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Batten House Podcast
Batten House Podcast
Batten House Podcast
Ep 1 Building Community Connections: The Batten House Story with Shawn Batten
Discover how Shawn Batten, the visionary behind Batten House, bridges the gap between local businesses and Ottawa's communities through compelling storytelling and strategic publications. Shawn’s journey from his early days managing a bakery and pizza place to launching a magazine and podcast with his wife reveals the importance of community engagement and personal connections. He opens up about the challenges and rewards of balancing work and life, offering valuable lessons that resonate with entrepreneurs seeking meaningful community integration. Get ready to hear about the transformative power of podcasts as a platform for businesses and volunteers to share their stories in a way that connects deeply with their audience.
Unlock the secrets to effective marketing strategies with Shawn as he shares insights on consistent branding and nurturing long-term customer relationships. Learn how proper use of AI and social media can elevate your business, as illustrated by a dental practice success story that thrived by focusing on core activities and smart outsourcing. Shawn also reflects on the joy and intricacies of involving family in business ventures, while highlighting the supportive environment at Batten House, where tailored campaigns are crafted for businesses of all sizes. This episode promises to inspire with stories of persistence, consistency, and the meaningful impact businesses can have in their community.
The Batten House
Shawn Batten
6137937582
sbatten@bestversionmedia.com
thebattenhouse.ca
battenhousepodcast.ca
This is the Batten House Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbours come together. Here's your host, San Batten.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Batten House Podcast, episode number one, and today we have one of your hosts, Sn Batten from Batten House, with us Welcome. Thank you, Jim your host, sn Batten, from Batten House, with us. Welcome. Thank you, jim. So why don't we start off by you sharing?
Speaker 3:a little bit about what you do over at Batten House. Yeah, Jim, so thanks for having me At the Batten House. We love to find great businesses that are doing great things in our community and give them tools and resources to really integrate them in a meaningful way into different communities around Ottawa. And so we specifically publish a magazine in the Canada Lakes area, which is north of us, and find stories and utilize, you know, all the different charities and organizations that are doing really cool stuff and highlight them and feature them. And then our businesses basically sponsor our work.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love that concept. How did you get involved in that? That's not something you've always done?
Speaker 3:No, it's not actually. Well, my wife and I have always been involved in community. Not actually. Well, my wife and I have always been involved in community and we found a company called Best Virgin Media. Actually, they kind of found me and kind of just started, you know, looking into what they do and it's a great company that really is all about bringing people together, which basically what, uh, heather joy and I have done again, we've tried to do for a long time. We've always had a heart for our community and people and, um, and this was just a natural next step for us and so that's, yeah, that's how we long story short and now you're putting a podcast on top of it all.
Speaker 2:How did that come about, that's?
Speaker 3:right. Now you're putting a podcast on top of it all. How did that come about? That's right. The podcast is a great way to get deeper in the weeds. Basically, you know, my wife writes the stories for the magazine and a blog and such. But there's something different about connecting face-to-face and just allowing a business or a charity organizer or a volunteer or someone to just get deeper into their why and why they do what they do. And when you can get there, it has the potential to really spark other people to do something they've always wanted to do and maybe take that first step or even reach out and have a conversation with us. And so a podcast just seems like that. Next, that next level.
Speaker 2:It makes that connection a little bit more of a on a personal level, because you get to know the face behind the business and why they do it and what the what their family's all about and everything. So anytime you start a new venture or start a business you go through some challenges, whether personally or professionally. But is there something that maybe you can look back at now and say you know what. I went through it, I made it through it and now I'm in a better place because of it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we used to have a bakery and a pizza place and a tea house actually, and we were super busy, uh, working really hard non-stop and um, and, and it really burned us out um in a tremendous way and we ended up not being good for anybody, um, and so that was quite a while ago now, and so we we've just learned so much through that experience and um, and and have worked over the last seven years to really balance our life, um, and so we we have our business now again, but obviously this is different um, have our kids involved, which is great, and my wife and I work together in this, but it's now we've learned to balance it and when to say yes and when to say no. We've learned that our golden rule of when you say yes to something, it's always a no to something else. So let's value our time and say yes to the good things that add value to our life and our communities.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and good teamwork always helps Absolutely. So, surrounding what you do at Batten House, is there any maybe myths or misconceptions surrounding how you help businesses connect with the community that maybe we can kind of clear up for our listeners today yeah.
