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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:37] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's podcast, the number one podcast for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs.
[00:44] SPEAKER_02: I'm your host Mario Tonoguzi for Calgary's podcast.
[00:48] SPEAKER_02: And joining me today is Connor Curran, who is chief laundry folder for the local laundry.
[00:54] SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us today, Connor.
[00:56] SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for having me, really looking forward to being here.
[00:59] SPEAKER_02: Okay, chief laundry folder.
[01:00] SPEAKER_02: I've got to ask you about that title.
[01:02] SPEAKER_02: Where's that coming from?
[01:04] SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, as an entrepreneur, I mean, titles are kind of...
[01:08] SPEAKER_03: They don't really mean anything because as an entrepreneur, you kind of do it.
[01:12] SPEAKER_03: Where many hats?
[01:12] SPEAKER_03: You do everything, right?
[01:13] SPEAKER_03: So we kind of want to have a little bit fun with it.
[01:15] SPEAKER_03: Our business is called Global Lineries Make Closing.
[01:18] SPEAKER_03: And part of my job is folding a lot of shirts, whether it's at markets or for packets.
[01:24] SPEAKER_03: Or whatever.
[01:25] SPEAKER_03: So we just kind of thought we'd have fun with it.
[01:27] SPEAKER_03: And she said, the boring old CEO, we went to chief laundry folder.
[01:31] SPEAKER_03: And my business partner is chief laundry operator.
[01:33] SPEAKER_02: Okay, tell me a little bit about the company, what it is, and what you guys do.
[01:37] SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
[01:38] SPEAKER_03: So we're local laundry.
[01:39] SPEAKER_03: We're a Canadian-made clothing company.
[01:42] SPEAKER_03: And that builds community, right?
[01:43] SPEAKER_03: So we use our Canadian-made clothing as a vehicle to give back and build community.
[01:47] SPEAKER_03: How would you do that?
[01:47] SPEAKER_03: There are five pillars of community.
[01:49] SPEAKER_03: Representing where you come from, collaborating with others,
[01:52] SPEAKER_03: and share that community-building spirit, sharing those stories from the community,
[01:56] SPEAKER_03: donating 10% of all of our promised backslip with charities that our customers will choose.
[02:01] SPEAKER_03: And then finally and most importantly, by only supporting Canadian manufacturing
[02:04] SPEAKER_03: to help drive a diverse community.
[02:07] SPEAKER_02: Run me back in time about the genesis of the company.
[02:11] SPEAKER_02: How it started?
[02:12] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
[02:14] SPEAKER_03: So I, from Calgary, you know, we would hear what I was five,
[02:17] SPEAKER_03: and grew up here a lot.
[02:18] SPEAKER_03: Did my parents are, you know, their first generation Canadians?
[02:20] SPEAKER_03: And so we really grew up having this fierce pride for all things Calgary.
[02:26] SPEAKER_03: And so I worked in oil and gas out of school for a couple of years.
[02:30] SPEAKER_03: Didn't really enjoy it.
[02:31] SPEAKER_03: It wasn't my thing.
[02:31] SPEAKER_03: Like everyone else in 2014, I got laid off.
[02:35] SPEAKER_03: And so instead of trying to find another oil and gas job,
[02:38] SPEAKER_03: I asked to send to my wife.
[02:40] SPEAKER_03: I was like, let's get out of here.
[02:40] SPEAKER_03: Let's go travel for a little bit.
[02:43] SPEAKER_03: And so we decided to move to Sweden of all places where I could study for my MBA through my masters.
[02:47] SPEAKER_03: And it was there that I quickly realized, you know what, my parents,
[02:51] SPEAKER_03: they're like I said, first generation, they immigrated here back in the 70s,
[02:55] SPEAKER_03: and they became entrepreneurs.
[02:57] SPEAKER_03: You know, maybe able to create this great business for themselves
[02:59] SPEAKER_03: that not only could support a family, but they use it as a vehicle to give back to the community.
[03:04] SPEAKER_03: So my parents like all Irish and French, what do they do?
[03:07] SPEAKER_03: They open up an Irish pub.
[03:12] SPEAKER_03: And they used their pub as a way to help other new Canadians that were coming.
[03:17] SPEAKER_03: From all over different countries to help bring them over, to help get them jobs,
[03:21] SPEAKER_03: to help get their PR, bring their families over, get them set up,
[03:24] SPEAKER_03: and move on to their new lives in Canada.
