Presenting the fifth in our STAR Company “Client Snapshots” series (and the first for 2013!)!

STAR Company client rabble.ca has been providing alternative news – independent of corporate media control - since 2001.  They call it “news for the rest of us” – a collection of voices and stories that you won’t hear in other papers, podcasts and TV shows.  Here’s what Matthew Adams, the Managing Editor at rabble.ca, has to say about the importance of  the work they do….

1.Tell us about rabble…What is it? How did it begin?  How has it changed over time?

rabble.ca sprang to life on April 18, 2011, just before the protests against the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. rabble was built on the efforts of progressive journalists, writers, artists and activists across the country who wanted to cover “news for the rest of us”.  These days some people would call what we do news for the 99%.

2. Why do you think rabble is important? 

Canada has some of the highest concentration of corporate media control of any democracy in the world.  A healthy democracy requires media that is owned, controlled or heavily influenced by the government or for-profit corporations or interests.  That’s us.  We combine the talents and interests of award winning journalists with community organizers, citizens and other people with important stories to tell to bring news that matters to a wide audience.  Our site, unlike a number of news sites, is 100% free to use to give as much news access as we can to the widest audience we can.

3. What are your greatest joys and greatest challenges in running a constantly changing business like rabble?

We love finding and reporting on important issues and stories that affect communities across Canada (and the world).  Our greatest challenge, like most independent media sites, is one of resources.  Help remedy the situation at www.rabble.ca/support.

4. What have been the most important lessons so far?

We’re over 11 years old – that is a long time in internet years. We are probably still around because we keep looking ahead to how our visitors will want to connect to us in the future.  We were one of the first sites in Canada with podcasts, and one of the few to host to podcast network.  We’re early adapters of new technology – from twitter, to live video, we are always experimenting with new tools that help tell stories. More innovation on the way!

5. What do you wish you had?

One percent of our visitors supporting us with $5/month. That would make us a truly sustainable independent media. Have we mentioned that people can support us really easily at www.rabble.ca/support?

6. How does STAR Company help rabble?

We have people all over the country working for rabble but our financial home is Toronto.  STAR Company gets our books in order, literally takes our money to the bank, makes sure that important items don’t get missed, and keeps our lights on so we can worry about covering the news.  Thanks STAR Company!

7. Any advice for independent voices in Canada’s new media?

Let’s work together!  Email us!  publisher@rabble.ca

Sara Fillmore of Planet Kid

Presenting the fourth in our STAR Company “Client Snapshots” series, Shirley Marquez sits down for a virtual chat with STAR Company client Sara Fillmore of Planet Kid to find out more about the lessons Sara has learned during her career as a creative entrepreneur. 

Tell us about Planet Kid –  who are you, what do you do, where are you, and what makes you awesome!

We are (in our humble opinion!) the best gift shop for kids and babies! The entire collection is lovingly curated to provide our clients with unique, locally and ethically produced clothing, toys and gear for kids of all ages. We are located in the beautiful Roncesvalles neighbourhood – a great place to live and a great place to shop! Our devoted clients, the kids and babies in their lives and our neighbourhood make us awesome!

What sparked your interest and passion into doing what you do now? How did you begin your journey?

My journey to Planet Kid began with a passion for knitting and the birth of my dear son. I created a small clothing company called Hankware that partnered with a friend (Baby Ben) and opened Planet Kid on Queen St. West in March of 2006. In May of 2008 I officially shut down Hankware and moved the store to 87 Roncesvalles and began the focus of expanding our collection to include more gifts, shoes, boots, toys, books and gear.

Could you tell us about some challenges you had at the beginning of your career? How did you overcome these challenges?

The challenges continue but that’s a good part of the fun too! The biggest initial challenge for me was figuring out how to balance my own work with the work of other designers and artists. It soon became apparent though that my little clothing line was not going to grow if I was concentrating on running the store. I looked very closely at what I was good at and it became apparent that my strengths were in the collecting of the products, of seeing things and how they could work for the store and discovering/nurturing small businesses and allowing them to incubate their ideas at the store.

Planet Kid at Roncesvalles

What/why do you think your customers like about Planet Kid?

The question would be what DON’T they like! hahaha. Our clients keep coming back for two reasons. The first would be that we are all about customer service – we consider ourselves experts in the products we carry and experts in gift giving! We can help find the best, most unique gift for every kid on their list! And the second reason would be those products! Unique, unusual, practical, always ethically made and chosen with love!

Growing up, who inspired you to follow your dreams of running your own creative business? Who prompted you to be who you are today?

My parents for sure. And a woman whom I miss terribly, Ryva Novick. She was the mom of my best friend and also one of the founders of the Children’s Storefront. She let me open my first restaurant (The Kid’s Cafe at the Storefront) and was an extraordinary artist!

How does STAR Company help with your life/work?

Oh my gosh! STAR Company arrived in my orbit just in time! They created systems for me to get the paperwork under control. Their bookkeeping services allow me to work on understanding the processes without having to do all the data entry! Bless them all!!

