Hello, hello, hello, welcome back to Exotic Wine Travel. I am your host, Matthew Horkey. I am shooting time. Welcome back to the show. We're all about having you drink adventurously so you can expand your palate and expand your mind. Let's get into it. We've had a crazy few days. The work amongst everything that's happening around the world with coronavirus and everything. Yesterday, there was an earthquake in Zagreb, right, those pretty darn scary? We're alive. We woke up to 6.30 in the morning and we're on the seventh floor and the apartment was shaking. I'm not gonna lie, it was probably one of the most scary times for me, actually. Well, is there a little bit of a tremor? I don't know if there's a tremor yet, luckily. There's been tremors going on too as well, so that's kind of weird because Croatia's not a fault line. But anyways, we're gonna talk, we're gonna drink some Croatian wines. We're gonna taste some Croatian wines today. As you know, we spend a couple, three, four months a year in Croatia, so we wrote the book on Croatian wine. We're tasting quite frequently and keeping up to date. So we get a producer here from Barania, from Slovenia, down to Klasice. And we've been there before, right? Yep, we have about 2018, so we're there. We don't write, or we don't frequent that area very much because the download area tends to have bigger producers and they're not that many producers to visit as well. But it's always nice to catch up with the new vintages and I think they offer quite a different style of wines from the rest of Croatia. Yeah, Barania is right, this, you know, Barania Hill, Bansko Berdo, it's right on the border of Croatia, but around the border of Serbia and Hungary, warm area. This producer is eco-certified, organically certified. They make, we're not tasting today, they have three ranges of wines. They have entry-level silver line. We're gonna taste in some premium wines. The entry-level Grašavina, I'll put it up on the screen. For my palate, I think it's very good, especially for wine, you can find in the supermarket sometimes less than five year olds. Yeah, the Grašavina is also included in our book as one of the recommendations. Yeah, so let's get started. We're gonna taste their silver line Grašavina. 2018, these wines, the silver line and the premium wine, these are the kind of wines you're gonna find in the shop, the more specialty shops, entry-level you're gonna find more in the grocery store. For those of you who don't know, that maybe just brand new to the show, Grašavina is the most widely planted grape in Croatia, goes by a number of names, Velserys, St. Lasky Riesling, Italian Riesling, blah, blah, blah, blah, and so forth. So let's get into it. Yeah, and also Grašavina is the flagship wine in the Danube and the Slavonia area. But I think the most interesting part is, even though Slavonia and the Danube are considered one wine region, right? But Grašavina from Slavonia is distinctly different from the ones in the Danube. I agree too. The Danube is much bigger, more fruity, whereas Slavonia is more towards the mineral, more botanical kind of notes. More grassy. I would think that these are a little bit more meatier too. So let's give this a go. It's definitely fruity. I haven't tasted this, I haven't tasted the silver line. I think the last vintage we had maybe was 16 of this. So let's give it a go. Grašavinas you're gonna get a little bit more color, so kind of a golden color, this is a fresh wine. Apple, banana. A lot of apple. Linsu, it's a little bit of a tropical fruit, which is not common if you're getting it from Slavonia. Baked apple. Yeah, a lot of yellow peach. It's not grassy and mineral, like the ones that you're gonna get from Kutevo and the center of Slavonia. As you would expect from all Grašavina, it's supposed to be a refreshing wine. This is not meant to be a world beater. It's meant to be kind of like a everyday wine, something that's not very expensive. What do you think about the style of Grašavina? I think of a Chua Dao, right? A lot of people would like it because this is really fruity and much bigger in body. It's a very assessable wine. We've got a pairing, should we think? This would go with Croatia? I think this can easily actually go well with fishpaprikash because it's refreshing, it's big enough, there's enough sweetness. So if you like kind of a bigger, riper style fresh white wine, this is something you might wanna check out. For me, like I said, this type of wine is not meant to be a world beater. To me, it's kind of like in the 87 point type range, but I think it's delicious, serviceful. It's something that's just really enjoyable on a hot summer day. So let's move on to the premium wines. This is a wine we have not tasted before. This is the Kalazic Batina Blanc 2010, not an archive wine, a current release. This is Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris, or Pinot Grigio, however you like to refer to it as. Batina is the name of the village where the vineyards are. Very interesting region because it's a flat region besides the hill the vineyards on, it's all golden wheat, corn, and then this one hill, it's only 200 meters high, you have vines as well. So let's give this a go now. And that's a very fertile area as well of Croatia. Golden color as you're gonna get. You know what's cool? This wine retails on the shop. I'm not talking about in the winery. Like in the specialty shop, you're gonna see this wine for about 10 euros, 50 cents for a 2010 for an aged wine. So that's kind of cool. Golden color, let's give this a little bit of a smell. Developed wine, much of a develop on. This is a kind of blend you're gonna see in free. League, what kind of stuff do you pick up on this? I think this is definitely more towards a tertiary side. More honey, I think it's lip pick pretty late and pretty ripe as well. Again, it's a very specific style. You would like that sort of wine with this honey-ness, late picking fruit and all that, something you would like. Definitely more dry fruit as well, more of dry peach than fresh peach. Traditionally, the whites from this region are late harvest, higher on alcohol. Is it too aged for you or do you find it to be okay? I haven't tasted it, it smells okay. It's perfectly fine. I like the dried apricot notes. I like aged whites, so let's give this a go. A little bit spicy, you get this ginger-y taste to it. Oh, the empala is slightly bitter, but I appreciate bitterness in general for a lot of wine as long as it's balanced and this bitterness offers a sense of freshness. It's got acidity too, for me. Not a ton for me. But sir, are you surprised by this wine? I like it. I actually surprised a lot, actually, I'm not gonna lie, I actually really, really like it. Let me give it one more shot here. I think it's a specific, very charismatic sort of one that's after a certain type of palette, and I appreciate it. For me, what's really surprising about this wine, I thought maybe it would be 2010, why you think it'd be too tired? I don't think it's not, I still get lots of apricots, sliced peaches type deal. Acidity's good. I'm not exaggerating, I might go, of course this is current release too, 2010. I might go 89, 90 even, I'm gonna say 90 because the uniqueness, you can get this in aged wine on the shelf. Good job by them, I think really interesting. Anything else that you wanna add on this little blend? No, I think if you know what you're getting yourself into, this is a really good value for money wine. Yeah, especially people that like aged whites. I'm actually quite impressed. I would definitely buy this wine. I would actually really highly recommend it. I would buy it too. Yeah, I'd highly recommend it. Let's move on here. So this is another, this is one of their premium wines. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon 2012. 2012 was great for all the region here, Hungary, Serbia, Istria, so let's see how this is going. This is also the current release. Now imagine this, an aged Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, you get it in the shop for about, the Coon is not very strong right now, about 14 euros. So that's pretty darn cool. Let's give this a go here. So Cabernet Sauvignon is quite widely planted in Barada. I mean that area, even though it's continental, it has a lot of sun, I think about 2,000 hours of sun, so there's no issue with planting Cabernet over there. I have to say, because we had test bottles of all this, we tasted these two for the first time. We already had a test bottle of this, and the first one was dusty. This is not very dusty. For me, you're going to get a lot of black cherry. Just a touch of violet. Do you get any of the greens? A little on the end palette, which I enjoy. I do look for a little bit of greeners on Cabernet. You think this bottle is better than the first one we have? It's a lot better, yeah. What kind of flavors, what kind of stuff are you picking up on this Cabernet? I like it as two as a fresher side, not too green, but as two as a fresher side. It's not overly extracted as well. The tenons, they're very in place, they're not too dry. Still a little bit firm for 2012, but it's very nice to drink now. Not overly complex, not a really long and pallet wine, but it's very nice to drink Cabernet. Yes, if you're going to get medium body, kind of more medium body Cabernet-7 yawn, you have a little bit of the roundness from the aging, especially the fact that you can get this aged. For me, we're looking at 88, 89 point type wine. I think it's really nice that you can get aged Cabernet-7 yawn. There's not a lot of great Cabernet-7 yawn variety wines in Croatia. In fact, you can get an aged one, super enjoyable. I would love to have this with some cool one, right? I think it's also in comparison to typical Cabernet-7 yawns that you get from Croatia. It tends to be a little bit more ripe, more tenon. This is something that's much easier to drink and fresher in style. I actually respect this bottle a lot. It's just something that I really, really enjoy. So, Colossus, I'm really lately, since we're spending a lot of, we're kind of gonna be in Croatia for a while. I'm really a fan of the continental wines. Wines from Istria, Dalmatia, of course I love, but they get all the hype, they get the most visibility, but you can get some great values in continental Croatia. I think you get organically certified wine, you get some of their entry-level stuff for anywhere in the five-year range. To the premium stuff is just 10 to 15 euros. Really good value for money. And also this area used to be known for white wine region, so lately they've been really pushing for their red wines, and their red wines do deliver a fresher style in general. And they're getting better and better, right? So, I actually really want to try the, they make a Batina red. I think it's Suram or a little Cabernet-7 yawn. We haven't tried it yet. So, guys, check it out. If you want to know more about Croatian wine, check out our book, Cracking Croatian Wine, Visitor-Friendly Guy. It's on Amazon now. And if you like this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel below. Yep, Exotic Wine Travel. When you visit Croatia, look out for Continental wines, and I guess we will see you at the next episode. Yeah!


