Keeping It Local

Today we sit down with local food service design and management consultant Doug Feltmate. From hockey to design to international consulting on large sports centres, corporate dining solutions, multinational hotels, local restaurants and long term care facilities, Doug is one of very few people in the world who do what he does. As he tries to think about retiring or slowing down, the projects on his plate don't seem to follow this same time line.

Doug has a mind and an eye on what works best in the food service industry and always looking for tips and ideas that replicate to scale. When he hears of innovation, Doug has never hesitated to get on the scene where it is happening which has allowed him to be on the cutting edge of new technology and how it helps small and large food service industries scale while keeping things small and efficient. It would seem that most people in his local community are unaware of the wealth of knowledge he possesses as many are unaware of the new paradigm shift that has been operating for going on two decades. This seems to be true as well with our teaching institutions as well.

If you are in the Ottawa community, you can see the results of his innovative design in many organizations across the city including St Martha's Brasserie in Orleans, The Shaw Centre and the Canadian Tire Centre to have a few. Meeting someone still passionate about his work even after 40 years in is a delight.

Entrepreneurship is a journey and often goes on for a lifetime. Owner operator Karin Rabuka talks about hers over the past 20 years from studio artist to motherhood and pivoting to growing a coffee business through trial and error out of her garage. Karin now runs a roasting company with 2 mobile trucks for offsite events, employing over 10 people who stay because they love what they do  and the mission of the business.

Karin builds with a scientific artist approach testing and applying before scaling. She keeps herself grounded through her faith and implicitly knows that what she builds belongs to God and the community. Her mission is to ensure that all creations be it fresh organic roasted coffee, painting, visiting various sites with the mobile NoGo Coffee truck and raising her family, bring love and a bit of sunshine to the days of the individuals she serves and supports. 

When asked about her biggest failures as an entrepreneur, she cited having survived 2 fires that resulted from inattention and lack of detail to security. When almost losing her business, it became apparent, that all things were interconnected and if the main tools disappeared, there would be no business. 

Nicola Johnson brand new to the world of entrepreneurship tells us about her journey of making fast changes during the pandemic of 2020 that has re-routed her life path. She has now merged her number one love of hair cosmetology and caregiving in the health care field as a PSW.

Nicola was raising her family in Ottawa when her housing situation changed and her side gig of hair replacement started to grow. She relocated to where most of her clients were coming from; Cornwall Ontario, signed a lease for her new business, moved herself and her 4 children in time for the new school year. 

Liberty Hair Shop 1150 Montreal Rd, Cornwall, ON K6H 1E2, is s top shelf hair replacement boutique for people having hair loss from cancer treatments or alopecia. Being an advocate of health and well being, Nicola knew that looking after people's mental health and well being was also important. Feel great in our bodies and beautiful goes a long way for improving well being. 

Speaking with Chris Hughes on his journey of growing a business and living his purpose.

Ottawa based custom cabinetmaker Chris Hughes talks about keeping things local by creating solutions for those he serves. The 2020 pandemic has pushed many of us delayed due to supply chain issues but Chris has been able to beat this by being the supplier for many in the local industry. Globalization is great but it does not always serve the concept of sustainability nor keeping things clean for the earth. 

Speaking about entrepreneurship, community and growing a business while serving up solutions to the customers with CEO Birket Foster of Storm Internet. 

Some of the sources spoken about during the session: