“A lot can change in a year,” says Shannon Gray, owner of Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio.

Last year, the studio was celebrating the move to a bigger space on Sherbrooke street in downtown Peterborough, a relocation that was prompted by a tremendous growth in clientele.

“We’ve been consistently growing, and the new space has allowed us to add more services and more staff,” says Shannon.

For those unfamiliar with the process, sugaring is a gentler and safer form of hair removal that can be used on all parts of the body. Shannon uses Alexandria Professional Body Sugaring products, which are all natural, so clients don’t have to worry about harmful side effects.

“Sugaring is a safe and effective way to remove body hair,” says Shannon. “I give my full attention to all my clients. I ensure they feel comfortable during the process and that they leave satisfied with the results.”

In addition to body sugaring, Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio now offers lash lifts, semi-permanent mascara, lash and brow tinting, a dead-sea salt body smoothie, a Sweet and Plump facial, and the Alexandria Professional full body facial.

But these aren’t the only changes that have been taking place at Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio.

Shannon started her sugaring business in 2011 after years of using the home sugaring products on herself. She began offering sugaring services out of her home in Buckhorn, then moved her business to a couple locations in Peterborough before settling on the current location.

After moving to the larger space, Shannon thought it was the perfect time to undertake a comprehensive rebranding campaign.

Last August, full-service marketing agency Mega Experience designed a new logo for Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio, which had been operating under the original brand logo Shannon developed herself in 2011.

The new logo symbolizes the natural elements of sugaring, and the new business cards are soft to the touch — just like your skin after sugaring.

Despite how effortlessly it all seems to be coming together, Shannon is quick to note that rebranding is not a simple undertaking.

“It’s important for us to show in our brand what we are all about,” she explains.

“We wanted to convey the softness in your skin in the rose-style symbol. The confidence sugaring can bring is shown in the bold new look. We started working on this project last May. We wanted people to know we were more than sugaring by just looking at the logo. But just working on the website alone takes a long time, so altogether it’s a big challenge.”

Shannon emphasizes that the rebranding campaign has been a collective effort. In March of this year, staff spent five days painting the whole studio to match the new brand colours. The year’s work culminated in a brand launch on August 29, 2018, where members of the public were invited into the beauty studio to witness the unveiling of the new store signage.

But rebranding is not just about new designs, new paint, and new signs. It’s representative of growth, success, and provides a foundation for the future.

“These changes show me that we’re succeeding in what I set out to do,” Shannon says. “The new brand is visually stunning, but it represents so much more than that.”

The rebranding campaign has also provided a professional space for Shannon to focus on her other passion: education.

Educating clients, other sugarists, and the public is important to Shannon, which is why in April of this year she completed the Alexandria Master series training and become an Executive Educator in Alexandria Professional body sugaring products. This training allows Shannon to certify others in the masters courses.

Making the decision to become an Executive Educator seems like a natural next step, given that Shannon has been leading the way in body sugaring in the Peterborough area for years now.

She prides herself on providing in-depth training to her staff and has already been teaching as an Alexandria On-Call Educator.

“I tell my students that I’m their mentor,” says Shannon. “I’m available to them after the class ends. I provide them with information that goes beyond Alexandria Professional training. Some students are just starting out like I was, and I can help them with the entrepreneurship process as well.”

Shannon’s advancement in certification not only enhances her credibility, but it also allows her to run more advanced classes to educating other beauty professionals.

“I want other spas, salons, and studios to know we have courses that will help advance their staff skills and service menus,” Shannon says.

She isn’t worried about competition — she sees only positive outcomes to educating and training others.

“When sugarists do their jobs correctly, the client has a positive experience with sugaring and then they tell others about their experience,” Shannon explains. “What I don’t want is someone having a negative experience and then thinking negatively about sugaring in general, because that affects everyone’s business.”

VIDEO: Shannon Gray of Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio

Though the practice itself is centuries old, the sugaring industry today is gaining widespread recognition as an effective and safe form of hair removal. As Shannon says, this is the result of educating people and she’s happy to be part of it.

Shannon has hopes of one day becoming the Alexandria Professional Academy in the Peterborough area, which requires extensive training and educating on a regular basis.

“We’re making headway to that,” she says. “My mindset is always focused on growth, new opportunities, and educating people.”

