S4E5: Amber Berard-Althouse | Amber Heals | October 30, 2023

S4E5: Interview with Yukon Entrepreneur Amber Berard-Althouse, Owner – Amber Heals | Recorded on October 30, 2023

 

It’s Yukon Innovation Week 20223 and the Yukon Entrepreneur Podcast is once again featuring a mini-series of insightful conversations with Yukon entrepreneurs on what innovation, inspiration, wellness, and community mean to them.

 

(0:24) Amber introduces themselves and shares a bit about their background which has lead them to their business today both in plant medicine, and walks and talks in Indigenous culture and history.

 

(2:36) For Amber, innovation means creating something new, changing things, and breaking out of the old paradigm, mold, structure, or breaking out of the box.

 

(2:57) Wellness is Amber’s whole business. They share how through their entrepreneurial journey they realized they care deeply about the health and wellness of everybody, but specifically Indigenous people, and recognize the importance of self-healing in building capacity to care for our families and community.

 

(4:04) What inspires Amber in the work that they do? When they give their walks and talks on Indigenous culture and history, they are able to provide education that would normally take much longer for people to learn and understand. And when they give their yoga classes, they love to see people connect to their bodies and let their mind rest.

 

(6:21) As a one woman show, Amber shares that letting go of their 9-5 is very difficult, and also navigating how to develop their business, get support and funding, such as creating a business plan has been incredibly overwhelming for someone who is creative and idea-driven, but maybe not so logistics-focused. They discuss the need for making more step by step supports in creating a business available to budding entrepreneurs.

 

(9:29) Amber speaks to how to transform the systems not working through helping each other more, networking, and sharing tips. She sees value in entrepreneurs coming together more so that they do not feel they are so alone.

 

(10:24) What lessons does Yukon have to share with the rest of Canada about innovation? Amber shares that the amount of support they have received is something special that the Yukon has to offer. The feel the more they have put themselves out there, the more they have received in return.

 

(11:06) Looking at opportunities, Amber discusses how Indigenous tourism is blowing up and what people want when they come to Canada. They are working on developing more content both in their walks and talks, as well as online programming that combines everything they do in their life (plant medicine, recipes, meditation, yoga classes, walks, etc.) focusing on healing.

 

(12:58) Amber shares their closing thoughts. “Don’t sell yourself short. Your passions, your projects, the things that light a fire in you, even if you can only do them an hour a week or one day a month, just keep going forward because you never know where you’re going to take yourself…Your voice matters and you are here for a reason.”

 

Thank you for listening!

 

For more information about Amber and their business please visit: https://www.instagram.com/amberbelove/?hl=en

 

For more information about Yukon Innovation Week please visit: https://yukoninnovationweek.com/