Entrepreneurs Share Their Favourite Part of Their Day for Small Business Week

You can ask a million different entrepreneurs what a typical day in their life is like, and every single person would have a different response. Entrepreneurship is fast paced, and often times, a rollercoaster ride, where no two days are the same. This week to celebrate Small Business Week, we asked some of our Futurpreneur entrepreneurs what their favourite part of their day is, here is what they had to say.

“My favourite part of my day as an entrepreneur is double sided. I love the fact that every day I get to interact with amazing customers on special pieces of jewellery, being let into their world, getting to know them and ultimately making them feel good with what we do here. It is an honour really, and I am constantly humbled by the fact that because I created this store, I have so many great relationships with people that I otherwise wouldn’t know. I am constantly inspired by the customers we have and the staff that surrounds me, so I do love that I am surrounded by so many great people all the time.

On the other side, one of my favourite parts of the day, is early in the morning when I am alone in the store, getting to create or get work done, music on, or in silence, but knowing that I am just doing my thing, on my own time, in my own space. It is during these times that I am filled with gratefulness that this is the kind of work environment I get to come into every day—knowing how lucky I am to love my spaces, love my job and love what I do – something that is not so common.

Being an entrepreneur is the best choice I ever made—it challenges me greatly, but the reward is something out of this world.”

– Brittany Hopkins, Anice Jewellery (Toronto, ON)

“Each and every day in the moments that I walk to work, the sun rising overhead, and the morning air crisply entering my nostrils evoking the simple thought, “Yes, today is here! And today, I get to be a creator again.” In that moment, I understand how much of a true privilege it is to have the opportunity to work on my own dream; to infuse my daily activities with my own greatest intention, to mold and shape this very world with my own two hands and heart. This is where I find my truest sense of well-being. And each day that I wake up with that realization, I cannot hold back the biggest of smiles. In this moment, I understand, that I have created it, and that it is uniquely mine. So I breathe it in, smile, and get to work.”

– Dustin Erikson, Float Space (Kelowna, BC)

“My favourite part of the day at this stage in the game is the morning. This is because it’s where I have the most control and am able to get a few things accomplished by following a routine. Being in a bootstrapped start-up means that I have to wear many hats, and come the afternoon I’m usually being more reactive than I like to issues that have risen throughout the day. I heard a quote a while back that has really held true for me: “If you win the morning you win the day.” So I’ve implemented a morning routine that I run through that leaves me feeling great and helps me get the momentum going.

• Make bed (I used to never do this until recently and it makes a big difference while taking less than 30 seconds)
• Meditate
• Read over my goals list and a collection of thoughts, quotes, and reminders I’ve saved over the years
• Coffee/Eat and an entry in the “Five Minute Journal” (this covers gratitude, 3 goals for the day, and an affirmation
• Quick 10min workout to get the blood flowing
• Read at least one chapter of whatever book I’m working on
• Then block out a good 2-3 hours to focus on the ONE task that is most important that day

This will take me till 1 or 2pm and by that time the day is usually getting out of control where I’m responding to issues as opposed to following a plan, but I feel good because I have already made a good dent into forward progress.”

– Alex Drysdale, Crik Nutrition (Stony Mountain, MB)

“If I was asked this question 12 months ago, it would be much different to my answer today. Arguably what would be my favourite part in general about being an entrepreneur: progression. Not surprisingly entrepreneurs see progression every day. Being a visionary it is my responsibility to accurately project three to twelve months or sometimes years ahead of schedule.

Working with our team, we reverse engineer what our future will look like and strategically plan and execute the tasks to hit these targets. We are relentless in doing this and it’s rewarding. I’m not talking quarterly; I mean by the hour, and documenting every process along the way. So to go back to the original question, what is my favourite part of my day as an entrepreneur? When 6:00PM hits and I’m ready to leave the office, I list the next three goals that I will hit the following day. Everyone’s personality is different, but for me nothing beats setting a clear path to success and battling to reach that goal day in and day out.”

– Barry Hartman, 505-Junk (Vancouver, BC)

“People are always saying that being entrepreneur is awesome. Truthfully I am still on the journey to find out for myself. Definitely I have learned so much about myself in the past year than I could ever imagine. It has it’s up and down, but it is very fulfilling to be creating something from nothing—and the best part is that someone is buying what I have made. I still even remember my very first sales transaction.

If I had one wish, I would wish to be able to be happy with 4 hours of sleep per day. I cannot say that I love everything about my start-up, but I can say that I am looking forward to get up early every day to finish my to-do list. Every day is a new challenge. I have to force myself to step out of my comfort level, be positive and make it happened no matter what.”

– Nathon Kong, Tailor2Go (Montreal, QC)

“As a chemical engineer from the University of Waterloo, who holds an MBA from Schulich School of Business, I left a lucrative and steady career path to delve into the world of entrepreneurship—creating a new standard of clean living. The best parts of my day as an entrepreneur are:

1) Waking up – I wake up feeling fulfilled, excited, and motivated to tackle new challenges.  The days of dreading Mondays and waking up feeling like work is a chore are over. I’m committed to making the world a healthier place and my company allows me to do just that—CertClean is a certification for safer beauty products, but at a deeper level, it is a movement towards water pollution prevention and cancer prevention. I wake up feeling like I am where I need and want to be; every morning I am grateful for having a job that has meaning and purpose.

2) Wearing comfy pants all day. This really stands for workplace autonomy, and ultimately freedom. Freedom from corporate environments. Freedom from work politics. Lastly and most importantly, freedom from expectations. As an entrepreneur, I’ve stepped off the corporate world treadmill of seeking for the next promotion, the better job, the heftier paycheck, and so on. I can now wholeheartedly challenge status quo, make waves, and solve high impact environmental problems.”

– Jenise Lee, CertClean (Mississauga, ON)

“As an entrepreneur, life is busy and I often have more on my to-do list then I can manage in one day. I’ve learned, however, that it’s important to unplug from my business and spend some time in the day taking care of myself. The favorite part of my day is early in the morning when I take an hour and a half to myself. When my alarm goes off at 5:30, I head straight to swim practice for an hour. Diving in the water first thing in the morning may seem like a rude awakening, but I find it kick starts my day on a great note—I get my work out in and I find it meditative since there’s no opportunity to check my phone, listen to a podcast or make a phone call. I simply swim and focus on my stroke. After practice I head home to make breakfast—my favorite meal of the day. I eat without any devices around and then make a coffee and head to work. I don’t check my emails, messages or to-do list until I have a coffee in hand and sit down at my desk. Starting my day off with a workout and an unplugged breakfast helps me be productive and focused the rest of the day.

– Maggie Bergeron, healthSwapp (Toronto, ON) 

“It has been an incredible journey into entrepreneurship and every day is a new challenge with its highs and lows. I haven’t experienced a full consistent day at this point, but what I am always looking forward to is the opportunity to sit with a client, connect with a potential collaboration or just the opportunity to get some new perspective from my mentor. I am a people person, so I thrive when I get to hear others share their ideas.”

– Cindy Tran, Sweet Petite Confectioner (Vancouver, BC)