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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Toronto's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:17] SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone, I'm Slee Williams, an international speaker and business strategist and I'd like to
[00:22] SPEAKER_00: welcome you to Toronto's podcast.
[00:24] SPEAKER_00: We are part of the Canada's podcast network.
[00:27] SPEAKER_00: Your source for great insights for entrepreneurs from across Canada.
[00:32] SPEAKER_00: I would like to introduce my guest for today.
[00:35] SPEAKER_00: Laura Boparlom, who is an international keynote speaker.
[00:39] SPEAKER_00: She's the author of an incredible book, Brand Chemistry and the founder and creative director
[00:44] SPEAKER_00: at Lab Creative and most importantly, my friend.
[00:47] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being here Laura.
[00:49] SPEAKER_00: Thanks Slee and awesome to be here.
[00:51] SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited about this because I know a lot about you and your story, but our listeners
[00:55] SPEAKER_00: don't.
[00:56] SPEAKER_00: So this is a really exciting way to introduce sort of what you've been up to and what you've
[01:03] SPEAKER_00: done over the years.
[01:04] SPEAKER_00: So to do that, why don't you tell me a little bit about who you are and what you do?
[01:10] SPEAKER_01: Sure.
[01:10] SPEAKER_01: So I have been a graphic designer for over 20 years and I started my first business over
[01:17] SPEAKER_01: 15 years ago, which is a completely different business than the one that I have today.
[01:23] SPEAKER_01: Although I think it brought me to the place I am with my business.
[01:28] SPEAKER_01: So I originally started a custom wedding invitation business in 2004 and did really well.
[01:35] SPEAKER_01: Made a great name for myself, published a lot of magazines, won awards, did some really
[01:42] SPEAKER_01: great things in that industry.
[01:43] SPEAKER_01: And all along that time, I was doing branding work for businesses, interestingly enough,
[01:50] SPEAKER_01: a lot of people in the events space because I was in that world.
[01:54] SPEAKER_01: So I was helping cake designers and photographers and DJs and wedding planners with their branding.
[02:01] SPEAKER_01: And I got to a certain point in my business where a few things happened.
[02:07] SPEAKER_01: I started to actually fall out of love with the wedding industry.
[02:10] SPEAKER_01: It sounded a little funny.
[02:13] SPEAKER_01: My love affair ended, we'll say.
[02:17] SPEAKER_01: And I was seeing that I was actually doing better.
[02:21] SPEAKER_01: I was making more money from the work I was doing with my business customers as opposed
[02:26] SPEAKER_01: to my wedding clients.
[02:28] SPEAKER_01: And I wasn't even marketing that work at all.
[02:31] SPEAKER_01: And I thought, okay, something's wrong with this equation.
[02:34] SPEAKER_01: So even though it was something I loved for a really long time, I realized it wasn't bringing
[02:39] SPEAKER_01: me the revenue that I really needed in my business.
[02:42] SPEAKER_01: And it worked for a period of time.
[02:44] SPEAKER_01: And I did love it.
[02:45] SPEAKER_01: And then I stopped loving it for a few reasons.
[02:48] SPEAKER_01: I could also see the industry was changing quite rapidly.
[02:51] SPEAKER_01: When I first started that business, there really wasn't any wedding invitations like the
[02:56] SPEAKER_01: style I was creating.
[02:58] SPEAKER_01: So I like to think I was a bit of a leader in changing the style of wedding invitations
[03:02] SPEAKER_01: that you now see everywhere.
[03:04] SPEAKER_01: Everybody kind of, you can go online, you can find beautiful, modern, stylish wedding
[03:09] SPEAKER_01: invitations designed by graphic designers.
[03:12] SPEAKER_01: That was not the case in 2004.
[03:15] SPEAKER_01: And I could see that industry was shifting.
[03:17] SPEAKER_01: And I didn't want to go online.
[03:20] SPEAKER_01: And I knew it wasn't a sustainable business any longer.
[03:23] SPEAKER_01: And I shifted gears.
