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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Canada's Podcast.
[00:06] SPEAKER_01: Hi, this is Cynthia Lockery and welcome to Canada's podcast,
[00:10] SPEAKER_01: where we talk to entrepreneurs for making it happen right here in BC.
[00:17] SPEAKER_01: Today, I'm excited to be joined by Gita.
[00:21] SPEAKER_01: As someone who loves the outdoors problem-solving and helping others,
[00:25] SPEAKER_01: Gita started a camp opportunity, which is like Airbnb, but for camping.
[00:31] SPEAKER_01: She endeavors to make the outdoors easily accessible to everyone.
[00:36] SPEAKER_01: Okay, this is going to be a good conversation.
[00:39] SPEAKER_01: There's a few of us here that love to camp, but you know,
[00:43] SPEAKER_01: might want a little bit easier experience.
[00:46] SPEAKER_01: So why don't we start by you telling us about yourself and your organization?
[00:53] SPEAKER_01: There are things.
[00:54] SPEAKER_02: Cynthia, thanks for having me on Canada's Podcast.
[00:57] SPEAKER_02: It's a real pleasure. It's very exciting.
[00:59] SPEAKER_02: So yes, I'm the CEO and co-founder of Camp Rituniti,
[01:02] SPEAKER_02: which is like the Airbnb of camping.
[01:04] SPEAKER_02: So we are a website that invites landowners to list their land for campers to book for short-term stay.
[01:12] SPEAKER_02: So we are solving the problem of there being way too many campers and not enough campsites.
[01:19] SPEAKER_02: So I'm going to rewind a little bit. A little bit about me.
[01:23] SPEAKER_02: Born and raised in Wurfing, Cooper.
[01:25] SPEAKER_02: I graduated from Simon Fraser University with a degree in General Arts,
[01:30] SPEAKER_02: and I got into tourism right away, and I just simply loved it.
[01:33] SPEAKER_02: There's nothing more satisfying than showing off your city, your country, your province,
[01:39] SPEAKER_02: the rest of the world.
[01:41] SPEAKER_02: And I have a real passion for that.
[01:44] SPEAKER_02: And also, coincidentally, you really have to real estate as an investor.
[01:48] SPEAKER_02: So I just kind of feel like my whole background all tangled up was kind of a perfect segue into Camp Rituniti,
[01:56] SPEAKER_02: which kind of popped in as an idea back in 2016 when I went camping.
[02:03] SPEAKER_02: So I love the outdoors.
[02:05] SPEAKER_02: One of my favorite things to do is hiking, biking, especially,
[02:09] SPEAKER_02: dragon-boding, very much a Vancouver sport.
[02:12] SPEAKER_02: So in 2016, a group of friends and I decided to go camping just outside of Pemberton.
[02:19] SPEAKER_02: And it was about the second day in when I finally said, where are we?
[02:23] SPEAKER_02: Are we at a campsite? What is this place that we're camping on?
[02:26] SPEAKER_02: It was an organized event.
[02:28] SPEAKER_02: So it turned out it was on private property.
[02:31] SPEAKER_02: It was very beautiful. It had a lakefront with mountains of the background and a waterfall on the other side.
[02:39] SPEAKER_02: Wow, this is really gorgeous, it's very spacious, it was perfect.
[02:42] SPEAKER_02: It was one of the most memorable weekends I've ever had.
[02:46] SPEAKER_02: And a few months later, my toll founder Nora, a camp rituniti, and I went camping.
[02:51] SPEAKER_02: And this time it was at a peritual park, and it was a much different experience.
[02:57] SPEAKER_02: It was crowded.
[03:00] SPEAKER_02: Our gravel plot was like this 9x9 space, just for our tent.
[03:05] SPEAKER_02: And it was like five in the morning, the RVs are going blind.
[03:09] SPEAKER_02: People rushing for the bathrooms.
[03:11] SPEAKER_02: It just felt like, oh my goodness, I'm in like pajamas.
[03:13] SPEAKER_02: I didn't want to get out of my tent. Everyone's going to see me.
[03:16] SPEAKER_02: And it just felt like, you know, I think we need more options here.
[03:22] SPEAKER_02: And so that was the birth of camp rituniti.
[03:24] SPEAKER_02: And it was just, for me, it was one of my first ventures in entrepreneurship.
