Karen Magill

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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_02: It's VanCoovers Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:26] SPEAKER_01: As an entrepreneur, you started your business to follow your passion and not to spend your evenings doing bookkeeping.
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[00:55] SPEAKER_01: Visit LegacyAdvantage.ca and if you mention that you came from VanCoovers Podcast,
[01:01] SPEAKER_01: they will give you a $100 credit to apply towards your first month. You simply can't beat that.
[01:12] SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is Robert Smile coming to today with VanCoovers Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[01:17] SPEAKER_01: Where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen here in British Columbia.
[01:21] SPEAKER_01: At age 35, Karen McGill was forced into disability due to MS, taking a 30% cut and pay caused her to file for bankruptcy.
[01:32] SPEAKER_01: Karen is disabled by MS, but every day she sees people disabling themselves with debt.
[01:39] SPEAKER_01: Now, she tackles that issue with a 90 day turnaround, 90 days to financial stability coaching program.
[01:48] SPEAKER_01: Well, Karen, welcome to the show. Thanks for taking the time today to be here for all our listeners.
[01:54] SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
[01:57] SPEAKER_01: Okay, good. Well, tell us a little bit more about yourself, where you're from and give us the details on your current business.
[02:05] SPEAKER_00: Well, I am actually, I'm right in VanCoovers. I'm originally from Victoria's. I always say I'm BC-grown because I spent most of my life in different parts of BC.
[02:17] SPEAKER_00: Like I said, right now I'm downtown VanCoovers. It is interesting, you gotta say that. I'm an EAS fan.
[02:27] SPEAKER_01: And so it's pretty busy down there these days, isn't it? I mean, it's nice and quiet. Now I hear it now, but it does get busy down there, I imagine.
[02:34] SPEAKER_00: It does because I'm one street over from Hastings.
[02:38] SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
[02:39] SPEAKER_00: So Hastings sunrise area.
[02:41] SPEAKER_01: God, yeah, I don't hear any honking horns or cars going by, so that's good.
[02:47] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, something's happening. I don't know what. Maybe they shut everything down so I could interview you.
[02:54] SPEAKER_01: Great. Well, thank you so much. So tell us about the business and the financial stability coaching program.
[03:01] SPEAKER_00: Well, as I said, I see people all the time they're disabled by debt. They let debt take away their dreams and their power.
[03:12] SPEAKER_00: When I went through my bankruptcy, after I had finished and I could get credit again, after it went off my record, I found that I was doing the same sort of stuff that I've been doing before.
[03:24] SPEAKER_00: The same sort of spending habits, you know, we're buying things you don't really need just because you want it.
[03:32] SPEAKER_00: You know, and it ends up being tucked away, not doing anything good.
[03:36] SPEAKER_00: But fortunately, I was smart enough this time to catch myself before I got at a hand. And I created a five step system.
[03:47] SPEAKER_01: And it's the system I use now to coach people about getting out of debt. When they're already in debt and they want to get out.
[03:54] SPEAKER_01: Is it a mindset thing? Is that what you coach?
[03:57] SPEAKER_00: Well, a lot of it is mindset. But first we got to take care of the practical.
[04:02] SPEAKER_00: You know, the steps to get yourself at a debt like facing your debt, what you actually have.
[04:11] SPEAKER_00: And setting your goals and dreams, spend less or more do both.
[04:16] SPEAKER_00: Changing how you think about money and debt and getting little tools that will help you not to spend so much.
[04:26] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[04:27] SPEAKER_00: To think before you spend money.
[04:28] SPEAKER_01: Right. Now, did you need financing to start your company and how are you currently making money in your business now?
[04:35] SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm actually it has been totally supported by my disability income.
[04:42] SPEAKER_01: Okay. So you take that money and invest into your business.
[04:46] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I invest. I don't spend a lot. Well, like Sam Single and I'm in a little lower priced apartment.
[04:56] SPEAKER_00: But the owner's been really good. He's only raised it three times in 11 years.
[05:00] SPEAKER_00: Raised my rent. So that's good. It's not too expensive.
[05:05] SPEAKER_01: Okay. So as a consultant, you just you get clients and then just built pay they pay a fee to you.
[05:11] SPEAKER_00: Yes. Clients, what happens is that I have a three month program. That's why it's called the 90 day turnaround.
[05:18] SPEAKER_00: And clients will pay me beforehand and then we go through the three months.
[05:25] SPEAKER_00: And they come out the other side well on the way to financial stability and to getting their debts paid off and focused on their goals on their dreams that they put aside.
