Amanda Hamilton

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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: It's Calgary's Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:18] SPEAKER_00: Hello, this is Bonnie LG coming to you today with Calgary's Podcast, a member of the Canada's
[00:24] SPEAKER_00: Podcast Network where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen here in the city
[00:29] SPEAKER_00: of Calgary, Alberta.
[00:32] SPEAKER_00: Tanesha's vibrant and bold, Amanda Hamilton and her studio offer more than just interior
[00:38] SPEAKER_00: design services.
[00:40] SPEAKER_00: As an accomplished creative entrepreneur with an adventurous spirit, Amanda continuously
[00:45] SPEAKER_00: strives to carve out an aspirational and unorthodox path in the industry, making her one of Canada's
[00:52] SPEAKER_00: most influential cultural personalities.
[00:55] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show Amanda and thanks for taking the time to be here today for all our listeners.
[01:01] SPEAKER_01: Of course, thanks so much Bonnie for having me.
[01:03] SPEAKER_01: I feel like I want to start my day every day with you giving me that intro.
[01:10] SPEAKER_00: It makes me feel good.
[01:13] SPEAKER_00: Well, hey, you have accomplished a lot and it was a real treat to do some research on your
[01:20] SPEAKER_00: career.
[01:20] SPEAKER_00: So why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and about your current business?
[01:26] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
[01:28] SPEAKER_01: So Amanda, Hamilton obviously and I have my own interior design studio and that Hamilton
[01:34] SPEAKER_01: interior design and we're actually celebrating 10 years this year which just sounds crazy
[01:38] SPEAKER_01: to me and I think about all the things that we've done over the last decade.
[01:42] SPEAKER_01: But I've actually been practicing interior design for closer to about 15 years and I
[01:47] SPEAKER_01: freelanceed for a couple of years before starting a head as we shorten it.
[01:53] SPEAKER_01: And I'm also the founder of Palette Archives which is a new startup I launched last August
[01:59] SPEAKER_01: and it's an e-commerce based business that provides designer curated finishes and materials
[02:04] SPEAKER_01: palettes sort of to the general public and we ship those finishes and materials right
[02:08] SPEAKER_01: to your door.
[02:09] SPEAKER_01: So just really taking advantage and providing services to another niche of the market that
[02:15] SPEAKER_01: wouldn't normally be able to hire an interior designer.
[02:18] SPEAKER_01: So in many ways I do call myself a creative entrepreneur because I've sort of learned
[02:23] SPEAKER_01: over the last decade that my love for all things creative is only rivaled by my love of
[02:29] SPEAKER_01: all things business related.
[02:32] SPEAKER_00: How did you finance your companies to get started?
[02:35] SPEAKER_00: Because that's often one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs who have great ideas
[02:40] SPEAKER_00: but they don't know how to organize the finances in such a way to launch their business.
[02:46] SPEAKER_01: Yes, there is a very great bank, local bank called the Bank of Amanda Hamilton.
[02:55] SPEAKER_01: So I actually never took any financing to start our interior design studio.
[03:03] SPEAKER_01: It was all just sort of I guess blood sweat and tears at the beginning.
[03:07] SPEAKER_01: There are minimal costs and starting up the consulting business.
[03:10] SPEAKER_01: I mean really some of the biggest expenses we would have would be our office space and
[03:15] SPEAKER_01: sort of our computers and some of the technology that goes into that.
[03:19] SPEAKER_01: So the startup costs themselves are quite low.
[03:23] SPEAKER_01: Whereas with pallet archives that just launched we are sort of in that phase right now of looking
[03:28] SPEAKER_01: for fundraising because it requires a much larger marketing dollar to be put to it to sort
[03:35] SPEAKER_01: of get it off the ground and there was a lot of technology that needed to be put into developing
[03:40] SPEAKER_01: the website and that still needs to be done.
[03:42] SPEAKER_01: So for the most part our interior design studio has funded pallet archives but
[03:46] SPEAKER_01: the interior design studio has always just been funded by me basically just funneling money back
[03:51] SPEAKER_01: into the business.
[03:53] SPEAKER_00: Where do you hope to go in the future? Do you have a long-term vision?