[03:29] SPEAKER_02: I've done some entrepreneur work before as well.
[03:33] SPEAKER_02: And I've started some previous companies.
[03:35] SPEAKER_02: But the opportunity was the one that was the most promising.
[03:39] SPEAKER_02: So when we thought of the idea, we just dove right into it.
[03:43] SPEAKER_02: We have the right background for it.
[03:45] SPEAKER_02: And so, here we are today.
[03:49] SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's so great.
[03:50] SPEAKER_01: And I know, good luck getting a campsite in a perv intro park,
[03:54] SPEAKER_01: unless you're sitting on the button, hitting the booking.
[03:58] SPEAKER_01: So I love that you're opening up these opportunities.
[04:03] SPEAKER_01: In terms of working as an entrepreneur,
[04:08] SPEAKER_01: is there any job that you had?
[04:10] SPEAKER_01: I know you said you had some background in tourism.
[04:13] SPEAKER_01: But is there anything that kind of made you feel prepared for being your own boss?
[04:21] SPEAKER_02: You know, there's some freedom that comes with being your own boss.
[04:23] SPEAKER_02: And I think I was ready for that in this stage of my life for me to decide,
[04:27] SPEAKER_02: hey, this is when I should take a vacation.
[04:29] SPEAKER_02: And this is when I should do this and this.
[04:31] SPEAKER_02: So I mean, I think it just comes naturally that we all like to have our own freedom.
[04:35] SPEAKER_02: But you know, when I was my started the opportunity, I wasn't thinking,
[04:39] SPEAKER_02: I want to be my own boss.
[04:40] SPEAKER_02: I want to be an entrepreneur.
[04:42] SPEAKER_02: I wasn't thinking that.
[04:43] SPEAKER_02: I was thinking there's a problem and I have a burning desire to solve it.
[04:48] SPEAKER_02: That was my drive.
[04:49] SPEAKER_02: That was my passion.
[04:51] SPEAKER_02: I really didn't think what would come of it entirely other than,
[04:57] SPEAKER_02: I need to help, I need to help solve this.
[05:00] SPEAKER_02: And so that's what was mostly on my mind.
[05:04] SPEAKER_01: I love that and I love it.
[05:06] SPEAKER_01: It's like it really is about a problem that's out there.
[05:09] SPEAKER_01: And you, you have the insight and the ideas and what I'm hearing is the passion to move forward.
[05:19] SPEAKER_01: So is there any insights or or little nuggets or knowledge about your?
[05:26] SPEAKER_01: Or particular industry that might be of interest to listeners?
[05:31] SPEAKER_02: I do a little bit of Google research on this one.
[05:34] SPEAKER_02: I have to be honest because the campsite booking industry is massive.
[05:38] SPEAKER_02: And I just love it.
[05:38] SPEAKER_02: I love sharing this number that in the recent years,
[05:42] SPEAKER_02: seven point two million people, households, not even people, households,
[05:47] SPEAKER_02: sorry, have engaged in some kind of campaign activity.
[05:51] SPEAKER_02: So that's like more than all of British Columbia.
[05:54] SPEAKER_02: So it just goes to show how much we're needing the outdoors and how much we love it.
[05:59] SPEAKER_02: And you want to be in that space.
[06:02] SPEAKER_01: Well, and since COVID, I think people are wanting to have a little bit more space
[06:08] SPEAKER_01: and enjoy that versus all being together.
[06:12] SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
[06:14] SPEAKER_01: So what are you most proud of in terms of the work that you do?
[06:19] SPEAKER_02: It is again tied back to that,
[06:21] SPEAKER_02: hoping campers get outside,
[06:24] SPEAKER_02: hoping them have this other option to get outdoors doors.
[06:27] SPEAKER_02: We know that nature is good for us mentally and physically
[06:31] SPEAKER_02: and being able to provide something where people with anxiety and depression
[06:36] SPEAKER_02: or just need to break that they can easily get that break.
[06:40] SPEAKER_02: And that's what the camp opportunities all about is.
[06:42] SPEAKER_02: It's where all of the,
[06:43] SPEAKER_02: an easy process of search, browse, and book to find out what you're doing.
[06:47] Speaker UNKNOWN: And then I went to find a perfect campsite.