[05:36] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Okay. What is the long term vision and what will your company look like in the future? Do you see the company expanding into their areas and where beyond Vancouver BC or in Canada?
[05:47] SPEAKER_00: Well, I will help anybody because the work is done by phone skyper zoom. I can help anyone in North America as long as they are using the same credit system like with credit cards and that.
[06:01] SPEAKER_00: Eventually what's going to happen is that it's going to get my company to get to the point where I'm hiring other people, people with disabilities to take on the overflow clients.
[06:14] SPEAKER_01: And I will travel speaking. I see so you'll have people to the day day operations while you're doing speaking at other engagements.
[06:24] SPEAKER_00: Yes. Okay. And people like I said people with disabilities so that way I can get back.
[06:32] SPEAKER_01: Great. Okay. Now let's talk a little bit about doing business in Vancouver.
[06:36] SPEAKER_01: What are the biggest benefits for you and being an entrepreneur here in Vancouver BC? I want you to give some of the good points about starting a company here, but I also want you to give some of the tough things or challenges for listeners so they can keep it out for them.
[06:49] SPEAKER_00: Well, I know that I have found people in Vancouver like other business people to be so helpful, especially with somebody that is struggling to get by or just starting.
[07:00] SPEAKER_00: I mean, they can always find somebody wanting to give you a hand. Even if it's just advice or to just share your news.
[07:12] SPEAKER_00: Can't get over how friendly people are, especially since I've heard that Vancouver rights are tend to be standoffish.
[07:21] SPEAKER_00: And I don't find that at all. I find that they're very friendly, very helpful. Negative has got to be the fact that it's an expensive city.
[07:31] SPEAKER_01: Yes. That's a living.
[07:33] SPEAKER_00: But then again, for my, I guess for my area of business as a plus.
[07:37] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. He's been trying to get by and pay their rent, their mortgages and get out of their credit card, yet.
[07:45] SPEAKER_01: Just trying to get by. Okay. Now we do some of our best work outside the office. Is there a place in the lower mainland close to where you live or work?
[07:53] SPEAKER_01: We like to go recharge or get inspired or just think about your business. And does it change with the season considering all the rain we get here?
[08:01] SPEAKER_00: Well, I love to go to Hastings Park to the bird sanctuary. I don't know if you've ever been there near the P&E grounds.
[08:09] SPEAKER_00: Okay. Yes. And I love to walk along there and you had a bit of the nature, but you're not too far from the city. It's great to recharge.
[08:18] SPEAKER_00: I do it in the rain sometimes too. The only time I can't do it is with P&E because they close it.
[08:26] SPEAKER_01: Okay. And so rain doesn't seem to bother you. You'll go out any any time and do that.
[08:32] SPEAKER_00: Yeah. I think if you're going to live in Vancouver, you better like the rain.
[08:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. Okay. Well, we have a lot of listeners that live outside of Vancouver and they potentially might want to come here.
[08:42] SPEAKER_01: So I want you to speak to them on this next question. If you were to start all over again and you just moved here to Vancouver, BC, but this time you don't know anyone knowing what you know now, what would you do?
[08:53] SPEAKER_01: And how would you go about starting all over again as an entrepreneur?
[08:58] SPEAKER_00: Find the right meet-up groups. You can connect with the right people.
[09:04] SPEAKER_01: Any particular that you might recommend?
[09:08] SPEAKER_00: Well, I've just joined Connect now. It's actually a lower mainland networking organization.
[09:18] SPEAKER_00: They have groups out in Abbott's Ferdin and Walnut Grover. I've tried to remember where they had one in Vancouver.
[09:28] SPEAKER_00: And do that and find the like-minded people. The people that are going to help you the most.
[09:35] SPEAKER_01: Right. Good. Okay. Let's talk about your routine. What does the first hour look like for you when you get up in the morning?
[09:41] SPEAKER_01: Do you have a specific routine or a ritual that helps you get motivated to start your day?
[09:46] SPEAKER_00: Well, I usually do this same thing. I think I'm a creature of havoc because I get up and I brush my teeth and get dressed and make my bed.
[09:54] SPEAKER_00: Then come out and turn on the computer and open the drapes and put away my dishes from the night before.
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: And then come and check my email and everything. Oh, and make my glass of apple cider vinegar and water.
[10:08] SPEAKER_01: Why that drink?
[10:11] SPEAKER_00: Keep you healthy. And I'm always trying to lose weight. So it's hoping that way too.
