You Can’t Do It Alone

You can’t do it alone! I use these five words over and over again when I talk to groups and individuals about entrepreneurship. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business you will always need outside help.

Even when I first though of writing my book, WISER: The Definitive Guide to Starting a Business After the Age of 50, I knew I didn’t have enough expertise in all the topics I wanted to cover in the book. I also wanted the book to have a global presence and audience so I researched business owners known for their expertise and asked them if I could interview them and the following 29 people said yes!

Even though I already knew some, others were new connections. What is so amazing is that I know I can reach out to any of them for help if I need them and they will be there for me.

Below is a short introduction to each person. I hope that if you find that they have services that will help you with your business that you will contact them through their website. The only thing I ask is that you let them know where you found out about them.

Susan Williams

Susan Williams - Foreword

Susan Williams is the Founder of Booming Encore – a digital media hub dedicated to providing information and inspiration to help baby boomers create and live their best encore. Today, Booming Encore is ranked as a global authority and social media influencer for baby boomers, ageing and retirement as well as being one of the top websites for baby boomers worldwide.

Trefor Munn-Venn – Transitioning from Employee to Entrepreneur

Trefor Munn-Venn is a master coach at Rhapsody Strategies. The company focuses on business transformation. With extensive experience working with Boards of Directors, Executive Teams, and operational groups around the world, Trefor and his team helps leaders face complex and critical issues that are central to their success and chart a path to the outcomes they’re seeking.
Andy Molinsky

Andy Molinsky – Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Andy Molinsky is a Professor at Brandeis University’s International Business School, with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology. Andy received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and M.A. in Psychology from Harvard University Andy helps individuals and teams reach their potential by learning to step outside their personal and cultural comfort zones. He is the author of two business books (Global Dexterity and Reach) He was recently chosen as one of Marshall Goldsmith’s Top 50 World Leaders in Coaching.

Jon Warner Consulting - Coaching, Advising and Mentoring

Jon Warner is a widely respected entrepreneurship expert and mentor having founded and led three startups. He is a published author of 40 business books including entrepreneurship, management and leadership. He latest book is titled SALM: Build Your Startup Idea or Early Stage Business with the Startup Launch Assistance Map.

Ash Maurya – Business Planning - Lean Model Canvas

Ash is the creator of the Lean Model Canvas. He is also the author of two bestselling books, Running Lean and Scaling Lean. He is also praised for offering some of the best and most practical advice for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs globally.

Michael Lachapelle - Business Planning – Business Model Canvas

Michael, founder of Business Model Fulcrum is a consulting agency focussed on assisting organisations and their leaders to create change, accelerate growth and improve business results through understanding and innovation in their business model.

Corinne Boudreau - Legal Requirements

Corinne is CEO and Legal Educator of Legal Essentials Inc. Corinne helps Canadians build a strong legal foundation for their online businesses so they can grow with peace of mind. Her online platform has customizable legal resources and templates.

Claire Boscq-Scott - Customer Experience

Claire is the founder of The Busy Queen Bee. She capitalized on the experience she you gained during her hospitality career. Claire’s mission is to Inspire Global businesses to thrive by delivering exceptional customer experiences and creating a Caring Service Culture in their businesses. Claire is the Author of two books; Thrive with the Hive published in 2016 and Thriving by Caring in 2018.

Elliott Jacobson - Working with an Accountant – Accounting Practices

Elliott is President, Elliott Jacobson & Associates, Ltd. He has over 30 years of public accounting experience and has served a wide range of clients from Canadian corporations to multinational organizations.

Joey Cowan, Accounting Practices – Record Keeping

Joey is Customer Experience Analyst at Wave HQ. Previous to this role he Managed the Accounting Coaching arm of the Wave Plus LOB at Wave where he was responsible for the growth of the business and development of the team.

Mike Lee

Mike Lee – Financing Your Business

Mike is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fundica.com. He is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs get funded. Fundica.com, an enterprise software solution that intelligently connects entrepreneurs with different sources of funding.

Hunter Leonard - Marketing – Reaching Your Customers

Hunter is the Founder & CEO of Silver and Wise. Hunter helps mature age individuals start businesses as well as help them plan their next phase of work and financial security. Hunter is also an author of three books, Generation Experience, The Experience Equation and Get Your Marketing Cooking.