[06:49] SPEAKER_02: It was about maybe three years ago that I went to visit one of our hosts,
[06:55] SPEAKER_02: our opportunity host on Vancouver Island.
[06:58] SPEAKER_02: And once in a while, whenever I can, I try to get out and meet as many hosts
[07:01] SPEAKER_02: and even campers as possible.
[07:04] SPEAKER_02: And so we went, visited this host and it was this beautiful farm.
[07:08] SPEAKER_02: And she had pigs and goats on the farm.
[07:14] SPEAKER_02: And I got to pet a pig.
[07:16] SPEAKER_02: And it was the first time in my life that I had a pig as an adult.
[07:19] SPEAKER_02: This was the first time.
[07:21] SPEAKER_02: And I was so excited.
[07:23] SPEAKER_02: And I got to learn about these goats and the goats were just following us around
[07:27] SPEAKER_02: as we were touring the farm.
[07:28] SPEAKER_02: They're almost like dogs, like the personalities a little bit, so friendly.
[07:32] SPEAKER_02: And it was just such a great experience for me.
[07:34] SPEAKER_02: And I thought, wow, imagine kids experiencing this.
[07:38] SPEAKER_02: They would be overjoyed or, you know, other people visiting Canada
[07:42] SPEAKER_02: or even just people who are used to our small condos in our urban life settings
[07:47] SPEAKER_02: just get out and visit these animals.
[07:50] SPEAKER_02: A lot of our hosts are farmers and ranchers.
[07:52] SPEAKER_02: And I think that to me is something that's really proud is giving this experience back to people
[07:59] SPEAKER_02: or letting them engage in this kind of experience.
[08:03] SPEAKER_02: And that's really what's on the camper side.
[08:06] SPEAKER_02: Now you have this whole other side, which is the host.
[08:09] SPEAKER_02: And every week we pay our hosts.
[08:13] SPEAKER_02: You know, they have campers, they get their money.
[08:15] SPEAKER_02: And when I'm looking at the numbers that they're collecting,
[08:18] SPEAKER_02: I almost feel a little jealous.
[08:20] SPEAKER_02: I think, wow, I wish I own property.
[08:22] SPEAKER_02: Like we have hosts that are rating a thousand of dollars every month.
[08:28] SPEAKER_02: And it's just really satisfying to know that they're able to sustain their land.
[08:32] SPEAKER_02: They can pay their taxes.
[08:34] SPEAKER_02: They can continue to grow food again because some of them are ranchers and farmers
[08:40] SPEAKER_02: so it keeps our food in local and less dependent on import and it's healthier to eat local food.
[08:47] SPEAKER_02: So there's just all these kind of ripple effects that are happening.
[08:51] SPEAKER_02: And I mean, all of that together makes me know that this is right.
[08:56] SPEAKER_01: Now, if you have someone's listening right now and is thinking,
[09:00] SPEAKER_01: I think I want to be an entrepreneur and take that lead.
[09:04] SPEAKER_01: Is there any advice as somebody who's taken the lead that you would give?
[09:09] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I have plenty of advice.
[09:12] SPEAKER_02: Be prepared to hustle.
[09:14] SPEAKER_02: That's my number one.
[09:16] SPEAKER_02: This is a tough job.
[09:18] SPEAKER_02: And I remember when my son was born on a Saturday and I was pitching on the Wednesday.
[09:29] SPEAKER_02: On the next Wednesday.
[09:31] SPEAKER_02: So yeah, and thankfully it was virtual.
[09:34] SPEAKER_02: So no one could tell that I had just given birth.
[09:37] SPEAKER_02: But it's that kind of hustle.
[09:39] SPEAKER_02: Like there's something going on.
[09:40] SPEAKER_02: You got to do it.
[09:41] SPEAKER_02: And that's that's a part of business.
[09:43] SPEAKER_02: It's kind of like your other baby and you really have to grow it.
[09:46] SPEAKER_02: You have to be there for it.
[09:48] SPEAKER_02: You have to wear various hats.
[09:49] SPEAKER_02: You know, one day I'm marketing or even one minute I'm marketing the next day.
[09:53] SPEAKER_02: I'm doing a podcast.
[09:54] SPEAKER_02: The next day I'm writing for a grant.
