February is Heart Month and I am delighted to be in conversation with Kristina Bangma, who wears many hats from  including: entrepreneur, fitness coach, former competitive endurance athlete and author. I am beaming her in all the way from  the west coast of Canada in  Vancouver, BC.  She founded her first company, Kits Energy Training Inc., in 2003 and seven years later she introduced the Kits Energy Cycling Club where she coaches cyclists of every fitness level and ability from their first or fastest long-distance event.   Her personal trainin ..read more

Industry Spotlight: Talking with Business Leader ~ Don Ludlow, Vice President of Small Business, Strategy & Partnerships at RBC. We take a peak at the results of the August RBC Small Business Poll conducted by Ipsos Canada August 12-15, 2022 which looked into why Canadians are starting Side-Hustle Businesses. We discuss the rise of the Micro-Entrepreneur Economy and in addition he shares some of the resources RBC offers its business clients. To continue to conversation with Mr. Dunlow, head over to the RBC website: https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/business/advice/index.html To have your questi ..read more

Super excited to bring you a very insightful conversation with HotSpot Parking Inc. Founder, Philip Curley who shares with us what it takes to build great leaders within his company; networking and relationship building; the importance of the customer acquisition process and customer growth journey to increase loyalty and ultimately the bottom line. He also talks briefly about his company recent acquisition by global transportation leader IBI Group where he is now Head of HotSpot, IBI Group. There are definitely a multitude of super golden nuggets in the episode to enjoy. Stay update to date w ..read more

Industry Spotlight: Talking with Business Leader ~ Don Ludlow, Vice President of Small Business, Strategy & Partnerships at RBC. We take a peak at the results of the August RBC Small Business Poll conducted by Ipsos Canada August 12-15, 2022 which looked into why Canadians are starting Side-Hustle Businesses. We discuss the rise of the Micro-Entrepreneur Economy and in addition he shares some of the resources RBC offers its business clients.  Stay connected and subscribe to receive the latest blog nuggets, head over to https://ireniaroussel.org/canadian-side-hustle-business-podcast ..read more

In conversation with Founder of PlanIt! Efficiency Solutions Inc. Kara Morgan from Upper Canada.  A wonderful discussion about various hot topics including setting up the home office; remote work and increasing productivity. As well, we talked about how mentors impacted her life, leading and providing mentorship to her staff  in addition to sharing  useful golden nuggets to upcoming entrepreneurs. A big golden nugget from this episode: "Other people do not determine your value....you need to have your own internal value system." To continue the conversation with Kara Morgan, lin ..read more

Great convo with Kardia Founder Christan Hiscock living on the West Coast of Canada. We are discussing what it takes to build the core of a Heart Centred Business; key characteristics that needs to be built into the business to support and nurture productive employees.  He shares some of his organization's audacious moves on employee vacation times to avoid burnout. Given what we have been through during the pandemic perhaps it is the time to bring a bigger spotlight on this topic.  To find out more about Christan's work visit: https://hellokardia.com/ What did you think of this epis ..read more

Segment 2 continues ~ A candid convo with Pocketed Co-Founders  Brianna Blaney and Aria Hahn from British Colombia, Canada. We are talking about the key ingredients which they implement to build Pocketed company culture as well as how to use the Pocketed platform to generate a list of grant funding opportunities.  There is definitely a golden nugget in this episode for you. If you are on the fence with your idea, this episode will be sure to give you not only some goose bump moments but the motivation for you to test your Minimal Viable Product. Until next time Listeners, be sure to ..read more

Welcome to season three of the Canadian Side Hustle and Business Podcast! This week’s interview is with Brianna Blaney and Aria Hahn, the Co-Founders of  Pocketed -  a technology platform which will generate where the grant money is in Canada and much more. Brianna and Aria will share with you how the idea for Pocketed was seeded and how they validated the concept. As well, Aria shares the very light bulb moment of knowing that entrepreneurship is a career option. This is not their first rodeo in business. Brianna and Aria went in deep, armed with experience and past lessons as they ..read more

As your host, I would like to thank you so much listeners for your time. That's a wrap for season two! I will be back with new episodes and brand new slate of guests and new format for season three. Head over to my global channel Livewithirenia Podcast to take in some International guests, dynamic leaders and entrepreneurs! Also tune into the brand new podcast, The Technostarter, where I will be sharing stories of amazing leaders building great technologies from all over the world. Thank you so much for continuing to be an avid listener and remember to keep your dream ALIVE! I appreciate your ..read more

Happy to be in conversation with a long time friend and fabulous leader, Gabriella Merritt living and enjoying Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With sixteen years in Corporate, Gabriella’s journey is one of grit, hard work and perserverance to get into the Travel Industry. She has over thirteen years experience managing diverse teams and has grown through the ranks of Corporate at SellOffVacations.com. She is very goal oriented, passionate about marketing, travel and very curious about the world.  In her downtime, she  enjoys hanging out with her daughter, exercising and painting art wo ..read more