Tara Hunt, Marketing – Content Marketing for the Social Era

Tara Hunt, CEO of Truly, has an engaged business audience of over 345,000 followers. She also walks the walk with over 20 years of experience in market research and strategy on both client and agency side, working with brands such as P&G, L’Oreal, Nokia, Facebook, Intuit, REALTOR.ca, and even Justin Trudeau. She’s an internationally published author, was named one of 2013’s Entrepreneurial Women to Watch by Entrepreneur Magazine and one of the Most Influential Women in Technology in Fast Company.

Stephen McGill, Marketing – Branding: Brands that Go Deep Often Go Far

Stephen McGill is the President & Creative Director of McGill Buckley, an award-winning branding agency in Ottawa. McGill Buckley provides clients with senior level strategic think and attention-getting creativity. Labelled by some as “the branding guy” he is a passionate believer in the power of brands to transform companies and organizations. An award-winning Creative Director and Writer, Stephen has won over 200 awards for creativity in Canada and internationally.

Chelsea MacDonald, Marketing – Everyone Needs a Website

Chelsea MacDonald is a web strategist, passionate about helping clients navigate a digital landscape. As the Customer Service Director at Fenix Solutions Inc. in Ottawa, Ontario, she shines light on the endless possibilities of web technology and aligns it’s potential with her client’s online goals. With 10 years experience managing and launching web-technology based products, websites and systems, her clients rely on her knowledge and advice in developing practical and easy-to-follow implementation plans. The ideal result? Happy clients, with a better understanding of how the internet works! In addition to strategy, Chelsea oversees Fenix operations such as work methods, implementation process and client deliveries with the development team, project management team and quality assurance team.

Chris Genge - Marketing – Driving Traffic to Your Website

Chris Genge is the President of 1st on the List Promotion Inc, a website promotion firm that specializes in website development, search engine optimization and pay per click management. Chris writes on current and emerging search engine marketing theories and has been involved in the SEO industry since 1997. He has focused on researching and the processes of implementation of the most effective search engine optimization available today.

Christine Heuber - Social Marketing – LinkedIn

Christine Hueber is known by her clients as “The LinkedIn Jedi Master.” They say she helps them “hack” LinkedIn for improved results. She is the #1 LinkedIn All-Time Top Expert, has a Top 1% LinkedIn Most Viewed Profile and is an internationally renowned speaker on LinkedIn, Social Selling, social media, marketing, entrepreneurship, leadership, success and sales. Christine’s straight-shooting viewpoints on business have made her a valuable resource for media seeking commentary and insights on real topics that matter. She writes for Forbes and has been mentioned in Inc., Mashable, AARP, Social Media Today, CIO and in LinkedIn Small Business. Her clients include J.P Morgan, Marcus & Millichap, Sotheby’s, NY Life, Merrill Lynch, State Farm, Morgan Stanley, Keller Williams, Chase, Coldwell Banker, Franklin Covey, SF State University.

Louise McDonnell, Social Marketing - Facebook

Louise McDonnell is a social media marketing expert from Ireland who has coached and trained in excess of 3000 businesses since 2009. Louise has expertise in Facebook Marketing and is the author of Facebook Marketing, The Essential Guide (published by Liffey Press). Louise was voted one of the top worldwide 50 Facebook Marketing Bloggers by Feedspot; one of the top 108 digital marketing experts worth following by Springborad.com and BloggerLocal has listed Louise as one of the top 10 worldwide Facebook experts.

Samantha Kelly – Social Marketing – Twitter

Samantha is a leading social media strategist, speaker and trainer. Samantha owns and operates Tweeting Goddess and the Women’s Inspire Network. With the support of her team, Samantha plans and delivers effective social media strategies to businesses and entrepreneurs, harnessing the power of social media and the online community.

Lizzie MacNeill – Social Marketing – Instagram

Lizzie MacNeill led partnerships and PR at later.com, the #1 Instagram marketing and scheduling platform with over 2 million users globally. Prior to leading partnerships and social media for Later, Lizzie managed social media teams at Hockey Canada, Saje Natural Wellness and Beakerhead.

Mary Lumley – Social Marketing – Pinterest

Mary Lumley is a Pinterest Marketing Expert who helps businesses grow their website traffic and increase conversions with Pinterest. Before starting an online Pinterest Marketing business in 2016, Mary spent 25 years as a professional IT and Project Management consultant based in London, Amsterdam and Nice. After a successful career in the corporate world, Mary made the leap into online business. She profitably uses Pinterest to grow her own business and now advises service-based businesses on how to market on Pinterest to build an audience and get more paying clients.

