Hey there,
Why is this post so late? #
Yeah, about that. Well, I’ve been thinking about these posts and emails for a while now. I want them to be about more than the latest podcast episode, if that makes sense.
Wait. Let me back up a bit.
One of the things I’ve recently learned about how I learn is that it’s a process rather than an event. And a process takes a bit of time.
Take the altMBA for example. They follow a specific process:
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learn the thing
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practice the thing
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get feedback about your work
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reflect on the feedback
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write a reflection on what you’ve learned
Let me tell you, The Process really works. I’m taking another workshop right now that doesn’t follow the process exactly, and I’ve added a few extra steps on my own to recreate The Process - primarily the reflection bits.
And that, my friend, is why this post is late. I wanted to take the time to reflect on what I learned during my talk with Laura Rogerson. And to share those reflections with you.
I mean, if you really want to get new Rise Up! Episodes as soon as they launch, you can subscribe via your favourite podcast app.
This post is more of the long term, permanent record of a conversation that was held in a specific point in time, under specific circumstances. So let’s do more than announce the show; let’s reflect on it too.
Deal?
Alrighty then. On to the talk with Laura.
Rise Up #88: Laura Rogerson of BreadLove in St. Albert, Alberta. #
If you’re from western Canada, do you remember Lois Hole and her gardening books and TV shows? I sure do. I remember loving her stuff because she was from St. Albert, which was further north than I was in Regina. If plants worked for Lois, they’d work for me.
So when Laura reached out and became a show supporter and I realized she was from St. Albert, I had to reach out and get to know her better. What’s happening in St. Albert besides Hole’s Garden Centre?
As it turns out, quite a bit is going on. And Laura is at the heart of some really interesting projects. She’s already on the board of western Canada’s largest farmer’s market and has been selling her bread there for years. She’s just branched out to the Edmonton city market too. And she’s in the process of opening her own bakery and baking school in the middle of downtown St. Albert too!
(Too many spoilers? Take a break and listen to the show! You can listen to the show on your favourite podcast app, from the Rise Up! podcast website or using the handy audio app at the bottom of the post.)
I love Laura’s story so much. She reinforced two ideas for me:
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slow, steady progress over time.
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taking small steps
Laura’s been at this for a while now; Bread Love has been at the St. Albert market for 9 years plus she’s been teaching classes already, long before opening up her own place.
And even now, she’s starting small. Waiting until she could get a great location downtown, and putting in smaller Rofco ovens rather than a big deck oven, at least until things take off at the school.
The lesson that I take away from Laura is that you can build your dream, but it’s going to take a while. If she can make it work in St. Albert, I think we all have a shot.