TIBER RIVER

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!  We wish you a relaxing day filled with fun, being catered to, and maybe even a little pampering.  As moms and business owners, Adriana and I experience the great rewards of motherhood and the ongoing struggle to balance it all. 

To celebrate being a mom, we will offer a surprise draw...

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL US WHY YOUR MOM IS SO SPECIAL.  We will enter all comments in a draw for a very exciting prize. Please help spread the word to your friends and family.  You have until Wednesday...

Happy Mother's Day with Botanical Paperworks!

Adriana and I have been patiently waiting for our new blog to be ready.  Unfortunately, it has taken a wee bit longer and we have sadly neglected our friends who follow us here.  We will be back in full force until you can find us on our new blog, which will be part of our fresh new website.

We have been knee deep with business planning and reflecting on our experiences and learnings as entrepreneurs.  I was so excited to discover our friend and fellow entrepreneur, Heidi Reimer-Epp's, story of her business success in starting and growing Botanical Paperworks over the past 14 years.  It is a fascinating local success story, please take a moment to read Heidi's Story, The (mis) Adventures of Starting a Paper Company

Mother's Day is a busy time at Tiber River Naturals and our plantable gift certificates made by Botanical Paperworks are two gifts in one.  Please open the link for instructions on how to plant the paper to grow beautiful wildflowers.  Botanical Paperworks has great eco-friendly gifts for all occasions.  Check out their Green Gifts Guide for many other unique eco-friendly gift ideas.

Wedding season is now upon us and we have getting a number of orders for wedding favours.  Soap, lip balms, and lotions.  A great way to finish them off is with a plantable gift tag from Botanical Paperworks.  Botanical Paperworks also launched a new line of  invitations, Two Hearts Wedding Invitations.  Looking at these makes me want to get married all over again!

 

Let's Celebrate International Women's Day!

Please join me in doing something special for yourself to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day.  Today is a global day to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women.  Adriana and I are very proud of our team of women at Tiber River and the opportunities we have all been given.  Today I am also proud of my daughters, my mother, and all of my girlfriends for all they aspire to be and all that they give.

A BIG thank you to Chrissy Troy from Hot 103 for including us in her list of most admirable Manitoba women.  Wow, what an honour, thank you so much! 

In honour of all the special women in our lives, let's have a little contest and give away something good today.  Please share with us - who is on your list of most admirable women and why?

Make a dent in the universe!

Good Morning all!  I am very much looking forward to some warmer weather today - hope its coming soon.  I apologise for our absence but both Michelle and I have been working hard trying to get business stuff done.  I also didn't have much to post about except complaining about this and that - which I didn't want to do.  So, I've been quiet but yesterday, I read an article about Steve Jobs and Apple and I just had to share.

As I'm sure you all know, culture is VERY important at Tiber River.  We work hard to infuse ourselves and our beliefs into everything we do - from colours to products to customer service, we want it all to be a reflection of what is important to us.  We aren't just selling soap, we are trying to make a difference.  (And in case anyone is unclear, I'm NOT just talking about Michelle and myself, I am talking about the entire Tiber team.  We are all passionate, expressive, energetic people.)  

So, I am always exploring and learning about great companies that seem to hold culture in as high esteem as we do, like Apple.  I am a huge Apple lover.  HUGE!  I still have an original Apple computer from 1984 that I used until the internet came along.  

I have lugged it with me through 5 moves and have refused to get rid of it, much to my husbands shagrin, even though we no longer use it.  Every time I had a problem with my PC, I would yell to Tom that my mac wouldn't have done this.  I am blissfully quiet now because I am, once again, a very proud Mac owner!  

I am obsessed with things that work as they are supposed to.  I love the quality and care put into things that work - it shows a love for and commitment to excellence and that's something I strive for every day.  I appreciate others that do the same.

So, I am always on the lookout for information about the inner workings of Apple.  How do they spend their days?  What do they think about?  How do they create such innovative products?  I do not know much about them - although I'm on the hunt.  If anyone knows of a good book or article about the Apple culture, could you pass on the name to me?  Thanks!

There was one thing I read that really struck me.  Steve Jobs has told his team that by showing up at their best, they would have the opportunity to "make a dent in the universe".  Changing the world does seem a bit overwhelming, but making a dent?  Totally doable!  By helping our clients and positively influencing others, we can make a dent in the universe and THAT's what Tiber River is here to do!

Here's another explanation of what Tiber culture means to them, from our Tiber team:

That we are a homegrown company.  Locally made products.  We are very involved in the community.  I value the new friends I make each day and the new family I have found here. 

Cheers to everyone else that chooses to make a positive dent in the universe!

Looking forward to some fun tonight!

Hello everyone, I'm BACK!  I returned from my family vacation a couple of weeks ago to tackle some big changes along with nursing a very sick 3 year old back to health.  I apologize for my disappearance, but at times of intensity I tend to lose my creative enthusiasm  which unfortunately impacts my connection to the blog.  Thank you for sticking in there with me!

First, I owe Lisa a Tiber-Riffic Pedicure for the contest - please email me at michelle@tiberriver.ca and let us know where you would like to schedule your appointment. 

How did everyone spend their Valentine's Day?  We enjoyed a family dinner and I was looking forward to following it with a fire and delicious bottle of red wine. Unfortunately, we were too pooped to enjoy once we got the kids to bed so we will have a redo on the weekend.  I put together a nice package for my husband with two books for us to write down all of the things we love about each other.  When I told him about this fun exercise, he replied "how long does it have to be?".  I had to laugh because men really are so different!

Tonight we are hosting our annual Be Your Own Valentine Event at our Kenaston location and we are expecting a full house.  We are raising money for Osborne House and collecting $10 from everyone who attends.  There will be mini manicures, a little pole dancing, and some yummy martini sampling.  High Tea Bakery, Merle Norman, Pole Dancing Winnipeg, Mad About Style, and Viola from Passion Parties will be joining us for the festivities.  Looking forward to a great night, wishing you a great day!

Tiber Culture...

Good Morning all!!  Thought I'd follow up from my last post with a bit about how our staff meeting went.  As always, it was lively and full of conversation and laughter.  We shared a drink, listened to Pink's Raise Your Glass - to celebrate our uniqueness as a business - and discussed our culture and our growth.  We found there was a lot of worry about Tiber River growing.  Our team is worried we will lose our heart and by growing and branching outside of Winnipeg, we will lose who we are and what makes us special.

I hope we were able to calm everyone's worries by explaining how Michelle and I want to grow this company.  By focusing on our culture, we want to expand the love and feeling of excitement that comes with entering a Tiber store or using a Tiber product.  We do not want to lose any of that.  In fact, the whole purpose of the staff meeting was to put things in place so that we not only protect our culture, but cherish and nurture it and allow it to grow as well.  It is my firm belief that if something doesn't grow and change, it stagnates and dies and none of us could bare that happening to Tiber River.  And so, we grow and change inside a set of parameters created by our entire team.

I found out a few days after our meeting that we had inspired one of our team members to follow her passion.  She realized as she was sitting and listening at the meeting that while she loved her customers and the team, she wasn't doing what was in her heart.  She gave her notice on Friday and is going back to school.  While we are sad to lose her, we are all happy she is following her passion so that she can wake up every day and love what she does.  

We have brought two new, super exciting people into the Tiber team and I will introduce them more formally when they officially begin.  They will each bring a new energy and passion to Tiber River that will help cement our culture for the growth that is coming.  I am SO excited because all of the things Michelle and I have been talking about for the past two years are finally starting to materialize!  Woo Hoo - we're on our way!!  We have so many plans for Tiber River and I cannot wait until we can stand back with pride and say, yep, we built that!

As promised, here is the first entry in our own little culture book.  We asked everyone to explain what they thought the Tiber culture is, what makes us unique and what they valued about Tiber River.  Good or bad, we wanted to know what our team thinks of Tiber River.  All of the entries are anonymous and will be unedited.

"Tiber River is like Cheers.  Everyone knows each other.  Our team is a family and it shows.  Our products are amazing and unique.  I value my friends I've made, everything I've learned.  We go above and beyond.  We love what we do and it shows!"

Raise your glasses....

Good Morning all!!