[09:57] SPEAKER_02: And it's just all these different types of things you got to do.
[10:02] SPEAKER_02: I would also be good advice is if you are starting a tech company.
[10:06] SPEAKER_02: Get a tech founder because very expensive to have a website or anything techy.
[10:15] SPEAKER_02: Unless you have a tech person on your team.
[10:18] SPEAKER_02: So we kind of learned that the hard way when we started camp.
[10:21] Speaker UNKNOWN: And we had a lot of opportunities.
[10:22] SPEAKER_02: It was very expensive.
[10:24] SPEAKER_02: But now we have a CTO chief technical officer on our team.
[10:29] SPEAKER_02: We were able to relaunch the website this year and it's been like nine day.
[10:34] SPEAKER_02: So I think also market validation.
[10:37] SPEAKER_02: I sometimes hear people come up with an idea.
[10:41] SPEAKER_02: And I mean, it sounds like a nice idea, but really is there a market for it?
[10:45] SPEAKER_02: You don't want to start something because you think that it's a great idea.
[10:47] SPEAKER_02: And it's product that you want.
[10:49] SPEAKER_02: But are there other people who want it?
[10:52] SPEAKER_02: And we're talking about millions.
[10:54] SPEAKER_02: There has to be a million billion dollar industry to really pick up.
[10:59] SPEAKER_02: So I would say really do your market validation.
[11:04] SPEAKER_02: I guess be committed.
[11:08] SPEAKER_02: Go easy on yourself.
[11:10] SPEAKER_02: I'd say be gentle.
[11:12] SPEAKER_02: I say hustle, but also be kind to you.
[11:17] SPEAKER_02: Always remember to be kind to you.
[11:19] SPEAKER_02: Don't let things like age get in your way.
[11:22] SPEAKER_02: Or if you think like, well, I have this many kids.
[11:25] SPEAKER_02: I can't possibly you'd be surprised.
[11:27] SPEAKER_02: A lot of entrepreneurs out there who are older, but children who have more ideas.
[11:31] SPEAKER_02: So if everything is lined up properly.
[11:35] SPEAKER_01: Go for it.
[11:36] SPEAKER_01: I love that.
[11:37] SPEAKER_01: That's such great advice.
[11:39] SPEAKER_01: And let's talk about being based in BC.
[11:42] SPEAKER_01: So we're both based on the beautiful West Coast.
[11:45] SPEAKER_01: What do you see are some of the benefits of having a business based in BC?
[11:53] SPEAKER_02: For me, so the benefits.
[11:54] SPEAKER_02: And I guess a business and for me being based in BC is.
[11:57] SPEAKER_02: Is I can really empathize with what's going on.
[12:01] SPEAKER_02: I can really get a sense of how important nature is.
[12:04] SPEAKER_02: I can get a sense of the pain.
[12:06] Speaker UNKNOWN: I can really get a sense of the pain.
[12:08] SPEAKER_02: I can't really get into nature and try to look at campsite.
[12:10] SPEAKER_02: To really understand that.
[12:11] SPEAKER_02: It resonates for me.
[12:14] SPEAKER_02: Camping is also a low cost vacation option.
[12:18] SPEAKER_02: And it's eco-friendly.
[12:20] SPEAKER_02: And I can really understand what it's like to have debt.
[12:24] SPEAKER_02: And what it's like to have the cost of living here in Vancouver especially.
[12:29] SPEAKER_02: It's actually going to be so difficult.
[12:31] SPEAKER_02: And wanting to continue to create a solution for that.
[12:34] SPEAKER_02: So just being in BC, being in Vancouver.
[12:37] SPEAKER_02: It's expensive.
[12:38] SPEAKER_02: So, can opportunity, you know, we try to keep, encourage our host to keep the prices low.
[12:43] SPEAKER_02: So that people can afford these things.
[12:46] SPEAKER_02: Because I know what it's like.
[12:47] SPEAKER_02: And you feel that pain too.
[12:49] SPEAKER_02: And so I'm actually living in it as well.
[12:52] SPEAKER_02: So that's one of the big benefits of it.
[12:54] SPEAKER_02: And also just being here in BC.
[12:57] SPEAKER_02: It's, you know, this is the best place on earth.
[13:02] SPEAKER_02: So having things around in this nature.