[03:27] SPEAKER_03: I really like that they were their own bosses.
[03:30] SPEAKER_03: They created a life of themselves, they supported a family,
[03:33] SPEAKER_03: but they really used their business as a way to give back.
[03:35] SPEAKER_03: So I thought, you know what, all the gas was not for me.
[03:38] SPEAKER_03: I really want to start my own business and kind of have those same kind of things.
[03:41] SPEAKER_03: So living in Sweden now, that fear is pride for Calgary.
[03:45] SPEAKER_03: We thought, you know, it would be really great if we could create a clothing company,
[03:48] SPEAKER_03: that would showcase that pride, that myself and a lot of other Calgary's have.
[03:52] SPEAKER_03: And so I had no business getting into the clothing industry.
[03:57] SPEAKER_03: I don't have nothing but clothes, fashion, nothing but e-commerce.
[03:59] SPEAKER_03: But I just knew that clothing could be such an expressive way to represent where you come from
[04:04] SPEAKER_03: and to showcase your values as a person.
[04:07] SPEAKER_03: So I just kind of do what every student does in Google search,
[04:11] SPEAKER_03: how to make a clothing company, and then I watch a YouTube video.
[04:14] SPEAKER_03: And then slowly piece by piece by piece, you know, at a cost of $50, you know,
[04:20] SPEAKER_03: 24 hours, I had an online clothing company, you know,
[04:23] SPEAKER_03: and it just kind of grew from there.
[04:26] SPEAKER_02: Sorry, when did you start it?
[04:28] SPEAKER_02: 2015.
[04:30] SPEAKER_02: 2015.
[04:31] SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you can tell me about it,
[04:32] SPEAKER_02: it can give me an indication of what your annual sales are now.
[04:37] SPEAKER_02: Now this year we're going to be doing close to three quarters of a million.
[04:41] SPEAKER_02: Wow.
[04:42] SPEAKER_02: Amazing what you can find on YouTube, right?
[04:45] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
[04:46] SPEAKER_03: So it's pretty incredible because I thought my goal is to self-tenshirts.
[04:49] SPEAKER_03: I thought if I could just mention it, I would be the world's smartest man.
[04:54] SPEAKER_03: And then the next thing I like about e-commerce and,
[04:57] SPEAKER_03: and especially clothing businesses, it's not like a lot of other businesses
[05:00] SPEAKER_03: because you get this notification from shop and find this little thing, you know,
[05:04] SPEAKER_03: X-ching, and it's this little rush of dopamine that makes you get excited
[05:09] SPEAKER_03: about getting the next sale and the next sale.
[05:12] SPEAKER_03: And it started very small, you know,
[05:14] SPEAKER_03: I remember talking to my dad's accountant, I said,
[05:17] SPEAKER_03: what about taxes and all these things, GST?
[05:20] SPEAKER_03: He's like, don't worry about that stuff, you know,
[05:21] SPEAKER_03: you don't have to pay GST, you don't have to admit GST
[05:24] SPEAKER_03: unless you're over $30,000 saying you're revenue.
[05:27] SPEAKER_03: And I laughed at him.
[05:28] SPEAKER_03: I was like, $30,000, we were like,
[05:31] SPEAKER_03: in a year, you never get that, I never have to worry about GST.
[05:35] SPEAKER_03: And then it just slowly grew and grew and grew.
[05:38] SPEAKER_02: Wow.
[05:39] SPEAKER_02: Before I forget, what was the name of your parents' pub?
[05:43] SPEAKER_02: It's called the James Joyce Irish pub, right downtown.
[05:45] SPEAKER_02: Oh my lord, I've been there many times.
[05:48] SPEAKER_02: Right?
[05:49] SPEAKER_02: I was growing a few pints of Guinness and other things there.
[05:52] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, it's been a bit of an institution here in town.
[05:55] SPEAKER_03: They've been running it for over 20, 21 years.
[05:59] SPEAKER_03: Oh wow.
[06:00] SPEAKER_03: How come you didn't get involved in that business?
[06:02] SPEAKER_03: Well, it's funny, we all did it in I3 sisters.
[06:04] SPEAKER_03: We like to call the pub our fourth sibling, you know,
[06:07] SPEAKER_03: it's the fifth family child.
[06:08] SPEAKER_03: And we all got our start there.
[06:11] SPEAKER_03: We all started the dish pit.
[06:12] SPEAKER_03: You know, my sisters served.
