Tanya Carre and Ray Yee both have experience in Calgary’s fast-paced restaurant industry, but they were ready for a change of scenery. In October 2006, they brought their combined skills with foods and flavours, their sense of adventure and their dogs—Dexter and Murphy—to Fernie. In December of that year, they became the new owners of their first business, the Blue Toque Diner.

The couple have done very well in their first year in business. The Fernie Chamber of Commerce named the Blue Toque Diner its Business of the Year in 2007. And Yee and Carre have discovered that they have an excellent working relationship.

“Tanya has a good view of the bigger picture,” said Yee, “and I have a (good) view for fine detail.”

“He’s a good executioner,” said Carre. “I figure the stuff out that I think we should do and he figures out how to do it.”

Carre and Yee have been warmly welcomed as the owners of a well-established restaurant.

“It’s very loved within the community,” said Carre. “It was interesting with interviewing staff who were part of the old restaurant. The comments they made were how important it was that we didn’t wreck it. They were very invested.”

Yee and Carre have been diligent about maintaining the heart of the breakfast-and-lunch restaurant while integrating their personalities and visions into the menu. Many of the previous owner’s menu items were kept and many new dishes were added. Using only fresh ingredients—with a focus on locally grown produce—Yee and Carre create dishes that are flavourful and healthful. Carre and Yee recently launched Blue Toque Catering, which has provided evening meals for events at the Fernie Arts Station, among other venues.

“I think what was most important for us going into this was to make a plan and stick to it,” said Carre. “It was important for us to have an ethical component of our restaurant. It was important that our staff enjoyed working there and we were the kind of employers we wanted to be.”

NAMES: Tanya Carre and Ray Yee
BUSINESS: Blue Toque Diner
GREW UP IN: Calgary, Alberta
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Spending time together, enjoying the outdoors with their dogs, dining out

—by Tanya Laing Moore; photo courtesy Tanya Carre and Ray Yee

Yara Findlay was aware that when she became a licensed realtor in her newly adopted home of Nelson, she would face several challenges.

“Being a young woman getting started in the business was difficult,” said Findlay. “Having only moved to the area a year prior (from Vancouver), I didn’t have any family or many close friends for support. It made it pretty tough to find clients willing to put their trust in me to handle one of the largest single transactions they would make. Over time, I have built my business one brick at a time through great client relations, experience and most importantly, word of mouth.”

Findlay chose realty as an occupation after several years working in custom furniture sales and interior design consulting. However, both her move to Nelson and her new career were a result of her desire to incorporate her love of architecture and design—along with her natural marketing ability—with a job that would allow her to be flexible enough to enjoy the outdoor recreation for which the region is famous.

Having made the choice to be a realtor in one of the hottest markets in B.C., Findlay had to distinguish herself from the competition. She has honed her time management skills and prides herself on her focus, particularly on her “commitment to working ethically and professionally with every client, maintaining organization on all aspects of each transaction.” But perhaps it is her technical savvy that has given her an edge.

“My website (www.NelsonLocal.com) has been a real asset to setting my business apart from the competition,” said Findlay. “It is information-rich with resources for buyers and sellers that extend beyond a typical sales site. Through maintaining current content, publishing quarterly newsletters, maintaining a real estate blog and quick response to inquiries, I have developed many great online working relationships with clients who now live in the area.”

NAME: Yara Findlay
BUSINESS: Re/Max RHC Realty
GREW UP IN: Kingston, Ontario
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Yoga, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, spending time with her fiancé, Brian Chard

—by Tanya Laing Moore; photo courtesy Yara Findlay

In 1993, Raynald Losier and Nina George started making soaps in the 400-square-foot basement of an old farmhouse in Winlaw. Almost 15 years later, Mountain Sky—named for their daughters Malaya Mountain and Rahel Sky—is housed in a 7,000-square-foot complex in Crescent Valley with six employees helping them produce their popular soaps and gift items.

“It’s the same recipe that we’ve always used,” said Losier, speaking of the soaps that Mountain Sky produces. “I trained with a soapmaker and then I used some old recipes from the 1800s. What’s changed is our marketing plans and our rebranding.”

The plans have proved to be successful. In the last year, Mountain Sky has seen a remarkable 25 per cent increase in sales.

“When we first started, we weren’t planning,” said George. “We never thought it would get that big. But we’re a good team—Raynald and I have complimentary skill sets. We have good synergy—plus being married as part of the whole mix made it work . . . I do the accounting, bookkeeping, artwork (and) all the websites. And Raynald—he’s the guy with the hammer.”

