Sue Simmons believes that, as professional women, we can learn to thrive in the face of chaos — even when autism is part of the picture.

Sue experienced a life-altering moment, after which she realized that her life’s purpose was to help women who believe that they’re at the mercy of their circumstances.

It was the day her five-year-old son was diagnosed with autism.

After doing her research, and discovering that autism didn’t have to be a life sentence — thanks to the fact that the brain can be shaped through experience — she turned for help to a Relationship Development Intervention (RDI®) Consultant. This leading-edge program is based on neurodevelopment and child development, and promises to give parents a second chance to build a loving, reciprocal relationship with their child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“I was able to build the connection with my son that I had only dreamed of,” Sue says. “It changed my life, not to mention my son’s.”

She said goodbye to her career in sales and marketing, and went to Houston, Texas to train with the psychologists who developed the evidence-based program.

Since 2006, she’s been a Certified RDI® Consultant and guides her clients to reclaim their power, competence, and the joy of connection through her business, Equinox Family Consulting Ltd.

That was the first ‘aha’ experience; the second came when Sue learned about the fastest growing mind-body methodology in the world, which reduces stress and anxiety, and can shift negative thinking patterns so women aren’t at the mercy of their worries.

The technique she discovered is a cutting edge treatment called Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT — also known as “tapping”.

This gentle technique is based on the scientifically proven premise that our minds and bodies are inextricably connected. EFT calms the “fight or flight” centre of the brain, allowing us to live a life beyond what we think and feel on a daily basis. Essentially, it gives us freedom from our mind-chatter and worry.

“Becoming Certified as an EFT Practitioner was a game changer for me,” Sue says. “It allowed me to manage my emotions and freed me from being a slave to my thoughts and worries.”

The fact that tapping had yet to be considered mainstream by some western psychologists when Sue embraced it is not lost on her, but her own personal experience reinforced its value. And now, the scientific world has uncovered clear evidence of its effectiveness and, of course, the mind-body connection.

VIDEO: Equinox Family Consulting

“Both my autism work (RDI®) and tapping were considered ‘woo woo’ until recently because they’re both focused on building new neural connections,” Sue explains. “Now, the concept of neuroplasticity is widely accepted and backed by mountains of research.”

It was a short leap to see that she could also help professional women who are consumed with “family stuff,” overstretched and overwhelmed. She helps them to become proactive and learn to manage their mindset powerfully, so they can thrive, regardless of their life circumstances.

“We can get back in the driver’s seat, and live with power and joy.”

In 2017, her business includes both types of client: families with a child on the autism spectrum, and professional women who feel they’ve lost touch with their authentic selves — and long to feel joy and meaningful connection with their families.

Equinox Family Consulting Ltd. is located in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-875-4605 or visit www.equinoxfamilyconsulting.com. You can also follow Equinox Family Consulting Ltd. on Facebook, and connect with Sue Simmons on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The morning light peeks through the branches that overhang the corner table at the Silver Bean, Peterborough’s waterfront cafe. The air is laden with the promise of heat and humidity, but neither Carrie Wakeford nor Pat Kenney forego the coffee.

“We have to have the coffee,” they both say, laughing.

Pat is the founder of Black Cap Design, a full-service web development business based in Peterborough, and Carrie is his partner in the company — and in life — which they both joke is often one and the same thing.

In the summer, Carrie and Pat find the Silver Bean Cafe one of the best places to meet clients, either to review websites or to begin the process of planning a brand new one.

“The great thing about being in business for yourself is that you can work wherever and whenever you want to,” Pat says. “The downside is that you often work all the time.”

While Pat is responsible for the creative and technical side of the business, Carrie manages the incoming business requests.

“Your website is your hub,” Carrie says. “It’s your home base. From there, you shoot off to social media, newsletters, and blogs. We do the website portion; taking the design and back-end management off your plate makes the rest a little more manageable.”

Both Carrie and Pat were counsellors before venturing into the world of web development. Pat says it was a very intentional decision to change careers in his mid 40s, return to school, and open a business that would appeal to his innate desire to be both creative and constructive.

“When I was working with youth, I would assess the challenges, and make a plan for how to help the youth or family get back on track,” he says. “Now, we’re essentially doing the same thing, but with websites. We listen to the client’s business needs, and build a website to get them where they need to be.”

