Latest / It's Time for Success: The Business Insights Podcast / The Perfect Pour: Sondra Pearn’s Lake Life Caesar Co. Success Story

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The Perfect Pour: Sondra Pearn’s Lake Life Caesar Co. Success Story · It's Time for Success: The Business Insights Podcast

• Sharon: [00:00:17] Welcome back to It's Time for Success, The Business Insights podcast. Today's conversation is one I've really been looking forward to. I've been trying to get ahold of you for almost a year now, so this is exciting for me because it's about what happens when a simple idea turns into something far bigger than you ever imagined. I'm sitting down with Sondra Pearn, co-founder of Lake Life Caesar Company. What started as a way to save time at the lake and avoid hauling a million ingredients turned into a product people couldn't stop asking for. Fast forward to today, Lake Life Caesar is sold in stores across Canada. Behind that growth is real learning, real risk, and a whole lot of figuring things out as they went, including Sondra's stepping away from teaching to focus on the business full-time. This episode is for anyone with an idea, a product, or a side hustle who's wondering, could this actually go bigger? Sondra, thank you so much for joining us today. Let's chat a little bit about yourself and introduce yourself to our listeners. Sondra: [00:01:13] Yeah, thanks for having me, Sharon. So yes, my name is Sondra Pearn and I am the co-founder of Lake Life Caesar Company. My husband, Bryce, and I founded this company in 2020… 2020 ish, 202. Kind of was a COVID baby. Yeah. So no, and it's, definitely, it was kind of like you said. It was just a dream we had. It was something we were taking to the lake and enjoying with friends and family. And one thing led to another. And here we are about five years later, and we're sold in over 200 stores across Canada. So, yeah, it's starting to grow. And yeah, it is wild. Sharon: [00:01:43] We do have to. So we have listeners, because like in our feed, we can track where people listen. And they're not all from Canada, they're across the globe. So a Caesar… tell us what a Caesar, which is my favourite drink, is probably the only drink I drink. So tell everybody what a Caesar actually is. Sondra: [00:02:00] Yeah. So it's a Canadian classic as you kind of know it. But so a Caesar is a cocktail that's using, usually vodka, gin, all kinds of things, but typically vodka. And then typically you add different types of flavours. So it would be like Worcestershire, tabasco sauce, any type of seasonings that really just bring a flavour and then top it with Clamato juice. So it's kind of like the American Bloody Mary is basically what we're drinking up here and… but way better. And so… Sharon: [00:02:30] Not even close. Sondra: [00:02:31] Not even close. Right? I mean, but if you're from the States, that's what they would compare it to. Sharon: [00:02:34] That's what they... Yeah. I've gone to the States. Oh, you mean a Bloody Mary. No, no. Nope, I don't. Sondra: [00:02:40] That's not what I'm looking for. Sharon: [00:02:42] And I've tried it, I've tried it says fine I'll drink one of your bloody. They're terrible when you're used to a Caesar. Sondra: [00:02:48] Right. Because they are using the real tomato juice. It's very thick. It's very different. Yeah. So no, our Caesar mix was essentially used to cut down on time. Be a little more consistent with our flavour and really just make a great tasting drink on the go anywhere. Caesars are definitely our favourite drink as well. We spent a lot of time at the lake during the summertime, and I was bringing sometimes 9 or 10 different ingredients just to make a great Caesar, like putting dill pickle juice in, you're putting horseradish in, you're putting the Tabasco, the Worchester, all the things. And it was getting to be a lot in our little small camper fridge and our coolers. We’re always forgetting something. So Bryce decided to put it all into a mason jar. And that's kind of... We just took this jar of our Caesar mix to the lake, so we… our little motto was like cut down on the prep time and maximize the good times. Sharon: [00:03:37] That's awesome, I love it. You know, like, I used to be jealous. I used to be jealous before Lake Life ever came out because my husband, he just cracks a beer. And then there's me. Gotta get the vodka and blah blah, blah. And I gotta get the word, you know, like, it's a big. It's a big event. Like it's a lot. So this was when you come out with that. It was like the most brilliant thing on the planet. Sondra: [00:03:50] I love that you love it. Sharon: [00:03:53] It's great. It's seriously… so now you just pack your vodka, your clam, and your glasses, and you're ready to go. Sondra: [00:03:57] Yeah, right. And you're ready to go. And it's just on the go and easy and and what we love about it, too, is you can make a bunch of them at once. Like, I know if you're a Caesar drinker, you know that you ask people if they want a Caesar and they'll say, oh no, I'm good. But then when they see it come out, they're like, oh shit, that looks, that looks really good. Like, I do want one of those. And then you have to go back to make… you have to rim the glass, which I forgot when I was explaining what it was. We rim the glass, we have like a Caesar rimmer, kind of different types of celery salts and peppers and like garlic and all kinds of good things. But yeah. And then you're making a whole nother drink which takes another five minutes, you know. So this. Yeah, it was just like take like so now it's the vodka, a shot of our mix topped with Clamato. Stir it up and we're good to go. Sharon: [00:04:50] Yeah. It's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Okay, so let's talk about your brilliant idea from a mason jar at your camper to. What was the deciding point? To take the leap to make it sellable? Tell us about that transaction between there and actually getting it into the stores. What made you decide to do that? Sharon: [00:05:01] Yeah, it's been a journey, that's for sure. It's not like a straight A to B, I don't think But so like, we were taking it to the lake and our family friends started requesting it. Bring us a jar of that stuff. Can you bring us a jar for our friends? And like you said, Bryce and I are both teachers actually by trade, and we have two young kids. So our daughter was just born in June. And then it was that December. I was kind of, I was on my maternity leave and I was thinking like, this is where I need to be. I want to be home with my kids. I didn't have kids for somebody else to raise them, I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but still have some sort of income. So I literally just went out on a whim and said, I put a Facebook post out and I said, we're making up some mix. Would anybody like some? It was that simple. It was. And it was in December. So I remember being in Phoenix with my sister-in-law and my parents and in November and thinking, I need some kind of side hustle, like I want to be home with my kids, what can I do? And they kind of were like, well, obviously, you guys have this thing. Why don't you try to go with that? And I'm like, hmm, I guess I'm just gonna throw it out there. Sondra: [00:06:09] So, so I did. I put a Facebook post out and within 24 hours we had 100 orders just on like a Facebook post on my page. And we started selling to… there were people I didn't know on there, so that made me a little nervous. I was like, oh, okay. Number one, how am I going to make 100 bottles? And then, because we've just been mixing this in our kitchen. And then I thought, well, if people are… that I don't know are buying this, I need to have some type of food regulation. So I kind of started like spinning a little bit, but it was just that simple Facebook post in December. And then from there, there were people that owned the Home Hardware