August 1, 2025 • 29 mins
Come and listen to our Host, Tina Spoletini, as she chats with today's guest, Debbie Van Camp, for our "Boss Babe Summer: Leveling Up in Life & Career" Podcast Series.
Mix motivation, business tips, and interviews with female entrepreneurs on how to use summer energy to plan ahead, reflect, or pivot.
The CBWN community has been an inspiration and a soft place to land for business women and entrepreneurs for 16 years in the Calgary area. Ideas are shared, friendships are made and new beginnings are welcomed.
My other venture, Color Street Nails, is a fun business that allows me to watch people transform and have fun with nail color, without the drying time and hassle.
Debbie Van Kamp shares her strategies for maintaining business momentum during summer while still enjoying the season's opportunities for rest and play.
• The CBWN (Connected Businesswomen Network) has supported women entrepreneurs in Calgary for 16 years
• Summer planning helps set the stage for successful fall business operations
• Morning work sessions followed by afternoon leisure creates an effective summer schedule
• Learning to say "no" or "not right now" is crucial for business owners
• Phone boundaries are challenging but important for work-life balance
• Transitioning from partnership to sole ownership requires reimagining your brand identity
• Listening to clients provides direction during business transitions
• Younger entrepreneurs offer valuable lessons in work-life balance and fearless innovation
• Fear is often the main obstacle preventing business growth and evolution
Join us at CBWN meetings held monthly on Wednesdays from 11:30-1:30 in Calgary, open to all women entrepreneurs with no membership required.
https://www.facebook.com/CBWNCalgary
https://www.linkedin.com/company/canadabusinesswomensnetwork/posts/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Divas that Care Radio Stories, strategies and
ideas to inspire positive change.
Welcome to Divas that Care, anetwork of women committed to
making our world a better placefor everyone.
This is a global movement forwomen, by women engaged in a
collaborative effort to create abetter world for future
generations.
To find out more about themovement, visit divasthatcarecom
(00:25):
.
After the show.
Right now, though, stay tunedfor another jolt of inspiration.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome to the Confidence in Bloom where bold
women rise and shine and owntheir power.
We all face that pesky innercritic what I call the
itty-bitty shitty committee.
All face that pesky innercritic what I call the
itty-bitty, shitty committeewhispering self-sabotaging
doubts and untrue trash talkthat holds us back here.
We don't like that noise.
(00:53):
We don't let that noise win.
This is a space to celebratethe fierce, fabulous women who
have broken free from fear,crushed limiting beliefs and
stepped into their full,unstoppable selves.
Because, let's be real, themost powerful thing any woman
can wear is for confidence.
I'm Tina Spoletini, your hostwith the Divas that Care Network
(01:15):
, and I will bring you realstories from women who reclaimed
their voice, embraced theirworth and are lighting the way
for all of us.
Ready to bloom into your bestself.
Let's dive in.
Today I'm chatting with DebbieVan Kamp.
Debbie Van Kamp is the okay.
(01:38):
So the CBWN community has beenan inspiration and a soft place
to land for businesswomen andentrepreneurs for 16 years in
the Calgary area.
Ideas are shared, friendshipsare made and new beginnings are
welcomed, and Debbie is theowner of the CBWN, which stands
(01:58):
for Connected BusinesswomenNetwork Business Women Network.
Her other venture, color StreetNails, is a fun business that
allows her to watch peopletransform and have fun with nail
color without the drying timeand the hassle.
So welcome Debbie, good morning, good morning.
(02:21):
So I want to know what doesBoss Babe, summer look like for
you this year?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
maybe need some tweaking, be open to ideas, meet
with my volunteer committee andsee how we can really start
projecting into the fall andthen into the new year.
I start planning my calendar atthis time for next year already
, so I'm a bit of a chronicplanner, which can be a good
(03:10):
thing and it can be not so good,but I like to think it's a
strength.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Actually.
No, I think that's good.
I think there's some like truthbehind that right, I mean
knowing what, what we wentthrough this year.
How do we want to, you know,make it happen again next year
or cut it right?
That gives you lots of time tofix your calendar.
That's awesome, and so how?
I mean we all?
Summer is the time of partyingand fun, and you know, restful,
(03:41):
restfulness.
How are you using this seasonto recharge and refresh yourself
?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, it really is a fantastic time of year for me
personally.
A number of years ago, weinvested in a property here in
British Columbia and so we'vebeen growing this property for
16 years with the vision ofsemi-retirement retirement.
(04:08):
So we have found that over thepast few years we just keep
spending more time here andwe're in an RV park, so it is
only open until Thanksgiving.
So we really make the best outof our summer, because we all
know we live in Canada andsummer is about a minute long,
(04:31):
right.
So we really do enjoy our timeout here and we really connect
with people out here.
And you know, it's like whenyou go to camp you have your
summer friends and then you haveyour winter friends and then
maybe you have your holidayfriends.
So out here, all of us me, myhusband and even our dog we all
(04:54):
have our summer friends and wedo different things.
We go in the boat and we go forlong walks and we go golfing
we're right on a little ninehole golf course and just enjoy
the, the beautiful long days ofbrightness and I just summer is
(05:15):
my favorite.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
It's just not long enough yeah, I know that that's
everyone's complaint.
Right, summer's not long enough.
So how do you?
I mean, it sounds like you knowit's so awesome.
