Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Neveen Dominic: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of July 2015

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Meet Neveen Dominic, founder of Neveen Dominic Cosmetics. An industry vet, Neveen owned and operated Africana Salon and Beauty Supply for ten years before creating her signature cosmetics company.

Neveen’s education is equal parts beauty and brains: she graduated from Marvel Beauty School in 2001 with honours, and took home the High Fashion Creation Award. In 2014, Neveen graduated with honours from SAIT Polytechnic with a diploma in Business Administration. She majored in marketing.

The eldest of seven siblings and proud mother of three children, Neveen leads by example–giving back when she can. 

Neveen is the founder of Beauty Response to Cancer, a charitable organization that empowers patients undergoing cancer treatments to look and feel their best. The charity provides free wigs to help with image enhancement during different stages of treatment. Neveen’s “I Am Not My Hair” presentation is the driving force behind the movement–encouraging people to donate their hair to enrich the life of someone else.

Neveen is also the former president of Enactus SAIT, a student-run organization that works both locally and internationally. Projects contribute to social development, environmental initiatives, and economic performance measures.

Neveen’s passion for equity and freedom of expression echoes through all she does–both in the beauty industry, and in her charitable work. Her goal is to help others build confidence, embrace difference, and express their individuality.

Our Q & A with Neveen:

What inspires you?

My inspiration comes from God, my family and my experiences. I strive for excellence and I have a high need for achievement; therefore, I compete with myself in pushing myself to be better than who I was yesterday.

As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?

As a business woman, I am proudest when I know that I did everything that I can to help my customers, run my company professionally and secure good business relationships with all my stakeholders.

What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?

The advice that I would give aspiring business people is that entrepreneurship is like a mountain. It is rocky, scary and a long way up. Business attitude is a core determinant factor for business success or failure. One can say I may get hurt or get tired or they may say I am going to climb this mountain a step at a time because eventually, I am going to get to the top and it is just a matter of time. After all “if the mountain was smooth, no one can climb it.”

What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

In the coming year, There will be many exciting events taking place at Neveen Dominic Cosmetics. We encourage people to keep an eye on our website and follow us on social media. To highlight a few events, we will have many distribution channels to give consumers easy and more convenient access to our products. Our fashion accessories collection of glasses, purses, belts, wallets, hats, scarves and turbans will be released in Germany in fall of 2016. Cancer patients will be offered a cosmetics package specially designed with their needs in mind through our charity, Beauty Response to Cancer.

Connect with Neveen:

sales@neveendominiccosmetics.com

587-892-3252

PLANTING ONE SEED (INVESTMENT) AT A TIME!

Amina

This past weekend the weather was finally amazing to get out in the garden, dig through the earth with my fingers and pull out all the weeds before planting my vegetable garden. It got me thinking that it takes one seed at a time to harvest your garden.

What if we took the same view on our investments?

When we first start we are so keen to learn and invest in anything that comes our way – but that can be foolhardy – especially when it comes to investing!  WHY?

Ask any successful real estate investor and he or she she will tell you that the secret to their success was knowledge.  They learned everything they could before investing in their first property.  They planted one seed at a time!  Did they stop there? No they keep learning and applying that knowledge to build on their portfolio.

As an investor you must take your time to learn, which strategy suits you best. Is it student rentals, multi-family, rent to own, buy & hold, flipping, just to name a few?  Or is it lending your money for a great return or investing in syndicated mortgages or even 2nd mortgages?

Lending your money or investing in 2nd mortgages, may not provide as big returns as a bricks and mortar property, but you also don’t have the hassle of being a landlord and dealing with tenant issues.

I was recently approached by a financial advisor, who only believed that the road to wealth was paved on people investing in the stock market.  I have nothing against financial advisors, but being a person who lost a lot in the 2009 crash, I did not want to repeat past mistakes, which included investing in the stock market.  Does that mean I don’t invest in the stock market at all? NO – I do but I self-direct my investmetns and don’t leave it to somebody else to do it for me – thus I don’t incur huge MER (management expense ratio) fees, which can cut into the growth of my investments.  He could not understand why I would not recommend him to my clients.

Taking charge of your financial future should not be left up to somebody else – burrying your head in the sand and hoping your money will be taken care of is also foolhardy!  Does it take work to look after your finances? YES, but isn’t it more rewarding to see your garden grow when you have planted those initial seeds yourself?

Planting those seeds takes time but when that garden (investment portfolio) starts to grow, you will reap the rewards!

To your Wealth!

Amina

Please “like” my facebook page here Please follow me on twitter here

5 Ways to Make 2015 Your Best Year Yet!

sandra

It’s the start of a New Year. Time for goal setting, setting intentions and putting a plan into action! I love the New Year because I always feel like it’s a fresh start, a clean slate to do things differently, better, than the year before. I would love to hear your tips to make this year better than the last. Here are my 5 suggestions to make 2015 your best year yet.

  1. Celebrate your accomplishments from the previous year

This is something that I started to do several years ago. On New Year’s Eve, before any festivities begin, I grab my journal and list all of the things that I accomplished during the current year. They don’t all have to be monumental goals, but you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by all that you’ve done, even if you think you didn’t have such a stellar year.

  1. Review what worked and what didn’t

We’ve all heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results. If we don’t take the time to look at the systems and strategies that worked and evaluate the ones that didn’t we might end up making the same mistakes again next year. Don’t beat yourself up about the failures, but do learn from them. What can you do differently next time?

  1. Identify at least 3 things you intend to accomplish this year

What would an article about the New Year be without talking about setting goals? They don’t all have to be about your business. Throw some personal goals in the mix too. When we’re at our best, we do our best. Achieving personal goals can help you be more effective in your business as well so don’t forget to take care of yourself when setting your intentions for 2015.

  1. Choose at least one skill to upgrade or learn

If we’re not learning, we’re not growing. I’m a firm believer and strong supporter of continuing education. We can never possibly know all there is to know, even in areas that we’ve mastered. Whether it has to do with your business or not, learning a new skill or learning how to do something you already know in a different way, expands our minds and opens us up to new opportunities that we might not have known existed otherwise. My 9 year-old lab/border collie mix is a constant reminder that you’re never too old to learn and you actually can teach an old dog new tricks! 😉

  1. Create a 90-day action plan

If you work out regularly, I’m sure you’ve witnessed the popularity of your local work out spot in January and the decline in attendance as we head into February. It’s why I no longer believe in New Year’s Resolutions. We can’t just say we’re going to start doing, or stop doing something; we have to figure out how we’re going to do it. In addition to that, we have to make sure we’re committed to our goals and make sure that it’s a goal that is important to us, and not something someone else wants us to do. The action plan doesn’t have to be perfect, but it definitely helps to have one. If you want to increase the effectiveness of the plan, share it with someone you know will hold you accountable.

Reflecting on the previous year can be a bittersweet time for many of us. It’s easy to focus on the things that didn’t go the way we hoped or expected rather than on the things that worked out, sometimes even better than we had planned. Whether last year was phenomenal or lack-lustre, celebrate the fact that you survived another year and know that this year can always be better, it’s all up to you!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!
Connect:
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes

The year in review…

sandra

Several years ago I started the New Year’s Eve ritual of celebrating my accomplishments. I find it’s a great way to end the year off on a positive note and carry over that positivity into the New Year. Last year, in addition to celebrating my accomplishments and setting my intentions for the upcoming year, I also took stock of the habits that contributed to my success, and those that kept me from making the year an even more productive and successful one.

We’ve all heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results. It was with this in mind that I started to take a look at the habits that served me and those that didn’t. It was especially important for me to review these things at the end of last year, since the second half of the year was the start of my journey as a full-time entrepreneur.

Along with reviewing our habits, the end of the year is also a great time to consider what worked and what didn’t, both personally and in your business. We want to continue to do the things that worked, yet we shouldn’t hesitate to question whether or not we could do those things even better, more effectively. We also need to review the things that didn’t work and figure out why. Not to beat ourselves up about our failures, but to learn from them, and figure out what we need to do next time so that we don’t end up with the same results.

