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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Canada's podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_02: Hello, this is Robert Smigel and welcome to the BC edition of Canada's podcast where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen here in British Columbia.
[00:15] SPEAKER_02: Today's guest is Nicole McLaren.
[00:17] SPEAKER_02: Nicole is an Indigenous entrepreneur from Camelouc BC and is the founder and CEO of Raven Reads and Indigenous Subscription Box Service that features books and gift wear curated from Indigenous authors and entrepreneurs across North America.
[00:38] SPEAKER_02: Well, Nicole, welcome to Canada's podcast. Thanks for taking the time today to be here for all our listeners.
[00:44] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you so much for having me today.
[00:47] SPEAKER_02: Great. So I'll go away from Camelouc's and Ms. Smokis Cleared and Ms. Snow has arrived. It's good to hear.
[00:53] SPEAKER_02: Fresh up the air. Change the season. Okay. So tell us a little bit more about yourself and give us some more details on your current business.
[01:02] SPEAKER_01: Mm hmm. So I'm a Métis mother of two. I actually started my career working in the mining industry and I was working in an office environment and it was 2015.
[01:16] SPEAKER_01: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission had just come out with their calls to action and I was looking for creative ways to engage my co-workers in this new movement.
[01:26] SPEAKER_01: So I started a book club where we focused exclusively on books written by Indigenous authors.
[01:34] SPEAKER_01: And when I started to see how impactful some of these great novels were and how much it resonated with my co-workers, much more than any corporate classroom training, I saw an opportunity to help Canadians make connections with some Indigenous authors as well as promote
[01:56] SPEAKER_01: a giftware and other products from Indigenous entrepreneurs. So Raven Reads was born in 2017 and we offer a quarterly subscription box to subscribers around the world that features books and giftware curated from Indigenous authors and entrepreneurs.
[02:14] SPEAKER_02: Awesome. Now, did you need financing to start your business and how did you get the money in the door to get started?
[02:20] SPEAKER_01: I did. So I worked with a local Aboriginal financial institution in Vancouver and they also helped match me up with future entrepreneur and BDC or business development bank at Canada.
[02:33] SPEAKER_02: Okay. You make money on subscriptions. That's how you make money on each. Now, do you, if someone sells you artwork books, things like that, it's just every month they're billed on it and they get that latest books and stuff like that.
[02:49] SPEAKER_01: Is that right? Yeah. So we, so we ship our boxes quarterly. So we start procuring items about a month or two prior to that. So we've got a budget for each box and we work with vendors to curate the items that we need for those boxes.
[03:06] SPEAKER_02: Okay.
[03:08] SPEAKER_02: I want you to give me a key piece of knowledge or information about your industry that our listeners can learn from that they may not know about anything that is interesting. I guess it's kind of I'd expect from here you're dealing with a lot of Indigenous artists and authors and things like that.
[03:25] SPEAKER_02: What does it look like for you? Is it is a lot of people doing this? I mean, it's a lot of volume. People banging down your door to sell their books. What's that look like?
[03:34] SPEAKER_01: So certainly there is a very rich and diverse Indigenous economy, both in Canada and in the US. So certainly we have no limits on being able to find items for our boxes.
[03:47] SPEAKER_01: The biggest trick is being able to find vendors that can produce enough items for our boxes. So as we grow, we also need to be finding vendors that can scale and provide us with enough units for each of our boxes.
[04:02] SPEAKER_01: In terms of the biggest lesson so far for us, it has been that when you start off with a subscription box, your margins can be very tight because you just can't access some of those higher volume discounts that maybe some of your bigger competitors can.
[04:17] SPEAKER_01: So certainly the higher the quicker you can get into higher volumes, you can start accessing some of those bigger discounts, which will just trickle down and help improve your margins.
[04:26] SPEAKER_02: What should competition look like? Is it a very competitive marketplace for Indigenous work?
[04:33] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so until April this year, we actually did not have any direct competitors. But subscription boxes have very low barriers to entry. It's quite easy for someone to go pick up a cardboard box and sell them with different content in it.
[04:48] SPEAKER_01: So we definitely were prepared for more competitors to come on to the scene, especially with the pandemic, people were looking for creative ways to support Indigenous entrepreneurs and doing some sort of a gift box featuring multiple items for multiple entrepreneurs was an attractive pursuit for some people.
[05:07] SPEAKER_01: So it's just something to watch for and ensure that your products continuously innovating.