in town that had bought it, and they approached us. Yeah, and like supporting local, fantastic people. And they said, well, have you ever thought of putting this in retail? And it was like, not really. I hadn't thought that far, you know? So then, with that conversation just sparked me doing a lot of research and wondering how I can actually get this onto the shelves. So we started producing it in a commercial kitchen. But living in the border city was definitely a challenge, because what I produced in Lloydminster was actually considered Saskatchewan. And so I had to go out to the Kitscoty Community Hall because they have a commercial kitchen and go through Alberta Health and get all of those regulations. Sondra: [00:07:26] So. So what I made in Kitscoty, I could sell in Alberta, what I made here at the Harvest to Home market and like had both approved by Saskatchewan Health, Alberta Health. And then that's kind of how we started going from just Alberta and Saskatchewan. So just hand making it in those commercial kitchens. Sharon: [00:07:50] So just for people, our listeners, we live in Lloydminster, Alberta, and we're considered the border city. That's the kind of, so that's another really, I think it's a cool story, too, because it's literally right here in our own town that this evolved from. So it's pretty exciting. So because we're a border city, we have challenges between the two provinces. And this is, of course, what you just outlined is one of those challenges for sure. I didn't know Kitscotty actually had a kitchen like that. So that's good. Sondra: [00:08:13] It's just like their, a community hall. That's, it's approved commercial kitchen. Sharon: [00:08:17] Oh, it's approved commercial. So a community hall can be… Sondra: [00:08:20] Because as long like we had to have AHS come into there and approve the facility for us specifically. And you know, Sharon, I actually missed a step in there as I was getting ahead of myself here. Before we went into the commercial kitchen, we just kind of set up a room in our basement with some stainless steel tables. And we, there is like, it's like a farmer's market rule kind of thing that if you have on your bottle that said, made in a home food kitchen, not approved for, restaurant… like we couldn't sell it in a restaurant or a care facility or anything like that, but it had to be. It was only for retail, and we had to have on our label made in a home food kitchen. So that's kind of how we actually started with home hardware. I completely forgot that step. Sharon: [00:09:00] Gotcha. So you were able to do the trade shows first to get the traction? Sondra: [00:09:05] Yeah. Well, no, we just went straight to the Home Hardware. Sharon: [00:09:10] Oh so, you didn’t do trade shows and Facebook first, like, Home Hardware reached out to you on that first Facebook post. Sondra: [00:09:16] After that first Facebook post, they were one of our customers that that reached out and bought a bottle, and we were actually filling it in like jugs for people at that point. So. So yeah, they loved it so much. They're like, how can we get this into retail? So they were, Home Hardware was our very first store, and that's kind of what got us off the ground. Sharon: [00:09:33] So did they help you and guide you or did you know, like how did you find out those steps? That's what I like. So imagine somebody out there and they have this, this thing that they want to get there. And you knew that you had to go to a kitchen in order to sell it. Was that through a government site? Did you do your research? Did you have somebody or did Home Hardware help you? Like how how did you know to do that? Sondra: [00:09:55] Right? I think it's just my education background. I just researched like crazy. I was on all kinds of websites. But yes, the very first place you have to go is like, either Alberta Health, or like whichever province you're in, and look at the provincial regulations. And then if you want to go further than that, it's called CFIA. And you have to go to their website and they have all kinds of regulations that you need to follow. So that's, those were the guiding points for me for sure. Sharon: [00:10:27] You can do it on your own. You just got to research it and then find out what's available in your area with those credentials. Sondra: [00:10:29] Yeah. And like even zones are different. So if like if you're Calgary, Edmonton like Red deer, northern Alberta, they're all different. So you really have to like look at your provincial your zone and what are those regulations and call your like health food inspectors. They're the ones that I had a lot of conversations with them in the beginning to say like, hey, what do I need to do? Because I'm quite type A and I want it to get things done by the book. Like right off the bat. So. So yeah, start to know like your food safety inspectors. I got like a food handling license from, there's different websites. You can just Google food handling certificates and there's all kinds you can do with that. So, so I got that. But yeah just a lot of research in the beginning a lot of like just truly Google search reading different like posts, calling people. I would just call and I would be like, we're starting this and people are like, you're starting what? Like nobody knew what I was trying to make because it's such a unique product as well. So and then one of the first steps I did, and I don't know if I researched and found this or if somebody gave me the recommendation, but I found a lab in Edmonton and I sent our product to that lab, and then they were able to identify that it had a really low pH, which is very good in the food safety world, because when you're dealing with different types of like, whether it's like beef or chicken or dairy or like different types of pickled things, or we have a really low pH. So that puts us in the low-risk category, which helps a lot. So, so that was one of the first things I did. I needed to find out if we were a low-risk food or not. And once we got that back then I also like continued on with the shelf life testing there. And we've continued shelf life testing at other labs now, but. Sharon: [00:12:12] So that goes to labs. Gotcha. Sondra: [00:12:13] So I think the first step was, yeah, just tons of research, like try to hone in on, like, your expertise and what you know. And then what you don't know, call and ask and just and call lots. Get lots of different opinions from people. Sharon: [00:12:27] So you talked about the shelf life. That's interesting because I remember when it first came out and I would put it in my fridge, it's like it's only got two. I have to drink a lot of Caesar's because it's only got two months… or whatever it was at that case. Right. Because then I talked to your husband, Bryce, he was in one day and he says, well, it's because it's not proven. So yes, it's going to go longer, but you have to prove it, that it's… So it's taken a while just for that, right? Can you elaborate a little bit on that even? Sondra: [00:12:52] Yeah for sure. So when we started we did a lab in Edmonton. They told us it was like expedited shelf life testing. So essentially what they did is they put it in like a temperature controlled environment, like a higher temperature to, like, cut down on the time. And, and I think that that was okay for the time being. But now what we've learned is that, like the labs are in it, it basically has to sit on that shelf for one or 2 or 3 years, and then they'll be able to identify, like they'll take, you know, we'll send like 20 bottles and at different increments, they test the fresh bottle to see what the pH is, to see what is the all the different levels. And with our product, it's also another funny thing is we don't actually have to put a best before date on it because it is a low-risk food. Oh, so it's never going to go bad. It's something that will lose flavour over time, but