Which is a constant challenge, Pat adds, because the internet is always changing. And it’s what he loves about his work: it’s anything but static.

“In another ten years, everything will have changed again,” he says. “My hope is that we can continue to find that interesting place on the curve.”

Today, there’s a trend toward clients who want to manage their own content as the popularity of user-friendly content management tools such as WordPress grows. In addition to her business management role, Carrie also provides training in WordPress to clients who wish to keep the content management piece under their own hat.

“We really offer the full service,” Carrie explains. “We help people figure out what they want and need, design it, then teach them how to work it.”

Working in this cyber world requires a steadiness, Pat adds, and Carrie nods in agreement. It’s been an 11-year journey and both Carrie and Pat are still loving it.

“If you love what you do, why give it up?”

Black Cap Design is located at 310 Elias Avenue in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-927-2308, email info@blackcapdesign.com, or visit www.blackcapdesign.com. You can also find Black Cap Design on Facebook.

You can also connect with both Carrie and Pat on LinkedIn.

From flowing tunics and stunning Joseph Ribkoff dresses, to cozy cottage wear, The Kawartha Store has it all.

They carry the very best Canadian designers who are still manufacturing in Canada. For that special occasion, you’ll find a huge selection of Joseph Ribkoff dresses and separates. Wanting a more casual look? They carry Tribal, Softworks and Michael Tyler. The Kawartha Store is your go-to for fine fashion that fits and gifts that give the greatest wow.

The shop occupies three spaces under one roof at 30 Colborne Street in Fenelon Falls, Ont. The spacious — 5,000 square feet — clothing, shoes, and gift emporium for women and men features something for everyone.

“Originally, I really wanted to create a space that sold great jeans and tops,” says owner Trish Dougherty, who opened The Kawartha Store in 2012.

VIDEO: Welcome to The Kawartha Store in Fenelon Falls

She succeeded: the store now boasts one of the biggest selections of Yoga Jeans by Second Denim. In fact, it’s the largest online selection of Yoga Jeans in the world, says Dougherty, who prefers to go by “Trish” with her customers.

There are jeans for every size and shape imaginable — regular, plus-size, tall, skinny, straight, ankle, and boyfriend — and in a stunning variety of colours and washes. And all Yoga Jeans are handcrafted at their production facility in Quebec.

Not only do they look chic and sporty all at once, but they’re built to last: the brushed cotton is woven to maximum stretch along with 94 per cent shape retention. Put a pair of great fitting yoga jeans together with a Parkhurst sweater and you are set for anything, she says.

“We have customers totally addicted to these jeans,” laughs Trish. “I might be addicted to them too!”

Speaking of love, there is nothing more addicting, design wise, than the feel and look of European fabrics. The Kawartha Store searches for unique pieces from top Canadian designers: Joseph Ribkoff tunics, sweaters, dresses, skirts and pants worn by celebrities around the world. The Montreal-made designs feature flattering lines for every shape.

If comfort and breathability are features you cherish, then Miik, FIG and C’est Moi bamboo tops and tunics are for you. And no need to sift through the hangers on a crowded display; the friendly, knowledgeable staff at The Kawartha Store will find the perfect outfit for you.

“Our staff is truly amazing,” Trish says. “We are totally committed to putting you in the right outfit.”

That’s why The Kawartha Store features such a powerhouse of designers — Ribkoff, Yoga Jeans by Second Denim, Parkhurst Knitwear, Michael Tyler, Soft Works, Dex, and Tribal — as well as small hard-to-find Canadian designers like Eaze Wear, Miik, FIG, Tonia Debellis, Ruelle, and Gitaine. And so many more.

“What we want to do is promote Canadian designers, Canadian-made designs, and offer as wide a selection as possible, so that every person who comes in our door, or visits our online shop, will find something they love,” Trish says.

Trish, a farm girl from Quebec, knows first-hand the value of “Canadian made”, be it maple syrup or local produce. The Kawartha Store offers more than 40 Canadian manufacturers and, in addition to ladies fashions, offers menswear, footwear, jewellery, handbags, and giftware. It even offers a comfortable social area for customers to gather or simply take a break.

“We are doing more than selling clothes,” Trish says. “We are creating an entire experience for our customers.”

A trip to Trish’s store, for example, often includes a customer receiving a sightseeing tip, a referral to a local restaurant, or a compliment — or two or three.