Right, like Summer's not longenough.
So how do you?
I mean it sounds like you knowit's so awesome, right Like it's
I mean, it's summertime, rightLike you know that you're going
to do all these things golf, andyou know, spend time with your
friends and all the things buthow, where and how do you find
time to plan, to refocus for thefall?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Well, and it's really interesting because I've always
worked from a home-basedbusiness since I moved to
Calgary in 1997.
And I have just found that if Iget up in the morning and I
have my couple of cups of coffeetrack out the day the night
before, I'm usually reallyefficient in the mornings, and
(06:04):
so is my husband.
So we find that the mornings wework, and then in the
afternoons and maybe in theevening, a little happy hour we
play.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Oh, I love that, and so I mean obviously your husband
is on board with that.
Does he have a business of hisown as well?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
He is a contractor and he's an accountant, so of
course they have a very busyseason, but it starts to slow
down conveniently.
July and August are not as busy, so it's just everything just
works out perfectly for us.
And I don't know about you, butwhen you're an entrepreneur I
(06:46):
just it's always kind ofnoodling around and then all of
a sudden someone will saysomething, or you know, we might
have an event out here that wasreally fun, and it's like, oh,
how could I incorporate that?
So you're off, but are youreally ever off, Right?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
right.
I always say, like my businessis like my new baby, right, like
I, you know, I kind of treat itlike it's a child, right, it's
always on my mind.
It's always like there's alwaysgrooming right, there's always
something to be doing, you know,to make it flourish right,
absolutely, absolutely.
I love that it's because it'salways on the top of your mind.
(07:28):
So, what is one thing I meansummertime is a hard time to say
no, right, right, let's face it.
What is one thing that you haveto like, with intention, say no
to over the summer?
That makes space for you, forgrowth, whether it be for
yourself or for your business.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
You know, at my age you'd think I'd have that
figured out, but I have a hardtime saying no and everything is
an opportunity for me.
So I don't say no a lot, but Ido know when I go back into
Calgary because I usually goback every month or five weeks
(08:14):
it's just I get there and I hitthe ground running and last
month was crazy, it was nonstopand I was driving back out to
the cabin and I thought I haveto learn to say no, because I
get there and it's like hit theground running and so did I
(08:36):
provide a lot of value whenyou've only got small pockets of
time.
So learning to say no, I thinkis a real challenge, and I think
it's a challenge for, I think,women entrepreneurs.
I mean we tend to want toalways give, not disappoint,
(09:01):
people.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So maybe that's just a me trait no, I think that's, I
think that's a definitely awoman's trait, right.
But I see like my husband hashis own company as well and I
like I don't see him at work.
He doesn't talk work, I don'tknow anything about his business
, right, like I, you know, Ihave no idea what's on.
But I see, like when he comeshome from work, he puts his
(09:26):
phone away and he's like I'm notat work.
Right, if the phone is going toring, if he's going to get text
messages or emails, he's notlooking at that until the
morning.
And I look at that and I go,okay, so something's wrong
either with him or with me,because we are not the same.
Right, like I can't do that.
Like my phone is always in myhand and I don't have clients
(09:47):
that are, you know, texting meor emailing me or calling me,
even after five o'clock.
It just doesn't happen, right,they've got their lives to live.
But I'm always afraid, like how, how do you do that?
Right, I know it's possible, Isee it, right, it is possible,
(10:12):
it is possible, it is possible.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
And I always say, when people expect a quick
response, like that's kind of mything, when people expect a
quick response, I've kind oftrained them to expect that of
me.
I have trained them to expectthat of me because I did expect
it of myself and it's notreasonable, no, and it doesn't
make sense.
I admire your husband.
(10:35):
Me too I mean I wish he couldbottle that and just send a
little bit of that over here.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Right, and I think, well, and I think it's like a
muscle, right.
I think it's something we haveto teach ourselves, right?
Like I know, taking the phoneto our rooms at night is not
healthy, right?
And so when my kids were youngI used to there were no phones
allowed in the bedrooms period.
I didn't care whose phone itwas, right, their friends would
come over and they'd have toleave that on the kitchen table,
right.
But then, as they got older andbecame adults, I never had that
(11:06):
rule anymore, right?
And so I found myself like I myphone comes to my room often,
but now.
I leave it in the bathroom,right, because I'm like if I
have it beside me it's not goodfor my brain, right?
But if I can't sleep at night,what do I do?
Oh, I can't sleep.
Let's, yeah, let's scroll,right.
So I don't touch my phone untilthe morning, because I need it
(11:28):
for meditating, and you know allthe things.
So, yeah, yeah, I think that'swhere we need to say no to
number one, like in the firstplace.
But I also believe that youknow we have to learn how to use
no as a sentence, right,because isn't that the word,
right?
No is a full sentence.
Can you help me?
Not right now.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Right, exactly, and that's not even really.
No, that's not really.
That's right.
And it's interesting because inmy career and I worked for a
charity and I learned that if Iwas looking for sponsorship or
help or whatever, my go-tosentence was is that no, or is
(12:11):
that no?
Right now, right, and we shouldsay that to ourselves.
Almost it's not no forever,that's right.
It's this moment in time.
And talking about phones, Imean I use the alarm clock on my
phone, so, but I'm very goodabout not scrolling.
(12:33):
I mean once, once I put it down, excuse me, and plug it in.