there's nothing in there that will go bad. Sharon: [00:13:42] Are you serious? Do you know how many I've thrown out and replaced? Sondra: [00:13:50] No, no. I'm so sorry. I know I should make like. And I try to tell people this, but it's hard. But it's just, again, like Canada food regulations that you… people. It's just the number one question we get asked because people think it's going to go bad. But essentially it's like sauces, spices, you know, vinegar. Like there's, it's nothing that's going to make you sick. So gotcha. You don't have to throw. It will lose flavour over time. It will change flavour. Sharon: [00:14:09] It has to be refrigerated though. Sondra: [00:14:11] Well, we recommend refrigerating it. It loses flavour quickly. Like if you don't I find. But we have because we're cracking bottles. I feel like at every event everything. So we always have some. I try to give them away, but our fridge is just plumb full with it. And yeah, it doesn't really go bad, but use it on your cooking, Sharon, if you haven't, like if you feel like it's going to expire or you're not going to use it all up in the amount of time, throw it on like a steak or chicken, add it into like, hamburger soup, but. Sharon: [00:14:39] Get out of town. Sondra: [00:14:40] No, it works awesome that way. So if you need to use it up, that's like in hamburger patties. When I'm making hamburger patties, I throw like an ounce or two in. Yeah. Sharon: [00:14:49] Very clever. I love it. So it's not just for my Caesar. I prefer it in my Caesar. Yeah. Okay. Okay, so we've already, I kind of have an outline of questions, but I think we went over. I think we hit some of the questions already. Any hurdles? What was the hurdle? What was the main learning curve that you had from that mason jar? Besides all the research. But there's got to be some, you know, hit in the shins. There's got to be some things like what? Wtf? Like, what am I doing? There's got to be some situations like that. Sondra: [00:15:18] There is something new that comes up every day. Like from like sourcing ingredients is a big hurdle. Getting the right packaging, getting the proper packaging that has like the proper labeling because there's all types of requirements. I don't think we have had a production run that has been like, oh shit, what are we short on? Oh no, what do we need? Oh, you know, like what's. There's always something. Yeah. Just learning every day, like how to run a business. Like it's not even just, like, working. Like selling the product. You're like building a business from scratch. So you're trying to, like, work. Like, how do we build this up to, like, where do we want to go with it? What’s that hurdle looking like today? So, but yeah, I think like some of the biggest was when we started scaling up how to source the ingredients, where to get the ingredients. What do you do if… because our product we, we have like now formulated the recipe that, you know, but before we were just like using a little bit of this, using a little bit of that. Sharon: [00:16:17] Dash of this, a little dash of that. Sondra: [00:16:18] Yeah. So now but it is. Sharon: [00:16:20] Three ounces of vodka is how or one ounce of vodka that commercial one ounce of vodka. Sondra: [00:16:25] Right? So but we want to use like real premium ingredients. So we don't want to short. Like I won't give you all our trade secrets, but we do. We use Lea & Perrins because that's the best Worcestershire that's out there. It's way more expensive than French's. It's way more expensive than the other type, but it tastes way better and that's something we just won't sacrifice. Like we have had production runs and I mean, we're buying it in like the 3.7l jugs and you're buying 50 cases at a time of it. But there's a time that, well, there was a bridge that collapsed in the UK and we were short Worchester for… Worchestershire for a few months, so they only had it in the small bottles. So we had to like go to Costco. Not now. We're not getting it from our supplier. We're going hand into Costco and getting pallets of like these small little Lea & Perrins bottles, you know, because we want we need to give to our customer like the product we… so there's all kinds of hurdles like all the time that we're running into. Sharon: [00:17:22] To learn how to outsource it. How did you even do that? Sondra: [00:17:23 ] I don't know. Just just learning like nobody taught me. I just kind of this has become a passion area of mine, and it's something that I've just done a lot of time, like price comparing. Sharon: [00:17:38] So it's not a matter of going down to the local store and buying these products? You're able to get them from the supplier direct? Sondra: [00:17:47] Well know that. And that's another thing. I have tried calling the suppliers direct because I'm like, give us a drum of this. We just want barrels. But you can't do that. Like, so you have to… like they deal with, either there's companies like Pratt's, Gordons, Cisco, those type of companies. So that's who we source our ingredients from. Yeah. Sharon: [00:18:06] Gotcha. Sondra: [00:18:07] Yeah. And sometimes still Costco. Sometimes we still go into Costco and hand bomb things out because it's most affordable for us. Sharon: [00:18:16] So everything is still done at those two kitchens in Lloydminster and Kitscotty. Is that correct? Sondra: [00:18:22] Oh no. No, we've actually changed that now. So that was kind of like that. Honestly, only lasted about six months, maybe a year. I did a lot of work to while I was doing that. That was kind of a building block for me. A goal of mine was to get across Canada, and eventually we'll go into the United States. That's another goal of mine. In order to do so, you need to produce your product at a CFIA facility, and you can do things to make your own CFIA facility. But there's all kinds of different plans and protocols and all regulations you need to follow. So I started looking for a co-packer for us, and there was a few different options, but the one we ended up going with was the Saskatchewan Food Development Center in Saskatoon. They're phenomenal to work with. They support small businesses. They’re CFIA-approved. They know their stuff. So that is how we source. We're in there probably about once a month, sometimes twice a month on busy seasons. But yeah, so all of our product is now made in Saskatoon. We still have to make sure all the ingredients, the packaging, everything gets there. We go up there every day that it's being made, but we have a team that's helping us produce it and we can produce, like at the kitchen, we were making maybe 1500 bottles in a weekend with like a group of family. Like we'd have, like, you know how many people in there? It was wild and it was just a real team effort. Now, we can produce, I mean, it's still a good team in there, but about 2400 bottles a day is what we're making. So, yeah, it was a big change, like, so that, our, now that our production has increased, that's just allowed me to be able to, like, work more on the business. And I'm not just making product. Yeah. So we've been in there actually since 2022. So yeah, our product’s been made there. So and they're phenomenal. It's been, it's just the best thing ever. Sharon: [00:20:10] Okay. So you go from there and they look after that. And then what about the labeling and the packaging. How did you come up with that and how and where does that come from? Like how do you… Because that's very important. Like when you go through the stores, you know exactly what your product is. It stands out. It's brilliant. Sondra: [00:20:26] Yay. I'm glad to hear that. Our packaging. Yeah, it was… sourcing bottles is a challenge for sure too. So when we started, we had square bottles. I don't know if you remember the square bottles we used to have their way back then. So and that was all hand-labeled. But when we moved to the food center they needed