When I reached out to Matus, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Bed bugs aren’t exactly a glamorous topic. But that’s kind of the whole point of this show, isn’t it? The stories that don’t get told. The people doing the work nobody wants to think about.

I've been thinking about this conversation since the day we recorded it.

Safiya wasn't on my radar as someone building a big business story. She was someone I'd noticed in the community — warm, active, clearly passionate — who had opened a clay studio in Ancaster not that long ago. I was curious. That was enough.

What I got was one of the most layered conversations I've had so far.

I wasn’t planning to release an episode this week.

But when I saw what happened to Annette, I sent her a message the same day. Because some stories are too important to sit on — and Annette Smith is one of those people who makes you feel less alone just by being honest about the hard stuff.

This guest went somewhere I didn’t fully expect.  We talked about the thing nobody in small business says out loud.  Copycats. What it actually feels like. What to do and what not to. How you stay yourself while it’s happening.  She’s one of the most respected makers in Hamilton. She’s been through it. And she had a lot to say.

She started training at three years old. Walked away at thirteen. Found her way back — and eventually built something she never saw coming.

This week's guest runs a school that wasn't always called what it's called. The name came from a solo trip to South Africa, orphaned lion cubs, and a realization about what community actually looks like up close.

He built it. She couldn't let it go.

My first guest grew up in her family's shop. She left. Built a career somewhere else. Then her dad got sick — and she walked back in and never left.

Eleven years later she's still there. Still pulling out his old notebook every month. Still doing things exactly the way he taught her.

The best business advice Cassidy Loewen ever got didn't come from a book, a course, or a morning routine. It came from another small business owner who'd been exactly where she was and gave it to her straight.

That's what's missing. So that's what she's building.