's learning new skills. It's being really aware
[08:40] SPEAKER_02: of yourself of where are my gaps? What are my strengths? And what am I missing as a business person?
[08:46] SPEAKER_02: We're not really trained. Even though I have two business degrees, we're not really trained on
[08:50] SPEAKER_02: how to run a business and what's required about. So what really is being open to what skills do I
[08:55] SPEAKER_02: need to learn? So those are the skills of sales, skills of marketing, the skills of communication,
[09:01] SPEAKER_02: right? The skills of being really clear on what it is that you offer. And the other piece of it is
[09:07] SPEAKER_02: being kind of looking at it as an evolution. Things are always evolving and changing and it doesn't
[09:13] SPEAKER_02: stay static. So as an entrepreneur, you're always listening to the environment. You're listening to
[09:17] SPEAKER_02: your clients, you're listening to people. You're kind of keeping an eye on things and what is happening
[09:23] SPEAKER_02: and how can I help the people that need my help? So it's this constant awareness of things.
[09:30] SPEAKER_02: So I think those are the biggest things that the biggest thing for me, the Mario, was really this
[09:34] SPEAKER_02: inner the inner work. Like how am I standing in my own way as an entrepreneur? Where is my lack of
[09:42] SPEAKER_02: confidence or my doubt or my vulnerability or those types of things? Where is that
[09:48] SPEAKER_02: hindering me? So it's a lot of inner work, which I wasn't really expecting.
[09:52] SPEAKER_01: I want to ask you like how important is that inner work to do that inner work in terms of
[09:59] SPEAKER_02: your success of your actual business? Yeah, it's so important and it's very interesting because
[10:05] SPEAKER_02: no matter who I work with, that's always what we talk about. It always comes down to mindset and
[10:11] SPEAKER_02: how are you feeling right now? And you know, what's holding you back? And so for me, it's being
[10:16] SPEAKER_02: very, very critical. And it's an ongoing thing. It doesn't, it never ends, I don't think.
[10:21] SPEAKER_02: It's this constant week commitment to stepping into a new version of yourself almost daily,
[10:28] SPEAKER_02: right? Like who am I choosing to be today? Right? How am I going to do that? Who do I want to show
[10:33] SPEAKER_02: up in the world as today? And so it's this constant commitment and dedication to that because no one's
[10:40] SPEAKER_02: handing you a paycheck at the end of the week, right? It's all on you. And so you really need to be
[10:46] SPEAKER_02: aware of that. And it is shifting your identity into that. And that requires this like this inner
[10:53] SPEAKER_02: guidance, this inner talk all the time. And how do we focus on the positive talk, not the negative
[10:59] SPEAKER_02: talk that's trying to drag us down? So it's constant. And it's for me, that's saying it's a number one
[11:05] SPEAKER_02: thing that is an entrepreneur we need to be looking at. Now, when you know, 20, 30 years ago,
[11:14] SPEAKER_01: the concept of a coach, you know, outside of say sports, it wasn't around, right? And
[11:22] SPEAKER_01: you know, why have we seen this, I guess, proliferation of coaches out there. There's so many out there
[11:30] SPEAKER_01: right now that are helping, helping business owners in their operations and helping them in their
[11:40] SPEAKER_01: personal journeys as well. And so to speak, but why have we seen so many?
[11:45] SPEAKER_02: Well, I think it's great that there's more coaches as we need more coaches in the world because
[11:50] SPEAKER_02: that is really how we're moving people forward. And I think people are noticing the effect and the
[11:55] SPEAKER_02: this, the powerful transformations that can happen in their own life, but working with a coach.
[12:00] SPEAKER_02: And so then the word starting to get out and spread, it is like a sports analogy, right? And if
[12:06] SPEAKER_02: you look at anybody in sports, that's even not even a professional like a semi-professional or
[12:11] SPEAKER_02: anyone who wants to get better at any sport, whether you're a weekend warrior or a professional
[12:17] SPEAKER_02: Olympic athlete, you have a coach because a coach can help you spot your blind spots, they can help
[12:25] SPEAKER_02: you get motivated, they can help you stay accountable. They're helping you see what you can't see.