for their labeling machine, they needed a round bottle because it kind of spins right on there. So we had to change. And for a long time I was getting our bottles out from Ontario. Well, sometimes from the States actually, we were bringing them up and then that was becoming really expensive and hard. And then we found a company in Ontario. But again, just like very expensive to ship out here. And, and the lead time to get out here. I was really struggling to make sure I would have enough. I would have to order it months in advance to make sure we'd have enough. It's another tricky thing is just knowing your inventory on everything you have. But yeah, so. So now I'm grateful. Actually Uline in Edmonton are, they are carrying the size of bottles that we need. Yeah. So, so it is so much better. So we ship directly from Edmonton to our food center in Saskatoon. So those are where our bottles are coming from now. Our labels, we so actually, like Bryce just designed our logo on Paint. Sharon: [00:21:39] Paint. And it's brilliant. I love it, I love it. Simple. I love everything about it. Sondra: [00:21:43] Yeah, it's very simple. Very well that's we just want like very simple, black and white. Classy. And then his cousin, she's fantastic. And she's actually helping us with our social media now. She was the one that kind of had a program. She was able to help with the initial like changing it into the label for the round bottle. So getting all of our ingredients and, and all of the different nutritional facts on there and all of that. So that was kind of the initial. And then with the artwork, we had a gal from Red Bicycle here in town that was for the new flavours. Just when we came up with our spicy or smoky and our dill pickle flavour, we're like, how can we make this stand out? We don't want like a red label and a green label, and… we want, we still want like our classic look. So she was just so incredibly talented. And those are all hand-drawn little, like, things that she made on there. And then the label company we use is out of Saskatoon. They're fantastic too. And they were able to like bring that metallic look, which we were really excited about. So yeah, our packaging, it's always something too about like, you're like with branding, it's a huge thing. You know, it's a big deal. And we were fortunate kind of to have some creative people in our corner. I am not that is not my… I can do all the research in the world, but the creative. But when you're starting out, branding is something you need to really think about. Look about, like, look into it, get a trademark for like, your thing. That, yeah, that was something I wish we would have done a little earlier. There's so much to think about packaging and labeling. And it all is a cost, you know? And as you start to buy more, you do get a little bit more of a discount on it. But even just like all of our cases that are in, like, we have to buy all the boxes that our cases go out to the stores, you know, And so all of. Yeah, it's just. Sharon: [00:23:32] And you got to incorporate that into, you know, you got to put that into the expense of it or the cost of it. Right. Like you got to really focus and you got to know your numbers. You got to know your numbers. Sondra: [00:23:40] Yes. And which is tricky when you have a product that your ingredient prices are always changing. Like our… I actually just had our meeting, year end meeting here with our accountant, and he was kind of like, your purchases are way up. And I was like, well, it's because like, our ingredients went up and he's like, well, change your pricing. I'm like, well, I can't because what if they go down tomorrow? So it's… sometimes it's a little bit of an ebb and flow. Sharon: [00:24:00] Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is tricky. It is, like everything's going up right. So, yeah, you got to be mindful of those numbers for sure and concentrate. So you're selling across Canada. Say so a local store they order through you or do they order through the Saskatoon…? How does that work? To replenish their stock. Sondra: [00:24:20] Yeah. Through me everything comes here. So the food center is essentially just like a co-packer. They're just a hub. They don't store our product for us. We… for a long time after a production run, we would actually, we have like a small little enclosed trailer. We would have to hire a truck to back up to the food center because it had to be like, seal into there, pull that truck away and literally take the cases and hand bomb them into our enclosed trailer to bring them home to our, we have a little warehouse here in town. So, but now, fortunately, working with Pratz, we've kind of struck a deal with them that they bring it home for us after a production run. So that has been just an absolute lifesaver. Yeah, but then once it's here, we have a little warehouse in town that we store it in and everything comes through me. So our vendors will email me. Sometimes they Instagram text me, whatever that may be, but it's all the emails are, or sorry, the vendor orders are just done through that. So we don't have like a real system because I tried to set something up, but people were still just emailing or texting or, you know, so that seems to be the easiest, just direct contact to me. And then I ship everything out. So I've found like a platform on… it's calledEe-shipper, but there's lots of different types. There's Flagship, E-shipper. I'm not sure off the top of my head. Sharon: [00:25:38] Freight Karma ourselves. Yep. So you get the best rate? Yep. Sondra: [00:25:41] Yeah. So, you essentially, you're just looking for a best rate. And because our product doesn't have to be refrigerated, it's plastic. I'm not worried about it breaking. I can. So I bring it home and I ship right from my front door. It's fantastic. So ones that are close, I deliver all of those. But yeah, that is… all orders are just kind of through me. And then we are now in with Federated Co-op. So that's been a big thing for us. Very exciting. Yeah. And so they… they'll send a purchase order and I will ship to their warehouse. I'll ship sometimes between 16, 30-some cases at a time. And then from there they distribute to certain co-ops that order from them. So some co-ops still order directly from me and they can do that. But some just go on to the… If they're in Federated Co-op, they go into that system and distribute from there. I've looked at different distributors, different types of brokers, but everybody wants a piece of the pie and it starts to really cut into your margins a lot. And I'm still able to manage this with what we're doing. But I mean, if… there's always the opportunity to grow that way and if you, you know, especially like out East, it's expensive to ship out East. So that might be worth our time to have a broker. But I've always… this is kind of my baby, and it's very hard to maybe let go a little bit. Sharon: [00:27:01] I know when you create something, it's hard. Sondra: [00:27:04] And then when you have people that are, you don't know, representing your product. Really. I do kind of struggle with that a little bit. So I need to get better. Sharon: [00:27:14] Yeah, that's like I've been doing this for 20 years and even like, I mean, I have great staff and everything's great, but it's still your name on it. It's still what you built, right? So they have to replicate. They have to have the same core values. They have to have the same outlook, the same services. Yeah. It's tough. It's tough to let it go for sure. Okay. Well that's exciting. Okay. So we talked about scaling up. And you did not expect this to go as big as it went. Right? So what I'm needing to know in our or our listeners probably want to know is how did you financially afford it? Sondra: [00:27:47] Very good question. So we have bootstrapped this whole thing. So we have never… we've been very fortunate. I always