Speaker 3:So a lot of people think that that you know, posting on social media is a great way to advertise and get the word out and it adds to their word of mouth and and there are elements of that that are true but that's also still largely a misconception, because when you're doing that, you're really posting to the people that already follow you. You're not necessarily reaching a potential client that could really benefit from your service or your product. That they're doing by offering an array of products or services that again integrate them into the community and tell their story. They can still keep posting. That's great, but now we're adding a more well-rounded campaign for the business owner and taking some work off of their plate, but yet giving them a good, well-rounded campaign that if they stick with it and keep persistent and consistent, they will grow their business and integrate themselves in a meaningful way into the community, and that's exciting for us.
Speaker 2:Absolutely and, like you mentioned, it's a form of branding and you're looking for that consistency and repetition because you know the more people see your name or brand, the more they're going to make that connection with you and when the time comes that they need whatever your product or service may be, they're going to think of you and that's what we want them to do. That's right.
Speaker 3:That's right, and so a part to add to that is is the so many businesses they expect. You know I put an ad and then I get a return right away, and so trying to teach them what branding and gain and building trust with your, with your, your potential customers, what that looks like. And the return is not going to be right away, it's going to build over time through a multi-channel approach, right? So? That's one of the hardest things.
Speaker 2:Well, and it helps build a lifetime customer rather than just a customer today and gone tomorrow. That's right. So are there certain things that are maybe trending in the industry that people haven't used before?
Speaker 3:yeah.
Speaker 3:So I mean, ai, I think is is a really scary thing for people, um, and they don't necessarily understand it and still not a lot of people understand fully the impact of social media and such, and so I I actually one of my um, now a customer of ours she's a dentist and she was spending hours trying to figure out Facebook and Instagram and her just what she needs to do on all these different platforms, and I was able to have a real conversation with her and say you know, you're not making money doing that stuff.
Speaker 3:You're making money when there's a patient in the chair, um, and she's like absolutely, but I feel like we need to be doing this, like absolutely. And so we were able to come up with a, a great overall campaign, uh, for her, which saves her time, because now she can have more patients in the chair and actually, four months later, they've increased their practice by 400. There are just over 420 new patients in the last four months working with us, and so it's been a tremendous experience for them and for us, and they're truly a family dentistry clinic and it's just great to see the success.
Speaker 2:Yep and business owners are good at what they do for their business. You're good at what you do for your business, so let's work together and help them grow right Absolutely so. Are you from this area originally, then?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, no, I was born and raised in Ottawa and it's great to my wife's the same way, so it's great to just be able to continually give back. We really wanted to raise a family here and we love our city. It's a great, truly great space to be in.
Speaker 2:And I know owning a business can be very demanding of your time. But when you do get a free minute, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 3:We spend a lot of time together as a family doing a variety of things. We travel together, we play together, we build forts together, we watch movies together. We have five kids, seven of us, so it's a whole hockey team. Right, that'll keep you busy, absolutely. Yeah, that's really. And I mean our business is our passion. We're very fortunate we get to do this because we really love doing it. It's a lot of fun, and we have our kids involved as well in the business too. So that's whether we take pictures together or fly our drone over the neighborhood, take some beautiful shots, or our girls do the Kids Corner in our magazine.
Speaker 3:Actually several of the magazines across the city and it's just exciting to see them so proud of what they're doing and the work and so, yeah, it's work, but it's rewarding at the end of the day. It really is it really is?
Speaker 2:Personally and professionally, and to the community as well, absolutely so. Is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about Battenhaus that maybe they're not familiar with?
Speaker 3:Maybe that we really do and authentically want to find the right businesses. And when you work with the Batten House, you really come into our ecosystem, our house, and basically we have a campaign for everybody. Whether you're a very small business or a very large business, we can work on a campaign that's effective and meaningful, and so you don't need to be afraid of connecting with the fear of, oh, we just can't afford a marketing firm or something like that, because we aren't a marketing firm. We're a business that provides lots of different forms of campaigns to valuable neighborhoods, and we're there for the little guy as well as the big guy.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. How would our listeners go about contacting you if they wanted to learn more or new business? They want to maybe nominate to be on your podcast.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they can go to battenhousepodcast. ca. And yeah, do that, and you'll find me there, battenhousepodcast. ca Perfect.
Speaker 2:Perfect, any last words for our listeners.
Speaker 3:Thanks so much for having me, Jim, on the show and excited to see it.
Speaker 2:I'm excited about where the podcast is going to go and I'm eager to watch it grow. So welcome to the community and best of luck moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thanks, brother, appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Batten House Podcast. To nominate your favourite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to battenhousepodcast. ca. That's battenhousepodcast. ca. That's battenhousepodcast. ca, or call 343-308-3606.