[13:05] SPEAKER_02: It's a good motivator.
[13:07] SPEAKER_02: And it makes you really feel like, wow, we should share this.
[13:11] SPEAKER_02: We should really take advantage of this.
[13:13] SPEAKER_02: And love it.
[13:14] SPEAKER_02: And appreciate it.
[13:15] SPEAKER_02: Be in it as much as possible.
[13:18] SPEAKER_01: Now, what are some of the challenges of running a business.
[13:23] SPEAKER_01: In BC, because there's always the other side of the coin.
[13:27] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[13:28] SPEAKER_01: There definitely is.
[13:30] SPEAKER_02: And the other side of the coin is an unfortunate one.
[13:33] SPEAKER_02: I feel like, especially the last few years in that show, it's the fires.
[13:40] SPEAKER_02: This is a massive global problem.
[13:45] SPEAKER_02: It is huge for humanity.
[13:47] SPEAKER_02: This should be given 100% of our attention that the world is on fire.
[13:52] SPEAKER_02: That's at the macro level.
[13:54] SPEAKER_02: A micro level obviously affects camping.
[13:57] SPEAKER_02: And Vancouver and BC, we have maybe four months of sunshine out of the year.
[14:02] SPEAKER_02: Where we're like, hooray, we all like to run outside and enjoy the sun.
[14:06] SPEAKER_02: And we have these fires.
[14:08] SPEAKER_02: You can't, you're limited again to the indoors.
[14:11] SPEAKER_02: You can't smell this.
[14:12] SPEAKER_02: You know, you can't be out there.
[14:13] SPEAKER_02: It's as tough where we don't understand what the effects of this will be in 20 years from now.
[14:18] SPEAKER_02: The fires are on our lungs.
[14:21] SPEAKER_02: It's definitely a challenge that way on that aspect of it.
[14:27] SPEAKER_02: I would say secondary challenges, just being in BC, being in Canada,
[14:31] SPEAKER_02: it almost feels like our funding is a little bit more limited than the U.S.
[14:36] SPEAKER_02: I feel like in the U.S. people are throwing money around like to assist capitalism gone crazy.
[14:41] SPEAKER_02: And there's a lot of investment into businesses.
[14:43] SPEAKER_02: Our competitors are from Silicon Valley.
[14:46] SPEAKER_02: Where there's millions and millions of dollars being pumped in.
[14:52] SPEAKER_02: And Canada is in good ways and bad ways.
[14:55] SPEAKER_02: Simply a little bit more conservative on that end.
[14:59] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's definitely something I've heard from other guests on this show is,
[15:03] SPEAKER_01: is that challenge or a smaller market share?
[15:09] SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
[15:12] SPEAKER_01: So you live in North Vancouver.
[15:14] SPEAKER_01: So you're in an urban area,
[15:17] SPEAKER_01: which sometimes can be easy for networking, but also can be overwhelming.
[15:22] SPEAKER_01: So if you had somebody who was moving to your community and wanted to get a foothold,
[15:28] SPEAKER_01: is there any advice that you would give?
[15:32] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and this really helped me when I first got started.
[15:35] SPEAKER_02: I would say go visit small business BC.
[15:38] SPEAKER_02: They are a fantastic resource.
[15:42] SPEAKER_02: You can look them up on the internet,
[15:44] SPEAKER_02: but they have tons of information.
[15:46] SPEAKER_02: I was in and out of their offices so much that they got to know me.
[15:49] SPEAKER_02: And they're just a great starting point.
[15:51] SPEAKER_02: They have courses.
[15:53] SPEAKER_02: They have their personal advisors.
[15:55] SPEAKER_02: And it's just a wonderful starting point.
[15:57] SPEAKER_02: Networking events. Yeah, you're right.
[15:59] SPEAKER_02: They can be overwhelming.
[16:00] SPEAKER_02: So I think you got a picket shoes, which ones you want to go to.
[16:03] SPEAKER_02: Because your time is precious.
[16:05] SPEAKER_02: Use it wisely.
[16:07] SPEAKER_02: And so I tend to go to events if I kind of get an idea of who this is going to be there,
[16:11] SPEAKER_02: or who are the guest speakers, or how will this benefit me?
[16:15] SPEAKER_02: Do I need this at this time?