In sizes from XS to 4XL, 0 to 20, in a wide range of price points, the clothing selection ranges from intimates and sporty, to business casual and dressy. And for every outfit, there is the perfect accessory. The Kawartha Store has sandals by Vionic & Steve Madden, necklaces and earrings by Anne-Marie Chagnon, Myka, Kameleon, Tima, and handbags by Derik Alexander and Matt & Nat.

In the menswear section there are Lois jeans and Viyella shirts, and a double rack of Mypakage underwear with many colour and designs from floral to camo. In giftware, there are cozy fitted pyjamas and slippers for the entire family, pottery maple products, novelty t-shirts, even one-of-a-kind puppets for the young-at-heart.

And while the trip to Fenelon Falls is always worth the drive — the store is a real destination — all this is also available at your very fingertips, simply by visiting www.thekawarthastore.ca.

Customers will find not only the ease of shopping and the variety of price points just like in the physical store, but a frugal world-wide shipping policy and the opportunity to engage with The Kawartha Store through newsletters, social media communities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest, plus blogs that include style, lifestyle and beauty tips.

All this, because giving back to the customer — indeed the community — is something The Kawartha Store continues to passionately pursue. The evidence? The Kawartha Store has raised a whopping $15,000 in just two years to support local medical walk-in clinics through their “Walk In Strut Out” fundraiser each May.

Trish is full to the brim with ideas and excitement for her store, the unique selections it offers, and the equally unique and fun clientele it draws.

She ties a bow on a customer’s gift-wrapped package and gives the ribbon a swirl.

“The future?” she pauses. “Well, I always look forward to the next collection, the next season, the next customer. I imagine that’s what I’ll be doing at least ten years from now!”

The Kawartha Store is located at 30 Colborne Street in Fenelon Falls. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 705-887-9888 or email info@thekawarthastore.ca. To browse and shop online, visit www.thekawarthastore.ca. You can also connect with The Kawartha Store on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Not too many of us can claim the work we do every day affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of every age, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic background — but Lesley Heighway can.

As President and CEO of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation, Lesley works hard to bridge the ever-increasing gap between government funding and the necessary costs of providing high-quality care at our region’s hopsital.

For almost six years now, Lesley has led a team of professionals and volunteers who have raised between $4 and $5 million every year for PRHC — more than $21 million over the past five years.

“Many people don’t realize the government does not typically fund hospital equipment or technology,” she says. “That’s why the most generous communities have the best hospitals.”

These community donations fund the tools and technology that form the backbone of patient care at PRHC and help bring new lifesaving services to our region. Not only that, but a hospital’s ability to fund state-of-the-art equipment and technology is one way to attract and retain health care professionals, helping to put the standard of care at PRHC on par with the top hospitals across Canada.

A tireless advocate and ambassador on behalf of PRHC, Lesley is clearly passionate about health care philanthropy. She’s personally helped thousands of people understand the tangible ways their donations are transforming health care.

“Donors are touching the lives of people they’ve never met every day,” she says. “Our role as a foundation is to give donors an opportunity to give back, while at the same time seeing how their donations are making a real difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones.”

The PRHC Foundation is committed to supporting the hospital’s centres of excellence, which serve the region with state-of-the-art cancer care, cardiac care, and vascular surgery — some of the fastest growing and most innovative areas of health care.

With her wealth of business knowledge along an MBA specializing in leadership, Lesley aspires to match the private sector for innovation and creative thinking when it comes to fundraising, while still maintaining the warmth and compassion that fuels inspiration among her team.

And these efforts have paid off. Under Lesley’s leadership, in 2016 the PRHC Foundation was recognized by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy as a “High Performer” for 2014/2015, putting it in the top 25% or more than 2,200 health care organizations across Canada and the United States. The international professional organization gave the designation to only 45 health care foundations.

“We’re extremely proud of this achievement,” Lesley says. “It speaks to the commitment of our team and our Board of Directors to the responsible stewardship of community donations.”

A typical work day for Lesley consists of working with donors and spearheading fundraising efforts that currently include $8.75 million in cancer care investments, $2.7 million for a new Learning Centre for PRHC, $1.75 million for surgical investments, $1 million for technology for women’s and children’s services, and additional millions for equipment that covers all areas of the hospital from the Emergency Department to Palliative Care.