[05:13] SPEAKER_02: Okay, now you're located in Camloops. What is the long term vision? And what will your company look like in the future? Do you see the company expanding into other areas and where beyond British Columbia or even Canada?
[05:26] SPEAKER_01: So currently we have subscribers around the world about 90% of them are in Canada and then just shy of 10% are in the US, about 1% in Europe.
[05:37] SPEAKER_01: So certainly our plans over the next year are to formally expand into the US.
[05:42] SPEAKER_01: We'd also like to begin improving some of the other options that we can offer subscribers such as digital content and a bit more interactive content on our website.
[05:54] SPEAKER_01: So it's more of a digital community as well as the physical box that comes to your doorstep.
[05:59] SPEAKER_02: But right now it's strictly box sets that you're sending out.
[06:04] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right now you get the physical box and then we do have a little bit of digital content that our subscribers can access.
[06:10] SPEAKER_02: Okay.
[06:11] SPEAKER_02: Any themes that are kind of prevalent within the boxes like as far as authors is a history of Indigenous people. What does that look like as far as the over kind of the overview of content that you usually see coming in?
[06:28] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the book certainly is the foundational piece in the box. We do feature fiction books.
[06:37] SPEAKER_01: So we look for new release novels that have come out in the last 30 to 90 days because we want to try to find something you have not already purchased.
[06:47] SPEAKER_01: And we stick with the fiction just because we find that that is, you know, it's enjoyable. It's entertainment, but it's also a learning experience.
[06:57] SPEAKER_01: And I always like it to try to find the same birthday present for thousands of people.
[07:02] SPEAKER_01: So you try to find content that will appeal to the broader, broader group of people as well.
[07:08] SPEAKER_02: Okay, let's talk a little bit about doing business in British Columbia.
[07:14] SPEAKER_02: What are the biggest benefits for you and being an entrepreneur in British Columbia? I want you to give some of the good points about starting a company here, but I also want you to give us some of the tough things or the challenges you've had for listeners so they can keep it out for them.
[07:27] SPEAKER_01: No.
[07:29] SPEAKER_01: So some of the benefits of doing business in British Columbia is certainly your proximity to ports of entry for Canada.
[07:37] SPEAKER_01: We're only a few hours away from the US border, where few hours just from the airport, as well as the port of Vancouver. So from a logistics perspective, BC is optimal for them.
[07:51] SPEAKER_01: We are located, we are however located in somewhat of a rural area. And for the first few years of my business, I was doing this out of my home, which is very rural.
[08:02] SPEAKER_01: And so shipping and logistics were one of the toughest things for us is trying to receive freight to a personal address at our driveway, certainly post some challenges.
[08:13] SPEAKER_01: But moving to Camelops has been great for that. Other benefits is you do have an ecosystem here for businesses that's incredibly supportive. There's no shortage of networking opportunities, partnership opportunities, as well as finding opportunities. So you just need to kind of get out there and ask the right questions.
[08:36] SPEAKER_02: Where have you gotten your some of your funding?
[08:39] SPEAKER_01: So like I said previously, we did go through future printer BDC, as well as an Aboriginal specific financial institution.
[08:48] SPEAKER_01: But we've worked closely also with the Women's Enterprise Center, which is based in Victoria, but they also have an office in Colona.
[08:56] SPEAKER_01: And they've had some amazing peer mentoring groups that we've also participated in and have made some great connections to those works.
[09:11] SPEAKER_02: Let's talk about some immigration. We get a lot of entrepreneurs that move here to Canada.
[09:18] SPEAKER_02: And this next question I want you to speak to them. If you were to start all over again and you just moved here to British Columbia, but this time you don't know anyone.
[09:24] SPEAKER_02: Knowing what you know now, what would you do? How would you go about starting all over again as an entrepreneur?
[09:33] SPEAKER_01: You know, when I started Raven Reads, I had no experience in books publishing.
[09:40] SPEAKER_01: I was just learning about supply chain and procurement processes. So it was quite new for me.
[09:46] SPEAKER_01: And I honestly still did not ask enough questions. So starting out, I would highly recommend trying to find people to do something similar and asking more questions.
[10:01] SPEAKER_01: I did not have a good networking group. I lived, I wasn't living in a big city and I couldn't find the networking groups that I, you know, that weren't composed of people that I saw as similar to me.
