February 6, 2024 • 45 mins
Have you ever pondered the delicate intricacies of our ability to hear and the entrepreneurial spirit it takes to champion this vital sense? That's where Karen Sharpe, the audiological power behind Thrive Hearing Solutions, steps in. In this episode, we unravel her tale from the precision of hearing aid devices to the personal touch of her Saskatoon clinic and expansion to a second location. Karen's anecdotes and expertise blend to paint a vivid picture of the challenges and triumphs in the world of audiology and expanding business.
Imagine being thrust from the security of public service into the wilds of private practice. Karen's narrative is a beacon for any aspiring entrepreneur as she recounts the leap into establishing her own clinic, tapping into local resources and community support. Her strategic approach to customer feedback and the careful orchestration of marketing, especially poignant for those with hearing impairments, serves as a testament to the resourcefulness required to flourish in a specialized field. Join us for a conversation that's as much about the hurdles of starting a business as it is about the unwavering determination to succeed.
Karen peels back the curtain on the decision to expand during the unpredictable times of a global pandemic, revealing the intricacies of opening a second location and the delicate balance of business growth and practicality. Through her stories, we learn the loyalty found in rural customer bases and the unparalleled support of tight-knit communities. Whether you're a small-town business owner or someone curious about the hidden aspects of audiology, Karen's journey with Thrive Hearing Solutions is sure to resonate and inspire.
Mackenzie Kilshaw Co. offers comprehensive business coaching, and consulting tailored to your needs.
With Mackenzie's award winning entrepreneurial expertise in strategy, leadership, business development, branding, website development, social media management, SEO, sales and customer service training and more, clients receive personalized guidance to drive growth and success.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shauna Foster (00:06):
Winning is your guide to making it in business.
Join our award-winning host andentrepreneur, Mackenzie Kilshaw
, and special guests in casualconversations that will educate
and inspire you on your businessjourney.
Winning will help you learn thehard lessons the easy way, with
guidance from celebratedentrepreneurs and business
(00:26):
leaders.
It's fun, it's informative,it's Winning.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:31):
Hello, welcome to Winning.
I'm your host, MackenzieKilshaw, and today's guest is
Karen Sharpe.
Hi, Karen, hi, Mackenzie, howare you?
I'm really good, how are you?
Karen Sharpe (00:39):
I'm wonderful.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:41):
Thank you So Karen is a doctor of audiology
and the owner of Thrive HearingSolutions.
Karen actually is fromSaskatchewan, but she lived and
worked in Arizona for many yearswith a focus on molecular
implants, auditory brain stemimplants, hearing aids and
bone-anchored hearing aids.
That sounds like a lot ofscience to me.
She moved back to Saskatoon in2009 and worked for the
(01:06):
Saskatchewan Health Authorityfor several years before
venturing out on her own andopening the doors of Thrive in
December of 2017.
And then, only two years later,she opened a second location,
which is we're going to talk alot about today.
So, Karen, thanks for being on.
I should let people know Karenand I are not sisters, but we
are basically like sisters.
(01:26):
We've known each other for along time, and so this is just
going to be a really funconversation about business,
because we don't usually talkabout that.
Karen Sharpe (01:35):
We never talk about business, do we?
Mackenzie Kilshaw (01:38):
No, we rarely talk about everything but yeah,
exactly, very rarely.
So, Karen, why don't you start?
I know I just did a littlebrief bio on you, but why don't
you start by telling theaudience a little bit about
yourself and what it is that youdo at Thrive?
Karen Sharpe (01:53):
So we are a full service hearing clinic, so we do
audiology assessments forchildren, adults, We service
hearing aids, we sell hearingaids, we hearing protection,
kind of everything.
But what I used to do, whichwas the cochlear implants and
the brain stem implants, wedon't do that anymore.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (02:17):
Yeah, and it's amazing actually in my
family there's been a few of myfamily members that have visited
you lately and gotten hearingaids and you don't realize how
much you can't hear until youcan't hear is what they tell me.
Karen Sharpe (02:32):
You know what?
That's true and I will tell you.
When I was a little babyaudiologist many years ago this
is one of my favorite stories Ihad a couple sitting in front of
me and it was a husband and awife.
And the husband was there andthe wife was really mad at him
because he had hearing loss andshe was upset because he wasn't
listening.
And he turned to me and he saidno one ever gets mad at you
(02:55):
because you're blind, becausethey can see a cane or they can
see these things, and hearingloss is an invisible disability
and that really stuck with meand for a lot of people.
When the hearing loss is fromnoise or as you get older, it
happens gradually and you don'tnotice until maybe the people
(03:16):
around you do and they startgetting mad at you.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:18):
Yeah, for sure.
Well, my family coming from anagriculture background, all that
loud machinery I know reallytakes a toll on your hearing.
Karen Sharpe (03:28):
It definitely does , and some people, like your
family, are stubborn and don'twant to wear hearing protection,
even when I tell them to.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:35):
You don't say .
It's like when you see peopleat concerts with earplugs in and
people are like, oh, they'rewearing earplugs.
No, actually, that's what youshould be doing, isn't it?
Karen Sharpe (03:45):
Definitely.
Well, yeah, because you canhear the concert fine,
especially if you're up frontright.
Oh, it's damaging.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:51):
Yeah, exactly Okay.
So let's just backtrack here alittle bit.
How the heck do you become adoctor of audiology, and what is
that?
Karen Sharpe (03:59):
Well, so the entry level is a master's degree.
So take a four-yearundergraduate degree and it
would be.
I went to the state.
So my undergraduate degree isin speech pathology, audiology,
so it's communication disordersand then you go on and get a
two-year master's in speechpathology or audiology, and I
went the audiology route.
In the states the doctoratebecame the entry level.
(04:23):
So in Canada you have to be amaster's, but in the states it's
a doctorate.
So that's what I went ahead andgot when I was living down
there, and then here I am, so itwas an additional few years
yeah and you don't ever reallycall yourself doctor Karen Sharp
, but you definitely should,because that's a lot of times I
(04:43):
do yeah you should do it more.
A lot of education.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (04:47):
Especially when you're booking.
They say when you're bookinghotel rooms and dinner
reservations, you should saydoctor, even if you're not.
There's just a little insightthere.
Maybe I'll try that.
Yeah, they say you actually getbetter, like upgraded a room or
anything, something.
So give it a try, Let us know.
Okay, okay, I will Okay.
So you live in the states, youget your doctorate, you move
(05:09):
back to your hometown ofSaskatoon, You're working at the
sketch and health authority.
Life's going great.
What made you take those stepsto start your own clinic?
Karen Sharpe (05:23):
Well, I kind of didn't have a choice because I
was laid off.
So there were some budget cutsin 2017, and I was one of those
budget cuts and I looked aroundand looked at the environment
and I thought, well, I don'tthink they need more
audiologists in private practice.
So here I am.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (05:42):
Yeah, it's really crazy because so many
people actually start theirentrepreneurial journey by
getting laid off or like theirjob is cut positions, whatever
it happens to be, and, like yousay, you kind of had to, like
you're almost forced to do that.
I mean, your path has gonequite well for you, which you're
(06:05):
going to talk about, but thatmust have been really hard to
get laid off and then have to,like, make this leap into
business.
Karen Sharpe (06:12):
Yeah, it was really hard because I was
definitely a public servantthrough and through right Both
my parents teacher and afirefighter and then I got my
education and pretty much wentright into public service.
So I didn't really have thatentrepreneur background.
So that was a really g jumpfrom that nice nine to five.
(06:33):
And you know I miss that.
I definitely miss miss workingwith my kids, that you know my
cochlear implant population andthose high needs that you can't
really serve as well in privatepractice because they're so time
intensive.
So I definitely miss that yeah.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (06:53):
Okay.
So when you, you decide, okay,I have to do this, I got to make
my own.
You said it was scary, which I?
I didn't have to do it, I didit by choice and I was
absolutely terrified.
What were some things that gotyou over that fear, like?
Was it talking to other peopleor getting advice, or what
(07:15):
helped you get past that hump?
Karen Sharpe (07:17):
Yeah, I talked to everybody.
I think I talked to you as asas the clinic was being built, I
spent a lot of time in yourback office.
Yeah, yeah, Using Wi-Fi.
But, yeah, I talked to you.
I talked to people at WESK werehelpful women entrepreneurs of
Saskatchewan.
So it was just like, oh my God,what do I do?
(07:38):
So all I knew was I had to geta lawyer and an accountant and
then started asking around forhelp.
So there's a lot of resourcesfor for help, but it was still,
yeah, a pretty big leap when youhave no, no business background
.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (07:56):
Yeah, that's the thing too.
I mean I, when I went throughit, I did have a commerce degree
, so I'd taken accounting andfinancing, financing, oh wow,
finance, marketing, hr, whatnot.
But for someone like yourselfthat you're in the healthcare
industry, that would have been abig scary moment of I don't
(08:18):
even really know where to startLike how do I even begin?
Right, yeah, yeah.
WESK is a great organization,as you talked about.
Karen Sharpe (08:28):
Yes, yeah, they sure are, and they have a lot of
tools that can help you.
I mean, I knew how to puttogether a business plan, right
Like you know how to do thosekind of things, or I guess.
Shauna Foster (08:41):
I had a little bit of background in that.
Karen Sharpe (08:43):
Yeah, and it wasn't hard and I I think what
one of the advantages I had wasthat I know Saskatoon really
well because, yeah, while Ilived in the States, I'm from
here.
So when it came to demographicsor you know when they talk
about, well, you need to naildown your demographics I knew
where to go.
