Teresa Spinelli

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[00:33] SPEAKER_00: It's Edmonton's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:53] SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is Mario Toneguzi coming to you today with Edmonton's podcast,
[00:59] SPEAKER_01: a member of Canada's podcast network, where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen here
[01:06] SPEAKER_01: in the city of Edmonton, Alberta.
[01:08] SPEAKER_01: Teresa Spanelli is owner of the very popular Italian center grocery store,
[01:13] SPEAKER_01: and Ellie Chene in Edmonton and Calgary.
[01:16] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show Teresa, and thanks for taking the time today to be here for our listeners.
[01:23] SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thank you for including in this.
[01:25] SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's a little bit about yourself, where you're from, and what your business is all about.
[01:30] SPEAKER_02: I was born and raised here in Edmonton, Alberta.
[01:33] SPEAKER_02: My father and mother immigrated from Italy, and my father started the Italian center shop 60 years ago.
[01:38] SPEAKER_02: Our store is a retail grocery store specializing not only in Italian products,
[01:42] SPEAKER_02: but in European products.
[01:43] SPEAKER_02: But we're more than a store.
[01:44] SPEAKER_02: We're like a cultural experience, we're a gathering place, we're really a big family.
[01:49] SPEAKER_01: Tell me a little bit about your father and how he started.
[01:52] SPEAKER_01: Did he need financing to start the company, and how has business been for you lately?
[01:57] SPEAKER_02: So my dad, I'll start it because my dad was a very big man.
[02:01] SPEAKER_02: He's a big man of stature, and people would just automatically go to him for advice and help.
[02:06] SPEAKER_02: And then people started asking him about what was happening in Italy, because they were new to Canada.
[02:10] SPEAKER_02: They didn't speak English very well, they didn't have TVs or radios.
[02:13] SPEAKER_02: So my dad started import Italian newspapers, and all of the newspapers were three or four months old.
[02:18] SPEAKER_02: People were so happy to read in their native language, what was happening in their hometown.
[02:22] SPEAKER_02: And then they said, this is great, and now we need some good espresso,
[02:25] SPEAKER_02: because we have no espresso in Alberta, so my dad started to bring in some espresso.
[02:29] SPEAKER_02: So people had their paper, they had their coffee, then they wanted pasta and all the oil and so on,
[02:33] SPEAKER_02: so on. Today we have over 20,000 items from Italy. That's how it started.
[02:37] SPEAKER_02: My dad did need fine financing. He started to grow his business.
[02:41] SPEAKER_02: He, I think the interest rate, through like 23% or something like that, was very, very high at that time.
[02:46] SPEAKER_02: But he did it. He had a vision, he had a very great vision, he had a vision of a gathering place,
[02:51] SPEAKER_02: a place where everybody would gather, where they find things from home.
[02:54] SPEAKER_02: And that's what's made it successful.
[02:56] SPEAKER_01: What is your long-term vision for the company and what it will look like in the future? Do you have plans
[03:01] SPEAKER_02: for expansion? Yeah, for sure. We'd like to grow some more. Here in Edmonton and area, we're
[03:07] SPEAKER_02: looking at short park right now. In Calgary, for sure, we'd like to do a couple more stores.
[03:13] SPEAKER_02: You know, there's three stores in Edmonton, you're quite well, so we assume that Calgary would be
[03:16] SPEAKER_02: just as good. Unfortunately, it's not a really hard time finding the right space, because we need about
[03:20] SPEAKER_02: 20,000 square feet. And so we're looking, we're looking really hard. What are your, the biggest
[03:25] SPEAKER_01: benefits for you being an entrepreneur in Edmonton? What are some of the good points about having
[03:30] SPEAKER_01: the business here? And even some of the tough things are challenges that you can tell our listeners
[03:36] SPEAKER_02: to keep an eye out for. Edmonton is very supportive. We find that our customers really tend to support
[03:42] SPEAKER_02: local. So that's really, really great. Very community-minded and we're very community-minded. So we do a lot
[03:47] SPEAKER_02: of things. We do a lot of community initiatives. So we support the community and they support
[03:51] SPEAKER_02: us back. So that's been really great. Challenges are always, you know, red tape stuff with city and
[03:56] SPEAKER_02: stuff like that in our neighborhood, like our flagship stores in the inner city. And it's a rough
[04:01] SPEAKER_02: neighborhood. So trying to keep the city accountable to make sure that it is still kept clean, because we try
[04:07] SPEAKER_02: really hard. It's always a challenge, but we're working on it. Okay, so we do some of their best work
[04:13] SPEAKER_01: outside the office. Is there a place in Edmonton close to where you either live or work?
[04:18] SPEAKER_01: Where you like to go to recharge or get inspired or just simply think about the business?
[04:24] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, just down the street from our flagship store here in Lillily, there's a place called
[04:26] SPEAKER_02: Zilco Lose. It's a really great flower shop. So you're surrounded by flowers and beautiful things.