[03:57] SPEAKER_00: I guess for both companies it sounds like it's somewhat interrelated.
[04:01] SPEAKER_00: So what's your vision and where are you going?
[04:03] SPEAKER_01: You know my business coach tried to ask me this like I don't know probably about two months ago
[04:08] SPEAKER_01: and I was like I don't I can't even answer this question.
[04:11] SPEAKER_01: It's you know it's tough I really struggle with the sort of ideas of setting a five to ten-year plan
[04:17] SPEAKER_01: because if I had done that five to ten years ago I'm nowhere near where I thought I was going to be
[04:22] SPEAKER_01: today right so much has changed but I would say that I have a strong passion for interior design
[04:30] SPEAKER_01: but I definitely can see myself moving in a position of really nurturing more of the business
[04:35] SPEAKER_01: side. I have a passion for helping young entrepreneurs and young women who are interested in
[04:41] SPEAKER_01: you know creative industries and I guess in many ways pallet archives sort of is that succession plan.
[04:47] SPEAKER_01: It provides me with more opportunity to I guess be able to work from from wherever I am in the world
[04:54] SPEAKER_01: which is you know the biggest struggle when you have their name on the door in a local business
[04:59] SPEAKER_01: especially in an interior design business you know it's very visual it's hands-on clients like to
[05:05] SPEAKER_01: meet no in person so you know at some point you're only as good as however many hours you can work
[05:11] SPEAKER_01: in a day right so you max out on how many clients you can actually touch in the course of your career
[05:17] SPEAKER_01: and I think pallet archives being more e-commerce based means that I get to I get to influence
[05:24] SPEAKER_01: more people educate more people about interior design and ultimately help them which is sort of
[05:29] SPEAKER_01: you know now that I've been in my career for over 10 years I'm sort of moving on to this place
[05:35] SPEAKER_01: where I really see myself being a mentor to other people and really want to sort of nurture that
[05:40] SPEAKER_01: part of of you know what I what I want of my business. And having had a business in Calgary for
[05:47] SPEAKER_00: a number of years what do you see and what do you tell other aspiring entrepreneurs or some of
[05:53] SPEAKER_01: the benefits of doing business here. Well you know Calgary has been so interesting so I started
[06:03] SPEAKER_01: ahead in August of 2009 so like we were at the base of the recession like it was not good in Calgary
[06:11] SPEAKER_01: and I left a cushy job where I was getting great work and had a lot a lot of job security
[06:17] SPEAKER_01: but the thing is is what I found through the recession is that it forces entrepreneurs to be more
[06:23] SPEAKER_01: creative it forces them to challenge themselves and I also think the benefit of the recession in Calgary
[06:30] SPEAKER_01: has you know or the many recessions that we've been through I think it's been three now in last
[06:34] SPEAKER_01: decade is that it's actually forced our clients to be more savvy with their money and I don't
[06:40] SPEAKER_01: necessarily think that's a bad thing like I know we could all joke around like being like oh let's
[06:44] SPEAKER_01: go back to you know 2005 2006 and when things were booming but I don't think that that sustainable
[06:51] SPEAKER_01: and I think that the recession in Calgary's economy has really taught people how to be smart
[06:56] SPEAKER_01: about their business and how to be smart with their money and what it means to struggle and come
[07:02] SPEAKER_01: out of that because any entrepreneur that has been through these recessions like we have you know
[07:07] SPEAKER_01: you understand that you really have to be creative and really focus on customer service you know be
[07:12] SPEAKER_01: creative through numbers and your team and and really watch and that's not a bad thing
[07:17] SPEAKER_00: if we ask about the flip side of that are there any key challenges that you coach people to watch
[07:24] SPEAKER_00: out for or just things that you've you know experienced over over your career here
[07:29] SPEAKER_01: I think I think one of the biggest things that any smaller boutique business or consulting
[07:35] SPEAKER_01: business can deal with is obviously cash flow right and there's these sort of ebbs and flows of
[07:40] SPEAKER_01: money coming in and money going out and I recently read a really fantastic book it was called
[07:48] SPEAKER_01: profit first and you know the goal is not when times are good to just throw money out the door
