Brenda Booth has spent a lifetime connecting people to resources that will make life better.

She did it with great enthusiasm as a media sales expert for 25 years and now she has ‘un-retired’ to use her skills as a Client Care Coordinator at ComForCare Home Care in Peterborough — connecting vulnerable seniors to supports that keep them in their own homes.

In her media position, Brenda worked with different clients, all with different needs and different budgets, by creating the best possible advertising programs and packages. She spent significant amounts of time determining their goals and together, they would see results.

Brenda loved this work but as she got closer to retirement, she started thinking about making a change.

“I was thinking about how my life was changing,” she says. “I was thinking about my needs, how I loved to work but also, I saw myself as someone who would need different things as I aged.”

Brenda laughs about accidentally falling into the media — an accident that lasted a really long time because of her natural desire to care and to support others.

“I’ve always been that way,” Brenda explains. “I always want to know that I have helped someone a little bit.”

This passion for providing support comes from her Aunt Brenda.

Brenda takes a moment to compose herself before reminiscing about her beloved aunt, who passed away last spring. The two Brendas were very close and spent much time together, even when her aunt and uncle retired in England.

“I met her when I was five and she moved from England to live with us,” Brenda shares. “She made a big impression on me. She was always helping, supporting — it was how she was.”

When her aunt moved to the U.S., teenage Brenda would travel by bus each summer to Baltimore, to live with her aunt during her summer vacation. More and more of her Aunt Brenda’s caring ways inspired the teenage Brenda.

“She was big into the United Way and she was big into volunteerism,” Brenda recalls. “It was about learning to contribute rather than to take.”

This spirit of contributing is what helped Brenda return to work shortly after she retired.

“I wanted to un-retire and work with the senior population,” Brenda says. “Before I was in sales, I worked as a medical secretary, so I had some understanding. Now I support people to live the best life possible.”

At ComForCare Home Care, Brenda’s care team supports older adults living in their homes by making sure the best people are providing essential support services as often as they are needed.

Brenda loves this role. She works with seniors, their families, caregivers, paramedical support providers, and an amazing team of co-workers to solve problems and to keep older adults safe, happy, and supported.

Each day, she feels satisfied, renewed, and inspired as she works with the ComForCare nurse to develop care plans for each individual client. The care plans include important support services like family respite, meal preparation, eating assistance, personal care, toileting, medication reminders, light housekeeping, laundry, bed changes, errands, shopping, transportation, and companionship.

“This is not a physically taxing role,” she laughs. “I have two new knees, but my role isn’t physically taxing. I like to have a purpose — my work does that and I work with great people.”

Brenda saw the increasing needs of her Aunt Brenda, especially in her final years of life, and she knows how meaningful ComForCare services are to families and their loved ones. The work she does each day — and the connections she builds for her clients — make each day more enjoyable.

And her work at ComForCare is not all she does. Brenda loves being the matriarch of her small but mighty family and she’s also very involved with her Rotary family. She also sits on the board of Showplace Performance Centre and the Elder Abuse Prevention Network, and she has helped with organizing committees for some large events hosted by Peterborough, including the International Dragon Boat Festival, the Ontario Winter Games, and the Ontario Special Olympics.

As a Rotarian, Brenda works with local youth, helping them to learn interview skills, and she always emphasizes the importance of giving back and volunteering. Through this work she passes on her Aunt Brenda’s message of learning to contribute and she hopes to inspire then next generation to care for and to support others.

“Show what’s in your heart,” Brenda says, sharing her aunt’s wisdom. “Show that your efforts are supporting your community.”

ComForCare Home Care is located at 294 Rink Street, Suite 203, in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-874-5770 or visit comforcare.ca/ontario/peterborough.

You can also find Brenda Booth on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

If you’re working on launching any kind of a successful business, you’ll want Gail Moorhouse in your corner.

As executive director of Community Futures Peterborough, Gail works hard to support entrepreneurs in all phases of business development, from start up to succession planning.