[16:17] SPEAKER_02: So usually when I go to do a raise,
[16:20] SPEAKER_02: I'll ramp up my networking a little bit more.
[16:23] SPEAKER_02: So that's what I would say as my advice.
[16:26] SPEAKER_01: That's a great.
[16:27] SPEAKER_01: Now let's talk about successes and unfortunately failures.
[16:33] SPEAKER_01: Or challenges, not failures.
[16:36] SPEAKER_01: So how do you define success, but more importantly,
[16:40] SPEAKER_01: how do you take the time to celebrate?
[16:43] SPEAKER_02: I define a success if I'm able to sleep well at night.
[16:49] SPEAKER_02: If I can sleep through the night,
[16:51] SPEAKER_02: if I don't go to bed with something on my mind
[16:53] SPEAKER_02: that's causing some sort of panic or anxiety,
[16:56] SPEAKER_02: then I know I had a good day.
[16:58] SPEAKER_02: Things are smooth.
[17:00] SPEAKER_02: So that's how I define that.
[17:02] SPEAKER_02: I also like to kind of plan something for the end of my week.
[17:06] SPEAKER_02: So I'll say to myself,
[17:08] SPEAKER_02: if I get through this many tasks that I got to do,
[17:13] SPEAKER_02: then I'll go have a nice dinner.
[17:14] SPEAKER_02: I'll plan a dinner with my family or something.
[17:16] SPEAKER_02: And it also gives me something to look forward to.
[17:18] SPEAKER_02: Because a lot of the tasks that we do do,
[17:21] SPEAKER_02: quite frankly, aren't fun.
[17:23] SPEAKER_02: And I can tell you, like for example,
[17:24] SPEAKER_02: trying to write a grant or a government grant application,
[17:30] SPEAKER_02: is so incredibly painful.
[17:32] SPEAKER_02: But you have to set up these little markers for yourself
[17:35] SPEAKER_02: saying, okay, and get through this.
[17:37] SPEAKER_02: This is how I would reward myself.
[17:39] SPEAKER_02: And it can even be, but sometimes for me,
[17:41] SPEAKER_02: it's just like, I'm going to watch a movie on Netflix.
[17:43] SPEAKER_02: I'm going to give myself that time to just decompress.
[17:47] SPEAKER_02: And yes, successes are often always,
[17:50] SPEAKER_02: I just say, are often things that I can also break.
[17:52] SPEAKER_02: I can break to my friends about it.
[17:55] SPEAKER_02: And I can say, hey, this happened.
[17:57] SPEAKER_02: The best I know is a success, too.
[17:58] SPEAKER_02: I can verbally say, yeah, this is great.
[18:00] SPEAKER_02: This happened.
[18:02] SPEAKER_01: And so we get these bumps in the road and challenges
[18:07] SPEAKER_01: as entrepreneurs, how do you navigate those?
[18:11] SPEAKER_02: That's why I have a co-founder.
[18:14] SPEAKER_02: That's why it's great to have a co-founder.
[18:16] SPEAKER_02: There's always going to be these days where you're like,
[18:23] SPEAKER_02: I've gone to my co-founder, Nora, and I say,
[18:25] SPEAKER_02: you want to give up?
[18:26] SPEAKER_02: I throw my hands in the end.
[18:28] SPEAKER_02: I'm like, I can't do this anymore.
[18:29] SPEAKER_02: And she said, wait a minute.
[18:31] SPEAKER_02: Okay, let's talk about this.
[18:33] SPEAKER_02: And she brings me down.
[18:35] SPEAKER_02: And there are some days where Nora's not as often,
[18:39] SPEAKER_02: but there's some days where she might feel that way, too.
[18:41] SPEAKER_02: And we talk about, say, well, this is what the problem is,
[18:44] SPEAKER_02: is what we can get through it.
[18:45] SPEAKER_02: So it's always great to have somebody else who's on the team
[18:49] SPEAKER_02: who knows the way you work and who knows the business
[18:53] SPEAKER_02: as well as you do.
[18:56] SPEAKER_02: And I feel like there's also a lot of times
[18:58] SPEAKER_02: this fear that gets in the way.
[19:02] SPEAKER_02: Even when the opportunity, the website was built,
[19:06] SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was ready to launch.