[07:55] SPEAKER_01: right that that's actually when you should be being more careful with your money and you should
[07:59] SPEAKER_01: almost be treating your money at that time exactly as you would if things were tight
[08:05] SPEAKER_01: because what ends up happening is you know you get on this high of like money is coming in we can
[08:09] SPEAKER_01: do all of these things but what you really need to do is make sure that you're putting that money aside
[08:13] SPEAKER_01: to sort of float yourself through the times when maybe a project gets canceled or a client has
[08:19] SPEAKER_01: been paid on time or you're waiting on sign off on something you just can't predict what the market
[08:24] SPEAKER_01: is going to be like and every time I think things are good something happens where it's not so great
[08:30] SPEAKER_01: and vice versa right like just when you're like starting to get worried about things you know you get
[08:34] SPEAKER_01: 15 calls for new projects so there's in our at least in our industry it's not super cyclical
[08:39] SPEAKER_01: there's no trends really about when we get busy so you have to be really savvy with the type of
[08:45] SPEAKER_01: type of work that you're taking on and how it's going to sort of take you through those those periods of
[08:49] SPEAKER_00: time well I think that's great advice now Amanda I'd like to shift gears and talk to you a little
[08:56] SPEAKER_00: bit more about some of your personal habits and routines where do you like to go when you leave the
[09:01] SPEAKER_00: office and you just want to find a favorite place in Calgary to get rejuvenated inspired maybe
[09:08] SPEAKER_00: it's a place you go to think about your business do you have a spot that's that's special to you
[09:13] SPEAKER_01: that way I have many spots and what's so funny about this bonny is I was literally out or I think
[09:19] SPEAKER_01: it was breakfast on Friday morning and having a meeting with my publicist and somebody saw me and
[09:24] SPEAKER_01: they said every time I see you in a restaurant you have your laptop open so I spend a lot of time
[09:31] SPEAKER_01: in restaurants one of my new favorite ones is pigeonhole on 17th avenue just started doing breakfast
[09:37] SPEAKER_01: and they're doing it during the week so I've sort of switched my Friday morning meetings I spend
[09:42] SPEAKER_01: Friday working on a lot of business development and sort of marketing and so I've switched my meetings
[09:49] SPEAKER_01: to pigeonhole because they have the most amazing pancakes there and they just also happen to be gluten-free
[09:55] SPEAKER_01: I am telling you I'm telling all of the listeners right now this will be the best pancake you've
[10:00] SPEAKER_01: ever had it's so good but a lot of a lot of restaurants so I really like the tea house just underneath
[10:08] SPEAKER_01: two pennies on Wednesdays they do you know looting and wings and it's you know I can kind of use my
[10:13] SPEAKER_01: laptop like later at night there I'll sit up at the bar I go to card now quite a bit and sort
[10:19] SPEAKER_01: of do a bit of work there but honestly I would say my favorite place to be is my living room I'm
[10:26] SPEAKER_01: not home very often so it's actually nice to sit on my sofa and read a book and relax and just
[10:33] SPEAKER_01: like sit in the sun in my space it's it's something that I've really started to gravitate towards now
[10:39] SPEAKER_01: just because both my husband and I are entrepreneurs and we're never home and so actually being home
[10:43] SPEAKER_01: is really nice it's often the best place to rejuvenate and rest isn't it yeah and obviously
[10:49] SPEAKER_01: travel of course like I mean we work a lot you know the average person might work 40 hours a week
[10:56] SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs you know as some of them splitting in 60 to 80 plus hours a week so taking I take
[11:02] SPEAKER_01: quarterly retreats to just sort of rejuvenate work on personal projects work projects and then you
[11:08] SPEAKER_01: come back in your much better version of yourself through your clients so Amanda what is the
[11:13] SPEAKER_00: first hour of the day look like for you do you have some specific routines or rituals that you
[11:18] SPEAKER_01: use to set your day I've really been working on morning rituals I went through sort of three or four
[11:25] SPEAKER_01: months period of time where all I did was read books about how to develop really great habits and
[11:30] SPEAKER_01: rituals so I wake up any time between five and six it really depends on what was going on the night