[06:14] SPEAKER_03: I did the bartender during the summer's university.
[06:19] SPEAKER_03: We saw a family like cousins that still run there.
[06:22] SPEAKER_03: My brother-in-law's the head chef there.
[06:24] SPEAKER_03: It's very much a family run business.
[06:26] SPEAKER_03: But I just kind of saw the way how hard my parents worked
[06:30] SPEAKER_03: and that kind of thing.
[06:31] SPEAKER_03: And the restaurant, I just didn't have a passion for food
[06:35] SPEAKER_03: and how all my parents did.
[06:37] SPEAKER_03: So I wanted to get into my own thing.
[06:39] SPEAKER_02: I'm trying to remember the location of that.
[06:42] SPEAKER_02: Is that the one on the eighth avenue?
[06:44] SPEAKER_03: That's the one on eighth avenue.
[06:46] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, at the time we opened up another one on the fourth street mission.
[06:50] SPEAKER_03: It's called the Joyce M4, but we sold that about 12 years ago.
[06:54] SPEAKER_02: You know what, you know what I find interesting?
[06:55] SPEAKER_02: The very first time I was in James Joyce, the pub, with my wife.
[07:00] SPEAKER_02: I noticed something that was different about the pub, right?
[07:06] SPEAKER_02: And then I realized there are no TVs here.
[07:10] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[07:11] SPEAKER_02: And I just thought, this is not a refreshing thing that in a pub
[07:15] SPEAKER_02: and these day and age, there are no TVs.
[07:18] SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
[07:19] SPEAKER_03: Well, there's no TVs and there's no bottle beer.
[07:22] SPEAKER_03: Because they want to create an atmosphere of actual conversation.
[07:25] SPEAKER_03: And you put me in a bar and I don't care what's on the TV.
[07:28] SPEAKER_03: I'm just drawn to it.
[07:29] SPEAKER_03: And that really taught me a really valuable lesson because, you know,
[07:33] SPEAKER_03: the flames knew we had the great run in 2004.
[07:35] SPEAKER_03: And I said, yeah, I'm going to get TVs.
[07:36] SPEAKER_03: Everyone wants to watch the flames give me.
[07:38] SPEAKER_03: It's like, no, you know, where a place that doesn't have a TV is a different year.
[07:43] SPEAKER_03: And I didn't understand that, you know, at the time, and now as a business owner,
[07:48] SPEAKER_03: you know, you have to have those different years.
[07:50] SPEAKER_03: Every bar has TVs and you just throw TVs.
[07:53] SPEAKER_03: Then you're just like every other bar.
[07:54] SPEAKER_03: But if everyone has TVs and you don't, now your bar is different, right?
[07:58] SPEAKER_03: And I kind of took that into my business and I'll give you a great example.
[08:01] SPEAKER_03: You know, we ran the business for about two years and then two years at the business,
[08:05] SPEAKER_03: we could realize like, we got this great logo.
[08:07] SPEAKER_03: People love the YYST.
[08:08] SPEAKER_03: We're like, you know, it's just a cool, it's just a neat design.
[08:11] SPEAKER_03: It's those substance to it.
[08:13] SPEAKER_03: So we actually made the conscious decision to actually switch our entire manufacturing
[08:16] SPEAKER_03: over at community manufacturers exclusively.
[08:19] SPEAKER_03: And this was nuts at the time because Canadian manufacturing was twice the price, right?
[08:24] SPEAKER_03: And you would have to charge almost twice the price, you know, retail value.
[08:29] SPEAKER_03: And people are saying, Carter, that's no one wants to pay $80, $90 a sweater.
[08:34] SPEAKER_03: And I just, we just really believe I said, look, no one else is doing this.
[08:36] SPEAKER_03: Everyone's getting their calling from Pakistan, India, China.
[08:40] SPEAKER_03: If we can go make the search Canadian made, now we're not competing with everyone else, right?
[08:45] SPEAKER_03: We're playing our own game.
[08:46] SPEAKER_03: And that was the greatest decision ever.
[08:48] SPEAKER_03: And I really attribute that to my parents because like everyone is probably saying,
[08:52] SPEAKER_03: you got to get TVs, flames games, you got to get to the message, no, now they're only compete.
[08:56] SPEAKER_03: They're the only public, no TVs.
[08:58] SPEAKER_03: There's no one else that can compete with them on that.
[09:00] SPEAKER_02: Like, yeah, no, great.