just had the mentality that I didn't want to like. It has blown us away how quickly it has taken off, and we are so grateful for the support. Like every day I'm in a pinch-me moment that it is where it is, but I never wanted to get. I kind of used the analogy like put the cart in front of the horse. I wanted to make sure we did things like slow and steady. So we have always just like what we've made, we sell that, we use that money to make more. So we've always kind of increased slowly. And this is not for everybody. Some people like to go hard right out of the gate and just like hit the ground running. But like I was doing this as a side hustle also. So it was my family was kind of first. Our daughter was dealing with some health issues. So I was just doing this to kind of survive. But yeah, but it was a lot of like do a little bit, make some money, buy some product, make a little more, do a little bit more. And that's kind of how we started going. And then yeah, it's just been something that's… I, we kind of have been really fortunate that way that we've kind of… Yeah, people kept being like, you should be in this or you should be in this. I said, yeah, we can, but I can't make that much product. Like before I was in the food center, I physically couldn't do that. So I was like, I don't, I know I could approach all these stores, but I kind of had my hands tied that I couldn't approach stores because I would never want to be in the situation that I couldn't fulfill an order. So I've always kind of made sure that when we did approach the Federated Co-op, I knew that we were in a place that I could produce that product and then sell that. And kind of same thing, like so I know exactly what my inventory is in the shop. I don't ever, like let it get too much. I try to make a good balance of when we need to replenish, because I don't want to just have so much inventory sitting there and no money in the bank account, either. So it's kind of like a yeah, it's a balancing act. Sharon: [00:29:45] A balancing act. It's a balancing act. And I find that some people I don't know if they realize, like, I bet you it was almost five years. And that's not a word they always say. The magic number is five years. If your business is going to make it or not. Right? It's about five years. Anyways. But it takes a long time to actually, when you start a business, it's not all glory at all. In fact, it's very time consuming. It's exhausting. You have no idea what you're doing, and you don't make any flipping money because you have to reinvest it all. Sondra: [00:30:14] Totally. Sharon: [00:30:14] Yeah. Like it all goes back into the company as you grow. Like that's it. Like even in our industry, like. Yes, okay, so I sell, say, a hoodie for 40 bucks. You know, whatever the margin is on that, it doesn't go in my pocket. It has to go back in the account so I could buy another hoodie, you know, like it doesn't… is an analogy. And same with what you're doing. So it does take time and it does take diligence. And yeah, don't jump in thinking it's all going to be glory. It's not. Sondra: [00:30:39] No. And it's like it's more than a full time job because you're just always thinking about it. Especially in the beginning, there was a lot of like sleepless nights. I didn't know, like I would just wake up and write something down or even, you know, like last night, because I have to get my month end done from the last little bit, I worked last night for a couple of hours late into the night. This morning, Bryce was gone early, so I was down in my office at 530. Just doing, you know, like your hours aren't always, like it's not a 9 to 5 job. Sharon: [00:31:07] It is not, you don't you wake up in the middle of the night with your heart stopping, because that's when you think of something when you're supposed to be sleeping. Yeah. It's it's. Yes. Sondra: [00:31:13] Yeah. It's a little bit stressful. Sharon [00:31:15] You went out. That's another question I have because I'm introverted and I'm not a salesperson. And in 2026, now that I have staff, I'm actually going to go out and hit the pavement. And I've never done this before in my life in 20... I mean, It's Time’s been around for 20 years, 20… 19 years right now. And I've never hit. They've always come here like we built the business based on reputation and all that kind of stuff, which I'm very flattered about. But so you had mentioned that you went out to those places and reached out to them to see if they would carry the product. Is that what you did to get it going? Sondra: [00:31:47] No, not no, actually. Like so it kind of is a little different. I'm like you, we've also been very flattered that people, it's word of mouth a lot that has got our product into stores. So like Home Hardware was the first one that reached out to us. And then from there, different companies started kind of saying, hey, well, we'll carry that in our store, we'll carry that in our store. And yeah, so I am not, I'm not a salesperson either. It is… I love working on the business at home and doing things, but going into a store to try to sell our product is like my worst nightmare. I just… it makes me so nervous. And I, when we're at a craft show, I don't mind it. It's a different. Sharon: [00:32:26] They're coming to you. They're coming to you. Sondra: [00:32:28] Yeah, they're coming to us. But so no, we… and we tried a little I remember in the beginning, because my husband Bryce is more of the sales person, I said, you got to get into stores, you got to go, you know. And he tried a couple times. But it's so funny because you go into a store and people just think, yeah, you're just another sell. I don't… Another rep. I don't really care what you have to sell. It wasn't, it never really went anywhere. Truly. Where our businesses have come from is mostly word of mouth. People trying it, going into a store saying, hey, you need to bring this product in. So I still, I always encourage people, if you have a store near you, ask them to carry it. Like we would love to be in their store and then you're not paying for shipping. And then if they know that there's a customer base that somebody is going to buy this product, they are more often likely to actually purchase it from you. With Federated Co-op, so how that started was, I actually, a girl I went to high school with, worked for the Federated Co-op in the offices, and she reached out to me and was kind of mentioning that this might be a good place to sell it. And here's some contacts you should try to reach out to. Sondra: [00:33:41] So it was simply an email to start. And it was kind of back and forth for over a year, year and a half. And then that person went, moved to a different job and then lots of things. So it was more like email, Zoom calls, and stuff like that. So talking to the buyers that way. And so like for Sobeys with the food center, they have a women's entrepreneur group. And I took a course kind of right when we got going. And it was also phenomenal because it was about 12 women entrepreneurs in the agrifood business sector, and we were all doing the same thing. We're just starting up, figuring who's talking to who? What have you guys done? What type of packaging are you using? Where are you producing this? This… all the things. So that was super beneficial for me. But from there, there's like different programs that we could go to or different conferences and there would be buyers from Sobeys there, or there would be, you know, different things, and you're putting your product in front of these different buyers. So it's making those kind of connections that I think are huge and have really helped us. So that's kind of been a big thing. So many people want to produce small businesses, local businesses, women entrepreneurs is a huge minority. They want to support those. So, yeah. Sharon: [00:35:00] Okay. So a couple key takeaways I'd like to chat a little bit