Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Paul Oliver, founder of Urban Nature Store, located in Toronto, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am the founder of Urban Nature Store, a Canadian chain of wild birding and nature stores. Urban Nature Store helps our customers enjoy the relaxation and engagement of the wild birding hobby, which is undertaken by millions of Canadians. Our focus is on ensuring our customers have a wide selection of unique wild birding products which help them attract our many local and vibrant wild birds. Whether it is feeders, fresh local birdseed, heated birdbaths, or binoculars and optics, Urban Nature Store offers the widest selection available in Canada.

Tell us about yourself

I founded Urban Nature Store due to my strong personal passion for wild birding. A passion that I first developed as a small boy, was when my mother encouraged me to feed, watch and appreciate our local backyard birds. It is this passion that continues to drive me today. My real reward is talking with customers and seeing the expression on their faces when they have just taken up the hobby and are enjoying their backyard birds for the first time or they are excited because they just attracted a new bird to their feeder. The reward is knowing I am helping people and families appreciate and enjoy local birding and nature.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

As a businessperson, one big accomplishment is just being able to stay in business, but it is never a one-person show. My real accomplishment has been bringing together an excellent group of team members who are knowledgeable, dedicated, and share my passion for birding.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

There are many challenges that a business owner faces including continuing to finance their business, the administrative paperwork, and selecting and hiring the best people. For me, the hardest thing is dedicating time to "administrative operations" when I would rather be spending my time talking with my customers and birding enthusiasts.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Don't try to grow too fast......focus on slower and stronger growth.
  2. You are only part of "the team", always focus on your TEAM.
  3. Don't get distracted by day-to-day challenges, they will always come up, but don't let them over-take your longer-term planning.

Where can people find you and your business?

https://www.urbannaturestore.ca

https://www.instagram.com/urbannaturestore/

https://ca.linkedin.com/company/urban-nature-store

https://twitter.com/urbannaturestor

https://www.facebook.com/CanadaWildBirding

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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