sydney

Q1: How long have you been in Real Estate?
Richelle: I have been a licensed Realtor for 5 years, but started working with my father behind the
scenes (on and off) before I had even graduated high school. Real estate is in my blood and has been a
huge part of my life.
Jeff: This is my 31 st year as a Realtor in Salmon Arm.
Q2: What brought you to the Shuswap?
Richelle: I grew up here and consider myself very lucky that my parents relocated here from the lower
mainland when I was young. It was such an incredible community to grow up in and now incredible to
raise my family here!
Jeff: The quiet lifestyle and community drew me here to raise my family.
Q3: What is your favorite thing about doing business in the Shuswap?
Richelle: The incredible support from the community and the friendly “small town” feel. Plus, with my
line of work I play a bit of tour guide to people moving to the area and I love being able to show off
Salmon Arm and the Shuswap and to share with them everything that makes our community so amazing
to live and work in.
Q4: You are a father-daughter duo! What do you love about working together?
Richelle: We know that it might not be something that would work for everyone but we love working
together. We think and work very similarly which makes day-to-day business run smoothly and the fact
that we can offer two different generational perspectives is a great tool for collaborating and providing
better service to our clients.
Q5: How does your organization support the Shuswap Community?
Richelle: We try and support our community in as many ways as we can. Through sponsorships like this,
by donating the use of our courtesy moving van to community groups, and by being a member of
Women Who Wine.

Q6: What are your top ten favorite businesses in the Shuswap?
Richelle: There are so many amazing and incredible businesses in the Shuswap, we are very lucky. This is
a very hard one to choose as they’re all great!

• The Nom (for delicious and nutritious meals on the go)
• Stillfood Bistro (for their coffees)
• Shuswap Cider Co. (for the refreshing cider after a long day of work)
• Askew’s Foods (for their great customer service and selection of local products)
• Braby Motors (for keeping our vehicles running like they should with all the miles we put on)
• Wearabouts Clothing (for their great selection of clothing/footwear)
• Shuswap National (for their delicious restaurant and great golf)
• Acuity Advisors (for their knowledgeable accountants that keep our business running smoothly)
• On Alex (for the perfect gift for you or someone else)
• Fern & Co. (for their relaxing environment and selection of esthetic services)
  Q7: What are your top 5 favorite summer activities to do in the Shuswap?
  Richelle:
• Visiting the weekly farmers market on Saturday mornings
• Attending the Roots and Blues music festival in August
• Relaxing at the many great beaches in the area
• Shopping at all the incredible local downtown businesses
• Walking and exploring the many trails in the area
  Jeff:
• Spending time on Shuswap Lake
• Camping
• Exploring the Shuswap (and other areas of BC)
• Enjoying the beautiful weather
• Hiking

Q8: What made you decide to partner with the Women Who Wine Society for this Community Giving
Event?
Richelle: I have been a member of Women Who Wine since the beginning and it is such an incredible
group to be a part of. It is an incredible group of women who are very passionate about helping and
supporting our incredible community in many ways. It was an easy decision to support in some small
way to help the Women Who Wine keep doing what they do best in giving back to the Shuswap.

Q9: Is there anything else about you or your organization that you’d like to share?
Jeff: We are proud to serve the Shuswap and provide the best service we can. We feel incredibly lucky
that we get to sell the Shuswap lifestyle and share everything that makes our community so incredible
with our clients.

Interviewer: Women Who Wine Society

Interviewee: Representative from Royal Bank of Canada, Salmon Arm Branch. Title Sponsor of March 2022 Community Giving Event

Q1: What is your name and position with RBC?

Jason: Hello, my name is Jason Bedford and I have been the Branch Manager at RBC for just over four years now.

Steven: My Name is Steven Derksen and I am the Assistant Branch Manager at the RBC in Salmon Arm.

Q2: What brought you to the Shuswap?

Jason: A lifestyle change for my family. We left the big city of Vancouver in April 2018 to allow our son to grow up in a smaller town. This change has been amazing and we are all thriving.

Steven: My Wife grew up in Salmon Arm and we would make the trip up four or five times a year from the coast to visit family. When we decided we wanted to start a family of our own, we knew the Shuswap was where we wanted to raise our children.