[04:32] SPEAKER_02: And that's just a really good place to go. Ah, and just take a deep breath in and really get settled
[04:37] SPEAKER_01: and figure out what the next priorities are. Here's a hypothetical question for you. Imagine you were
[04:43] SPEAKER_01: to start all over again and you just moved to Edmonton, but this time you don't know anybody.
[04:49] SPEAKER_01: Knowing what you know now, what would you do and how would you do it to start all over again as an
[04:54] SPEAKER_02: entrepreneur? I think do lots of networking really get together with other like-minded people and do
[04:59] SPEAKER_02: lots of community initiatives, not even necessarily business, but volunteer and community organizations,
[05:04] SPEAKER_02: do everything you can to learn about the community in the area that you're in and contribute,
[05:08] SPEAKER_01: really give back a lot. What does the first hour of your day look like when you get up in the
[05:13] SPEAKER_01: morning? Do you have like a specific routine or ritual to get you motivated to start your day?
[05:19] SPEAKER_02: I really don't because it's been a really crazy couple of years. My mother's very, very sick,
[05:23] SPEAKER_02: so it depends on whether I get a phone call six in the morning or not. My husband's been very sick.
[05:27] SPEAKER_02: I've been very sick, so it's been really kind of chaotic. In a perfect world, I like to get up and
[05:31] SPEAKER_02: not rush, but I have an 11 year old, so it always tends to be a little bit rushing. So there's
[05:37] SPEAKER_01: really no two mornings that are like. Do you think entrepreneurs have to be weird or unique,
[05:44] SPEAKER_01: but in a positive way, or just wired differently? I think entrepreneurs are wired differently.
[05:50] SPEAKER_02: I think we think differently. I noticed that because when I have an issue or a problem, and although
[05:54] SPEAKER_02: my husband's fantastic and I've got lots of really great friends, they don't think like entrepreneurs,
[05:59] SPEAKER_02: they think differently. So I think we are a little bit different. I think we think more bigger
[06:04] SPEAKER_02: picture. I think we're more risk takers, but we calculate our risks. We don't just take risks.
[06:08] SPEAKER_02: We make sure that they have a good outcome. I think we think differently.
[06:13] SPEAKER_01: Are there any books you're reading right now or listening to and why? Are there any books you
[06:18] SPEAKER_02: can recommend to entrepreneurs to help them? The first book that I read that really helped me a lot
[06:24] SPEAKER_02: was from good to great. We were a really good company, but I wanted to be a great company, so that
[06:29] SPEAKER_02: really inspired me. I thought that was really good. I learned from that book lots of things, like
[06:33] SPEAKER_02: how to have the right people on the bus, but not only the right people on the bus,
[06:36] SPEAKER_02: yet to have them on the right seats. So we had to make lots of changes that that was really
[06:39] SPEAKER_02: instrumental in helping us grow. Right now, I'm listening to Dare to Lead by Brittany Brown,
[06:44] SPEAKER_02: really, really inspirational. Because I really think it is about people and connecting with people
[06:47] SPEAKER_01: at all levels. Are there any online or offline tools that you use on the daily basis?
[06:54] SPEAKER_01: Not really. No. Okay. How do you balance work and how do you relax and not think about work?
[07:00] SPEAKER_01: Are there any favorite activities you'd like to do? I don't think there's such a thing as balance.
[07:06] SPEAKER_02: I think that sometimes I work too much and sometimes I play too much. For me, if I can't put my
[07:10] SPEAKER_02: kid to bed at night, I want to make sure that I'm there the next morning to drive him to school.
[07:14] SPEAKER_02: And that's balanced for me. Everybody's got to find their own balance.
[07:17] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because I just think it's really hard to have like 50, 50 or sometimes I play too much and
[07:21] SPEAKER_02: sometimes I work too much. I like to walk in the River Valley. I find that very peaceful. It's
[07:30] SPEAKER_02: a dog. So it gives me an opportunity to bring the dog out. I really just take it nature and
[07:33] SPEAKER_02: fresh air. I think that's really good for the mind. Now, if you weren't doing what you're doing now,
[07:39] SPEAKER_01: what would you like to do for a profession or a career? I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out
[07:44] SPEAKER_02: what I want to be when I grow up. I know it's something with people for sure. Before the business,
[07:49] SPEAKER_02: because my brother was supposed to take over the store, I wanted to be a social worker.
[07:53] SPEAKER_02: And when I did my first practicum, I hated it because as a social worker,
[07:57] SPEAKER_02: we just won level above where they're at. And I want to bring everybody home with me. I want to
[08:01] SPEAKER_02: take care of everybody. That wouldn't have been a very good social worker. But for sure,
[08:05] SPEAKER_01: something with people and giving back. Okay, in business, what is your favorite word, quote,
[08:12] SPEAKER_02: or sentence that you like to use? I like to say that when you have more, you don't build a wall,
[08:17] SPEAKER_02: you build a bigger table. I think the more you have, the more you give. Here at the Italian
[08:21] SPEAKER_02: Center, we've got a really generous, uh, profituring plan. And I'm really proud of that.
