True Northern Hustle Podcast

How Community Became the Business Model for The Welcome Market

Some of the best businesses do more than sell something. They create a space people want to be part of. In this episode, Isabel Lee sits down with Cindy Chau, founder of The Welcome Market, to talk about how a small backyard market grew into one of Toronto’s go-to destinations for community-driven shopping and discovery. Cindy shares how her experience as a vendor shaped the market from day one, why representation matters in physical spaces, and what it takes to build a business that supports others while staying rooted in heart, trust, and long-term community impact.

Lignum Honey on the Sweet Spot of Scaling

Some businesses start with a gap in the market. Others start with a feeling you can’t shake. In this episode, Isabel Lee sits down with Kenneth Benjamin, founder of Lignum Honey, to talk about how a personal connection to Jamaican honey turned into a premium Canadian business rooted in culture, craft, and community. Kenneth shares what it took to build an import business in an unfamiliar industry, how he earned the trust of one customer at a time through markets and tastings, and why listening closely to your customers can shape not just your product, but the future of your brand.

How Kol Kid Built 25 Years of Retail Success

What does it take to build a small business that lasts for more than 25 years? In this episode of True Northern Hustle, host Isabel Lee speaks with Lisa Miyasaki, founder of Kol Kid, a beloved Toronto toy store known for its imagination, warmth, and deep connection to families in the community. Lisa shares how her entrepreneurial spirit and her son Kol inspired the business and how she created a store experience designed to feel magical, memorable, and full of discovery. She opens up about trusting her instincts, adapting to new technology, and staying connected to the customers and community who helped the business grow.

Inez Cook on Culture, Community, and Small Business Growth

How do you stay committed to an idea when the journey takes years of trial, error, and persistence? In this episode of True Northern Hustle, host Isabel Lee speaks with Inez Cook, owner of Salmon n’ Bannock Bistro, Vancouver’s only Indigenous restaurant, and Salmon n’ Bannock On the Fly at YVR International Departures. Inez shares how a career in aviation led her to entrepreneurship, why she felt called to create space for Indigenous cuisine in Vancouver, and how the pandemic sparked the idea for a retail line of bannock mixes. She also reflects on mentorship, intuition, company culture, representation, and the importance of building “low and slow” when growth needs to be sustainable.

Failure is Feedback: How Anita Grant built Hello Hair

What happens when failure becomes the beginning of something more meaningful? In this episode of True Northern Hustle, host Isabel Lee sits down with Anita Grant, founder of Hello Hair, a brand rooted in confidence, representation, self-love, and community. Anita shares how her first venture in the beauty tech space shaped her entrepreneurial mindset, what it felt like to close a business that had become part of her identity, and how motherhood inspired the creation of a children’s book that would grow into a broader product and education platform.

Building Barbet: Community, Inclusion and Growing a Modern Beverage Brand

Sometimes the biggest business ideas begin with a deeply human need to belong. In this episode, Isabel Lee sits down with Andrea Grand, co-founder of Barbet, to talk about how a life-changing moment in her sister’s life sparked the creation of a modern Canadian beverage brand built around inclusion, design, and community. Andrea shares how she and her sister turned a difficult situation into a product with real market resonance, what it took to launch without a traditional entrepreneurial background, and the lessons they learned about mentorship, feedback, cash flow, growth, and staying true to their values while scaling.