I am taking a quick moment away from my team meeting planning to give everyone a sneak peak into tonights' meeting.  We have a Tiber team meeting every month.  Typically at these meetings we go over our sales, any upcoming events, any problems we've experienced during the month, and so on.  We always have a team building exercise of some sort and try to leave off with some positive energy.  Tonight is going to be different!

As I'm sure you're all sick of hearing by now, I've been motivated to no end by Tony Hsieh's book Delivering Happiness.  His company is a prime example of the kind of company that Tiber is, but on a much larger scale than ours, of course.  It also gives me hope that a business such as ours can thrive and grow.  His business model has inspired Michelle and I to intentionally structure our business in a way that is consistent with our values and culture.

Tonight, the entire Tiber team is going to raise our glasses to the Tiber culture.  We are going to put down on paper what Tiber means to us and what we hope it means to our customers.  We are then going to take this culture and apply it to every action, every decision and every little thought that happens at Tiber River.  To do this properly and effectively, however, we need everyone's input.  Not just Michelle's and mine and not just our team.  We need everyone that makes up Tiber River, and that includes Michelle, Adriana, our team and our customers.  Missing any one of these means to miss out on an important part of us.  

So, this week, I'm hoping you will all share with us what you feel Tiber River stands for.  What do you feel when you walk into Tiber?  How are you treated?  Are there things that are uniquely Tiber?  I'm not just fishing for compliments here.  I'm hoping to get to the bottom of what Tiber is - for good and for bad.  We want to fix the bad and perpetuate the good but we can't do that if we don't know what they are.

From this, we will be creating a Tiber culture that will be posted on our website and that will become a part of every single component of Tiber River.  We will be asking our team to write a brief paragraph about Tiber and we hope you will do the same.  They will be included with our team's writings and hopefully, we can watch ourselves grow and learn and become successful at focusing in on what makes us unique and valuable to our team and our customers.

Enjoy the week!

Soap for your teeth?

Did any one read the article in last week's Free Press?  My mom brought it to my attention and I nearly gagged when she read the title to me - here is the link if anyone is interested in reading it.  Apparently, we should be brushing our teeth with soap, not toothpaste!!

I always associate soap in the mouth as something that happens if I swear or say potty words too often - that's been a threat carried out at our house once (and only once!).  My first thought after reading this article was Why on earth would anyone ever even try brushing their teeth with soap?  Who would think that is a good idea?  Not I!

However, a prominent retired professor emeritus of Chemistry at Purdue University, Dr. Gerald F. Judd, makes many statements in this article that sound logical and sometimes, downright scary.  

After I got over the shock, my thoughts went immediately to "How can I make soap taste good so I can make toothpaste soap?"  I had to go back and read the article again because my mind was going a million miles an hour during the first read.  If this turns out to be true and we should be throwing out all our flourinated toothpastes, which let me tell you, I was VERY tempted to do after reading this, I want to have the best tasting, most effective soap toothpaste out there.  And, if there's one thing I know how to do well, its make soap!  Now, make soap that tastes good, that's another story and nothing I have ever even thought of doing before.  However, I have never been one to shy away from a challenge.  BRING IT ON, I SAY!!

A very brave friend and customer, Mavis, told me about the article too, going further than I had, by actually trying it.  Here she is, if you don't believe me - 

Thank you, Mavis, for sharing these pictures with us!

Of course, not to be outdone, I figured I had better try it too.  Unfortunately, the only soap I had at home was our SOS soap, but I took a deep breath and plunged in.  Unlike Mavis, though, I couldn't mange to get a decent picture of myself brushing (I'll get help tonight and post a pic tomorrow) but I have to say, it was WAY easier than I thought it was going to be.  I didn't really taste anything.  I did feel like I had to rinse with a mouthwash afterwards because I didn't have that clean minty feeling in my mouth but I didn't even feel like I was washing my mouth out with soap.  Hmph.  Interesting! 

Now, being who I am, I will have to research this a bit more but I think the real testament to how not at all bad tasting brushing your teeth with soap is, is the fact that my 8 year old son has also taken to brushing his teeth with our SOS soap.  Go figure!  