Before taking the helm at Community Futures, Gail worked for leading technology companies including in sales at Hewlett-Packard and as a sales trainer at Microsoft. She was an agent for Catalyst Finance Partners Inc. and also ran her own business offering sales training and coaching to business people.

During that time, she spent two years volunteering on Community Future’s board of directors and acted as interim director for two months that she realized she wanted the leadership role. She accepted the position fulltime in March 2018.

“The experience of being a Community Futures board member made the learning curve much easier,” Gail says.

Community Futures is a business development organization that helps create jobs in the City and County of Peterborough, primarily by offering financing and business counselling services.

The non-profit has seen entrepreneurs from different industries walk through its doors — starting restaurants and retail stores, to inventing products, to selling their creative or professional services.

Since 2018, Gail has led a team of professionals who have dispersed close to $4 million in loans to nearly 70 businesses in the region, an investment that has impacted more than 500 local jobs.

Add that to the $28 million already invested in more than 700 small businesses and the creation and maintenance of over 3,300 jobs in the region over the past 35 years, and you’ve got an impressive record.

Many businesses that would be ineligible for loans from traditional banks are able to access funds through Community Futures, Gail explains.

“A lot of the clients we fund may not have access to funds from traditional lenders. In comparison, our rates are attractive, usually six to eight per cent. It’s certainly wiser to work with us than put money on your credit card.”

She says her hope is to see the funds have a positive impact in the community and create local, sustainable jobs.

Over the years, Community Futures has added new programs and services to respond to community need. Since the inception of the Eastern Ontario Development Program (which is no longer accepting applications), it has invested $80 million in more than 7,600 businesses and community development projects. In the last two years, 55 businesses received $900,000 in non-repayable grants.

In 2018, Community Futures launched the Ignite100 program, an innovation competition that allowed local businesses to compete for a $100,000 loan, interest-free for the first three years with no payments for the first year.

While consulting and engineering company Cambium Inc. won the grand prize, the other two finalists — Cottage Toys and Goodwin Metals Products Ltd. — also benefited from participating in the challenge. They too are now working with Community Futures to finance their new business ventures.

In 2019, Community Futures announced the Rural Innovation Initiative Eastern Ontario to support advanced manufacturing innovation and business expansion. Applications have been received and the majority of funds have been allocated to 30 local businesses.

A tireless ambassador on behalf of Community Futures, Gail is passionate about helping business owners navigate the challenges of growing their companies. As a mentor, she has personally helped hundreds of people understand the ways to plan out the necessary steps needed to achieve growth and success.

To see it with her own eyes is very rewarding.

“It’s feels great when I’m out driving around and I see the businesses that we have helped,” she says.

With her wealth of sales, technology, and financial knowledge, Gail consults with local business owners on financial and innovative strategies, while still maintaining the drive and compassion that fuels enthusiasm among her team.

Moving the Community Futures offices from Charlotte Street to the VentureNorth building in downtown Peterborough last year was a key milestone and also a strategic decision, she notes.

It brought them under one roof with economic development organizations Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development and the Innovation Cluster, increasing opportunities for collaboration and further strengthening Community Futures’ mandate.

“Our mandate is all about partnership,” Gail points out. “The relationship we have with our valued partners has given the organization additional exposure to more businesses.”

While Gail is the first to acknowledge that the success of Community Futures is not hers alone, there’s no denying the impact of her leadership in that success.

Gail’s passion for helping the community extends beyond her office. She has sat on the board of directors for the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough and coaches women in business, offering some gems of wisdom she’s gathered over the years.

As for giving advice to those looking to start a business or expand upon an existing one, Gail offers up a suggestion.

“Many businesses require financing, but they also need more than money to be sustainable. They require strong business plans, marketing strategies, and an advisory team comprised of people you will listen to when they give sound advice.”

