The Power Of The Mindset With Donna Galloway #superentrepreneurs #shahiddurrani

[Music] welcome to super entrepreneurs podcast today we have with us donna galloway how are you donna i'm doing great thank you how are you i'm doing amazing thank you so much for coming on the show um we always like to kind of ask no problem we'd like to always ask our guests to kind of introduce themselves what you're involved in all the amazing stuff it's better that you tell the tale yourself yeah sure absolutely well i'm donna galloway and i am a co-owner with my husband a 746 shop which is an experienced destination in the kawarthas so it has grown up quite a bit along the way it started as a little wee ice cream destination and we grew it to have a bricks and mortar store we've added a food truck there's area for people to sit and then along the way we've also added online apparel so we have our own apparel brand and we like to proudly show the kawarthas in our apparel that's nice so it's like online shopping i guess right that's correct that's correct so do you manufacture those those products yourself or is it source so they are they are designed by us they're designed in canada and for the most part where we can manufacture it in canada oh that's great but if something you manufacture predominantly in canada yes yes absolutely do you have anything you could show us with you right now i i do is it okay if you use the camera for a second of course of course it's all we're two friends don't worry i never even thought to uh have them readily available it's okay we're we're enjoying your uh office so it's okay yes i have a nice paradise too yeah it is motivated it looks like you like uh plants yes yes i think they give you a nice little i have a question i have a question about that do you speak to them sometimes i do it's very important a little off yeah it's very important because plants like anything is as energy right everything is energy so when you actually communicate you go close to them you can give them power you can give them energy so they they actually flourish with human connection so it's really important that you do that that's great absolutely and they give back yeah that's awesome so we're sponsoring the kawarthas can you bring barry yes sir i sure can all right making memories yeah lake okay yeah so we try to understand what happens and what the lake is known for and that's a nice one i like that design yeah this is one of my favorites too and this is buckhorn lake 1830 huh yeah yeah absolutely and uh of course we have them in different colors and then we have our sturgeon lake which is known for fishing oh cool do you get people from all like from the states and all over canada as well or yes we do we absolutely do so the the corner is a draw for like we get local people that come as well but it's also a draw for cottagers they actually reroute their destination to be able to stop in and let the kids dogs out and enjoy the experience and balsam lake is a another one that we we proudly show and then of course we have the this is one of our popular we just reintroduced it we can't keep that we can't keep that one online i think because it has the the nice red and quartz is down the sleeve and such so yes so that's beautiful thank you and thank you for sharing that so is what's the history behind kawarthas like why why did you guys select a store there and why do people go there that much i've been there as well but just for the audience sake so they understand better absolutely we like to think of the kawarthas as the muskoka replacement everybody always thought of the muskokas but the kawarthas has a lot to offer as well and the korsas have really a lot of lakes and tourist attractions and such but ultimately dave and i grew up in the area so we're familiar with the area we have our home roots here and we know a lot of people that also have their roots in the quarters and are quite proud so we have good affiliation with uh kawartha lakes conservation and then of course we know people within the city of kortha lakes and uh it just made sense that uh we should show it proudly and let the cottagers also wear it proudly of course they're amazing so do you has any has covert affected the industry and and what you do it it has somewhat we had to have a late opening last year due to the rules that were put in place we had a design where you had one door for in and out of the bricks and mortar so we had to create an in and out door we had to move our ice cream scooping area to an external window where you could uh stand in line outside and such so it was the lineups that we were really challenged with and we wanted to make sure that the safety was put in place and you know it adhered to the six feet and then what about like online shopping did that must have increased yes it did it did and and we did a pivot there we were originally we were quite geared up to bring in tour buses to be a more of a a souvenir type of destination and people were very excited and we're drawing in people from countries around the world and quite enjoying it so then we decided to focus more on you know the people who needed to get out wanted to get out and enjoy the destination but also support us so it's worked out well and the online ramped up with our our kawarthas series and and the other apparel that we've introduced and now we've actually got billabong in we went forth and applied with them and we're excited what's that sorry we're we're listing billabong now so we're going to carry their clothing oh are you familiar with phil no i don't i mean it's a brand it's a brand yes and uh younger people love it it's more of a skateboarding circle i'm not aware of it sorry are you not no no i personally not but i bet they're in the audience people know about it for sure yeah no it's quite a coup for us we're quite pleased to be able to get through that application process oh that's great so for online and storefront you'll be able to sell that then right that's correct that's correct so the spring will be launching that so were you always like in this in the business sense or was it something that you kind of fell into my background is software development and a technology background and specifically for online banking so i have a good appreciation of the technology and we were able to apply that again to the corner we made sure we had debit machines in the food truck we've got a database in the back so we know what's popular and and we're able to manage that more in uh understanding the data and understanding what your sales are so that you can grow them and know what you should or shouldn't carry and and make those changes yeah for me like i i absolutely respect and i adore people to have these businesses all over you know and i want to bring them out i want to try to help as much as possible to bring the awareness because the more attention we can get because it's unique right it's different what you guys are doing you know it's not like your typical um city type of thing is something that people could go out and experience this you know the city kawarthas and the shopping like these things are unique and there's something special about them yeah and and our staff has made it even more special we were able to give them projects each summer and one that comes to mind is we created a fairy village so a team came in and created little tiny houses put up put them hid them in locations around the trees and such and asked kids to leave notes and so the amazement when they wander around the it's kind of built like a park and we have flower beds and these hidden fairy village houses and they'll go and open the little doors and and look in and they just absolutely love it and to hear hear them