[09:02] SPEAKER_02: Speaking of the flames, did I see correctly somewhere that you have some sort of a partnership with them right now?
[09:09] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
[09:10] SPEAKER_03: So that goes back to one of our big pillars is collaborating with other community builders that share those common values.
[09:15] SPEAKER_03: And so we've been reaching out to the flames for Asia's trying to come up with a good partnership.
[09:19] SPEAKER_03: And finally, it was through the Calgary Flames Foundation, right?
[09:23] SPEAKER_03: They do some amazing work.
[09:24] SPEAKER_03: They've committed over $8 million to various cherries across the city during the start since the start of COVID.
[09:31] SPEAKER_03: And so they kind of push us in.
[09:32] SPEAKER_03: You know, our hashtag is united by community.
[09:35] SPEAKER_03: You guys are all about community with love to kind of come up with a partnership.
[09:38] SPEAKER_03: So we did and we got this great shirt that says community with the retro flame and sea.
[09:42] SPEAKER_03: And $15 from every T-shirt sale that we do goes right back to the Calgary Flames Foundation
[09:48] SPEAKER_03: in order for them to continue to do their great work.
[09:51] SPEAKER_03: And it's just a fantastic partnership.
[09:53] SPEAKER_03: And when you have two organizations that kind of share those same values,
[09:56] SPEAKER_03: I wanted to give back community building, you know, there's only good things that can happen.
[10:01] SPEAKER_03: Instead of working in our different little silos, it's, you know,
[10:05] SPEAKER_03: why can't we help each other out?
[10:06] SPEAKER_03: Let's see how we can help each other grow, because we ultimately all want the same thing.
[10:11] SPEAKER_01: This podcast is sponsored by eBay Canada.
[10:14] SPEAKER_01: eBay Canada is powering Canadian small businesses.
[10:18] SPEAKER_01: Go to eBay.ca forward slash up and running.
[10:21] SPEAKER_01: Chopen your new global e-commerce business.
[10:25] SPEAKER_02: Well, I just want to touch a little further on this community aspect of your business.
[10:30] SPEAKER_02: Why is that important to you?
[10:32] SPEAKER_02: Why is it important to build relationships in the community and support the community by giving back?
[10:40] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's, it's a really great question.
[10:41] SPEAKER_03: I'm actually studying this in my master's thesis, my undergrad thesis.
[10:47] SPEAKER_03: I actually started to look at corporate social responsibility and how it affects businesses.
[10:51] SPEAKER_03: And in this day and age, you know, you just cannot, you know, businesses do not act in a bubble.
[10:57] SPEAKER_03: You know, businesses are a vital stakeholder in the community.
[11:00] SPEAKER_03: They're an integral part of the community.
[11:02] SPEAKER_03: And you can't just be making money and profit for, you know, for money and profit sake.
[11:08] SPEAKER_03: You have to be able to kind of give back because people,
[11:11] SPEAKER_03: Debt I really want to support something that gets back.
[11:14] SPEAKER_03: You know, if we had two, two widgets, two companies, the exact same widgets,
[11:18] SPEAKER_03: two companies that, that the existing price, the widgets for exact same,
[11:22] SPEAKER_03: one gave the portion back to the community or one hell of fundraisers.
[11:25] SPEAKER_03: I think people would support that widget company that, that gave back.
[11:28] SPEAKER_03: So I actually did statistical analysis on this in my, in my undergrad thesis,
[11:33] SPEAKER_03: that companies, it's actually good for business to, to, to give back.
[11:37] SPEAKER_03: And it just makes sense because I saw growing up how my parents were able to give back,
[11:41] SPEAKER_03: the impact that I had on these people.
[11:43] SPEAKER_03: And for me, you know, and maybe this is a blaniel thing, maybe this is young generation.
[11:47] SPEAKER_03: But, you know, we want to, people want to, we lead fulfilled lives.
[11:52] SPEAKER_03: And you can't do that by just making, you know, a bunch of money.
[11:55] SPEAKER_03: You have to be able to give back, right?
[11:57] SPEAKER_03: And, and be part of something bigger.
[11:59] SPEAKER_03: And that has been one of the most valuable things I'm sorry, this will just be the whole thing we're going to go under tomorrow.
[12:03] SPEAKER_03: You know, just the people that we've, that we've met, that we've helped, that we've worked with.
[12:08] SPEAKER_03: And it's not, we really want to be the thought leader that just because your small business does,
[12:12] SPEAKER_03: we can't make a big difference.