With all that Shannon has been able to accomplish in the nearly eight years since starting her business, the possibilities seem endless.

“It’s been a great year, and I’m excited to see what the next one will bring.”

Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio is located at 161 Sherbrooke St., Unit 2 in downtown Peterborough. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 705-742-6000, email info@sugarmeright.ca, or visit www.sugarmeright.ca. You can also follow Sugar Me Right on Facebook.

Paula Kehoe is a storytelling machine. From Red Rock Communications in Peterborough, she creates content, manages media relations, produces social, and turns regular events into compelling storylines that engage and entertain.

And it all starts with listening: first to her heart and her gut, and then to others.

Paula started Red Rock Communications in 2016 after she had relocated to Peterborough with her husband. She had worked for years as a journalist and then as a corporate communications consultant but when her son was diagnosed with autism, she made a decision to work for herself so she could be present for her son and her family.

That tough decision has now, a few short years later, turned into a long list of grateful clients and unexpected business opportunities.

You can still hear Newfoundland in Paula’s voice. There’s a warmth and that musical lilt that draws you in as she talks about her business and the long hours and constant creative output that are just a regular part of her life.

“I don’t believe in balance,” she says. “As a working mom, the mindset that I live by is work-life integration, meaning the choices that I’m making are based on what’s a priority for me at that moment.”

And this integration might just be the secret to her success. It’s about working long hours on projects she connects with, for clients she respects, and taking the time to enjoy friends, family, community, and whatever else makes her feel content.

Paula works most days writing strategic and compelling content. She chooses words — spoken and written — with the frugality of someone who clips coupons. There is a plan with every phrase and each syllable has value.

Her projects are many and her clients are diverse. She works with agencies in team environments and she supports individual clients in collaborate relationships while keeping a mindset to see opportunities — which is how she recently ended up as the VP of Marketing and Communications for a virtual reality startup.

SoftCoverVR is a digital marketing agency that works with the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors to create virtual reality, augmented reality and 360 degree video experiences. According to their website, written by Paula, they “create impactful stories for clients that inspire empathy, build deeper relationships with consumers and empower their business.”

“This is becoming the next great storytelling medium to engage people, allowing an entirely new interpretation and expression of a brand experience,” Paula explains.

Every platform that Paula crafts content for requires different language, style and methodology so she stays sharp by listening to podcasts and catching up on what’s new in the industry.

“You need to keep learning,” she says. “You need to keep honing your craft and understand what it takes to write great content. I believe it’s important to have great mentors and to learn from the best.”

Paula also learns from her two kids, who are a source of joy and inspiration.

“My kids are quite active now and they like to go for hikes and it helps me get out,” she laughs. “They keep me present and they are really funny. I like to tap into their sense of humour. They are really funny little human beings.”

Laughter is a theme for Paula. She’s always interested in sharing a laugh and a beer with her husband or friends and she believes that good people fuel her creativity.

She volunteers a lot, having just finished up her second term on the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough board of directors and recently joined the International Women’s Day Conference committee for a third year as communications lead. And although that adds to her plate, as she describes it, this helps keep her mind fresh and taps into her desire to keep building meaningful relationships which is something that has spilled over into her work life.

Paula doesn’t really advertise, and most of her contracts come through word of mouth. She chooses her clients carefully and only works with people she thinks she can have great relationships with.

Paula is also realistic in how she looks at work and the opportunities that she has. After years of creating a cozy niche, she understands the importance and the value of what she does.

“How can anyone do it all?” she asks. “You can’t. That’s why you specialize.”

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

After reading this, you might wonder: is there anything Jenn Scates can’t do?

Jenn is the Vice President/Marketing at Central Smith Creamery, a local staple along Lindsay Road just outside of Peterborough, which she co-owns with her husband, Ian Scates.

Jenn officially started in the family business four years ago. Since then, she has been a motivating force for the Central Smith team.

“I think I have an ability to bring people together with a common goal and I’m able to execute a plan to meet any challenge,” she says, noting that though her official involvement began only a few years ago, she’s been helping from the sidelines for several years.

Central Smith has been in the Scates family since 1978 when Jenn’s in-laws purchased the property. The ownership officially transferred to Jenn and Ian about a year ago with the passing of Ian’s father.