It's, it's done, they say it'sback, they do say you do.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I actually started for a while there.
For a long time I would put itto bed right At 830.
It was bedtime, just like achild, right 830.
I put it in my office on mydesk on the charging cord and
that was it.
I didn't see it again until themorning and I'll tell you, I
slept better when I was doingthat, right.
Everything was just so muchmore smoother and calmer, right.
(13:04):
But you know, hard habits arehard to break.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Well, and it's interesting because I pride
myself in saying well, in themorning I have a couple, couple
of coffees and then I getdressed and ready for the day.
If I could just pride myself insaying and then at five o'clock
I put the phone in my officeand close the door and don't.
So I have always found that atthe end of the day I'm not as
(13:33):
disciplined as I am in themorning.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Right, right, and that's like, again, it's just
something that we have to workon, right, and it's obviously
like something we are going tobe working on for a long time.
Yes, and when we get thatfigured out, it'll be something
else, and that's absolutely yeah.
So tell me, what mindset shifthas helped you level up in your
business or in your liferecently?
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Well, I think probably the biggest moment for
me recently has been my businesspartner at Connected Business
Women Network.
We've been together in thispartnership for 15 years.
We started with a differentcompany and then that went away.
(14:20):
So we continued and so it was.
She retired exactly a year agoand it was.
I knew I wanted to carry on.
I knew what we had wasfantastic, and that's why
branding for me is interesting,because we always say, well,
(14:40):
branding is about you, brandingis about your, and once you
become a unit and you're in apartnership, if that partnership
goes away and she retires, thenwhat?
What's the brand?
We've been saying the secretsauce, the dynamic duo.
(15:03):
Now it's like ooh.
So last summer was a veryinteresting summer in terms of
working really hard on what wasthat going to look like without
the other person?
And I knew right away I wantedto continue.
So it took a lot of thinking,turning internal, uh, talking to
(15:34):
people, changing processes,making it work, so that this now
could still carry on with oneperson with the responsibilities
of two people, and so it was ahuge adjustment and still
adjusting.
I mean, every meeting I learnedsomething.
(15:57):
But I think the best thing thatpeople can do, and
entrepreneurs especially, is tolisten to their audience, listen
to their client, because youknow people will say when
someone tells you something, youshould listen because there's a
reason.
Yeah, and we wouldn't.
(16:18):
None of us would havebusinesses without clients and
listening to our client.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Right, that is so true, right.
And once we start listening tothem and giving them what they
need, right, we also learn whatneeds we have Right, absolutely,
yeah, yeah.
What is one summer habit orritual that keeps you in your?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
power.
I think having a schedule butnot having a schedule Does that
make sense?
Yeah, so the I know I'mcommitted in the morning, I'm
(17:04):
going to work for this long andthen, like anyone else I mean,
if we worked for an employer,we'd have two weeks of holidays-
yeah.
I don't know that we always dothat for ourselves in our
business because we feel like wemight miss something or things
will just get derailed and theworld will fall apart.
(17:26):
So I think it's balance and weall look for balance, yeah.
So it's kind of keeping youreye on on on the prize, and yet
recharging our batteries andsaying, well, that was a really
great summer.
I really we did fun things.
(17:47):
We saw, like, if you go on ahike for two hours, things are
going to be okay, yeah, and Ithink it's doing all those
things that we don't get to doall year round, right, it's just
a different time of year wherethere's different opportunities.
You stay outside longer or yougo for hikes instead of freezing
(18:11):
and blowing snow, so it's doingnew things.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
That also stretches your brain or you go for hikes
instead of freezing and blowingsnow, so it's doing new things.
That also stretches your brain.
That's right, absolutely.
And you know, when it is minus40 outside and you're sitting
inside and you see, like the,you know, the four feet of snow
and like you know, you have toremember, remember in the
summertime, when I went on thattwo hour long hike and I
regretted it.
Well, I'm not regretting itright now.
Right, because I got to beoutside and it wasn't freezing,
(18:38):
there wasn't all that snow,right, and it just helps you
sort of ground yourself Rightand be I get through.
Yeah, I got to be there, right,and now I get to be here, right
, and I think that's an easy wayto reframe yourself or your
mindset.
Right, like I got to do thatbecause the weather was, you
(18:59):
know, working with me.
Today it's not, so I get to behere and focus here.
I love that.
What is a recent mistake orlearning moment, we'll call it
that pushed you forward, orlearning moment.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
We'll call it.
That pushed you forward.
A recent mistake, let me see,oh, Recent mistake.
Well, I think if I havemistakes, my mistakes are to
(19:41):
feel like I need to respond tooquickly.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
I don't have a specific example, no, and that's
, that's fair, right, I mean,and the thing is, you don't need
to tell the entire world yourmistakes, right?
I mean, you know we have tohave some, some kind of closure
here, but at the same same time,like I, when I hear that
question, I think you knowthere's a reason why we do what
we do, right.
And so you know why am I doingthis this way?
(20:05):
Because I mean, it probablydidn't work for you.
You know before, right, and youlearned.
You know, like social media,like when you're scrolling on
social media, how many hours dowe lose, right?
How many hours do we lose Justbecause we want to see what
everybody's doing?
Right?
Do we really need to know whateverybody's doing, or what
(20:26):
they're eating, or what they'reeating, like, seriously, right?