more about. And FYI like yeah, salesman to me are like clowns. Like I'm terrified of salesman. Isn't that crazy? I'm absolutely terrified of them. Like car dealers. Oh, I'm gonna run away. Anyway, so when I do go out, I'm not going to be doing cold calls. I'm just going to be reaching out to our current customer saying, hey, thanks for the year. Like, that's my so-called. Yeah, that's what I'll be doing. Sondra: [00:35:22] No. And that's and I want to reach out to like there's a few different bigger stores and companies that I want to. But it's, everybody's so busy that you can't just pop into a store. Truly. Sharon: [00:35:31] In fact, it annoys me. It, absolutely, if I have one of my reps come in randomly, I'm instantly annoyed. Like I don't have. Yeah. Sondra: [00:35:39] So how I've approached it is I will most often send an email and either an introduction email or hey, can we meet? Can we chat? What works best for you? Trying to always make sure it's like around the… I would never. Yeah. When you just pop into places or people or and honestly, the manager seems to never be on. Sharon: [00:35:59] The front-end staff is trained for that reason alone anyways, so. Yeah, I know mine is. Anyway, so. Okay. So one thing you did talk about, which I'd like to talk a bit more because I think it's very, very important you talked about a support group how you had that and like so for example, like I'm part of a Women's International Organization. It's an organization out of Edmonton that I go to, and it's just women in business. And I just sit around once a month with very high-end women, and I get to learn so much from them. You know, I'm in BNI, which is a networking group, a referral based program. But I think those support groups, you got to find your area like. So that was a food group you talked about. So I think that's very important for people who are launching this because you learn so much from other people in the room. Is that what you're picking up from that as well? Sondra: [00:36:46] Absolutely. Yeah. And they are, they're mostly, they're nonprofit organizations. So they're there to help you. And so the, whoever's organizing it is just phenomenal in the connections that they have. And then, yeah, you're just like minded people trying to do the same thing. And it's sometimes like they'll be there has been a few that have been kind of competitors, but for the most part, everybody's just so supportive and they're just… Yeah, everybody's really lending a hand. Or if they have a connection with a vendor, they'll often share it with you, say, hey, I think your product would be really great in this store. You should reach out to them. Sharon: [00:37:22] Yeah. Very important. I think that's a very key takeaway from that whole… And the conferences. You talked about getting your product out in front of them. So that is again, I like that because that's really warm calling. It's not cold calling. Like we talked about being scared of salesmen and not being a salesman. So those kind of things you're there for a reason and they're there for a reason. So it's really a lot easier to do those kind of things. So our listeners should be looking for those kind of opportunities. Sondra: [00:37:46] Right. And so the ones that have been really successful for me were with FCC. So Farm Credit Canada. Very supportive of all kinds of things. So they have had two in Saskatoon and I haven't made it to the Winnipeg show yet, but I think I'm going to next year. Yeah. And they're just wonderful. And they have a panel of incredible speakers you're learning so much from. You get to shake hands with people from bigger stores that you would never be in the same room with. So anything that is in like your trade, your product, your business, yeah, find people that you, find a like-minded group. There's always different kinds of groups that can support you. And that's I think that's huge. Yeah. And there's, and when you're in those groups too. Lots of grants people. There's so many grants and there's so many things to give like, that people want to help you. So. So just. Yeah. Interesting. Sharon: [00:38:38] I remember it's time promotions actually started as a… quick story. It's time promotion started out in Manitoba. Originally just started our legs. My husband got headhunted to move to Alberta. So like it was, I think I was in a store for maybe six months and it's one, had an embroidery machine, just very small, just learning anyways. But we had one of my sales reps from Winnipeg stop and he was on the way to the lake and he read in the newspaper. Wasn't social media back then. That's how long it was. And he said, Sharon, have you ever been to the trade show in Calgary? And I'm like, what's that? Because again, you know, there wasn't Google. You know, we didn't have all that kind of stuff. We didn't have all that stuff at our fingertips. But anyway, so he's mentioned it. We drove from Manitoba to Calgary. We literally, we left after work, we slept in the truck. And then we walked into this trade show, and I remember walking in thinking, Holy Christ, like, what is this? And like the first aisle, my arms were full. Back then we had catalogs. My whole arm was stretched right down to my ankles, almost with holding all these catalogs. That's the first row. And I got to that one rep. He was at the end of the first row and he says, oh, you could tell you're a newbie. Take that, because everybody else had these carts and like everybody else was trained, you know, and I'm taking all the free stuff off the tables like try this hat, try that. And it's like, oh my God, this is so cool. But anyways, that first experience changed my life. Like changed It’s Time’s life. Yes. So I think that it's important to take that. And it's not even the vendors, it's the people standing in line looking at the products as well. Right? You're talking with those same people who are in the same industry. So it's important to go to those. It's important to talk to those people in the same industry. Sondra: [00:40:17] Yes, yes. You have to put yourself out there. I know it's uncomfortable, but it is so important. You just never know who you're going to run into. And what day is going to be the day that something really changes. Sharon: [00:40:27] Yeah. And positive attitude. Like even listening to you right now, it's, everything is positive. You're grateful. Everything that you have said like we're lucky, like all those things. I think that's a huge, huge in business. I think you've got to have that positive attitude and be mindful that you can't do it alone, and you're grateful for people who have helped you. Sondra: [00:40:44] Yes, I think you need to know your strengths and know when you need help and that it's okay to ask for help. Like certain areas for sure. Yeah, yeah. Like I have an accountant because that is not my strong suit. And I am so very grateful for them because I put my receipts together and send it on their way. And, and they, I know that those things need to be done right. And they are. Sharon: [00:41:06] They do need to be done right. Okay. So we talked earlier in the podcast about how you started this side hustle. Put it in brackets. You guys can't see me because it's voice only, but it's not a side hustle anymore. This is your livelihood. How do you do your work life balance? Because you talked about you have to get up early to do some things. You're up late one time, you got kids to run after and I hope you're one of your kids is well now, because you had mentioned health issues. Sondra: [00:41:29] Yes. Yeah. She was doing well. Yes. Thank you. Sharon: [00:41:32] Good. So you got to balance all that stuff and plus your husband's part of it. Like how? Like do you guys talk about it all the time? Like, do you cut it off? Like how does that work in your world? Sondra: [00:41:43] Great question. So it, it's been a learning curve for sure. When we started it was