[11:35] SPEAKER_01: before and what my sleep was like I wake up two five and six and I go to the gym I work with a
[11:41] SPEAKER_01: personal trainer one on one then come back get ready I usually listen to a podcast while I'm
[11:46] SPEAKER_01: getting ready it's sort of like you know turning your bathroom into into a university if you well
[11:52] SPEAKER_01: you know you're spending you know anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes and they're getting ready so I
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: I can easily get through a podcaster too during that time and I've really been forcing myself to
[12:01] SPEAKER_01: eat breakfast I think again entrepreneurs get so busy they sometimes put themselves at the
[12:07] SPEAKER_01: you know the bottom of the totem pole and you know so the idea is that you know I'm getting
[12:13] SPEAKER_01: nourishment before I actually get into the office so I can again be sort of the best version
[12:17] SPEAKER_01: of myself for my team and and also sometimes my mornings will you know start with meditation it
[12:26] SPEAKER_01: really depends on sort of how eager I am to get into the office because sometimes I'm just like five
[12:31] SPEAKER_01: a.m. I'm like I just want to get down to the office and get on to my computer so you mentioned
[12:36] SPEAKER_00: podcast do you have a favorite that you'd recommend to our listeners oh my gosh I knew I knew
[12:42] SPEAKER_01: you were going to ask this Bonnie um yeah I really love um podcast on health and wellness um I've
[12:48] SPEAKER_01: been listening a lot lately to Aubrey Marcus is a big one I like quick brain with Jim quick which
[12:55] SPEAKER_01: sort of teaches you some really great sort of like mental tricks you know to remember things a
[13:00] SPEAKER_01: little bit better um oh my gosh who else my um business coach Allison just started the art of
[13:06] SPEAKER_01: strategy podcast which is fantastic um model health show Lewis house Tim Ferris you know sort of
[13:14] SPEAKER_01: you know in the entrepreneurship and sort of health and wellness realm is is where I spend most
[13:19] SPEAKER_01: of my time and then of course I found out about you guys so I've actually been listening to a lot
[13:23] SPEAKER_01: of your podcasts recently yeah it's nice to hear from Canadian entrepreneurs well and you know
[13:29] SPEAKER_00: that's the goal is is to get people learning from each other across the country so thank you for
[13:34] SPEAKER_00: that yeah and within your own city too right yeah absolutely yeah absolutely a bit of online
[13:41] SPEAKER_00: networking for sure in terms of books you mentioned earlier that uh you like to read as well so
[13:47] SPEAKER_00: do you have some books that you recommend to our our listeners yeah so one of the the best books
[13:54] SPEAKER_01: that I have ever read was Mavericks at work by William Taylor it's all about disruption and what I
[14:00] SPEAKER_01: thought was really interesting about that is um it looks at other industries so I think sometimes
[14:05] SPEAKER_01: as entrepreneurs we get focused on what our direct competitors are doing and it it sort of
[14:09] SPEAKER_01: creates this you know like fun all our tunnel vision of of we're only looking at what our
[14:14] SPEAKER_01: competitors are doing but there's but there's entrepreneurs and all sorts of different industries
[14:18] SPEAKER_01: that are kind of for lack of a better word you know thinking outside of the box and I just think
[14:24] SPEAKER_01: that that book did a really great job of communicating how you could do things differently and it
[14:29] SPEAKER_01: and it actually sort of um inspired Palinar vibe so these ideas were funneling around in my head
[14:36] SPEAKER_01: but they weren't making sense yet and after I read that book is when I had you know what I call one
[14:40] SPEAKER_01: of two epiphany so I've had my life where I'm like oh my goodness this thing doesn't exist
[14:45] SPEAKER_01: Palinar vibes doesn't exist I look at it sort of like the uber for the interior design industry so
[14:51] SPEAKER_01: that was a really great book and then another one I finished recently was um essentially by Greg
[14:57] SPEAKER_01: um Q and and I feel like that's a must read for everyone it's it's you know really about how to
[15:02] SPEAKER_01: live with less but I think it's more than that I think it's about being comfortable with you know
[15:07] SPEAKER_01: who you are at the core what you're giving back to the world um it just just living a simpler life
