An Interview With Erin Kelly

What skills and attitudes are required to be successful in online sales? Do successful business owners always believe in themselves, or do they ever consider quitting? I had the opportunity to ask Erin Kelly, founder of Karmin Hair Tools, a few questions about how she climbed the ladder to business success and what keeps her there. Here’s what she shared with me:

Q 1. What key factors made you decide to start your own business?

Erin: Several years ago my brother and I started selling items on eBay. We received a shipment of hair straighteners through a trade and decided to sell them on eBay too. They quickly became our top selling item. This was when the flat iron was becoming a popular, must have tool for home users and not just for salon professionals. We saw a great potential here and decided to start our own brand of hairstyling tools called Karmin. With this, we needed a website to market it on and it all grew from there. I currently own and run three websites, marketing to Canada, the US, and the UK.

Q 2. Why are you great at what you?

Erin: I enjoy what I do and that in a way makes me better at it. Not every aspect of running a business is enjoyable (adding new products to a website is a daunting task!) However, the enjoyable tasks outweigh the daunting ones. I would have to say that I excel most in the social and creative aspects of my business.

Q 3. How much of your talent is learned or innate?

Erin: It is definitely both. As far as the marketing aspect goes, it has taken a lot of learning, as there are constantly new ways to get my business out there and to reach my potential customers. As for the customer service, social, and communication aspects of my business, I would say it comes naturally; I have always been outgoing and enjoy talking with and helping others.

Q 4. Were you ever afraid of starting your business, was there a point you almost changed your mind/quit/or gave up?

Erin: Afraid no, quit never, but yes, there were definitely times at the beginning where I would think to myself, “Is all of this work worth it?” It turns out it sure was and continues to be. If you want to run a successful business of any type it’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of hours, and a lot of commitment, but in the end – it is worth it. There is nothing better than the sense of accomplishment, well besides getting to be my own boss and work from home!

Q 5. What has been the secret to your success?

Erin: A positive attitude is key! Believing in yourself and your goals is important and what will make you a successful business owner. I also found that surrounding myself with like-minded people, and reaching out to successful business owners was a great way to stay on track and continue to believe that I too, could do this.

Q 6. What have you learned about yourself through all of this?

Erin: I have more patience and determination than I thought in the beginning. Thinking about the last 6 years I realize how hard I have worked to get where I am and how much further there is to still go!

Erin Kelly is the owner of Rylees.ca and co-founder of Karmin Hair Tools. The Karmin brand is currently sold online and has become one of the most popular brands of hair tools around the world. You can find Erin and keep up with her business ventures on Google+ under Erin Kelly.

An Interview With Kent Ridley

Photo credit ThomasofNorway

Have you ever wondered if you should take your unique talent on the road and actually go into business for yourself? Just the thought of what could go wrong scares some people to stay in their cubicles. Others embrace the thought and embark on a journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Kent Ridley is one who did just that. I caught up with him recently and asked him to share with us how he got started as an entrepreneur, and continues to be successful today.

Q 1. What is your top talent?

Kent: I believe that my top skill is being able to evaluate student athletes in an efficient manner. We are the only scouting service in Canada that reaches from coast to coast and that drastically increases the number of individuals that are in need of review prior to releasing a list to college coaches.

Q 2. How much of your talent is learned or innate?

Kent: There is a good portion of it that is natural over learned. I was raised in a family that appreciated athletics, so from an early age I was watching football, hockey, and baseball for more than just entertainment. When I was older and got involved in coaching myself, the learned portion came into play. Now I’ve read more books on how to coach, train, and teach than on sports themselves. There are some great sports mentors out there that you can learn from even if you never meet them in person, and there are some great sports people that are willing to take a moment of their time to chat, even though they really don’t have to in their position.

Q3. What key factors made you decide to turn this talent into a business?