[03:25] SPEAKER_01: And it was three years ago in, was that 2015 that I, 2016 that I relaunched and revamped
[03:33] SPEAKER_01: as lab creative and really shifted into helping way more businesses, specifically the solo
[03:41] SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs, the really small businesses get clear on the foundation of their brand
[03:46] SPEAKER_01: and then bring it to life visually.
[03:50] SPEAKER_01: And I now have a designer working for me, Maria, who does amazing work.
[03:56] SPEAKER_01: And I'm, you know, doing what I love to do, which is speaking and helping my clients
[04:01] SPEAKER_01: get really clear and confident on their messaging and who they are and, you know, helping
[04:07] SPEAKER_01: to sort of direct the direction.
[04:09] SPEAKER_01: And I love, I love what I get to do every day.
[04:13] SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
[04:14] SPEAKER_00: It's such an important piece of being an entrepreneur, of being an entrepreneur, right?
[04:18] SPEAKER_00: Is actually enjoying the work.
[04:20] SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like there came a point when you were doing the wedding invitations where
[04:24] SPEAKER_00: you realized this just, it's not as enjoyable as it once was.
[04:27] SPEAKER_00: And you took the chance and took the risk of starting something brand new.
[04:32] SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
[04:33] SPEAKER_01: I hit a, I had a giant defining moment in, it was in late 2015 when I was, you know,
[04:42] SPEAKER_01: fighting with the printer, you know, not a person, but like a actual machine.
[04:47] SPEAKER_01: I do.
[04:47] SPEAKER_01: I don't have like having a physical fight with a printer that could have sounded funny.
[04:52] SPEAKER_01: Trying to print somebody's envelopes for their wedding and I just, I was like, what am I
[04:57] SPEAKER_01: doing?
[04:58] SPEAKER_01: Like I have so much more to give and so much more to do.
[05:01] SPEAKER_01: And that, that evening when I'm struggling to get these things printed thinking, I'm
[05:06] SPEAKER_01: actually losing money on this, what am I doing?
[05:08] SPEAKER_01: And that was the moment where I said, this is the last envelope I'm addressing.
[05:13] SPEAKER_01: So I can remember the exact moment where I decided that this business was no longer
[05:18] SPEAKER_01: what I was going to do.
[05:20] SPEAKER_01: But it didn't mean I knew what the next step was.
[05:24] SPEAKER_01: So it took me probably about three, three to five months to really figure that out.
[05:31] SPEAKER_01: And, you know, it really launched actually the weekend that we met.
[05:35] SPEAKER_01: We met at a retreat in San Diego.
[05:39] SPEAKER_01: And that really got the, the shift in my brain.
[05:44] SPEAKER_01: It made me see what I was really good at and what I was capable of doing.
[05:47] SPEAKER_01: And I was holding myself back and I think that's a big problem that we all often hold
[05:53] SPEAKER_01: ourselves back from what we are meant to do or what we're really good at.
[05:58] SPEAKER_00: It's, yes, I mean, I think I say more often than anything else that we are our own worst
[06:03] SPEAKER_00: enemies when it comes to this stuff because the things that are holding us back are not
[06:07] SPEAKER_00: real, they're all the things in our minds.
[06:09] SPEAKER_00: So I fully appreciate that.
[06:11] SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
[06:12] SPEAKER_00: So I have a, you know, and telling that story, how did you decide to or what sort of,
[06:20] SPEAKER_00: what was the process you went through to decide what you were going to do instead of the wedding
[06:24] SPEAKER_00: invitations?
[06:26] SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, I'm a designer, right?
[06:28] SPEAKER_01: And I think so much of my world has always centered around that.
[06:34] SPEAKER_01: And I knew it would be something there.
[06:37] SPEAKER_01: But I also knew that there's a million graphic designers out there all vying for the same
[06:42] SPEAKER_01: work, all undercutting each other in price.
[06:45] SPEAKER_01: You know, you can get logos for, you know, 20 bucks, whatever online doesn't mean it's good,
[06:51] SPEAKER_01: but it's, it's a very saturated market.
[06:54] SPEAKER_01: And I, maybe I felt that who am I?
[06:58] SPEAKER_01: Like what am I, what's different about me?
