While most youth likely spend their free time with friends and on extracurricular activities, 13-year-old Olivia Irvine of the Haliburton Highlands has spent the last two years working away at growing her business, the Roasty Toasty Campfire Company.

As you might guess from its name, Olivia’s business sells all things related to campfires from firewood and sweaters to camp chairs and fire rings. But you wouldn’t tell just from looking at it that the fast-growing company was founded by Olivia when she was just 11 years old.

The company began two years ago when Olivia and her father Sean read the finance book Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Giving your Child a Financial Head Start by Robert Kiyosaki.

“I learned about assets and liabilities and how you can use money and how it impacts people, so I thought that was pretty cool what I learned,” Olivia explains, adding that she was always participating in bake sales as a child to make some extra money.

“It really opened my eyes to how there are different ways to earn money and that it’s not all just about earning. It’s about how you do it. Things can’t just be handed to you. You have to work for them.”

Olivia began thinking up ways that she could use her newfound knowledge about money management to start saving up for her college fund. She hopes to study interior design and business after high school.

“Since I was really little, I’ve always wanted to go to college,” she says. “That was my big dream: go to school and become a designer.”

Olivia grew up watching her dad operate a small business called The Carnivore’s Cure, where he butchers game meat to make homemade pepperettes, sausage, and other meats. She had always been very inspired by her father’s business, and even now continues to seek out advice from him.

Using money saved from birthday and Christmas gifts, Olivia took the liberty to cut up some of the fallen trees on her grandparents’ lot. She bagged up the wood, started selling it, and Roasty Toasty Campfire Company was born.

“Haliburton is a big cottage country, and a lot of people want to get wood,” Olivia points out. “But a lot of it is really expensive and it’s usually just small pieces, so I thought we could make money from this and give people a good deal.”

Alongside running his own small business, her father also works at Todd’s Independent Grocer in Haliburton. With his help, she began to sell her wood supply out of the store. She also had selling locations at the end of her own street and at the end of her grandparents’ street.

Since then, Olivia has expanded her business beyond selling wood. Now she’s also selling fire pits, fire rings, apparel, heated camping chairs, and anything else you need for a night by the campfire. Her company is only continuing to grow with new products regularly being launched, including the new heated cushions Olivia is just getting in stock.

Currently, Roasty Toast Campfire Company is selling firewood out of Meadowview Road, Todd’s Independent Grocer, West Guilford’s the Snack Bar, and Bitter Lake Road, with apparel sold at Todd’s Independent Grocer and Haliburton Home Hardware. All additional items, including signs, chairs, and pits can be purchased online from the Roasty Toasty Campfire Company website.

“My community has been very supportive and encouraging,” Olivia says, adding that some businesses, like Chaulk Design Studio, have even mentored her. “Steve, the owner of Todd’s Independent Grocer, has been so kind to me, letting me sell my apparel in his store. It has really helped my business get exposure.”

Any money Olivia makes goes right back into her business and, to this day, she has not applied for grants or financial assistance.

One of Olivia’s biggest fans is Tracie Bertrand, Manager of Tourism Haliburton County.

“Other young people can learn from Olivia that it is possible to take an idea — maybe something you love to do or are passionate about — and start your own company, be an entrepreneur, or create your own job during the summer,” says Bertrand, who first met Olivia at a trade show in Peterborough when she was drawn to one of Roasty Toasty’s sweatshirts. When she discovered Olivia was the company’s owner at such a young age, she was immediately inspired.

“I was completely proud of this young woman who I just met — an eleven year old who was not afraid to start something on her own to make her dreams come true,” Bertrand explains. “I was amazed by her courage and her entrepreneurial spirit, and I immediately wanted to hear her story so it could be shared to inspire other young people to dream and realize they could do this too.”

“It means a lot to me to inspire people to do what they want to do,” says Olivia, who is also a role model for girls who are looking to be entrepreneurs.

Olivia says she came up with her company’s unique name with the help of her grandmother, adding that she wanted it to convey imagery of roasting marshmallows and staying warm by a campfire. She designed the Roasty Toasty Campfire Company logo all on her own, scribbling it on a napkin before sending it off to a graphic designer to flesh it out.

This summer, while continuing to run her business, Olivia is also dancing competitively and volunteering both at a dog rescue and at a church camp.

“I like keeping myself busy,” she explains, noting it’s one of the reasons she wanted to begin the business in the first place.

Though her parents continue to help her by driving her to her weekend trade shows and offering guidance, Olivia makes all the final decisions about the business. She says she likes both the independence and the self-confidence she has gained from running her own business.

“I used to be really shy, but now I feel like it’s definitely brought me out of my comfort zone,” she says. “And it’s taught me that when people say you can’t, don’t listen to them. If you believe you can, then just do it. If you want to do something, don’t be afraid to do it — because it might turn out great. You never know.”

The other thing she likes is being able to share her products with people.

“I really like meeting new people and seeing people interested in the things that I have,” she says, adding she’s made lots of great connections at the trade shows she attends, including people like Bertrand.

For her part, Bertrand is hopeful that Olivia’s story will inspire other young boys and girls to consider becoming entrepreneurs.

“Haliburton Highlands is a premier destination for visitors and, with a very strong visitor economy, youth can be creative and innovative,” Bertrand says. “Youth can decide to do their own thing rather than work for someone else. I hope that Olivia’s story inspires other youth to realize it’s possible.”

For students interested in starting their own business, Bertrand suggests they consider Summer Company, the Government of Ontario’s flagship youth entrepreneurship program.

Delivered locally by the Kawartha Lakes Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre, the program provides students between the ages of 15 and 29 with guidance, advice, mentorship, and training on running a business and up to $3,000 of start-up money to kickstart a summer business. While applications for the program are closed for 2023, it will be available again for next summer.