[10:17] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Now, do you think entrepreneurs have to be weird or unique in a positive way or wired differently?
[10:27] SPEAKER_00: I think it helps. You have to be able to think outside the box because there's so many times there's so many things I've tried that haven't worked.
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: So you've got to think outside the box for like promotion ideas or for even for a new business.
[10:43] SPEAKER_00: Just think outside the box and how to get it going.
[10:47] SPEAKER_01: It's a mindset. It's got to be able to always think creatively and...
[10:52] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so being a bit weird. Like my brother told me at Christmas time I went out to see him in Calgary.
[10:58] SPEAKER_00: He said, well, Karen, you are unique, which I think is his nice way of telling me I'm weird.
[11:04] SPEAKER_01: Okay. That could be it. Okay. What books are you reading now and why or even audiobooks? And can you recommend any books for our listeners who are also aspiring entrepreneurs?
[11:17] SPEAKER_00: I am reading a book on marketing to women. I'm having a tough time getting through it. Don't ask me why.
[11:24] SPEAKER_00: It looks like it's going to be a good one because women are responsible for what 83% of purchases.
[11:34] SPEAKER_00: So get to learn how to market to them. And I'm reading books on like the law of attraction.
[11:44] SPEAKER_00: I've got one here, the law of attraction. I'm taking doing some work with someone on that.
[11:50] SPEAKER_00: Have you seen the movie The Secret? Yes, I've got a copy of it.
[11:55] SPEAKER_00: So I've seen it a couple of times. And zero debt is another book I'm reading. Yes, I have three or four books going at the same time.
[12:03] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Any online or offline tools that you like to use on a daily basis?
[12:09] SPEAKER_00: I go to nomadets.org and I use their calculators a lot. Especially working with new clients to see how much I've gone there.
[12:22] SPEAKER_00: I'll show you like you take a debt and the interest rate and how much you're paying.
[12:28] SPEAKER_00: And I can find out how long it's going to take them to pay it off and how much interest is going to pay.
[12:35] SPEAKER_00: And then when we get a lower interest rate, they'll be able to see how much they've saved.
[12:41] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Now we're going to talk a little bit more about Vancouver again.
[12:45] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Very beautiful city. We have everything here. We have the mountains. We have the ocean.
[12:52] SPEAKER_01: Like strange places to go hiking. You name it. We got it. How do you balance work and how do you relax not even think about work?
[12:58] SPEAKER_01: And what are your favorite activities to do here in BC? Do you like to ski by kayak golf hike or simply go for a drive?
[13:05] SPEAKER_00: I like to walk. I used to write a blog on Vancouver in its history. In fact, it inspired two novels that I wrote.
[13:14] SPEAKER_00: But I like to walk and especially walk down Chinatown and Gastown and just see the history. I love the old buildings down there.
[13:23] SPEAKER_00: It recharges me sometimes to go through Chinatown.
[13:27] SPEAKER_01: If you weren't doing what you do now, what would you like to do for a profession?
[13:36] SPEAKER_00: How about my daughter's it would probably be I fell in love with speaking about five years ago when I first got on a stage.
[13:44] SPEAKER_00: I really love public speaking.
[13:46] SPEAKER_01: What kind of a job would you not like to do?
[13:50] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[13:54] SPEAKER_00: I would not want to be a maid because I am not good at cleaning. I would not want to be cleaning up everybody else's garbage.
[14:05] SPEAKER_01: In business, what is your favorite word, quote, or sentence that you like to use?
[14:15] SPEAKER_00: Persistence. I love that word because it's the only way you get things done is to keep being persistent.
[14:24] SPEAKER_01: Never give up. That's it.
[14:27] SPEAKER_01: What is your least favorite word or sentence you do not like to hear?
[14:32] SPEAKER_00: Try. I don't like to hear people say, oh, try.
[14:37] SPEAKER_01: If you had to pick one or two words to describe yourself, what would it be and why?
[14:46] SPEAKER_00: Well, persistent because I am persistent. I don't give up.
[14:55] SPEAKER_00: Funny because I like to make people laugh.
[14:58] SPEAKER_01: Humor is a skill for you.
[15:01] SPEAKER_00: Yes. It separates kind of a weird sense of humor. So a lot of people don't get it.
[15:07] SPEAKER_01: Is it sarcasm, dry humor?
[15:10] SPEAKER_00: Sometimes or it just, I'll come out with something and people look at me strangely and go, okay, they didn't think that one was funny.
[15:19] SPEAKER_01: What keeps you up at night if anything?