In the last two years alone, Lesley has successfully led efforts to fund:

• Two of three new mammography machines needed for breast cancer screening in PRHC’s Breast Assessment Centre, part of a $1.9 million campaign.
• A $1 million investment in upgrading nine of PRHC’s 12 operating rooms for minimally invasive surgery, enabling PRHC to begin to transition from performing 35% of all surgeries using minimally invasive techniques to performing 80% that way.
• An $850,000 investment in upgrading and expanding the Cardiac Cath Lab with vital technology upgrades that have significantly reduced procedural radiation exposure for both patients and PRHC physicians and staff, as well as technology that’s brought brand new cardiac treatments to our community for the first time.
• $1.1 million in state-of-the-art laboratory equipment investments that enable faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment, particularly in cancer care.
• Other vital investments in patient care areas across the hospital from the Emergency Department to ICU, in Women’s and Children’s, Diagnostic Imaging, Cancer Care, Palliative Care and more.

While the success of PRHC Foundation’s fundraising efforts speaks for itself, Lesley’s passion for philanthropy extends far beyond our community. She is involved with an advocacy and advisory group of regional hospital foundation CEOs from across the province. As one of Peterborough’s foremost experts in legacy giving (giving through estate plans), she takes a lead role in working with financial and legal advisors.

She also shares her extensive knowledge and experience with the community through a wide range of board and advisory roles with other organizations and service clubs, as well as a variety of coaching and mentoring relationships with up-and-coming fundraising and young business professionals.

While Lesley is the first to acknowledge that the success of the PRHC Foundation is not hers alone, there’s no denying the impact of her expertise in leadership, motivation, and workplace culture in that success.

“I’m extremely proud of my team and I’m dedicated to supporting them to achieve their highest potential,” she says. “It’s all about creating an organizational culture that fosters passion as well as results.”

The Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation is located at One Hospital Drive in Peterborough. For more information about the PRHC Foundation and how you can make great health care possible in our community, call 705-876-5000, email foundation@prhc.on.ca, or visit www.prhcfoundation.ca. You can also connect with the PRHC Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo.

A model of innovation, collaboration and engagement: Catia Skinner’s dynamic presence as the CEO of Kawartha Entertainment Group Inc. (KEGI), as well as The Venue and marketing agency Mega Experience, reflects her passion for Peterborough and community.

She’s both highly competent and driven, while at the same time welcoming, gentle, friendly, and open. She is a recipient of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce “4 Under 40 award” and is a Newcomer Entrepreneur of the Year award nominee for the Chamber’s 2017 Business Excellence Awards.

Perfect traits, one might say, for the woman behind one of the city’s most rapidly growing event spaces.

Aptly named, The Venue is a multipurpose space that hosts conferences and conventions, weddings, business meetings, galas and other fundraisers, concerts, art shows, and sports events.

With a full kitchen, a dedicated chef, a capacity of more than 900, complete onsite catering for 340 in a sit-down dinner, and concert-quality sound equipment, The Venue also features three uniquely connected spaces: the Lobby Bar, Main Hall, and Balcony Lounge.

“Each space can be used individually,” Catia explains, depending on the atmosphere the client is creating and the number of guests. “The good thing about our space is that we can change it to be whatever a client needs.”

That’s because The Venue is uniquely set up on two levels, complete with stage and dance floor. Its versatility is one of its main selling features.

The Venue building is owned by MAS Capital Investments Inc., or, in other words, Catia’s husband, Michael. You may know him as the previous CEO of Operitel Corporation, Conservative Candidate of Record in the 2015 federal election; you may also know him as a property manager and relentless volunteer in the area.

When it comes to The Venue, Catia explains that flexibility and versatility are its foundations.

“We work very closely with customers to understand what they are looking for,” she says. “Our strength is our experienced staff who know how to ask the questions, to share our own experiences, to offer suggestions and options, and to make the client’s vision come to life.”

The goal, always, is to sit down with the client, face-to-face, to determine exactly what that vision looks like, because Catia is also practical. The evidence for that can be seen in the other company she heads, Mega Experience.

Mega (as she informally calls the full-service brand experience marketing company of which she is co-owner and director) assumes all the marketing for The Venue, under Catia’s direction. Strategic? Definitely. Practical? Obviously. What better way to position a set of companies than to pair an event space with a marketing company?