Shauna Foster (09:02):
And.
Karen Sharpe (09:02):
I knew what location was.
Maybe which one would be betterthan another.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (09:08):
Yeah, I think that's so important too is
obviously knowing your clienteleand who is your perfect person
that's going to come to you andsupport you.
And I think that is one of thethings that when you are in a
community and starting yourbusiness within that community,
not only do you know thecommunity, but they know you, so
you're more apt to have peoplesupporting you a local person
(09:32):
than possibly a franchise or ayou know, huge company owned
business.
That starts because people knowyou, they want to support you
right.
Karen Sharpe (09:43):
Yeah right, I think that makes a big
difference.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (09:46):
Oh yeah, huge , and I know that you were
nominated for quite a few awardsand things like that, which
really gets you into thecommunity but also gets the
community to come and supportyou too, right.
Karen Sharpe (10:01):
Yeah, and those were you know.
Yeah, it was like such a coolthing.
When people they leave you goodreviews, they leave you, you
know, notes and messages, thatwow, that really like really
pumps your tires right, it makesa big difference.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (10:19):
Yeah, it sure does.
Karen Sharpe (10:20):
You're reviewing some like a McDonald's sounds
good, the hamburger was good.
Today no one sees that, no onecares.
When you're supporting local,it really makes a big difference
.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (10:30):
Well, for sure, and reviews are such a
huge thing.
Karen Sharpe (10:32):
Now, like I, don't know, they really seem to be.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (10:36):
Yeah, like, if I'm looking for anything,
I'll go and I'll read thereviews, right?
What do people think?
Do they have a good experience,a bad experience?
Or it's a shopping, likesomewhere to go buy clothing or
a service like yourself?
Right, you want to know beforeyou get there.
What do I expect?
(10:58):
Were people happy, or did Ionly see a whole bunch of
negative?
Guess what, I'm not going there.
Karen Sharpe (11:03):
Yeah, right, yeah, I think.
Yeah, that as well.
And I think another thing thathelped is, I guess, as an aside,
was television.
So we put ourselves, we justdid Christmas greetings for a
while, because I think in avisual medium our folks that
have hearing impairment, itallows them to connect, see us
and connect with us.
(11:24):
Yeah, versus, if they justheard it or read it.
So I found that to be reallyhelpful.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (11:33):
For sure, and especially for you, that's
providing a service that's quitepersonal, right, and hearing
that is such a big thing in yourlife.
To know the person that you'regoing to be working with, I
think is really important andany type of service that's hands
on, like that, that's such agood piece of advice for them is
(11:53):
get your face out there and beauthentic, right, and let them
know who you are so that theyrecognize you and maybe they
don't need your service todaybut in a month from now or three
months from now they're like ohyeah, I saw that, Karen woman,
I should go there right.
Like it's just that recognitionand especially for personalized
(12:15):
service, very important.
Karen Sharpe (12:18):
Yeah, and I think you touched on it when you said
authenticity.
So, like they, yeah, they canmake that connection with you
and they know what they'regetting and what's they going
and who they're coming to whothey're coming to yeah, who
they're coming to, and justbeing yourself is really
important.
I guess that's what I was goingfor.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (12:39):
Yeah, for sure.
And that goes for like yourself, you did TV ads.
That goes for on your socialmedia.
That goes for when they walkthrough the door, right Like if
you present yourself just as youare and they see it on your
Instagram and Facebook and thenthey see it on TV.
And then they walk in your doorand they see you and you're
(13:00):
exactly what they've seen.
It all comes together.
Karen Sharpe (13:04):
Right, yeah, and I think it's, and we work with.
I mean, like I said, we workwith all ages, but I think it's
especially valuable to thosethat we work the most with,
which would be people like intheir older years, like they
want to know who they're goingto and they want to make that
connection with that person, andit's really important.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:23):
And also, when you're looking at something
like hearing aids, your pricepoint is high.
This isn't a $100 thing.
They want to trust you, right,so you've earned their trust by
being authentic and showing themwho you are and when they trust
you and they trust what you sayand, yes, you do need these
(13:44):
hearing aids, or whatever it isthat you're doing for them.
That's going to increase yourbusiness and revenue also, right
, by just being real.
Karen Sharpe (13:52):
Yeah, I think so, I think that helps.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:55):
Yeah, for sure, I don't think it matters
what industry you're in.
Being authentic and real andtransparent is going to get you
way further.
Karen Sharpe (14:06):
I agree, and I think you would know that better
than I would, because my nicheand my industry is, like I'm
holding up my fingers likepretty much centimeter apart,
like what I know is so, so smallcompared to you know your
experience and your you know thedifferent spaces you've filled.
(14:27):
So I think you're right.
Yeah, like no matter what youdo, whether it's clothing or
whether it's customer servicebeing authentic is a big deal.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (14:37):
For sure.
My theory when I had myclothing stores was always we're
truthful to clients, becausethere's nothing worse than
someone coming out you know,their son's getting married or
they have a big job interviewmaybe, and they have an outfit
on that you can tell is not thebest for them or they don't feel
good in it.
They don't have.
You know, they should come outfeeling proud and like what,
(15:01):
their shoulders held high, like,oh, I love the way I love to
feel.
And if they don't, you knowthat's not the right thing for
them to say, oh, that looksfantastic on you, oh, you
definitely need to buy this,like that was the exact opposite
of what we did.
We're like you know what we cando better than this.
This is fine, but we can dobetter Right and find that thing
because can you imagine gettingan outfit for a really
(15:25):
important event or whatever ithappens to be?
And then people are like whatis she wearing?
That's that does not look good,doesn't fit properly, isn't
appropriate, whatever it is.
No, you want to feel good, youwant to have self confidence and
let's like talking abouthearing, if you're maybe, like
my family, a little stubborn, aswe said that are like I'm fine,
(15:45):
I don't need to get thosehearing aids.
And you, you're probably selfconscious about wearing them,
right, right?
Karen Sharpe (15:53):
Yes, and it's also associated with being old.
Right, hearing loss affectseverybody.
You can be born with hearingloss.
You can get it when you'reolder, but I think it's the
stigma also.
I don't want them because it'llmake me look old.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (16:11):
Yeah, yeah, and really in the reality, who
cares as long as you can hear.
It's like wearing glasses.
You know, when I was a kid,grade three I got glasses.
Oh, I'm going to be called adork now or whatever.
It was Right.
Well, I couldn't see so beingable to see kind of how to out
trump that Right, but it's thesame.
With that I had hearing loss.
(16:32):
I had to go see Karen.
I played fastball my whole lifeNever got hurt.
I was playing in a slow pitchbeer league in all reality is a
very casual game.
Rather large man hit a groundball that I went after and it
hit a rock and came up and hitme right in the head.
Karen Sharpe (16:52):
So the rock that hit you or no, the ball, the
ball hit me, I guess.
Yeah, yeah, it was like theball hit the rock.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (16:58):
The rock hop popped up, of course, concussion
, blood, all the gross things.
Severe ringing in my ear thatwas what really got me.
Was that severe ringing?
I always say it was like acartoon where they like see the
stars.
That's how I felt.
The ringing was so hard and Istill don't have all the hearing
(17:19):
back in my left ear and yeah, Imean, this is 10 years ago so
it's not coming back now.
So the likelihood that I needto come at some point I'm in my
40s, maybe soon and right andget something to help me.
Karen Sharpe (17:33):
It's coming to me anyway.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (17:35):
Yeah, well, I should, I should anyways, but I
mean it's just, it is what itis.
Right, that was an accidentthing that happened, but hearing
is so important and it affectseverything that you do in your
life, right, yeah, okay, so Iwant to talk a lot about second
location.
And okay, so you started yourfirst business and within two
(17:57):
years you opened a secondlocation, which is pretty fast,
if especially considering thatyou started a brand new business
, like you said, you kind of yougot help but you kind of had to
figure things out.
So kind of I guess a couple ofthings was why did you decide to
open the second location?
(18:18):
And then, second of all, howdid you go about doing that?
Karen Sharpe (18:23):
So I had a little help with my second location too
, but I had when I was with thehealth authority, which at the
time was the Saskatoon HealthRegion.
We did clinics like ruralclinics and one of my clinics
was Melfort.
So I was actually alreadylooking around, looking to go to
(18:44):
the Melfort-Tisdale areabecause I missed my patients and
I knew I could bring thatservice to them.
And I had a colleague whoalready had a clinic in Nippon
and she said hey, I'm kind ofbusy.
Would you maybe want to takethis over?
And I'll just leave it to youand you can do the follow-ups.
(19:05):
I'll just let my patients knowthat they can see you or they
can see me.
And that's what we did.
So I mean it wasn't a startfrom scratch per se.
I had a lot of help on that endtoo.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (19:19):
Yeah, that's good because you did already
have clients and probably space.
Karen Sharpe (19:26):
There was space, yeah yeah, it was actually in
the Nippon Hospital and I willtell you I just love the people
there.
But when COVID hit, you know itjust was too difficult, right,
everything was shut down.
So then you had to.
So that was the biggestchallenge was trying to find
another space during COVID.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (19:46):
Okay, so you had to move out of your space
during COVID.
Covid really just was a littlejam, wasn't it Just gave us all
so many new opportunities.
Okay so you can't be in thehospital.
So now you live and have abusiness in Saskatoon area, and
now you have to find a second oran additional location at your
(20:07):
second location, because youcan't be in your first location
at your second location, right?
So?
Karen Sharpe (20:15):
For a few months I had.