Hey, good afternoon Tom Stewart here. I'm with Liz Trotter. Our guest today is Dene Wolf and this is smart business moves Sorry, we're late everybody. That's on me Sorry, sorry Fashionably late. Yeah It's not like it hasn't happened before. Yeah, but we're gonna make up for it. This is gonna be an awesome show So sometimes it's about quality not quantity. All right, that's good. Well, Dene we had you on before and you knocked it out of the park so I'm I'm looking forward to to today's What what are these podcasts? Just live stream We're multi-channel depends on how you're watching or listening, I guess Hey, all right. So what was the topic Tom? You you said the topic. I thought it was good How to turn your passion into profits Oh, yeah, that's nice. But before we start Dene, you want to share a little bit? What what have you been doing today? Oh So this is exciting. So I actually Spent the day at our local TV station one of the big banks here is Looking to launch a program on local TV station So not like a big one like NBC. Maybe that'll be the next stop But a local channel to do a program on financial literacy So today I spent the day actually filming a pilot and it's gonna go over to the investors on Friday and Hopefully I will be selected as the host the show will happen with or without me But the host has not been picked. So fingers crossed. That's what I'm gonna be doing That is super exciting. Yeah, definitely keeping my fingers across Across no crossed And it sounds fun too, I mean and really just the experience of what you did today, I bet you learned a few things Oh my gosh, it was incredible. I got the best content So I'm gonna be like putting it all over my stories and everything but just getting my oh, hi Dene Hi, just getting mic'd up was really cool. Like I've never worn like a mic back before Using the teleprompter. There's all kinds of prompts behind me. It was just really It's to be in hair and makeup all these lights It was really really really fun. Well, you have the the right presence. I'm sure that they're looking for so Gosh, it seems like you'd be an amazing choice for them. Oh, I like your I like your odds I mean this is local market stuff start, right? Yeah, yeah I hope so. We'll see we'll see. I don't know who how many people have auditioned. I don't like I have no idea so Yeah, this is just a start and you know a year or two from now, we'll be seeing you on national television Yeah To talk to us you won't have time Up to be guests on her show Yeah I said this was my year of just being really focused on Visibility I want to talk on a lot of stages and so far I've booked two stages and I wanted to do a podcast every month And I have done that so far this year. Wow. Good. Good on you Brad financial literacy as much as possible Yeah, that's great.  Is it business owners? so it's business owners and we did start recently in about the last Year and a half or so also focusing on personal finances and what was really interesting about that is it came about Because of our business owners because a lot of them were coming to us to pay us to do coaching for their employees So I'm putting together a curriculum for our clients employees We started putting together entire personal finance module. So now we actually work with both But it came about because of our clients saying we want to do something for our employees and the first time I heard it I was like, oh, that's different. I don't offer that and then I heard it again And then I heard I was like, okay, so I don't offer it But clearly I need to so give me some time and I will get it together You need to you need to get on that today really I I think there's a heck of a market for that You know because there's a lot of cleaning professionals that Really don't know how to manage their money and there's an employer if you can help them with that Your retention your engagement things get better in a lot of different ways That's exactly what what they were saying. So we just finished the curriculum. Everything is filmed It's just being loaded into the Javi and those modules are going to be out and being announced very soon Let us know when they're available because we'd like to share that with with the world. That's important stuff Yeah, thank you. I'm excited about it. I mean it's everything like credit scores Credit cards how to get a mortgage all of those things personal plan So outside of the typical P&L and balance sheet and taxes that I'm talking about Things that you need to know is just an adult to do adult Yeah, it's just as an adult you want to be insulting the right way. Yes But you know it it's surprising how many people Don't have homes Purely because it seems overwhelming. It's just too overwhelming. I don't know where to start They don't know what to do. They don't know who to talk to I think this is such a gosh a worthwhile endeavor for all of All people but especially the people that work for our companies. I love it. Yeah I'm super excited to it and a lot of very big companies also offer this So like we've got fortune 500 companies or having people like me come in and educate their teams So I think it we're gonna be seeing it a lot more as like an employee Benefits package. Yeah Yeah, I love it. I love it you too You know, the only thing that's really been available up until now that I have known about is We've brought people in For our our morning education But like prudential, right or they do like that Nothing against prudential. I'm not saying anything against them but that Company, I think we've had it them come in like three different times and they just don't have enough depth Coming in and our and having a quick check Program is so much more valuable. Oh, I'm so excited Yeah, it should be good. It should be good. Well, and it's perfect timing too because all everywhere all the time now is if you want to Be able to retain your employees and if you want to have good employees working for you You have to do something different. You have to be providing new opportunities They have to be able to see that working for your company makes more sense better sense than working somewhere else This is huge. Yeah, they have to pick you Every single day and they have to keep choosing you or they're going to choose someone else. Yeah, I like that That they have to choose in every single day It really takes one bad day To lose a great employee. Honestly, we were talking the other day we had a bunch of women on zoom and She was talking about how she literally her boss lost his temper and this situation She was like and I quit and I was like, oh and then did you guys make up and she was like, no I never like I really just left into what sparks her to start her own Company and now she's very conscious of the way she talks to her employees and everything But the moral the story is it was that one bad day She was like I had seen him lose his cool on other people, but it never happened to me All it took was one time and she was like, I'm done. I'm gone So in this same age especially you're not getting a second chance. So it's important that we value them Okay, I love that Ah Okay, so perfect timing. We all agree with that now.  What's happening? Yeah, so we are going the next thing we're gonna be doing is our entrepreneurial wealth masterclass That is our free five-day masterclass as a complete Immersion into all things small business finance and money mindset and that's going to be taking place in June and right after that and we kind of get our bearings back We will go into the personal finance launch. So I would guesstimate that's gonna be happening around July or August We move a little bit slower around here in the summer Really like to enjoy our summer and prioritize our families So we're not as like Bam Bam Bam with things. I would say sometime in July or August. Okay So when is the specifically what dates is the masterclass sounds like we need to get people The business owners need to get into that. Yeah, so we are still ironing out the dates for the masterclass But typically it is the third week of the month So the third week going into June or in June would be the third week And the reason why we are still ironing out the dates is I am in the middle of planning a family vacation But it is with extended family members. So it's not just me and my husband So we're working everybody's schedule. So flights have not been bought yet So it's a little bit not solidified just yet, but once the flights are bought We will pull the trigger, but it's looking like it'll be the third week in June Okay, and I think I heard you say it was five days and it is what what's the price? Did I put that price wrong? It is great. I cannot tell you the gift that this masterclass has been to me this year So I had never done a masterclass a lot of coaches Even my coach was saying, you know, people weren't really doing masterclasses anymore But I knew from my experience when I took them just on my own I loved them, but everyone I spoke to was like they're a time suck. They're draining They suck the life at you just nobody really had anything positive to say about it But I was like, yeah But if you get everybody the results because I know how great they've been for me Actually think a lot of good it can come from it So I had a lot of noise about well, they don't really work. They don't convert because let's be real We all know we do our masterclasses and then at the end we hope you know They enroll in our paid program, but you want to go out there and give them as much value for free So I said well if conversion rates are down My greatest resource is time and I know that I'd be distraught if I put blood sweat and tears into this and It doesn't convert. So I said, okay, so I need to remove that from my thinking I don't need to worry about making the sales, but I need to feel That I did something. What did I do? So I'm like, okay Well, we could definitely have people get testimonials or something. I said no, that's not it. And I said, hmm We're going to have them make donations So that even if I don't make a single sale, nobody converts We did something good and our first masterclass We did over $2,000 in charitable donations All over the country, there's just a little bit of people Paying it forward. We talk a lot about in the masterclass about giving And the importance of it. I always say, you know, everybody who says money can't buy happiness Just simply hasn't given enough of it away So I was able to take this masterclass. We're learning but I also know people are Giving they're becoming charitable beings because I believe when we teach someone Financial literacy right when we give them financial education empowerment and freedom It is all going to be for nothing if we don't also teach them how to be charitable Teach them how to pay it forward, right that we want that trickle effect. So by incorporating it into there We I think here at a date we've done over $5,000 in charitable donations this year from Just the entrepreneurial wealth masterclass. So it's it's amazing. I'm so proud of it. Yeah So if I want to know more about that you go to your facebook page. Is that right? Yeah, if you join so it's not our page It's our group if you join the profit factor facebook group also the facebook group is free That is where you'll get all the updates all the information. We stream the class in there Everything will be there now.  