[10:15] SPEAKER_01: So I started my own. So I actually started my own meetup or like a coffee and chat group and invited other entrepreneurs that were in a similar circle as me.
[10:27] SPEAKER_01: So you just got to get out there. You got to ask the questions. And even if it's not accessible, then trying to find some like-minded people that can also help you and help share some of their experiences.
[10:38] SPEAKER_02: Okay, entrepreneurs are very disciplined people. So let's talk about your routine. What does the first hour look like for you when you get up in the morning? Do you have a specific routine or a ritual that helps you get motivated start your day?
[10:50] SPEAKER_01: I just had a baby about a year and a half ago. So my routine has gone somewhat out the window.
[10:56] SPEAKER_01: I don't know, but it typically includes just getting up, getting my family sorted out for the day, having a look at my calendar and trying to figure out what some of my priorities are.
[11:08] SPEAKER_01: I am juggling, having a toddler at home and running an online business and I do live quite far from my office. So I have to be quite disciplined in terms of managing my own expectations of what I can get done in a day.
[11:21] SPEAKER_01: So it's really looking at what are the priorities, what absolutely have to get done today, and then just personally my time for the rest of the day try to get those things knocked off the list.
[11:31] SPEAKER_02: Do you think entrepreneurs have to be weird or unique in a positive way or are wired differently?
[11:36] SPEAKER_01: I see us as problem solvers and looking for opportunity within those problems.
[11:47] SPEAKER_01: So we often think of entrepreneurship as just having a great idea, but I actually think we're just really good at seeing a need or a gap or an opportunity to improve something.
[12:01] SPEAKER_01: And we just merely have the fire or the desire or motivation to go address that and play a role in that opportunity.
[12:12] SPEAKER_02: Let's talk about how you educate yourself. What books are you reading now and why read audiobooks of podcasts? Can you recommend a books for the sinners who are also entrepreneurs?
[12:23] SPEAKER_00: That's a really good question.
[12:30] SPEAKER_02: Any business books that you like to read, learn from?
[12:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they're all on my bookshelf.
[12:38] SPEAKER_01: So I do listen to a lot of podcasts and I like to focus on ones that are giving me more of a practical that can train me how to do things better, whether sell the product better or get more customers.
[12:56] SPEAKER_01: So I'm a big fan of Amy Porterfield who has a podcast called online marketing made easy.
[13:04] SPEAKER_01: And they're short, they're easy to digest that they give you some practical tools on how you can really either grow your audience, sell more product, just grow your email list.
[13:16] SPEAKER_01: I'm also a big fan of entrepreneurship elevated and that is another great time management type of podcast.
[13:29] SPEAKER_02: Okay, any online or offline tools that you're using on a daily basis that helps you do your business, that'll be scheduling Google docs, anything like that.
[13:40] SPEAKER_01: So now that I manage a team as well as myself, I'm a big fan of project management and task management apps.
[13:48] SPEAKER_01: So I do use an app called Asana, which helps me kind of delegate tasks to my team, but it also helps me when I start to feel like I've gotten a bit off track.
[13:58] SPEAKER_01: I can go back in and take a look at what I ultimately need to get done.
[14:03] SPEAKER_01: And then I've also used an app called Clockify, which just helps me track my time and really kind of do a bit of an audit of how much time I spend on certain tasks and see if there's something I maybe need to delegate to someone on the team or bring someone on board to handle.
[14:20] SPEAKER_02: Okay, let's talk a little bit about your personal life. If you weren't doing what you do now, what would you like to do for a profession?
[14:29] SPEAKER_01: If I had absolute choice in what I was doing, I would love to go back to university and I actually started in a science background.
[14:42] SPEAKER_01: So I had two undergraduate degrees in archaeology and paleontology. So I'm actually a big science nerd.
[14:53] SPEAKER_01: And I'd love to just do academic for a while and just do research and study and do a bit of travel as well.
[15:00] SPEAKER_02: What kind of job would you not like to do?
[15:03] SPEAKER_01: I don't think I could go back to a nine to five corporate office environment again.
[15:12] SPEAKER_01: I found it incredibly stifling for creativity and you know, it's almost taking me a few years to try to peel off the conservative.
[15:24] SPEAKER_01: Just lack of innovation and creativity kind of strips it away from you when you do that for a long period of time.
[15:32] SPEAKER_02: Okay, in business, what is your favorite word quote or sentence that you like to use?
[15:38] SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
[15:40] SPEAKER_02: There's some people that work with you said she says this a lot.