We don't need to know that.
And that's what, that's ourmistake.
Because we can put whatever wewant on there, right, we can put
whatever we want on socialmedia, but that doesn't mean we
have to spend time reading it.
And you know, if you want tocomment, by all means, you know,
get involved.
But sometimes it's I don't wantto say unimportant or
(20:49):
unnecessary, but it kind of isright, it becomes a rabbit hole
for sure.
Yeah, and how, like?
How many times have we donethat?
Like that's one thing that I Iknow that you know I'll.
I'll just look at one or twovideos, right, or like reels,
and next thing I know it's anhour later and I'm like, oh my
God, there goes most of my dayNow I have to catch up that time
(21:10):
Right.
So I know that's a mistake thatI make.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
And you know, and from that I'm like okay, I'm
going to set a timer, you know,and I actually do that.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I think that's a really good idea, because you
can just go down that rabbithole and next thing, you know,
like you said, oh, it's lunch.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Yeah, and then you know, and then it's like, well,
now I have a meeting, I don'thave time to make my lunch, or I
don't have time for this orwhat you know, whatever your day
looks like, and so I set atimer for myself and that helps
me.
I can see five or six of theselittle reels.
Okay, fun's over, breaks over,right, like now.
It's back to work.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Now, um, CBWN, is that like your own business?
Yeah, so tell me if, if youcould tell your younger self
just one thing, what would you,you know, before launching it or
before taking it on, what wouldthat be?
Speaker 3 (22:09):
I think you know, 16 years we've seen a lot of change
in our world, in our business,in the ladies that attend our
lunches, their businesses.
Less rigid is really and notthat I was but not to be afraid
(22:38):
to change, to embrace change to,and that's what networking is
really about is about listeningand then responding versus
always being the talk, talk,talk.
So, I think, not to be afraid ofchange to be able and we've had
(23:03):
to pivot, like everyone else,in different circumstances,
whether it be business or healthor whatever.
I mean, everyone has to pivotfor a different reason, but
without resistance, with morepatience, resistance with more
patience and less fear.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I think I love that.
You know that is advice thateverybody should be listening to
.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Right, be ready be ready for what's going to happen
tomorrow, yeah, so tell me,what's your go to summer?
Reflection, I would say a lotof reflection, and then we have
just an enormous wonderfulcommunity, and so spending time
(23:56):
listening, listening andreflection, which then leads to
goals, and planning.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
I love this.
This is great.
This is really awesome.
So now we kind of know a littlebit about your daily routine.
I know we have to, you know,get going because you have
another appointment to get to.
Um.
I just want to ask one morequestion if you would now fast
forward to the end of yoursummer, which is going to be
thanksgiving weekend in october.
From what I understand, whatwould you say yes to?
(24:28):
Um, yeah, what?
What would you?
Okay, let me ask you this thisway what would make you say yes
to leveling up?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
I just think and it's different when you're in a
partnership there's two brainsand we worked very well together
.
We had totally oppositestrengths.
We had totally oppositestrengths, but when you're a
(25:10):
sole proprietor and you nolonger have that fear, leveling
up is the essence of goingforward, and I had a very, very
intelligent young man tell meyears and years ago that the
only thing that stops us is fear, and if you're afraid, you're
(25:33):
not moving forward.
So I think when you get to bemy age, that fear goes away a
little bit because you'velearned from your mistakes and
your mistakes could be ablessing, and I mean I just
(25:57):
still, after 16 years, have avision for this organization,
and I think you and I talkedabout it the other day is that
you just have to put one foot infront of the other In terms of
leveling up.
I absolutely am excited for thenext gen coming up.
(26:20):
They are smart, they don't seemafraid, they like to try new
things, they have a differentversion of life, they tend to
have really good life balanceand I think they are a bright
light for me and I thinklistening to them and learning
(26:44):
from them will help all of uslevel up.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I think.
So they see the worlddifferently for sure.
Yeah, I agree, I think that wehave there's lots to learn,
right?
There's lots for us to learnfrom them, and the generations
behind them have lots to learnfrom them.
So I think you know we complainabout the.
You know these young kids, butat the end of the day, they know
what they talk, right, the waythey talk.
It's clear that they they knowwhat they're doing.
(27:24):
They know that.
You know they have to be opento change.
They have to be open to, youknow, whatever the world is
going to hand them because,let's face it, there's lots of
things coming out in the worldtoday that we didn't have to
deal with 20, 30 years ago.
So, yeah, I love this.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me today, debbie.
This has been great.
I'm so excited about the BossBabes Summer and you know all
(27:47):
the conversations we're gonna behaving.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
I am excited too, and thank you for inviting me.
I would love to share it withour audience.
You know we put out anewsletter and let's get our
babes, uh, involved with yourbabes, absolutely, I love it.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Um, I will have all your information in the show
notes so we can, you know,anyone listening can see those,
and then they'll be able tocontact you and, you know, maybe
join one of your meetings,maybe tell us when you have your
meetings.
I know that they're likeSeptember to June.
Is it once a month or twice amonth?
Speaker 3 (28:24):
It's once a month on Wednesdays.
It's over the lunch hour, so itgoes typically 1130 to 130.
And they are in Calgary.
We don't have a membership, soanyone can come.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Awesome.
I love it.
Thank you so much.
