Capital Connections
Capital Connections Podcast
Capital Connections
EP#1 - Meet Your Host, Samuel Low
Imagine harnessing the essence of Ottawa's entrepreneurial spirit right from the comfort of your home. Join me on the inaugural episode of the Capital Connections Podcast as we embark on a journey to bring local businesses and communities closer together. Inspired by the success of the Good Neighbor podcast, I delve into my own experiences as a local entrepreneur in Ottawa, discussing the crucial role of understanding community needs and the power of strong relationships. Together, we'll explore the often-overlooked value of print media and branding for small businesses, challenging common misconceptions and bringing fresh insights to the table.
Our episode features a heartfelt conversation with our special guest, Jim, who shares his enthusiasm for engaging with our listeners and contributing to the podcast's anticipated growth. Jim's warmth and excitement are contagious as he extends his well-wishes for our exciting new venture. Before wrapping up, we invite you, our valued audience, to nominate your favorite local businesses for future episodes, fostering a vibrant community connection. Tune in as we celebrate the unique entrepreneurial spirit that defines Ottawa, creating a space for local businesses to shine and thrive.
Samuel Low
Capital Connections Podcast
www.capitalconnectionspodcast.com
613-818-2025
This is the Capital Connections Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Samuel Lowe.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Capital Connections Podcast, episode number one, and today we are interviewing our future host, samuel Lowe. Welcome.
Speaker 3:Hey, thanks very much, Jim.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Excited about getting this podcast up and off the ground and sharing it with our listeners here locally. And why don't we start by you sharing a little bit about the podcast in general?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely Happy to. I help small and medium-sized businesses here in the Ottawa area really connect with their customers in their local communities. I do this by combining high-end community magazines with digital advertising Things like Facebook, Google and Instagram ads. Let's use, you know, various tools for local SEO, real-time review management, and we even provide a dashboard that shows businesses how their marketing is actually performing. And, excitingly, we're now producing this podcast. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about that a little bit you do all this other stuff for these businesses and helping them connect with the community. Where did the idea of a podcast come up?
Speaker 3:Great question and truly grateful for it. What makes the whole podcast special is it's inspired by the Good Neighbor podcast. A publisher colleague in Florida, charlie McDermott, started the Good Neighbor podcast in COVID to connect local businesses with their communities and since it's grown internationally as we're coming to you from Canada's capital. So I just want to give a big thank you to Charlie and his team for blazing that trail and showing me how it's done. Blazing that trail and showing me how it's done. It's truly amazing to see how this idea has brought businesses and communities closer together and I'm really excited to keep that going right here in Ottawa.
Speaker 2:And we're excited to have you on board and part of the network as well. So let's talk about challenges or obstacles. Along your journey, whether personally or professionally, we all come across something at some time and point that we kind of look back at now and say you know what, I'm not necessarily glad I went through it, but I made it through it and now I'm in a better place because of it. Is there something that happened along your journey that we can?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, I think of business challenges. Really, as uh say, a real defining moment is, uh, I had a business that was, um, acquired at the beginning of covid. But if we go back to the beginning of that business uh, myself and uh my business partner, um, we really started on a shoestring with absolutely no budget. Uh, we're going up against national competitors that are, quite literally, hundreds of times our size. The company's had huge marketing budgets. They're very well-known brands. It felt like David versus Goliath, but we stuck to our strengths, goliath, but, you know, we stuck to our strengths. We learned exactly who our local customers were and what you know what they valued. We built strong relationships in the community and really just stayed flexible and innovative in order to serve them. So, slowly but surely, we earned loyal clients who could have gone to those big players but chose us instead.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. So let's talk about starting a podcast. I mean, most people think well, you know what, I have a mic, I have a video camera, I can do a podcast. Not so simple, is it?
Speaker 3:hard either, you know, is why I say it's not that hard. I have the benefit of, you know, those who have come before me, like Charlie and yourself and the team, who have really just put everything together in a concise way to make it really accessible, and again I'm very appreciative of it and really looking forward to you know, spearheading this in Ottawa and bringing the community and the neighbors together.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. Let's talk about myths or misconceptions surrounding what you're doing, whether it's with the podcast or helping businesses connect with the local communities. Is there something we can help clear up for our listeners today, for sure?
