When doors continue to shut on you, an entrepreneurial path can become a necessity over a choice. Though she’s been busy for 13 years now, it hasn’t been an easy journey for Angela Cromwell. In the early 2000’s, after living in Toronto for 20 years working as a restaurant manager, divorce brought Cromwell, her son, and twin daughters’ home to Pictou County. Her endless search for work here continued to result in disappointment. “Coming home and not finding anything was hard,” she said. “You weren’t going to find something appear, you had to create it.” There are many tasks that come with...
Growth Stories
Do What Makes You Happy
Do What Makes You Happy Encouragement from friends and family sparked Stephanie Grants decision to put her baking skills to work and start a cupcake side hustle. “I always liked to bake, and I wanted to do something fun on the side,” said the owner of Sassy Sweet Cups. “I mostly gave away more than I ever did sell (in the beginning).” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephanie's family moved home to Pictou County, where the entrepreneur grew up. For Stephanie, the pandemic provided perspective on a lot of aspects of her life, one being the importance of being close to family. “(Covid) kind of...
From Illness to Wellness
A business idea sometimes blooms out of a solution to a problem. When that problem involves your beloved dog, finding a solution can feel like the only option. That’s what it felt like for Trisha MacDonald. “It started with one of my dogs,” said the owner and operator of The RAW Edge Pet Health. MacDonald has been around dogs her whole life. When one of her own, a labradoodle Rylee, received a hip dysplasia diagnosis as an 8-week-old puppy, it set MacDonald down a new and unexpected path. “The vet took the X-ray and showed me how severe it was,” she said. Rylee was put on various medications...
A Risk Worth Taking
The Meadows Retreat and Creative Space Taking risks is a frightening, inevitable part of growth. For entrepreneurs, taking risks is part of the job. One that opens the door for innovation and success. Carissa Ainslie has experienced the fear that accompanies taking those risks when making the leap to turn your ideas, your passions, into a business. But the entrepreneur has also figured out how to push through inevitable fears that accompany starting something new. For Ainslie, it’s her business, The Meadows Retreat and Creative Space. Originally from Halifax, Ainslie was first introduced to...
New Business Helps County Glow
New businesses make a destination exciting, regardless of where you are. They give communities something new to experience, or something distantly familiar to reacquaint yourself with. Simply Golf, an indoor golf facility with space to learn, practice, and play the game, is offering Pictou County the ultimate golfing experience, in any weather, and season. Whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned veteran, Simply Golf has something for you. Their state-of-the-art golf simulators have life-like graphics with precise ball tracking and a variety of world-class courses for you to choose from,...
Dream it There, do it Here in Pictou County
Anushka (Al) Sirinivas has dreamed of the day he would come to Canada. Though the circumstances that brought him to fulfill his dream were unfortunate, those difficult times in the Sri Lankan born entrepreneurs life led him to the place he will forever call home, Pictou County. “My childhood dream was to come to Canada,” said Sirinivas. He recalled a memory from his childhood that has stuck with him throughout the years of finding a yellow envelope on a public bus in Sir Lanka, containing information on how to immigrate to Canada. But the dream always seemed unattainable for Sirinivas. That...