Obviously we don’t have to wait until the end of the year to do these things, but the New Year is a great time for new beginnings. For many of us it’s also the start of a new fiscal year, so making changes and improvements in January will allow you to measure your growth year over year as you continue to build and grow your business.

Whether 2014 was an awesome year or just so-so, there is always room for improvement. Taking stock of the current year provides you with the opportunity to celebrate the progress you’ve made and tweak the plan to make the upcoming year an even better one. It’s about a constant evolution. If you had a great year, the next one can be even better. If you didn’t achieve as much as you wanted to do this year, know that there’s always room for improvement, it’s just a matter of retooling the strategy and your mental game.

Make a commitment to learn a new skill, release the habits (and anything else) that doesn’t serve you and develop the habits that are helping you get closer to your goals! If we want to achieve the best we can in our respective businesses, we have to be at our best. Take the time to evaluate the game plan and make the changes necessary to knock it out the park in the New Year!

May the New year be one of great health, peace and abundance!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!
Connect:
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes

Are you having some fun on your journey?

Uchechi

Wow, it’s crazy how much the year has progressed. Periodically, I like to reflect on my goals and accomplishments and determine where adjustments are needed. What’s come up for me today is the need to enjoy my journey as I reach towards my goals.

Those that know me well know that I always have something on the go, with ideas and programs to develop. However, along with this, is the calling to take time to reflect on my accomplishments and ensure that the journey towards the attainment of my goals in an enjoyable one. Being a wife and a mother of 2 has made this even more essential in my life!

As humans, we are meant to stretch and take on challenges. Most of us don’t always stretch past our comfort zone, which is needed to grow and succeed, but that yearning to be and want more is a human desire that we all have in common. What we tend to do is focus solely on the end goal (destination) that we don’t sit and consider how much growth and accomplishments we’ve had along the way.

Enjoying the journey also includes adding ways to make accomplishing your goals fun and exciting. This is important because at some point, we will get to the part where things start to become difficult or mundane and the beginner’s excitement is gone and we need to work at it to stay inspired and motivated. As business owners, we know this part very well! This is when enjoying the journey and infusing some fun and excitement into it helps to sustain your energy.

It could a relaxing massage for dedicating a full day to business development for your business and gaining more leads. You can also reach out to someone you admire and ask them to mentor you, spending an afternoon at your favourite restaurant ‘picking their brain’. Another great thing is to attend an inspiring event (like Hay House I Can Do It) or join a mastermind group with like-minded people. There are so many ways to add some fun and excitement to the process of reaching your goals. One of the things I personally plan to do in the future is get together with some great ladies and do a wealth creation mastermind that includes a fun day of pampering, yoga, masterminding and talk on personal development.

Yes, there are some tedious and difficult tasks that we must do consistently to turn our dreams into a reality. However, it is equally important to have time to reflect and inject some fun into your life and business. After all, that’s the reason why you established your goals and do the work in the first place. You wanted to share your unique talents and create something that will improve your life and make you happy, while serving others. It’s important to make the effort to enjoy the ride and be happy during the process and not just after the goal is reached. As we all know, once one goal is reached, you will have a need to establish another. Therefore, it truly is all about the journey!

Uchechi Ezurike-Bosse is a Business & Lifestyle Strategist, Speaker and Writer, but most importantly, a proud Mother and Wife. Uchechi is Founder of My Empowered Living (http://www.myempoweredliving.com) a website aimed at helping women shift their mindset and live their passion! Whether it’s starting and building their dream business, or helping them create a lifestyle they crave, Uchechi is the modern woman’s secret to success! Visit Uchechi at www.myempoweredliving.com to get her FREE online video training series The 4 Keys to your Business Success! This free 4-day business training reveals her 4 key strategies needed to build a profitable and successful business, and how to put them to work in your business!

Don’t give up before the miracle happens!

Uchechi

 

So, we’re now entering into the last quarter of the year. If you’re like most people, you started off the year with specific goals and list of accomplishments for 2014. And like most people, you probably either have given up on your goals and vision, or you’re struggling to achieve it. If you’re at the stage where you feel about to give up (or have given up), this post is for you!