“Ian and I are the second-generation owners, and our daughter Jillian is now the third generation working in the business,” says Jenn, explaining that her daughter now works as a Sales and Operations Analyst at Central Smith.

When Jenn came on board, one of her main goals was to take Central Smith from a “Ma and Pa” store to a national competitor in the ice cream industry. She helped to revamp the company’s marketing strategy and online presence to create a more professional image.

Jenn also took on the role of managing the parlour store, which employs around eight staff members throughout the summer months. She encourages the public to visit the store to sample the wide array of ice cream flavours.

In all her roles at Central Smith, Jenn says it’s important to get people to believe in a common goal.

“I try to act as a leader. When you carry yourself that way, people form around you. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but it’s your ability to be resilient that often matters most,” she says.

Central Smith has been shipping coast to coast for approximately 15 years, and Jenn’s vision is to continue delivering ice cream across Canada and to expand into new markets.

And, her track record shows she’s more than capable of leading the team towards this vision.

Prior to her current role at Central Smith, Jenn honed her planning, organization, and people management skills as a public school teacher and also at the Arrowsmith school in Peterborough. As a teacher, she looked forward to organizing special events.

“I liked seeing it all come together,” says Jenn.

Jenn has also put these skills to use in her many volunteer roles within the local community.

In 2011, Jenn was the Event Coordinator for “Dancing with Docs: Disco Fever”, held to support the Closer campaign of the Peterborough Regional Health Care Centre Foundation.

In 2013, she was on the organizing committee for the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada Peterborough event. She held the role of Banquet Coordinator, which required a great deal of planning to ensure the evening went smoothly — especially in a snowstorm.

“We put on a huge event … the banquet dinner just happened to be on the night of the biggest snowstorm in Peterborough’s recent history,” says Jenn.

“But,” she adds, “every single person showed up, including Don Cherry and Ron Maclean,” which is testament to her ability to bring people together, even under less than desirable circumstances.

Jenn has been involved with Heather Doughty’s Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project, and also volunteers with the Special Olympics as the Swim Team Manager.

Jenn credits these community experiences with enhancing her leadership skills, which have translated well to her role at Central Smith. While the company has turned its attention to external markets and expansion, the business is careful not to forget its roots.

“There are so many local people and organizations who have helped us get to where we are. It’s a pleasure working with our community partners, and with the community members who share my passion for organizing local events to benefit our community,” says Jenn.

And when she’s not busy with work, family, and volunteering?

“I like to run,” says Jenn. “It’s my meditation time.”

Central Smith Creamery is located at 739 Lindsay Road in Selwyn (one kilometre west of Chemong Road on the Lindsay highway). For more information, call 705-742-5867 (1-800-461-1464 toll free), email info@centralsmith.ca, or visit www.centralsmith.ca. You can also follow Central Smith Creamery on Instagram and Facebook.

When you arrive at the Highland Park Funeral Centre in Peterborough, there is an immediate sense that everything has been considered and that every detail matters.

The grounds are manicured, the gardens are perfect. The entrance is well marked, and music is playing outside the accessible building, softly.

The interior of Highland Park is decorated beautifully; natural light floods in through the windows and the staff are warm and eager to assist. This place just feels different and that’s intentional.

Mary McGee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Little Lake Cemetery Co., which operates both the Highland Park Funeral Centre and Cemetery and the Little Lake Cemetery in Peterborough and the Lakeland Funeral and Cremation Centre in Lindsay.

For over 160 years, the Little Lake Cemetery Company has been a not-for-profit and non-denominational cemetery. Mary and her team are proud to be a locally owned, not-for-profit, non-commissioned funeral home offering funeral and cemetery pre-planning, funeral and memorial services, cremation services, and a wide variety of burial and cremation options.

The long list of services aside, Mary says that when people come in with heavy hearts, her team has one job to do. They work to lighten the load.

“All of us feel that we do important work,” Mary says. “We only have one chance to do our best. There are no do-overs.”

This trust and responsibility are the weight that every team member carries.

“Every decision we make here is a cautious decision,” Mary says. “There are different standards here. We’re a cemetery so that means we’re going to be here forever.”

This shift to “forever” thinking was a big deal for Mary when she joined the company as CEO six years ago and she has enjoyed the experience immensely.