Thank you Thanks for listeningto Confidence in Bloom, where we
celebrate the amazing,brilliant and beautiful woman
you already are.
You don't have to look like amovie star or a supermodel
Spoiler they don't even looklike that.
You are enough worthy ofunconditional love, especially
(28:58):
from yourself.
We pour love out to everyonearound us, so it's time to give
that same love to you.
If you're ready to step intoyour power and boost your
confidence, I'm offeringpersonalized coaching three
focus sessions designed to helpyou build your confidence,
define your personal brand andcreate your own signature style.
(29:18):
Remember, she comes in everyshape and size and the most
important thing, to believe inyourself.
Want to be a guest here onConfidence in Bloom?
Reach out to me on Instagram atinfobloomstyling.
Email tina atinfobloomstylingcom or visit the
Divas that Care network website.
Until next time, keep bloomingconfidently.
It's Divas that Care Radio Stories, strategies and
ideas to inspire positive change.
Welcome to Divas that Care, anetwork of women committed to
making our world a better placefor everyone.
This is a global movement forwomen, by women engaged in a
collaborative effort to create abetter world for future
generations.
To find out more about themovement, visit divasthatcarecom
(00:25):
.
After the show.
Right now, though, stay tunedfor another jolt of inspiration.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome to the Confidence in Bloom where bold
women rise and shine and owntheir power.
We all face that pesky innercritic what I call the
itty-bitty shitty committee.
All face that pesky innercritic what I call the
itty-bitty, shitty committeewhispering self-sabotaging
doubts and untrue trash talkthat holds us back here.
We don't like that noise.
(00:53):
We don't let that noise win.
This is a space to celebratethe fierce, fabulous women who
have broken free from fear,crushed limiting beliefs and
stepped into their full,unstoppable selves.
Because, let's be real, themost powerful thing any woman
can wear is for confidence.
I'm Tina Spoletini, your hostwith the Divas that Care Network
(01:15):
, and I will bring you realstories from women who reclaimed
their voice, embraced theirworth and are lighting the way
for all of us.
Ready to bloom into your bestself.
Let's dive in.
Today I'm chatting with DebbieVan Kamp.
Debbie Van Kamp is the okay.
(01:38):
So the CBWN community has beenan inspiration and a soft place
to land for businesswomen andentrepreneurs for 16 years in
the Calgary area.
Ideas are shared, friendshipsare made and new beginnings are
welcomed, and Debbie is theowner of the CBWN, which stands
(01:58):
for Connected BusinesswomenNetwork Business Women Network.
Her other venture, color StreetNails, is a fun business that
allows her to watch peopletransform and have fun with nail
color without the drying timeand the hassle.
So welcome Debbie, good morning, good morning.
(02:21):
So I want to know what doesBoss Babe, summer look like for
you this year?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
maybe need some tweaking, be open to ideas, meet
with my volunteer committee andsee how we can really start
projecting into the fall andthen into the new year.
I start planning my calendar atthis time for next year already
, so I'm a bit of a chronicplanner, which can be a good
(03:10):
thing and it can be not so good,but I like to think it's a
strength.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Actually.
No, I think that's good.
I think there's some like truthbehind that right, I mean
knowing what, what we wentthrough this year.
How do we want to, you know,make it happen again next year
or cut it right?
That gives you lots of time tofix your calendar.
That's awesome, and so how?
I mean we all?
Summer is the time of partyingand fun, and you know, restful,
(03:41):
restfulness.
How are you using this seasonto recharge and refresh yourself
?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, it really is a fantastic time of year for me
personally.
A number of years ago, weinvested in a property here in
British Columbia and so we'vebeen growing this property for
16 years with the vision ofsemi-retirement retirement.
(04:08):
So we have found that over thepast few years we just keep
spending more time here andwe're in an RV park, so it is
only open until Thanksgiving.
So we really make the best outof our summer, because we all
know we live in Canada andsummer is about a minute long,
(04:31):
right.
So we really do enjoy our timeout here and we really connect
with people out here.
And you know, it's like whenyou go to camp you have your
summer friends and then you haveyour winter friends and then
maybe you have your holidayfriends.
So out here, all of us me, myhusband and even our dog we all
(04:54):
have our summer friends and wedo different things.
We go in the boat and we go forlong walks and we go golfing
we're right on a little ninehole golf course and just enjoy
the, the beautiful long days ofbrightness and I just summer is
(05:15):
my favorite.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
It's just not long enough yeah, I know that that's
everyone's complaint.
Right, summer's not long enough.
So how do you?
I mean, it sounds like you knowit's so awesome.
Right, like Summer's not longenough.
So how do you?
I mean it sounds like you knowit's so awesome, right Like it's
I mean, it's summertime, rightLike you know that you're going
to do all these things golf, andyou know, spend time with your
friends and all the things buthow, where and how do you find
time to plan, to refocus for thefall?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Well, and it's really interesting because I've always
worked from a home-basedbusiness since I moved to
Calgary in 1997.
And I have just found that if Iget up in the morning and I
have my couple of cups of coffeetrack out the day the night
before, I'm usually reallyefficient in the mornings, and
(06:04):
so is my husband.
So we find that the mornings wework, and then in the
afternoons and maybe in theevening, a little happy hour we
play.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Oh, I love that, and so I mean obviously your husband
is on board with that.