I was looking online andcalling people, but I, you know
I need to service those patients.
Like hearing aids aren't aone-size-fits-all right.
Yes, so I had to see thosepatients and follow up.
Because everything was shutdown so fast, I ended up renting
like the entire conference roomat a hotel just so I could like
(20:37):
follow up with those patients.
So I started calling around andI ended up calling the Chamber
of Commerce in Nipawin who said,oh hey, we have a room, do you
want to rent it?
And I said, yeah, I'll justrent it until you know I can go
back to the hospital.
And that was three years ago.
It's just over and I never wentback and the Chamber's been.
(20:59):
We have a great time there, sothat's really our new home there
.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (21:05):
Yeah, that's actually great advice to is
reaching out to the localChamber of Commerce wherever you
are, because they know what'sgoing on.
Karen Sharpe (21:13):
Totally, and I'm a member of Saskatoon.
I was like what am I thinking?
I'll just reach out to theChamber of Nipawin and see what
they know, because I couldn'tget anywhere with, like it's
hard to get those, thebusinesses in, the landlords.
It's a small town.
You can like literally walk inand ask people, but they just
kind of look at you strange.
Yeah.
(21:34):
Or difficulty getting a hold oflandlords that are God knows
where, like wherever they live,like because they're not on
location.
So the best, that's right.
Honestly, the Chamber was likethe best decision.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (21:47):
That.
Yeah, that's great advice,because I think a lot of times
we don't think about that, butthey know what's going on in the
business community.
And I mean for you it happenedto be that they had a space.
That's probably not usuallywhat happens.
Karen Sharpe (22:00):
No, I don't think that's usually what happens, but
they ended up having someonemoving out in like a month, so I
moved in the next month and itwas just perfect timing.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (22:09):
Yeah, that's awesome.
So what has been positive aboutthat second location?
Karen Sharpe (22:18):
It's going to sound silly, like the hospital
didn't have any.
You were like kind of back andyou were in the specialist area.
What I'm going to say is thewindows, the parking, like
things, that's brighter, but theparking actually.
So I'm thinking like it's kindof not about me, it's about my
patients and the parking rightoutside the door was huge for
(22:41):
them.
There's lots of parking, it'seasy to get in, it's easy to get
out.
It's one floor and during COVIDtimes they didn't have to fill
out, like you know, the form youhad to fill out the symptoms.
They didn't have to do that, soit was just easy and out.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (23:00):
I think you really hit the nail on the head
when you said do what's best foryour, for you as patients,
clients, whatever it happens tobe, do what's best for them.
Sometimes that's aninconvenience to you.
I mean you had to move, butthat's a big deal moving a
business.
But when you do what's best foryour clients, that's why they
(23:21):
return and that's why they cometo you.
Right, you made it easy forthem, especially when you do
have an older, aged clientele.
Something as simple as we thinkof as parking they can just
pull up in front of the door andwalk in.
That's huge for them.
Karen Sharpe (23:34):
Right.
Well, even in my Saskatoonlocation, when I was looking for
a location, I would notconsider it unless the parking
was free and close by and hadlike accessible parking.
That was actually my number one.
My number one like what do youneed?
Mackenzie Kilshaw (23:51):
I'm like free , accessible parking, yeah it's
true, I was the same withclothing store because I thought
if people have to drive aroundand look for a parking spot or
pay for a parking spot, theymight just leave because I've
done that right.
I've done that where I'm like,oh, I'm going to go to this
place and I drive around for 15minutes and I'm like, well, now
I don't even have time to stopbecause I got to be at the next
(24:13):
place.
So then you just abandon thatthought.
And it's a deterrent,especially that we just talked
about.
Maybe they're a little bitapprehensive about coming to see
you or about getting hearingaids.
That's just one more thing.
Oh well, it's hard to parkthere.
Or if you give them less thingsto worry about, they're more
(24:33):
apt to come see you.
Karen Sharpe (24:35):
True.
Another thing I always tell mypatients when they sit in front
of me and have a hearing loss, Ialways say no one's ever here
because they want to be.
No one ever sees me becausethey want to.
They're here because they haveto be.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (24:46):
Yeah, you're kind of like going to the
dentist or yeah, you're herebecause you have to be.
Yeah, you're doing it for thebetter good but, I agree, it's
not really where I want to comeand spend my day.
Sorry to tell you that, Karen,but it's true though.
But the more inviting you canmake it, the better off you are
Right.
Karen Sharpe (25:07):
Yeah, and that was my husband that did the
interior.
So if you ever see my interior,that was totally my husband.
I said make it not look like ahearing clinic, make it not look
medical, make it look nice.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:19):
Yeah, you've got a great office and I've been
there.
I was there before you evenstarted the building of it.
Shauna Foster (25:26):
So I kind of saw from everywhere.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:27):
But it's true , though If you make it more of
an experience and more uniqueand less for you, especially
clinical, right or less likeeverybody else, you're
definitely going to have moreclients, and clients that are
loyal and stick to you becausethey appreciate that experience.
Karen Sharpe (25:46):
I think so.
Yeah, that's unique.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:49):
Yeah, exactly , it's true.
It brings people back, that'sfor sure.
Okay, let's talk aboutdrawbacks.
What have been some of thedrawbacks, or what's been hard
with having a second location?
Karen Sharpe (26:01):
I think just obviously we're not staffed all
the time, where there are acouple times a month, and that
was actually another hugeadvantage to the chamber is
there's some at least there'ssomeone there all the time or
most of the time, and now she'sused to people coming in and
going like is Karen here today?
Because that's what they'll do,right.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (26:21):
Yeah, yeah.
Karen Sharpe (26:23):
They're set times so sometimes we have to mix them
up because they want to come by.
But yeah, not having dedicatedstaff there is a big drawback,
even though we have a whole lotof help and just Nipawin is,
like two and three-quarter hoursaway from here.
So the travel and then justhaving two locations and having
(26:49):
to set up and take down Again.
Having a permanent location atthe chamber has been easier than
the hospital.
There's less to take down interms of equipment and more to
leave there, but that's thetravel part of it and just not
having people there all the time.
But again, it's kind of notabout me, it's about them.
(27:10):
So I'm able to offer thatservice rather than them having
to come to Nipawin for whateverthey need and a lot of the
follow-ups.
We're seeing people two, three,four, five times, so we're
saving them a lot of time by mebeing there.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (27:26):
I think, too, when people are looking at
opening another location,whatever their business is, the
travel that you were justtalking about gets often
forgotten, because it's not justoh well, I have to, okay for
you two hours 45 minutes to getthere, it's not just that two
(27:47):
hours and 45 minutes to drivethere and to drive home, it's
now that affects your otherbusiness, because you can't be
there for that time.
And then that affects yourpersonal life because you can't
be for your kids or your husbandor your friends or whatever it
is, because you might quit atfive but you have almost a
(28:08):
three-hour drive back.
And I think that's somethingthat I hear lots of people say
like yeah, I'm going to openanother location, whatever, it's
going to be great, I'll just gothere once a week or whatever,
it will be fine.
And then that once a week turnsinto every second week and then
once a month, and then theyhardly go and things start
(28:30):
slipping.
I mean, for you it's differentbecause you're actually hands-on
, but for me at a clothing storeI went every week for a long
time and then I went kind ofevery 10 days or every other
week, frankly, becausepersonally I personally it was a
lot on me, like physically itwas a lot on me.
Karen Sharpe (28:50):
Yeah, right, yeah, I think another, now that you
say that another drawback is, mySaskatoon location gets left
alone, and one of the thingsthat's unique is, if you're
handling hearing aids, you haveto either be an audiologist or a
hearing instrument practitioner, which means, if I were to have
someone cover off, I can't justhave someone cover off, I
(29:12):
actually have to hire somebody.
Yeah, I mean, there's, yeah,red tape in terms of the, the
ministry of health, in terms ofwhat I have to do to hire
somebody.
Additionally, which is quiteexpensive, I have to hold a
$10,000 bond table to theministry of health, so that it's
(29:33):
a really big investment for meto employ somebody like another
me.
So it actually makes sense forme just not to have anybody.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (29:43):
Yeah, and that's the other thing too is
that you're not hiring minimumwage staff, then you're hiring
someone that is a big wage, soyour volume has to be there in
order for you to pay to havethem.
Right, right, you probably haveto sell twice as much Right To
(30:04):
warrant it, right?
Yeah, that's I was going toactually ask you about adding
staff.
And and do you do it on yourown?
Because a lot of people arelike yourself, where you're the
business, right, you are thebusiness, so you maybe can have
a receptionist or someone toanswer the phone, but you have
to be the one that's actuallydoing the job.
Karen Sharpe (30:25):
Right, and yeah, like I said, it's actually
really difficult unless I can do, I almost have to be at the top
of the volume that I can do andnot be able to handle it.
Or I can employ someone elseand pay them because, you're
right, it's a specialist,whether it's another audiologist
or hearing instrumentpractitioner, they have to, then
(30:49):
they have to be able to pumpout as much volume.
So it's very difficult and yeah, so, and perhaps if I, you know
, had a more business background, I could have done that sooner
or could do it now.
I potentially could do it now,probably, but I just am hesitant
to take that lead.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (31:10):
Yeah, that's the thing, because it's also
scary, right, because you haveto be.
You made a really good pointhere.
I want to just go back to it.
You have to basically beturning away clients before you
can bring on that second person,right, right, when they're a
high, high priced wage earner,because otherwise you're paying
(31:33):
them to not do anything, whichmeans no revenue, but they're
still the expense of paying them, right, yeah, yeah, it's a
really fine line, isn't it?
