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Following your Passion

October 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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There is a beautiful line in one of my favourite books, “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho that reads “When you go on the quest for your personal legend, the Universe conspires to bring you to your goals.” This is one of my favourite passages in the book (which is full of so much wisdom). I highly recommend it for those on the quest of their vision. This line states that when you stretch yourself and move towards your heart’s desires, you will be guided and led towards its attainment. As you take action, you will meet people and circumstances that will help you attain it. You will be amazed at the great opportunities that seem to present themselves to you as you listen, take action and move towards your goals. I have come across many people that have launched new businesses after putting it off for many years, and refusing to heed to friends and families “good advice” about doing what is right and taking the path normally followed. One of the things that struck me as I spoke to them was the passion in their voices and how surprised they were at the doors that opened up for them as they embarked on their journey. It truly is a blessing to be in that presence and witness what happens when people stop listening to their inner fear and finally step out to achieve their dreams. This is something very familiar to me as well. My sister and I launched our Wellness Centre right at the start of the 2008 recession. Yes, we experienced many fears and limiting beliefs … [Read more...]

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The Real McCoy: Michael Duck – a “Sure Shot” to make Black History

February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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When one hears the story about Michael Duck, founder and president of A.C. Dispensing Equipment Inc. and inventor of the SureShot® Dispenser, a few inspirational phrases come to mind like Never give up. . . . Stay connected to yourself and . . . Maintain a sense of wonder! In the Beginning . . . Duck was born in 1957 in Neptune, New Jersey, the middle child of a family of five children. As a student, he “hated” school. His family was not well off, and he remembers wanting to be a garbage collector, because the “garbage man” would be able to pick up all the cool stuff left on the curb and then sell it. In addition to this, he demonstrated business savvy, Duck possessed an innate talent for doing things mechanical. He loved to build and fix. In 1973, the Duck family relocated to Nova Scotia. He quit school in grade 10 and worked as a stevedore along the Halifax waterfront, earning a great income; but the onset of automation technology resulted in him losing his job. An attitude of constructively defiant self-determination outweighed any feeling of frustration during this period.  In fact, it enabled him to be humble enough to ask for help. Duck and his wife got married in 1976, at the age of 18, and turned to his father for help in finding employment. This act of humility created the opportunity for him to work at Baxter Dairies as a general helper. The opportunity also came with a decrease in pay to $3.50 per hour, along with some racism from his … [Read more...]

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Women’s Enterprise Canada: WE CAN Do the Impossible

January 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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There’s a powerful proverb that says, “If you direct your children in the right path, when they are older, they will not depart from it.” For Lisa Small, Entrepreneur, Talk Show Host, Founder and Executive with Women’s Enterprise Canada, she credits her parent’s strong work ethic, unwavering commitment to family and their entrepreneurial zeitgeist, as the blue print and foundation on which she forged into her professional life. “I am not used to talking about myself, “says the mother of three modestly, “ I have been working since the age of nine with my mother who introduced me to Avon, while my dad joined the forces of Mary Kay when they came to Canada in 1970. Blue and pink were the colours of my early experience to the business world.” Says Small reminiscently. Lisa Small has flourished to be a tour-de-force professional and community spokesperson as a talk show host for one of Toronto’s most established community radio stations, a business women and an advocate for empowering women to achieve financial independence through entrepreneurship and community building. Lisa’s professional history is a credit to her savvy people skills and drive for excellence – having managed over 14 retail companies, 3 major Airlines and starting her own enterprise, e-Pictures Productions (e-PicPro) a graphics animation firm.  Credit it to an “Ah Ha” moment or a fundamental awakening to realize her dream of entrepreneurship, it was during her journey to … [Read more...]

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Paying It Forward – Empowering Community

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Nova Scotia’s Black Business Initiative (BBI) aims to improve the economic and business opportunities available to the African-Nova Scotian community. Here, BIM talks with the BBI’s Chief Strategist and CEO Rustum Southwell about the organization’s purposes and strategies. Southwell migrated to Canada from St. Kitts in 1972 and settled in Halifax. A devoted contributor to African-Nova Scotian community initiatives, his current board posts include the Halifax International Airport Authority Community Consultative Committee, United Way of Halifax, and the Board of Waterfront Development Corporation Ltd., to which he was recently appointed. In 2010, Southwell received the Black Business and Professional Association’s inaugural Distinguished Men of Honour award for his indelible contributions and leadership among black entrepreneurship and for raising the community’s economic empowerment. Since Southwell’s appointment as a founding Executive Director to the BBI in 1996, the BBI has assisted to create over 300 black businesses and nearly 700 jobs in Nova Scotia. BIM: What is the purpose of the BBI? RS: The BBI is a province-wide business development initiative committed to fostering the growth of businesses owned by members of Nova Scotia’s black community. We are committed to growing the black presence in a diverse range of business sectors including high-tech, manufacturing, tourism, and the cultural sector. BIM: How did the BBI come to … [Read more...]

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Dealing with Debt: A five-step plan to be debt-free in three years or less

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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If your employer tells you to expect a week’s delay for your next pay check, how will you respond? Will you find yourself panic-stricken, scrimmaging to rub two cents together to get by, or will you rest easy knowing you have a contingency plan—money saved in an emergency nest egg to see you through this minor financial setback? The Vanier Institute of the Family authored a report in early 2010 assessing the current financial state of Canadian families. It cited research that found 59 per cent of respondents stated “they would be in trouble if their pay check was delayed by even a week.” The study also revealed that Canadian families are “walking a financial high wire” with research from 2009 indicating several troubling trends. 2009 saw a 50 per cent increase in mortgages running 90 days or more in arrears compared to 2008. The number of credit card holders behind at least three months in their payments rose 40 per cent from 2008 to 2009. Also, household debt climbed to an astounding $96,100 in 2009, creating a debt-to-income ratio of 145 per cent, the highest it’s ever been according to the report. Along with the rest of the world, Canada is slowly recovering from one of the worst recessions experienced in a generation. Governments and corporations have begun to pick up the pieces and to lay out plans which will prevent repeats of some of their mistakes. But the “great recession” or “credit crisis” also brought to light the abysmal state of … [Read more...]

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No Small Feat: Celebrating Our Legacy An interview with Robert Small

February 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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“I believe history is the blueprint for the future. Through this poster, I would like to give the next generation of African-Canadians the hope that the future will be brighter than the past…” Robert Small - Black History Month Poster Unveiling, 2007 Toronto-based visual artist, owner of The Small Gallery and the man behind Legacy Enterprises, Robert Small has made it his life’s ambition to ensure that African-Canadians gain ‘full knowledge’ of their rich, indelible contributions and their powerful legacy to Canada—our home and native land—through his artwork, and he has made a lucrative career doing it. The creative mastermind behind The Official Black History Poster™, aptly renamed to Legacy Poster™ in recent years, Small is a self-taught artist who embarked on a creative journey 16 years ago to gain recognition for Black History Month and his posters, which proved to be a successful marriage between art and enterprise. The poster is a visual juxtaposition of diverse, successful and inspiring, contemporary and historic African-Canadians that showcase Smalls’ artistic signature of bright vivid portraits. His posters can be found mounted on the walls of classrooms, libraries, community organizations, churches, banks, homes and a variety of places across Canada, which is no small feat. Viewed by many as a leading and prominent Black History Month ambassador, Small has accumulated an expansive list of accomplishments as one of Canada’s most … [Read more...]

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