Both George and Losier were originally anthropology students and they met in Guatemala. Neither of them had a business background when they started making soaps, but as their company grew, they took business and accounting courses through Community Futures, and educated themselves in other ways too.

George and Losier have come to appreciate the value of goal-setting and creating a mission statement during their time in business.

“We looked at our business and had to decide what (it was) about,” said George. “What is our goal? Part of our reason for starting the business was because we wanted to stay together as a family. We’re very family friendly.”

“Including our employees’ families,” added Losier.

Losier and George are also committed to protecting the environment and giving back to their community. They are supporters of Community Futures—who helped get them started—as well as local and national charities.

“You could say that our soaps come in all colours, but they’re all green,” said Losier.

NAMES: Nina George and
Raynald Losier
BUSINESS: Mountain Sky • www.mountainskysoap.com
GREW UP IN: George: Chicago, Illinois; Losier: New Brunswick
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Cross-country and skate skiing, gardening, biking

—by Tanya Laing Moore; photo courtesy Nina George

In November of 2000, Robin Dixon opened the doors to her business, The Gilded Goat, in a 400-square-foot space on the Platzl in Kimberley. She had experience in interior design but wanted to provide a unique furnishings store in the community to complement the career. Within a year, it became apparent that the business was going to require more space, and in 2002, Dixon and her husband purchased their current store on the Platzl. They recently expanded the space further by buying the adjacent building, creating a striking, historic shop that draws the eye, the imagination and a growing clientele.

“This is a fabulous old building,” said Dixon. “It was built in 1926 as a bank and all of this old brick was hiding under a version of a Bavarian paint job. We took off the fake roof outside and blasted all the paint off and redid the mouldings to more of their original form.”

Dixon is always looking for something new, she said, and she is open to the directions that the business and clientele seem to take her.

“Each year, we just keep building,” said Dixon. “I’ve gone from part-time staff to three full-time and one part-time staff. The community keeps receiving us and the tourists love us and I think we really offer a service here.”

Dixon’s first business venture in Kimberley involved renovating an older motel and laundromat and introducing a cappuccino bar. However, she wanted to be home with her young children, so the business was sold and Dixon began a home-based business in interior design.

“I realized that if I had clients that were doing anything of any magnitude design-wise, we had to go to the city for a lot of special items,” said Dixon. “It was just too far to go. And I missed that when we moved from Calgary—the really unique items. We have really great shops in the area, but I like something a little different.”

Dixon’s flair for beautiful, unique furnishings has allowed her to continue her design business—her expertise has been brought to several regional projects, including Northstar Mountain Village in Kimberley—while watching the retail end grow. She believes she has a very good eye for buying and creating beautiful spaces and loves the freedom of seeing her ideas come to life.

“I really think people underestimate the value of a great home space sometimes,” she said. “Canadians have to spend a lot of their time in their homes because of our climate and the value of a well-put-together space is something that people are starting to come on to a lot more than they used to.”

NAME: Robin Dixon
BUSINESS: The Gilded Goat and Gilded Goat Interior Designs
GREW UP IN: Calgary, Alberta
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Skiing, spending time with family and friends, cooking, fishing

—article and photo by Tanya Laing Moore

Gerry Gardner has been the executive director of the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce for five months following a 4-1⁄2 year stint as the tourism co-ordinator for Revelstoke. He gained much of his experience and business philosophies in a previous 28-year career in broadcast sales and management, in which he worked to promote, market and advertise businesses of almost every description.

“To help them, you need to understand how their businesses operate, so much time was spent gathering information and listening to their problems and successes,” said Gardner.

Gardner is now applying these lessons to promoting Revelstoke and working towards ensuring that it grows and that its economy is sustainable without jeopardizing the character of the city.

“This will be our challenge,” said Gardner. “Our new ski resort, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, will be a world-class resort and will draw people from all over the world. Growth is inevitable and so too, trials and tribulations. Knowing this and hopefully learning from other examples of communities out there that have lost their way, I believe with hard work, compromise and strength in our vision for the community, we can have our cake and eat it too.”

Gardner has developed numerous business philosophies over the years that he now hopes will help Revelstoke as it gains prominence on the world stage.

“Have a work ethic,” he said. “There are many forms of work ethics. Some put work first, some family first and some just work as a means to an end. But the bottom line is your job needs to be done accurately and in a timely manner or professional success will allude you. You need a plan that best suits your lifestyle. Then, just do it.”