[12:13] SPEAKER_03: It's not all about ready-million dollar checks, right?
[12:16] SPEAKER_03: You can give back in both community and your own unique way,
[12:18] SPEAKER_03: whether it's volunteering, organizing a fund raiser, you know, even just simple things like sharing the story of a cause.
[12:25] SPEAKER_03: You know, retweeting a local charity's mission or, or plea for help.
[12:29] SPEAKER_03: Like, there's lots of different ways you give back and, and to us, it just,
[12:32] SPEAKER_03: it just means everything to, to have a company that just stands for something that has values,
[12:39] SPEAKER_03: well, in a day and age, with a lot of corporations and companies, you know, are completely morally depleted, you know,
[12:45] SPEAKER_03: it would, it would seem.
[12:46] SPEAKER_03: So we just kind of want to be that, that small voice, let's say, that, that, to maybe help inspire other people to kind of give back and say,
[12:51] SPEAKER_03: look, it's not that hard, you know, we all want the same thing.
[12:55] SPEAKER_03: Why not?
[12:55] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thanks for that explanation, because I've always felt and thought, even from an anecdotal perspective,
[13:03] SPEAKER_02: that, you know, the companies that really do well are the ones that are really entrenched in community,
[13:10] SPEAKER_02: you know, I think of places like, like, Spalumbos, right?
[13:14] SPEAKER_02: And, you know, and how they have grown as a business tremendously, simply because of that community connection.
[13:21] SPEAKER_02: So thanks for mentioning that.
[13:23] SPEAKER_03: Oh, no, my pleasure. I really do think it's so important.
[13:27] SPEAKER_03: I think it's absolutely a consumer to support those businesses, right?
[13:31] SPEAKER_03: You know, because it's important for people like yourself to support Spalumbos, you're actually going to subway or something.
[13:37] SPEAKER_03: You know, not, not to say that, to pick subway out of a hat, but I mean, it's, it's not, sometimes it's not up to businesses to really help and make their
[13:45] SPEAKER_03: concepts to consumers to support those businesses who actively decide to make those changes, right?
[13:50] SPEAKER_03: And that's why we say, every purchase you do, you're voting with your wallet, right?
[13:54] SPEAKER_03: So if you want to support community manufacturing and diverse community economy, responsibly, ethically, environmentally friendly, made products,
[14:00] SPEAKER_03: you have to vote with your wallet, right? And that's on me too, as a consumer, right?
[14:06] SPEAKER_02: So what's your vision for the company as you look forward and into the future?
[14:11] SPEAKER_03: Great question. We really want to bring community manufacturing back to this country.
[14:15] SPEAKER_03: We want to be the heralds of the importance of community manufacturing, the economic benefits, environmental benefits.
[14:21] SPEAKER_03: We used to make things here in this country. I mean, my wife and I were cleaning out her granny's house last summer,
[14:27] SPEAKER_03: and you would be shocked. The amount of things we found that were made in Canada, from hangers, colds, furniture, clothing, shoe, you made it.
[14:34] SPEAKER_03: We go back 150 to 100 years. 90% of everything our grandparents had in their house was made probably than 100 km radius, or at least in Canada.
[14:47] SPEAKER_03: Now you go look at your closet, you go look at your kitchen, you, I guarantee less than 10% of what's in your house is actually made here in Canada.
[14:56] SPEAKER_03: We've completely, we've completely offshore our middle class, right? And I think there's a growing gap between the hazen and the haznuts.
[15:06] SPEAKER_03: And I think we really want to be heralds of community manufacturing and look at all the goods.
[15:10] SPEAKER_03: And yes, it all comes down to price because we as consumers have been trained that we want more value for less and less and less and less.
[15:18] SPEAKER_03: We love the rush of getting a good deal of buying things for cheap meat now, and trained to buy a t-shirt for pennies on the dollar.
[15:27] SPEAKER_03: And so we really want to be, we really want to go back to the idea of slow fashion, we want to go back to the idea of let's shrink our closings, let's shrink the things that we have in our house, and support things that are actually made here.
[15:38] SPEAKER_02: So, Conner, are you strictly an e-commerce business?
[15:43] SPEAKER_03: No, so we have lots of great retail partners, so one of our bigger retail partners is like Mark's Work Warehouse, who, who, another, you know, started here in Calgary by Great Entrepreneur.
