Left to right: Jade Calver, Jenny Chandler and Josh Edwards
We highlight three local business owners and their formulas for success. Hats off to Jade, Jenny and Josh for high achievement – and sharing their expertise to give other entrepreneurs a leg up.
Jade Calver,
Calver Immigration Consulting
Jade Calver says refugee cases in the news are a tiny percentage of immigration in Canada. She worked for immigration services in university, and started Calver Immigration Consulting in 2015 to help people navigate the legalities of coming to fill skilled jobs or launch a business of their own. Recently, she relocated a horticulturist to work on blooms at a Toronto public garden. “It’s a bold choice, my clients are usually doing well in their home countries,” says Jade, who works from her home in Keene, north of Rice Lake where free time is often spent kayaking. She’s passionate about helping people, many who want their kids to grow up in a safe country. “They’re really taking that leap of faith. That’s the most rewarding part of it.”
Jenny Chandler,
Simple Desk
“I’m a lifelong learner. I will jump into anything. I’m like, oh my goodness, I need to learn that,” says Jenny Chandler, founder of Simple Desk, a small business support company in Trenton that helps with digital marketing and operations. This past Christmas she watched YouTube and learned to play “Silent Night” on violin. Next up, salsa dancing. Her can-do attitude is infectious! “I wanted to show my daughter that you can do anything. You don’t have to work the nine to five.” Six years ago, she left her job selling nuts and bolts to manufacturers and launched Simple Desk two weeks later, identifying a need for virtual assistance. Now she’s inspiring women to make their own life changes in her podcast Girl, You Deserve More.
Josh Edwards,
OSM Online Sales and Marketing
An internship out of Loyalist College turned into a job at OSM Online Sales and Marketing in Belleville for Josh Edwards. That was 2015
Today Josh Edwards is owner and CEO of the company. The 28-year-old heads a team of 11 developing websites and strategic plans. “I’m 100% a relationship guy. Business is about building relationships, connecting, impacting the community,” Josh says. He practises what he helps clients do, putting the OSM brand front and centre on social media and working his podcast, Shop Talk Quinte, where he talks to local professionals. His gift for connecting comes from his dad who was on the road in sales for 21 years for an HVAC supply company. “He was darn good at building relationships. I’m a lot like my father.”
Story by:
Karen Hawthorne