I just went to the darren hardy masterclass. This is masterclass Did you see nina coach there? Uh nina Did you meet nina? She was there. I know there's so many people there. Yeah. Yeah So what I was going to say is I did the zoom masterclass, right? Okay, and it was last week And I I just did quick math based on all of the people that were on the different screens, etc Um, the the price the discounted price was 10 grand. I know some people got in for like five So I did the back of the envelope math based on the number of people that were there And I looked like um, he had top line revenue of maybe 17 18 million So I'm thinking some people are still interested in the masterclass Some people And then one more thing that I thought would be interesting to you It was a requirement to be in this Program it was all day three full days And it was a requirement that you keep your camera on the entire day Except for two five minute breaks one in the morning and one in the afternoon And then a 30 minute lunch And if you didn't keep your camera on you're pulled from the broadcast so just um, some information from somebody who Seems to be doing fairly well. Yeah That's amazing I would never think to say that or we're going to kick you out if you don't have your camera Yeah And so you had to you could only have one face in the camera had to be yours You had to keep your camera on the entire time It was they sent out 369 I think it was 12 image One sheet that about How to be On to you can drink no eating No, no Getting like typing or anything you can look down Because that he would expect you to be looking down for writing notes Yeah, a whole big thing around it be in the center of your camera Don't don't look at that screen make sure you hit this one But again Other reason i'm passing it on to you and actually I'll send you the little sheet that he sent to us I'm passing it on to you is he seems to be doing somewhat of a good job with that Says is not working anymore How does he know if you're looking down you're not thumbing through facebook on your phone? Yeah, so you can He would expect you to be looking down at certain times, but there were So many people y'all like Just counting it looked like over 1800 people that were on the on the screens So Yeah, I'm just thinking you It might be a good call Especially I love adding that additional piece of the social responsibility Yeah, right now, right? Everybody wants to feel like they're Doing more with their lives and their time on this And so much of anything in life right comes down to creating habits having rituals And when it comes to giving and being charitable Don't lose sight so much if you sleep over oil and the gave five dollars. It's not about that It's about creating that habit because as your wealth grows You'll obviously give more But if you don't have that habit like if you're not charitable and make a hundred thousand a year You're not going to be charitable just because now you make a million Right. It's all about that habit like I always have people It's the problem if the problem is you right so you have to create and develop And sustain those habits now So so much of what I teach in financial literacy is just getting into that habit That's what I was thinking this goes right along with what you must be teaching about How important it is to follow habits and stay and good keep a good rhythm for for how you're spending your money and Saving it and all those other good things. I can't imagine that does play in a big part yeah So We wanted to uh talk about how to turn your passion into profits I think that we're kind of touching up on that here. I mean you're you're you're living it. You're you're you're doing it with Through example Did you have some thoughts? Yeah, so this is it's just it's something I feel so strongly about because I think a lot of times there is This culture and this buzz of if you're in it for the money you're in it for the wrong reason There is This message that's being sent that almost makes entrepreneurs Scared to talk about anything that has to do with money. Number one They don't want people to think they're in it for the money. Number two, they don't want people to think that They are having any type of a financial hardship going on, right? So they hold back from talking about it or asking any sort of questions When the reality of it is if you are running a for-profit business You absolutely are in it for the money. Okay, so all of the gurus who say if you're in it for the money You're in it for the wrong reason. Well, if they're saying you that but actually turning around and charging you You might want to consider the source, right? Because if they were in this Just because of their heart of hearts They wouldn't have anything generating any revenue. They would truly Just be giving and donating of their time So the first thing I want to throw out there is your first step On your path to profits is first admitting Hey, I am doing this for the money. I'm not running a charity And if you want to run a charity great, you can actually do that and run your business You should do both more power to you But first admit your company the entire reason for being Is to make money Now if you are one of the lucky ones You get To make money doing something you're passionate about That's when the sun the moon and the stars align You have found your calling and you were able To turn your passion into profits, right? And that happens for a select few of us Right, I always say those are the lucky ones that you get to have that happen But you have to first make sure and admit Your why the reason you started Was to make money Bottom line Well, I gotta push back a little bit. I have pushed back a little bit So I'm not I'm not gonna I'm not sure that everybody can agree that their why is because of the money, but I absolutely think it's a huge motivator like people absolutely have to have money And but some people are like This is the only thing I can do to be able to get enough money This is what I need to do and this is a way to do it So I'm not doing it to make money necessarily But I'm doing it because Is a way to make money, but it's maybe not Maybe not the why But it's it's nice Coming in to make money And I'm not saying you don't do it. We're all doing it to make money. We're not charities. Absolutely I guess maybe not the maybe not the motivation behind the reason why we're running, but No that I know why do you want the money? What do you want to do and a lot of what I hear with that? Usually we'll have something to do surrounding our greatest resource, which is actually time So usually it'll be well. I wanted to make money, but on my own terms But it's still all started with why did we get into business? to make money Sometimes an added layer of something with work life balance and time But then if we're lucky we got to choose a path that feels in alignment with us You know, if you have a cleaning company You know that you play an integral role in your client's homes That's a bit.  We're not selling rubber dog poo. We're doing something that we can feel proud of But we're still doing it to make money and if we're lucky We're making money with something we're passionate about but too often We're gonna get stuck in this trap of just thinking Well, if you build it, they will come if I'm just passionate and if I'm not focused on the money The profits will come later. I got a news flash for you. They're not coming. They're not coming because you can't lose sight Of what you're trying to do you are a for-profit business, which means you must be profitable Bottom line. So you want to think of the profit in your business. It's like the queen bee in the beehive, right? They protect her At all costs That's how we have to think about the profit in Our business and it can be that fine line, right? Because when the company is trying to think through the profitability lens With also managing that with the people lens and all the different things that we have to do But at the end of the day, you have to know That if your business does not have profit, you will not have a company There will be nothing to protect your employees will not have a job. You will not have the income So we have to never lose sight of just how important that bottom line is You just try to get approached by entrepreneurs who usually start crying Very early in the conversation because they're overworked and they're Trying to make everybody around them happy And then I say okay, so I hear you're working a ton I hear all the efforts you're putting into your staff into your employees. How's your profit? There's the tears coming so so when So when people say that they're not doing it for the money what they really are saying is and I've seen this that I'm really not making any money, but I'm working really hard So the only way I can rationalize that is by saying I'm doing it for some other reason than the money because If I'm doing it for the money, and I'm not getting any money. I'm working awful hard I'm not getting what it is. I'm supposed to be getting and I think it's always You know as entrepreneurs, we've got this creative spirit. We've got kind of these wild hearts And we always feel like eventually it's going to happen eventually. It's going to happen But I know firsthand if you are stuck in this cycle where you're not making money It's not going to just miraculously get better It's a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and hoping to get A different effect and that's just not going to happen. Right. So we have to come to a point where we say, okay Enough is enough. I'm no longer. Okay with Working working working and not feeling that it's paying off. I'm not making the kind of money that I want to make It is about the money and I'm going to respect that and what would happen If I looked at my company through a different lens What would happen if instead of putting on my rose colored glasses I put on my profit colored glasses What would I say? What am I actually going to see and when you start looking at your business through the lens of Am I as profitable as I can be you would be shocked by what you see I just met with a cleaning company. They're doing about $88,000 a month And she was like, yeah, I don't have to work that much for all intents and purposes very At peace and happy with how everything was going And when we got in and looked at everything I was like, you're leaving a lot of money on the table It's just like, what do you mean? I'm like, well your margins are nowhere near What they should be She's like, yeah, but everything feels fine. That's great. Everything should always feel fine But let me just calculate it out for you and tell you the difference And it was just immediately like Complete shock for her not realizing that she was not running her business thinking like the cfo of her company and somebody's got to be thinking like the cfo when you're running a company If you wanted to have longevity and stability So once we calculated those numbers for her and she realized what was going on She was like, whatever I need to do to fix it whatever I need to do to get that money back into My family's pocket, right? That's a big lifestyle change for her and her family And she just didn't realize it because she didn't look at it through the lens of profitability too Often as entrepreneurs were kind of looking at it through Well, I'm putting some money in my pocket The lights are still on paychecks aren't bouncing Customers seem to be happy. Everything is hunky dory Instead of looking at it through a way. Am I growing am I steadily growing because in business if we're not steadily growing We're slowly dying Right and when we start looking at things and saying What are the numbers telling me because if it doesn't make money, it doesn't make sense That is the reality of entrepreneurship And I think so often people just aren't fixated on it. They're not actually paying attention But our underlying motivator how many people find out for coaching? What are we trying to do? You you work with a lot of cleaning business owners helping them through this process You've been you've been doing this for a while um Have you seen things change since like after pre-covid, you know prices were fairly stable wages were stable and If you were making money or if there was money in the bank account You might not know why but as long as nothing changed that was okay But you see more companies running into trouble now that inflation and a lot of things are changing Yeah, so what I think covet did Was make a lot of people a lot more financially savvy I do think that was A blessing in disguise. There was definitely a strong percentage of entrepreneurs who realized During covet that they didn't have their numbers together And why did that happen because they couldn't apply for the eidl and they couldn't apply for the ppp Because they didn't have their financials ready. So we definitely see a much bigger emphasis on understanding Numbers and people actually understanding that it's an important part of the business But what we're seeing more More so over six months ago. I would say lately The trend is better, but the big thing we were seeing about six months ago was a big uptick in what we had to spend to recruit Um, definitely would have what I called an employment crisis We were seeing our cost of goods be higher because we were paying cleaners more and we were seeing Regular operational expenses higher because of what we were investing into recruiting I would say in the last two to three months. I