Starting a business, establishing a company and building a brand takes work. Entrepreneurship offers a series of challenges in all facets of operations. Only an entrepreneur driven by passion and dreams can overcome these obstacles through strategy and technique. All success stories have a history of perseverance, commitment and determination. They are motivated not by the business’s profits but by introducing a fresh perspective to the industry and rewriting the existing ways.
Uncover the inspiring business stories from across Canada here.
Nia Lee, Founder and CEO of, Socialee Media Agency
Nia Lee is a creative video producer, the founder and CEO of Socialee Media Agency, and the owner of the beauty brand Oilee Skincare. She is a Public Relations major with an Honours BAA in Media Studies and a diploma in Media Communications.
Socialee Media Agency is a boutique social media marketing agency that helps beauty and lifestyle businesses create high-performing, visionary content for their social media channels. In her role as a creative video producer, social media strategist, and all-around Socialee Savvy cheerleader for beauty and lifestyle brands that want to show up more authentically on social media, Nia uses her potential to help them build a visionary brand for their business.
She has worked with brands such as Bite Beauty, NYX Cosmetics Canada, Shea Moisture Canada, and The Abnormal Beauty Company. In addition, Nia launched her beauty brand, Oilee Skincare, to promote skin health instead of perfection. It is the first-ever subscription box that helps people with oily, acne-prone skin discover new skincare products from indie and BIPOC-owned brands.
Nia Lee helps tired and stressed customers by helping you create consistent, on-brand and unique content for your social media. For more information about her work, visit the website at https://www.socialeesavvy.com/.
Fiona Morrison, Founder of Wolf Circus
Fiona Morrison became inspired to create a jewelry line while attending university when she noticed a gap in the market for well-made, affordable jewelry. She had always been interested in design and creation and first learned her craft on YouTube. Though beginning a business while attending school was not easy, Fiona’s motivation and the support of her close and loyal friends gave her the courage to try.
In 2010, Fiona Morrison launched Wolf Circus as a Vancouver-based demi-fine jewelry company that embodies her desire to make jewelry for the modern, bold, and brave while also committing to establishing and nurturing ethical and inclusive methods.
Each piece of jewelry is handcrafted in their Vancouver studio by their professional staff, who use high-grade recycled metals, freshwater pearls, and lab-created gemstones. Their core collection shows an approach to day-to-day essentials meant to move with you, but their seasonal collections explore an ever-changing study of sculptural, statement styles.
Over the years, their collection has completely evolved and continued to grow. But their motivation for creating jewelry has remained the same: they want to inspire others to be confident in their daily lives. Wolf Circus customers love how their pieces uniquely resonate with them. To learn more about them, visit https://www.wolfcircus.com/.
Brianna Blaney and Aria Hahn, Co-founders of Pocketed
Brianna Blaney and Aria Hahn unlock the power of government funding through their company, Pocketed. In 2020, many things happened, and they saw companies wind down their operations or close entirely. However, they were witnessing their own companies thrive. Pocketed has figured out how to effectively leverage government funding, securing over $750K in grant funding and tax credits.
Pocketed helps companies across North America access billions of dollars in grants, tax credits, and incentives with their intelligent matching platform and funding solutions. Since launching in 2021, more than 9,000 businesses have used Pocketed to access over $80M in government funding. Create your Pocketed account today at hellopocketed.io
Pocketed was built to make government funding more accessible to every business owner. With impactful financing, they are on a mission to eliminate financial barriers for businesses and thrive on simplifying access to capital. Their user-focused platform was built to make funding businesses a smooth, intuitive journey. They do this with their intelligent grant matching tool, accessing the right funding programs to grow your business.
From startups and small businesses to government and granting agencies, Pocketed collective experience allows them to simplify these complex funding programs, creating an accessible and easy-to-use product for startups and small business owners. For more information, visit their website at https://hellopocketed.io/.
Small businesses must keep themselves motivated to strive harder in their operations by looking to their peers in the industry for inspiration. They must maintain an open mind to acquire new methods, techniques, tools, and resources and imbibe the virtues of perseverance, commitment, and dedication from others. Only a firm willing to change with the times and trends by adopting features that best suit its structure will remain relevant in the market.
Small businesses must read about the industry, trends, and peers regularly to grow as an organization. To read more about these topics, subscribe to CanadianSME Small Business Magazine https://lnkd.in/dbqmSKN. For the latest updates, visit our Twitter page at @canadian_sme.