Looking back at what you have accomplished, what would you do differently with your business and why?

I would have started with a very concrete business plan because though one should always update and change their plan to accommodate the changes in the business, without one at all I had no course for a couple of years and I feel I could have built faster.

What are your greatest joys in running your creative business?

I find joy in everything I do at Planet Kid! The greatest joy is in watching people walk out the door with a gorgeous gift under their arm, a smile on their face and the knowledge that they’ll be giving something to be treasured forever!

Where would you like to see Planet Kid take off in ten years?

In ten years time there should be Planet Kid stores in lovely neighbourhoods across the country! Spreading love and the Planet Kid culture.

If the whole world were listening, what would you say?

I would sing
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
you make me happy when skies are grey
you’ll never know dear, how much I love you
please don’t take my sunshine away.

Another in our on-going series of monthly STAR Company ‘Client Snapshots’…a chance to share, learn, explore and find creative and business inspiration from our STAR Company client roster.

Cheryl Bouzide-McKee, of the STAR Company team,  sits down for a virtual chat with STAR Company client Emily McInnes from EYE BUY ART.

Tell us about yourself and your creative business.

Photo of Emily McInnes by: Maja Hajduk

I am the Founder and Director of EYE BUY ART, an online gallery.  EYE BUY ART makes it easy to collect award-winning, affordable art by rising stars in the world of photography. I am the Co-Founder of the international Flash Forward Festival, and the former Director of Creative Development at CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival. In 2009, I was chosen as one of “15 Women Entrepreneurs Who Make a Difference” from among 1200 global applicants to attend a private workshop hosted by Seth Godin in New York. 

What are your greatest joys and greatest challenges as a creative entrepreneur?

Eszter Burghardt (CAN), Fjord of Wool

I find it exciting making connections with people I don’t know, from around the world, who are buying art from emerging artists and supporting their career (we have now shipped art to over 20 countries!).  My greatest challenge at the moment is finding a balance between looking after my 9 month-old son and running the business. Solvable, but feels messy as business is getting busier and there seems to be less time.  I’ve learned not to go down the google wormhole when it’s time to get to work.

Gabriela Herman (US), Jump

What prompted you to become your own boss?

I was working on festivals like CONTACT, and Flash Forward and each experience made me become more focused, and more interested in young, emerging artists who needed an organized, professional way of furthering their careers. I’d been very involved in raising money and profile for both of these organizations, and felt my skills could be utilized in a way that more directly supported young artists. That’s why I chose the name EYE BUY ART; “I buy art” is a badge of honour, or matter of pride. 

Simon Carruthers (UK), Untitled (Pallets)

Art is for everyone and I wanted to make it easy to buy, in an atmosphere that feels comfortable – and to make people feel like they are a part of something exciting. There is a socially responsible aspect to what I’m doing. I’m encouraging people to spend their money in a way that directly benefits young artists (as opposed to factory made posters from IKEA for example), and also benefits the collector at the same time, because we are demystifying the process and providing a gateway to highly credible art.

EYE BUY ART headquarters

What business tool can you not live without in your day to day life?

My laptop. Maybe that’s an obvious one, but being an internet-based business allows me flexibility to work during irregular hours, and from wherever I am in the world. I knew when I started this business that I wanted it to be on the net, and reverse engineered it from there. I hadn’t factored in at the time, however, how genius this was for having a baby!

How does STAR Company help with your life/work?

Eamon MacMahon, Plume, Kalapana

STAR Company has made a huge contribution to the financial health of my business. They allow me to focus on the work that I need to do to make the business thrive; like partnership building, sales and marketing, rather than numbers and accounting. The work STAR Company does provides me with a financial road map, allowing certain patterns to emerge, and giving me a clear picture of what my long and short terms goals need to be. Invaluable. 

Adam Rankin (CANADA), Eric

What has been the most important lesson so far? 

Stop trying to make everything perfect at the expense of making it happen. This was one of my greatest take-aways from the time I spent with Seth Godin in New York. It’s easy to become paralyzed by the unknown, by the fear of being judged, from feeling overwhelmed, unsure, or from taking an uncharted course. The fact is, if we pay attention to this noise in our heads then nothing will ever get done. There is progress in imperfection and inspiration in the exploration. It’s our responsibility to keep moving forward, and it’s a great motivator to realize this and then do the work to get past it.

Andrew B. Myers (CANADA), Solar Eclipse (Crowd Watch)

Where are you headed?

I just presented a major exhibition of photographs at the Beaverbrook, the provincial art gallery in New Brunswick, and plan to do more museum-level shows of this kind, as it helps to elevate / advocate for the careers of the artists I’m representing. I’m also in the process of building a partnership with a bank, and continue to work with both Aeroplan and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. I see these kinds of partnerships as critical to the future growth of the business.

Any last words of wisdom for those thinking about making the leap to become their own boss?