Bertrand adds that the County of Haliburton’s Economic Development and Tourism division “is a resource for entrepreneurs of all ages.”.

“There is a very supportive small business ecosystem in Haliburton Highlands that includes the Haliburton County Development Corporation, the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce, and the Kawartha Lakes Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre,” she says. “Together we work as a team to assist folks to start, grow, and expand their business.”

For more information about the Roasty Toasty Campfire Company and to browse available products, visit www.roastytoastycampfire.com. You can also find Roasty Toasty Campfire Company on Facebook.

If you’d like to meet Olivia in person, Roasty Toast Campfire Company will have a booth at the Lakefield Fair on Saturday, July 29th at the Lakefield Fairgrounds.

This branded editorial was created in partnership with Haliburton County Economic Development & Tourism. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.

Although it wasn’t all that long ago that electric bikes were first introduced to Ontario, you’d now be hard-pressed to go out for a walk and not see a few cycling past you.

Part of that growing trend can undoubtedly be attributed to Angella and Verne Windrem, who opened Green Street 15 years ago. Aptly named, Green Street is a shop in downtown Peterborough selling electric bikes and related accessories that also offers repairs on both electric and traditional bicycles.

While still working their day jobs, Angella, a holistic esthetician, and Verne, a mechanic, decided to pursue their dream of opening their own business. At the time, Ontario was only just beginning to pilot the use of e-bikes on public roads. Though the province was behind both Quebec and Alberta, which had already allowed them following their own pilot program, starting the business was still a risk for the husband-and-wife team.

“We really didn’t know how it was going to shake out, so it was very much a gamble,” Angella recalls. “But we absolutely just fell in love with [e-bikes].”

Angella says one of the largest draws was just how environmentally friendly the bikes were compared to gas-powered vehicles. Fifteen years ago, people were becoming increasingly aware of the state of the planet and the need for environmental activism.

“When we were thinking about a business, we thought it needs to be something that’s part of the solution and would not just perpetuate the problem,” Angella explains. “Definitely from an environmentalist perspective, it just seemed like such a win because I felt like e-bikes could actually, if not replace a car, replace a second car.”

Their goal was to introduce people to the accessibility of e-bikes as something beyond a recreational practice.

“Definitely there were people using [traditional] bicycles as their main mode of transportation — and that’s fantastic — but it’s not as accessible to such a wide range,” Angella says. “Whereas I saw the electric [bike] being a little more accessible to even everyday people that perhaps hadn’t been cycling really strongly all of their lives.”

The couple first started selling e-bikes out of their own garage and at farmers’ markets, while the two were still working full-time in their previous careers. Once they opened their storefront location in downtown Peterborough, they had some traditional bikes in stock to pair with their popular e-bike conversion kits. Speaking to their eco-conscious values, they even used to upcycle and repair used bikes, allowing them to “divert a bike from the landfill.”

During these early years, Angella says there were a fair number of “nay-sayers” who objected to the new transportation devices. Even the municipality was against them, and the couple had to make their case for why e-bikes belonged on the trails and on the streets of Peterborough.

One of the largest misconceptions, according to Angella, was one the couple continues to hear to this day, despite the growing demand for the product: the idea that an e-bike doesn’t offer the same amount of exercise benefit that a traditional bike does.

“That’s really just very false because, with electric, there are different levels of assist,” Angella points out. “So if you’re a very physically strong person and always biking on a traditional bike every day, and you want that strong workout, then you just ride in the lowest level of assist. It’s a little heavier with having a motor and a battery, so you can still get that strong workout if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Fortunately, the Windrems no longer see this same amount of backlash and objection to e-bikes as they had at the start of their business. Angella explains that the COVID-19 pandemic really rocketed the demand for e-bikes, so Green Street stopped selling and upcycling traditional bikes, since the “really great bike shops” in Peterborough were already meeting that demand.

“Everybody wants an electric bicycle now, and there’s so many people selling them too,” Angella notes. “We were among the first in Ontario, but now all our traditional bike shops are all selling them. It’s just become so popular. I think a lot of people who have travelled to Europe or Asia realize how significant electric bikes are in other cultures, and then they come home,and they’ve changed their mind because they got to experience what [e-bikes] could be.”

In alignment with their 15th anniversary, Green Street — “Peterborough’s Electric Bike Hub” — has launched ‘Shop Talk’, a series of in-store events that help people get educated in using their e-bike. These events are free and give customers the opportunity to get exclusive deals, learn from experts, and connect with other e-bikers.

The next event in the summer series takes place on Thursday, August 24th and will educate riders on how to deal with a flat tire while they’re out on a ride.

“We’re essentially just trying to create that community and bring that community together,” explains Angella, adding there are also lots of e-bike products and accessories that people may not be familiar with. “For a lot of people, it’s very new and they have so many questions, so we’re helping people kind of go through that,”

Though Angella says their personal lives are “completely entwined” with their business, to the point where they “don’t know where one ends and the other begins” (especially since the duo live above their storefront), she and Verne — who recently celebrated 33 years of marriage — still make time to hop on their own bikes every now and again.

“There’s just nothing like that feeling of being on your bike and that sense of freedom,” says Angella, adding that her love for it gave her both a job and business she loves as well.

“I love the values that we had to start,” Angella says, referring to launching Green Street 15 years ago. “It just attracted so many people that have those same values and introduced other people to have that excitement too.”

Green Street is located at 237 George Street North in downtown Peterborough and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays (the shop is closed on Sundays). To make repair appointments or browse their selection online, visit www.greenstreetonline.ca and to keep up-to-date on upcoming hub events, follow Green Street on Instagram and Facebook.