J. Kelly Hoey – Networking – Building Relationships

Kelly’s career story is one of transformation, and can only be explained by her creatively simple ways to tap into networks, then maintain those valuable connections. Kelly has been lauded from Forbes (“1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship”) to Fast Company (“1 of the 25 Smartest Women On Twitter”) to Business Insider (“1 of the 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter”) and Inc. (“1 of the 10 Most Well-Connected People in New York City’s Startup Scene”). EBW 2020 included her on their list of the “100 Most Influential Global Leaders Empowering Women Worldwide”. She has appeared on CNBC’s Power Pitch, contributes to publications such as GOBankingRates, Forbes.com and works with inclusive companies including Capital One. Kelly Hoey is the author of Build Your Dream Network.

Karen Wickre – Networking – Networking for Introverts

Karen Wickre has been called “the best-connected Silicon Valley figure you’ve never heard of” and a “powerful but unsung resource for tech industry insiders seeking career advice”. She has worked for 30 years in technology businesses as a writer, editor, and communications pro, including long stints at Google and Twitter. Her long-time avocation is to connect people, which is what led her to write a book detailing ways to build an authentic personal network: “Taking the Work Out of Networking: Your Guide To Making and Keeping Great Connections.”

Jarrod Goldsmith – Networking – Networking at Events

Jarrod Goldsmith is a Canadian small business community builder and is the founder of eSAX (The Entrepreneur Social Advantage Experience). He has been featured in hundreds of television, video and audio segments, as well as having articles published in newspapers, magazines and on-line forums promoting and motivating the entrepreneur community. Jarrod is an in-demand speaker and consultant who offers inspiration (and practical) knowledge to help others achieve their dream of entrepreneurship. He regularly hosts workshops and seminars for students, startups, small businesses and community groups on the value of developing lasting professional relationships.

Bob Urichuk - Sales – It’s not about you , it’s about the buyer

Bob Urichuk, professional speaker, consultant, certified master trainer, sales professional, social entrepreneur and bestselling author of 6 books in 6 languages. He is also in the top 10 of the World’s Top Sales Professionals. Bob says, in order to succeed in sales, you need to do the opposite of selling. Without buyers there are no sales. Bottom line: no sales, no revenue. Sales now revolve around buyers. Buyers are everywhere.

Art Sobczak - Sales – Smart Calling, Not Cold Calling

Over the past 30 years Art Sobczak has helped salespeople say the right things to get through, get in, and sell, primarily using the phone. The most effective way to sell is still humans SPEAKING with humans, and he helps them do that in a conversational, non-salesy way. His flagship book is “Smart Calling- How to Eliminate the Fear, Failure, and Rejection from Cold Calling,” and that process is being used worldwide to get new business.

Dorothy Brophy – Succession Planning

Dorothy Brophy has managed her own law practice for the past 29 years after a number of years practicing corporate and commercial law with the Bay Street firm Blaney McMurtry and then Aylesworth Thompson. The current focus of her practice is Succession Planning for business owners and Wills and Estates. Dorothy works with tax accountants to set up business structures to minimize taxes and to leave families with executors who are well informed with a tidy estate.

Nunzio Presta – Ownership Options – Buying a Business

Nunzio is the Founder & CEO of BuyAndSellABusiness.com, an online marketplace with close to 10,000 active users looking to buy, sell and grow businesses or franchises every day. Nunzio is equipped with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to identifying, building and funding businesses – in addition to being a thought leader on social selling, digital marketing, leadership & entrepreneurship through acquisition.

Steve Cody – Ownership Options – Buying a Franchise

Serial entrepreneur, Steve Cody, has started several local and national successful businesses in the technology, rental, service, e-commerce and retail markets which have generated hundreds of millions in sales.

Leanne McClymont – Ownership Options – Intergenerational Business

Leanne develops pathways which integrate Experienced Entrepreneurs into the Innovation Economy hubs of North Carolina’s Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/ Chapel Hill) and throughout the Southeastern USA. She saw a void in our entrepreneurial talent pipeline and seeks to include people 50 years of age and older into the start-up spaces. Elder Innovators believe that “Experience fuels innovation.”

“You can’t do it alone!” — I think about this concept a lot, and I also think “I can’t do it alone and why would I want to?”. Surrounding myself with people that are passionate and experts about their craft sounds like a much more satisfying life.

Keiran Griffiths

Client Success Consultant