[15:13] SPEAKER_01: so it's not necessarily you know throwing away all of your belongings or anything like that it's
[15:18] SPEAKER_01: it's really about essentialism sort of of the mind I thought that was a really really great book as well
[15:23] SPEAKER_00: I have a whole long list well those are those are great recommendations yeah yeah what about in terms
[15:30] SPEAKER_00: of online tools or what do you use in your office and in your day day day day work that help keep
[15:35] SPEAKER_01: you efficient and productive I'm sort of an efficiency uh like hack like I need I need to take
[15:42] SPEAKER_01: advantage of like every minute in the day and truthfully I wish there was just like one piece
[15:48] SPEAKER_01: of technology so if anyone's listening and they can create this that would be fantastic um but we
[15:53] SPEAKER_01: recently switched over we were using base camp for years which is fantastic but we switched over
[15:57] SPEAKER_01: to teen gantt um so that we'd really be able to um maximize the hours in the day and be able to
[16:03] SPEAKER_01: create sophisticated schedules for our projects um we also use slack in the office which you know
[16:08] SPEAKER_01: is is a messaging platform but what we were finding is that there are different work types in our
[16:14] SPEAKER_01: office and some of us really struggle when we're being interrupted so slack allows us to communicate
[16:20] SPEAKER_01: without you know shouting things out through the office which can be a real problem when you're in a
[16:24] SPEAKER_01: smaller office there's seven of us we're in a smaller space it's really easy to just look up from
[16:28] SPEAKER_01: your computer and sort of blurred out a question which can be really disruptive so um we use that and
[16:35] SPEAKER_01: 15.5 is the other one we just started using and so that's actually software that allows us to track
[16:40] SPEAKER_01: our okay hours and our KPIs and it also um if you get the upgraded version allows you to do all of
[16:46] SPEAKER_01: your reviews there I really love having everything written down cleanly and stored in a space
[16:52] SPEAKER_01: that's easy to find it just when I think about how many hours I waste in the day looking for
[16:57] SPEAKER_01: information on on email it kills me like the the further I can get away from email the better
[17:03] SPEAKER_01: and I've actually sort of resorted back to taking telephone calls now because you just get more done
[17:09] SPEAKER_01: and then outside of that of course you know as an interdesign studio we use Instagram a lot because
[17:14] SPEAKER_01: it's so visual and you know that's what our our clients love and it's also a way to communicate as
[17:19] SPEAKER_01: well so it's it's kind of everything all wrapped up into one so if you weren't doing what you do now
[17:25] SPEAKER_00: in the interior design world what would you like to do for a profession oh my goodness that's
[17:31] SPEAKER_01: a good question I feel like I've sort of made that jump already you know I'm sort of it is
[17:36] SPEAKER_01: interior design but I'm moving more into sort of a startup mindset with Palette Archives but I
[17:42] SPEAKER_01: feel like there's a lot of crossover in the creative industries I love strategies so I could see
[17:47] SPEAKER_01: maybe working in this sort of PR and marketing world um I even think sort of event management
[17:53] SPEAKER_01: there's a lot of crossover there so I could see being there you know television is another thing
[17:57] SPEAKER_01: I do a lot of you're speaking opportunities and moderating panels and so I also
[18:03] SPEAKER_01: enjoy that but it's it's so it's so tough to imagine I I know the things that I I wouldn't do
[18:09] SPEAKER_00: well and that is my next question if there's something that you just you know you know that
[18:15] SPEAKER_00: that would never be in your wheelhouse and in a job you would not like to do it's it's funny
[18:22] SPEAKER_01: so growing up there were a lot of things that I'm glad I didn't get into um and I have huge respect
[18:27] SPEAKER_01: for those careers but I just know that they would be such a struggle but one of the ones and I have
[18:32] SPEAKER_01: friends that I adore who are in this business and we obviously work a lot with them but I couldn't
[18:38] SPEAKER_01: be a real estate agent I couldn't do it I think that it takes a special type of person um to be on
[18:44] SPEAKER_01: demand 24-7 I always say I'm kind of a bit of an extrovert stuck in an introverts body um I really
[18:52] SPEAKER_01: have worked hard to have bound boundaries with my evenings and my weekends and my friends who