And I don't.
I think you, I guess you'd haveto, in your own business, sit
down and decide what is thatthreshold, at what, whether it's
time or money or whatever it is?
(31:54):
At what time do you have tomake that leap?
Because it's a big one.
Karen Sharpe (31:59):
Yeah, yeah, and I I don't want to make it and be
like sorry, I can't keep you,it's too soon.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (32:05):
That's right that's right.
And this goes for hiring anotherlike person, like another,
Karen, basically.
But this also goes for smallbusiness where, at what time
maybe, do you hire somebody todo your marketing, or to hire
somebody or just simply morestaff?
We're just too busy that peopleare actually leaving without
(32:27):
buying anything because we'retoo busy to help them.
That's a problem.
That's a good problem to have,but that's a problem right,
because now you're losing money,so you almost have to sit down
and figure out what is that thatmark?
And then, once we hit that mark, that's when we're going to get
another person, or we're goingto hire something out or someone
(32:47):
else to do something in ourbusiness, and I think that's a
really good point.
Doesn't matter what businessyou're in, you have to know what
that that point is, or you'renever going to grow, right?
You're just going to stay thesame as you are, forever, right?
Yeah?
And as we all know, your leasewill become more, your supplies
will become more, everything'sgoing to become more.
(33:07):
So how do you compensate forthat?
Karen Sharpe (33:11):
Right, I know, and everything's yeah.
Boy, the price of everything'sgone quite a bit up.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (33:16):
I was visiting my grandma the other
day and she's we're talkingabout the cost of a loaf of
bread and it's just crazy.
And as business owners, we haveto be creative and we have to
know these numbers.
What is our threshold, so thatwe know when it's time to grow
and expand?
Because your expenses are goingto keep catching up to you,
right, so you have to be able toto be ahead of them, because
(33:39):
you need to make profit.
That's how you live, right?
Karen Sharpe (33:42):
Right and I don't know what that threshold is.
I suppose I should.
Probably.
I don't feel like I'mapproaching it yet.
It's a big part of that.
I think it's still manageableto go between those two
locations, yeah, but yeah, youhave to, you have to know what
that is and I suppose there'sprobably a lot of planning and
planning ahead and I think again, probably someone like WESK
(34:04):
would be able to help or, yep,you could hire a business
consultant.
I betcha they'd know, you knowthey'd be able to sit down with
you.
But I don't.
I don't feel like we'reapproaching that yet.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (34:15):
We're not doing enough volume and it's
funny because I betcha if weasked 10 small business owners
the same question, everyonewould say the exact same thing
as you.
I'm not exactly sure what it is.
We're probably getting close toit, but we don't because the
thing is we don't oftentimesthink about that sort of thing a
lot, and that really is astrategy.
(34:37):
When you said there's planninginvolved and things you have to
do there definitely is right.
So I think this is a goodlesson for everyone.
Listening is to sit down andtry to figure out what that
threshold is and at what point.
Right, because that might seekup on you and you don't want it
to get past you.
Right, like you want to be ableto be on top of it, and so
(34:59):
that's a really good point thatyou just made, and we weren't
even trying to make that point,but it's, it's so good.
Karen Sharpe (35:06):
I do agree like there should be and I'm guilty
of not doing it but strategicplanning, probably once a year.
It's like, okay, what are wegonna do?
Because I try and do that withmarketing I'm the worst at it,
but you like you should sit downand plan once a year, so,
whether it's marketing or growthor whatever.
So, yeah, for sure, I do thatsometimes, not always, you know
(35:31):
what you know, what we?
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:33):
We had an episode on goal setting and it's
kind of the same thing.
It's like we talk about doing itand we know we should do it,
but a lot of times we just don'tdo it because we're doing other
things.
It's not maybe our strong suit,like you said, the numbers like
I don't know how to figure itout.
So you're kind of like, well,just leave it because I don't
(35:54):
know how to do it.
But I think this is a goodpoint to say.
It is important and that is thetime when you can reach out to
a business coach or like WESK.
Honestly, when we're notentrepreneurs, if you're in
Saskatchewan and there'sorganizations like that all over
they, if they can't help you,they can at least point you in
the direction of someone thatcan, which I think is really
(36:16):
important, because you want yourbusiness to be able to be ahead
of everything right, inflationand your expenses and you want
to be able to be growing at agood pace and that is the best
way to do it.
For sure, was there anythingthat surprised you with the
second location, good or bad, um?
Karen Sharpe (36:40):
What's the problem ?
I'm sure something will come tome, but I can't think of what
surprised me.
I mean, there's not a lot ofsurprises at small towns to
Saskatchewan, right?
So yeah there's not a whole lotof surprises um.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (36:56):
I guess you knew what you were getting into
because you had already beengoing there for a previous job.
Karen Sharpe (37:02):
I guess the main difference is yeah, I was going
there with the health region andthey already knew, but I guess
for me there's less marketing tobe done, so that was a bit of a
surprise.
I still did it.
And then I was like, oheverybody knows, because word
got out that the girl fromSaskatoon has you know, has a
hearing aid.
She's at the chamber, let's gosee what she's up to.
(37:24):
So we get a lot of walk-ins.
Yeah, that is true.
People just talk to each other.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (37:29):
So that's all part of, though, being small
towns of Saskatchewan andknowing that Well, and I think
that's all business right Iseither you make a plan to
execute something that you don'tactually need, like that
marketing, or something happensthat you just honestly did not
think about that.
All of a sudden you're like, oh, we got to fix it.
I mean, maybe in your case thatwas COVID, which of course, no
(37:52):
one's had COVID coming.
But okay, we have to find a newlocation, like tomorrow, right?
Karen Sharpe (37:58):
Yeah, and I think, being a really small business,
it's easier because you canpivot.
Shauna Foster (38:03):
Yes.
Karen Sharpe (38:04):
You can pivot fast .
I didn't have to rely on likesomebody else going okay, sure,
like let us scope out locationsfor you, maybe.
So I was just able to be likeokay, sounds good, I'll just do
what I want.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:18):
Yeah, yeah.
I'm just fortunate for youbecause the next time it might
not go that way or it mightright, you just never know.
But that definitely is a profor having a business in a rural
or a small town location, and Ithink a lot of people are
apprehensive about openingbusinesses in smaller centers
(38:38):
because I think I don't have asmany people.
But you would be surprised atthe people that you do have, how
loyal they are to you to wantto support you.
Karen Sharpe (38:47):
Yeah, and I really I really enjoy Nipawin.
We love the community, we lovethe people and there's people
that come from the surroundingcommunity and yeah, we just love
it there and it's.
We love Saskatoon too, but yeah, the second location, we really
enjoy it.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:05):
That's awesome.
I'm glad that the secondlocation has been such a
positive thing for you.
Do you have a most importantlesson that you can share, or
something that you thinkeveryone in business should know
?
Karen Sharpe (39:20):
Probably don't be afraid to ask for help, because
I think I'm bad for gettingstuck Like if I don't know what
to do, I'll just sit there andfreak out and maybe not reach
out and ask for help.
So that would be my biggest askjust start asking around.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:38):
I could not agree more.
I thought, being anentrepreneur, I had to do
everything on my own.
And then I realized bookkeepingand things like that.
I was like I don't know whatI'm doing, I'm spending all this
time.
I asked a few friends, found agood bookkeeper and yeah, I had
to pay them, but I never worriedabout it again.
Karen Sharpe (39:57):
Yeah best advice yeah, that's, that's.
Good advice, too, is justfinding someone else to do those
things, because you do have todo a lot, but you don't have to
do all of it, and those areimportant things 100%.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (40:10):
Yeah, yeah, things that can actually really
affect your business if they'renot done properly right.
Is there anything you wish youhad known or wish you had known
sooner?
Karen Sharpe (40:24):
Probably the same thing ask for help, be more on
top of it.
Like I think you just get soinvolved in the day-to-day
business and it's easy for me tobe an audiologist.
The other stuff's harder, soit's easier for me to
concentrate on being anaudiologist and not run the
business stuff.
So probably asking for help andget more help as soon as you
(40:46):
can, because if it gets awayfrom you, like from my marketing
plan that I set out to doyearly and never do, perhaps I
should be farming that out.
Or the books or like thosethings like you get behind
really fast, yeah, I could agreemore, so that would be my
advice I could agree more.
Yeah, Do what you're good atright, yeah, do what you're good
(41:10):
at, and then I wrote the rest.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (41:12):
If you can, well, and for you, especially
for you, you are the business,right, you're the one that makes
the business the money, soyou're better off to see a
patient than you are to be doingyour books.
Simple as that, right, yeahyeah, Karen, where can people
find you?
I know that you have Facebookand Instagram, but what's the
(41:35):
best place for people to findyou?
Sorry?
Karen Sharpe (41:40):
Well, we have.
I guess you could find us inNipawin In person.
You could find us at theChamber of Commerce in Nipawin,
N Railway Street.
Here we're in Saskatoon, onLudlow ST, but you can always
visit our website at www.
ThriveHearing.
ca and reach out to us that way.
(42:01):
We definitely have a storefront.
If you want to drop by, we'dlove to see you.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (42:06):
And just be careful we definitely take
walk-ins.
Karen Sharpe (42:07):
Yeah, we do.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (42:10):
And you'll see Karen.
Thank you so much, Karen.
Thank you.
I just appreciate it a lot.
I know a second location.
I've been there.
