Rising up in Whitney Pier, Cape Breton, Miranda Pike all the time cherished the tales of princesses when she was a toddler.
“They all the time advised such inspiring tales of journey, encouragement, magic and empowerment. I wished to be similar to them — so I did,” she says.
Now 24 years outdated, Pike’s enterprise, Little Princess Parties relies out of Halifax, and he or she’s fulfilling a few of these childhood desires. She’s a part of a wave of younger entrepreneurs on the East Coast of their 20s who’ve seen alternatives and grabbed onto them over the previous few years.
“I wished to have the ability to deliver new and magical experiences to everybody — youngsters each massive and little — so I got here up with my enterprise Little Princess Events, a personality leisure firm,” she explains.
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Turning into an entrepreneur was one thing that is all the time been behind her thoughts, even when she was that little woman in Cape Breton, dancing to the beat of her personal drum.
“There have been so many issues I cherished to do, however I all the time wished to personal a enterprise. I really like with the ability to keep artistic and on my toes, and with the ability to meet a lot of new folks,” Pike says.
Certainly one of Pike’s private touches is making all her costumes for her enterprise. She additionally has a hand in every little thing from coaching performers and graphic design to face portray, make-up artistry, wig and hair design, administrative work and social media administration.
“I really like with the ability to put my very own contact into each element. I may also management each product and expertise to verify it’s a top quality I personally imagine in.”
When she established her enterprise, she says she had the help of her household, “particularly my mom to assist encourage me alongside the way in which.”
Pike says all of it comes all the way down to “a dream I had once I was little, and the tales led me to by no means hand over.”
And he or she’s discovered methods to develop since establishing her enterprise, together with providing extra characters and providers.
And he or she has plans for the way forward for her enterprise.
“I hope to have the ability to journey to different provinces extra usually, and hopefully open branches in these areas to deliver much more magic to people who want it,” she says.
“I really like with the ability to put my very own contact into each element.”
— Miranda Pike
Keep Golden Customized
Coltin Handrahan is a 27-year-old entrepreneur whose enterprise, Stay Golden Custom, relies in Hunter River, P.E.I. What began as a small challenge between buddies of their senior 12 months at Colonel Grey Excessive Faculty in Charlottetown in 2012 is now poised to develop even larger.
“Earlier this 12 months, we have been excited to rejoice our ten-year anniversary of getting launched our firm,” he says.
His enterprise presents P.E.I.-based customized clothes and merchandise.
“We work with companies, groups and types throughout japanese Canada to assist them create customized printed clothes and merchandise traces that their clients, group, and group may be proud to put on,” he explains.
One of many issues that makes his firm totally different from most is that it presents personal label manufacturing for clothes manufacturers, together with new printing applied sciences equivalent to direct to garment full color printing on clothes gadgets.
“Our objective is to assist our shoppers take their concepts from idea to cotton,” he explains.
“Our objective is to assist our shoppers take their concepts from idea to cotton.”
— Colin Handrahan
Handrahan hasn’t carried out all of it on his personal, although. He discovered inspiration in his mum or dad’s enterprise expertise – they’re additionally entrepreneurs – in addition to a number of mentors within the Charlottetown enterprise group. He is additionally grateful for his enterprise group.
“We’re lucky to have had an important set of group members over the previous decade which have helped Keep Golden Customized proceed to develop as an organization,” he says.
Handrahan is happy for a big growth in his enterprise within the subsequent 12 months “that can enable us to extend our manufacturing capability and add a number of new group members at our facility in Hunter River.”
Earlier this 12 months, Handrahan’s group was fortunate sufficient to have been chosen as one of many 150 recipients throughout Canada for the Desjardins ‘GoodSpark’ grant, which has helped put together Keep Golden Customized for its subsequent steps.
One of many issues that Handrahan loves in regards to the work he does together with his firm “is the chance to work with so many artistic and proficient shoppers, many instances entrepreneurs and small enterprise house owners themselves,” he explains.
“As Prince Edward Island continues to reopen this spring, we’re excited to see issues return to regular and for a busy 2022.”
Wild Kitchen
Brittany Boothroyd needs to assist the world to cook dinner — or, a minimum of, Prince Edward Island.
She began her enterprise Wild Kitchen in 2021, educating personal and group plant-based cooking courses within the consolation of the consumer’s residence, personalised to their ability degree, meals preferences and schedule. At some point, she could be educating a one-on-one personal class, and the subsequent she could be instructing youngsters or a cocktail party, “and every little thing in between.”
She relies in japanese P.E.I., however travels as far west as Summerside for courses. Her motivation for placing out on her personal as an entrepreneur was easy.
“I found that many individuals wish to incorporate extra crops into their each day lives however do not know the place to start out,” she says, including that “intimidation is a giant issue within the kitchen for some folks.”
She goals to resolve that for her shoppers.
“I might help educate and familiarize them with hands-on studying so that they really feel extra assured cooking wholesome meals for themselves and their households,” she says.
Her future aspirations for her Wild Kitchen enterprise embody “creating personalised, multi-session packages for folks to allow them to progress their ability ranges and fill their recipe books with recipes they’ve realized with me, hands-on, in addition to providing digital courses and video channels.”
Boou Canine Treats
On the coronary heart of Rebecca Cross’ enterprise Boou Dog Treats is a beloved mushkadoodle.
“After we adopted our mushkadoodle rescue canine, Brandie, in 2013, we shortly realized that she was a notoriously choosy eater,” explains Cross, from Conception Bay South, N.L.
“This, mixed with eager to feed her solely the very best and healthiest choices — as any pet mum or dad does — spurred on a wild goose chase to seek out choices she really favored. And time after time, she’d flip her nostril up at no matter we introduced residence.”
Baking treats was a pastime Cross had in highschool, so she thought, “What do I’ve to lose? Let’s strive my hand at making some treats she may very well eat,” she explains.
“Spoiler alert: She cherished them!”
From there, her enterprise was born.
“We first opened our oven doorways in 2015,” says Cross. “We’re a canine bakery, that in itself is kind of a novel idea.”
She by no means imagined that her efforts to feed Brandie would proceed to develop right into a full-fledged enterprise.
“It’s humorous, as a result of once I began Boou (pronounced boo), I used to be on a 12 months’s waitlist to start out school and began my enterprise on a little bit of a whim,” Cross says.
“I had the angle of what do I’ve to lose, let’s give this a shot, and right here we’re nearly seven years later.”
Cross began from the bottom up, curating recipes from scratch that met the taste-testing approval of her choosy pup, and the enterprise is centered round creating wholesome treats for canines.
“Our focus is making treats, jerky and even birthday desserts which are baked contemporary and freed from preservatives, meals colourings and sugar that may be very unhealthy for canines,” says Cross.
And her enterprise continues to develop yearly.
“Annually, enterprise will get busier and busier to the purpose the place I feel, ‘OK, that is about as a lot as we will deal with,’ and it simply retains snowballing,” she says.
“We’ve acquired a couple of issues up our sleeve, however lengthy as there’s canines to bake for, we’ll proceed to develop.”