Does he have a business of hisown as well?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
He is a contractor and he's an accountant, so of
course they have a very busyseason, but it starts to slow
down conveniently.
July and August are not as busy, so it's just everything just
works out perfectly for us.
And I don't know about you, butwhen you're an entrepreneur I
(06:46):
just it's always kind ofnoodling around and then all of
a sudden someone will saysomething, or you know, we might
have an event out here that wasreally fun, and it's like, oh,
how could I incorporate that?
So you're off, but are youreally ever off, Right?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
right.
I always say, like my businessis like my new baby, right, like
I, you know, I kind of treat itlike it's a child, right, it's
always on my mind.
It's always like there's alwaysgrooming right, there's always
something to be doing, you know,to make it flourish right,
absolutely, absolutely.
I love that it's because it'salways on the top of your mind.
(07:28):
So, what is one thing I meansummertime is a hard time to say
no, right, right, let's face it.
What is one thing that you haveto like, with intention, say no
to over the summer?
That makes space for you, forgrowth, whether it be for
yourself or for your business.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
You know, at my age you'd think I'd have that
figured out, but I have a hardtime saying no and everything is
an opportunity for me.
So I don't say no a lot, but Ido know when I go back into
Calgary because I usually goback every month or five weeks
(08:14):
it's just I get there and I hitthe ground running and last
month was crazy, it was nonstopand I was driving back out to
the cabin and I thought I haveto learn to say no, because I
get there and it's like hit theground running and so did I
(08:36):
provide a lot of value whenyou've only got small pockets of
time.
So learning to say no, I thinkis a real challenge, and I think
it's a challenge for, I think,women entrepreneurs.
I mean we tend to want toalways give, not disappoint,
(09:01):
people.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So maybe that's just a me trait no, I think that's, I
think that's a definitely awoman's trait, right.
But I see like my husband hashis own company as well and I
like I don't see him at work.
He doesn't talk work, I don'tknow anything about his business
, right, like I, you know, Ihave no idea what's on.
But I see, like when he comeshome from work, he puts his
(09:26):
phone away and he's like I'm notat work.
Right, if the phone is going toring, if he's going to get text
messages or emails, he's notlooking at that until the
morning.
And I look at that and I go,okay, so something's wrong
either with him or with me,because we are not the same.
Right, like I can't do that.
Like my phone is always in myhand and I don't have clients
(09:47):
that are, you know, texting meor emailing me or calling me,
even after five o'clock.
It just doesn't happen, right,they've got their lives to live.
But I'm always afraid, like how, how do you do that?
Right, I know it's possible, Isee it, right, it is possible,
(10:12):
it is possible, it is possible.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
And I always say, when people expect a quick
response, like that's kind of mything, when people expect a
quick response, I've kind oftrained them to expect that of
me.
I have trained them to expectthat of me because I did expect
it of myself and it's notreasonable, no, and it doesn't
make sense.
I admire your husband.
(10:35):
Me too I mean I wish he couldbottle that and just send a
little bit of that over here.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Right, and I think, well, and I think it's like a
muscle, right.
I think it's something we haveto teach ourselves, right?
Like I know, taking the phoneto our rooms at night is not
healthy, right?
And so when my kids were youngI used to there were no phones
allowed in the bedrooms period.
I didn't care whose phone itwas, right, their friends would
come over and they'd have toleave that on the kitchen table,
right.
But then, as they got older andbecame adults, I never had that
(11:06):
rule anymore, right?
And so I found myself like I myphone comes to my room often,
but now.
I leave it in the bathroom,right, because I'm like if I
have it beside me it's not goodfor my brain, right?
But if I can't sleep at night,what do I do?
Oh, I can't sleep.
Let's, yeah, let's scroll,right.
So I don't touch my phone untilthe morning, because I need it
(11:28):
for meditating, and you know allthe things.
So, yeah, yeah, I think that'swhere we need to say no to
number one, like in the firstplace.
But I also believe that youknow we have to learn how to use
no as a sentence, right,because isn't that the word,
right?
No is a full sentence.
Can you help me?
Not right now.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Right, exactly, and that's not even really.
No, that's not really.
That's right.
And it's interesting because inmy career and I worked for a
charity and I learned that if Iwas looking for sponsorship or
help or whatever, my go-tosentence was is that no, or is
(12:11):
that no?
Right now, right, and we shouldsay that to ourselves.
Almost it's not no forever,that's right.
It's this moment in time.
And talking about phones, Imean I use the alarm clock on my
phone, so, but I'm very goodabout not scrolling.
(12:33):
I mean once, once I put it down, excuse me, and plug it in.
It's, it's done, they say it'sback, they do say you do.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I actually started for a while there.
For a long time I would put itto bed right At 830.
It was bedtime, just like achild, right 830.
I put it in my office on mydesk on the charging cord and
that was it.
I didn't see it again until themorning and I'll tell you, I
slept better when I was doingthat, right.
Everything was just so muchmore smoother and calmer, right.
(13:04):
But you know, hard habits arehard to break.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Well, and it's interesting because I pride
myself in saying well, in themorning I have a couple, couple
of coffees and then I getdressed and ready for the day.
If I could just pride myself insaying and then at five o'clock
I put the phone in my officeand close the door and don't.
So I have always found that atthe end of the day I'm not as
(13:33):
disciplined as I am in themorning.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Right, right, and that's like, again, it's just
something that we have to workon, right, and it's obviously
like something we are going tobe working on for a long time.