[18:57] SPEAKER_01: are in that industry man they they work so hard all day long and then they're showing houses in
[19:02] SPEAKER_01: the evening and then they're working on Saturdays because that's when people are free and you know
[19:07] SPEAKER_01: they're they're doing deals like you know midnight or one o'clock in the morning it takes a
[19:11] SPEAKER_01: special person again I've got friends in that industry but I just like I couldn't I couldn't do it
[19:17] SPEAKER_00: so in business a madagy have like a favorite quote or saying that it's kind of your mantra or
[19:24] SPEAKER_00: something that you go back to to help keep you focused yeah I've got a few um I was listening to a
[19:31] SPEAKER_01: few podcasts recently and I kind of remember who what it was but obviously the famous Nike quote
[19:37] SPEAKER_01: just do it I know it sounds so cliche but when you're like I don't want to make my bed I don't
[19:43] SPEAKER_01: go to the gym I don't be right it's just like just do it like just do it just stop talking about
[19:48] SPEAKER_01: it and just do it and um my husband actually started saying in the morning it's a non-negotiable
[19:53] SPEAKER_01: so you know it's like if you set your alarm for 530 and you're pressing snooze 15 times which is
[19:59] SPEAKER_01: usually what I do it's like non-negotiable get out of bed so it's these sort of mantras that I
[20:05] SPEAKER_01: really like to repeat to myself that I find really helpful a client of my years ago also said
[20:11] SPEAKER_01: eat problems for breakfast and I changed that to eat problems for breakfast lunch and dinner
[20:16] SPEAKER_01: because as an entrepreneur you're gonna have stuff flying at you all the time you're always
[20:20] SPEAKER_01: gonna be putting out fires you're always gonna be solving problems and you need to do it head on
[20:26] SPEAKER_01: and the more you do it the easier it becomes you no longer stress about it anymore you just
[20:29] SPEAKER_01: realize that's that's part of your day how would you describe yourself well I guess you said
[20:36] SPEAKER_01: in my bio best I would say probably tenacious driven um I think most people would probably say
[20:44] SPEAKER_01: about me like they don't understand where I get my energy from and I think it's because um I am
[20:50] SPEAKER_01: truly in a profession that I love I I actually do feel quite honored to wake up every day and
[20:56] SPEAKER_01: never feel like oh I don't want to go into the office I love seeing my team every day I love what
[21:04] SPEAKER_01: I'm doing it's very challenging and I've I've created a career for myself I've defined my role
[21:10] SPEAKER_01: and that would be another piece of advice I would you know give to entrepreneurs is is to build a
[21:15] SPEAKER_01: position for yourself that best utilizes um your strengths so that you can wake up every morning
[21:21] SPEAKER_01: doing what you're you love if you don't feel that way in the morning you're in the wrong job you're
[21:26] SPEAKER_01: not you and you spend more time as you know with the people you work with then with your own family so
[21:33] SPEAKER_01: you better love what you're doing every day if you're going there and spending that much time
[21:36] SPEAKER_00: doing it so one of the things entrepreneurs often struggle with is just being able to wind down
[21:43] SPEAKER_00: and and you know shut their mind off at night do you are you one of those people that has
[21:49] SPEAKER_00: things running through your mind at night or what keeps you up you know Bonnie I used to be I think I
[21:56] SPEAKER_01: have worked really hard to set boundaries I think that's really important one of the things that I
[22:00] SPEAKER_01: did and I know it sounds crazy is I actually got myself another cell phone and another cell phone
[22:04] SPEAKER_01: number so I have a work cell phone and a personal cell phone in my work cell phone at night time
[22:09] SPEAKER_01: it gets plugged in I do not check my email I do not look at it I do not look at text messages and I do
[22:15] SPEAKER_01: the same thing over the weekend and on my personal phone I have no work related things so I don't have
[22:21] SPEAKER_01: slack I don't have team gant it don't have email just because by nature you know we can't help
[22:27] SPEAKER_01: ourselves sometimes right so creating sort of boundaries for yourself when you know that you
[22:32] SPEAKER_01: can't do that helps and so I actually have really learned to shut off but I think that that has a
[22:39] SPEAKER_01: lot to do with how I manage my schedule I really make sure to schedule time in for myself for my