[07:00] SPEAKER_01: So I really, I had to figure out what is it that I'm offering?
[07:05] SPEAKER_01: The, so I, I knew that it was going to be designed.
[07:08] SPEAKER_01: And I don't remember the exact sort of moment when I was like, this is it.
[07:12] SPEAKER_01: I think it was, you know, over the course of a few months, but it was really when I decided
[07:18] SPEAKER_01: to create an event that to, I'm two, two day in person event called brand camp.
[07:27] SPEAKER_01: And that was really what started the shift.
[07:30] SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay, well, I can offer branding.
[07:33] SPEAKER_01: I created my own methodology.
[07:35] SPEAKER_01: I, you know, created a process for us and for our clients.
[07:39] SPEAKER_01: And so I felt like in some ways it was organic.
[07:43] SPEAKER_01: And rather than just like, this is what I'm doing.
[07:46] SPEAKER_01: And I feel like there was a moment where I did make that shift and was like, yes, this
[07:51] SPEAKER_01: is the direction, but there was a whole lot of figuring it out as I went along.
[07:55] SPEAKER_01: And a lot of learning, a lot of days I remember thinking my head was going to explode
[08:01] SPEAKER_01: from the new things I was learning and doing and trying and experimenting.
[08:07] SPEAKER_01: And I think that's being an entrepreneur.
[08:09] SPEAKER_01: It's iterating.
[08:10] SPEAKER_01: It's trying things and experimenting and seeing what works until you, you get that formula right.
[08:19] SPEAKER_00: Totally.
[08:20] SPEAKER_00: The process of trying something out, testing it out, seeing what it is, iterating on it,
[08:27] SPEAKER_00: going back, being willing to put something out to the world, and then redo or revamp or change entirely
[08:35] SPEAKER_00: is in, I think, inherent in every business and every entrepreneur's life.
[08:41] SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
[08:42] SPEAKER_01: You have to be willing to try and put yourself out there and experiment and know that it could fail.
[08:51] SPEAKER_01: Although I don't like the word failure, I believe.
[08:55] SPEAKER_01: Right?
[08:55] SPEAKER_01: I believe it's experience.
[08:59] SPEAKER_01: And if we don't try, we'll never fail and we might never succeed either.
[09:04] SPEAKER_01: Years ago, I'll share a quick story.
[09:07] SPEAKER_01: I decided I was going to grow my stationary business and I went and I exhibited at the
[09:12] SPEAKER_01: National Stationery Show in New York for two years.
[09:15] SPEAKER_01: It was a massive financial investment and it failed.
[09:22] SPEAKER_01: Like, it was a complete and utter failure.
[09:25] SPEAKER_01: Yes, I sold some of my collections, but it was a huge time and money and energy output for very little input.
[09:36] SPEAKER_01: But I don't regret it because I learned a few things.
[09:40] SPEAKER_01: One, I learned that actually that wasn't the direction I wanted to take my business.
[09:44] SPEAKER_01: And had I not ever done it, I might have always wondered, well, what if?
[09:48] SPEAKER_01: And I don't like living with what ifs.
[09:50] SPEAKER_01: So it helped me learn that, okay, this wasn't the right thing for me.
[09:55] SPEAKER_01: And it was actually a really cool experience at the same time to try something like this.
[10:00] SPEAKER_01: And I ended up getting a contract to design a whole line of designs for a big company that offers online designs.
[10:10] SPEAKER_01: So I essentially made back my investment through this other channel, but it wasn't where I was expecting to make the money.
[10:20] SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of that, you know, one door closes and another door opens.
[10:24] SPEAKER_01: So I think just by putting yourself out there, whether or not something works out the way you want,
[10:30] SPEAKER_01: it could open up a whole other opportunity for you.
[10:33] SPEAKER_01: So that's how I like to look at failure.
[10:36] SPEAKER_01: I'm using air quotes right now.
[10:39] SPEAKER_00: But you can't see my air quotes.
[10:40] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
[10:42] SPEAKER_00: I love that idea of taking a risk and being open to the result of taking that risk, not looking the way you think it or you expect it to look when you start to take it.
