Entrepeer: Meet Barbara of Executive Airways Grooming Services

The friendly skies are much friendlier when your plane has been properly cleaned by Barbara McLean-Stollery and her team at Executive Airways Grooming Services.

Barbara was working part-time at Calgary’s Executive Airways Grooming Services while studying Aircraft Engineering at SAIT. A commercial and private pilot, it was clear that she knew her way around a plane, and her work ethic impressed her boss.  Ready to retire, and looking for someone who could continue to build the business he started 25 years prior, Wayne Kaut offered Barbara the opportunity to buy the innovative grooming service and become her own boss.

Barbara hasn’t looked back since accepting that offer, saying you can’t hesitate when opportunity comes knocking. “I love the freedom of owning my own company,” says the successful young businesswoman. “With entrepreneurship come long hours, but the extra time is rewarding both personally and financially.”

The work ethic that first got the attention of her boss has paid off in spades for Barbara. Since taking over the company in 2005, Executive Airways has grown from three employees and $60,000 in annual sales to a business clearing $660,000 a year with 20 staff members. Barbara was also chosen to be a member of the Canadian delegation at the G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit in Toronto, further proving that hard work will definitely be rewarded.

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