Q3: What is your favorite thing about doing business in the Shuswap?

Steven: I love the sense of community and the ‘everybody knows everybody’ small town vibe. It provides extra accountability to do good by your neighbour so that the community can continue to grow and prosper.

Q4: How does your organization aim to make in impact on the communities it which it operates?

Jason: Our Collective Ambition is driven by our purpose of helping clients thrive and communities prosper. In 2021 RBC Foundation provided over $6.5 million in local investment into the communities we live and work in.

Q5: RBC has been known to provide quite a bit of volunteer support to local organizations in the Shuswap for various initiatives. How do you think this benefits your employees?

Steven: I think it’s the other way around. RBC brings on talented people who are ambitious especially when it comes to giving back. The values set in place by the bank and its team is the key driver to supporting the community in any way that we can. One important initiative the bank created was the Employee Giving Campaign. Every employee was given $55 to mark the 55^th anniversary of the program. The money could be used at any charity of the employees choosing. Another perk of the program is that RBC will actually deposit money into your Giving Account when you track your volunteer time. Essentially you are able to double up your volunteer efforts by spending your time at one place and then donating the money you earned to another. Pretty cool stuff! We are excited now to sponsor this milestone event for Women Who Wine who are giving back to our local community. $100,000 since 2018 is an amazing contribution and we are so pleased to take part.

Q6: What made you decide to partner with the Women Who Wine Society for this Community Giving Event?

Steven: I got an offer to volunteer at the Paranormal Formal at Harpur Farm in October and it didn’t take long for me to become passionate about the goals of the organization. I remember going home and reading up on everything they have accomplished; I think it’s important to support local women in the Shuswap who have strong entrepreneurial spirits and A LOT to offer. I look forward to our partnership for many years to come.

Q7: Is there anything else about you or your organization that you’d like to share?

Jason: In my 33 years with RBC I have never seen such authentic leadership as we have today. We are leaning into our client experience and employee engagement and working very hard to make a positive impact on our communities. I am especially proud we were able to provide a $50,000 grant in 2020 through RBC Future Launch Foundation to the Shuswap Youth Launch team made up of local youth from Salmon Arm Secondary working closely with Salmon Arm Rotary. We are excited now to sponsor this milestone event for Women Who Wine who are giving back to our local community. 

Briefly describe your business.

Galeria Estima is a beautiful boutique Personal Training Studio offering One On One Personal Training tailored to each clients specific needs and goals. Sessions are focussed around the major tenets of health and fitness such as full body strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, mobility and integration of all these things working in harmony.  My platform is to create happy, healthy, strong and pain free bodies that will serve us through all ages of our lives. 

What is your favourite part about doing business in the Shuswap? 

This is my first time operating my business in a small community and I love that I have gotten to know so many other small business owners. I love the close-knit community and that we get to see first hand the beauty of shopping local and supporting each other. 

 What do you think is the key to your success?

I love what I do, I feel authenticity and passion to help people become their strongest version of themselves is the key to ongoing success both personally and in my business succeeding. I have been Personal Training for about 25 years all around the world (New Zealand, Australia, England, Spain and of course here in Canada), throughout all those years I have learned so much about how to care for people whilst motivating them and allowing them to step into their strength, health, and happiness.

 What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in Business in Salmon Arm?

Be patient. This is a tight knit little community so it may take a little longer to absorb into the community than it may take in a bigger centre. If you allow things to organically unfold and work hard at your craft and do what you love, you cannot go wrong. 

 What do you enjoy most about living in the Shuswap?

I love the beauty of our geography with the mountains and the lake. I love that there are so many great things to do that are so close.  In the words of my wise 6-year-old Jasmine, “Mama, can you imagine having a better life anywhere other than Salmon Arm?”

Tell us a success story with a client that you are proud of.

I am so proud and inspired by all of my clients daily. The true success story is the commitment they make to show up for themselves every day even when they don’t want to.  I love seeing the transformation when someone starts loving the feeling of moving their body and feeling stronger in everything they do. I am honoured and proud that my clients trust me to be part of their journey with what can be as emotional as it is physical.  Success is just keeping on going…

What’s your favourite part about doing business in the Shuswap?