[10:53] SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
[10:53] SPEAKER_01: Because nothing is ever the way you expect it.
[10:56] SPEAKER_01: And I think in some ways it would be boring if it was.
[11:00] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[11:01] SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you want it to be what you expect, but it's also the adventure of it all.
[11:06] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
[11:07] SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of people become entrepreneurs.
[11:11] SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to ask you a question about this, but I think a lot of people become entrepreneurs because it is less predictable.
[11:16] SPEAKER_00: Because there is a sense of the unknown and excitement inside of the concept of being an entrepreneur.
[11:22] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[11:23] SPEAKER_01: And I believe in designing my life, right?
[11:27] SPEAKER_01: And by being an entrepreneur, I'm in charge of that.
[11:31] SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's just I'm a control freak.
[11:33] SPEAKER_01: But I want to be the one who decides the direction of my life.
[11:39] SPEAKER_01: And if it starts to go off course, either continue on that course or pivot and take another path.
[11:48] SPEAKER_01: And I think entrepreneurs, we all, I believe we all start a business because we don't want to follow somebody else's path.
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: And we want to surpass the status quo of what's expected.
[12:00] SPEAKER_00: I am an argument.
[12:03] SPEAKER_00: No argument there.
[12:06] SPEAKER_00: So your base here in Toronto.
[12:09] SPEAKER_00: Yes.
[12:10] SPEAKER_00: What do you see as your and I so I know that you have not always lived in Toronto.
[12:16] SPEAKER_00: But now you do.
[12:18] SPEAKER_00: And what do you see as the the why Toronto, I guess, is a question like why why have you chosen Toronto as a place to set up your business and your life?
[12:27] SPEAKER_01: It's a great question.
[12:29] SPEAKER_01: So I lived, I'm originally from Guelph, which is about an hour outside of Toronto.
[12:34] SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it's not that far.
[12:36] SPEAKER_01: It's, you know, it's a bigger city center.
[12:38] SPEAKER_01: But after college, I went and lived in London, England and Copenhagen, Denmark for three years in my early twenties.
[12:47] SPEAKER_01: And I think I'm a big city girl.
[12:50] SPEAKER_01: I'm definitely not a country girl or a suburban girl.
[12:52] SPEAKER_01: I'm a city girl, although I found London to be too big, but Copenhagen to me was kind of perfect.
[12:59] SPEAKER_01: And I, I love water.
[13:02] SPEAKER_01: Even though I didn't grew up around water, I've always wanted to live close to it.
[13:06] SPEAKER_01: So Toronto is on a lake, which is fantastic.
[13:10] SPEAKER_01: I think the biggest reason for Toronto is my husband.
[13:14] SPEAKER_01: So I moved back from Europe and met him two months later.
[13:18] SPEAKER_01: And he was based in Toronto.
[13:21] SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we kind of joked that if we hadn't have met, I'd probably be living in some other country.
[13:26] SPEAKER_01: Because I was feeling a bit like a fish out of water after living abroad for three years.
[13:32] SPEAKER_01: The moving back was way harder than moving away, which I didn't expect.
[13:37] SPEAKER_01: But apparently it's very common to kind of reintegrate yourself back in, because everybody has,
[13:43] SPEAKER_01: their lives have moved on without you.
[13:45] SPEAKER_01: And you've changed, and they've changed, and then you kind of pop back into this world that you left years ago.
[13:51] SPEAKER_01: So I was, I wasn't really feeling like I belonged and met.
[13:56] SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the rest as they say is history.
[13:58] SPEAKER_01: We're going to be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary soon.
[14:02] SPEAKER_01: So I think that was the catalyst for me staying.
[14:07] SPEAKER_01: And Toronto was the natural place for us to set up, because we are both entrepreneurs.
[14:11] SPEAKER_01: And this is where our clients are.
[14:14] SPEAKER_01: I can't imagine actually living anywhere else.
[14:17] SPEAKER_01: We do love to travel, but I believe that Toronto will always be our home base.