It's a crazy roller coasterride and there's so many
rewarding things and I knowNipawin is really close to your
heart.
So thank you for sharing yourexperience with the audience and
(42:32):
with me as well, and foreverybody listening.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
Thanks for listening to Winning.
Be sure to subscribe to get allof our new episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode andyou'd like to help support the
podcast, please share it withothers, post about it on social
media and leave a rating andreview wherever you listen to
Winning.
To catch all of the latest fromus, you can follow Winning
(42:55):
Podcast on Instagram at Winningpodcast, Facebook at Winning
Podcast and on Twitter at inningpod.
Winning was created and isproduced by me, Mackenzie
Kilshaw music, created by SummerFirby, editing by Seth
Armstrong.
Special thanks to Shauna Fosterfor voicing our opening and, of
(43:16):
course, a huge thank you tothis episode's guest.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you on the next episode
.
Winning is your guide to making it in business.
Join our award-winning host andentrepreneur, Mackenzie Kilshaw
, and special guests in casualconversations that will educate
and inspire you on your businessjourney.
Winning will help you learn thehard lessons the easy way, with
guidance from celebratedentrepreneurs and business
(00:26):
leaders.
It's fun, it's informative,it's Winning.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:31):
Hello, welcome to Winning.
I'm your host, MackenzieKilshaw, and today's guest is
Karen Sharpe.
Hi, Karen, hi, Mackenzie, howare you?
I'm really good, how are you?
Karen Sharpe (00:39):
I'm wonderful.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:41):
Thank you So Karen is a doctor of audiology
and the owner of Thrive HearingSolutions.
Karen actually is fromSaskatchewan, but she lived and
worked in Arizona for many yearswith a focus on molecular
implants, auditory brain stemimplants, hearing aids and
bone-anchored hearing aids.
That sounds like a lot ofscience to me.
She moved back to Saskatoon in2009 and worked for the
(01:06):
Saskatchewan Health Authorityfor several years before
venturing out on her own andopening the doors of Thrive in
December of 2017.
And then, only two years later,she opened a second location,
which is we're going to talk alot about today.
So, Karen, thanks for being on.
I should let people know Karenand I are not sisters, but we
are basically like sisters.
(01:26):
We've known each other for along time, and so this is just
going to be a really funconversation about business,
because we don't usually talkabout that.
Karen Sharpe (01:35):
We never talk about business, do we?
Mackenzie Kilshaw (01:38):
No, we rarely talk about everything but yeah,
exactly, very rarely.
So, Karen, why don't you start?
I know I just did a littlebrief bio on you, but why don't
you start by telling theaudience a little bit about
yourself and what it is that youdo at Thrive?
Karen Sharpe (01:53):
So we are a full service hearing clinic, so we do
audiology assessments forchildren, adults, We service
hearing aids, we sell hearingaids, we hearing protection,
kind of everything.
But what I used to do, whichwas the cochlear implants and
the brain stem implants, wedon't do that anymore.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (02:17):
Yeah, and it's amazing actually in my
family there's been a few of myfamily members that have visited
you lately and gotten hearingaids and you don't realize how
much you can't hear until youcan't hear is what they tell me.
Karen Sharpe (02:32):
You know what?
That's true and I will tell you.
When I was a little babyaudiologist many years ago this
is one of my favorite stories Ihad a couple sitting in front of
me and it was a husband and awife.
And the husband was there andthe wife was really mad at him
because he had hearing loss andshe was upset because he wasn't
listening.
And he turned to me and he saidno one ever gets mad at you
(02:55):
because you're blind, becausethey can see a cane or they can
see these things, and hearingloss is an invisible disability
and that really stuck with meand for a lot of people.
When the hearing loss is fromnoise or as you get older, it
happens gradually and you don'tnotice until maybe the people
(03:16):
around you do and they startgetting mad at you.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:18):
Yeah, for sure.
Well, my family coming from anagriculture background, all that
loud machinery I know reallytakes a toll on your hearing.
Karen Sharpe (03:28):
It definitely does , and some people, like your
family, are stubborn and don'twant to wear hearing protection,
even when I tell them to.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:35):
You don't say .
It's like when you see peopleat concerts with earplugs in and
people are like, oh, they'rewearing earplugs.
No, actually, that's what youshould be doing, isn't it?
Karen Sharpe (03:45):
Definitely.
Well, yeah, because you canhear the concert fine,
especially if you're up frontright.
Oh, it's damaging.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:51):
Yeah, exactly Okay.
So let's just backtrack here alittle bit.
How the heck do you become adoctor of audiology, and what is
that?
Karen Sharpe (03:59):
Well, so the entry level is a master's degree.
So take a four-yearundergraduate degree and it
would be.
I went to the state.
So my undergraduate degree isin speech pathology, audiology,
so it's communication disordersand then you go on and get a
two-year master's in speechpathology or audiology, and I
went the audiology route.
In the states the doctoratebecame the entry level.
(04:23):
So in Canada you have to be amaster's, but in the states it's
a doctorate.
So that's what I went ahead andgot when I was living down
there, and then here I am, so itwas an additional few years
yeah and you don't ever reallycall yourself doctor Karen Sharp
, but you definitely should,because that's a lot of times I
(04:43):
do yeah you should do it more.
A lot of education.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (04:47):
Especially when you're booking.
They say when you're bookinghotel rooms and dinner
reservations, you should saydoctor, even if you're not.
There's just a little insightthere.
Maybe I'll try that.
Yeah, they say you actually getbetter, like upgraded a room or
anything, something.
So give it a try, Let us know.
Okay, okay, I will Okay.
So you live in the states, youget your doctorate, you move
(05:09):
back to your hometown ofSaskatoon, You're working at the
sketch and health authority.
Life's going great.
What made you take those stepsto start your own clinic?
Karen Sharpe (05:23):
Well, I kind of didn't have a choice because I
was laid off.
So there were some budget cutsin 2017, and I was one of those
budget cuts and I looked aroundand looked at the environment
and I thought, well, I don'tthink they need more
audiologists in private practice.
So here I am.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (05:42):
Yeah, it's really crazy because so many
people actually start theirentrepreneurial journey by
getting laid off or like theirjob is cut positions, whatever
it happens to be, and, like yousay, you kind of had to, like
you're almost forced to do that.
I mean, your path has gonequite well for you, which you're
(06:05):
going to talk about, but thatmust have been really hard to
get laid off and then have to,like, make this leap into
business.
Karen Sharpe (06:12):
Yeah, it was really hard because I was
definitely a public servantthrough and through right Both
my parents teacher and afirefighter and then I got my
education and pretty much wentright into public service.
So I didn't really have thatentrepreneur background.
So that was a really g jumpfrom that nice nine to five.
(06:33):
And you know I miss that.
I definitely miss miss workingwith my kids, that you know my
cochlear implant population andthose high needs that you can't
really serve as well in privatepractice because they're so time
intensive.
So I definitely miss that yeah.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (06:53):
Okay.
So when you, you decide, okay,I have to do this, I got to make
my own.
You said it was scary, which I?
I didn't have to do it, I didit by choice and I was
absolutely terrified.
What were some things that gotyou over that fear, like?
Was it talking to other peopleor getting advice, or what
(07:15):
helped you get past that hump?
Karen Sharpe (07:17):
Yeah, I talked to everybody.
I think I talked to you as asas the clinic was being built, I
spent a lot of time in yourback office.
Yeah, yeah, Using Wi-Fi.
But, yeah, I talked to you.
I talked to people at WESK werehelpful women entrepreneurs of
Saskatchewan.
So it was just like, oh my God,what do I do?
(07:38):
So all I knew was I had to geta lawyer and an accountant and
then started asking around forhelp.
So there's a lot of resourcesfor for help, but it was still,
yeah, a pretty big leap when youhave no, no business background
.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (07:56):
Yeah, that's the thing too.
I mean I, when I went throughit, I did have a commerce degree
, so I'd taken accounting andfinancing, financing, oh wow,
finance, marketing, hr, whatnot.
But for someone like yourselfthat you're in the healthcare
industry, that would have been abig scary moment of I don't
(08:18):
even really know where to startLike how do I even begin?
Right, yeah, yeah.
WESK is a great organization,as you talked about.
Karen Sharpe (08:28):
Yes, yeah, they sure are, and they have a lot of
tools that can help you.
I mean, I knew how to puttogether a business plan, right
Like you know how to do thosekind of things, or I guess.
Shauna Foster (08:41):
I had a little bit of background in that.
Karen Sharpe (08:43):
Yeah, and it wasn't hard and I I think what
one of the advantages I had wasthat I know Saskatoon really
well because, yeah, while Ilived in the States, I'm from
here.
So when it came to demographicsor you know when they talk
about, well, you need to naildown your demographics I knew
where to go.
Shauna Foster (09:02):
And.
Karen Sharpe (09:02):
I knew what location was.
Maybe which one would be betterthan another.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (09:08):
Yeah, I think that's so important too is
obviously knowing your clienteleand who is your perfect person
that's going to come to you andsupport you.
And I think that is one of thethings that when you are in a
community and starting yourbusiness within that community,
not only do you know thecommunity, but they know you, so
you're more apt to have peoplesupporting you a local person
(09:32):
than possibly a franchise or ayou know, huge company owned
business.
That starts because people knowyou, they want to support you
right.
Karen Sharpe (09:43):
Yeah right, I think that makes a big
difference.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (09:46):
Oh yeah, huge , and I know that you were
nominated for quite a few awardsand things like that, which
really gets you into thecommunity but also gets the
community to come and supportyou too, right.
