Cynthia & Samantha Dick By Your Favorite Aunties Website: https://byyourfavoriteaunties.com/ By Your Favorite Aunties is a Tsilhqot’in-owned business run by sisters Samantha and Cynthia from Tl’etinqox. They handcraft beadwork, ribbon skirts, and custom digital art apparel inspired by their Tsilhqot’in culture and ranching heritage. Rooted in the teachings of their grandparents, their creations blend traditional artistry with modern designs. Operating part-time after work and on weekends, they showcase their work at events and markets, sharing their cultural pride with the community. Their journey into the world of traditional craftsmanship began with cherished memories that are forever etched in their minds—watching their beloved grandparents skillfully sewing traditional apparel, expertly beading exquisite looms, and meticulously tanning hides with a level of precision and care that only comes from years of practice and dedication. These formative experiences instilled in them a profound appreciation for their cultural heritage. In 2020, as they embarked on a quest to rediscover the art of beading, they found not only a creative outlet but also a source of solace and serenity in this timeless practice. What initially started as a simple pastime quickly blossomed into a passionate endeavor, igniting their creativity and opening up new avenues of artistic expression that ranged from sewing to digital art. In their innovative approach, they artfully blend tradition with technology, showcasing their unique perspective by designing captivating digital artwork. This fusion of old and new allows them to create vibrant prints that are then transformed into stylish apparel, including T-shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts, each piece telling a story and reflecting their deep connection to their roots. The clothing they produce is not merely fashion; it is a canvas for their heritage, a way to share the beauty of their culture with the world while ensuring that the traditional skills they cherish are not lost to time. Through each creation, Samantha and Cynthia invite others to celebrate and appreciate the rich tapestry of their Tsilhqot'in heritage, making By Your Favorite Aunties a meaningful bridge between the past and the present. Of the BEST program, Cynthia & Samanth say “The B.E.S.T. program has given us the tools we need to grow our business. While taking the class, I realized that I may have learned some of this information slowly over time, but setting aside these weeks to focus on marketing, finance, branding, and operations has given us more drive to push our business further. A few weeks may seem like a long time to set aside, especially if you also have a full-time job—we thought the same thing. But in order to grow our business, we had to sacrifice somewhere to take the time to learn more tools. This program has helped us bridge the gap, and Zechariah was a patient and informative instructor. We are excited to see how the other participants grow their business, and thanks again to TNG and Zechariah for setting time aside to visit us on this side of Turtle Island.”

Randy Freese Freeze Frame Financial Website: https://sites.google.com/view/guelph-bookkeeping Randy Freese operates Freeze Flame Financial, which is one of very few Canadian Indigenous-owned and operated bookkeeping services available. Freeze Flame Financial has been operating since 2009 and is dedicated to experienced and personalized financial Solutions for their clients. Their diverse experience has been invaluable to their clients in several industries from Legal and Real Estate to Small Business and Entertainment spaces. With a commitment to fostering financial literacy and empowerment, Freeze Flame Financial prides itself on offering tailored advice that meets the unique needs of Indigenous communities and beyond. Randy and his team understand the importance of building strong relationships with their clients, ensuring each receives the individual attention and strategic insights necessary for sustainable growth and success. By combining traditional knowledge with modern financial practices, Freeze Flame Financial continues to set a high standard in the industry, making a meaningful impact on the economic well-being of the communities they serve. Of the BEST program, Randy says, “I participated in the BEST program through the IndigiTECH mentorship program of the IFA (Indigenous Friends Association). It was very beneficial for me as a small business owner as well as an Indigenous person. The BEST program allowed me to revisit some of my past challenges running my business and evaluate things that needed to be changed and updated. Through an Indigenous lens, I have also realized I had left out much of my journey of reconnection as it relates to my business structure and how I want to conduct business going forward.”