[14:22] SPEAKER_01: And our families are close by, so it's nice for our kids to grow up with their grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles.
[14:30] SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we have a great life in a fabulous city.
[14:35] SPEAKER_00: I am biased. I also think Toronto is pretty great.
[14:39] SPEAKER_00: Do you find, or have you found any challenges?
[14:42] SPEAKER_00: Having a business based in Toronto or running a business from Toronto?
[14:46] SPEAKER_01: Nothing like giant that jumps out at me.
[14:49] SPEAKER_01: I would say the only thing is I've tried to break into a few places outside to speak or to be, you know, part of communities or connect.
[15:02] SPEAKER_01: And they tend to be resistant to sort of a city designer company coming to their smaller city.
[15:11] SPEAKER_01: They want somebody local.
[15:13] SPEAKER_01: So there's that perception that because I'm based in Toronto were this big branding firm.
[15:19] SPEAKER_01: And, you know, so there's sometimes that perception.
[15:22] SPEAKER_01: It doesn't come up often, but I've had that happen a few times where they're like, no, actually we only support our local businesses.
[15:28] SPEAKER_01: And they won't allow me to come in and speak or come to their events.
[15:33] SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
[15:34] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was quite surprised, but...
[15:37] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think it's the...
[15:40] SPEAKER_00: It can be the perception of coming from the big city when, especially the biggest city in Canada.
[15:45] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[15:45] SPEAKER_00: Right. The perception can be that it's that it's other because it is the biggest city in Canada.
[15:51] SPEAKER_00: Yes, man. That's true.
[15:53] SPEAKER_00: So it might be a bit of that.
[15:56] SPEAKER_00: What has been... I'm curious about this.
[15:59] SPEAKER_00: I don't actually know the answer to this either, but what has been the biggest challenge you've faced in your business to date?
[16:07] SPEAKER_01: The biggest challenge. Oh my gosh.
[16:09] SPEAKER_01: It's hard because I feel like there's always a challenge.
[16:13] SPEAKER_01: I think we'd all be lying to ourselves if we didn't say that there was a big challenge.
[16:19] SPEAKER_01: I think it's feeling that I'm ready for something really big and not quite sure how to get there.
[16:29] SPEAKER_01: So it's an internal challenge, I think, more than an external challenge.
[16:34] SPEAKER_01: I think we're doing well. We have great clients.
[16:37] SPEAKER_01: We've... There's so many great things happening, and it's amplifying my voice beyond.
[16:47] SPEAKER_01: Right. So I think that's my biggest challenge, and that's a current challenge that I'm facing because I have all of the things that I've been doing and businesses great.
[16:59] SPEAKER_01: Now I'm ready to like, 10X it, and I'm the kind of person that gets a bit stuck in the how to do things, and not just big picture visioning.
[17:09] SPEAKER_01: I'm always like, but how do I get there?
[17:11] SPEAKER_01: So that's probably my... It's my own internal voice that's my biggest challenge is that getting stuck in.
[17:18] SPEAKER_01: But how am I going to do this? How will I achieve this rather than an external something that is kind of holding me down?
[17:26] SPEAKER_00: Well, to that end, what is your sort of big vision for your business that you have?
[17:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I definitely have some big visions.
[17:38] SPEAKER_01: So I have Brand Camp, which is my online program. I also do the same process with clients one-on-one, and this is the Brand Foundation Building process.
[17:48] SPEAKER_01: It's the premise of my book. So my big vision is to get my book into the hands of thousands of entrepreneurs who need the help to build the foundation before they create a logo in a website, so that they can really get clear on how to message themselves and position themselves as different.
[18:09] SPEAKER_01: And I want to build up Brand Camp to be... I want that to be a six or a seven-figure business for myself, on its own, I mean.
[18:22] SPEAKER_01: And I want that to create a bigger team of designers for me. And I want my role to be the one... I want to be speaking. I want to be speaking around the world.
[18:34] SPEAKER_01: I want to be seen as a subject matter expert, a thought leader on branding and design.
[18:42] SPEAKER_01: And I don't want to have a giant team, but I want to have a really amazing business that can serve entrepreneurs all over the world and help them be more successful and more prosperous and happier in their business because it really deeply aligns with them.