Start now and don’t spend forever over-thinking everything. Change is scary – it’s meant to be, and it’s a cue that you’re going in the right direction. Research it, write a 1 page business plan, read “Linchpin” by Seth Godin and don’t listen to the naysayers. The more people who chose to build their art and make it happen, the more we are making the world a better place to live.

The second in our series of monthly STAR Company ‘Client Snapshots’…a chance to share, learn, explore and find creative and business inspiration from our STAR Company client roster.

Cheryl Bouzide-McKee, from the STAR Company team,  sits down for a virtual chat with STAR Company client  John Calabro from Quattro Books to learn more about this literary creative business.

Tell us about who you are and what you do?

Who is the Quattro team?

Clockwise from top left,  John Calabro, Alan Briesmaster, Luciano Iacobelli and Beatriz Hausner.

How did Quattro Books come to be?

Four of us are partners in WordStage – a a very successful reading series.  We saw the publishing business as a logical extension of that partnership and  came together to create Quattro Books.

What are your greatest joys in running your creative business?

Finding new authors that merit publishing.  Seeing the joy on their faces when we launch their first books. Taking a fine manuscript and making it better.

What about your biggest challenge as a creative entrepreneur?

The greatest challenge is to balance our financial books at the end of every publishing season.

A Quattro Books publication - Romancing the Buzzard, by Leah Murray

Any big lessons learned along the way?

What’s next for Quattro Books?

A Quattro Books publication - Nevermore: A Book of Hours by David Day

What business tool can you not live without in your day to day life?

 What do you wish you had more of?

What made you take the leap and turn your creative passion into a business?

Anything else you’d like to share?

The first in our series of monthly STAR Company ‘Client Snapshots’…a chance to share, learn, explore and find creative and business inspiration from our STAR Company client roster.

Cheryl Bouzide-McKee, from the STAR Company team,  sits down for a virtual chat with STAR Company client  Olivier Berger to learn more about Olivier’s work with Wondereur, a truly 21^st century creative business.

Wondereur Preview Spring 2012 from Wondereur on Vimeo.

What is Wondereur?  Wondereur is a weekly iPad magazine. But there’s more to us than that… Photojournalism: each week, we unveil a photo essay on a new contemporary artist and give you three weeks to discover the artist’s life and work.  Mobile Shopping: Along with the artist’s story, we unveil a storefront. When you’re captivated by what you see, click “buy” to bring a piece of art home.

How did the idea for your business develop?  It started by a kind of frustration with how art is sold online and offline. So we thought there was something else that could be done, something that would bring a simple way of exploring what is behind contemporary art. To us, artists are adventurers, so we were excited to find a way to show the adventurous ‘journey’ involved in the creation process.

Olivier, 3rd from left, and the wonderful Wondereur team.

Tell us a bit about the Wondereur team.  We are a small collective of journalists, designers, creative entrepreneurs and art lovers, with a special love for contemporary art. We are from Paris and Toronto.  We are bearded and beardless, glasses and no glasses, but with a shared passion to make things beautiful and simple.

How do you find the artists you showcase?  It starts with our talent spotters. Then our editorial team takes over.  Leading figures in local art scenes around the world agree to be Wondereur’s talent spotters, finding and endorsing artists who are under the radar. Wondereur invites the artists to submit work for display in our storefront and autobiographical material to feature in our story.  From there, it’s up to Wondereur’s journalists and designers. They shape the artist’s autobiographical material, the talent spotter’s insights, an in-depth artist interview and documentary-style photography into photo essays in the classic style.

Can you talk about some of the challenges of bringing Wondereur to life?  The concept went through a lot of iterations, even through big changes in the Wondereur team. It felt sometimes, often actually, like we were hitting the wall with our head… but at some point the wall broke.  For us, this is just the start. The development of the Wondereur concept will continue, and even go faster, after we launch…thanks to response from users.

What was the break-through in the creation of Wondereur?  The wall breaks when suddenly you find a way to bring big value to each of your key stakeholders. In our case, the artist, the art community,  art galleries, the photojournalist and the reader.

What are your greatest joys and greatest challenges with Wondereur?  The joy comes from working with people who are not like minded, but share a common passion for the project, and a group dynamic where ego can be left out… where stress is kept at bay.

Where are you headed?  Launch! After quite a few months of hard, hard work, we will finally see if what we’ve built is meaningful or not.

What has been the most important lesson so far?  That surprises are always around the corner, even if you are very well organized.  So just be prepared for the unexpected.

What business tools can you not live without in your day to day life?  Basecamp.  Email on ipad.  Skype.  Home-made organic 1k calorie chocolate cakes…yes it is a business tool!

What do you wish you had?  More time.

How does STAR Company help with your life/work?  The backbone of any business, whether it’s for-profit or not-for-profit, is money and compliance toward government agencies and various other stakeholders. Without it nothing can become real or sustain itself. STAR Company is key in making this manageable and ensuring that things are done right.

Was there something/someone/a moment that propelled you to take the leap and turn your creative passion into a business?
Yes, finding the people who accepted to take the risk along with us and join our Wondereur team.