go our mom come look at this and and check this out and they want their brother and sister around them and it's it's awesome and they act that's awesome they'll return weekly yeah act like it's the first time they're seeing it they're just so excited again to be part of it yeah that's amazing that's amazing and do you do you miss software development um no i've been able to keep that going as well i'm quite fortunate we have a strong team and we have a lot of people there so i still keep keep that going on the side if you will and uh what do you do for that what do you do you develop something we develop banking software oh that part that you were talking about earlier so that you do in-house so you sell it no i i'm not doing that in-house here i work for a company or you work for a company yeah okay so your employee and it's a nice mix employment and self-self uh employed yes absolutely would you consider leaving that and expanding what you're doing in the business world well it keeps growing and i i often tease my ceo i call this the pension yeah i say it keeps growing so we'll see i'm fortunate to have that love and i think one compliments the other because i'm their chief marketing officer yeah and so it helps me to market here and and understand and also groom our our team like groom staff and and help bring in those processes so it's the best of both worlds yeah it's a nice mix nice fix and so what's the biggest challenge you face in the past like what's the biggest challenge that you face and how you overcame overcame it like what's the do you recall some type of challenge that you had experienced in the past yeah yeah there are quite a few um if i think about the business and as we're growing it it is so easy to get distracted with you've got the plan and to you you think of something else you have that entrepreneurial mindset so you oh this is what we should be doing and so we introduce our own challenges by actually diverting off plan and chasing the next twinkly stars or the next big bright lights and such so we've decided to really hone in and make sure that we have the plan for the year and stick to it and hold each other accountable hold us honest to it because all of a sudden you'll be talking about oh okay this is what we're going to do and it's like wait a minute is that in the plan because you're going to shoot yourself in the foot and it's going to be a hobble through the rest of the season trying to build another business and that's what you tend to do i think as an entrepreneur is create little mini businesses within the business unintentionally but you get excited about where there could be you know profit and you could hire more people and you can do more good so you create these little tiny businesses and one time when one was created we had to well kovid was a catalyst to dismantling it but that would be the biggest challenge is that a mini business within the larger one was a lesson learned because it had to be removed and there's there's cost to it right yeah of course yeah so this this uh the 746 shop is it 746shop.com or dot ca i forgot we have it as shop 746.com shop746.com okay great and um so are you those products that you showed and you must have a lot more but they they're do you source them from other people as well or is it just everything by your design and your creation it started out with our own design and our creation and we were having a supplier issue so we haven't been able to get in the supplies so that's why we reached out to the other brands to figure out what would support the lifestyle brand that we're trying to promote and making sure that the product had synergies and that's why we've introduced a few lines that complement our line but we want to continually grow ours as well oh that's excellent has it got a nice mix yeah yeah so for you know we always like to ask our guests about what like you're doing amazing stuff like whatever you're doing is great and you know you're providing a a uniqueness and difference in shopping especially when it comes to these kind of products from these small towns and small areas especially when you have so many lakes you know people love that um but to get to this place in your professional life and like your work life and the business life what do you feel that is your inner self inner super power that got you to this point that's a good question i am a good listener and i'm able to make feel people feel heard sorry like so i not only listen but i also then ask questions and hone in on what they're saying what they're asking what they want to complete and and the whys around it but also absorbing that information and they leave feeling empowered with being heard and that we've got we've got a plan of action it's an article a lot of people you know kind of tune out and it i you know it is art i find it an art to thoroughly listen understand comprehend um so that's a great inner super part thank you so much for sharing it do you have any recommendations for anyone that's working in a job or thinking about business do you have anything any kind of unique recommendation that you can help or serve someone with yeah yeah i'm a mentor for a futurepreneur program so i've seen the extremes of mentees that are looking for help and a common denominator is really having a good business plan and and understanding and having it written down like going through that effort and looking at it but also being honest with yourself with what things will cost and how long it will take and then biting and then not trying to think you're going to do it all at once looking at how you can look at that plan and take it in bite-size pieces and accomplish them and then all of a sudden you've accomplished what you needed to do and you're on to the next set of accomplishments and it's it's interesting to watch people who who truly have a passion for what that idea is and then to bring it into action they're so incredibly proud and want to get it going and then it's making sure that they can keep it going and maintaining it as i'm sure you know yes businesses can start up and then a year or two you're wondering why you did it there's a lot of sluggings what years like yeah also comes back to mindset too right a lot of it um you know that not having that foundation not believing not knowing is that doubt and fear and a worry that that gets a lot of them and and sometimes people just give up way before they need to um because it is a business is beautiful it's amazing but it's also um scary too right you know it's not that easy like you have to have a really strong inner being to go into this and what you're sharing right now that's amazing good great advice like that's something that people need to know and need to understand plan for yeah absolutely absolutely and it's also the energy and mindset that you bring into the room so you can you can bring a room down you can bring a room up yeah and it's really you entering that room and deciding yeah you you be part of that energy you bring your own energy right kind of thing yeah excellent excellent donna i want to thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show it was amazing talking to you about all this stuff and i i i genuinely when i met you first time like it was really for me i wanted to bring this message out becau to as many people as possible especially when borders are going to start opening up covet is going to kind of be a historical thing people start coming out by the time this is uh published you know hopefully people will come and see what you're doing the uh support your you guys in the in the city check out all the nice lakes so i i hope that you continue to serve people and it's been an honor to have you on the show [Music] super