am 100 seeing those level off I'm seeing things go back to normal, but that was sort of a temporary challenge There was a while there where that was for sure the biggest challenge we were seeing just recruiting Because everybody wanted their house clean Like kind of when the world went back to normal and wanted their Regularly scheduled programming so to speak and having their house cleaners back Kind of also coincided with the mass exodus from the workforce and Particularly, what did we see the data showed us? It was women who weren't going back to work We the data also tells us the majority of our house cleaners are women So it definitely was something that impacted the industry which made us have to input more money Into those recruiting ads But lately I'm we're doing good. I'm seeing that turn turn a corner. What are you guys seeing with your coaching clients? I haven't seen nearly the staffing issues that we were seeing about six months ago I still have a couple of clients that struggle with staffing um, I was talking with And I have a new client that just potent not a new client. She's a client that's been a client for about You know two years two and a half years. She's never had a problem with employees through all of the stuff that everybody else did And she just was talking about today What the heck I lost five employees in the last two weeks for For you know, kind of legitimate ish reasons And one of them she doesn't want back but the other four was like What the heck so I was kind of a mixed bag. Um for there are There are companies that um spot on and not having any trouble at all I don't have that many clients either. So I mean, let me be clear. We're talking about 84 clients. So um, but I would say those We probably have Are in a better About For the 70% that's better, you know, I don't think there's a lot of people out there that Have more labor than they know what to do with.  They just don't know it yet. Tom. We know people Yeah, I know people. We don't we know people that They don't know where their money went.  Yeah, and I see the opposite too. I see people who come to me and say It's a mess. I don't know what's going on. I'm not making any money and then we're like, uh, you're literally doing amazing This is the best year you've ever had and they're like, oh, I don't know.  You might be overpriced. You might be paying too much For your stuff. You might be paying too little to your stuff, which means you're going to have a turnover issue But everything you need to know about your company is actually in those numbers And I always tell entrepreneurs if you are someone and you know who you are, this is you If you are someone who is having a cash flow problem You genuinely need to be looking at your numbers every single week some of you every single day But if you know that you're not having a cash flow problem, right? You never worry about over drawing everything like that Then you can do it once a month But the point is you need to make the commitment to do it. I call them money meetings You need to get them on your calendar And you need to see what is going on. Look at that entrepreneurial equation, right? It is our revenue minus our business expenses equals our profit That's all it is. It's actually very simplistic And then you need to make sure Revenue is accurately recorded And that your business expenses are accurate accurately reported because guess what that profit Is what you're going to be taxed on So the best way to avoid overpaying in taxes is to make sure that all of your numbers have been tracked appropriately So that you know revenue minus expenses equals profit is legit All of those numbers are correct and once you do that once everything is categorized correctly It really just becomes basic math Making sure that everything's done And you don't even have to be the one that does it Yeah um, so So talking about this topic and then going back to the going back to the title of this um podcast whatever Turning turning Your passion into profits So talk to us about like the passion. Are you saying that the passion is the money? I don't think that's what you're saying Right. No, the passion is what is actually Bringing you joy.  We already know we are entrepreneurs to make money That's it. I'll I'll I'll go head to head and argue that with anyone We are entrepreneurs to make money. That's why we became an entrepreneur, right? It's the same reason why you're an employee. It's the same reason why we do a lot of things We need to make money money makes the world go around. Let's just call a spade a spade, right? So we're all doing this to make money but If you're one of the lucky ones, you're able to find something that makes you Feel fulfilled that makes you feel alive And you're then able to turn that into profits So you said something liz that I wanted to touch on because you said some people are like, I'm not necessarily Passionate about this, right? It was just kind of what I knew how to do and that's gonna lead me into this topic so if you are a You know running a cleaning company and maybe you say It wasn't really like I kind of fell into this, right? on it wasn't really something that I necessarily felt passionate about Then I would challenge you to say, okay If your company is running like a well-oiled machine. You are profitable. You're hitting the margins that you want It is okay to start exploring what lights you up What makes you feel passionate and we can do what we call passion projects So I'm going to give you guys some real examples from some cleaning companies So one cleaning company was like listen. I wasn't passionate about cleaning I literally was not going to be able to stay at my job because my schedule was changing and it wasn't going to work with my children so I quit my job on the spot didn't know what to do and Somehow some way met a woman who was like, oh, I'm making six figures. I run a cleaning company and she was like Great, I could do that. I know how to clean sign me out and she was like, I just went down this rabbit hole Turned out. I'm good at it Now that's how I make a living But it wasn't something that really lit me up, but I was making the money So she said what do I want to do and she said well, I would really love to be able to help women understand Just because you lose your or you have to leave your job You know, whatever it is you can still figure out a way to make it Okay, and she actually started getting very involved in a lot of different philanthropic Entities where she lives and she's like that's where I'm getting my passion But for her it actually turns into profits because everywhere she goes she's got her shirt on she's landing account She's getting immersed in the community, but it's also lighting her up Right, so while I call the ones who can turn their passion into profits the lucky few The story is we could all be lucky. We just have to make our own luck and we have to be really Specific about what is going to make us feel fulfilled So for her it was getting involved in those charitable organizations I've had tons of cleaning companies say I just want to help women I was able to create freedom for myself and profitability for myself I want to pay it forward and they start coaching Some of the greatest coaches I've ever met are because they had a business and they realize I have so much on my heart that I want to share that I want to help These are examples of turning our passion into profits And that is really where The magic can happen and it doesn't have to be so black and white where we just say well This is my business. It's doing good But I'm not really passionate about it. Okay. Great. What are you passionate about? How can we how can we wing it off of here? How can we also make sure that you have something that is lighting you up because we know when in our human nature It is proven we constantly need to feel that we are evolving That we are leveling up that there is a next step for us that we are climbing that mountain That's our journey that we're complacency is like a death sentence, right? So we have to make sure that we're constantly staying in touch with what lights you up And then how am I able To make it profitable. So my original early story is that I had restaurants And I discovered financial literacy changed my life changed my company. I was actually getting evicted. It was a whole thing But I was so empowered by what I learned that I was like, I want to go out And teach this so I started volunteering at my local women's business center Just to teach financial literacy, but you know what I would do I would bring my food I would cater at all for free. It was my marketing So now I was turning my passion of teaching and sharing this to profits because it was my marketing I was getting my food into so many people's mouths. I was getting catering gigs It was working But it was fulfilling me in a way that you know, just dollars and coins wasn't going to So when we have those honest conversations with ourselves and say When do I feel alive? When do I feel invincible? What are those things in my life that I just feel confident? No one does this as good as me How can I somehow turn that Into being profitable And that is really when the magic happens and just realizing it's not black and white. I still had my restaurants I still had them But I was volunteering to teach these classes and it was lighting me up and I was growing my business while doing it So earlier you made the comment today that if you're not growing you're you're dying and you know I believe that to be true, but that has a broader connotation than just a financial statement Oh, yeah Yeah, that is so I'll I'll share a personal story. So my husband and I spent Over two years building our dream home All of our blood sweat and tears went into this It was one of the hardest things we've ever done And we moved in and we went through a very weird phase And we couldn't quite put our fingers on it like we didn't know what was going on and we're like We are thankful we are and finally we are on date night one night and my husband was like Do you think that we're just like Now what because i'm kind of thinking now what but I feel like if I say now what It makes it seem like we're not grateful and I was like boom You hit the nail on the head We had this thing that we had been wanting and dreaming and hoping for and then we got it and it was kind of like Wait, I'm ready to go on to the next thing But if I do that does that make me seem ungrateful and it was this weird thing to be in and then we finally just Owned it and you know what I did Launched the entrepreneurial wealth masterclass. That was what I threw myself into and my husband got into real estate So it's that basic human nature that you're always looking to evolve You're always looking to level up and scale to new heights always It's just innately within us You know and we'll see it in our kids too They score their first touchdown they go to the next game like now. I want to score two because you constantly want to be Leveling up. It's a it's a need to be doing that We definitely see that we definitely see that a lot. I I see the spectrum There's a a huge spectrum of people out there. There are I'm thinking of one one of the business owners that you work with I work with as well one of the ones that Is like always thinking it's doomsday, right this week Let me tell you how wonderful and amazing you are I promise you you're doing amazing That's our vibe. Yes. Well, really her her passion is Her family right and and creating this Not not work life balance. Just life. She wants a life outside of and if she can get however However, she has to do it to get the money to do this thing that she really does have passion All right, so I'm also seen on the opposite spectrum Um multiple multiple companies doing this, but the one that I'm thinking of right now We wanted to raise up women and her idea was she wanted to help single women, especially and She she didn't have a profit in her business. Uh, she had two percent profit and She's still in business. She's doing that for At least 15 years and that's that's the thing that she wants to do. She loves it Um, and that's that's like a completely different thing. Her husband funds their family and their life So she doesn't really need to make money per se, but I'm like, but why not? Why not make money too? We could do both You That and make money But there's too many messages that say you can't there's too many