[15:46] SPEAKER_00: That's a really good question.
[15:50] SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I have a particular saying that I focus on, but lately it's been really important.
[15:57] SPEAKER_01: I've kind of been focused on the 80 20 principle of, you know, yielding, you know, 20% of your 80% of your results will be in the way you want to.
[16:07] SPEAKER_01: So come from about 20% of your your efforts.
[16:10] SPEAKER_01: And so not trying to spend too much time laser focused on getting something perfect, but really doing the best you can on it and move it on to the next thing.
[16:21] SPEAKER_02: What's your least favorite word sentence you do not like to hear?
[16:25] SPEAKER_02: We've tried that.
[16:27] SPEAKER_02: Okay, get a pick one word or two words and describe yourself. What would it be and why?
[16:33] SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
[16:38] SPEAKER_00: I'd have to say.
[16:45] SPEAKER_00: Is he proactive?
[16:51] SPEAKER_00: I do not do well doing one thing at a time.
[16:57] SPEAKER_01: And I don't sit still very well.
[17:00] SPEAKER_01: So I constantly have something on the go.
[17:02] SPEAKER_01: And I'm constantly trying to think ahead and think about how I can keep the ball moving on things, keep conversations going and and keep people engaged.
[17:14] SPEAKER_01: Anything keeping you up at night these days?
[17:18] SPEAKER_01: I think it's kind of just how I can keep my business innovating and keeping it interesting and continue to just grow our subscription base.
[17:28] SPEAKER_02: I want you to give us a top three things on your inspired lifeless. This could be if you want to do philanthropy, a TEDx talk, travel more.
[17:36] SPEAKER_00: I think like that.
[17:41] SPEAKER_01: I want to use Raven reads as a platform to help other businesses grow and be more successful.
[17:50] SPEAKER_01: So just and this has kind of happened organically since we've started is as we work with vendors and suppliers, a lot of these are indigenous owned businesses and they're growing at the same time as we are.
[18:04] SPEAKER_01: And so what I've noticed is there's a huge opportunity to support these entrepreneurs to scale find ways to produce or manufacture more products, take advantage of higher volume discounts on things and better understand the logistics and transportation landscape.
[18:22] SPEAKER_01: So what my ultimate dream is is to open up a new manufacturing and warehouse and distribution center here in British Columbia that'll really provide that support and focus in on underrepresented entrepreneurs across Western Canada to help them grow and scale their own businesses as well.
[18:45] SPEAKER_02: Do you have any advice that you may have received that you can pass on to entrepreneurs or Canada?
[18:54] SPEAKER_02: Someone never told you anything or heard anything that said, wow, that really applies to me.
[19:02] SPEAKER_01: I think the biggest piece, the biggest thing I've been told and I try to pass that forward is that entrepreneurship is a commitment.
[19:14] SPEAKER_01: It's a long term commitment. It doesn't happen overnight as much as we hear amazing stories of successful tech companies that just kind of take off overnight.
[19:25] SPEAKER_01: This is a long term commitment and it takes hard work to see it come through.
[19:31] SPEAKER_01: So the advice I've received is sticking with it and really just working continuing to work hard and you will continue to see those pay off in dividends.
[19:40] SPEAKER_02: Don't give up.
[19:43] SPEAKER_02: Okay, good Nicole, how can listeners get hold of you and is there anything you'd like to add before you leave us today?
[19:51] SPEAKER_01: So I can be contacted through my website at www.nacoleamaclaren.com or you can find us through Ravenreads.org.
[20:03] SPEAKER_01: We've got our email listed on there.
[20:05] SPEAKER_01: Last thing I would add would just be touching based on what I said earlier about asking the questions and being being, you know,
[20:19] SPEAKER_01: really pursue getting all the information you can before you dive into something and just keep asking the questions, keep knocking on doors, keep putting emails and people's inboxes and build up a community of people to support you and provide you.
[20:34] SPEAKER_01: With information that can really help you just succeed and fill in the gaps as you go along.
[20:42] SPEAKER_02: Awesome. Okay Nicole, thanks for coming on the show. I've learned a lot about you and I'm sure our listeners have as well.
[20:47] SPEAKER_02: And to all our listeners, thanks for listening to Nicole on Canada's podcast.
[20:51] SPEAKER_02: Like, comment and subscribe to all our channels to get the latest podcasts from entrepreneurs across Canada. And we'll see you next time.