Kent: I was coaching basketball in Airdrie, Alberta in a volunteer role and was contacted by my old college in regards to checking out a couple of potential players for them. After doing that for a couple of years, the college cancelled their athletic program. By that time I was enjoying scouting so much that I felt I could help more players with a few tweaks to the business plan. From there it became a potential business that would fit into my hectic life.

This fall will be 9 years since I took the first phone call from my college about a pair of basketball players that would never suit up for them, while I’m far from rich, so much groundwork has been done that our business is exploding.

Q4. Were you ever afraid of starting your business, or was there a point you almost changed your mind/quit/or gave up?

Kent: The “give up” thought shows up every few months of course. When you see money going out and not nearly enough coming back in, it can be really defeating. When you realize that you’re working more hours than you ever did back when you had a 9 to 5 job it can be really frustrating. When you notice that other businesses that aren’t as well run as yours are making more money than you – those are the moments when you just want to scream!

But then you think about all those suckers out there that are getting in their cars at 7am, to drive to a job and report to a boss that can’t figure out how to work their Blackberry, but is put in charge because of a piece of paper in a $2 Wal-Mart frame on the wall – and you remember it’s all worthwhile. The key to owning your own business is that you’re working at something that you WANT to be working at. Do not be afraid of being happy!

Q5. What attitude or outlook on your life and business has lead to your success, or what is the key ingredient to your success?

Kent: “Go big or go home is a motto in our house.” I’m thinking of painting it on our garage wall like a primitive cave drawing!  My wife is a country singer and living in Nashville, Tennessee where your lunch is cooked by an amazing guitar player and brought to your table by a fantastic singer. You can’t be timid about your area of expertise. Trust yourself that you do know your field and that your information or product is worth putting out there. Even if you start a business as a side project or as a hobby you have to believe in it and believe that it has a worth. You have value to the rest of the planet, you just need to find what it is that gives you that value, and who out there needs to experience it. Win the day!

Kent Ridley runs a Canadian organization called Ridley Scouting at http://www.RidleyScouting.com. His company is devoted to helping high school student athletes on their road to post secondary athletics. Ridley Scouting was the first scouting service in Canada to reach from BC to the Maritimes. You can connect with Kent through his website or his Facebook page http://www.Facebook.com/RidleyScouting.

What's Your Startup Style?

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, from all corners of the planet. BizSugar.com put together this humourous look at what entreprenuers look like. Take a look and see if you can find yourself among the group!

Visit BizSugar for more information on startups.

I Must Be Crazy! What Am I Thinking?!?

So you’re considering entrepreneurship and thinking to yourself: “What am I thinking? I must be crazy!”

Starting a business seems so risky after all.

And maybe you’re like I was – almost mad at yourself that there isn’t some other way that you could be happy, doing something equally as gratifying without all of the uncertainty. Arg!

If only. If only starting your own business was even about that.

The only time to become an entrepreneur is when it’s a choiceless choice – not just an option.

(An aside: The other reason to be an entrepreneur is if you have lots of money to just go around trying stuff and if that’s the case why are you reading this?! Seriously. Go try stuff.)

And what exactly is a “choiceless choice”?

(I’m so totally glad you’re wondering and so glad we’re connecting.)

It’s a whole body decision. It’s the world of feeling, sensation, intuition (gut) and bodily knowledge that wants and needs and craves giving birth to a business. And no matter if you are male or female – it is a birth if your heart is both in it and in you for the journey.

Manifested in a commitment to your business, is a commitment to yourself to take the first step to start. And then each one that follows. Without trying to make the steps different than they are.

What steps? Like what?

(Again, so glad we’re on the same page.)

:: You will need to find a way to be comfortable with your self-worth and value what you offer with a dollar amount;

:: You will need to learn how to say what you do in a way that solves a problem for someone in a way that makes sense to that person (and you may need to hire a copywriter to help dig these words out of you);

:: You will need to create an enticing online platform or storefront (whatever that is for you) and you’ll need the resources to do that (whether it comes from the job you have now, your parents, your fundraising abilities, or somewhere else);

:: You will be challenged to “drop” or “re-frame” the “story” that marketing is “gross” in some way. Marketing will come to mean making your authentic self and your emotional labour business assets worth sharing;

:: You will need to choose your support network because it’s a journey that’s more fun with friends who understand and can relate to you in the present;

:: You may need to re-define love to mean more than just the words. Love is action and when people say they love you, but resist acknowledging and supporting your dreams and growth, you will find yourself creating loving boundaries to protect your investment.