Community Futures Peterborough is located at 270 George St N (Suite 103) in Peterborough. For more information about Community Futures and how it can help your business, call 705-745-5434, email info@cfpeterborough.ca, or visit communityfuturespeterborough.ca. You can also connect with Community Futures Peterborough on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

The affordable housing crisis is something that Sarah Burke, Chief Executive Officer of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, is very passionate about. For the past 11 years, she has increased the number of affordable home builds for her local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, while continuously striving to “do more” — and it’s working.

Thinking back on one of her first Habitat home dedications, Sarah remembers the moment when she knew that she was on the right track by thinking bigger.

“I had just returned from maternity leave,” Sarah explains, “We were building on Towerhill Road and we had a huge ground-breaking ceremony. It was a momentous event for us. I remember thinking this is it — we’re on the right path. When I realized the amount of support we had and how excited people were — well, it fuels you, it fuels your passion.”

Sarah has devoted her career to increasing the number of people that Habitat is able to help. However, having a bigger impact means building more homes. The easy answer would be to enter the rental market, but Habitat’s mission is to empower families by helping them build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership.

“I love our mission: it’s not just a hand out, it’s a hand up,” she says. “It’s a beautiful model. I love what we do and I love the premise. If we want to have a real impact, we have to think differently — we have to think like a developer. We can’t just stay on the sidelines any longer, confining our building activity to the traditional single-detached home built one at a time. We need to innovate in a big way — the need is just too great!”

By the end of 2011, Habitat was completing an average of eight homes over a two-year period. Sarah was able to hire a solid team to support her while she continued to build upon her affiliate’s growth. She was now able to focus on growth initiatives such as partnerships, acquiring new properties, and figuring out new ways to finance projects — more time to do more and continue to evolve for affordable housing.

“We’re about to transform again,” says Sarah. “What I’ve learned over the years is that nobody has the silver bullet when it comes to solving the affordable housing crisis. But Habitat has a lot of resources and a lot of really good support to bring to the table. We’re a really strong organization, but we’re not doing enough. People just want a safe place for their kids to play and, while there are tears of joy and happiness every time a home dedication happens, I always think we could be doing more.”

For Sarah, doing more means taking on one of the most ambitious projects Habitat has ever attempted.

“The board and I had a discussion two years ago and they were really ready for change,” she recalls. “We decided that we want to be more about impact and that we want to be leaders helping to address the affordable housing crisis.”

The plan was to move beyond Habitat’s traditional model of single-family homes being built one at a time. As a result of this shift in thinking, Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region is launching its first-ever multi-residential project to construct a 41-unit affordable condo building in Peterborough.

The three-storey, 41-unit building will be located at 33 Leahy’s Lane in Peterborough’s northeast end. The project is slated for completion in 2020. Suites will have one, two, or three bedrooms. Smaller units mean smaller families (single parents), couples, and seniors will be able to apply. The single family homes Habitat traditionally builds have only been available to families with children.

“It’s really innovative and hasn’t been done by Habitat before,” Sarah notes. “If it can work in Peterborough, it can work in any community in Canada.”

Energy efficiencies will be standard issue in the building of the condominium units, with an aim to help owners live a greener lifestyle while keeping their household costs down.

The 33 Leahy’s Lane development will offer a fully universal design that will accommodate current or future homeowners’ accessibility needs. Located near green spaces, schools, and playgrounds, this new development will provide safe and affordable housing for residents of Peterborough who need affordable housing.

VIDEO: What a new Habitat home means

Qualifying for a condo will require applicants to demonstrate they can afford to repay an interest-free mortgage. Payments are geared to income to help those who don’t qualify for a conventional bank mortgage.

Each homeowner will be expected to put in 500 “sweat equity” hours at the ReStore (Habitat has two retail thrift shop locations in Peterborough) or by helping with other Habitat initiatives. For single-family builds, homeowners can contribute their hours by participating at the build site; however, due to the scale and complexity of the 33 Leahy’s Lane development, homeowners will not have the same role at the build site as in past single-family builds.