As CEO, Mary makes decisions that will keep the company thriving for the long-term while staying on top of the changing expectations and needs of clients in the short term — because needs are changing. From multicultural considerations to an increased need for unique and specialized services, the whole way we celebrate lives lived is going through a big shift.

At Highland Park, they are honoured to coordinate a traditional mass but they’ve also been asked to plan a pig roast, with a live band and full bar service. And no matter what is requested, Mary and her team are ready to work with clients to achieve the best possible commemoration of their loved one.

“It is so important to take the time and pause,” Mary explains. “It’s important to gather together in whatever way feels right and this taking pause helps to move us through the stages of grief.”

After memorials are done, there are still decisions that need to be made. Highland Park has recently added mausoleums and scattering gardens and Mary’s team also helps people years later.

“With cremation not everyone uses a cemetery for burial, so we’re often working with families to help find a place for the urn and sometimes, after a while, that need changes,” Mary explains.

Working in this environment has shifted Mary to forever thinking in the business sense but also, it has caused a shift in how she thinks about her own life and how she lives, mostly by placing a greater value on her personal relationships.

“This is valuable work that we do,” she says. “It can also be difficult.”

Mary and her team are well supported with workshops provided by Hospice, mental health awareness training and there is always a focus on managing stress, so everyone can be at their best while supporting local families who are might be at their worst.

“We want to know that when a family leaves, that they feel better,” Mary explains. “Even if it is only a slight nudge. Our goal is for them to feel better.”

Feeling better is done through offering service, options and providing answers to questions that families might not even know they have to ask. Through the aftercare process, families are gently guided through the paperwork required by the government, discussions about identity theft and fraud, timelines and the need for legal assistance.

The years of experience that live within the company make the days, weeks and months following the loss of a loved one so much easier for those who are dealing with grief.

And that experience is inevitably why Mary encourages people to always choose to commemorate a loved one in some way — even if their loved one did not want any kind of memorial.

“Even if Mom said she didn’t want anything, that part, that gathering, the storytelling, the support from your community … that is for you,” Mary explains. “There is no wrong way to do that and we will help.”

Highland Park Funeral Centre is located at 2510 Bensfort Road in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-745-6984 (1-800-672-9652 toll free), email info@highlandparkfuneralcentre.com, or visit www.highlandparkfuneralcentre.com. You can also find Highland Park Funeral Centre on Facebook.

Special to kawarthaNOW.com.

Cody & James CPAs, a local firm that provides full-service accounting for small to medium-sized businesses, will now be able to provide assurance engagements (reviews and audits) through their new association with Porter Hetu International.

Suzanne and Gwyneth are very excited about the new direction of their firm, although they will remain true to their clients by continuing to offer 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.

“Meeting deadlines, staying on top of government and institutional deadlines, assisting clients in growing their business, even getting their business in shape for retirement: these are all things we do, regularly,” Suzanne says. A lot of the businesses Cody & James CPAs help are in growth stages and it’s important that the owners understand the details.

“Translating financial details into language that is useful to our clients, whether they are business owners, professionals, retirees, or people who want a professional accurate tax return filed,” she adds. “That’s what sets us apart from other firms.”

Cody & James CPAs is the accounting firm that came into being in 2013 after Suzanne bought half of Gwyneth’s business. Gwyneth had grown her firm to the point that she needed help. Suzanne came on for a year under contract, until it was evident that the pair complemented one another well and created an undeniably effective synergy.

“It’s like getting married,” Gwyneth explains. “You gotta get it right. Suzanne and I do get along and we are friends, but more importantly we bring different skill sets to the table.”

Suzanne moved from Toronto to the area in 2005, making her preferred holiday location from early childhood her permanent home. She has had a family presence in the area since 1973.

“The beautiful scenery and the neighbourly people are why I chose this area,” she says.

She has been in the accounting profession for more than 20 years, working for more than 10 years in a corporate setting as a financial analyst and liaison from the IT department. In addition to being a CPA, she has a diploma in Computer Programming and System Analysis which gives her a unique blend of financial knowledge and technical savvy.

In her spare time, Suzanne is a hockey mom and donates time as a team manager and treasurer.

Gwyneth came to to Peterborough in 1997 with her two young boys.

She worked for more than a decade for Nexicom as their Controller. Then in 2009, she bought an accounting firm and her business took off quickly with a second block of clients acquired three years later.