[08:27] SPEAKER_01: Is there a least favorite word or sentence you don't like to hear?
[08:31] SPEAKER_02: I don't like when people say it's not my job or it's not my business. Because I think that's part
[08:36] SPEAKER_02: of what's a problem with our world is, and we think it's not our business. It's all of our
[08:39] SPEAKER_02: business is to make sure that everybody is healthy and happy and moving forward. So if you think
[08:42] SPEAKER_02: something's going not right somewhere, you have to speak up. Can't stand by.
[08:47] SPEAKER_01: If you had one or two words to describe yourself, what would they be and why?
[08:52] SPEAKER_02: I think I'm very generous. I think I'm generous with my time. I think I'm generous with all sorts of
[08:58] SPEAKER_02: parts of my life. Everybody's always walking on my house. My house is always open.
[09:02] SPEAKER_02: Chris and Steve, we have people at my house that don't usually have a place to go.
[09:06] SPEAKER_02: And I'm very loyal. So if I'm your friend, I'll always stick by, you know, no matter what.
[09:11] SPEAKER_01: Is there anything that keeps you up at night?
[09:14] SPEAKER_02: Oh, so many things. You know, we have 509 employees. So that's a lot of families that we have to feed.
[09:20] SPEAKER_02: So we always have to make sure that we're doing our best to make sure that we keep moving forward
[09:24] SPEAKER_02: in a positive way. I sleep well most nights because I know that I'm doing the best that I can.
[09:30] SPEAKER_01: Give us the top three things on your quote-unquote inspired life list or bucket list.
[09:37] SPEAKER_02: What are lots of places that I like to see? I like to see lots of rural Alberta. Like I'd like to go
[09:41] SPEAKER_02: to Drain Valley to Grand Prairie places like that. Lots of other places in the world too for sure.
[09:46] SPEAKER_02: Like to travel some more. That's about it. Because I try to do everything that I can do now. I don't
[09:51] SPEAKER_01: wait for later. We can do it. Let's do it now. Now, do you have any advice that you may have received
[09:58] SPEAKER_01: over the years that you can pass on to entrepreneurs? I think one of the biggest pieces of advice that
[10:04] SPEAKER_02: really helped me grow my business was that when I first started, I was working so hard in my business.
[10:08] SPEAKER_02: I was being cashier. I was balancing tills. I was doing payroll. You can't grow your business
[10:13] SPEAKER_02: if you're working in your business. You have to step back and look at your business as a whole
[10:18] SPEAKER_02: and work on your business. That's the only way you're going to grow. Okay, I have a little different
[10:22] SPEAKER_01: question for you here. There's a small tropical island just off of Fiji that only has one foam booth
[10:28] SPEAKER_01: there with no internet. We're going to drop you off there and you won't have a computer or a
[10:33] SPEAKER_01: smartphone tablet or whatever. You can use the foam booth located there anytime to call the boat
[10:38] SPEAKER_01: and we'll come pick you up. How long would you last before you made that call and what would you do
[10:44] SPEAKER_02: there while you were there? Well, while I was there, I think I'd take a walk around the island and
[10:49] SPEAKER_02: see as much as I could and take in some fresh air and maybe just soak up some sun. But I wouldn't last
[10:53] SPEAKER_02: very long probably four or five hours and I'd be calling about. Why is that? I like to be
[10:59] SPEAKER_02: surrounded by people. To be surrounded by people and I like to be busy and I like to always
[11:03] SPEAKER_02: interact with people and if there's no people, then I get bored quite easily. Okay, thanks, Teresa.
[11:08] SPEAKER_01: How can our listeners get a hold of you and is there anything you would like to add before you leave
[11:13] SPEAKER_02: us today? Thank you for the opportunity for sharing my story. I always love to do that. You can get
[11:18] SPEAKER_02: a hold of me by emailing me. Teresa.spinel.it. Tien.tiancenter.ca. I website www.tiancenter.ca.
[11:26] SPEAKER_02: I'm available to everybody. Ask everybody's emails and phone calls so feel free to contact me.
[11:31] SPEAKER_01: Okay, thanks, Teresa, for being our guest on Edmonton's podcast. I've learned a lot about you,
[11:36] SPEAKER_01: your business and I'm sure our listeners have as well. Hey there. Thanks for taking the time
[11:42] SPEAKER_01: today to listen to Edmonton's podcast on Canada's podcast network. We hope you enjoyed the show today.
[11:50] SPEAKER_01: Make sure you sign up for our newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes and then connect
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, at Canada's podcast. You can also check out what
[12:04] SPEAKER_01: other entrepreneurs are doing across the country. See you next time.