While volunteers will have less of a role at the Leahy’s Lane build, there are many other opportunities to donate your time to Habitat, including volunteering at a ReStore, volunteering at future single-family builds, or volunteering at the office. Sarah says that, by volunteering with your Habitat, you can be a part of the change you want to see in the community.

“People want to be inspired and they want to inspire,” Sarah explains. “The way we inspire people is by empowering our volunteers to support affordable housing in the community. When you’re a volunteer you learn a new skill, make a difference, and meet new friends in your community. Together, we can do amazing things.”

Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region is located at 300 Milroy Drive in Peterborough. Habitat for Humanity Peterborough ReStores are located at 300 Milroy Drive and 550 Braidwood Avenue. Sarah Burke can be reached at 705-750-1456 extension 202 or at sarah@habitatpkr.ca.

For more information about Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, visit habitatpkr.ca. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

We can be many things at once, but how well do these “things” connect?

Therapy, coaching, human resources management, business consulting, and quilting instruction may seem unrelated to some people, but for Colleen Carruthers these disciplines are all connected. She uses a combination of all of these skills to help both individuals and businesses.

Colleen leads The T-R Group’s coaching and learning practice area and she also runs independent psychotherapy practice Growing Edge. As a Personal Certified Coach (PCC), she became accredited through the International Coach Federation. She also holds a degree in adult education from Brock University.

“We take a comprehensive approach,” says Colleen. “Our human resources business includes a full range of HR services for our clients. Services include writing policies and procedures, training employees, conflict resolution, and more.”

In her role with T-R Group, she teaches leadership and development skills to supervisors, managers, and senior executives. Her specialty is communication and relationship dynamics, using a coaching approach that embraces conflict resolution. Her Action Learning Programs help to facilitate group processes and strategic planning.

“Everything we do at T-R Group fits really well together and it’s truly full service,” Colleen explains. “We cover all of the things that have to do with the people side of a business.”

“On one hand, we’re going into a business and we’re doing all of the things they need us to do from an HR/administrative perspective,” Colleen adds. “Our primary goal is to keep any business running properly on the people side. And then I might go in to that same business and do workshops to help everyone cope with stress and learn how to handle conflict better.”

While an organization’s HR needs may vary, anxiety is a common problem that people face both in the workplace and in every day life. Colleen believes that a sense of purpose and direction is one of the keys to combating the pressures of modern life.

“So many people are struggling with anxiety today,” she notes. “I help people grow beyond it, whether I’m working with an individual or members of an organization.”

Stitching together her passion for helping people cope with anxiety with her own favourite hobby, Colleen instructs quilting classes out of a store located in Millbrook called The Quilter’s Bolt.

“I teach quilting because I hope that other people who learn how to do it will have something to keep them feeling good about life in general,” says Colleen. “Quilting does bring people together. And I know that if people don’t have some kind of hobby or some kind of a passion, they often aren’t as happy.”

Colleen herself keeps very busy. In addition to teaching the art of quilting, she is a faculty member at Fleming College. She has instructed the school’s Peak Leadership Program for several years.

In addition to her work and hobby, Colleen is a member of two boards: she is the director of Tri-County Community Support Services and sits on the Alternatives Community Program Services boards (both are organizations that support people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism). She has also served on the board of the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough, on the committee to run events for International Women’s Day (IWD), and has spoken at past IWD celebrations.

In fact, in 2017 for Canada’s 150th birthday, she coordinated a special IWD quilting project for the June gala of the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough. The project honoured “unsung female heroes of Canada’s history”. Proceeds from the fundraiser were given to the YWCA Peterborough Haliburton’s Crossroads Shelter for women and children escaping abusive situations. At the time, she had completed approximately 40 quilts; two years later, and she has increased that number to almost 70 quilts.

While Colleen’s work keeps her busy, her quilting passion and her volunteer work reflect her belief that people need to think about leading a purposeful life when they retire and exit the workforce.