Yet it’s not just about the numbers for Gwyneth; it’s about community.

“Peterborough had offered me so much,” she says. “When you first arrive in a new city, you’re scrambling, especially with little children, to know what services are available and find some extra help. You feel like you’re constantly taking.”

Once the children were a little more independent, Gwyneth says she wanted to give back.

Which she did and still does in the form of working with not-for-profits and volunteering. Over the years she has served on many Boards of Directors in both economic and social service oriented organizations.

And she loves dealing with new entrepreneurs.

“They are pioneers,” Gwyneth says. “That’s what keeps it fresh for me. I love knowing that I have helped some local people realize their dreams and that those new businesses will potentially result in more employees and a better economy for Peterborough.”

She sees her job as helping an entrepreneur understand the potential cost of their dream and to help them temper their enthusiasm, but also to see the million-dollar business that it could become.

“I’m an entrepreneur at my core,” Gwyneth says, adding that she hadn’t always wanted to be an accountant. “My dad was an accountant, but I always thought I’d go into medicine.”

You might even call Gwyneth and Suzanne physicians of business: they help keep local businesses healthy and thriving.

And when Gwyneth’s not administering to the business community, she doctors her gardens, preferring the broad swatches of colour to the black and white she sees at work.

She loves to see her clients’ companies grow like her gardens.

“That’s where we really shine,” she says. “We will take all your accounting needs off your hands so you can focus on what you do best.”

Cody & James CPAs is located at 260 Milroy Dr. #1 in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-876-6011, 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 on Twitter at @ghj_cpa and connect with her on LinkedIn. You can follow Suzanne on Twitter at @scodycpa and connect with her on LinkedIn.

For Kim Winter, each piece of jewellery tells a story.

The K.M. Winter Jewellery Studio opened in Peterborough 25 years ago. Since then, Kim has been creating custom jewellery for clients in the local community and across the country.

From engagement rings, customized pendants, family crests and wedding bands, to logos for local businesses, each item Kim has crafted in her studio is unique and holds sentimental value for the wearer.

“Whatever we can dream up, we can make,” says Kim of the designs she’s completed over the years.

Clients bring ideas for entirely new pieces or they may request that existing jewellery be modified or adapted to a new style. Other times, clients bring stones from “Aunt Betty’s” ring that they want to make into a new piece of jewellery.

“One client came to me with her husband’s wedding ring,” says Kim, recalling the piece. “She wanted to create a memorial piece with it. Collaboratively, the design came together. The wedding ring served as the round frame, her diamonds became the stars in the sky, and a vibrant opal became the earth. It is a visually wonderful and heartfelt pendant.”

Kim cherishes the role she plays in immortalizing memories and important milestones for her clients.

“We get to be part of people’s celebrations. We also help people get through difficult times.”

At 18, Kim started working as an apprentice for an Italian master goldsmith in Windsor, Ontario. Over the years, she’s also worked in a jewellery factory on the production line, as the goldsmith at an upscale custom jewellery store, and briefly opened a little repair shop in Quebec when she and her husband lived there.

In addition to the practical and valuable industry experience Kim has gained through the many positions she held prior to coming to Peterborough, she also furthered her knowledge and skills by completing her gemology accreditation at George Brown College in Toronto.

The education never ends because the industry, technology, and client needs are continually evolving.

“My job is to leave my ego aside and give my clients exactly what they are looking for,” says Kim. “It’s not about what I like. Different people have different styles, and my goal is to work with their vision to develop a perfect piece of jewellery.”

With her designs, Kim takes into account the purpose of the jewellery, the colour of the stone, the details of the diamond, the size, durability, and many other factors to create a client-specific piece — something that only custom work can achieve.

As Kim explains, “While it may be easier for a person to go down to the mall and pick out ring, here we can create one-of-a-kind pieces that match the personality of each wearer.”

When she first came to Peterborough, Kim was nervous about starting her own business, but she found the local community to be welcoming. She notes that Peterborough had a very progressive attitude towards working from a home-based studio.

Kim is thankful for her very capable studio manager Erin. Her husband Jim, now in his retirement, has learned how to work on the CAD designs, helps with photography, IT, and many other jobs.

The success of K. M. Winter studio can be attributed to the care and attention the team gives to all their clients.