[12:31] SPEAKER_02: And they're also transferring their belief to you when you maybe are lacking it a little bit.
[12:37] SPEAKER_02: And it is the number one way to move forward. You know, it's because coaching is all about moving
[12:42] SPEAKER_02: forward. Like where are you? Where do you want to go? And how are you going to get there? And I
[12:49] SPEAKER_02: think logically we know that. And all the information's out there on the internet, Mario. Like we
[12:54] SPEAKER_02: can look up what do I need to do to build a business? And yet we we extend it our own way back to what
[13:00] SPEAKER_02: I was talking about before, right? We procrastinate or we're maybe not sure or we're overwhelmed by all
[13:06] SPEAKER_02: the information that's out there or we have other things going on in our life. And sometimes when you're
[13:12] SPEAKER_02: in that jar, so to speak, you can't see the instructions of how to get out. And so a coach really
[13:19] SPEAKER_02: helps you with that. And so I think we are seeing the power that I think it's great. There's a lot
[13:24] SPEAKER_02: of more coaches. I think it's great that people are hiring coaches, whether it's for their business,
[13:28] SPEAKER_02: for their leadership of their incorporate or for their own personal life situation, because it
[13:34] SPEAKER_02: impacts all areas of your life. So if you're improving in one area, 100% your the other parts of
[13:40] SPEAKER_02: your life are going to improve as well. And people hire all types of coaches from all types of
[13:47] SPEAKER_02: parts of life. And I think it's awesome. And I think that's why I think people really want
[13:52] SPEAKER_02: to move forward in the life. And that's why we're seeing a lot more coaches out there.
[13:57] SPEAKER_01: So, you know, in your work with the sole openers, what is the number one concern for them these days?
[14:08] SPEAKER_02: Getting in front of the getting clients. Like how do I how do I build my business? And the
[14:13] SPEAKER_02: way to build a business is we need to make sales and to make sales, we need to talk to people. I
[14:17] SPEAKER_02: mean to get in front of people. So it's it is about getting more visible and finding those right
[14:22] SPEAKER_02: people. That's always the number one concern is how do I make more money? How do I stay profitable?
[14:27] SPEAKER_02: How do I grow? How do I build the business? Again, without getting burnt out or without doing
[14:35] SPEAKER_02: the wrong thing, so to speak, quote unquote. But that's always the number one concern, right?
[14:41] SPEAKER_01: Is how do I get in front of more people? And what about what are their thoughts and feelings about
[14:49] SPEAKER_02: doing business in Calgary these days? That's an interesting question. I mean, you probably have a
[14:54] SPEAKER_02: better sense of that than than I do. But you know, it's like anywhere right now. It is very volatile.
[15:01] SPEAKER_02: It's a very unstable kind of a crazy world as I call it. It's just there's so much going on.
[15:08] SPEAKER_02: But it's so interesting because I go to these networking events with other entrepreneurs and
[15:12] SPEAKER_02: everyone has a real positive sense like very forward moving, very optimistic. It's very much
[15:23] SPEAKER_02: there in creator mode. We can do this. And if we can do it together with support from each other,
[15:31] SPEAKER_02: then we know that we can make this world a better place. And so they're coming at it from
[15:35] SPEAKER_02: like almost like a heart centered perspective. I'm here to do, I'm here to have a purpose.
[15:42] SPEAKER_02: And I know that together with other people, we can create something really great. So it's
[15:47] SPEAKER_02: this really optimistic mindset. Even though there's lots of things going on in the world,
[15:51] SPEAKER_02: because there's opportunities like in the chaos, there's also opportunities.