In Colleen’s experience, many retirees finish working with no activities planned. Working takes up a lot of time and retiring leaves a void that needs to be filled.

“Retirement is great, but I’m trained in positive psychology and we are always working with people in terms of discovering their purpose,” she says.

“It’s an interesting thing about going to work: when we wake up on a holiday Monday and have nothing to do, we think it’s great to have nothing planned and nowhere to be. But if you’re retired and that’s your reality every day, you never get to feel that. Today people are living to 100, so you’ve got to have something to do, to have a purpose.”

With everything she does, the quest for a raison d’etre is not a problem that Colleen herself has to face.

“I definitely have a lot of purpose in my life,” Colleen affirms.

The T-R Group and Growing Edge are both located in Peterborough. To contact Colleen Carruthers for HR/executive consulting, coaching, workshops or individual therapy sessions, call 705-872-2172 (cell) or 705-760-9409 (direct) or email growingedge@sympatico.ca. For general enquiries, you can also visit trgroup.on.ca. You can also follow Colleen on Twitter @growingedge.

After years in the financial sector, Suzanne Cody and Gwyneth James are taking their clients beyond the basics with a goal to connect clients to a higher level of financial management.

“Our plan is to add controllership functions to our suite of accounting services,” Gwyneth explains. “It is a level of expertise that smaller businesses find impossible to staff in-house.”

Controllers go beyond simple bookkeeping by providing reports, analysis, and advice. They not only prepare financial reports, they also interpret these reports and turn these observations into advice — something that all businesses need to survive and grow.

“Our staff are good at analysis and systems,” Suzanne says. “It’s hard for smaller businesses to afford someone to do this in-house. Sometimes they will have the same person who answers their phone doing their books and they may be missing out on important financial and business support.”

This is the big gap that Cody & James Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) are looking to bridge.

Clients who receive this controllership support have a better handle on when to expand, when to make big purchases, whether to buy a company car or enter into a lease, and whether to increase prices.

These are the additional pieces Cody & James CPAs want to offer to more businesses and, as a result, more businesses should do better in our community.

Cody & James CPAs are now offering this higher-level support to clients on an hourly basis, saving smaller businesses the financial burden of a full-time controller.

“There are lots of people who are good at data entry or people who use on-line bookkeeping but then they’re not looking back at the numbers,” Gwyneth says, “whereas our team has really good controller instincts.”

These instincts include understanding what the numbers are saying, being able to ask the right questions, and having the confidence to offer advice that can save a business from a long list of potential vulnerabilities.

Gwyneth explains that the numbers tell the story but unless you speak the language well, unless you have spoken the financial language well for many years — you’re not doing the best you can with your business.

“We do this because we care about our clients,” Gwyneth says. “Working with our team, your company will do better.”

The growing firm in the north end of Peterborough offers a full suite of accounting services — everything from financial statements, corporate and personal tax returns, bookkeeping, and payroll — in their personable, approachable manner and in a language the clients can easily understand.

Through their membership in Porter Hétu International they offer assurance engagements (reviews and audits) to clients. This association also provides research, support, and shared resources through fellow accounting firms.

The Porter Hétu connection aside, Cody & James have earned their local reputation for excellence in their services to small business and a long list of local not for profits — something that comes from the partners’ dedication to volunteerism. Both Suzanne and Gwyneth volunteer with different community organizations and not for profits and this hands-on experience is translated into more support for their clients.

Both partners love the company they have built, and the satisfaction that comes from supporting such a diverse client list. They have attracted a solid team of professionals and they look forward to taking the business in a direction that will create a climate of success for all the individuals and businesses they support across the region.

Cody & James CPAs is located at 260 Milroy Dr. #1 in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-876-6011 (toll free at 1-888-511-2791), email info@codyandjames.ca, or visit www.codyandjames.ca. You can also find Cody & James CPAs on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

You can also follow Gwyneth James on Twitter at @ghj_cpa and connect with her on LinkedIn. You can connect with Suzanne Cody on LinkedIn.