Yes, and when we get thatfigured out, it'll be something
else, and that's absolutely yeah.
So tell me, what mindset shifthas helped you level up in your
business or in your liferecently?
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Well, I think probably the biggest moment for
me recently has been my businesspartner at Connected Business
Women Network.
We've been together in thispartnership for 15 years.
We started with a differentcompany and then that went away.
(14:20):
So we continued and so it was.
She retired exactly a year agoand it was.
I knew I wanted to carry on.
I knew what we had wasfantastic, and that's why
branding for me is interesting,because we always say, well,
(14:40):
branding is about you, brandingis about your, and once you
become a unit and you're in apartnership, if that partnership
goes away and she retires, thenwhat?
What's the brand?
We've been saying the secretsauce, the dynamic duo.
(15:03):
Now it's like ooh.
So last summer was a veryinteresting summer in terms of
working really hard on what wasthat going to look like without
the other person?
And I knew right away I wantedto continue.
So it took a lot of thinking,turning internal, uh, talking to
(15:34):
people, changing processes,making it work, so that this now
could still carry on with oneperson with the responsibilities
of two people, and so it was ahuge adjustment and still
adjusting.
I mean, every meeting I learnedsomething.
(15:57):
But I think the best thing thatpeople can do, and
entrepreneurs especially, is tolisten to their audience, listen
to their client, because youknow people will say when
someone tells you something, youshould listen because there's a
reason.
Yeah, and we wouldn't.
(16:18):
None of us would havebusinesses without clients and
listening to our client.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Right, that is so true, right.
And once we start listening tothem and giving them what they
need, right, we also learn whatneeds we have Right, absolutely,
yeah, yeah.
What is one summer habit orritual that keeps you in your?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
power.
I think having a schedule butnot having a schedule Does that
make sense?
Yeah, so the I know I'mcommitted in the morning, I'm
(17:04):
going to work for this long andthen, like anyone else I mean,
if we worked for an employer,we'd have two weeks of holidays-
yeah.
I don't know that we always dothat for ourselves in our
business because we feel like wemight miss something or things
will just get derailed and theworld will fall apart.
(17:26):
So I think it's balance and weall look for balance, yeah.
So it's kind of keeping youreye on on on the prize, and yet
recharging our batteries andsaying, well, that was a really
great summer.
I really we did fun things.
(17:47):
We saw, like, if you go on ahike for two hours, things are
going to be okay, yeah, and Ithink it's doing all those
things that we don't get to doall year round, right, it's just
a different time of year wherethere's different opportunities.
You stay outside longer or yougo for hikes instead of freezing
(18:11):
and blowing snow, so it's doingnew things.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
That also stretches your brain or you go for hikes
instead of freezing and blowingsnow, so it's doing new things.
That also stretches your brain.
That's right, absolutely.
And you know, when it is minus40 outside and you're sitting
inside and you see, like the,you know, the four feet of snow
and like you know, you have toremember, remember in the
summertime, when I went on thattwo hour long hike and I
regretted it.
Well, I'm not regretting itright now.
Right, because I got to beoutside and it wasn't freezing,
(18:38):
there wasn't all that snow,right, and it just helps you
sort of ground yourself Rightand be I get through.
Yeah, I got to be there, right,and now I get to be here, right
, and I think that's an easy wayto reframe yourself or your
mindset.
Right, like I got to do thatbecause the weather was, you
(18:59):
know, working with me.
Today it's not, so I get to behere and focus here.
I love that.
What is a recent mistake orlearning moment, we'll call it
that pushed you forward, orlearning moment.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
We'll call it.
That pushed you forward.
A recent mistake, let me see,oh, Recent mistake.
Well, I think if I havemistakes, my mistakes are to
(19:41):
feel like I need to respond tooquickly.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
I don't have a specific example, no, and that's
, that's fair, right, I mean,and the thing is, you don't need
to tell the entire world yourmistakes, right?
I mean, you know we have tohave some, some kind of closure
here, but at the same same time,like I, when I hear that
question, I think you knowthere's a reason why we do what
we do, right.
And so you know why am I doingthis this way?
(20:05):
Because I mean, it probablydidn't work for you.
You know before, right, and youlearned.
You know, like social media,like when you're scrolling on
social media, how many hours dowe lose, right?
How many hours do we lose Justbecause we want to see what
everybody's doing?
Right?
Do we really need to know whateverybody's doing, or what
(20:26):
they're eating, or what they'reeating, like, seriously, right?
We don't need to know that.
And that's what, that's ourmistake.
Because we can put whatever wewant on there, right, we can put
whatever we want on socialmedia, but that doesn't mean we
have to spend time reading it.
And you know, if you want tocomment, by all means, you know,
get involved.
But sometimes it's I don't wantto say unimportant or
(20:49):
unnecessary, but it kind of isright, it becomes a rabbit hole
for sure.
Yeah, and how, like?
How many times have we donethat?
Like that's one thing that I Iknow that you know I'll.
I'll just look at one or twovideos, right, or like reels,
and next thing I know it's anhour later and I'm like, oh my
God, there goes most of my dayNow I have to catch up that time
(21:10):
Right.
