Hey, I’m Chéla
your (not-so) Silent Partner in Business.
I am a serial entrepreneur who loves building and supporting small businesses in small towns.
I only work with clients in smaller communities because I know that our markets, opportunities, resources and communications require something different here.
Our way. The rural way.
We earn so much of our success through relationships and word of mouth - we can’t just rely on google reviews and ratings. Ecommerce and digital marketing is often important, but not for everyone, and definitely not in the same way for everyone. I bring the specialization of smaller community business development and I do it with values-driven clients.
A values-driven entrepreneur or owner wants more than profitability for their return.
Profit? Yes. Impact? That, too.
Some of my clients want to empower their staff as their community contribution - some want to reduce their impact on climate change. Many simply want to fund their charitable work as a philanthropist or humanitarian entrepreneur.
Either way, all of my clients are up to something good for others. And themselves and their family.
This is why I turned my skill set and learnings into a custom or group service built just for small town owners like you.
Everytime I wanted to build something new or make money for myself,
I learned things as I went, despite having a degree in Business. Hell, I even specialized in Strategy and minored in Economics and I still didn’t know how to get people to buy my services at first.
Not every owner has an education in business, and even if they did, it might not actually translate into the success they have defined for themselves. It sure didn’t for me.
So, I bottled everything I learned up to this point and kept adding to the toolkit as I went. Now, my offers are robust and accessible to you in affordable and meaningful ways.
My story of how I built this approach and toolkit started as a young girl, when I was learning to sell my stuff to my neighbours on the sidewalk and emerging as a public speaker, hoping to bring people towards my ideas and thinking - and products. Moving into High School, I was able to work a variety of jobs including sales, customer service, sports coaching, tutoring, and supporting my family’s business. I learned so much about how to engage with customers and community members, realizing how important what you say and do in a smaller community is to how you are perceived by customers.
When I was accepted
to business school,
I wanted to be a
professor in Business.
To be respected as one, I knew I had to have a successful business first. When I was 19 I started working as an apprentice consultant and quickly developed as a leader in my field. I loved financial management in University and led the Business Society from age 20-23 where I began formally engaging with clients in the community as their strategic advisor. After graduating, I became a top sales professional in a variety of sectors, learning how to really bring in revenue. This led me to want to translate those skills in public funding and community economic development projects. I brought my skills and business to the Ottawa Valley in 2010 in order to do just that.
Since then, I have worked with dozens of clients in nearly every sector imaginable. They have brought experiences and learning to me that has helped me to step out as a leading business development coach. Because of this, I was recognized and invited to judge a number of business competitions, acted as Algonquin College’s Entrepreneur in Residence, worked as a Professor in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and finally, emerged as a business development coach in my own consulting firm in 2020.
My work has been quoted in books, been celebrated by awards and nominations, and appreciated by the clients I have helped to live out their dreams in business. I have shared my learning and innovative ideas as a panelist, trainer, workshop facilitator, and keynote speaker in many environments, helping to advance my commitment to openly learning together how to succeed.
The businesses I operate now are an example of my most loved areas of work after nearly 15 years in the biz.
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The mothership, HQ, and source of all things in all my other segments. Here, we do large community studies working with leaders who want to invest in evidence gathering so they can make informed decisions about what their community actually wants. We call it Truth Telling and I do these projects with a group of specialized consultants like me with complementary skills and expertise. Check out my most recent global history making project in this area of work at www.withchela.com
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You’re here! This segment of WCI is for my clients, who are owners-who-earn, and is focussed on four areas of business development in small towns. Keep browsing here for more on that!
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My sport coaching and training for coaches segment. I have been coaching competitive swimming since I was 11 and have been working here in the Valley helping kids to learn how to swim fast since 2010 in Deep River and Petawawa with their clubs. I have taught 1000s of kids how to swim fast and many of them have reached regional, provincial, and national levels of competition. I even have one junior world medalist on my roster. I am highly competitive but I love kids and helping them to find their confidence more than anything. My training course in this segment is about helping teens who are youth/child program leaders to lead with inclusion and principles of healthy youth development as their coach. Visit www.coache.ca for more!
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My partner Alex Maves is an Urban Farmer peddling pesticide-free veggies to our customers right here in the Pembroke area. We are partners in crime as we grow this new segment to show our love for community through our #FamilyFeedingFamilies. We specialize in salad mix, microgreens and baby veg that will make your mouth water! I do all of the promotion, sales tactics, communications and development while the farmer does the rest. This is my first product based business and I am LOVING it. Check us out at www.valleyveggies.ca
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I also work part-time for the Renfrew County Community Poverty Action Network as their Executive Director. This job enables me to help out using my skills right here at home without the expense of my usual consulting fees. I have helped CPAN modernize over the last year and establish their new incorporation and charitable status working with the board, staff and volunteers. My work in non-profit is extensive, which helps me to bring forward social agendas in my work and know how to help owners access funding or establish partnerships with charities
Although I cannot reveal my entire client list and portfolio due to confidentiality reasons, here is a list of the types of businesses I have helped. You can always ask for a reference and I’d be happy to connect you with my clients listed here.
Non-Profit
Killaloe Community
Resource Centre
Professional Engineers Ontario
Renfrew County ATV Club
Deep River Community Association
Deep River Sailing Club
Family and Children's Services
Girls INC
Kingston Employment and Youth Services
Killaloe and District Housing
SADC Pontiac
Pembroke Public Library
Rural FASD Network
The Phoenix Centre for Families and Children
St Lawrence-Rideau Immigration Partnership
Valley Heartland
Valley Heritage Radio
Whitewater Bromley Community Health Centre
Service Businesses
Law Practice/Office x 3
Medical Doctor x 3
Academic Doctor (PhD Consultants) x 4
Healthcare Clinics (Optometry, Athletic Therapy, Chiropractic, Naturopathic) x 6
Yoga Studio x 3
Service Specialists, Consultants, Trainers (Instructional Design, Leadership, Coaching) x 12
Spas x 3
Pet Grooming/Day Care x 2
Accountant/Tax Service x 2
Political Candidates x 4
Government
Township of North Algona Wilberforce
Horton Township
Ignace Township
8 Counties in the Quinte Region (collective contract group)
City of Pembroke
CF/PSP Petawawa
Kingston Economic Development/WE-CAN Programs
MRC Pontiac
Product Businesses
Bakery x 3
Fashion Designer
Boutique
Women’s Apparel
Speciality Apparel
Florist x 2
Organic Produce & Microgreens