messages to say they're doing it for the money You're doing it for the wrong reasons, but that's not the case You have to be passionate about something and make it profitable You just have to make sure that you're reading the data that you know, what's going on with the numbers Are you charging appropriately? Are you making sure that every single penny that comes in the door? And out the door is being tracked and coded and categorized According All right, you have to inspect what you accept We do talk a lot about Well, Tom really has been preaching on this since long before anybody was talking numbers Liz you and I have had discussions hours of discussions about how profit is kind of the life ball out of everything Maybe it's not the purpose It's not the real reason, but nothing good happens if you're not profitable, but if you're profitable Every all the good stuff happens through profit everything you can do it all if you have profit if you don't have profit You you're limited by the amount of profit that you have If you're running a product if you're running a business that's not profitable, you've got bad jobs You're providing bad service and you're miserable running it I mean, it's a lose lose lose if you're not profitable and you're a bad example If you want to be lifting people up and showing them how to do stuff, we'll show them the bad example Right, be be an example of profitability where people can be successful So, uh, yeah There's a reason why the name of my company is core profit builders Because I believe in profit, right? That's not an accident On a t-shirt. I believe in profits. Yeah A t-shirt. It's It's so true and I think people just get stuck On this hamster wheel and they just think well, this is as good as it gets This is what it looks like and I remember when I owned my restaurants and I was not profitable. I was losing money I was telling myself this story of this is just what entrepreneurship looks like This is what it is. I guess you work really hard for barely any money And that's how it works and then I remember I started watching that show like shark tank And they were like, well, if you're not making any money, you don't have a business You have a hobby and I was like, oh my gosh, I have the world's most expensive hobby And how could that happen? Least fun hobby too I was like, how did I let that Happen to myself and I literally had to go in and educate myself and learn the numbers and immediately All the problems in my business Jumps off the page of me So when you guys get your numbers organized and you're able to see Here for every dollar that comes in the door You know 22 cents is going here 50 cents is going here when you can start looking at it through that lens It will completely change the way you see your business and the way you operate your business It changes everything for you But you have to make sure that you're actually looking at the numbers and working with a professional if you need to If you don't know how to interpret the data or if you're even maybe worried the data is wrong Or if you don't have data at all then you need a bookkeeper But you have to make sure that you're paying attention to it Every single week or month in your business. You have to be compiling this You should always know where your margin is. What are your goals? What are you actually streaming achieving to do like it's too often? It's just like status quo of like i'm just trying to keep my head above water Like i'm trying not to let the doors shut and I think people just call victim to it instead of saying wait a minute I can 100 percent take control of this. I can take control of this I have a cool story that y'all are gonna love so I work with a business owner right now that is She is just Looking the trend everybody talks about you know the standard number out there is like 20 profit She's like I am not I am going to have 40 percent profit I am And she runs a cleaning business and people are like you can't because if you do then your employees are gonna suffer You won't pay well enough.  You watch me and Hi, I haven't okay to share her name, but Uh, she's very popular on other sites tiktok and doing a lot of stuff. She's She's like i'm building my brand So that I will be able to Pull in the money that other people can't because I will have 40 profit. She's like And I have other companies so many that are I'm comfortable at eight I'm comfortable at eight percent. I've got I've got enough money I don't want to work any harder. I don't want to do anything different. I like doing it this way It's good enough for me You listen and denay what you're what i'm hearing one of the things i'm hearing you say is it's not necessarily working any harder The money is there. It's it's already there. Yeah Smarter with it when I turned my restaurants around I did not increase revenue Didn't increase revenue I became profitable overnight Because I learned how to read my profit has lost David because I knew exactly what the mistakes were that I was making And I course corrected. That's what we have to be able to do as entrepreneurs And if you can't run on basic margins that are pretty standard within an industry Something's broken operationally. So you might be content where you are But you might not have that stability long term because you're still doing something off Yeah We have tools that make central we show people how you can clean fewer homes and make more money You can work less and still make more money You know who is really good at this too. Um, so we haven't we haven't mentioned him in a while ken carfagnale Right, right Yeah, he is amazing at this. He was polo cleaning school. I think Yeah, he's got a few different things one. I just got a great podcast too I was on the podcast.  What what is what she said? I bought a I bought a new t-shirt That's as happy as the new right. This is the new rich But I do one of the things that I see a lot particularly in the cleaning industry Um when we're not hitting profits we want there is a lot of shiny object syndrome That they need a lot of things or need to pay a certain amount In order to be profitable I try to explain the differences between An expense versus an investment an expense is going to cost you money An investment in your company is going to make you money and I'm all about taking a smaller profit temporarily for a good solid investment But too often We just maintain these operational expenses that are higher than they should be And we just think we need it and I'll tell you The client obviously we don't say names who I just said hey you're leaving money on the table We need to fix it. Um, I said You need to switch to made central and we'll we'll talk offline But she just did she emailed me yesterday and said that she just made the switch Because what her ops cost? It's way too high because they were manually doing so many things That made central is now going to be doing for them So we got stuck in our comfortability of doing things the only way we know how and a lot of times That leads to leaving money on the table So we we just got a someone new coming to you guys She said she just enrolled and I just can't wait to see her profit margin increase because it's going to because we're going to be able to reduce her operational costs Yeah, there's a lot of people to get hung up on making investments and things like technology But if you make the right investments You're going to get a lot more money back than what you're putting into it Exactly. Yeah, I wish we had more time to talk about that because I do think people get really confused about that and That's probably a good worthwhile topic that we can spend almost Yeah, yeah, just talking about the different expenses versus the investments so But we are out of time. It is the top of the hour so Dene if anybody wants to know more about You know your your your workshops and the things that you're doing they go to your your facebook group Uh, the one that i'm showing here drop the link and chat Yes, amazing. Yep the profit factor on facebook Okay I like that name the profit factor easy to remember Keep us posted on when you're Financial literacy goes online and Let us know let us know when you get the good news about your TV show as well A lot of cool stuff You have a lot of good stuff going on. It's exciting. Well, we love to send people over to you Dene I really love that you are Focused in on profit and that you believe in profit and for everybody else too You you help them to actually get there and in a pushy nice way In a pushy nice way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you gotta be pushy sometimes, right? People aren't there. All right, sorry We're gonna call them to take for today because at this top of the hour and we need to move on but Dene Thank you so much for sharing good luck with everything you got going on and We'll have to get you back on the show here Once some more things happen and you can kind of bring us up to speed and I'll be looking forward to that Thanks guys. Bye We'll be back next Wednesday five o'clock. Bye. Bye


Remember when you were little and you'd be watching TV or reading a comic book? You'd see this superhero come in and save the day and you'd think Maybe that could be me You would grab the nearest blanket, tie it around your neck, scale to the top of the couch and for a moment as you jumped off It felt real.   What would it take to transform someone into a superhero? Consider what advice do you have on choosing a name? How about an outfit, a color scheme, a logo? What do you do when someone doesn't have a superpower like Iron Man or Batman? Any advice on choosing the perfect gadgets? How about the hero's lair? What practical advice can you offer a prospective superhero choosing a city? What kind of transportation should a superhero use? And what if all of that costs way too much money and the superhero isn't independently wealthy? How can a superhero tap into his or her tragic backstory to find strength? So take all of that advice that you have and turn it into a step-by-step guide for how to become a superhero


FNN the Tiger financial news network update. Good morning, everyone. Basel Chapman here. Tiger technicians are coming up after this 10 o'clock Tiger Financial News Network market update. Thousand 82 or 33,790 was up a little bit more earlier today to 33,868. I think there's going to be a wait and see attitude as we move on to the rest of the day, but at least in the afternoon, waiting for the CPI numbers for tomorrow, that's going to be quite important. And what we're looking at here is that in the Chapman Way methodology, we've made a peak, see we should go above the 33,953 high or three days ago for leg D in the next few days. But key support is that 33,480s. We're looking at the S&P. And this is going to be also quite important because the S&P is up 17 and 39,37. Made a peak, see also just making its leg D today. Could turn out to be a peak C1, C2 top. We'll talk about that in my show coming up. Tiger technicians out. What we're all looking at is the QQQ. The NDX100 is up 1.26, up 0.48% at 274.18. That's really good action. Finally, so into, I wouldn't say outpace the Dow, but at least it's showing strength. And we'll see what happens at the close today. But this is important. I'll talk about that when I come back because we want to look at some retail areas. Looking at the IWM, the Russell 2000, the Russell 2000, whoops, Russell 2000. Let's get this going. Yeah, there it is. IWM trading at, this is very strong. Up $1.48, up 0.81%. And 182, this is very nice. I didn't finish that as peak A. This is peak B. We're in a very strong leg C. We might be seeing the small cap start to outpace the rest of the market over the next couple of weeks. That's very important. Looking at the gold contract, I think it's getting a little bit tired here. It's down 0.3, down this and a half a point at 1876, but it's just starting to bump into resistance. I think there could be a mild pullback. Maybe the dollar pull rally is just a tad. Dow has been acting very poorly. It's down at the 103.22 level, down 0.06. Looking at the TLT, and that's bonds. Bonds today are holding steady. They're at $194.95, up a dollar. And the crude oil, and this is going to be quite important because crude oil is still way at the lower end of the range, even though it's up. I'll be back with the target technicians now and check my opening call daily newsletter. See you in a few moments. Hope you can stay.