[15:23] SPEAKER_00: Actually, no, I sleep fairly well.
[15:26] SPEAKER_00: You know, just worried about how everything is going to go.
[15:31] SPEAKER_00: Worried about the future. I don't do that a lot.
[15:35] SPEAKER_00: I tend to sit for the long, just go, okay, what's going to happen tomorrow is going to happen.
[15:42] SPEAKER_01: Okay. I want you to give us the top three things on your inspired lifeless.
[15:47] SPEAKER_01: There's going to be a bucket list of any sort whether you want to travel more, write your own books or you've done books or write some more books.
[15:54] SPEAKER_01: Do a TEDx talk. Maybe something you might want to do.
[15:57] SPEAKER_01: Anything like that? For philanthropy?
[15:59] SPEAKER_00: I do want to do a TEDx talk.
[16:03] SPEAKER_00: I would like to... Well, one of my heroes is Rick Hansen.
[16:08] SPEAKER_00: I'd like to meet him. I am on his ambassador program.
[16:13] SPEAKER_00: I'd like to meet Rick Hansen.
[16:14] SPEAKER_00: I'd love to go to Adelaide, Australia, because there's a winery there called the McGill winery, same spelling.
[16:25] SPEAKER_00: And get a case of wine and send it back.
[16:28] SPEAKER_00: This side beneath has some wine with my name on it.
[16:31] SPEAKER_01: Red or white?
[16:34] SPEAKER_00: Probably white. I get headaches from red wine.
[16:37] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Do you have any advice that you may have received that you can pass on to entrepreneurs throughout BC?
[16:45] SPEAKER_00: It was basically my same theory about never give up to keep trying.
[16:51] SPEAKER_00: Keep looking.
[16:53] SPEAKER_00: Keep looking for your angle, how you're going to do it.
[16:57] SPEAKER_01: So find your niche, your angle, what your strength is, what your passion is, and then go for it.
[17:02] SPEAKER_00: That's it. Thank you.
[17:04] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Okay, Karen. Well, you know, as we all know, entrepreneurs are very, very busy people.
[17:11] SPEAKER_01: And we're always on the go.
[17:13] SPEAKER_01: And one of the things we want to do is slow down some times, and we're going to let you do that.
[17:19] SPEAKER_01: There's a small tropical island, just off of Fiji.
[17:22] SPEAKER_01: It only has one phone booth there, with no internet. This place does exist.
[17:26] SPEAKER_01: We're going to drop you off there. You won't have a computer or smartphone or tablet.
[17:30] SPEAKER_01: You can use the phone booth located there any time to call the boat.
[17:33] SPEAKER_01: We'll come pick you up.
[17:35] SPEAKER_01: How long would you last before you made that call?
[17:38] SPEAKER_01: What would you do while you were there?
[17:42] SPEAKER_00: How long ago? Okay. So I don't have any technology at all.
[17:46] SPEAKER_01: No. Well, you could take a computer or a smartphone with it, but there's just no internet.
[17:52] SPEAKER_00: Okay. Well, actually, I probably last probably used a month because I could just write another book.
[18:00] SPEAKER_00: Write on the experiences of every day that's there.
[18:04] SPEAKER_00: And then I'd probably get bored, want to get back to the business, so I'd call you to come pick me up.
[18:09] SPEAKER_01: Okay. So one month.
[18:11] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[18:12] SPEAKER_01: Good. Okay. We'll log that into the boat and make sure one month we're coming to get you.
[18:17] SPEAKER_01: Okay. We're going to wrap things up. How can I listen to get hold of you?
[18:19] SPEAKER_01: And is there anything you'd like to add before you leave us today?
[18:23] SPEAKER_00: Well, I would like to tell you what I do have an email course available on my website, www.carrammigill.com.
[18:32] SPEAKER_00: And it's showing you the five-step process that I use to save myself over $400,000 in future credit card interest charges.
[18:43] SPEAKER_00: And there's no charge for this course. Just seven days will be sent to your email address.
[18:51] SPEAKER_00: So anyone who's interested, come take a look at it.
[18:55] SPEAKER_01: And so always something to learn.
[18:57] SPEAKER_01: Whether you're in debt or you're not in debt, but it's still probably just financial health, right?
[19:02] SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's just to be...
[19:02] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[19:04] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Well, thank you for coming on the show. I've learned a lot about you, and I'm sure our listeners have as well.
[19:10] SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you for having me, Robert.
[19:12] SPEAKER_01: Great. Okay. We'll see you next time.