And not just any marketing company. Mega Experience is based on a model of “experiential marketing” from Mega Experience in Catia’s home country of Brazil. While the two companies are linked in philosophy and collaboration, Mega Experience Canada operates entirely self-sufficiently in Peterborough.

Catia explains the motivation behind Mega Experience.

“I had this passion to help clients with their complete marketing needs, to incorporate strategic planning into all marketing, and to do experiential marketing, focused on the five senses where we catch people’s eyes, their tastes, their ears — their emotion — to sell them on an idea, concept, or brand.

“It’s not just about making a pretty design. It’s about making something meaningful for the client. I like to see the ‘Wow Factor.'”

The result is creating meaningful experiences for customers, clients, and communities in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.

There’s much more to come from both The Venue and Mega Experience, according to Catia:

• The Venue will continue to refine its branding, positioning itself in front of its corporate audience. Central to that are the relationships The Venue is building with its customers and the entire community, partly through the avenues opened by social media managed by Mega Experience.
• While The Venue is almost fully booked on weekends, there’s the potential for hosting more weekday events. Catia says that often when an event is over, the client books immediately for the following year. Strategically speaking, that leaves weekdays for new business, and Catia is honing in on that audience.
• There are also more opportunities for corporate involvement in and support of the community. KEGI considers requests for sponsorship on an annual basis and supports every cause it can. When additional requests for help come in throughout the year, Catia seriously considers them, in conjunction with a review board, to provide support whenever she can. She also sits on several not-for-profit boards and committees, including the New Canadians Centre, Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services, and Bears’ Lair. Catia has also been a past board member of three years with the Women’s Business Network in the roles of Strategic Planning and Director at Large.

Going forward, Catia says both The Venue and Mega Experience will continue to stay focused on the local community.

“I want to see The Venue and Mega grow,” she says. “I want to see us doing something that is meaningful for Peterborough, growing more, and being even more engaged in the community. The whole vision for us is for the Peterborough community.”

The Venue is located at 286 George Street in downtown Peterborough. For event inquiries, call 705-876-0008 or email events@kegi.ca. For band bookings, email concerts@kegi.ca. For more information and to find out what’s happening at The Venue, you can visit www.venueptbo.com or connect with The Venue on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Mega Experience Canada is located at 270 George Street North in downtown Peterborough. For more information, call 705-243-6989, email contact@megaexperience.ca, or visit www.megaexperience.ca. You can also connect with Mega Experience on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

When Jeannine Taylor first got access to the internet in late 1995, she 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 went online herself, developing an “e-zine” with local content that launched on May 1, 1996 — just five months later. Called Quid Novis (a variation of “what’s new?” in Latin), 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 out 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 earned 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 a fundraising committee for the development of Millennium Park.

Despite the success of her website development business, Jeannine never lost sight of her original intent to develop an online media publication. Quidnovis.com had continued to thrive separately as a 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 as well as community events.

Over the past seven years, the site has continued to grow, now reaching more than 200,000 unique readers every month who read 25,000 pages daily. kawarthaNOW.com was recognized in 2011 and 2013 with the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards for Entrepreneurial Spirit.

Jeannine, who is often asked to speak on digital marketing to local business groups, is also a regular media contributor. She has appeared on CBC Ontario Morning, CBC Fresh Air, Kruz, Magic, Extra, and CHEX Television.

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 and lead developer.

“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 — both web and social media — every day and without pause.

AUDIO: Jeannine Taylor on CBC Radio’s Fresh Air

“We have to make the time to plan strategically and be ready to take action when needed,” Jeannine explains. “We constantly have 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 but now it’s something we 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 be 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 20 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.

The old adage “Home is Where the Heart Is” might as well be a slogan for Kawartha Lakes Construction (KLC). With three decades of experience building and renovating homes and cottages in the Kawarthas region, the team of professionals at KLC has a keen understanding of the meaning of the word “home”.

“We’re about building relationships,” says Christine Watts, Design Manager and Senior Designer at KLC and a member of the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough.

Relationships that start as soon as a potential client makes that first call: 75 per cent of KLC’s client base is made up of either repeat business or referrals from other happy clients.