[22:45] SPEAKER_01: friends for my family exercises a really big thing for me I can't imagine going more than a few
[22:52] SPEAKER_01: days without you know getting a sweat on it's just such a great release and you're so focused on
[22:57] SPEAKER_01: working out that you can't think about anything else that doesn't mean that I never have sleepless
[23:01] SPEAKER_01: nights because I think we all have stresses in any industry in any job we work in but they're less
[23:06] SPEAKER_01: and less so which which is really really great sleep is so important yeah really yeah so what is
[23:15] SPEAKER_00: on your inspired lifeless Amanda like what are some of the things that you would like to achieve in
[23:21] SPEAKER_00: in the next few years either personally or professional can you give us your top three for sure
[23:28] SPEAKER_01: I'm working on a book right now and I've actually been working on it for a couple of years but really
[23:32] SPEAKER_01: really seriously focused on it right now people always ask what it is and I sort of say it's like
[23:37] SPEAKER_01: a satirical self-memoir or memoir that you know has business advice woven into it you know
[23:44] SPEAKER_01: obviously I'm hopeful to get published and who knows if that will still be what it looks like
[23:48] SPEAKER_01: when it gets published but I've always loved to write it and writing since I was very little and
[23:53] SPEAKER_01: I go back to that comment I made about creating a career for yourself that works you know just
[23:58] SPEAKER_01: because I didn't decide to be a writer you know once I graduated university doesn't mean that I
[24:04] SPEAKER_01: still can't follow that passion so that's definitely something that I'm working on I'd really
[24:09] SPEAKER_01: like to somehow get involved you know in in some television opportunities you know I think that
[24:16] SPEAKER_01: there's such a great market to give back to people from an entrepreneurship I know there's a lot
[24:22] SPEAKER_01: of interior design shows and I'm less interested in those and more interested in in maybe an
[24:26] SPEAKER_01: opportunity that would allow me to you know show in a real way what entrepreneurship looks like
[24:32] SPEAKER_01: for for people and to give them the tools that they need across the board so not just marketing not
[24:39] SPEAKER_01: just money not just you know how you represent your brand and that but like really a full spectrum
[24:44] SPEAKER_01: and I'm going to say complete financial freedom that would be a definite goal I think you know
[24:53] SPEAKER_01: 10 years of business has taught me a lot about the value of being responsible with your money
[24:58] SPEAKER_01: and I'd like to be in a position where you know it's it's never a thing that I really have to think
[25:04] SPEAKER_01: about but you know it's it's always a challenge when you're running a business cash flow and
[25:09] SPEAKER_01: projects coming in and out that's always something to think about so I think that that would be
[25:14] SPEAKER_01: those three would be really good in the next how would we just say year Bonnie can we say year
[25:18] SPEAKER_01: that is really ambitious absolutely you can say a year I mean one of them I think for sure a year
[25:25] SPEAKER_01: the other two I might have some more time to work on but yeah I guess if I'm being honest those
[25:29] SPEAKER_01: are probably the three that I'm I'm focused on right now for sure and Maddie we have a lot of
[25:34] SPEAKER_00: international listeners and so I'm hoping you can answer this next question with them in mind
[25:40] SPEAKER_00: imagine that you had to start all over again and you were moving to Calgary for the first time
[25:44] SPEAKER_00: you didn't know anybody here how would you get started like what advice could you pass along to
[25:50] SPEAKER_00: somebody who's either planning to move here or has recently moved and is looking to launch a
[25:56] SPEAKER_01: business just do it um you know what you're just saying is very true so when I grew up in Edmonton
[26:05] SPEAKER_01: and I I went to the University of Alberta for two years and then came to Calgary to get my degree
[26:11] SPEAKER_01: they didn't have a degree program for interior design so that's why I moved to Calgary and then
[26:16] SPEAKER_01: you know ended up loving the city but when I moved here I literally did not know a single soul I had
[26:22] SPEAKER_01: sort of a connection through one person who I met up with like once but I really didn't know
[26:27] SPEAKER_01: anyone but I think if you were you were coming to Calgary the best thing you can do is get um