Karen Sharpe (10:01):
Yeah, and those were you know.
Yeah, it was like such a coolthing.
When people they leave you goodreviews, they leave you, you
know, notes and messages, thatwow, that really like really
pumps your tires right, it makesa big difference.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (10:19):
Yeah, it sure does.
Karen Sharpe (10:20):
You're reviewing some like a McDonald's sounds
good, the hamburger was good.
Today no one sees that, no onecares.
When you're supporting local,it really makes a big difference
.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (10:30):
Well, for sure, and reviews are such a
huge thing.
Karen Sharpe (10:32):
Now, like I, don't know, they really seem to be.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (10:36):
Yeah, like, if I'm looking for anything,
I'll go and I'll read thereviews, right?
What do people think?
Do they have a good experience,a bad experience?
Or it's a shopping, likesomewhere to go buy clothing or
a service like yourself?
Right, you want to know beforeyou get there.
What do I expect?
(10:58):
Were people happy, or did Ionly see a whole bunch of
negative?
Guess what, I'm not going there.
Karen Sharpe (11:03):
Yeah, right, yeah, I think.
Yeah, that as well.
And I think another thing thathelped is, I guess, as an aside,
was television.
So we put ourselves, we justdid Christmas greetings for a
while, because I think in avisual medium our folks that
have hearing impairment, itallows them to connect, see us
and connect with us.
(11:24):
Yeah, versus, if they justheard it or read it.
So I found that to be reallyhelpful.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (11:33):
For sure, and especially for you, that's
providing a service that's quitepersonal, right, and hearing
that is such a big thing in yourlife.
To know the person that you'regoing to be working with, I
think is really important andany type of service that's hands
on, like that, that's such agood piece of advice for them is
(11:53):
get your face out there and beauthentic, right, and let them
know who you are so that theyrecognize you and maybe they
don't need your service todaybut in a month from now or three
months from now they're like ohyeah, I saw that, Karen woman,
I should go there right.
Like it's just that recognitionand especially for personalized
(12:15):
service, very important.
Karen Sharpe (12:18):
Yeah, and I think you touched on it when you said
authenticity.
So, like they, yeah, they canmake that connection with you
and they know what they'regetting and what's they going
and who they're coming to whothey're coming to yeah, who
they're coming to, and justbeing yourself is really
important.
I guess that's what I was goingfor.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (12:39):
Yeah, for sure.
And that goes for like yourself, you did TV ads.
That goes for on your socialmedia.
That goes for when they walkthrough the door, right Like if
you present yourself just as youare and they see it on your
Instagram and Facebook and thenthey see it on TV.
And then they walk in your doorand they see you and you're
(13:00):
exactly what they've seen.
It all comes together.
Karen Sharpe (13:04):
Right, yeah, and I think it's, and we work with.
I mean, like I said, we workwith all ages, but I think it's
especially valuable to thosethat we work the most with,
which would be people like intheir older years, like they
want to know who they're goingto and they want to make that
connection with that person, andit's really important.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:23):
And also, when you're looking at something
like hearing aids, your pricepoint is high.
This isn't a $100 thing.
They want to trust you, right,so you've earned their trust by
being authentic and showing themwho you are and when they trust
you and they trust what you sayand, yes, you do need these
(13:44):
hearing aids, or whatever it isthat you're doing for them.
That's going to increase yourbusiness and revenue also, right
, by just being real.
Karen Sharpe (13:52):
Yeah, I think so, I think that helps.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:55):
Yeah, for sure, I don't think it matters
what industry you're in.
Being authentic and real andtransparent is going to get you
way further.
Karen Sharpe (14:06):
I agree, and I think you would know that better
than I would, because my nicheand my industry is, like I'm
holding up my fingers likepretty much centimeter apart,
like what I know is so, so smallcompared to you know your
experience and your you know thedifferent spaces you've filled.
(14:27):
So I think you're right.
Yeah, like no matter what youdo, whether it's clothing or
whether it's customer servicebeing authentic is a big deal.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (14:37):
For sure.
My theory when I had myclothing stores was always we're
truthful to clients, becausethere's nothing worse than
someone coming out you know,their son's getting married or
they have a big job interviewmaybe, and they have an outfit
on that you can tell is not thebest for them or they don't feel
good in it.
They don't have.
You know, they should come outfeeling proud and like what,
(15:01):
their shoulders held high, like,oh, I love the way I love to
feel.
And if they don't, you knowthat's not the right thing for
them to say, oh, that looksfantastic on you, oh, you
definitely need to buy this,like that was the exact opposite
of what we did.
We're like you know what we cando better than this.
This is fine, but we can dobetter Right and find that thing
because can you imagine gettingan outfit for a really
(15:25):
important event or whatever ithappens to be?
And then people are like whatis she wearing?
That's that does not look good,doesn't fit properly, isn't
appropriate, whatever it is.
No, you want to feel good, youwant to have self confidence and
let's like talking abouthearing, if you're maybe, like
my family, a little stubborn, aswe said that are like I'm fine,
(15:45):
I don't need to get thosehearing aids.
And you, you're probably selfconscious about wearing them,
right, right?
Karen Sharpe (15:53):
Yes, and it's also associated with being old.
Right, hearing loss affectseverybody.
You can be born with hearingloss.
You can get it when you'reolder, but I think it's the
stigma also.
I don't want them because it'llmake me look old.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (16:11):
Yeah, yeah, and really in the reality, who
cares as long as you can hear.
It's like wearing glasses.
You know, when I was a kid,grade three I got glasses.
Oh, I'm going to be called adork now or whatever.
It was Right.
Well, I couldn't see so beingable to see kind of how to out
trump that Right, but it's thesame.
With that I had hearing loss.
(16:32):
I had to go see Karen.
I played fastball my whole lifeNever got hurt.
I was playing in a slow pitchbeer league in all reality is a
very casual game.
Rather large man hit a groundball that I went after and it
hit a rock and came up and hitme right in the head.
Karen Sharpe (16:52):
So the rock that hit you or no, the ball, the
ball hit me, I guess.
Yeah, yeah, it was like theball hit the rock.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (16:58):
The rock hop popped up, of course, concussion
, blood, all the gross things.
Severe ringing in my ear thatwas what really got me.
Was that severe ringing?
I always say it was like acartoon where they like see the
stars.
That's how I felt.
The ringing was so hard and Istill don't have all the hearing
(17:19):
back in my left ear and yeah, Imean, this is 10 years ago so
it's not coming back now.
So the likelihood that I needto come at some point I'm in my
40s, maybe soon and right andget something to help me.
Karen Sharpe (17:33):
It's coming to me anyway.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (17:35):
Yeah, well, I should, I should anyways, but I
mean it's just, it is what itis.
Right, that was an accidentthing that happened, but hearing
is so important and it affectseverything that you do in your
life, right, yeah, okay, so Iwant to talk a lot about second
location.
And okay, so you started yourfirst business and within two
(17:57):
years you opened a secondlocation, which is pretty fast,
if especially considering thatyou started a brand new business
, like you said, you kind of yougot help but you kind of had to
figure things out.
So kind of I guess a couple ofthings was why did you decide to
open the second location?
(18:18):
And then, second of all, howdid you go about doing that?
Karen Sharpe (18:23):
So I had a little help with my second location too
, but I had when I was with thehealth authority, which at the
time was the Saskatoon HealthRegion.
We did clinics like ruralclinics and one of my clinics
was Melfort.
So I was actually alreadylooking around, looking to go to
(18:44):
the Melfort-Tisdale areabecause I missed my patients and
I knew I could bring thatservice to them.
And I had a colleague whoalready had a clinic in Nippon
and she said hey, I'm kind ofbusy.
Would you maybe want to takethis over?
And I'll just leave it to youand you can do the follow-ups.
(19:05):
I'll just let my patients knowthat they can see you or they
can see me.
And that's what we did.
So I mean it wasn't a startfrom scratch per se.
I had a lot of help on that endtoo.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (19:19):
Yeah, that's good because you did already
have clients and probably space.
Karen Sharpe (19:26):
There was space, yeah yeah, it was actually in
the Nippon Hospital and I willtell you I just love the people
there.
But when COVID hit, you know itjust was too difficult, right,
everything was shut down.
So then you had to.
So that was the biggestchallenge was trying to find
another space during COVID.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (19:46):
Okay, so you had to move out of your space
during COVID.
Covid really just was a littlejam, wasn't it Just gave us all
so many new opportunities.
Okay so you can't be in thehospital.
So now you live and have abusiness in Saskatoon area, and
now you have to find a second oran additional location at your
(20:07):
second location, because youcan't be in your first location
at your second location, right?
So?
Karen Sharpe (20:15):
For a few months I had.
I was looking online andcalling people, but I, you know
I need to service those patients.
Like hearing aids aren't aone-size-fits-all right.
Yes, so I had to see thosepatients and follow up.
Because everything was shutdown so fast, I ended up renting
like the entire conference roomat a hotel just so I could like
(20:37):
follow up with those patients.
So I started calling around andI ended up calling the Chamber
of Commerce in Nipawin who said,oh hey, we have a room, do you
want to rent it?
And I said, yeah, I'll justrent it until you know I can go
back to the hospital.
And that was three years ago.
It's just over and I never wentback and the Chamber's been.
(20:59):
We have a great time there, sothat's really our new home there
.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (21:05):
Yeah, that's actually great advice to is
reaching out to the localChamber of Commerce wherever you
are, because they know what'sgoing on.