So I know that's a mistake thatI make.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
And you know, and from that I'm like okay, I'm
going to set a timer, you know,and I actually do that.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I think that's a really good idea, because you
can just go down that rabbithole and next thing, you know,
like you said, oh, it's lunch.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Yeah, and then you know, and then it's like, well,
now I have a meeting, I don'thave time to make my lunch, or I
don't have time for this orwhat you know, whatever your day
looks like, and so I set atimer for myself and that helps
me.
I can see five or six of theselittle reels.
Okay, fun's over, breaks over,right, like now.
It's back to work.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Now, um, CBWN, is that like your own business?
Yeah, so tell me if, if youcould tell your younger self
just one thing, what would you,you know, before launching it or
before taking it on, what wouldthat be?
Speaker 3 (22:09):
I think you know, 16 years we've seen a lot of change
in our world, in our business,in the ladies that attend our
lunches, their businesses.
Less rigid is really and notthat I was but not to be afraid
(22:38):
to change, to embrace change to,and that's what networking is
really about is about listeningand then responding versus
always being the talk, talk,talk.
So, I think, not to be afraid ofchange to be able and we've had
(23:03):
to pivot, like everyone else,in different circumstances,
whether it be business or healthor whatever.
I mean, everyone has to pivotfor a different reason, but
without resistance, with morepatience, resistance with more
patience and less fear.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I think I love that.
You know that is advice thateverybody should be listening to
.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Right, be ready be ready for what's going to happen
tomorrow, yeah, so tell me,what's your go to summer?
Reflection, I would say a lotof reflection, and then we have
just an enormous wonderfulcommunity, and so spending time
(23:56):
listening, listening andreflection, which then leads to
goals, and planning.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
I love this.
This is great.
This is really awesome.
So now we kind of know a littlebit about your daily routine.
I know we have to, you know,get going because you have
another appointment to get to.
Um.
I just want to ask one morequestion if you would now fast
forward to the end of yoursummer, which is going to be
thanksgiving weekend in october.
From what I understand, whatwould you say yes to?
(24:28):
Um, yeah, what?
What would you?
Okay, let me ask you this thisway what would make you say yes
to leveling up?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
I just think and it's different when you're in a
partnership there's two brainsand we worked very well together
.
We had totally oppositestrengths.
We had totally oppositestrengths, but when you're a
(25:10):
sole proprietor and you nolonger have that fear, leveling
up is the essence of goingforward, and I had a very, very
intelligent young man tell meyears and years ago that the
only thing that stops us is fear, and if you're afraid, you're
(25:33):
not moving forward.
So I think when you get to bemy age, that fear goes away a
little bit because you'velearned from your mistakes and
your mistakes could be ablessing, and I mean I just
(25:57):
still, after 16 years, have avision for this organization,
and I think you and I talkedabout it the other day is that
you just have to put one foot infront of the other In terms of
leveling up.
I absolutely am excited for thenext gen coming up.
(26:20):
They are smart, they don't seemafraid, they like to try new
things, they have a differentversion of life, they tend to
have really good life balanceand I think they are a bright
light for me and I thinklistening to them and learning
(26:44):
from them will help all of uslevel up.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I think.
So they see the worlddifferently for sure.
Yeah, I agree, I think that wehave there's lots to learn,
right?
There's lots for us to learnfrom them, and the generations
behind them have lots to learnfrom them.
So I think you know we complainabout the.
You know these young kids, butat the end of the day, they know
what they talk, right, the waythey talk.
It's clear that they they knowwhat they're doing.
(27:24):
They know that.
You know they have to be opento change.
They have to be open to, youknow, whatever the world is
going to hand them because,let's face it, there's lots of
things coming out in the worldtoday that we didn't have to
deal with 20, 30 years ago.
So, yeah, I love this.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me today, debbie.
This has been great.
I'm so excited about the BossBabes Summer and you know all
(27:47):
the conversations we're gonna behaving.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
I am excited too, and thank you for inviting me.
I would love to share it withour audience.
You know we put out anewsletter and let's get our
babes, uh, involved with yourbabes, absolutely, I love it.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Um, I will have all your information in the show
notes so we can, you know,anyone listening can see those,
and then they'll be able tocontact you and, you know, maybe
join one of your meetings,maybe tell us when you have your
meetings.
I know that they're likeSeptember to June.
Is it once a month or twice amonth?
Speaker 3 (28:24):
It's once a month on Wednesdays.
It's over the lunch hour, so itgoes typically 1130 to 130.
And they are in Calgary.
We don't have a membership, soanyone can come.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Awesome.
I love it.
Thank you so much.
Thank you Thanks for listeningto Confidence in Bloom, where we
celebrate the amazing,brilliant and beautiful woman
you already are.
You don't have to look like amovie star or a supermodel
Spoiler they don't even looklike that.
You are enough worthy ofunconditional love, especially
(28:58):
from yourself.
We pour love out to everyonearound us, so it's time to give
that same love to you.
If you're ready to step intoyour power and boost your
confidence, I'm offeringpersonalized coaching three
focus sessions designed to helpyou build your confidence,
define your personal brand andcreate your own signature style.
(29:18):
Remember, she comes in everyshape and size and the most
important thing, to believe inyourself.
Want to be a guest here onConfidence in Bloom?
Reach out to me on Instagram atinfobloomstyling.
Email tina atinfobloomstylingcom or visit the
Divas that Care network website.
Until next time, keep bloomingconfidently.
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