The team at KLC takes it from there, helping narrow the vision for the project down. Is it a renovation the client is considering or is it a new build or an addition? What kind of space are they hoping to create: cozy and tidy or spacious and open? How much do they want to spend? They also ask the client to scrapbook ideas they like from Houzz, Pinterest, or magazines and to share the scrapbook with the KLC team.

The questions can seem overwhelming, but the team at KLC says that upfront work is crucial to the process. One of the first people a client will see is Christine, who joined the team in 2003 so that KLC could offer a full suite of services, from design concepts to completed construction.

“Before we even sit down to make the first design, whether it’s a room renovation or a new build, we have a detailed questionnaire that helps anchor our client’s thoughts and identify exactly what they want,” she says.

The questionnaire takes the client room by room through the home, identifying the type of living the client enjoys (for example, formal or informal), their hobbies, their must-haves and their nice-to-haves, how many cooks there are in the kitchen, and how many people living in the home.

The end result is a better understanding of what the client wants, but Christine says the process has another surprising result.

VIDEO: Design/Build. Home Builder. Home Renovator.

“The client is also educated on a number of levels,” she says. “It can help with budgeting, and to bring their expectations in line with what’s legal to build, what’s possible, and what’s in the budget.

“It helps us to understand the client, their style, what they’re trying to do, to begin to develop that relationship.”

After the initial relationship building, Christine gets to work on the “jigsaw puzzle.” She takes all the information, the wish lists, her own background in construction, the budget the client has helped to draw, and the legal piece, and matches them together into a design framed by the relationship KLC has built with the client.

“We are absolutely dedicated to making sure clients are happy through the process as well as at the end,” Christine says. “We want to make sure we are delivering what will improve the life of the client.”

About 80 per cent of the projects KLC works on are large-scale renovations and remodelling. Christine says people are choosing to renovate rather than build in today’s economic climate — whether it’s a cottage property, a lakefront home, or a century building in the middle of the city.

As people sell homes and retire to the area, they often have a little extra money from the home sale to put into renovation.

“Clients find it more economical to renovate something they have,” Chrisitine explains. “They like where they are and just want to improve what they have.”

The trends in design these days include open concepts and lots of glass to let the outdoors in, she says. Energy efficiency is also important to clients so Christine spends a large amount of her time working on specifics of heating and cooling of the home.

She expects her job to become even more challenging as homes become smaller and the task of bringing in fresh air to the home, and exhausting the stale air out, heightens. And rules change frequently. For example, as of July 2017, new homes and garages have to include wiring for any future electric car plug-ins.

“It can be very overwhelming for clients who have not been through this process before,” she says, adding that the KLC team is committed to a process that ensures clients are educated of the details through extensive upfront planning, including the use of three-dimensional drawing software that allows a client to tour a room before a design is finalized.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to feel what the room’s going to be like from a drawing on a piece of paper,” Christine says. “We want to make sure the client is well informed.

“We are building and renovating homes, taking the process right from the first inkling a client has through to completed construction. To do that successfully, to have a product we’re proud of and the client loves, we’re also building relationships.

When you hire us, you hire a team of professionals committed to your dream.”

Kawartha Lakes Construction is located at 3359 Lakefield Road in Lakefield and serves the Peterborough, Lakefield, and Kawartha Lakes area. For more information, call 705-652-5241 (toll free at 1-800-951-8062), email info@kawarthalakesconstruction.com, or visit www.kawarthalakesconstruction.com. You can also connect with KLC on Facebook, LinkedIn, Houzz, and Twitter.

For Suzanne Cody and Gwyneth James, it’s all about stress relief — not theirs; yours!

The high-powered pair of accountants is perfectly poised to ensure the client is ahead of the curve not just by offering a full suite of services — everything from financial statements, personal and corporate tax returns, and payroll to bookkeeping — but also by offering those services in a language the average person 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. “Beyond that, though, Gwyneth and I are really trend breakers.”

A lot of the businesses Cody & James CPAs help are in growth stages and it’s important that the owners understand the details, Suzanne says.

“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. Business divorce is every bit as painful as personal divorce. Suzanne and I do get along and we are friends, but more importantly we bring different skill sets to the table. She’s more detail oriented than I am; I handle the creative marketing elements. We are true business partners.”

Suzanne moved from Toronto to the area in 2005 after making it her preferred holiday location from early childhood. 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 after moving around a little — Victoria, BC was home — and she was ready to settle with her two young boys.