NAME: Gerry Gardner
BUSINESS: Revelstoke
Chamber of Commerce
GREW UP IN: Edmonton, Alberta
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Golf, reading, travelling, dining out

—by Tanya Laing Moore; photo courtesy Gerry Gardner

Paul Ricard is a very busy man. He is the operations manager for several companies owned by the Weir Group, including Golden Concrete Ltd., Columbia Diesel Ltd., BNW Contracting Ltd. and Kinbasket Tire Ltd., and he owns interest in Kinbasket Management Inc., Trans Canada Sort Ltd. and 608865 BC Ltd. He is also very involved in his community, sitting on the board of directors for both the Golden & District Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Valley Credit Union.

What is outstanding about Ricard’s achievements is not that he manages to stay on top of all these ventures, but that he is so successful at it. In fact, Golden Concrete has been recognized within the industry for its excellence—it received two CONNIE awards from the B.C. Ready-Mixed Concrete Association in 2007—as well as being awarded important contracts for the recently completed New Park Bridge in Golden and upcoming bridge construction on Calgary’s northwest ring road. Those contracts—through Flatiron Construction Corporation—were a coup for Golden Concrete; few believed that the company was competitive enough to win the bid.

“They said, ‘You’re a small company; you’ll never get the job,’ ” said Ricard. “(Then) we won those awards and proved what we could do. Now they’re asking us for data. Now they’re saying, ‘If—or when—you do the jobs, what are your mix designs, what are you going to do and how are you going to set it up?’ ”

Ricard started his professional life in the lumber industry before switching to accounting, in which he discovered he had a gift for analyzing data.

“Being analytical is my biggest strength,” said Ricard. “All through my career, even when I worked for MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. for instance, I was able to analyze the cost of a helicopter going up a mountain and returning logs and fuel costs and cycle times even before it was done. That’s really helped me—more or less looking into the future rather than being a typical accountant who looks into the past at historical data. I believe that’s important—looking forward rather than looking back.”

NAME: Paul Ricard
BUSINESS: Golden Concrete (Weir Group); manager or joint owner of seven companies
GREW UP IN: Golden, B.C.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Spending time with his family, playing golf, refereeing hockey, cross-country skiing

— by Tanya Laing Moore; photo courtesy Paul Ricard

Mikki Hamagami has seen her business, Morrissey Creek Building Supplies, go through many changes since she and her late husband bought it in 1992.
“It’s been back and forth in many ways,” said Hamagami. “But I’ve had a new manager (Alf Him) in here for the past three years and we’ve just not looked backwards.”
Hamagami said that Alf and her staff are the backbone of the lumber and building supply company.

“I think that what we strive for is friendly, helpful customer service,” she said. “That’s where it’s at in the building industry. If a person can come in and talk to knowledgeable people—friendly people—it makes a huge difference. They want to come back and that’s what we strive for.”

Hamagami understands that as a small business in a small community, the key to customer loyalty is service—especially when competing with big-box stores that may have the ability to cut costs where she can’t.

“Because we’re small, it can be kind of hard to compete pricewise,” she said. “We do pretty well—my manager is very good at the buying market—because we have to.”
Hamagami is modest when it comes to identifying the strengths that she brings to the business, but considers her ability to keep the business going during difficult times one of her greatest accomplishments.

“I try to be hands-on as much as I can,” she said. “I find that really helps. It’s not really a woman’s business; it’s tough at times. But thanks to a lot of good people around, I’ve managed to keep it going. I never thought I’d last this long, and I’m quite happy about it. I enjoy it.

“I’m very proud of the business and my employees.”

NAME: Mikki Hamagami
BUSINESS: Morrissey Creek Building Supplies
GREW UP IN: Christina Lake, B.C.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Golfing, curling, spending time with her grandchildren

—by Tanya Laing Moore; photo by Monica Averill

?Brent and Margeaux Bauman opened their business, Kootenay Valley Water & Spas, in 1984. Initially, they provided only bottled water to their customers, but over time they’ve been able to expand their retail items and services to include hot tubs, barbecues, leisure products and spa accessories. In the 14 years they’ve been in business—during which they’ve won several Kootenay Business Best of Business awards—they’ve been able to expand to the point where they now own the building in which their store is located. However, according to Margeaux, no matter how busy the business gets, they still make time for themselves, their children—four daughters between the ages of 10 and 16—and their community.