something I dove head first into and I was I mean we both were so excited about this and just hearing people be excited about it. Like it's so fun. Still to this day, when we see people try our product for the first time and their eyes light up, and I mean, that just makes everything worth it. But yeah, the balance is, so in the beginning, I remember just talking to Bryce, like nonstop. I would wake up in the morning. I would before we go to bed at night. I was, all the time. And he's somebody that needs a little bit of a break from things. And he needs to process things. And he… we operate very differently. But it's obviously worked so. So very quick… and at that time we were both teaching full, well, I was home, but then we went back into teaching full-time. Yeah. And he's kind of just was just like, well, we'll just figure it out as we go. I'm like, nope. Again, type A, I need this to be done properly. So pretty quickly into it we just started and too, having two young kids, every single time we would try to open our mouths and talk about this, I would feel that somebody is interrupting you or there's loud something in the background. So we very quickly realized we needed to like, make little Lake Life meetings, and it would be like our date nights. I would write things down that I needed to talk to him about, was the biggest thing. And then I would say, hey, I have a question for you later. Like, when it works, we need to talk about something. So I wasn't just throwing it at him because that was a problem of mine. I was just like kind of rapid fire. So yeah, that worked out well in the beginning. We kind of would just have these little monthly meetings, like we'd go out for a supper and call it a Lake Life meeting and kind of a date night and talk about my list or his list of things and get things kind of organized. And we still do that to this day. But now Bryce is a vice principal, actually, so he's quite busy with his role. He's super helpful and he's still very involved. But it's like on a must-know basis kind of for him right now. So yeah, it was… I think that was the biggest learning curve was just like knowing when to have these conversations was really important at home. Yeah, I was teaching full-time. So finding the hours was almost impossible. And then I was at home, but I was, our daughter was still… I think this is my third year now off of teaching. So our daughter was still home full-time with me and we did get a babysitter. So I was sending her to a dayhome for 1 or 2 days a week. But it was just trying to find it was really tricky. And then last year she was just in kindergarten, so it was still every other day. So this is my first full year that I've had that is actually. Sharon: [00:44:20] So you got the full days to work. Sondra: [00:44:22] Which is funny because I do and I don't like I always say I'm like, I get about three hours in a day to truly work on this, because by the time I get them dropped off at school, get home, pick up the house from the life. You know, I get down to my office about like 9:30, 10 sometimes and then, yeah, it's just like you have a few hours, then you got to get there, both in hockey. So I gotta get school snacks ready. Got to pick them up from school and off to hockey we go. So this is why I still work like early mornings and late at night. If I don't want to be interrupted on things. Because then life happens, you know, people are coming. I'm working from home, so people are coming to the house or dropping things off, or I'm doing this load of laundry and all the things in between. But yeah, I think it's just, I really need, I've worked hard on, like, setting hours aside that I look at my calendar and I'll put like absolutely a minute to minute, hour to hour, kind of what I'm doing in a day. And it's like from this time to this time is when I'm doing a little bit of house stuff, and from 10 to 2 I'm in my office, and I'm, that's where I'm working. And yeah, so it's been, it has been a huge learning curve. But I think we're managing okay. It's definitely becoming. Things are just starting to flow. Yeah. Yeah I can't wait to have a little bit more time. Sometimes I'm just like, I would really love to spend more time building our business instead of just doing the must do's, but it's survival. Sharon: [00:45:46] It's going to come, it's going to come. It will come when you're ready for it. Absolutely. Yep. One thing you had mentioned earlier again, you wanted to, so you're going to stay home with your kids. And now all of a sudden it's like go, go, go, go. It's so funny how that works because people are like, I'm going to start this side hustle. Like I did it, my daughter, when she was, because we moved to Alberta and I started it's time. I didn't know a soul when we started. It's time. Like a lot of times you need your family and your friends to. We didn't know anybody anyway. So she was two and she lived in the office with me. When you jump into this, you don't really know. It's like… it's almost like jumping into this fast going river and you're just trying to stay above it and keep going and make sure everybody's safe and everybody's on your little boat or whatever. Got a life jacket? And that's all, that's basically it. Sondra: [00:46:32] And I think, like we, Bryce checks me a lot too. He's like, why did we start this? Like it was to be with the kids? So I, I learned a lot though. And you know, I still like I'm the one dropping them off. I'm the one picking them up. I can be there today. I'm going at 2:00 to help tie skates because they're going skating. So, you know, I can be there for those moments because I'm able to work early or late at night and be flexible. So and just taking trips, I'll bust my butt. Like even our summertime, we are talking, we might do a little more in the summer, but we ship out so much in April and May and June that we like, we're still coming home and shipping stuff in July, but we're enjoying our time at the lake. We're like, really? You know? So out of all this, like, balance and like spending time with them is really what's like. Sharon: [00:47:15] You are doing it. You are, you're putting them in, you're putting them, you're sending them off to school. You're there when they get home. You're there, like that's important. So that's one thing about being an entrepreneur. Are able to do that kind of stuff when it's necessary or when you choose to, or if you want to. Right? Sondra: [00:47:29] It is. Yeah. Sometimes my kids are like, mom, you're always on your phone. I'm like, I know because I'm taking orders or I'm emailing or, you know, so it is, it's hard. It is hard sometimes. And I'm like, mommy's working and I, I have to do this so I can be home with you. And it's hard. How do you explain that to a kid? Sharon: [00:47:41] But no, they won't get it until they're in their 20s, unfortunately. Sondra: [00:47:45] Right. Yeah. Exactly. Sharon: [00:47:46] So okay. So anything else that you would like to tell our listeners out there if they're going to jump off the bridge and go into there and do it. What's your key takeaway from your whole experience? Sondra: [00:48:00] I, like you said, just stay positive and know that there will be hard times, but always just kind of keep your head up and keep trudging forward. There's going to be obstacles. You just have to like, meet them head on and figure it out and then move on to the next challenge. But remember why you started and like, what? What is it that you really love? And is it something that you really love? Because I think as soon as you start not loving it, then it's, you know, then it's not worth it. Like, we truly love what we do. We love connecting with the people. We love our work life balance. Yeah. And I'm ,we're so excited to see just the growth. Like it's always exciting as an entrepreneur to see what you can do and where you can go with your product and have a, have a