Open to businesses that have not been operating for more than five fiscal years at the time of the nomination deadline. Demonstrates professional integrity, excellence in customer service, success through innovation, and a commitment to the community. The business must be a member in good standing of Carleton Place & District Chamber of Commerce at the time of the nomination deadline.
Award winners for Entrepreneur of the Year from the last 3 years are not eligible in this category in 2022.
Nominees for the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year Award are:
Pearl Mobile Dental Hygiene & Whitening – My name is Jana Mossip! In July 2022, I opened my business “Pearl Mobile Dental Hygiene and Whitening Clinic”! After working as a Registered Dental Hygienist for over 13 years, I’ve realized one of the most common reasons that people avoid going to see a dental hygienist is due to embarrassment of the condition of their teeth, fear of pain, cost, and dental anxiety. My goal when opening Pearl was to create a space to provide the best dental hygiene care in a no judgement, no pressure, relaxed and cost-effective setting. I offer a topical numbing agent for people with sensitivity to help make your experience more comfortable. I do direct billing so I am able to submit dental insurance claims on your behalf and I also offer evening and weekend appointments to accommodate busy work/life schedules! A common question I am frequently asked is “how can I make my teeth whiter”? I’ve found an amazing Canadian product called Wicked White Pro. It is a whitening product that I do in-office that provides great results and typically no sensitivity! There is also a take-home kit option if you prefer to whiten at home and it is also great for touch-ups after the initial in-office session! To provide better access to care for the community, I offer my dental hygiene and whitening services in my office which is located at 390 Flora Street, Carleton Place, or through my mobile service which is available to people who have mobility issues, live in long term care facilities, group homes or who have lack of transportation.
It’s been a busy year starting a business but I am very happy with the way things have been going so far! I plan to continue to grow and adapt to our changing community in the years to come! I have been in contact with several dental representatives and will keep everyone up to date via social media about new products that I will be introducing. I have received great feedback and testimonials so far. One client posted “Yesterday I had the very best teeth cleaning experience of my life at Pearl Mobile Dental Hygiene and Whitening Clinic. Jana Mossip was lovely and I felt able to relax and there was no pain at all due to the numbing agent used on my gums. In her clinic, you will not hear the triggering sounds that one encounters in a dental office. I also had Wicked White teeth whitening, what a difference in the brightness of my smile”! In the future I hope to continue to grow and hopefully have other Registered Dental Hygienists join me to continue to provide the community with better access to dental hygiene care and teeth whitening!
Currently, I am planning to participate in free dental hygiene days in the community to provide dental hygiene care for people in the community who have financial limitations as a barrier to care. I will have more information available soon!
Rosetta Hills – We are a family-owned and operated hobby farm that seeks to provide entertainment and educational activities for families of all ages. We started in August 2020, opened up for visitors in February 2021 with our farm visits, and recently opened our mini putt in July 2022. Currently, alongside the family, we have 2 hired staff members. Our main services are the farm visits and mini putt, and we also sell alpaca wool during shearing season, fun alpaca-themed products, and will be selling our own honey for the first time this year! During our farm visits, you can learn and interact with our farm critters, such as alpacas, dwarf goats, turkeys, ducks, honey bees, etc. You can finish your visit with a round of our 18-hole professionally designed mini putt or explore the trails on our beautiful 103-acre property.
This year’s greatest achievement was a construction and opening of our 18-hole mini putt. This also gave us an opportunity to add one more part-time position for local youth. We were also excited to expand our alpaca herd by welcoming our cria Hazel, who is the first alpaca born on our farm!
This year we focused a lot on helping support the community initiatives and organizations that were helping Ukrainians fleeing the war find homes here. We held a couple of open house fundraisers where the entrance was by donation and everything went to these organizations. For one of them, we had also organized a few vendors (local businesses) to set up during the event to sell their products. We also participate in National Alpaca Farm Days. Over the weekend of September 24-25, we welcome the community to visit our farm to come by and meet our alpacas.
Whatever Custom Prints and Gifts – Whatever Custom is an adorable boutique located in the heart of Carleton Place. They are a gift store that specializes in both stock and custom prints. With over 90 blanks to choose from, there is no shortage in how creative your orders can be. This Fall, they will be celebrating 4 years of printing and 2 years rebranded as WHATEVER. Owner, Ashley works full-time in the store and is very excited to have grown enough that she now has 2 incredible employees working alongside her. This year they are excited to introduce their new laser equipment to the line-up. Their goal is to expand their corporate merch offerings and create a unique wedding line – filled with gifts and custom wedding day displays.
This year Ashley is so excited to have grown enough that she was able to expand her team, bringing on Daisy and Felicia as two part-time WHATEVER team members. They are also excited to have a new Co-op student, Ben join the team. He is looking forward to learning about the printing process and expanding his love for graphic design.
This year has brought many achievements. WHATEVER Custom was one of the proud recipients of My Main Street Funding. Thanks to this incredible program they were able to introduce some fantastic additions to the store. In April 2022 WHATEVER custom was the proud recipient of 4, Readers Choice 2021 – Diamond awards. They were incredibly grateful to have been nominated and win:
Overall Service
Online Boutique
Giftware
Print Services
Ashley herself has worked closely in her community for over a decade. From coaching T-ball with Mississippi Little League to Managing Minor Hockey with the Carleton Place Kings. Working with incredible volunteers to organize tournaments and events has always been her way of expressing her creativity. Ashley has brought her love for creating and helping others into her Business. She loves to support her fellow entrepreneurs and is always excited to give any advice to a new or existing business with ways to grow both in-house and online. Whatever custom is currently working on a limited edition line that will be created and designed by their Co-Op student, Ben. They are excited to help him bring his vision to life from start to finish. They plan to launch their line this in October with proceeds will be going to a charity of Ben’s choice.
WHATEVER custom takes pride in bringing your vision to life from start to finish, loves to spread as much happiness as possible and treats every customer like family.
Testimonials:
Candice K:
Highly recommend! Always a great product. Very easy to work with and quick turnaround time!
Megan D:
I recently had the wonderful people at Whatever Custom Prints and Gifts create a special gift for a good friend of mine, and I must say the service I received from the moment I contacted them to the moment my parcel arrived was absolutely phenomenal!
The staff were friendly and very quick to respond to any questions I had. I am so pleased with my experience and will definitely be using them in the future!
Amanda B:
I have used Whatever Custom Prints & Gifts Inc on a number of different occasions and the level of attention and customer service is unbeatable, the quality of product is very high level and I love that they give back to the community/charitable organizations. Keep up the outstanding work!