[19:01] SPEAKER_01: That they have a business that they love and a brand that truly reflects who they are. Nothing makes me happier than when we can help a client do that.
[19:11] SPEAKER_01: Now I want to take that in 10 exit and 100 exit so that we can help more and more people be successful.
[19:18] SPEAKER_00: I think that's a beautiful vision to have.
[19:21] SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
[19:22] SPEAKER_00: And on the note of those other entrepreneurs, what advice would you give an entrepreneur who is looking to start a business today specifically in Toronto, but just in general as well?
[19:35] SPEAKER_01: Well, I think they need to look at a few things. The first is they need to look at, you know, who else is out there offering something in their space that they're looking to start a business in.
[19:48] SPEAKER_01: Who are the clients you really want to work with? And if you're just starting, you may not know and that will take a bit of experimentation.
[19:56] SPEAKER_01: It took me a little while to really hone in on exactly who it is that I want to work with. And now we have those clients, those are the people we serve.
[20:06] SPEAKER_01: Then you need to look at what is the problem I'm solving for people and is it, you know, how am I different so that you can look at, okay, well, there's lots of people solving this problem, but I do it differently.
[20:20] SPEAKER_01: I have this unique spin. This is my experience allows me to do this. So think about what is this problem you're solving and why are you starting this business?
[20:30] SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, the last piece is who are you and who is your brand? You need to think about how do I create a brand that's authentic to me and doesn't necessarily conform to this industry standards, right?
[20:46] SPEAKER_01: You don't necessarily want to follow along with all those competitors. If you look at all of their brands, you want to figure out how can you stand out and have a voice that's unique and that it really sounds and looks and feels like you and I say you, you might have a team.
[21:04] SPEAKER_01: It might be you alone as a solo entrepreneur and you might have a team either way, your brand, you need to look at it like it's a person.
[21:12] SPEAKER_01: What is the personality of this person? How do they speak? How do they look? And if you can answer these questions, you'll start to have a really good foundation for how to talk to people about your business, how to market your services, how to build out a process, and then, you know, how to design the brand that will reflect that.
[21:33] SPEAKER_01: So that no matter where people see you, they meet you in person. If they see your website online, if they find your social media, that there's no surprises and that it feels like it's speaking directly to them.
[21:47] SPEAKER_01: And that's the beauty in really setting up that strong foundation because it gives you that clarity around who you are and how you are different.
[21:57] SPEAKER_00: That's amazing. That's going to be so, so useful for our listeners. Thank you for sharing all of that. I appreciate it.
[22:03] SPEAKER_00: My pleasure.
[22:04] SPEAKER_00: We are almost done this interview, but what I would love to do is spend a couple of minutes asking you our rapid fire questions.
[22:14] SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm ready.
[22:16] SPEAKER_00: All right. This is quick answers. Enjoy the process of answering these questions.
[22:23] SPEAKER_00: Okay. All right. Okay. So first up, if you weren't doing what you do now for work, what would you be doing instead?
[22:32] SPEAKER_01: Oh, God. Something to do with music.
[22:36] SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's fun. That just came to my head. So there you go. That's great. I don't know what that means, but there you go.
[22:43] SPEAKER_00: But that's what it's all about. That's wonderful.
[22:45] SPEAKER_00: Two part question. What book are you reading now and what books would you recommend to our audience?
[22:53] SPEAKER_01: I'm reading Richard Branson's first autobiography. Fascinating. I'm loving it.
[23:00] SPEAKER_01: What books would I recommend? Well, my book.
[23:04] SPEAKER_01: Shameless plug.
[23:08] SPEAKER_01: What else? Oh, my gosh. I have, I feel like I have so many books on my bookshelf and I'm, I'm blanking.
[23:15] SPEAKER_01: So Richard Branson's what I'm reading right now. And of course, my book is, is what I would recommend. So there you go.
[23:21] SPEAKER_00: That works. Thank you.
[23:23] SPEAKER_00: Are you a morning or a night person?