Karen Sharpe (21:13):
Totally, and I'm a member of Saskatoon.
I was like what am I thinking?
I'll just reach out to theChamber of Nipawin and see what
they know, because I couldn'tget anywhere with, like it's
hard to get those, thebusinesses in, the landlords.
It's a small town.
You can like literally walk inand ask people, but they just
kind of look at you strange.
Yeah.
(21:34):
Or difficulty getting a hold oflandlords that are God knows
where, like wherever they live,like because they're not on
location.
So the best, that's right.
Honestly, the Chamber was likethe best decision.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (21:47):
That.
Yeah, that's great advice,because I think a lot of times
we don't think about that, butthey know what's going on in the
business community.
And I mean for you it happenedto be that they had a space.
That's probably not usuallywhat happens.
Karen Sharpe (22:00):
No, I don't think that's usually what happens, but
they ended up having someonemoving out in like a month, so I
moved in the next month and itwas just perfect timing.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (22:09):
Yeah, that's awesome.
So what has been positive aboutthat second location?
Karen Sharpe (22:18):
It's going to sound silly, like the hospital
didn't have any.
You were like kind of back andyou were in the specialist area.
What I'm going to say is thewindows, the parking, like
things, that's brighter, but theparking actually.
So I'm thinking like it's kindof not about me, it's about my
patients and the parking rightoutside the door was huge for
(22:41):
them.
There's lots of parking, it'seasy to get in, it's easy to get
out.
It's one floor and during COVIDtimes they didn't have to fill
out, like you know, the form youhad to fill out the symptoms.
They didn't have to do that, soit was just easy and out.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (23:00):
I think you really hit the nail on the head
when you said do what's best foryour, for you as patients,
clients, whatever it happens tobe, do what's best for them.
Sometimes that's aninconvenience to you.
I mean you had to move, butthat's a big deal moving a
business.
But when you do what's best foryour clients, that's why they
(23:21):
return and that's why they cometo you.
Right, you made it easy forthem, especially when you do
have an older, aged clientele.
Something as simple as we thinkof as parking they can just
pull up in front of the door andwalk in.
That's huge for them.
Karen Sharpe (23:34):
Right.
Well, even in my Saskatoonlocation, when I was looking for
a location, I would notconsider it unless the parking
was free and close by and hadlike accessible parking.
That was actually my number one.
My number one like what do youneed?
Mackenzie Kilshaw (23:51):
I'm like free , accessible parking, yeah it's
true, I was the same withclothing store because I thought
if people have to drive aroundand look for a parking spot or
pay for a parking spot, theymight just leave because I've
done that right.
I've done that where I'm like,oh, I'm going to go to this
place and I drive around for 15minutes and I'm like, well, now
I don't even have time to stopbecause I got to be at the next
(24:13):
place.
So then you just abandon thatthought.
And it's a deterrent,especially that we just talked
about.
Maybe they're a little bitapprehensive about coming to see
you or about getting hearingaids.
That's just one more thing.
Oh well, it's hard to parkthere.
Or if you give them less thingsto worry about, they're more
(24:33):
apt to come see you.
Karen Sharpe (24:35):
True.
Another thing I always tell mypatients when they sit in front
of me and have a hearing loss, Ialways say no one's ever here
because they want to be.
No one ever sees me becausethey want to.
They're here because they haveto be.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (24:46):
Yeah, you're kind of like going to the
dentist or yeah, you're herebecause you have to be.
Yeah, you're doing it for thebetter good but, I agree, it's
not really where I want to comeand spend my day.
Sorry to tell you that, Karen,but it's true though.
But the more inviting you canmake it, the better off you are
Right.
Karen Sharpe (25:07):
Yeah, and that was my husband that did the
interior.
So if you ever see my interior,that was totally my husband.
I said make it not look like ahearing clinic, make it not look
medical, make it look nice.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:19):
Yeah, you've got a great office and I've been
there.
I was there before you evenstarted the building of it.
Shauna Foster (25:26):
So I kind of saw from everywhere.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:27):
But it's true , though If you make it more of
an experience and more uniqueand less for you, especially
clinical, right or less likeeverybody else, you're
definitely going to have moreclients, and clients that are
loyal and stick to you becausethey appreciate that experience.
Karen Sharpe (25:46):
I think so.
Yeah, that's unique.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:49):
Yeah, exactly , it's true.
It brings people back, that'sfor sure.
Okay, let's talk aboutdrawbacks.
What have been some of thedrawbacks, or what's been hard
with having a second location?
Karen Sharpe (26:01):
I think just obviously we're not staffed all
the time, where there are acouple times a month, and that
was actually another hugeadvantage to the chamber is
there's some at least there'ssomeone there all the time or
most of the time, and now she'sused to people coming in and
going like is Karen here today?
Because that's what they'll do,right.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (26:21):
Yeah, yeah.
Karen Sharpe (26:23):
They're set times so sometimes we have to mix them
up because they want to come by.
But yeah, not having dedicatedstaff there is a big drawback,
even though we have a whole lotof help and just Nipawin is,
like two and three-quarter hoursaway from here.
So the travel and then justhaving two locations and having
(26:49):
to set up and take down Again.
Having a permanent location atthe chamber has been easier than
the hospital.
There's less to take down interms of equipment and more to
leave there, but that's thetravel part of it and just not
having people there all the time.
But again, it's kind of notabout me, it's about them.
(27:10):
So I'm able to offer thatservice rather than them having
to come to Nipawin for whateverthey need and a lot of the
follow-ups.
We're seeing people two, three,four, five times, so we're
saving them a lot of time by mebeing there.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (27:26):
I think, too, when people are looking at
opening another location,whatever their business is, the
travel that you were justtalking about gets often
forgotten, because it's not justoh well, I have to, okay for
you two hours 45 minutes to getthere, it's not just that two
(27:47):
hours and 45 minutes to drivethere and to drive home, it's
now that affects your otherbusiness, because you can't be
there for that time.
And then that affects yourpersonal life because you can't
be for your kids or your husbandor your friends or whatever it
is, because you might quit atfive but you have almost a
(28:08):
three-hour drive back.
And I think that's somethingthat I hear lots of people say
like yeah, I'm going to openanother location, whatever, it's
going to be great, I'll just gothere once a week or whatever,
it will be fine.
And then that once a week turnsinto every second week and then
once a month, and then theyhardly go and things start
(28:30):
slipping.
I mean, for you it's differentbecause you're actually hands-on
, but for me at a clothing storeI went every week for a long
time and then I went kind ofevery 10 days or every other
week, frankly, becausepersonally I personally it was a
lot on me, like physically itwas a lot on me.
Karen Sharpe (28:50):
Yeah, right, yeah, I think another, now that you
say that another drawback is, mySaskatoon location gets left
alone, and one of the thingsthat's unique is, if you're
handling hearing aids, you haveto either be an audiologist or a
hearing instrument practitioner, which means, if I were to have
someone cover off, I can't justhave someone cover off, I
(29:12):
actually have to hire somebody.
Yeah, I mean, there's, yeah,red tape in terms of the, the
ministry of health, in terms ofwhat I have to do to hire
somebody.
Additionally, which is quiteexpensive, I have to hold a
$10,000 bond table to theministry of health, so that it's
(29:33):
a really big investment for meto employ somebody like another
me.
So it actually makes sense forme just not to have anybody.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (29:43):
Yeah, and that's the other thing too is
that you're not hiring minimumwage staff, then you're hiring
someone that is a big wage, soyour volume has to be there in
order for you to pay to havethem.
Right, right, you probably haveto sell twice as much Right To
(30:04):
warrant it, right?
Yeah, that's I was going toactually ask you about adding
staff.
And and do you do it on yourown?
Because a lot of people arelike yourself, where you're the
business, right, you are thebusiness, so you maybe can have
a receptionist or someone toanswer the phone, but you have
to be the one that's actuallydoing the job.
Karen Sharpe (30:25):
Right, and yeah, like I said, it's actually
really difficult unless I can do, I almost have to be at the top
of the volume that I can do andnot be able to handle it.
Or I can employ someone elseand pay them because, you're
right, it's a specialist,whether it's another audiologist
or hearing instrumentpractitioner, they have to, then
(30:49):
they have to be able to pumpout as much volume.
So it's very difficult and yeah, so, and perhaps if I, you know
, had a more business background, I could have done that sooner
or could do it now.
I potentially could do it now,probably, but I just am hesitant
to take that lead.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (31:10):
Yeah, that's the thing, because it's also
scary, right, because you haveto be.
You made a really good pointhere.
I want to just go back to it.
You have to basically beturning away clients before you
can bring on that second person,right, right, when they're a
high, high priced wage earner,because otherwise you're paying
(31:33):
them to not do anything, whichmeans no revenue, but they're
still the expense of paying them, right, yeah, yeah, it's a
really fine line, isn't it?
And I don't.
I think you, I guess you'd haveto, in your own business, sit
down and decide what is thatthreshold, at what, whether it's
time or money or whatever it is?
(31:54):
At what time do you have tomake that leap?
Because it's a big one.
Karen Sharpe (31:59):
Yeah, yeah, and I I don't want to make it and be
like sorry, I can't keep you,it's too soon.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (32:05):
That's right that's right.
And this goes for hiring anotherlike person, like another,
Karen, basically.
But this also goes for smallbusiness where, at what time
maybe, do you hire somebody todo your marketing, or to hire
somebody or just simply morestaff?
We're just too busy that peopleare actually leaving without
(32:27):
buying anything because we'retoo busy to help them.
That's a problem.