Sabrina Ali is the author of the Bliss Kit. Her virtual home is MakeBelieveForReal.com for all things career with a modern authentic twist, on twitter and facebook (where you can find more inspiration for your real work).

First Year Survival Guide

I always thought I would make a great entrepreneur because of my vast experience, skills, and education. I look GREAT on paper! Combined with the self-employment course I took – I envisioned an easy flow to my days. During the first year I learned quickly that looking good on paper doesn’t cover it all, nor did the course I took. Here are the top 6 “realities” I picked up along my journey. I wish someone had shared these with me to help reduce my anxiety and improve my efficiency:

1) The Golden Rule 

Everything will cost at least twice as much and take five times longer to do than what you think. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but do prepare your mind and your bank account for things not to go as planned. Technology will break down, traffic will make you late for meetings, and the one littletinymicroscopic admin thing will take you an entire day. A small business is a vacuum. Time and money seemingly disappear. Make a budget for both – then double it!

2) Get Your Systems In Place NOW 

Spend the money and take the time to do it now, then quality test it. Nothing is worse than being up until 3am because you’re trying to figure out how to get a promised invoice to someone before 9am and your software isn’t working properly. The first year you will be working ON your business more than you are working IN it.

3) Build A Mental And Emotional Support Network 

One other than close friends and family; they tend to be too emotionally invested and their support can be biased. Connect to mentors, other entrepreneurs and people you meet at networking events and social media groups, as all of this helps. I have heard from many entrepreneurs that they are SO surprised when people withdraw their support temporarily or permanently because you can’t make it to the game, or a dinner party, or the park…etc. You need additional outside support, and you will need it daily.

4) Networking And Social Media 

I LOVE social media. However here is the key – it is only the mortar that keeps you cemented to your contacts between speaking – not the bricks. The only way to truly make a contact of value is to do that face-to-face in person, on the phone, or Skype. Build a tribe of people you authentically connect to and know – building a list of people who neither care nor really know about your business is futile. Networking is all about creating a connection to people who like you and want to see you succeed.

5) Research, Research, Research, ACTION! 

 Getting three opinions or perspectives on a business activity is enough for you to marry that information with your intuition and take action. Results from action are the only things that will validate if what you are doing is on track. Make informed decisions, but also recognize that being an entrepreneur is all about taking calculated risks. There are no failures, only feedback and new information to shift your next actions.

6) Celebrate Your Accomplishments

Brag about them; let your support network know. This keeps your energy up and your mind programed to the positive and productive things. Successes may be thin the first year, so stretch them out.

Everyone will have their own unique experience; however the one thing that binds us together is that every day is a new experience. And even when we are in a challenge, there are rewards. The reward of experience, knowledge, renewed courage, and most of all – the reward of being able to share all of it! 

Connie Augustus is a Vancouver based Career Coach, Life Strategist and avid Neuroscience Practitioner. She loves connecting to business owners and continues her own entreprenuerial journey. She invites you to join her at http://www.connieaugustus.com.

Tweeting About Self-Employment

Friday is a great day for chatting for career development practitioners, especially in Canada. Every Friday at 11am PST, career management professionals and recruiters come together on Twitter to chat through the hashtag #HireCAN about relevant topics. On Friday, April 13th I hosted the topic “Talking To Clients About Self-Employment.” I posed a series of questions and different people weighed in with their perspectives. Here are the questions and a summary of responses.