Are you in need of an environmentally friendly fountain pen? Of course you are, we all are. So take a look at this unboxing video of the Iikaku by Narwhal gradient irishi fountain pens. At the heart of the gradient irishi collection lies the art of raw lacquer, and raw lacquer is a pollution-free natural paint. So it ensures that these fountain pens are not only beautiful environmentally friendly and safe for all of their customers. Each fountain pen is sanded, lacquered, and polished. It's a rhythmic dance repeated over a dozen times over the course of several months. The intricate journey from raw materials to finished fountain pens is the result of precision craftsmanship, patience, and dedication to luxury design. Throughout the raw lacquer process, the Iikaku by Narwhal gradient irishi fountain pen is sent to the furrow multiple times, ensuring that the lacquer cures perfectly under specific humidity and temperature conditions. And the result of all of that process is these amazing gradient irishi fountain pens. These fountain pens are fitted with a gold fountain pen nib in various nib sizes, and it uses a cartridge converter fill mechanism which you can access by unscrewing the barrel like I just showed you. These pens are available in three stunning colors, inspired by traditional Chinese color schemes that are frequently associated with royalty. The first one I showed you that's black and green is the Kong Lu, which is scallion green. This one is the Zudan, which is cinnabar red. And then this next and last one that I will show you is the Yan Zi, which is vermilion. Each of these colors in the gradient irishi pen collection tells its own story, mimicking the reflection of the sky or fire and inviting you to immerse yourself in the rich cultural tapestry Iikaku pens brings to life. The raw lacquer on these pens is bright, durable, and vibrant over time, while providing excellent gloss retention properties that prevent color changes, just like the ancient beams and columns of Beijing's Temple of Heaven. The Iikaku by Narwhal gradient irishi fountain pens will withstand the test of time and preserve the beauty of our across generations. And because they are limited edition, there are only 20 pieces available for each color. So head to pencholay.com to shop.


Good afternoon, friends, Mr. Speaker, Premier, Honourable Members. I am pleased to deliver the speech from the throne, laying out your government's plan to build a stronger BC that works better for people now and into the future. I would like to start by acknowledging the Lekwungen peoples, the Songies in Esquimalt, upon whose territories we are gathered today, and a special thanks to Elder Butch Dick of the Songies Nation and Elder Marianne Thomas of the Esquimalt Nation for starting us off in a good way, and to the Lekwungen dancers and drummers for a welcoming paddle song. I also want to thank Rabbi Harry Breckner of Congregation Emanuel for offering prayers and reflection. This building, long symbol of colonialism, now has messages written in the Lekwungen language permanently inscribed on its stone perimeter. These words about ancestors, warriors, and children symbolize a new era, one of the meaningful reconciliation where we work together to preserve indigenous languages and acknowledge the true history of these lands. As Hereditary Chief Edward Thomas Sr. of the Esquimalt Nation said during the unveiling, it's a long time coming. Words and symbols like this are undoubtedly important, but actions must follow. That's why your government remains committed to implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which was endorsed unanimously by this legislature. This work is about partnership and cooperation, which underpins everything we do here. Most importantly, it's about a better future for everyone who calls this land home. As has become recent tradition, we begin by remembering some of those we have lost in the past year. We mourn the remarkable Gloria Cranmer, sorry, Webster, who dedicated her life to the preservation and celebration of indigenous culture. We also mourn her younger brother, Tlaquagila, Bill Cranmer, as we do other indigenous leaders, including Samoy Getsatsen, Mal Bevin, Charles Williams, Lisa Wolfe, Stephanie Patterson, Rick Gilbert, Byron Joseph, Natasha Grace Wilson, and former Cowichan Tribes Chief, Esculhei Elno, William Chip Seymour. We mourn Gordon Gibson Jr. and Patty Sahoda, who once served in this legislature. As we do, former members of Parliament, Stephen Owen, and Pat Carney. In the arts, we mourn Carver Tomosen, Charles Elliott, and photographer Diane Evans, as we do entertainers, Bill Hosey, Chad Allen, Jason Hoover, and actor Carl Weathers, who frequently filmed in Vancouver and played linebacker for the BC Lions. From the world of sports, we mourn Rower Dean Crawford and sportswriter Jack Heading. From media, we mourn Lancaster's Red Robinson, Debra Hope, Kuljeet Kailah, Ted Far, as we do Bob Stahl. We mourn Labour leader Ray Haynes, environmentalist Kevin Bell, conservationist John Nightingale, communications executive Phil Linde, inventor Phil Newton, judge Selwyn Ramali, disability advocate George Lawson, and CEO of Sherry Punjab and long-time philanthropist Ajit Singh Bad. From medicine, we mourn registered nurse Ivana Brennan, Dr. Yiri Frolek, and Dr. Gurdiv Singh Gail. We mourn Ben Mizrachi, a medic from Vancouver who was tending to the wounded at a music festival in Israel when murdered by Hamas terrorists. May his memory be a blessing. We mourn those who answer the nation's call, including Reuben Sinclair, who on his passing was Canada's oldest military veteran. We mourn Sergeant Michael Leo and RCMP constable Rick O'Brien. We mourn the firefighters who lost their lives during this summer's wildfires, Devin Gail, Zach Mewes, Kenneth Patrick, Blaine Sonnenberg, Jackson Billy Boy Bull, and Damien Dyson, as we do Langford assistant fire chief Lance Cavan. We also mourn and reflect on the loss of so many British Colombians from toxic unregulated drugs. To all who have lost a loved one in the past year, we extend our sympathies and our condolences. We acknowledge and share your grief. It is fitting that as we open this final session of BC's 42nd Parliament, communities around the province are invited to celebrate the national anthem of the dragon. According to legends, 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac were selected through a race. The dragon, the only mythological animal, claimed fifth place. When the Jade emperor asked why he didn't win the race when he could fly, the dragon responded. First I encountered a village suffering from drought. And blew a puff of wind so the log would float to the river bank. In many ways, the story of the dragon is like the story of BC over the last few years. Just look at how far we have come in a short period of time by looking out for each other. When we first gathered here almost four years ago, only a handful of members were able to attend safely in person. Outside these walls, many people's lives and neighborhoods hung in the balance. In the time since, we have faced the impacts of devastating climate emergencies and global upheaval. While your government focused on keeping people healthy and the economy moving, British Columbians were busy working together to rebuild our province stronger than ever. You got effective vaccines into grateful arms. You rebuilt highways after flooding in record time. We have been working in classrooms and businesses operating during difficult circumstances, proving once again that here in BC, our greatest natural resource is the people of this province. By putting people first, we have built a strong foundation through tough times. Today, our unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Canada. In 2023, we added 74,000 new jobs, and we were the first among provinces in year-over-year growth in average hourly wages last year. In December, women's employment increased more than in any other province. Further proof that increasing wages and reducing childcare bills is good for families and good for business. Take root, a young mum enrichment with three kids. Thanks to your government's latest fee reduction, she's paid $1,000 a month and has been able to return to work as an engineer. Since 2017, we have helped over 250,000 people get out of poverty through supports like job training. Your government understands that people want to work and feel better off when they have a job and community connection. No, don't worry. It's a pleasure to have a child and I think we all feel that, so don't you worry. That's why action will be taken this session to further break down barriers for those who can work while your government continues to support those who cannot. And we are seeing other reasons to be optimistic. Since the pandemic, tourists are coming back to BC in droves and we can expect that to continue as BC hosts the 2024 Grey Cup, followed by the Invictus Games and seven of the FIFA Men's World Cup games in Vancouver. The film industry is booming again too. After three years of disruption and labor disputes south of the border, Hollywood North is back. Vancouver's tech sector is growing at one of the highest rates in North America and BC is home to the fastest growing life sciences sector in Canada, with 2,000 companies employing almost 20,000 British Columbians. While BC's economy is strong and growing, your government is nowhere near satisfied. Too many people are not feeling it yet. Too many are still struggling to get ahead. After decades where our housing market was allowed to serve the interests of investors and speculators, even those who earn a decent middle-class income are finding it hard to afford a home. People have a lot on their minds and they are facing some big new challenges today. High interest rates are causing considerable anxiety for anyone whose mortgage is coming up for renewal. Inflation has made the cost of groceries and daily essentials increasingly expensive. This has meant more people taking extra shifts or worrying about paying bills each month. The world is changing fast. New technology has made our lives easier and more connected in many ways. But it has also made them harder in others. Parents are struggling to protect their kids from dangers that are now in the palms of their hands. Working people are struggling to make a good living and to be treated with fairness in the gig economy. And people all over are struggling to find an affordable home because thousands have been diverted into short-term rentals like Airbnb's. While governments can't solve every problem or fix things overnight, your government makes a simple commitment to you. It will have your back so you are not facing these new challenges alone. Because leaving people to fend for themselves does not work. It did not work before and it will not work now. It would mean deep cuts that weaken the services we rely on. It would drive up costs of added fees and fares like the return of health care premiums or tolls on roads and bridges. And it would leave people at risk to those who take unfair advantage and put profits ahead of people. Everyone here in BC wants to be able to build a good life. People just starting out in their adult lives want to be able to afford their rent and find good jobs and opportunities in the communities where they grew up. Families want to know that living in a decent home is within reach and that childcare is available and affordable. Seniors want to know that after a lifetime of hard work they will be cared for and will be able to help their kids and grandkids. That's why your government will continue to work tirelessly with you to take action on all the things that matter most to you. For generations there was an unspoken