[15:53] SPEAKER_03: There are big supporters of us, we're in about five, six of their stores, as well as below the belt, another great Alberta, a great family run, second generation business, and then lots of independent retailers like, there's a lot of a, and he's village, two, a whole 70-bath, Luke Strugmark, and Richland.
[16:08] SPEAKER_03: And then, of course, we are available one more.
[16:11] SPEAKER_02: Now, do you ever would consider opening an actual store?
[16:16] SPEAKER_03: You know, we go back and forth every day, I mean, that was always kind of, as a clothing company, that's always kind of the natural step, right?
[16:24] SPEAKER_03: You start out going to retail stores, you get bigger and that kind of thing.
[16:29] SPEAKER_03: And it's, you know, then you open up your own store.
[16:32] SPEAKER_03: And I think this pandemic is, you know, the last couple of years, as a matter of fact, I mean, with the rise in small business tax, the rise in rent, the rise in, you know, the pandemic with everything shut down, it looks to be like, it's going to be a very long time before people are actually comfortable shopping.
[16:50] SPEAKER_03: And clothing is a very particular thing because you're trying things on, right? Maybe you're trying things on someone else's truck.
[16:55] SPEAKER_03: I know, for now, it's not in the, it's not in the cards.
[16:59] SPEAKER_03: You know, a growing, a new source of revenue that we've discovered is organizations that want custom clothing, right?
[17:06] SPEAKER_03: That want garments that are quality, that have a good story, that have, you know, unique and interesting design, that's not just a logo.
[17:13] SPEAKER_03: And so, that's kind of a market that we're kind of more focused on.
[17:16] SPEAKER_03: We have some great partnerships, you know, like with the flames of other organizations.
[17:19] SPEAKER_03: We want to get rid of the word swag. You know, when you go to conferences and go to all the booths, you get your bag of cheap stuff.
[17:26] SPEAKER_03: I have nothing. Right? You're right. They're just like garbage versions of things you already have.
[17:31] SPEAKER_03: And we want to eliminate them because that's just going, you take it home, you get excited for a minute, and then you throw it in the garbage and it goes to the landfill.
[17:38] SPEAKER_03: We want to create things that last that people get excited about.
[17:41] SPEAKER_03: But it also, you know, support a diversity economy that is made here.
[17:46] SPEAKER_03: So that's kind of more, instead of going to the traditional brick and mortar route, we want to go more, you know, helping organizations, great meaningful gifts or uniforms or, you know, projects for, for their team members.
[18:00] SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, you know, we mentioned a couple of things there about the times that we're in.
[18:06] SPEAKER_02: Obviously, you know, we were dealing with the pandemic, we're dealing here in Calgary with the oil and gas industry that still hasn't recovered from 2014 when prices collapsed.
[18:20] SPEAKER_02: And then as an entrepreneur, also a lot of businesses are facing the increasing costs, like, you know, property taxes are going crazy here in Calgary.
[18:29] SPEAKER_02: That's been in the news constantly, right about how difficult it has been.
[18:34] SPEAKER_02: How would you manage to survive through all that? Is it not?
[18:37] SPEAKER_03: I tell you, every day is a new thing that's been thrown at you.
[18:43] SPEAKER_03: I think it's a good, really difficult time to be, you know, for a lot of reasons.
[18:47] SPEAKER_03: So, you know, this happened back in March and you're just kind of like, your whole world is turned upside down, you know, and your traditional, you know, revenue streams are just out the window.
[18:55] SPEAKER_03: So I mean, prior to COVID, you know, 60, 70% of our businesses was through retail, right?
[19:00] SPEAKER_03: And these wholesale partners that we have.
[19:03] SPEAKER_03: And in an instant, that just shut off, gone, turned off, store shut down, canceled orders, done, zero, right?
[19:10] SPEAKER_03: So now you're kind of like, okay, where are we at?
[19:12] SPEAKER_03: You know, luckily, we've always, like I said, we don't have a ton of investment.
[19:16] SPEAKER_03: We have zero investment. We had no longer a debt, I started the company $50 and the company's always kind of been self-sufficient.
[19:22] SPEAKER_03: So luckily, we were in a good position, you know, very few liabilities.
[19:26] SPEAKER_03: But we kind of thought, okay, what can we do to help support and build the community and, you know, keep things going?
[19:32] SPEAKER_03: So my wife, she's a nurse at a little hospital here in town.
[19:35] SPEAKER_03: She's working with COVID-19 patients.
