MAD LOVE MONDAY - Chris Ricke | The Whitewood Barn

1. What is your business?

The Whitewood Barn wedding and event centre in Leduc County.

2. What inspired you to start your own business?

I was inspired to create the Whitewood by the creativity that is available in local talent and passionate entrepreneurs in our community. The Whitewood’s foundation will be built on partnerships and passion of providing that special “Best Day Ever”! The Whitewood will provide a rustic, elegant comfortable place for all celebrations and to create life long memories.

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3. Do you have a go to motto?

Simplify, with elegance, comfort and passion

4. What is a personal goal of yours?

I want to become social media savvy. In charge of my expression and vision.

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5. What is a professional goal of yours?

To be debt free in 5 years, while encouraging growth of celebrations.

6. Why do you love being an entreprenuer?

I love choosing everyday what I do and creating daily challenge.

7. Have you ever had a time where you wanted to give up?

Absolutely! I overcame the desire of giving up by putting myself in positive networks of the industry I was trying to enter.

8. Whats your best boss babe moment?

Purchasing the venue property!

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9. Whats your favourite platform to use?

Instagram & Wedding Wire

10. What is your must have moment of the day (me time)?

My morning coffee and touch base day.

11. What are looking forward to in the Yegbossbabe community?

Networking and surrounding myself with passionate, strong positive minds with a drive for growth and kindness.

http://www.thewhitewoodbarn.com

https://www.instagram.com/whitewoodbarn

Interested in being featured? email us at yegbossbabes@gmail.com 

MAD LOVE MONDAY - Sonia Gonzalez | bSocial Communications Inc.

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Entrepreneur life can take you on so many different journeys. The most rewarding and exciting one for me so far has been my creative journey.

This whole business thing started with a hint of curiosity, a drive for creativity and a passion to help others. At the time when the idea of being an entrepreneur popped into my head, I wondered, “is there a way to combine my desire to be more creative with my communications experience and my love for local businesses? I’m sure there is, but can I pay my bills doing it?”

Thinking about going out on my own warmed my whole body. It ignited a fire within me. The prospect of using the wealth of creativity I knew I had available with my communications skills and putting that into helping small businesses was a dream job in my mind and one that I knew I had to pursue.

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That fire was the start of bSocial Communications Inc.

One thing I knew for sure going into my business was that it was going to be an extension of who I was. In order for this to be successful, the creative drive and exploration for myself and my business had to work together. It had to be authentic.

When I went full-time with bSocial Communications I instantly noticed the creative flow came so naturally. The creativity I was tapping into was really working for my business and clients. Awesome!

But then I encountered a challenge.

The nature of my business requires me to dive into that creative pool at all times. I write all day, every day. From communications strategy to social media marketing to content development for blogs and websites. I need to tune into that creativity to help my clients reach their audience and ensure their content is packed with their passion and personality. I absolutely love every aspect of this, but it does require a lot of brain power and time.

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I realized that there was such an abundance of creative opportunities for me in my business, but I was starting to pull back from making space to explore my creativity outside my work.

“Creativeprenuers” rely on their creativity to fuel their soul and to fuel their business. To nourish this talent, they need space for creative freedom, away from timelines, expectations and contractual obligations.

By implementing a habit of building in creative space, I stopped putting so much pressure on myself to be productive at all hours of the day and started to devote some more time to growing my skills and tending to my creative interests.  

Here are some creative space makers that have helped me grow in my business.

Exploring creative avenues outside my work that bring me joy

Allowing space for creative projects that make me happy has really upped my game. For me, this comes in the form of interior design and fashion. Whenever a friend or colleague asks for help with a home/office design project or a shopping trip to refresh their wardrobe, I’m all up in that and don’t feel guilty for taking time out of my day to enjoy that time with them.

Through these creative outlets I energize myself, I feel happy and confident and it helps me fine tune my design eye for when I do photos and video for my business. Win, win!

