Featured Business

Small Town Paralegal

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 23:04:08 GMT

Small Town Paralegal with Hayley Bettles

Hayley Bettles is the proud owner of Small Town Paralegal. She is a paralegal serving primarily Huron and Perth County. Mitchell, Ontario is the home to her practice's main office. Stratford and Goderich are the closest local courthouses to her customers. That being said, she is not limited in a geographical sense; she can service the whole province of Ontario. “I’m lucky” she said, “that I can do 99% of my business virtually.”

Small Town Paralegal was established in June of 2020. Hayley is one of the very few paralegals in the area. While being a new mom, creating and learning, her new business in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t easy. One of the difficulties Hayley endured was not being able to attend a courthouse in person. Typically, when a paralegal is learning, they get the opportunity to view other proceedings to practise their own abilities. This wasn't the case for Hayley when she had a question that would normally be answered by peers in her field.

This unusual circumstance is why Small Town Paralegal is completely top notch digitally and virtually. With meeting her clients, having documents signed, verifications and other proceedings done electronically. It has set Hayley up to deal with the new digital forms of running a business right away. “I didn't have to change anything…I bought software that was already adaptable.” Now her business may be ahead of the curve online.

The pricing for Small Town Paralegal services has “better pricing” says Hayley. “We're virtual, we don't have a physical office. So, because of that, we don't have the added cost of rental space, electricity, internet, all that stuff…So we can give you the same great service for less…Which saves the client money, but also makes it more cost effective for us to run our business.”

The internet and Google especially have played a huge part in the customer acquisition for Small Town Paralegal. “Most of my clients come from there. I do have some referrals. I'd say probably like a quarter of them are referrals from someone else. But Google, Facebook, not so much Instagram.” Currently her business is sitting at a 5 Star rating on Google maps reviews. Hayley plans on keeping it there for years to come.

In the future she has plans to expand her business. “I want to be able to take on more clients. I would actually like to hire another paralegal…I would like to hire someone in the next year or so and have them join Small Town Paralegal and maybe do different areas of law” With her business only running at a part time capacity, Hayley plans to expand into other areas of law the Small Town Paralegal currently doesn’t service. During this time, Hayley plans to continue building up the reputation of her brand, Small Town Paralegal. As well as educating the public about different areas of law on her social media platforms. Then she will be able to service more of the community in a broader area of law practice.

Coleman Designs Co

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 05:39:14 GMT

Coleman Designs Co with Sam Coleman

Today we sat down with Sam Coleman to talk about his business Coleman Designs Co. His business is located in Stratford and serves the Stratford and surrounding area. Sam is the sole employee of his company, offering a variety of custom CNC woodworking products and services. He can also do engravings, plaques, 3D carvings and other custom pieces. On special order projects, occasionally small metal fabrication can be offered by Coleman Designs Co too. “I’m more geared towards woodworking…some of the main things that I want to focus on making is charcuterie boards, cutting boards and home decor.”

Sam started out his entrepreneurial journey by founding a company called RAW Integration and has now expanded his knowledge into the custom woodworking industry. He is focused on serving his customers locally “because I enjoy supporting local businesses and I enjoy being more involved with the community too” Sam loves to be creative and take the time to explain the process to his customers when taking on new projects.

The only regret he has for starting Coleman Designs Co, Is that he wishes he was a bit more prepared in the beginning. Sam kind of hit the ground running and wasn’t quite prepared to wear all of the hats so to speak. Having an employee to help run some of the day to day tasks would have alleviated the burden on him. However, starting a business in the last couple years has been trying for most people. One of Sam’s strong suits is the amount of attention to detail that he puts into the work pieces he completes.

Creating custom woodworking pieces takes a lot of time and energy. “I feel I have good energy, good vibes, going into it…I don't want to work on a workpiece where I'm upset or thrown off or my mood or something like that…I believe that everyone has their own energy…when you you're creating a workpiece you're putting your energy into that…So in my mind, you don't want to be putting bad energy into it and giving it to someone.

Just listening to Sam you can tell he means it. Right now Sam is focused on building his brand awareness in the Stratford area. He has been growing his social media and also plans to have his own website published soon. One of his goals for Coleman Designs Co is to specialize on a few products and build them really well. Some of the products he can create currently are his very own creation The Sam Stand (which is an adjustable desk stand) charcuterie boards, card holders and home decor items.

Sam mentions that Coleman Designs Co is interested in taking on a few commercial projects as well. We wish Sam all the best and it was a pleasure speaking with him. If your in the Stratford area we would recommend reaching out to Coleman Designs Co for your custom woodworking needs.

Koertland Auto Pro

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 05:39:11 GMT

Koertland Auto Pro with Theo Koert

Koertland Auto Pro is an automotive business making a difference! Located in Milverton. It is owned by none other than Theo Koert (Koertland). We have done the honours of calling the owner into an interview. To which he gave great answers. So tell me Theo when did you start Koertland Auto Pro. “Well, in the year 1925, the building opened as a Ford dealership. Where it sold tractors, cars, and fuel up until 2002. Eventually, Ford pushed more sales on inventory, and the shop joined NAPA AUTO PRO. That's when Milverton Garage Inc was created in 2002. I purchased the building in 2012 and that's when Koertland Auto Pro was created. Fast forward, Now offer a 10-year 400,000 km free Powertrain warranty and a 2-year and 40,000 km parts and warranty. Furthermore, we have a 6-bay automotive facility using cutting-edge facilities and tools."

"Not only that, but we offer many automotive services. Some of which include: Brakes, Electrical diagnostics, Alignments, Suspension, Tires, Oil changes and many more. The journey has been amazing so far. We are happy to celebrate 10 years of existence." We ask Theo why he wanted to start this business to which he responded “This location of it played a huge role, it being downtown. I was drawn to the historic building and wanted to be self-employed” Some of the challenges he has faced was “gaining the trust of our existing customers and maintaining a high quality of service. We handled it well, thankfully.”

He went on to say that finding skilled, dedicated employees and being able to retain and educate his local customers is an ongoing challenged he is facing. In the automotive repair industry the technology is constantly changing, affecting new vehicles as well. It requires auto shops like Koertland Auto Pro to get new equipment for diagnostics and repairs, adding extra costs to the bottom line. To say the least.

To cope with this Theo and his dedicated staff are bringing in new customers through social media advertising, postcards, the local newspapers, street signs, and storefront signs. They also offer shuttle and loaner car services. A 24/7 drop off and pick up. Protected key boxes to ensure security for after-hour pick-ups and drop-off flexible payment options. “I would like to see Koertland Auto Pro with more employees because right now, we're limited in the number of customers we can book.”

After speaking with Theo over lunch It was obvious that he wants to increase the image of the business, employees, and consumer satisfaction. He said “I must be the face of the business because it shows my employees that I will work right beside them on any job. It also helps me display to the customers that I am present in the operation of the business. I like being available to answer any questions they may have." A big goal for Koertland Auto Pro right now is to find more dedicated employees to increase the number of customers they can serve. That will allow them to book more customers at any given time.

There you have it, directly from Theo Koert! If your vehicle is giving you problems and you’re near Milverton, Ontario. Koertland Auto Pro should be your go-to automotive business, I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did. Thanks to Theo for making the time to speak with us. This interview was an interesting one to have.

Make the most of the season by following these simple guidelines

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 00:37:07 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.