Growing up in outport Newfoundland, Paula Kehoe was surrounded by storytellers — spirited talkers telling tales of life’s quirks and absurdities. So it’s no surprise she would develop the storytelling technique and aesthetic.

Paula has woven storytelling with her communications expertise and journalism background to meet the new needs in digital and print marketing.

“Storytelling is an art form,” Paula says. “It’s very much about sharing and connecting with people. When you’re telling a story or listening to a story, you’re all in that moment together.”

The owner of Red Rock Communications now uses a form of storytelling to get people talking about a product or service: brand storytelling, as Paula calls it.

“It’s one of the most powerful tools in your selling toolbox,” she explains.

“If you’re trying to get customers to buy your product or pitch your company to investors, for example, your success will be dictated by your ability to influence, persuade, and seal the deal.”

For three years, the Peterborough-based copywriter has been offering writing services to companies, creative agencies, and startups.

She creates content and turns ideas into words for the use of promotion through website pages, articles, publications, advertorials, marketing brochures, press releases, ad campaigns, and long sales copy.

While working with clients, Paula’s role is quite expansive. She writes and edits copy, ensures clients’ messages are properly delivered, discusses marketing methods, develops new concepts, ensures budgets and schedules are adhered to, and uses search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.

“Before I start writing, I research a client’s business and brand and how they stand out from their competition. I work with the client to identify any pain points and potential solutions.”

She then carefully chooses words crafted with precision. The end result is high-quality content that communicates value, connects with the needs of customers, and inspires them to take action.

For businesses struggling to retain customers or make sales, Paula says it could be that their digital copy isn’t written well, doesn’t resonate with their target audience, or isn’t optimized to get noticed by search engines.

“Design, content marketing, and SEO are all parts of a good digital marketing plan, but copywriting is the glue that ties it all together. It’s a game changer for almost any business.”

Born and raised in Newfoundland, Paula completed a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science and a post-graduate diploma in journalism. Her writing and communications consulting work took her from her home in a tiny fishing village to the Grenadine Islands and from the east coast of Canada to the west, before she firmly settled in Peterborough with her husband and their two children in 2015.

The impetus to dabble in entrepreneurship started in 2016 when Paula started her boutique communications company Red Rock Communications. She made the decision to work for herself so she could be present for her young boys.

For many, raising a young family and running a business seems like a daunting task. However, Paula says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I didn’t know a single person in Peterborough when I moved here, and in a few short years, I’m proud to say that I’ve built a supportive network of friends, and a long list of grateful clients and unexpected business opportunities.”

Her projects are many and her clients are diverse. She works with creative agencies and corporations in team environments and supports individual clients while keeping an eye for opportunities — which is how she became the co-founder and VP of marketing and communications for virtual reality startup SoftCoverVR.

SoftCoverVR works with the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries to produce immersive experiences for marketing, training, and educational purposes.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Paula says. “I’m fascinated about the intersection of art and technology, and how we can tell better stories in this medium that are impactful and emotional.”

Although running two businesses adds to her plate, Paula continues to pursue her volunteer interests. Nowadays, she’s busy in her role on the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough’s board of directors. As 2019-20 Awards Director, she’s responsible for organizing the Women In Business Award and Judy Heffernan Award event in 2020.

Being front and centre inspires Paula to keep discovering the passion behind what people do — and transforming that passion into an equally compelling story.

“Stories are written to be shared,” she says. “To recognize the power of people’s stories and then tell them on their behalf is an absolute pleasure.”

Red Rock Communications is located in Peterborough. For more information, email paula@redrockcommunications.ca or visit redrockcommunications.ca. You can also connect with Red Rock Communications on Twitter and Instagram.

Finding success and happiness by doing work that matters are words that Kim Appleton truly lives by. So it was to no one’s surprise when Kim took home the 2019 Judy Heffernan Award at the Women In Business Awards gala last spring.