promise if you worked hard, got an education and played by the rules you could make a good middle class living and be able to afford a decent home. About three decades ago that started to change. In the name of austerity governments at all levels stopped investing in affordable housing. Wealthy speculators, foreign investors and big developers rushed to fill the void. For far too long we also saw the proceeds of illegal activity parked in BC's real estate market. Housing costs went up and in recent years the combination of inflation interest rate hikes and a lack of supply has only made the situation harder for people looking to buy or rent a home. This is a generational challenge and we must meet the moment. Doing nothing is not an option and tinkering around the edges to fix the problem. That's why your government has taken strong action on all fronts to tackle the crisis head on. Landmark changes made over the last year are helping to delay the foundation for a housing market that will work better for people. Turning short term rentals like Airbnb's into longer term homes. Speeding up housing permit approvals fixing zoning rules that block construction of middle class homes and existing neighborhoods. Setting municipal targets for new housing construction. Getting more homes built near public transit. Building student housing at an unprecedented pace and protecting affordable rentals from being turned into luxury condos by big real estate corporations. This month the first purchase was made by the Rental Protection Fund saving nearly 300 affordable co-op units in Coquitlam. Thanks to tough legislation passed by this legislature BC is now able to seize properties from organized criminals because homes are for people not for money laundering. While it will take time for people to feel the full benefit of these changes we are starting to see early positive signs. These changes are already helping people like Andrew a 41 year old small business owner in Vancouver. Andrew is now renting a one bedroom apartment he can afford thanks to an influx of new inventory that hit the market after this legislature passed a law restricting short-term rentals. In 2023 BC saw a record setting 19,000 new rental homes registered a 30% increase from the year before. Taken together experts predict these changes will deliver hundreds of thousands of new homes in the next 10 years. This builds on the work your government has already done to support 78,000 homes that are either complete or on the way. Your government understands that for every Andrew there are still thousands of other middle income British Columbians who need help finding a home. Breaking down barriers for home builders is part of the solution but governments getting out of the way completely is how we got into this crisis in the first place. The market alone has not been able to deliver the homes that working and middle class people need. As a result the people who are providing the services we all count on like teachers construction workers and nurses are being priced out of communities. This is holding back our economy weakening public services and hurting us all. It was not always this way. During the Second World War the federal government built houses for workers so they could build warships in Esquimalt and bombers enrichment. At the end of the war the demand for housing was even greater as returning veterans looked to rebuild lives interrupted by military service. Once again the government stepped in. The mass production used in the war effort was transferred to building homes for the growing middle class. Pre-fabricated homes with a choice plans appeared in communities all across the country. They were offered to veterans at reasonable rents and later for sale. Known as victory homes they offered secure affordable housing for many families and many of them are still standing. The same spirit that animated our country then is what is needed in our province today. That's why your government has launched BC builds the next step in the homes for people to build a plan. BC builds will leverage government owned public and underutilized land grant money and low cost financing to bring down construction costs and make more middle class housing projects viable. This is a model that has been used in cities around the world. These homes will also be built faster with more efficient provincial and local government approvals and they will be income tested for middle class people who keep our communities working so they can live close to where they work. Think of homes connected to schools or on top of community centers and libraries. Think of homes on underused land next to hospitals or empty parking lots transformed into homes for working and middle class families. And your government will not stop there. In this session action will be taken by the government to help more first time home buyers get on the ownership ladder. As we dramatically increase housing supply so too must we build up the infrastructure and services to support this growth. Through the billion dollar growing communities fund and partnerships with other levels of government that is exactly what we are doing here in British Columbia. In Langley construction has started on an expanded event center that will add three new ice rinks and better support the needs of a booming population. Just over a year ago Prince Rupert had to issue a state of emergency and crews worked through the holidays after a major line break that threatened the communities water supply. Today your government is helping the city replace crucial sections of its aging water distribution system to ensure people there are not drinking water. In the year ahead significant work will continue to cut commute times for families and to keep our economy moving. Construction is set to begin on the Surrey Langley SkyTrain the first rapid transit project south of the Fraser River in 30 years and to continue on the Broadway subway project. Taken together these projects will increase our SkyTrain network by 27%. This will help thousands of families get to work and back home to their families sooner. So too will continued improvements to Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley. Top of mind for many British Columbians right now is public healthcare. Specifically they want to know they can count on care to be there when they need it. BC rose to the challenge in 2020 to make sure people were cared for and healthcare workers in our hospitals were supported. But we face new challenges today. Communities are growing our population is getting older and a large number of doctors and nurses are retiring. We are not alone in this our neighbours and countries around the world are also feeling the strain all competing for the same small pool of healthcare professionals. That's why your government has been taking action to improve access to care and it is starting to make a difference. BC has eliminated the pandemic surgery backlog. Recent changes have helped hundreds of thousands of people to see a pharmacist to treat minor illnesses so doctors and nurse practitioners can focus on sicker patients. BC is building more hospitals primary care clinics cancer centres and care homes closer to where you live through the largest healthcare capital strategy in the province's history. And our province will be home to the first new medical school in western Canada in more than 50 years at Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus which will have a focus on training the next generation of family doctors. BC added more than 700 doctors and almost 6,300 new nurses over the last year. We are leading the country with better and faster ways to prevent and detect cervical cancer. Last month's launch of the first at home self screening program for HPV means that ending deadly cervical cancer in British Columbia is now a very real possibility. At 36 sites across BC our lung cancer screening program is helping to find cancer earlier so people can get treatment sooner. More than 5,000 lung screening tests were done in the first year of the program alone. This early detection is saving lives of people like Shannon from North Vancouver whose cancer screening came back positive even though she displayed no symptoms. While progress is being made on many fronts there is still a lot more to do. This session your government will continue the work it has started to attract, train and retain the doctors and nurses we need. It will make new investments to strengthen home and community long term care services for seniors and it will take new action to build on our 10 year cancer plan. Just as important as improving people's physical health is providing better support for mental health and addictions treatment. The latest coroner's update on the toxic drug crisis is a heartbreaking reminder that we need to keep using every tool in our toolbox. We must continue our work to reduce harm and stigma to keep people who are struggling alive and when someone makes the brave decision to break free from addiction we must ensure they have access to treatment and recovery closer to where they live. That's why your government is working to build a more connected system of mental health and addictions care. Almost 3,600 publicly funded treatment and recovery beds are opened throughout the province with more on the way. This work is helping people like Richard who is two years sober and has his life back on track after receiving treatment at Discovery House in Penticton. Here in BC we know that supporting people is the key to building a strong economy. When we lower child care bills we help parents enter or reenter the workforce. When we deliver more affordable homes we make our communities more attractive for businesses. When we increase the minimum wage we raise the purchasing power of people who are more likely to spend that money locally. When we connect every rural, remote and First Nations community to high speed internet as your government has pledged to do by 2027 we are helping connect people to jobs and opportunities. When we build up our highways bridges and ports we strengthen our supply chains and help to get our products to market. Good for people is good for business. At a time when inflation has caused the price of daily essentials to rise sharply helping people and families get costs down is key to building an economy that works for everyone. In just the past year your government has taken many steps to do just that. New cost of living credits have been sent out including a $100 credit on BC hydro bills. An increase to the BC family benefit means families now qualify for hundreds of dollars more per year. And an enhanced climate action tax credit is putting as much as $900 back in the pockets of more than 2 million British Columbians. Free contraception is helping save hundreds of dollars a year and thousands over their lifetimes. ICBC car insurance rates have been frozen after being cut on average by $500 a year for drivers. New investments in food security are helping people better access an increased supply of low cost local food and rates have been kept affordable for everyone who relies on BC ferries to get to work run errands and visit loved ones. These measures build on the work done over the last seven years to make life a little easier eliminating MSP premiums, the largest middle class tax cut in the generation. Ending tolls on the Portman and Golden Ears bridges making public transit free for kids 12 and under and stopping interest payments on student loans. This session your government will take new actions to deal with costs while tackling the root causes that are making life so expensive like housing affordability. It will do more to help small and growing businesses many of whom are still