Speaker 3:help clear up for listeners. Today, for sure, one of the biggest myths I run into is that print is dead and that branding is only for the big guys. The truth is, print can still pack a punch, especially when it's high quality and community focused. A well-crafted local magazine can connect a business to its audience in a way that's personal and memorable, and branding it's just as important for a small, family-owned shop as it is for a big corporation. A strong brand builds trust, loyalty and that kind of customer relationship that keeps people coming back.
Speaker 2:Perfect, so are you from the area originally?
Speaker 3:Yep, born and raised here in Ottawa, come from a long line of entrepreneurs actually. So my family's, you know, been in business here in Ottawa since the 1800s. So entrepreneurship is pretty much my DNA, if you will.
Speaker 2:And you know a lot about the local community as well, being a grown-up. No question, it's probably seen a lot of changes, I'm sure.
Speaker 3:Some better than others. Let's say Yep yep. It is a political town here in Ottawa.
Speaker 2:We won't talk politics right now. We won't get into that. Oh, of course not.
Speaker 3:And that's you know. Part of what makes the Good Neighbor podcast so great is it doesn't venture into that domain at all. It's about connecting truly connecting with neighbors and hearing origin stories of the businesses around us.
Speaker 2:Yep and supporting your neighbor. You never know your neighbor can own a business and you never know about it, but you want to support the people that live and work around you. So what a better way to do that than through a podcast and help people connect. Yep. So I know what you do can be very demanding of your time. It sounds like you got a lot going on, but when you do get a moment of free time, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 3:You know of late, that is such an easy one is, you know, love my family, love my wife and my two wonderful young girls. You know, just being a dad is spectacular, so that is what fun is for me, whether it's, you know, heading out in the snow we're recording this here in December, so there was a dusting of snow yesterday or or you know, we're, we're. We've got a new advent calendar that every morning the girls are super excited to go and open a new door. And what's special about this calendar? It doesn't have chocolates. It has little books of, of little fairy tales, like this morning happened to be Snow White, so it really put a big spell on on my's face because she's a big Snow White fan.
Speaker 2:That is awesome, that is great, and that's why we do all this, you know, to support our families and the people that live around us as well. Is there one thing that you wish our listeners knew about what you're doing with the Capital Connections podcast that maybe they wouldn't know right now?
Speaker 3:you're doing with the Capital Connections podcast that maybe they wouldn't know right now. Yeah, well, about the podcast and you know what we do outside of the podcast just want listeners to understand that what we offer is truly accessible, even for small businesses, just starting out.
Speaker 3:You don't need a large budget to grow your brand and connect with your community. Our process is designed to be simple and effective, which combines the proven power of both print and digital strategies to help reach your customers and further. We're not just delivering a service and stepping away. We're with you every step of the journey, providing guidance and support to ensure your success.
Speaker 2:Very good. So how would our listeners go about contacting you if they wanted, to say, nominate a local business or they know somebody that should be on the show?
Speaker 3:Yep Really encourage you to do that. The easiest way is to head over to our website at capitalconnectionspodcastca. You'll find all the details about what we do, how to nominate, how to reach us, and very soon you'll also be able to explore a growing library of local your neighbors, local businesses from our community. So looking forward to that.
Speaker 2:Very good, any last words for our listeners today.
Speaker 3:Just want to say, uh, thanks so much, Jim, uh, for having me on the podcast today and everyone listening. Uh, I'm looking forward to connecting with you through the podcast and beyond.
Speaker 2:It's been a it's been a pleasure getting to know you, samuel. Uh, I wish you the best of luck. You're going to be great at this podcast. Uh and uh. I hope to see it grow in the future here yeah, thanks so much tim thank you for listening to the capital connections podcast.
Speaker 1:To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to capitalconnectionspodcastcom. That's capitalconnectionspodcastcom. That's CapitalConnectionsPodcastcom, or call 343-803-6268.