The award, named in honour of Heffernan, a well-respected leader of the local business community who passed away in 2013, recognizes a female entrepreneur, mentor, or student who embodies her legacy of humbly helping others succeed.

“Winning that award holds a special place in my heart,” says Kim, who was a mentee of the late Heffernan. “I feel blessed and grateful. It was a nice reminder of how others view my contributions to our community.”

As a business owner, mentor, and volunteer, Kim takes great pride in helping others reach their full potential through sharing her knowledge and experience and by mentoring business professionals.

Kim is the co-founder, president, and CAO of Peterborough-based technology company Emmatt Digital Solutions. For over 20 years, the company has provided support to businesses across North America — including government healthcare agencies, manufacturers, small businesses, and not-for-profits — to modernize and expand their digital presence, with everything from document scanning to web development.

In 1998, Kim launched Emmatt Digital Solutions with fellow Fleming College classmate, Chris Calbury, not long after they both graduated from the Business Administration program, specializing in Information Technology. Kim handles the finances, administration, and human resources, while Chris manages sales and client projects.

Starting out, the partners successfully tapped into the then-new disruptor of microfilm and fiche: document imaging, which quickly became the flagship of the company.

It has remained lucrative to this day, Kim explains, due to the fact that in areas such as healthcare, records must be kept for decades, and scanned files are much more efficient to store and retrieve when necessary. Plus, attempts at making offices paperless have just not fully materialized.

“We recently finished a scanning project that was close to 300 boxes and took nearly 2,000 hours to complete,” Kim points out.

Since its humble beginnings, Emmatt has moved with the times and evolved to offer website design and custom development services, which put it in a great position to begin offering search engine optimization, web hosting, cloud-application development, and e-commerce systems.

VIDEO: Emmatt Digital Solutions Inc. – Full-Service Web Agency

Emmatt also offers unique custom platforms, including a specialized e-commerce payment solution, an online e-learning management system, a digital signage communication system called BallyhooTV, membership management platforms, and a customer relationship management and call-centre management system for real estate sales professionals.

Looking back, Kim recalls how so much has changed in the technology and marketing landscape. When they started the business, there was no such thing as Google.

“Back in our early days, which was before Google, we used to teach people what a search was and how to do it,” she says, laughing.

In order to navigate the rapidly evolving business world, Kim also needed to adapt with the changes. To stay laser-focused on her path to professional and personal fulfillment, she sought out self-development training courses, many of which were taught by the Law of Attraction teachers from The Secret: Jack Canfield, Hale Dwoskin, Abraham Hicks, and John Assaraf — and others including Tony Robbins. And yes, she points out, she did do the “fire walk” across the hot coals.

Over the course of five years, she and Chris travelled throughout North America learning the secrets of how to create rapid and lasting transformations in both life and business.

“We aren’t as immersed it in as we once were, but we’ve stayed in that mode and it’s an ongoing evolution,” Kim says. “I think that’s the reason why we’ve been able to keep the company flourishing. We learned that we don’t have to struggle. The more gratitude you have, the more joy and abundance you experience — and it just keeps coming back.”

It’s this expression of gratitude that has fostered continuous loyalty from Emmatt’s clients. After two decades in business, the tech company still works with some of their original clients.

“Today, we’re still working every week for the very first document imaging client we had 21 years ago,” Kim says.

Even though technology is the backbone of the business, she says it doesn’t run the company — relationships do.

“If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that sales is all about relationships. We listen to and understand our customers, and then give them what they want.”

For Kim, that also means delivering projects on time and on budget, keeping clients informed and giving them full transparency, and solving problems immediately when they arise.

When she’s not co-leading a full-time staff of seven, Kim is busy honing her skills as a certified holistic life coach and volunteering in the community.

She served with Community Futures Peterborough for nearly eight years, including time as both board treasurer and chair, and she is a past president of the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough as well as long-standing member.

