Garnish Girls” Garner Benefits of Local Business Start-up and Mentoring Program

Three young Vancouver entrepreneurs, The West Coast Garnish Girls Inc. (Garnish Girls), are spicing up food and drinks and slicing preparation time. With start-up financing and mentoring provided by Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) and utilizing their industry experience, The Garnish Girls are serving up a great new business venture.

The Garnish Girls offer the convenience of prepared garnishes to the food and beverage service industry and retail market. By removing the step of preparation for bartenders and consumers alike, creatively garnished food and drinks can be made easily and offer better quality.

After working as bartenders, Danielle Tatarin, Tina-Marie Pelletier and Alejandra Parra decided they could make a contribution to improve the quality of garnishes. Through their combined experience and worldly backgrounds the Garnish Girls have taken the idea of garnishing food and drinks to a new level. They began by providing the typical lemon and lime wedges and have now developed shelf-stable signature creations such as infused candied apple slices, candied lemon and orange slices.

"Since we started in October, we have been fortunate to have financial advice and business guidance from a mentor introduced through CYBF's loan mentoring program," explains Tatarin, "Dale Owen has met with us on a regular basis and consistently supports our vision to never set the bar too low."

Mentoring, the transfer of information from an experienced businessperson, is the key ingredient for young entrepreneur's success. This is why participation in the structured CYBF mentoring program, Ment2B, is mandatory for all loan recipients.

Owen has also found mentoring to be a great experience, "Working as a mentor I see the real benefits of CYBF. Not only the access to start-up financing but working with a mentor. Learning from someone more experienced, rather than learn the hard way - that usually costs money."

About Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) The Canadian Youth Business Foundation is a national charitable volunteer based organization. CYBF is the national leader in youth entrepreneurship through mentorship and financial support resulting in sustainable economic development.

cybf.ca

The Indie Girl’s Guide to Partnering Up for Success

No woman is an island and luckily you don’t have to go it alone in your journey to independent business success. True, you want to keep your company (and it’s profit margins) under your control but partnering up with other talented women to further your business could be the smartest thing you’ve done to date.

Why partner?
Despite how strong your company may seem, despite how busy you may feel fulfilling orders or meeting with clients, if you're not trying to grow your business in some way, however minor, you're not trying hard enough. Period. To grow your business without devoting a significant amount of capital or time developing new systems and processes, taking on a strategic partner is a no-brainer.

The reason partnering up for success is so effective? It's simple. It's because instantly your partner's network of acquaintances and colleagues becomes your network. Instantly your partner's business infrastructure that has been in place and refined over time, is now at your disposal. You get to benefit from their experience and connections and vice versa. For example, let's say you design and manufacture adorable baby blankets. Sales from your website have been going well but you're ready to make a real breakthrough and double or triple your distribution. The only issue is you have no idea of how you'd handle that level of production all by yourself. You're the perfect candidate for a partner.

You need to create a partnership with an existing sewing business or individual to help with the anticipated work "overflow". In this partnership your revenue per item may drop slightly by sharing profits with your new partner but your sales volume is now free to grow exponentially. Voila, you're on your way!

Who to partner with?
Your new partner needs to be a person or business that has skills or resources that complement your own. The partner will preferably circulate in an entirely different crowd, thereby increasing your business's reach into those new areas. Here are some examples of great partnerships:

• an illustrator + a book editor
• a graphic designer + a web designer
• a baker + an event planner
• a jewelry designer + a home party specialist

Where to find a partner
The best way to start to look for a partner is to make a simple list of the types of businesses you'd like to partner with! Then look around at your current network of friends, acquaintances, neighbors, friends of friends, customers and make note of who might be a good partner. Next, you can look in your local networking groups and chamber of commerce. You can also look for partners at other social events that you frequent, for instance, your yoga class, your child's preschool, etc. And don't forget that it's OK to ask a total stranger. For instance, perhaps you've happened upon the website of a fellow entrepreneur whose work you admire. You then send her a quick email complimenting her work and suggesting that you might want to work together in the future. I've done it twice and both times netted me a fantastic business partner and friend.

Put it out to the Universe what you need and before you know it - the perfect person will come to you.

As you can see there are myriad ways to create a partnership that is beneficial to both parties. This method of growing your business into new markets is fast, easy and fun. And by creating a new connection with a partner, you'll be infusing new energy and resolve into your quest for independent business success!
biznik.com

WOMAN Activity Tracker

Welcome to the WOMAN Activity Tracker!

The WOMAN Activity Tracker is a program designed to help you be physically active all year long! WOMAN stands for Women and girls Out Moving Across the Nation. Using the WOMAN Activity Tracker web site, you can set personal goals and log your daily activity as you move along one of six virtual routes across the United States. You can take part in the program both as an individual and as part of a team.

The WOMAN Activity Tracker is a free program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health. The program encourages women and girls to walk 10,000 steps or get 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day over a 44-week period. All women and girls (ages 9 and up) are welcome to take part in the program. If you took part in the 2008 WOMAN Challenge, you can use your log-in information from the WOMAN Challenge to log into the WOMAN Activity Tracker!

woman to man

The eyeless labourer in the night
the selfless, shapeless seed I hold,
builds for its resurrection day-
silent and swift and deep from sight
foresees the unimagined light.

This is no child with a child's face;
this has no name to name it by;
yet you and I have known it well.
this is the hunter and our chase,
the third who lay in our embrace.

This is the strength that your arm knows,
the arc of flesh that is my breast,
the precise crystals of our eyes.
This is the blood's wild tree that grows
the intricate and folded rose.

This is the maker and the made;
this is the question and reply;
the blind head butting at the dark,
the blaze of light along the blade.
Oh hold me, for I am afraid.