Explore additional business courses offered by the Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship (CCAE). Enhance your skills in fundraising, alumni relations, and leadership for advancing educational institutions in Canada. Contact Contact us First name Last name Email* Phone Message* Individual or Organization* Individual Organization Submit Bruce Lacroix, President The Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Inc. 406 Richards Street Nelson, BC, Canada V1L 5K1 Phone: 1-226-243-5653 © 2024 The Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Inc. MODULE DESCRIPTIONS Pre-Self Employment 1. BUSINESS-LIFE WELLNESS BALANCE (Medicine Wheel) Wellness is a foremost concern for Entrepreneurs across the country at this strange time of human history. Using the Four Quadrants of the Medicine Wheel, determine your current state of balance (mind, body, spirit, and heart). Explore proven solutions to nurture areas that need attention, while maintaining areas of strength. 2. FINANCIAL LITERACY BASICS Getting our financial house in order is a key first step in building a business – determining needs vs wants, and then ensuring our basic needs are covered, before looking at discretionary purchases, personal budgeting, and understanding how credit works, how it can be built, and how certain actions can bring it down. Money-suckers and how to avoid them Compound Interest and how it works for and against you 3. DECISION MAKING FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR How to access your deep intuition to make even tough decisions using your values. Decisions are tough; they come with consequences. How do we use our intuition and value system to confidently go forward? How do our intuition and values feed this process? Learn a simple but very effective method of clarifying for yourself the best course of action and follow through for the best results. 4. WHAT ARE MY STRENGTHS? Using the medicine wheel as a model, we need to find the balance between the four key aspects of business – Making, Marketing, Managing, and Money; and recognize that most of us will not consider all these aspects as strengths – if we focus on the areas where we do best, how will we fill the gaps? 5. INTRODUCTION TO THE BUSINESS PLANNING CANVAS The Business Planning Canvas is the emerging model for building a simple business plan that links your elevator pitch to what you need to know to bring your business idea to life. What are the key aspects of a business plan? Where do I start? How the canvas is used to map out and evaluate your business idea 6. BUSINESS IDEAS FOR THE NEW ECONOMY What is the “new economy”? What are the major opportunities (business ideas) for those wanting to start a business or change a business idea? Which businesses are growing in the new economy? The 5 skills you need to thrive, and how to get them 7. HOME BASED BUSINESS The best types of business to start from home Advantages and Disadvantages of a HBB Bylaws and Zoning Issues to consider HBBs and the Taxman HBBs and Insurance How will your HBB affect your family? Technology needs Where in the home will you put your business? HBB vs store-front vs mobile Balancing business, home and the rest of life Bits of the BEST – 1.5 Hour Courses Only interested in one or a few modules? Our 1.5-hour modules are designed to deliver impactful learning experiences. Each includes: E-mailed handouts E-mailed Certificate of Completion Tailor your learning by selecting the modules that suit your needs! CLICK HERE FOR BITS OF THE BEST FULL Business and Entrepreneurship Skills Training (BEST) Up to 18 sessions = 72 hours total, max 120 attendees. Online In-Person or Hybrid! Includes: Instructor time Excel Financial spreadsheets, already prepared and ready to fill in Simple fill-in-the-blanks Business Plan Template Free Website Templates Comprehensive Industry Market Research Reports An Average of 3 hours 1-on-1 Mentorship for each participant E-mailed Certificate of Completion for those who attend all sessions Per participant: BEST Manuals © 2021 version, couriered to participants Access to the CCAE Alumni Exclusive Indigenous Business Training Library CLICK HERE TO BRING THE BEST TO YOUR COMMUNITY Bring A Course To Your Community In-Person, Online or Hybrid! Our programs are designed to be live, interactive trainings that engage all participants in the most effective and fun way to learn and share. INQUIRE NOW Bring A Course To Your Community

Discover the Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship (CCAE), a leading organization fostering educational advancement in Canada. Explore resources, professional development, and networking opportunities for alumni relations, fundraising, and institutional success. Empowering Indigenous Entrepreneurs for a Sustainable Future. Supporting First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities with training, resources, and opportunities for growth. Learn More Over the past 25 years, The Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Inc. has assisted over 3,500 entrepreneurs across Turtle Island (Canada, US and South America) on the road to successful self-employment. Come on inside and discover how we can assist you or your organization in creating self-employment training that is successful, sustainable, easy to understand, and FUN. Read More About Us Building Skills, Inspiring Growth: Our Featured Programs 1-on-1 Business Startup Package Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services. Business and Entrepreneurship Skills Training (BEST) Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services. Bits of the BEST Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services. Bring A Course To Your Community Bring the BEST to your Community! All programs are delivered live, In-Person, Online or Hybrid training with all participants interacting is the most effective and fun way to learn and share. We at the CCAE are providing in-person, on-site training based on current Covid-19 conditions and regulations in your community. You and the CCAE will work together to create a tailored-for-your clients training sessions that serves your communities needs. Please contact us to discuss the possibility. Sponsor a Webinar for Your Community HAVE A BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS TRAINING (BEST) WEBINAR IN YOUR COMMUNITY (for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous webinars) Live webinars a better choice for your community? No problem! The CCAE uses cutting edge technology so that ANYONE can easily log in and take part. No software to download: just click the link we send, and you are IN Webinar works on any device: laptop, phone, tablet. Participants can ask questions, chat, show their faces, and even be given “the floor” to present their own ideas Everyone gets a copy of the Powerpoint slides and videos used, and can review the whole presentation afterwards Each participant also gets a copy of the > 250 page BEST Participant Manual, easy to use, fill-in-the blanks Business Plan template, including Financial Statements. (Pricing, Personal Budget, Net Worth, and Projected Cash Flow Statement) final exam, with results and corrected Graduation Certificate if attending 90% of sessions and pass the test Together, you and the CCAE will determine the “best” times and dates, and we will tailor the content to serve your needs. Real Stories of Transformation and Growth Bring an in-person program to your community In-Person Have a BEST webinar in your community BEST Webinar Individual Online Training Individual Online Training Options Mountain Sky Soaps www.mountainskysoap.com Raynald Losier and Nina George started the family business in 1993 to stay home with their kids, Malaya Mountain and Rahel Sky. Mountain Sky manufactures soaps, massage bars and lip balm for the company and for private labels. Mountain Sky Soaps Read More Artist Nigel Fox www.nigelfoxart.com graduated from the 2010 BEST program held in Terrace. We asked him about his business experiences: Q. “How far you have gone with your business idea?” Nigel Fox Read More Orene Askew was pretty content with her life. She had a job, was very active, but always had some business ideas looming in her head. She decided she wanted to start her own DJ-ing business. The idea had been in her head for over 3 years, but she wasn’t sure how to pursue it head on. DJ "O Show" Read More As a 2005 graduate of the Helen Lafaux School of Fashion Design in Vancouver, Andrea Hughes had been putting together her accumulated knowledge and experience, gleaned from years of working in the film industry, for her idea of a full-service bridal shop. KISS THE BRIDE Custom Wedding and Grad Read More Yvette Carol Adams is a Haida from the Tsâ aahl Laanas clan and took part in Aboriginal BEST on Haida Gwaii in 2011. “I create and design my own work: pendants made of yellow cedar, red cedar, yew wood, devils club, alder, beads from the same kind of wood as the pendants, Haida Gwaii Art Shop Read More Sauce so good, he got on CBC’s Dragon’s Den. Ebesse Zozo Hot Sauce is the creation of Edmund Segbeaya who hails from Togo, a small country in West Africa. Hot sauce is part of everyday life in Togo, hot foods and hot sauces are eaten with every meal. Ebesse ZoZo on Dragon’s Den Read More Once he found fame impersonating bespectacled rocker Buddy Holly, and led the Crickets astray on a diving tour of the UK. Now, leading technical diver John Garvin has helped to pull together what could be the most authentic diving movie to date. O2 Technical Diving Read More Inez Jasper is a singer songwriter with powerhouse talent and universal appeal. As one of Canada’s top aboriginal musicians, her blending of traditional native sounds with a love for contemporary hip hop and R&B, brings the best of her culture to the mainstream world. Inez Jasper Read More Contact Contact us First name Last name Email* Phone Message* Individual or Organization* Individual Organization Submit Bruce Lacroix, President The Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Inc. 406 Richards Street Nelson, BC, Canada V1L 5K1 Phone: 1-226-243-5653 © 2024 The Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Inc. Bring A Course To Your Community

Visit the CCAE Shop to explore a curated selection of resources, tools, and merchandise supporting educational advancement in Canada. Shop now to enhance your professional journey. 1-on-1 Business Startup Package Online Learning Resources No BEST coming to your community? No worries. Two choices: Occasionally the CCAE receives requests from groups, organizations and governments to host and pay for an online BEST for their community or group. These are sometimes open to the public. Click here to apply for free materials. You can get the BEST Manual, Simple, fill-in-the-blanks Business Plan template, and one-on-one time with the CCAE. Contact Contact us First name Last name Email* Phone Message* Individual or Organization* Individual Organization Submit Bruce Lacroix, President The Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Inc. 406 Richards Street Nelson, BC, Canada V1L 5K1 Phone: 1-226-243-5653 © 2024 The Canadian Centre for Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Inc. Some People Are Like Computers - Unisex Short Sleeve T-Shirt Add to Cart Life doesn't have a remote - Unisex t-shirt Add to Cart As long as you know what you're doing - Unisex t-shirt Add to Cart CCAE Workbook & Courseware Add to Cart CCAE Workbook & Courseware If you want to skip the classes and get the full package for yourself, no problem. Many people just need a manual, some simple fill-in-the-blanks documents and a little 1-on-1 guidance. You get: The BEST Entrepreneurship Skills Training Manual © 2021: over 300 pages of how to start your own business, with current links, profiles of successful CCAE graduates … all in a fun, easy-to-understand format. Up to 40 hours of direct assistance in starting your business (Via Zoom). A live website and social media optimization to promote your business. Hard copy Manual, mailed right to your door. Simple, fill-in-the-blanks Business Plan template Locked-formula Financial Statements. You just add words and numbers. All calculations are done for you. (Financial Statements sent by e-mail) Personal Budget Net Worth Statement Pricing Formula 1 Year Projected Cash Flow Statement, with Start-Up Costs AND: we even give you examples of all these to make it easy! PLUS : Unlimited 1-on-1 mentorship for life 100% Guaranteed Business Start Up or Your Your Money Back Buy Now Bring A Course To Your Community In-Person, Online or Hybrid! Our programs are designed to be live, interactive trainings that engage all participants in the most effective and fun way to learn and share. INQUIRE NOW Bring A Course To Your Community