finding their feet after the pandemic and are facing new challenges today. Foundational to our province and the backbone of many local economies are our natural resources from First Nations whose deep care goes back millennia to communities of all kinds who depend on forestry, mining and energy for jobs today. We all share a stake in making sure a strong sustainable natural resource sector is a core part of BC's future. While climate change poses real challenges BC's natural resources put us in a unique position to excel in shifting economic times and maximize the benefits to people here. Your government has a plan to leverage our natural strengths as a province to create good jobs and opportunities for everyone in partnership with indigenous people, industry and local communities. To borrow a line from our country's favorite sport BC must skate to where the puck will be, not to where it has already been. By leveraging our strengths in mining we make global demand for clean technology like battery cells by leveraging the strengths of BC's forests with a more reliable fiber supply and by enabling more made in BC wood manufacturing and by leveraging our strengths as a clean energy superpower to help industries electrify and ensure BC is a global leader in the clean economy. Specifically BC will embark on an unprecedented level of construction over the next 10 years. Building our electricity system to power a growing clean economy and deliver affordable, reliable power for people. Already this plan is in action all around the province. In the north west Prince George is home to Canada's first standalone renewable diesel refinery and is a growing hub for clean hydrogen. Soon the can for pulp mail will be using clean hydrogen to help power its operations. Further to the west is the future site of Cedar LNG and Kittomat which your government will be the largest First Nations majority owned energy project in the country and one of the cleanest liquefied natural gas facilities in the world. In Maple Ridge the new E1 moly facility will create hundreds of good local jobs for people and it will establish BC as a leading producer of battery components we need to power a clean energy future. At the same time we can't continue the old way of doing things. The future is in partnership with First Nations and in sustainable development whether it's forestry mining or energy. BC companies are leading the way embracing reconciliation and the opportunities that come with it. Like the recent deal between four members of the San Juan Wacalas Council and western forest products an agreement that represents an important step forward for First Nations participation in the forest economy. A sustainable energy future will ensure cleaner air for future generations and industries they can rely on for good jobs. Your government's plan to grow a strong economy while protecting the environment is working. With the goal of protecting 30% of our land and water by 2030 historic action is being taken in partnership with First Nations, the federal government and local communities. This will help us conserve both the natural beauty around us which is also a critical source of fresh food, clean drinking water and our best line of defence against the impacts of climate change. Our net greenhouse gas emissions are down 5% from six years ago when our continent leading clean BC plan was first launched. In that same period British Columbia has achieved the highest average GDP growth among large promises. This shows that supporting people, advancing reconciliation protecting the environment and growing the economy go hand in hand. The cost of inaction on climate change is simply too high. It is our homes and our communities in the path of wildfires. It is our crops and our farms that we are building or drought. It is our kids and grandkids who stand to lose the nature that surrounds them. The climate crisis is here. We have seen it all around us these last few years and we are expecting another tough drought and wildfire season this summer. Last year your government launched an expert task force on emergencies. The goal was to determine how we can better support those in need. This year your government is turning recommendations into action and working side by side with communities and partners to help ensure that people are better protected from wildfires with more full time, year round staff and resources. It will continue to work to prevent the devastating effects of flooding we saw after the catastrophic atmospheric river in 2021. Just last week new funding was announced to upgrade the barrow town pump station in Abbotsford and protect farmers in the sumas prairies and communities in the Fraser Valley. Your government will also take new actions this session to reduce carbon pollution from big industrial emitters which are driving climate change in the first place. A key challenge in the years ahead is to make sure everyone in BC can seize the tremendous opportunities ahead of us. Over the next 10 years BC will need to fill almost a million job openings many in the emerging clean economy. 75% of these jobs will require workers to have some kind of post-secondary education and training. That's why your government launched the future ready action plan to equip the people for success in our changing economy and to close the skills gap employers are facing. As your government works to make an education more accessible and affordable in BC it is also bringing in new safeguards to make sure our international education programs are training people for the skills we need. These new measures will help protect international students against bad actors while making sure BC continues to attract talented students. This session your government will also take new steps to recognize and better support First Nations mandated post-secondary education as a key pillar of BC's advanced education system. Every person in every community wants and deserves to feel safe but the incidents of crime, violence and hate seen here and across North America are worrying. That is why your government has been tackling these challenges and we are seeing some real results. With stricter bail rules and prosecutors working with police and probation officers repeat offenders are being kept off the streets. 256 new RCMP police are found by 18% and the number of unprovoked stranger assaults has decreased by 75% between the first half of 2021 and 2023. Your government is also addressing the core issues that bring people into conflict with the law and their neighbors. It is working with partners on the ground to move people from safe encampments into homes. It is helping people in crisis get compassionate care from others who know what they are going through. And it is helping more Indigenous people access culturally safe legal supports and services with five new Indigenous justice centres now in operation. Action is also being taken to support the survivors of crime. Services to support survivors of sexual assault that were cut in 2002 have been restored and new policing standards are now in place. While reports of many crimes are decreasing, we know that there has been a rise in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate and other incidents of racism. That's why this session your government will build on the work being done to make DC a more welcoming and inclusive place by introducing new anti-racism legislation. That's why your government is working with the Jewish community to make Holocaust education mandatory for high school students. Because combating this kind of hate begins with learning from the darkest parts of our history so the same horrors are never repeated. Keeping our kids safe and healthy is another top priority for your government. While a small minority of people in our province claim that teachers and parents are a danger to our kids your government understands the real threats. Many of you are now aware of Carson a 12-year-old boy from Prince George. Carson died by suicide last year after being extorted with private images he shared with somebody who was pretending to be somebody else. His parents, Ryan and Nicola have been bravely sharing Carson's story to raise awareness about what is happening to other families. This builds on the advocacy of Carol Todd who has continued to shed light on the issue of bullying, cyberbullying and online safety since losing her own daughter Amanda Todd. Your government is committed to making sure that Carson and Amanda's legacies will protect kids in the future. That's why a new suite of concrete actions was launched last month to protect young people from online threats restrict cell phones in schools and hold big social media corporations to account. This is a part of a larger effort to keep kids safe and healthy. An effort which includes adding more support for mental health centers launching an anti-vaping strategy improving literacy screening building new schools and expanding nutrition programs. In Surrey and White Rock schools alone more than 8,000 kids in need are getting daily nutritious meals thanks to Feeding Futures the largest investment in school food programs in the province's history. This spring your government will take additional steps to keep kids safe and improve learning conditions for students. New legislation will be able to protect schools and kids from disruptive protests. While everyone has a right to freedom including peaceful protest we will not tolerate attempts to disrupt children learning in the classroom. During the pandemic when hospitals and healthcare workers became the target of aggressive protests your government took action so doctors and nurses could get to work and patients could access care and as schools increasingly become the target for protests your government will take similar action to ensure classrooms are not disrupted and kids can feel safe at school. We are in a time where significant turmoil surrounds us. Wars in Europe and the Middle East are creating tensions around the world and here at home. Democratic norms and principles are being tested everywhere. Global economic uncertainty has families and businesses alike worried. As we begin this final session we all face some big questions will we be a province where the people whose stories I have shared today like Root, Andrew, Shannon and Richard are left to face tough challenges alone or will we continue to be a place where people take care of each other and build a better future. Your government is committed to rejecting division and working to bring people together to solve problems because here in BC our best days are still ahead of us if we work together this will be a place where everyone can build a good life whether you live in a city, a town a rural or First Nations community where the wages of working people go up but the cost of a decent home does not. Where we have more family doctors and shorter wait times in emergency rooms where our economy grows not in spite of climate action but because of it people are safe in their communities schools and online where everyone belongs everyone can get ahead and no one gets left behind that is the vision your government is working hard every day to deliver a stronger BC one that works better for people thank you and finally I add my personal thanks to all of you who served together in BC's legislative assembly to assume the noble task of serving in public office I am so deeply grateful for your commitment to upholding our democracy in this increasingly fractious world for your leadership your collaboration and your tireless work over the past year and always I wish you all every possible success in meeting the opportunities and the challenges that lie ahead thank you friends I look forward to seeing you this evening