[23:26] SPEAKER_01: I can ask this question. I'm not sure I'm either. I think I'm more of a night person, but kids has, have forced me to be a night person.
[23:35] SPEAKER_01: I think I'm probably a bit more of a morning person than I would like.
[23:38] SPEAKER_00: I feel like afternoon person is also an answer.
[23:42] SPEAKER_01: And I'm probably an afternoon, early evening person.
[23:45] SPEAKER_00: Perfect. If you had to pick one word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?
[23:52] SPEAKER_01: To natious. Why? Because I am, I am to natious. I'm driven. I, you know, I keep pushing. I don't give up.
[24:03] SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a trait. I actually just wrote a blog post about it about tenacity.
[24:09] SPEAKER_01: And I think entrepreneurs were all a bit tenacious because we have to have that drive to keep going.
[24:16] SPEAKER_01: Keep pushing. Otherwise, we would all give up too soon. And our businesses wouldn't succeed.
[24:21] SPEAKER_01: So we're risk takers. And I think, yeah, to natious.
[24:25] SPEAKER_00: It's a good word. I like it. Me too.
[24:26] SPEAKER_00: What are the three non-negotiables that have to happen in either your morning or evening routine?
[24:34] SPEAKER_01: I have started meditating every morning. And that I've learned is definitely a huge part of that.
[24:42] SPEAKER_01: I'm also writing in a gratitude journal every morning helps me really start my morning and coffee.
[24:52] SPEAKER_01: The meditation, gratitude and coffee.
[24:56] SPEAKER_00: Coffee is one of mine. I totally hear you.
[24:59] SPEAKER_00: And last but not least, there's a small tropical island in the middle of the ocean with only one phone booth and no internet.
[25:08] SPEAKER_00: You get dropped off there with no technology at all.
[25:11] SPEAKER_00: At any time, you can use the phone booth on the island to call the boat to come pick you up.
[25:17] SPEAKER_00: How long would you last before making the phone call? And what would you do until then?
[25:22] SPEAKER_01: Oh, boy.
[25:28] SPEAKER_01: I know this is supposed to be rapid fire. That's a tough one.
[25:33] SPEAKER_01: I don't know. I don't think I'd make it more than a day to be honest.
[25:36] SPEAKER_01: And what would I do? I think I would swim and I would enjoy the ocean breeze and probably look for something to eat.
[25:53] SPEAKER_00: You think that seems fair? It's interesting because I feel like I know you're an extrovert.
[26:02] SPEAKER_00: I feel like the extroverts would be like maybe a day or two.
[26:07] SPEAKER_00: And the introverts would be like months. I could do months.
[26:10] SPEAKER_01: I mean, you didn't say if there was anywhere to sleep or plumbing or food.
[26:18] SPEAKER_01: So I'm not a big wilderness. I like the outdoors.
[26:23] SPEAKER_01: I can't say I'm super outdoorsy or a camper. So I think my limited Girl Scout training wouldn't get me very far on a deserted island.
[26:33] SPEAKER_00: That's fair. That's a fair point.
[26:37] SPEAKER_00: Laura, thank you so much for sitting down and talking to me and being part of this process.
[26:43] SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate it. And I appreciate you and really quickly tell our audience where they can find you online.
[26:49] SPEAKER_01: Well, thanks for having me. You can find us at labcreative.ca on that's our website.
[26:56] SPEAKER_01: You can find us on social media at labcreative ink.
[27:00] SPEAKER_01: And if you're interested in my book, you can go to brand chemistrybook.com.
[27:05] SPEAKER_00: Amazing. Thank you so much and have a wonderful rest of your day.
[27:08] SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Celine.
[27:10] SPEAKER_00: Thanks, everyone, for taking the time today to listen to Toronto's podcast on the Canada podcast network.
[27:15] SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed the podcast today, please make sure to wait for a review on iTunes and share this episode with a friend.
[27:21] SPEAKER_00: You can also check us out online at canybacadcast.com where you can listen, discover, and engage.
[27:28] SPEAKER_00: And learn more about what other entrepreneurs are doing all across the country. See you next time.
