Episode: The Real Bottom Line with Wendy Brookhouse
Guest: Jennifer Williams, Founder of Firefly Insights

In this episode, I sit down with Jennifer Williams, founder and partial owner of Firefly Insights, to unpack one of the most exciting developments for Canadian entrepreneurs — Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs).

If you’re a business owner starting to think about succession, exit planning, or legacy, this episode will open your eyes to a whole new way to transition your business — one that rewards your team, sustains your community, and can even save you millions in taxes.

We talk about:

• Jennifer’s unique path from nonprofit work to social entrepreneurship and employee ownership
• The tough mindset shift around profit versus mission
• How to find the right scale in your business without burning out
• The new Canadian EOT legislation and what it means for small and mid-sized companies
• Who qualifies, how the trust is structured, and the real financial and cultural benefits

My favorite moment: when Jennifer breaks down how profit can amplify your mission rather than distract from it.

If you’ve ever wondered, “What’s next for my business when I step away?”, this conversation might just change the way you think about exit planning.

Connect with Jennifer: fireflyinsights.ca

Email: jennifer@fireflyinsights.ca

Guest: Ray Samuels, Growth Advisor and Founder, Cer Capital

Episode in a sentence: Ray shares how “done beats perfect,” why relationships are the real currency, and how a simple idea plus disciplined iteration can create momentum, funding, and valuation growth.

What we cover

• From high-school dances to London Telecom to Direct Energy: Ray’s entrepreneurial through-line
• The 65% rule: ship, listen, iterate
• “Clarity beats complexity,” and getting “pedestrian” with customers to gather real feedback
• G.R.O.W. mindset: Gratitude, Resilience, Optimism, Willpower
• The Equal Tank story: a simple washer-fluid dispenser, environmental impact, and national rollout
• Funding growth: why sales orders are easier to fund than ideas
• Packaging a story investors understand and want to back
• Daily relationship rituals that keep your network alive

Key takeaways

• Ship at 65% and improve with feedback
• Relationships compound if you maintain them intentionally
• Keep the product and the story simple so adoption is easy
• Growth needs cash, data, and proof, not perfection
• Momentum creates new problems, but they are the right problems

Timestamps

• 00:00 Meet Ray and the power of relationships
• 02:30 Early entrepreneurship: dances, driveways, done over perfect
• 07:10 Iteration vs. perfection and the 65% rule
• 08:50 Clarity beats complexity and learning to listen
• 18:20 The G.R.O.W. mindset explained
• 23:20 Equal Tank: simple solution, big impact
• 28:20 When and how to fund growth
• 35:50 Packaging the story for partners and investors
• 36:30 Wrap: relationships and iteration as operating systems

Connect with Ray
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-samuels-a20165/

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In this episode, I'm joined by the incredibly insightful Lissa Daub, founder of Strong Impact Academy. We met online through a couple of mutual groups, and it was a meeting that just felt like kismet. Lissa hails from Edmonton, Alberta, and she’s a force to be reckoned with.

Lissa and I dive into some of the most critical topics for business owners, from the mindset shifts of moving from corporate to entrepreneurship, to the surprising truth about owning a restaurant (it's not always sexy!). We talk about how the pandemic actually opened up new opportunities and simplified things for business owners, and Lissa shares her biggest lesson: you can’t just build it and expect them to come.

The heart of our conversation is all about the end game. As a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, Lissa is passionate about helping entrepreneurs understand that a profitable business isn't always a sellable one. We explore why it's so important to think about the value of your business as a key performance indicator and how to avoid the "owner's trap," where you build a job for yourself instead of a sellable asset. We also talk about The Exit Lab, a workshop that helps business owners intentionally prepare for their future.

In this episode, Lissa and I discuss:

• My favorite Lissa quote: "A profitable business is not always sellable, but a sellable business is always profitable."
• Why entrepreneurs are notorious for chasing shiny objects and how to stop.
• The biggest mistake business owners make around exit planning (and why it could cost you a fortune).
• How to hire strategically so you can focus on the things you love to do.
• The staggering statistic that 75% of business owners regret selling their business a year later and how you can avoid it.

Connect with Lissa:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lissadaub