At some point in our lives, we come across times of frustration and disappointment. This is especially the case as a business owner. You’ve worked hard, followed the rules and taken steps to create your dream business… however nothing happens. The change you want to see does not seem to be transpiring, and you wonder if you can ever have or create the business that you want. It is at those times that you want to give up and quit.

One of my favourite authors and manifesting teachers, the late Florence Scovel Shinn writes, “Every great work, every big accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement.” This is a favourite quote of mine, and one that I go to when I come across any setback in my life or business.

The thing is, we will all experience times when we want to give up on our goals. This is particularly the case if you take on something big, that’s outside your comfort zone. The first thought when you come across obstacles is to quit and go back to what is safe and comfortable. However, we all know that staying in our comfort zone does not give us the growth and expansion that we’re meant to have. It’s quite ironic that as humans we resist change and find comfort in what is familiar and what we know. However, we are built to have a need for expansion and to reach beyond where we are. Thus, comes the struggle of life, the need to change and grow, but then resisting that change and growth.

One of the best ways of overcoming this is to stick with the change and work long enough for it to materialize. It’s just a matter of holding on to your vision and doing the work long enough for the miracle to happen and for your dreams to come to fruition. You need to be persistent and cultivate the right mindset to sustain your efforts.  Look how many times Edison attempted to invent the lightbulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” See your journey and ‘set-backs’ as just another step towards the attainment of your dreams.

So, if you’re about to give up, I want to remind you that your miracle is just around the corner. Can you hold on long enough to experience it? Let me know in the comment below.

 

Uchechi Ezurike-Bosse is a Business & Lifestyle Strategist, Speaker and Writer, but most importantly, a proud Mother and Wife. Uchechi is Founder of My Empowered Living (http://www.myempoweredliving.com) a website aimed at helping women shift their mindset and live their passion! Whether it’s starting and building their dream business, or helping them create a lifestyle they crave, Uchechi is the modern woman’s secret to success! Visit Uchechi at www.myempoweredliving.com to get her FREE online video training series The 4 Keys to your Business Success! This free 4-day business training reveals her 4 key strategies needed to build a profitable and successful business, and how to put them to work in your business!

Creating The Perfect Picture

anna

Many of us have developed idealistic pictures of our lives.  I remember seeing myself as a popular chick in the “in” crowd with incredible long dark hair.  I have the perfect cheerleader body and was full of pep and vigor.  All the girls wanted to be my friends and all the jocks wanted to date me.  Later I decided I would make an incredible rock star.  I was going to change my name to something exotic, like Monica. That’s right!  I thought the name Monica was exotic!  Later I thought I was going to meet a prince who would love me and take care of me and our family forever.

I created a vision and then sadly found myself disappointed over and over.  I was far from popular and labelled myself a loner.  I was okay with that because that means I didn’t have to be disappointed anymore. I cannot hold a tune and I certainly do not have the cheerleader pep!  What happened to me?

Creating a vision is healthy and creating a positive and realistic goal is important.  I did neither. I simply dreamed for things to come true.  I did nothing to set my dreams into action.

So now I write out my dreams.  Who I want to become; how I want to accomplish this; when I want to have this happen.  I am specific! I have a detailed outline of the entire plan. This next part is VERY important!

TAKE ACTION!!

Everyday do something to move towards your purpose. In business it may be cold calling or getting caught up on your administration or networking and connecting with others that may be great contacts for you and your business.  In your personal life it could be setting a daily menu to ensure healthy eating, setting your organizer to have quality days and times with your family or simply setting alone time to reinvigorate yourself.

Be realistic and know that wanting to make a huge change in your life could take a long time and to set timeframes to ensure your success. Also be brave enough to push yourself so that you don’t lose sight of your end result.

YOU CHOOSE!  You get to set your dreams and turn them into an action plan!  I look forward to hearing all your great accomplishments.

Anna Ottaviani is a Board Certified NLP Master Practitioner & Master Coach, Board Certified Master Hypnotherapist,Creating Your Future® , Time Line® Therapist Practitioner and Reiki Master. Her methods are unique and tailored to each individual client. She can be reached at www.sucessfullyyou.ca or by phone at 289-221-5772. You can follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/successfullyyou?ref=ts&fref=ts