I'll keep you posted as to what I find out about this.  In the meantime, good brushing!

An interesting question....

Good afternoon all!!  I can't believe I actually have time to sit down here today.  I'm not sure how much, though, so I'm going to type quickly.  I have about 12 different blog ideas that I've been planning on getting up here but so I don't totally bore you, I'll spread them out.  This is in my thoughts today:

I receive an e-newsletter from Stephanie Staples from Your Life Unlimited.  I always enjoy reading them and they always get me thinking.  Todays was no different but it hit home because the question she posed was something that I have been talking about for the last couple of months.  

Her question was:

Who was the most influential person in your world in 2010?

For me, it was, without a doubt, Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.  If you recall, I have mentioned (probably more than once) his book Delivering Happiness and how it has changed me and my thinking process and how it is going to influence Tiber River.  He has moved me (and consequently Tiber) from the intuitive to the intentional and what a difference that has made already!  

Stephanie goes on to talk about if this person had a positive or a negative influence on us.  I was a bit shocked at first because I didn't even consider the negative.  To me, an influence is positive - at least it should be, although we all know negative influences are none too rare themselves.    For Stephanie, she is focusing on the positive influences but will acknowledge - but disempower (her words) - the negative ones.  

I am inspired by this and want to pass on her questions to you so you too can start this year off focusing on the positive but accepting the negative without it affecting your life.

Her questions are these:

1) Who was the most positively influential person in your life in 2010?  Why? What will you do to acknowledge them?

2) Who was the most negatively influential person in your life in 2010? Why?  What will you do to lesson that impact in the coming year?

She concludes by saying "2011 will be your best year because you have reviewed the successes and challenges of 2010 and prepared for them in 2011!

 

Thank you Stephanie!  This is certainly something we should all think about.

Enjoy your weekend!!

The Challenge Continues

Well, hello!

I have now managed by divine miracle or total fluke to have survived three and a half days without so much as a swipe from my beloved mascara wand. I almost feel bad for her, sitting there in my medicine cabinet all day. Comletely rediculous compassion for inanimate objects aside, I have been doing well. There have been moments where I have been tempted to sneak just a little concealer under my eyes after a not particularly restful evening - but I'm still holding strong.

The main thing I've been noticing as an almost-maybe-former concealer junkie is how important my skin is. I always take really great care of my skin, but I have noticed myself giving it lots of extra treats in the past few days. And not having to remove my makeup at the end of each day helps when you are just ready to fall into that bed of yours! I gave myself a mini at-home facial on Tuesday - a steam with some lime and lavender oil did a double team on cleaning out my pores and my respiratory system. Follow that up with a nice exfoliation with our Sushi Scrub and smear on a homemade fresh face mask and hop in the bath with some deep conditioning oils in you hair - bliss! My skin has been glowing and behaving herself quite well. Here's the recipe for my luxurious face mask that I'm sure your skin would love too!

• Half a banana, mashed
• Half an avocado, mashed
• One clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp vitamin c crystals(or tablets, crushed)
• One tablespoon of honey or yoghurt
  
  Mix it all together, smear it on and put your feet up!

On Monday when I first challenged myself, I forgot I had dinner plans with a friend. I wasn't planning on hibernating in private all week - that would be cheating. But I had definitely planned a light social week. I was a little self-concious going to be in the presence of others. But as soon as we started laughing and indulging in our amazing meals(everyone go eat at Lo Bistro!), it melted away. The next morning, I used the extra 10 minutes I would have used applying my makeup to have a one-woman dance party, which made me feel just as good, if not better than a few coats of mascara. After wandering around my happy place, the fourth floor of The Bay Downtown, I was waiting for the elevator with a mother and her child. The little girl gave me the biggest ego boost by pointing to me and saying to her mom, 'Pretty!' 

As of now(about 2pm Thursday) I'm not sure whether or not I'll go back to my 'habit', but I do know that living without makeup is definitely a lot less complicated. Come back Monday for my final reflections on a cosmetic-free week and a picture of my make-up free face! I hope you all have wonderful and restful weekends planned and if you have a great face mask recipe for me, please feel free to let me know!

Love&Light,

Jodie