Kim is also a member of both the Peterborough and Kawartha Chambers of Commerce and the local 100 Women’s group, supports businesses through a mastermind group that meets regularly, and is a formal mentor to entrepreneurs who are just starting out.

Through Emmatt Digital Solutions, Kim and Chris support local charities including the BEL Rotary Club’s golf tournament, Shared Dreams for Independent Living, Soroptimist Peterborough, the YWCA Women’s Shelter, and have provided the Peterborough Humane Society with a free website for their “Our Pet Project” fundraising initiative.

While giving back is good for the company’s reputation, Kim says it’s just plain good for the soul.

“You have to live with a more joyous, abundant and grateful heart. It’s so true: when you give, you get it back tenfold.”

Emmatt Digital Solutions Inc. is located at 649 The Parkway in Peterborough. For more information call 705-750-0476, email info@emmatt.com or visit www.emmattweb.com. You can also connect with Emmatt on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Is your gas pedal always on? You may be causing damage to your health.

Chiropractor Dr. Ange Wellman knows firsthand the damage that stress can do to your body. Growing up as a competitive swimmer, health was a priority for Ange from a young age. This passion for health led her to become a chiropractor.

“At the core I’ve always known that I wanted to help people,” she says. “And I’ve always held health as a very high value — probably my number one value.”

Her chiropractic practice in downtown Peterborough uses state-of-the-art scanning technology and gentle torque release chiropractic adjustments to empower patients to unwind the negative effects that years of stress can have on the body.

For Ange, even with an active and ‘healthy’ lifestyle, something was missing. Shortly after graduating and beginning her career as a chiropractor, she was sidelined by a herniated disc and a diagnosis of melanoma. She felt like she was doing everything right, but it was clear to Ange that something was wrong.

“Through my challenges with my own health I’ve realized that stress is the thing,” she says. “I wasn’t taking care of my mind, I didn’t have good strategies for stress management, and I certainly didn’t live in the moment.”

When she returned to work, her practice changed dramatically. She switched to a torque release method of chiropractic care, which Ange explains is more suited to dealing with the effects of stress.

“Torque release is a very gentle tonal technique that’s focused more on the nervous system and creating ease in the body. When there’s ease in the body, the body will unwind and chronic tension patterns can start to shift.”

After completing advanced training with the Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington D.C., Ange has also embraced mindfulness in her practice.

“I would say that’s how I’m different from other chiropractors,” she notes. “I have a strong interest in the mind-body connection, and in particular the emotional piece and the role that plays in the body.”

She says the time off from her practice reminded her of what brought her to chiropractic care in the first place.

“I came full circle. What brought me into the chiropractic profession was this resonance with the idea that the body is self-healing and self-regulating, and it felt like a place where I could integrate the passion I have for psychology and personal growth.”

Ange is particularly passionate about using these techniques to help families. As a mother of two, she is intimately familiar with the normal stresses of family life: the physical stresses of birthing and carrying children, and the mental stresses of balancing work and family life.

That’s why she is keen to provide support to parents.

“I like working with parents and families because I think they need a lot of support,” she explains. “My mission is to help local families create extraordinary health and wellbeing from the inside out using gentle chiropractic adjustments.”

To support her work with families, Ange has completed the Epic Pediatrics Training Program and is currently in the process of completing her International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Certification (ICPA).

She says that working with kids from a young age allows her to target the patterns of stress and tension that can ultimately lead to health problems in adulthood.

“I believe strongly that the first five years of life are when patterns are laid down that can predict your future health,” she says. “Working with kids and educating parents from the start is a proactive, preventative approach to health and wellness.”

For Dr. Ange, this type of approach just “makes sense”.

Dr. Ange Wellman’s practice is located at 315 King St., Suite A, in downtown Peterborough. You can email Dr. Ange at info@drangewellman.com and learn more about her practice at www.drangewellman.com, where you can also book an appointment (or call 705-991-1555). You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.