good, strong product, I think is also a big like. We're fortunate that people love what we're making. So that I think has also like so yeah, like spend time making. If it's a product based company, make sure that, yeah, like it's refined and and don't cut corners, I think is huge. Sharon: [00:49:01] Yes. Yes. Yep. Absolutely. Okay. One skill you had to learn to do this. What's your one skill? Sondra: [00:49:09] Oh, well probably…. Sharon: [00:49:11] That you didn't have before. You talked about your teaching background. What skill did you have to learn in order to do this? Sondra: [00:49:18] I think more financial stuff. Like more like managing just and like understanding. Yeah. Like how, what it is to make like remittances. Sharon: [00:49:29] It's different, isn't it? Like it's different when you get an income, you budget. That's called budgeting, right? When you have a standard income, you know what you can expense. You know where you're at. It's called budgeting. Being a business owner is different because you have uptown, ups like, you know, busy seasons, lower seasons, and you got to be able to get through all of them. Sondra: [00:49:46] Yes. And just like under. Yeah. And I think so like the financial end of it I mean and like I said, I still have an accountant to do all that, but you still have to know. You still have to know your numbers. And, so that's something. Yeah, in the teaching profession, I didn't really have to worry too much about. I made so much each month and my taxes were my taxes, but I just never saw that money in my account. So it was, you know. But now it's like, well, I'm paying my own taxes with every bottle I sell, like I have to sell. How many bottles just pay my taxes? So that's been a learning curve for me. Sharon: [00:50:17] The government will get you for sure. Yeah. You got to know what profit margin you need to stay alive. You got to know how much products you need to sell, you know, quarterly or whatever it is to stay ahead. Yeah, yeah. So you got to know your numbers. Yeah. Yeah. Sondra: [00:50:30] For sure. And just like, and I well, I think it would come from before but building those connections with, with different vendors and stuff and at the end of the day, like making those connections with who you're selling your product to is huge. Like you need to know them. They need to know you. Sharon: [00:50:43] Even that. Relationships like with your vendors, like my vendors, I can literally text them like that's how close of a relationship I have with them. And the trust is there, right? So if I phone and tell them that I have a faulty whatever, they don't even question it. It's like, oh my goodness, Sharon, we'll fix that for you. Right? Whatever. So relationships and trust with your vendors, not only your customers, is hugely important. You need them in your corner. Sondra: [00:51:09] And not only your vendors, the whole supply chain. You need like everybody, like our delivery driver. I know them by name. They pick up our product because I want them handling our product with care. You know, like at this point, like they, and I can text them and be like, hey, I have a shipment. And from like our supplier for our ingredients to the… every single, like the people at the post office that I drop stuff off with. I have made connections and relationships with all of those. Like the whole chain. Every single person's important. Yeah Sharon: [00:51:38] Yeah, you gotta respect for them. You gotta have respect. And you got to be grateful. You got to be. Yes, 100%. I agree with that. Okay. So in your world, what was the bigger risk, the starting or the scaling? Sondra: [00:51:50] Ooh, probably the scaling. Because the starting, I think I was so naive, I had no idea what we were getting into. It was kind of on a whim, truly. And so I think the starting would have been like pretty like just exciting at the moment. Scaling.... And I still struggle with this. Sharon, I still, like we're somewhere, but do I want to scale to the next level? What does that look like? Like, so I think you always have to go back to the drawing board. And so I think scaling for sure it would be the scarier part. Sharon: [00:52:23] But that was my next question is where do you see yourself in five years. Where do you see Lake Life Caesar in five years? Sondra: [00:52:28] Yeah, I well hopefully continues to on the upward trend and just be something people continue to enjoy across Canada. Maybe the states, more Canadians enjoying it, just getting it more. I want to be like a household name across Canada. Like when you're like, you know, like now we know like, what a- I don't know, you've got sitting on your table, you've got ketchup that like you're Heinz ketchup. Or I want to be like Lake Life Caesar. People just know what it is. Everybody that's talking about it. Sharon: [00:52:57] How far north in Canada is the product? Sondra: [00:53:01] We are up in like Yellowhorse. Sharon: [00:53:03] Very cool. Sondra: [00:53:04] Whitehorse. Whitehorse. Yellowknife. Not Yellowhorse. Sharon: [00:53:07] Yeah, yeah, I see, I know, I knew what you meant. Sorry. Yeah, yeah, you're way up there. That's awesome. Sondra: [00:53:13] Yeah, we are up in Whitehorse. Sharon: [00:53:16] Whitehorse? That's very cool. Yeah. And all the way east and all the way west. Sondra: [00:53:21] Yeah. We are coast to coast right now, so we are out in Nova Scotia. New Brunswick. We are out on the island. Actually, there's a co-op out in the Island that carries it. Some like Vancouver, different co-ops out there. There's a place in Kelowna that carries it. Yeah. And then we're all the way down into Calgary medicine hat. Sharon: [00:53:41] Very exciting, I find it, I find it a miraculous story. I can literally vision walking out of my RV with a mason jar of that stuff. Like, I wish I was clever enough to think of that because I've been drinking seizures my whole entire life. So like, so clever of you guys. And you deserve this in more ways than you could possibly imagine because it's made my life easier. So that is fantastic. So yeah, I'm hoping that somebody out there can gain some insight from what you had shared with us today. Sondra, I really appreciate you taking the time. Sondra: [00:54:12] Thank you. Yeah. And if they ever need, they can always reach out to us on our social media. I see all those messages. So if they have any more questions that have kind of spiked out about this or. Sharon: [00:54:20] What's your social media handle, they'll put it in the feed. Sondra: [00:54:24] Sure. It's just @Lake Life Caesar and Caesar spelled C-a-e-s-a-r. That is one thing people often misspell. Sharon: [00:54:31] Yes, I think I might have actually done that in my notes, actually. That's okay. Oh no I don't. It's AR, yeah, I got it right. Yeah. Sondra: [00:54:37] No, you have it right. Sharon: [00:54:38] Yeah, yeah you're right. Okay. So thank you so much for sharing this with us today Sondra I really appreciate the honesty. I really appreciate the openness because that's what the podcast is for, is meant to help other entrepreneurs. So I think that you gave some clarity to some of our listeners. And I'm hoping that some of our listeners will take their idea and roll with it based on this podcast. So everyone that's listening, you've been if you've been sitting on an idea or wondering if your product could go further, I think Sondra and Bryce's story maybe can show you that it is possible. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, follow, and subscribe to This Time for Success The Business Insights podcast. And if you know of someone who's dreaming bigger, send this podcast their way, please. Until next time, keep building your success one step, one story, one lesson at a time. Thank you, Sondra, for joining us. Sondra: [00:55:29] Thanks for having me, Sharon. That was great. Sharon: [00:55:31] It was fun. Sondra: [00:55:32] Yeah, it was really good.