That's a good problem to have,but that's a problem right,
because now you're losing money,so you almost have to sit down
and figure out what is that thatmark?
And then, once we hit that mark, that's when we're going to get
another person, or we're goingto hire something out or someone
(32:47):
else to do something in ourbusiness, and I think that's a
really good point.
Doesn't matter what businessyou're in, you have to know what
that that point is, or you'renever going to grow, right?
You're just going to stay thesame as you are, forever, right?
Yeah?
And as we all know, your leasewill become more, your supplies
will become more, everything'sgoing to become more.
(33:07):
So how do you compensate forthat?
Karen Sharpe (33:11):
Right, I know, and everything's yeah.
Boy, the price of everything'sgone quite a bit up.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (33:16):
I was visiting my grandma the other
day and she's we're talkingabout the cost of a loaf of
bread and it's just crazy.
And as business owners, we haveto be creative and we have to
know these numbers.
What is our threshold, so thatwe know when it's time to grow
and expand?
Because your expenses are goingto keep catching up to you,
right, so you have to be able toto be ahead of them, because
(33:39):
you need to make profit.
That's how you live, right?
Karen Sharpe (33:42):
Right and I don't know what that threshold is.
I suppose I should.
Probably.
I don't feel like I'mapproaching it yet.
It's a big part of that.
I think it's still manageableto go between those two
locations, yeah, but yeah, youhave to, you have to know what
that is and I suppose there'sprobably a lot of planning and
planning ahead and I think again, probably someone like WESK
(34:04):
would be able to help or, yep,you could hire a business
consultant.
I betcha they'd know, you knowthey'd be able to sit down with
you.
But I don't.
I don't feel like we'reapproaching that yet.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (34:15):
We're not doing enough volume and it's
funny because I betcha if weasked 10 small business owners
the same question, everyonewould say the exact same thing
as you.
I'm not exactly sure what it is.
We're probably getting close toit, but we don't because the
thing is we don't oftentimesthink about that sort of thing a
lot, and that really is astrategy.
(34:37):
When you said there's planninginvolved and things you have to
do there definitely is right.
So I think this is a goodlesson for everyone.
Listening is to sit down andtry to figure out what that
threshold is and at what point.
Right, because that might seekup on you and you don't want it
to get past you.
Right, like you want to be ableto be on top of it, and so
(34:59):
that's a really good point thatyou just made, and we weren't
even trying to make that point,but it's, it's so good.
Karen Sharpe (35:06):
I do agree like there should be and I'm guilty
of not doing it but strategicplanning, probably once a year.
It's like, okay, what are wegonna do?
Because I try and do that withmarketing I'm the worst at it,
but you like you should sit downand plan once a year, so,
whether it's marketing or growthor whatever.
So, yeah, for sure, I do thatsometimes, not always, you know
(35:31):
what you know, what we?
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:33):
We had an episode on goal setting and it's
kind of the same thing.
It's like we talk about doing itand we know we should do it,
but a lot of times we just don'tdo it because we're doing other
things.
It's not maybe our strong suit,like you said, the numbers like
I don't know how to figure itout.
So you're kind of like, well,just leave it because I don't
(35:54):
know how to do it.
But I think this is a goodpoint to say.
It is important and that is thetime when you can reach out to
a business coach or like WESK.
Honestly, when we're notentrepreneurs, if you're in
Saskatchewan and there'sorganizations like that all over
they, if they can't help you,they can at least point you in
the direction of someone thatcan, which I think is really
(36:16):
important, because you want yourbusiness to be able to be ahead
of everything right, inflationand your expenses and you want
to be able to be growing at agood pace and that is the best
way to do it.
For sure, was there anythingthat surprised you with the
second location, good or bad, um?
Karen Sharpe (36:40):
What's the problem ?
I'm sure something will come tome, but I can't think of what
surprised me.
I mean, there's not a lot ofsurprises at small towns to
Saskatchewan, right?
So yeah there's not a whole lotof surprises um.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (36:56):
I guess you knew what you were getting into
because you had already beengoing there for a previous job.
Karen Sharpe (37:02):
I guess the main difference is yeah, I was going
there with the health region andthey already knew, but I guess
for me there's less marketing tobe done, so that was a bit of a
surprise.
I still did it.
And then I was like, oheverybody knows, because word
got out that the girl fromSaskatoon has you know, has a
hearing aid.
She's at the chamber, let's gosee what she's up to.
(37:24):
So we get a lot of walk-ins.
Yeah, that is true.
People just talk to each other.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (37:29):
So that's all part of, though, being small
towns of Saskatchewan andknowing that Well, and I think
that's all business right Iseither you make a plan to
execute something that you don'tactually need, like that
marketing, or something happensthat you just honestly did not
think about that.
All of a sudden you're like, oh, we got to fix it.
I mean, maybe in your case thatwas COVID, which of course, no
(37:52):
one's had COVID coming.
But okay, we have to find a newlocation, like tomorrow, right?
Karen Sharpe (37:58):
Yeah, and I think, being a really small business,
it's easier because you canpivot.
Shauna Foster (38:03):
Yes.
Karen Sharpe (38:04):
You can pivot fast .
I didn't have to rely on likesomebody else going okay, sure,
like let us scope out locationsfor you, maybe.
So I was just able to be likeokay, sounds good, I'll just do
what I want.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:18):
Yeah, yeah.
I'm just fortunate for youbecause the next time it might
not go that way or it mightright, you just never know.
But that definitely is a profor having a business in a rural
or a small town location, and Ithink a lot of people are
apprehensive about openingbusinesses in smaller centers
(38:38):
because I think I don't have asmany people.
But you would be surprised atthe people that you do have, how
loyal they are to you to wantto support you.
Karen Sharpe (38:47):
Yeah, and I really I really enjoy Nipawin.
We love the community, we lovethe people and there's people
that come from the surroundingcommunity and yeah, we just love
it there and it's.
We love Saskatoon too, but yeah, the second location, we really
enjoy it.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:05):
That's awesome.
I'm glad that the secondlocation has been such a
positive thing for you.
Do you have a most importantlesson that you can share, or
something that you thinkeveryone in business should know
?
Karen Sharpe (39:20):
Probably don't be afraid to ask for help, because
I think I'm bad for gettingstuck Like if I don't know what
to do, I'll just sit there andfreak out and maybe not reach
out and ask for help.
So that would be my biggest askjust start asking around.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:38):
I could not agree more.
I thought, being anentrepreneur, I had to do
everything on my own.
And then I realized bookkeepingand things like that.
I was like I don't know whatI'm doing, I'm spending all this
time.
I asked a few friends, found agood bookkeeper and yeah, I had
to pay them, but I never worriedabout it again.
Karen Sharpe (39:57):
Yeah best advice yeah, that's, that's.
Good advice, too, is justfinding someone else to do those
things, because you do have todo a lot, but you don't have to
do all of it, and those areimportant things 100%.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (40:10):
Yeah, yeah, things that can actually really
affect your business if they'renot done properly right.
Is there anything you wish youhad known or wish you had known
sooner?
Karen Sharpe (40:24):
Probably the same thing ask for help, be more on
top of it.
Like I think you just get soinvolved in the day-to-day
business and it's easy for me tobe an audiologist.
The other stuff's harder, soit's easier for me to
concentrate on being anaudiologist and not run the
business stuff.
So probably asking for help andget more help as soon as you
(40:46):
can, because if it gets awayfrom you, like from my marketing
plan that I set out to doyearly and never do, perhaps I
should be farming that out.
Or the books or like thosethings like you get behind
really fast, yeah, I could agreemore, so that would be my
advice I could agree more.
Yeah, Do what you're good atright, yeah, do what you're good
(41:10):
at, and then I wrote the rest.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (41:12):
If you can, well, and for you, especially
for you, you are the business,right, you're the one that makes
the business the money, soyou're better off to see a
patient than you are to be doingyour books.
Simple as that, right, yeahyeah, Karen, where can people
find you?
I know that you have Facebookand Instagram, but what's the
(41:35):
best place for people to findyou?
Sorry?
Karen Sharpe (41:40):
Well, we have.
I guess you could find us inNipawin In person.
You could find us at theChamber of Commerce in Nipawin,
N Railway Street.
Here we're in Saskatoon, onLudlow ST, but you can always
visit our website at www.
ThriveHearing.
ca and reach out to us that way.
(42:01):
We definitely have a storefront.
If you want to drop by, we'dlove to see you.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (42:06):
And just be careful we definitely take
walk-ins.
Karen Sharpe (42:07):
Yeah, we do.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (42:10):
And you'll see Karen.
Thank you so much, Karen.
Thank you.
I just appreciate it a lot.
I know a second location.
I've been there.
It's a crazy roller coasterride and there's so many
rewarding things and I knowNipawin is really close to your
heart.
So thank you for sharing yourexperience with the audience and
(42:32):
with me as well, and foreverybody listening.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
Thanks for listening to Winning.
Be sure to subscribe to get allof our new episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode andyou'd like to help support the
podcast, please share it withothers, post about it on social
media and leave a rating andreview wherever you listen to
Winning.
To catch all of the latest fromus, you can follow Winning
(42:55):
Podcast on Instagram at Winningpodcast, Facebook at Winning
Podcast and on Twitter at inningpod.
Winning was created and isproduced by me, Mackenzie
Kilshaw music, created by SummerFirby, editing by Seth
Armstrong.
Special thanks to Shauna Fosterfor voicing our opening and, of
(43:16):
course, a huge thank you tothis episode's guest.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you on the next episode
.
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