[26:32] SPEAKER_01: get involved in organizations right so whether it's a startup organization organization or a
[26:38] SPEAKER_01: women's organization or entrepreneurship you know you meet some fantastic people like I joined
[26:43] SPEAKER_01: um EO the entrepreneurship organization um this year and man the amount of people that I have met
[26:49] SPEAKER_01: in six months of being an EO and the um presenters that I've been able to listen to and sit across
[26:56] SPEAKER_01: the table from and have you know their books and their sort of mind that is the best thing
[27:01] SPEAKER_01: you can do and then that way you're able to sort of network with people though I kind of hate the
[27:06] SPEAKER_01: word networking um it is a way though to meet people in the community especially starting off
[27:12] SPEAKER_00: in a certain industry well this next question Amanda is a bit more hypothetical um we ask all of
[27:19] SPEAKER_00: our guests so I'd like you to imagine there's a small tropical island just off a Fiji and it only
[27:25] SPEAKER_00: has one phone and it's even that traditional old-style phone booth there's no internet so you're
[27:31] SPEAKER_00: not going to have access to any devices we'll drop you off there and at any time you can signal us
[27:38] SPEAKER_00: to come pick you up in the boat and your time will be done I'm just curious how long would you stay
[27:44] SPEAKER_00: and what would you do while you were there well first of all this sounds absolutely magical
[27:50] SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna call it my sabbatical that's what I'll call it um I think I probably would stay there
[27:56] SPEAKER_01: as long as it took for me to to really feel fully rejuvenated and in like the best shape of my life
[28:02] SPEAKER_01: so maybe three months and I know that probably sounds crazy because people go what about your family
[28:08] SPEAKER_01: what about your friends I just think that we spend so little time actually focused on ourselves we
[28:15] SPEAKER_01: give a lot of ourselves to other people that three months is a very small price to pay to
[28:19] SPEAKER_01: have your mental health and your physical health be at its sort of peak performance right so
[28:26] SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say three months and I want to come back with some abs and a really great tan and
[28:31] SPEAKER_01: all the sleep restored in my body that sounds perfect
[28:39] SPEAKER_01: that could be on your inspired lifeless too hey I think it sounds magical I've always had
[28:44] SPEAKER_01: this like I sort of fantasize about being able to do a sabbatical but like you can't
[28:49] SPEAKER_01: you can't do that really as a business owner unless you know you I think you have sort of uh
[28:54] SPEAKER_01: you know somebody very senior in your business when your name is on the door you can't just sort
[28:58] SPEAKER_01: of take off but I definitely I definitely fantasize about this magical island you're talking about
[29:04] SPEAKER_00: and be gee was there anything else Amanda you'd like to say before we wrap things up today or any
[29:10] SPEAKER_00: other advice you have for entrepreneurs here in Calgary um I think yeah if people just want to reach
[29:16] SPEAKER_01: out I'm I'm on Instagram at ahead studio and at Amanda and Hamilton and of course you guys can
[29:24] SPEAKER_01: reach us online at amandahamiltondesign.com and paletarchives.com so happy to answer questions and
[29:31] SPEAKER_01: really be a resource for people either getting into the industry, into design industry or you know
[29:37] SPEAKER_01: even entrepreneurs and heck if anyone wants to invest in paletarchives go ahead and drop me an email
[29:46] SPEAKER_00: perfect right totally totally yeah Amanda thank you so much for being a guest today it was really
[29:52] SPEAKER_00: great to have you on the show and I've learned a lot from you I know our listeners will really enjoy
[29:58] SPEAKER_00: interview as well for sure thanks so much Bonnie I really appreciate it hey there it's Bonnie
[30:04] SPEAKER_00: LG thanks for taking the time today to listen to Calgary's podcast on the Canada's podcast network
[30:09] SPEAKER_00: we hope you enjoyed the show make sure you sign up for new letters and if you have a minute please
[30:16] SPEAKER_00: write a civil review on iTunes you can connect with us on Twitter Facebook Instagram and LinkedIn
[30:21] SPEAKER_00: at Canada's podcast you can also check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country
[30:27] SPEAKER_00: see you next time