She worked for more than a decade for Nexicom as their Controller before starting a consulting business and taking Nexicom along as her first client. 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 place, you feel completely lost and 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. 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.

“You really need to have solid accounting from the start.”

“I’m an entrepreneur at my core,” Gwyneth says, adding that she hadn’t always wanted to be an accountant. “I had fought against becoming an accountant in my youth. 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.

This year’s bull-like housing market has given long-time local realtor Betty Johnson cause to reflect on her three decades in real estate and the mortgage industry.

“This year’s been stressful for all of us in the industry in this area,” she says. “It’s starting to slow down, but we still have an influx of Oshawa and Toronto agents coming this way.”

The realtors, she says, are snapping up good deals for GTA clients, leaving little left for locals.

It means realtors in the Kawarthas have had to fight hard for buying clients over the past 12 to 18 months, Betty says. Houses are listed higher than anyone imagined, and then sold even higher than the listing price.

For Betty, who is in the business because she loves people, it was heartbreaking to see our local first-time home buyers pushed right out of the market.

“I don’t like to see that,” she says. “I dislike seeing people taken advantage of or not given a fair chance.”

Betty was in the banking industry for 24 years primarily doing mortgages for clients. Her work necessitated working with realtors, and her curiosity about real estate led her to get her license. At the time, as a single working mother, Betty had to take the courses at night school.

That was in 1988. She held onto her license — an ace in her pocket — while she continued banking, and then worked as a mortgage underwriter until her two children were done school.

“Once they were through university, I thought it was time to try something different,” she says. “I had no idea if I’d be good at it, but I thought, ‘If I fall flat on my back I could always go back to banking.'”

By 2002, Betty had turned her focus to real estate, testing the waters with a variety of local companies until she landed with Century 21 where she was top of the pack for three years. In November of 2011, she moved to RE/MAX Eastern Realty’s Peterborough office, where she’s been ever since.

The ace in Betty’s pocket now is the mortgage underwriting business, which she has also kept alive as a side business.

On the Sunday we spoke with her, Betty had hoped for a day off, but already had six calls by 10 a.m. While she enjoys her work, at 61, she also wants to spend time with her grandchildren.

“This was a year of reflection for me, for sure,” she says. “I’ve looked at what I like, what I’m good at, and what I avoid.

“One thing I dislike is spending any more time on a computer than I have to,” she laughs.

She’s tried the team approach to real estate — having employed two administrative assistants and a buyer’s agent at one time — but says she didn’t enjoy the additional demands involved in being an employer.

“I like to talk and sell and be around people and be on the go” she says. “That’s what keeps me going.”

Betty says she’s “old school.” She likes to match a buyer with the perfect house, not the most expensive one, and definitely not one the couple can’t afford even if they like it best.

“I’d rather show them 20 houses than do a slam-dunk on the first one,” she says. “There are a lot of realtors who may not spend as much time. I joke with my husband that I probably spend more time talking clients out of houses that are not good investments for them, than I do on an actual sale.

“If it takes me an extra 20 houses to show them to get the right one, then I do it. It’s the right thing.”

Betty’s not shy about saying she very much dislikes the way the market has been in Peterborough and, while it has slowed, she knows there is more to come.

“Baby boomers are retiring and selling their homes for 700 thousand or a million in Whitby or Toronto, and then moving here and snapping up something for half that, and putting the rest in the bank.”

This means that young people, including her own children, are facing a tough go as first-time home buyers.

“Unless the parents are going to give these kids some money, it’s going to be really hard.”

Some of the other challenges in the industry involve new marketing trends for real estate. Although she’s active on social media, Betty says she prefers to depend on her reputation and word-of-mouth referrals rather than digital marketing.

All her reflection this year has led Betty to a couple of realizations.

“I’d be bored out of my tree if I retired,” she laughs. However, she is restructuring her mortgage business, knowing that one day she may want a change.

She will always be the business woman with an ace in her back pocket.

You can contact Betty Johnson at RE/MAX Eastern Realty Inc., Brokerage (91 George Street North in Peterborough) by phone at 705-743-9111, toll free at 1-800-567-4546 or by email at betty@bettysellshomes.net. Visit her website at www.bettysellshomes.net or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.