“We do everything we can,” she says. “We are client-first, as cliché as that may sound. We have clients all across the country. To me, that speaks to our happy clients and their referrals.”

Kim prioritizes her clients and doesn’t find much time to make jewellery for herself. But, her favourite stone?

“I’d have to say opal, and oh yes, blue star sapphire!” she says.

And her favourite story?

“We are starting to make pieces for the grown children of some of our early clients. Seeing these families grow and jewellery continuing to be important in their lives is incredibly rewarding.”

K.M. Winter Jewellery Studio, Inc. is located at 165 Edinburgh Street in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-741-1480, email info@kimwinterjewellery.ca, or visit www.kimwinterjewellery.ca.

Special to kawarthaNOW.com

Cora Whittington describes her coaching style as holistic — intuitive and spirit driven yet practical. As a life and business coach, Cora works with both personal and corporate clients, so they can shift themselves back to living in self-harmony.

Her clients refer to this shift as hitting “ground zero”: a neutral space where there’s no attachment to the past, where they achieve the clarity of mind and spirit to start fresh, to make clear choices, to create new perspectives and possibilities, and to see adversaries in a new light.

Cora learned her coaching style both from her own coaching teachers and by going through her own significant long-term adversity: she endured over a decade of fighting to save her century family farm from being expropriated by the city and county to be the buffer zone around a landfill site.

The adversity kept Cora in a state of perpetual fighting for what was “right” and what was “just”. She lived from the perspective of being a victim and needing to protect her home, their livelihood, and her family’s century of history and memories.

Then, through her training and personal self-development, Cora made her own energetic shift to ground zero. She no longer saw “those people on the other side” as adversaries. Instead, she was able to let go of this stressful and exhaustive mind frame and began to deliberately create her life and future anew.

Those past adversaries are today her friends and colleagues. She is respected for the graceful way in which she handled the situation, garnering her great respect in her community.

Through the experience, she created an amazing new career and a new life and home that no one could have convinced her was possible during the long years of stress.

“It’s so easy to be hooked by what we think is real,” Cora recalls. “We were fighting to save a property, but we weren’t that property. I could have continued to do that ‘poor me’ stuff and be angry to the end of my days but then I decided to not be that person. Instead, I re-created a better story — and then there was a better story.”

When Cora stopped struggling and focused on building something new and great — she ended up building an award-winning retreat centre and B&B called Golden Pathways.

Making that shift was one of the catalysts for Cora to become an executive and life coach and organizational development facilitator. She decided there was a better way for others to live and work and to be free of internal suffering no matter the cause.

Cora’s real-life learning still motivates her to help others experience that shift. With more than 2,500 coaching sessions and over 1,500 training sessions under her belt, she enthusiastically guides and supports clients and organizations in their making their own shift and finding their own ground zero and creating futures that surprise and delight them.

“I guide people to becoming clear about what they want, get to neutral, and then take inspired action,” she says. “This is part of the process of shifting, to moving into new possibilities and deliberately creating your future.”

Hitting the reset button is why Cora’s website is filled with testimonials and stories about lives changed and success experienced. Cora is adamant that, even when companies think they won’t have the resources to implement all of the newly discovered intentions, the simple energetic shift that happens when a team gets engaged can inspire everyone to share the work and to make room for more positive progress.

“It’s powerful when we can get people to move from wallowing in the problem to being solution-focused,” she says. “It’s still ideal to go through the whole strategic planning process to really instill the new action plans but, even with a single day of facilitation, you get to hit that organizational reset button.”

Cora explains the same prinicple works with personal coaching.

“I help facilitate the shift to who you want to be,” she says. “All the talking about the problem and how bad it is will not help shift negative energy. Together we can clear the energetic imprint of past experiences and then the shift happens, and you can see opportunities and clear actions in a way you never imagined.”

Cora Whittington, Executive and Life Coach, is located at Golden Pathways Retreat and B&B at 3075 Wallace Point Road in Otonabee. You can contact Cora by phone at 705-745-4006 (office) or 705-875-2784 (cell), or by email at cw@goldenpathways.ca. For more information, visit coachcora.ca. You can also find Coach Cora on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Known locally as a “fierce female founder” and trailblazer, Jeannine Taylor’s vision of a local internet-based media company dates back 22 years.