Research conducted by Life Strategies suggests the amount of career development practitioners (CDPs) engaging clients in self-employment discussions correlates with the CDP’s self-employment self-efficacy; how confident they feel to discuss it. Considering this,

Do you feel confident to support clients considering self-employment, why or why not?

• CDPs who have been self-employed feel more confident to discuss the topic with clients 
• Those with little or no experience tend to avoid the topic or refer to other professionals that specialize in self-employment 
• The other option is for CDPs is to take an introductory course like Look Before You Leap which covers the top survival strategies of the successfully self-employed 
• Does the idea of self-employment need to originate from the client or can it be suggested? 
• Treat the topic of self-employment similar to other topics that come up with clients 
• Encourage them to do some research, complete assessments, network with other professionals, and write down ideas 

How do you assess clients for self-employment readiness?

• It’s not a CDPs job to assess the self-employment idea because they are not business experts, rather CDP’s can guide clients to assess their own readiness, research their idea, and access resources 
• Self-employment success is a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitude. Online self-assessments are helpful for clients to consider their preparedness:
• http://www.mazemaster.on.ca/selfemployment/traits.htm, 
• http://www.mvp.cfee.org/en/selfassessisentforme.html, 
• Entreprenuerial Readiness Inventory, 
• http://alis.alberta.ca/pdf/cshop/Self-Employment.pdf
• The Look Before You Leap workbook also contains a self-employment assessment among other tips 
• Informational interviews with self-employed individuals is a great way for clients to find out about the realities of owning a business 
• The Career Wheel is useful for assessing how self-employment will fit into clients’ lives ow.ly/agAWM 
• Brainstorm how the business idea may fit into current economic climate, encouraging market research 

If a self-employment program isn't an option, and the client can't afford a coach, then where can the wannabe self-employed clients turn for help?

• Self-employment doesn’t need to be a full leap; it could be in combination with other incomes while the business grows to a self-sustaining income level. 
• A big obstacle for some is a family member’s beliefs and fears of the risks of self-employment. May be helpful for family to go to an information session on self-employment too 
• Skills swapping is a great way to access supports for free and build collaborative relationships 

What key resources do you refer clients interested in self-employment to?

• Suggest a client to get a business coach, someone with business start up insight 
• Small Business BC is a useful site smallbusinessbc.ca, as well as Community Futures bit.ly/Ihy1PM 
• The Look Before You Leap course and the corresponding workbook guide people through the process of preparing for self-employment. They are useful for CDPs wanting to learn more about how to support clients, and for clients themselves. There is also a PowerPoint and Facilitator Guide for those who want to use the Leap curriculum to host self-employment workshops. 
• The local Chamber of Commerce will be helpful, also Small Business Canada http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng 
• The Leap website and blog have lots of resources 
• The book “Business Model You” is a good read 
• Understanding how to use social media effectively is key to self-employment success
• Go to Twitter!  @lookb4leaping is there and sharing resources throughout the week

Top Mistakes Of The Self-Employed

© Georgie Johnson

I was 23 when I started my first officially registered business as a wedding and event planner. I operated it for a year and I made zero; that’s nothing, not one paying gig. The problem was I opened the business before I knew how to operate a business. I didn’t take the time to look before I leapt into self-employment. Wedding and event planning was one of a number of different business ideas I tried before I found my current success in self-employment.


Next I became self-employed as an independent consultant of a leading direct sales giftware company. It was the type of business based on home parties and corporate support; I was sort of like a franchisee. Everything I needed to operate my business was handed to me in a neat little kit with bi-weekly training meetings with other independent consultants. I was a recruiting machine and grew a large team, but consistently was the lowest earner of the bunch. What was my problem?


I have my suspicions of where I went wrong. Take a look at this interesting article on the top 50 mistakes entrepreneurs make. http://business.financialpost.com/2012/02/13/fifty-ways-to-screw-up-your-business. Which one are you most guilty of?


Miranda Vande Kuyt is a self-employed project and communications consultant. She is also the facilitator of the "Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies" online course through www.LifeStrategies.ca.