[19:07] SPEAKER_02: All I had to do was press the button.
[19:10] SPEAKER_02: I'm sending a rocket off into space.
[19:12] SPEAKER_02: That's what I had to do to launch this website.
[19:14] SPEAKER_02: And there's this moment of, oh my goodness.
[19:16] SPEAKER_02: So I know what I'm doing.
[19:17] SPEAKER_02: Like panic, panic.
[19:18] SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, you just do it.
[19:20] SPEAKER_02: Just do it.
[19:21] SPEAKER_02: Don't let that fear get in your way.
[19:22] SPEAKER_02: Fear is, I think, one of the worst blockers of anything in life,
[19:27] SPEAKER_02: like just go for it.
[19:30] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[19:31] SPEAKER_01: That's good advice.
[19:32] SPEAKER_01: And I was reading something the other day
[19:34] SPEAKER_01: that the challenges we have are always growth opportunities.
[19:39] SPEAKER_01: And if we look at how we grow and change
[19:43] SPEAKER_01: is they all usually happen from a challenge.
[19:47] SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about one challenge.
[19:50] SPEAKER_01: We've had COVID.
[19:52] SPEAKER_01: So that's changed your organization.
[19:54] SPEAKER_01: So what do you, what's your goal as an entrepreneur
[19:57] SPEAKER_01: for the next five years?
[19:59] SPEAKER_01: Where do you want to be?
[20:02] SPEAKER_02: I would let it if opportunity is synonymous with camping in Canada.
[20:07] SPEAKER_02: I'm honest.
[20:08] SPEAKER_02: Totally take over this market and be the top campsite
[20:12] SPEAKER_02: booking website in Canada.
[20:14] SPEAKER_02: We're a Canadian company.
[20:16] SPEAKER_02: We've been here for past few years.
[20:18] SPEAKER_02: We're growing.
[20:19] SPEAKER_02: It just makes sense that we cater to our country.
[20:24] SPEAKER_02: Beyond that, I would love to go global.
[20:26] SPEAKER_02: I would love to be outside of Canada, get into other countries,
[20:29] SPEAKER_02: expand.
[20:30] SPEAKER_02: You know, there's camping is a global phone.
[20:33] SPEAKER_02: Like people everywhere want to go camping.
[20:35] SPEAKER_02: It's not just here.
[20:36] SPEAKER_02: We just happen to have one of my favorite pieces of nature.
[20:38] SPEAKER_02: And also a team.
[20:41] SPEAKER_02: It'd be nice to have a team.
[20:42] SPEAKER_02: It is a lot of work being an entrepreneur.
[20:46] SPEAKER_02: And we have a team, but it's relative.
[20:49] SPEAKER_02: We small.
[20:50] SPEAKER_02: If we're going to grow, it'd be great to grow that team as well.
[20:54] SPEAKER_02: And now we say one of my major goals is to be as annoying
[20:58] SPEAKER_02: as possible to our competitors.
[21:02] SPEAKER_02: I just want to annoy them so much.
[21:04] SPEAKER_02: And ultimately, I would love a merger or an acquisition.
[21:07] SPEAKER_02: But the goal is at this moment is to just grow, grow, grow.
[21:12] SPEAKER_01: Love it.
[21:14] SPEAKER_01: So what routines have you done any routines?
[21:19] SPEAKER_01: You're a mom.
[21:20] SPEAKER_01: I'm a mom.
[21:22] SPEAKER_01: Some of the routines that people recommend do not work for us.
[21:25] SPEAKER_01: Like start your day with meditation.
[21:28] Speaker UNKNOWN:
[21:31] SPEAKER_01: That is not happening.
[21:34] SPEAKER_01: Is there any routines that do help?
[21:37] SPEAKER_01: Or do you help you to stay grounded?
[21:40] SPEAKER_01: Or to get that clarity you need?
[21:44] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[21:45] SPEAKER_02: And you're right.
[21:46] SPEAKER_02: I'm not starting my day with any sort of meditation.
[21:50] SPEAKER_02: But I am starting it with reading the news.
[21:52] SPEAKER_02: That's one of the first things that I do when I get out of that.
[21:55] SPEAKER_02: Is read the news.
[21:56] SPEAKER_02: I just want to know what's going on in the world, even if it's global.