When she landed on the internet for the first time in late 1995, Jeannine wasn’t sure how it was going to change her own life — but she did know it was going to change everything else.

“I was the managing editor of three local print magazines at the time and the internet was a huge eureka moment for me,” she recalls. “I’d always worked in marketing and promotion and I just knew that the internet was a game changer.”

After a Christmas holiday spent surfing the internet — she laughingly says she was single at the time — she returned to her freelance work, recommending that her print publisher needed to embrace the internet.

When that didn’t happen, she did it alone, developing an “e-zine” with local content that launched on May 1, 1996 — just five months later. Called Quid Novis (a variation of quid novi, Latin for “what’s new?”), the website at quidnovis.com received 10,000 visits in its first week.

“That was a lot of internet traffic back in 1996,” Jeannine says. “It’s funny now to think of the publicity we got at the time. CBC Radio called me to come to Toronto for an interview, and the local daily and television news covered it too.”

There were only a handful of local websites in existence at the time, and businesses began to seek out Jeannine for guidance in web development and internet marketing. Quid Novis soon morphed into Quid Novis Internet Productions.

“We got really busy doing website development,” she says. “It was so busy that we didn’t need to seek our new clients — they came to us.”

The business grew over the next 15 years, with Quid Novis Internet Productions developing and hosting hundreds of websites for the private and public sector and garnering local, provincial, and international awards.

Along the way, Jeannine has garnered her own share of awards and accolades. She was Peterborough’s Business Woman of the Year in 2005, a Premier’s Award nominee in 2003, and received a City of Peterborough Civic Award for chairing the development of Millennium Park.

But Jeannine never lost sight of her original intent to develop an online media publication. Quidnovis.com had continued to thrive separately as an community events website, with growing traffic every month, but it was a labour of love. She committed staff resources to maintain and update the site, even though it was a cost centre for the company.

By 2006, changes were happening in the web development industry that made it easier for people to develop and host their own websites. At the same time, social media networks like Facebook and Twitter were gaining traction both with individuals and businesses.

“I realized the potential to grow the web development business was limited,” she says, and decided to shift her focus back on the business of online publishing.

Because the Quid Novis brand had become synonymous with web development, Jeannine rebranded quidnovis.com to kawarthaNOW.com in July 2010 and greatly expanded the site’s content to include news, arts, lifestyle, and business content — while still maintaining the community events of its predecessor.

Over the past eight years, kawarthaNOW.com has continued to grow, now reaching more than 220,000 unique readers every month who read 25,000 pages daily. In 2011 and again in 2013, kawarthaNOW.com was recognized with the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards for Entrepreneurial Spirit.

But the internet has not only changed Jeannine’s business life: it’s also changed her personal life. It’s where she met her life and business partner Bruce Head, who has been by her side every step of the way since 1996 and is currently kawarthaNOW.com’s managing editor.

“I often joke that my only true talent is recruitment,” she says. “I recruited Bruce via Match.com in 1996 and I recruit all of our writers. We have amazing talented writers on our team, and they all understand our focus on high-quality content, which is a key feature of our brand.”

And there’s no slowing down. When it comes to online business, change is constant and fast paced, and there’s a need to be present and active on multiple channels every day and without pause. That includes social media, where kawarthaNOW.com has amassed over 48,000 followers including their weekly VIP enews. With more than 11,000 followers on Instagram — kawarthaNOW is the only local media company to achieve that milestone — by regularly sharing the work of local photographers.

“It can only be described as intense. We have to make the time to plan strategically and be ready to take action when needed,’ Jeannine explains. “We constantly need to re-evaluate our position in the market and watch who’s crossing into our business lane at any time. We used to do a SWOT once a year and it’s something we now talk about all the time.”

While for most people this might seem exhausting, Jeannine says it actually energizes her.

“It forces me to be constantly researching and learning,” she says.

“The real challenge is being able to accurately identify our next moves, where we need to going, and how to get there. With the pace of change on the internet, it’s a daily process to stay tuned in and be vigilant.

“It’s a good thing that, over 22 years later, I still believe the internet is the future of news and communication.”

The head office of kawarthaNOW.com is located in Peterborough. For more information, contact Jeannine Taylor at jt@kawarthanow.com or 705-742-6404. You can follow kawarthaNOW.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.