“I think it’s important to have balance,” said Margeaux. “Even though when you first start out and you’re nourishing your business—because you’re eating, living, breathing the business 24/7—I feel it’s really important that you need to have balance and time out for yourself. If you don’t, it doesn’t benefit anybody.”

Margeaux maintains balance in her own life by walking to and from work—giving herself time to both prepare for and let go of the day—as well as engaging in regular exercise and leisure. She also strives for open communication with Brent and their staff. And she has also learned that gratitude is one of the strongest attributes to balancing home and business.

“As a business person, what sets us apart is that I’m grateful for every customer that comes into our store,” said Margeaux. “One of my strengths is that I have integrity and strength in my values. I couldn’t stay in business if I didn’t have that.”

The Baumans—both Kootenay natives who met on a beach in Mexico—strive to be a part of the community that supports their business.

“A community can’t exist unless you volunteer or participate in some way,” said Margeaux. “That’s what makes a community a community. The more you give, the more you get. For your own spirituality or wholeness, you need to be able to give or you’re not grateful for what you have.”

NAME: Margeaux and Brent Bauman
BUSINESS: Kootenay Valley Water & Spas
GREW UP IN: Margeaux: Fernie, B.C.; Brent: Cranbrook, B.C.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Yoga, skiing, biking, reading

—by Tanya Laing Moore; photo by Monica Averill

Dan Ashman has co-owned AM Ford in Trail for 25 years, and in the last three years he has been sole owner of the thriving dealership. There are several major expansions on the horizon, and Ashman predicts that his present staff of 40 will double in the next two to three years. The business has been very successful for Ashman, but the most important thing to him is having the chance to encourage and remain close to his family.

“There are a couple of things that are very important about business,” said Ashman. “Running your business—and having that heart and passion and enthusiasm—and the family side. I’m not a member of a lot of organizations; I’ve got time for work, I’ve got time for the customers of AM Ford and I’ve got time for my family.”

Ashman’s family has gotten into the act as well. His daughter is currently with Ford Motor corporately, and Ashman expects that she will eventually return home to run one of his dealerships. His oldest son is the operations manager of the AM Ford dealership and of the new expansion facility. And Ashman’s youngest son is in Dallas, Texas, working with an automotive-related GPS business that provides AM Ford with advanced technologies and security products.

“It’s especially rewarding when your three children—for whatever reason—decide to be in the car business, and they’re also very passionate and enthusiastic,” said Ashman.

NAME: Dan Ashman
BUSINESS: AM Ford
GREW UP IN: Penticton, B.C.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Hockey, golf, spending time with his wife, Patty, and children

—by Tanya Laing Moore; photo by Keith Powell

For 30 years, Top Crop Garden, Farm & Pet has been a Cranbrook mainstay for gardeners, farmers, ranchers, pet owners and those looking for unique household items. And partners Greg Fisher, his wife, Shannon Fisher, and Martin Davis are enjoying watching their business bloom.

Greg became involved in the business 21 years ago, when Top Crop was a small farming supply store with none of the lush greenhouses that are now both on and off site. Davis came on board 13 years ago and since then, the three have been equal partners in the business, each bringing different and complementary strengths.

“Shannon’s role is looking after the production side of things—the greenhouses,” said Greg. “Martin looks after the farm side and I’m involved with the garden centre side. As a group, we have a tremendous work ethic. (A large part) of our success has been persistence and dedication.”

They offer more than farm supplies now—supplying many of the bedding plants and perennials to gardens throughout the East Kootenay—but they’ve never lost touch with those roots. Greg acknowledges that much of the strength of the business stems from the loyalty that farmers and ranchers—many of whom they know by name—have shown them, and Top Crop nurtures those relationships. When Top Crop moved to a larger location in Cranbrook three years ago, they did so with the help of many of those customers.

“Four or five of the farms that we deal with came with their horse trailers and trailers and helped us move,” said Davis. “And at different times of the year, when they need to round up or cows need to be sorted for market, we help.”

Their own friendships are equally important. While the business has demanded much time and energy from each of the three partners, they still have time for each other.

“At the end of the day, we know that we can call each other at any time of the day or night and be there for each other,” said Davis.

NAMES: Greg Fisher, Shannon Fisher and Martin Davis
BUSINESS: Top Crop Garden, Farm & Pet
GREW UP IN: Greg: Winnipeg,
Manitoba; Shannon: Kimberley, B.C.; Martin: Wellington, New Zealand
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES: Spending time with family, sports and outdoor activities

—article and photo by Tanya Laing Moore