Exploring creative avenues that take me out of my comfort zone

This has proved to be both challenging and rewarding. No one wants to go out and do something they are not good at. What I have found is that by pushing myself through a creative project (at least once a month) that doesn’t come naturally to me forces me to grow in ways I didn’t know I needed. For myself and my business.

Going out of my comfort zone in a creative way has helped me learn patience and how to fail and be ok with it. Being creative isn’t always about rocking it and producing something that is perfect. There is a lot to be learned from the imperfections and we need to embrace that more as creative thinkers.

Creating space through meditation

I have found the best way to give myself creative space is to clear the space in my mind. I do this through a regular meditation practice (30 minutes every day). Meditation has been the most powerful creative source for me as an individual and business owner.

Sometimes you are so deep into the business you can’t see the most obvious and potentially most important opportunities in front of you. Meditation is a great way to look internally for answers and to allow new ideas to surface.

The #yegbossbabes community is full of creative, innovative women. One thing I’d like to share with fellow #yegbossbabes is to remember to be kind to yourself. Carve out space and time to explore your creativity, with no expectations and boundaries. It will inspire you to try new things and replenish that curiosity.

Isn’t that what got us into business in the first place?

Thank you,

Sonia Gonzalez

www.bsocial.ca

@bsocialcomm

TIPSY TUESDAY - Choosing the Right Hair Stylist for Your Wedding | Bliss & Glow Artistry | Adriana Senecal

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You may feel the need to go to your stylist that you've been seeing for 20 years to get your wedding hair done. But is that necessarily the best choice? Sometimes it is but sometimes it could put you into a situation you don't want to be in on your wedding day.

Stylists often specialize in certain areas and are not always strong in every aspect of hairstyling. When choosing your hairstylist, you should consider how much experience they have doing bridal hair. It is a completely different area of expertise than your typical cut and color stylist. Don't get me wrong though, the stylist you've had for 20 years for cut and color may just be equally as phenomenal at bridal hair too! What I'm trying to say is, do your research!

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So you've researched people who specialize in bridal hair, but is that all you need to do? Definitely not. If you are going to a stylist that you've never had before and you're trusting them with your wedding hair, you should be booking in a trial. I know, I know, it costs more money. But you're not JUST paying for a trial, you're also paying for an in-depth consultation, a meet and greet, a chance to get to know each other and of course, a chance to see your potential stylists work. And guess what! If you absolutely hate your trial hair, it's a darn good thing you didn't find this out on your wedding day! You have two options at this point – find a different stylist that you vibe better with that can maybe give you more of what you want, or book in for a redo trial with the same stylist.

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How do you know which option is best? Sometimes having a bad trial can be a good thing! I know, you probably think I'm crazy for saying that but just hear me out. Working with the same person could be way more beneficial in figuring out what you really want. You've talked to your stylist about what you did and didn't like about the trial – this is a huge building block to get your hair exactly how you want it. After all, your going to be looking at your hair in all of your photos! When you switch stylists, you need to start back at square one with the consultation in HOPES that they understand what you're looking for. However, if you didn't like your trial hair and you also didn't vibe well with your stylist, then perhaps you need to find someone else who you can bond more with. If your stylist didn't put an effort in to fix what you didn't like, find a new one asap! Choosing a bridal stylist works just like a friendship – you'll get along with some and you won't get along with others. But the ones who are willing to work with you to get you to your desired end result are the ones worth keeping around!

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You may be thinking at this point, how do I go to someone else and not hurt my stylists feelings? You can't think of it like that! This is YOUR wedding and you need your hair to be perfect. Your stylist will understand and maybe even thank you for going to someone who specializes in bridal hair. It can give some stylists anxiety if it is not their expertise. You need to look after you first when it comes to your special day!

Your wedding day is going to be one of the most memorable days of your life and the majority of that day is about what you look like walking up the aisle to the love of your life. Finding the right people to help your vision come to life is incredibly important. Take the time to do your research and find the best fit for YOU.

Thank you!

Adriana Senecal

Bliss & Glow Artistry

Photo Credit | Bespoke Photography