[19:37] SPEAKER_03: And we thought, let's come out with a garment that really showcases and represents all the great things that our healthcare professional workers do and the love that goes into their work.
[19:47] SPEAKER_03: And let's shine a spotlight on them.
[19:48] SPEAKER_03: So we created this bamboo organic cotton sweater that had a nice little design on it, that showcased the love of care that health care professionals go.
[19:58] SPEAKER_03: And 100% of all that profit went right back to the United Way COVID-19 community, really fun.
[20:04] SPEAKER_03: So we ended up raising $20,000 for this COVID-19 community, really fun.
[20:07] SPEAKER_03: Put on a city of Calgary and the United Way to help the most vulnerable people, homeless, veterans, elderly, disabled people get through this cup time.
[20:16] SPEAKER_03: So to me, it's, you have to be able to be flexible organic. You have to kind of change it with the time, you know, you've gone out of the days where you can just say,
[20:25] SPEAKER_03: well, this is way we've always done it, you know, this is the way we're going to keep doing it, right?
[20:30] SPEAKER_03: That you got to throw everything you thought were out the window and try to come up these new things.
[20:36] SPEAKER_03: We didn't make any money on these bamboo sweaters, right?
[20:39] SPEAKER_03: But it kept cash coming through the door, kept us alive, it kept our workers, our manufacturing partners, you know, employed, it kept people working, you know, in a safe environment.
[20:50] SPEAKER_03: And then it highlighted the great people that are doing the most important work of the time.
[20:54] SPEAKER_03: And then where there is $20,000 for this amazing fund, put on by the United Way and see the geography.
[20:59] SPEAKER_02: What did you say about being an entrepreneur that you like the most?
[21:03] SPEAKER_03: I tell you, the thing I love the most, I mean, the thing I love the most is I think what every human being tries to strive for the most, which is autonomy, right?
[21:16] SPEAKER_03: People want to be autonomous, they want to be able to make their own decisions, live their own lives, you know, when I was working in an online gas, and I love the only gas industry, I really do, it just wasn't for me.
[21:26] SPEAKER_03: I was a slave to my risk, you know, just being like, okay, you know, I get here, I got to be here for nine, I got to, you know, do this thing by this, lunch by this, home by this, you know.
[21:36] SPEAKER_03: And now, you know, there was weekend time, there's work time, vacation time, not only time, and I love that I complete control my time.
[21:53] SPEAKER_03: So, to kind of give back, connect with others, you know, and make a difference, which is, which the things really important to me.
[21:59] SPEAKER_03: And as I'm sure you know, the life entrepreneur is an absolute rule of course, and I know people say that all the time, but it's a life of extreme highs.
[22:10] SPEAKER_03: You know, you land a huge deal, you know, big part, and you're just, I've danced up and down the stairs, you know, I shouted from a rooftop, called my parents, and my mom was so excited.
[22:20] SPEAKER_03: You know, but then it's extreme lows, those three trigger by anything by, you know, a poor review, a disappointing customer.
[22:27] SPEAKER_03: So, on online, leave me a, you know, unfairly comment, and then you're just down in the dumps, and you're just, you know, am I the dumbest person in the world?
[22:36] SPEAKER_03: Is this the biggest mistake? What am I doing? You know, imposter syndrome is a big issue with a lot of entrepreneurs.
[22:40] SPEAKER_03: But I always say them absolute worst day of my life as an entrepreneur is 10 times better, 10 times better than my best day when I was working in a cubicle in an office and not enjoying my life.
[22:54] SPEAKER_03: So I would, yes, it's a roller coaster. Yes, it's not easy. It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
[23:01] SPEAKER_02: All right, super. Well, thanks a lot for joining us today, Connor.
[23:03] SPEAKER_03: No, my pleasure. Thank you so much for taking the time to highlight, asking the manufacturing and for listening and I hope you're listening.
[23:14] SPEAKER_02: Okay, great. That was Connor Curran, who is cheap laundry folder for local laundry. This has been Calgary's podcast on your host Mario Tonoguzzi.
[23:23] SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us today and be sure you follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
[23:31] SPEAKER_01: This podcast is sponsored by eBay Canada. eBay Canada is here to help. They've been supporting Canadian small business retailers for 25 years and their up and running program is getting Canadian businesses online today.
[23:45] SPEAKER_01: Visit ebay.ca forward slash up and running. Stay local and sell global with eBay.