[22:01] SPEAKER_02: I want to know what's happening around me.
[22:04] SPEAKER_02: I think knowing what's happening in other countries,
[22:06] SPEAKER_02: and what's going on with those people, doesn't only keep you grounded as well,
[22:10] SPEAKER_02: it keeps you grounded, it keeps you humble, keeps you educated,
[22:14] SPEAKER_02: and on top of things.
[22:15] SPEAKER_02: So that's one way I love to start it.
[22:18] SPEAKER_02: And even though, yeah, I don't meditate, I do try to hit the gym as much as possible.
[22:22] SPEAKER_02: I try to set going to the gym, like going to a meeting.
[22:27] SPEAKER_02: I have to be there.
[22:29] SPEAKER_02: It's kind of the same thing.
[22:30] SPEAKER_02: So I try to do that as much as possible.
[22:32] SPEAKER_02: But you know, mention being a mom.
[22:35] SPEAKER_02: I do try to give that time to my son too.
[22:38] SPEAKER_02: So one of my routines in the morning, my son and I have breakfast together
[22:41] SPEAKER_02: before he's off to daycare.
[22:43] SPEAKER_02: And it's really giving him that moment.
[22:47] SPEAKER_02: The way everything's away, all the electronics are away.
[22:51] SPEAKER_01: And just with him.
[22:54] SPEAKER_01: That's a great way of getting grounded though, to start your day.
[22:57] SPEAKER_01: Being present.
[22:59] Speaker UNKNOWN:
[23:00] SPEAKER_01: So has there been any advice you've gotten or?
[23:04] SPEAKER_01: Books you read or anything that has really stuck with you that you want to share with our listeners today?
[23:14] SPEAKER_02: I'm a really big fan of Dale Carnegie books.
[23:19] SPEAKER_02: He's kind of an intro writer, but I think what he's preaching is timeless.
[23:24] SPEAKER_02: So one of the ones, actually, I have a right behind right here.
[23:29] SPEAKER_02: It's how many friends and influence people.
[23:31] SPEAKER_02: I hope I'm getting the title correctly.
[23:32] SPEAKER_02: But I really love those kind of books because it being an entrepreneur is not about you thinking you're so great.
[23:40] SPEAKER_02: I can do whatever.
[23:41] SPEAKER_02: You know, you have to be personable.
[23:43] SPEAKER_02: You have to have these interpersonal skills.
[23:46] SPEAKER_02: You need to go these network events.
[23:48] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you really need to be able to connect with people.
[23:50] SPEAKER_02: And I think there's no business that grows on its own.
[23:55] SPEAKER_02: It is a village of people and a village of support that's coming to you.
[24:00] SPEAKER_02: So you really need to be on top of your game when it comes to you and your personality.
[24:07] SPEAKER_02: And also what you're giving back to the entrepreneur community as well.
[24:13] SPEAKER_01: That's great advice because we are here to lift each other out versus compete with each other.
[24:19] SPEAKER_02: Totally.
[24:19] SPEAKER_02: And that's what I love about one of the things I love about being an entrepreneur too is that it is so supportive.
[24:24] SPEAKER_02: I've never felt that anything I've ever done.
[24:26] SPEAKER_02: You can go to pitch competition and there's other founders who are pitching against you.
[24:32] SPEAKER_02: But backstage or like, you can do it.
[24:35] SPEAKER_01: You can do it.
[24:37] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
[24:39] SPEAKER_01: So is there anything else you want to share or comment on before we wrap up?
[24:45] SPEAKER_01: Just that.
[24:46] SPEAKER_01: Please visit our website.
[24:47] SPEAKER_02: www.campertunity.com.
[24:50] SPEAKER_02: It's a real pleasure to do these kind of interviews where I get to talk about myself and the company.
[24:55] SPEAKER_02: And I love to hear from the public too. So please check us out.
[24:59] SPEAKER_02: Help us to grow and take care of yourself.
[25:02] SPEAKER_01: Get into nature.
[25:04] SPEAKER_01: Love it.
[25:05] SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you.
[25:06] SPEAKER_01: And I live on Vancouver Island.
[25:09] SPEAKER_01: So I'll be getting into nature.
[25:11] SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
[25:12] SPEAKER_01: Enjoy that.
[25:12] SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