[15:56] SPEAKER_01: You find that you know, Calgary has always kind of patented itself in the back and and
[16:04] SPEAKER_01: bragged about the fact that it's a very entrepreneurial city. Do you still think that the case?
[16:11] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And it's really fun seeing a lot of younger people too. So going to
[16:21] SPEAKER_02: events or they're they just graduated from university or college or they're just starting out in
[16:27] SPEAKER_02: their, you know, in their careers, but looking to start a business, I've met a lot of young people
[16:31] SPEAKER_02: who have like, let's call it a side hustle, that they want to grow into their own business.
[16:36] SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, I think I don't think that that's changed at all. I think in fact, it's probably
[16:41] SPEAKER_02: gotten more. Just because of all the things that are going on, we've had so many layoffs happening,
[16:46] SPEAKER_02: there's so much uncertainty in a lot of the sectors that people are like, well, do I go back to
[16:52] SPEAKER_02: that where there's no certainty? Where do I build my own thing, which could be uncertain, but also
[16:59] SPEAKER_02: weigh their weighing out the pros and the cons and they're thinking, I could probably make something
[17:05] SPEAKER_02: work on my own. So no, I'm seeing a lot of sense of optimism. Yeah. What would you give for advice
[17:14] SPEAKER_01: to somebody? Say a friend of yours came and said, hey, Vera, I'm looking at starting my own
[17:20] SPEAKER_01: business. What advice would you give them? Well, besides, I'm seeing. Yes, besides some see me.
[17:29] SPEAKER_02: Well, I mean, definitely finding people that are in your corner support you. So whether it is hiring
[17:34] SPEAKER_02: someone that can help you, so that's, you know, again, I'm going to shameless plug. Like, definitely
[17:38] SPEAKER_02: you want some of the help you and that could be a coach or strategist or somebody like that.
[17:42] SPEAKER_02: But outside of that, I think finding a community, I know for me, that was really, really important
[17:47] SPEAKER_02: in a big game changer because as business owners, even if we have a team, you're sitting in your
[17:52] SPEAKER_02: office by yourself. This was my experience, right? I'm sitting in my office. I'm talking to my dog.
[17:58] SPEAKER_02: She's not really helping me, you know, figure out if this is a good marketing strategy or, you know,
[18:03] SPEAKER_02: what kind of platform to use for people to pay me, like all of those kinds of things. And so
[18:08] SPEAKER_02: finding other people that you align with that are super supportive, that want to provide advice
[18:16] SPEAKER_02: that can understand the challenges of being an entrepreneur. So surrounding yourself by those
[18:21] SPEAKER_02: people, so finding community. And I'm creating my own community. I have a mastermind
[18:27] SPEAKER_02: for women entrepreneurs that I'm growing. But outside of that, there are a lot of different things
[18:33] SPEAKER_02: coming up in Calgary right now and other cities as well that are either networking events or
[18:38] SPEAKER_02: their masterminds or their group coaching things or there are just people getting together to
[18:44] SPEAKER_02: support each other and learn from each other and give advice. So find somebody or a group of people
[18:49] SPEAKER_02: that are going to keep you uplifted and in momentum. Like that would be my number one advice. And
[18:54] SPEAKER_02: you don't even have to pay for that. There's lots of free resources out there for that.
[18:58] SPEAKER_01: Well, thanks so much, Evira, for joining us today. Well, thank you so much for having you,
[19:03] SPEAKER_01: Maria. I really enjoyed this. All right, wonderful. That was Evira Elnetski, who is
[19:08] SPEAKER_01: with Create Your Best Chapter in Calgary. I'm Mario Tonigusi, managing editor of Canada's
[19:14] SPEAKER_00: Entrepreneur. Thanks for joining us today. Where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen
[19:20] SPEAKER_00: across Canada and deliver the news, trends, knowledge and opinions from entrepreneurs and business
[19:27] SPEAKER_00: influencers across the country.