The Shuswap is an incredibility supportive community.  We are fortunate to live and operate a business amongst others who have such a strong sense of community and are always willing to step up to help other businesses and members of the community.  Women Who Wine is a perfect example of the types of groups in our area that not only support their members but extend their time and generosity throughout the Shuswap.

What do you think is the key to your success?

 It’s all about the people! We have a fabulous team throughout our organization. We feel that through our staff, product, branding, and after sale service we are able to be top in our industry.  Strong leadership is also key along with striving to improve & development, creativity, and employing strong systems. 

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a new business owner in Salmon Arm?

Make sure it’s your jam! A strong passion for what you do is vital as you work your way through the successes and challenges in your business.

Utilize multiple streams of support & information, build a strong support system of alliance partners, and find a solid mentor to help guide you that’s no always just agreeable, but can challenge you.

What do you enjoy most about living in the Shuswap?

 Salmon Arm is such a great, supportive community with many local groups and programs to help set you up for success.

Tell us a success story with a client that you’re proud of.

We strive to make every client story a successful one! I think the ones we are most proud of are the number of repeat clients that we have had over the years. This attests to the reputation we have established overtime which is priceless when building client relationships.

What motivated you to sponsor this event?

The wonderful things that we have heard about the group, which is spoken very highly of, and all that Women Who Wine have done for our community.

What’s your favourite part about doing business in the Shuswap?

Just being in a smaller community, showing up to do a quote or a job for a customer and I know them or they know my wife or they know my family and then being able to talk to them for a while about something other than the job.

What do you think is the key to your success?

 I’m not a salesman, I’m just a guy who knows how to do gutters. I listen to what the customer wants and I give them the service they expect when spending their hard-earned money. I give them an honest assessment of what they need and let them decide on which way they would like to proceed.  Also my warranty, I have gone back 4 years after completing a job and replaced the gutters at no charge because there was an issue.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a new business owner in Salmon Arm?

 Work hard and stay at it.  It takes time to get a name for yourself.  Take care of every customer from the small jobs to the big ones.

What do you enjoy most about living in the Shuswap?

 It’s awesome to live in a place where people want to come and visit.  I have lived here for a long time, all my family and friends are here so I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.  

Tell us a success story with a client that you’re proud of.

It’s just a simple story about a gutter cleaning job that we did. The customer was so impressed with the job that we did, she actually thought that we replaced the gutters:) 

What motivated you to sponsor this event?

I like to give back to the community that supports us.  We donate to many events throughout the year, and this was one that just made sense for us to sponsor:) It just feels good to give back!

On October 16^th the Shuswap Women Who Wine met for their monthly networking event and during introductions were asked to share one piece of advice they would give to a new business owner or someone who is trying to take their current business to the next level. Here are their pieces of wisdom:

“Be courageous.” – Laura, Independent Business Consultant

“Reach your entire region through marketing.” – Andrea, EZ Rock Account Executive

“Support local, network with your community.” – Teri, Owner @ Lake & Life Apparel

“You don’t have to know everything right away, just jump in and learn as you go.” – Gena, former business owner

“Trust your instincts, they are usually right.” – Nikki, Owner @ Lake & Life Apparel

“Start small, be realists and don’t over-extend yourself right away.” – Melissa, Owner @ Cardio Connection and Playcare Early Childhood Centre

“Network and connect with other women in business, we are a force to be reckoned with!” – Jonie, Owner @ Westcoast Staging and Design

“Make a REALISTIC business plan first!” – Lindsay, Downtown Salmon Arm

“Network! You never know what kind of connection you’re going to make.” – Jessica, Eagle Homes

“Don’t be afraid of hard work.” – Richelle, The Stacer Team, Remax Shuswap

“Consistency compounds. Don’t fear failure.” – Missy, MisMack Clean Cosmetics

“Always say yes.” – Chris, Addictions Counselor @ Interior Health

“Don’t say yes all the time.” – Sydney, Harpur Farm and Pumpkin Patch

“Do something every day.” – Deb Archambault, Remax Shuswap

“Be authentic in your business.” – Angela Inskip, Wild hearts Inspired

“Action, every day.” – Kristine Wickner, Okanagan College

“Keep in mind how you want your product or service to make people feel and focus on making your marketing portray that feeling.” – Kailee, Sun Life Financial