Sun Peaks offers a variety of services and products to the community throughout its many businesses.
The Village Stroll hosts many shops, restaurants and everything in between, however home-based businesses are not lacking in Sun Peaks.
SPIN chatted with the owners of three of these home-based businesses, each offering up services for varied client bases.
PETicures and Patterns
Open for two years, PETicures and Patterns is run by Karly Harel out of Whitecroft, servicing clients in the surrounding area, including Sun Peaks, Knouff Lake, McLure, Heffley Creek and Rayleigh.
Being the only dog groomer in an area where dogs are a common addition to households, she said it didn’t take long to build a large client base. Currently, she’s fully booked until July, though she does have a cancellation list.
“It was a plan for me right from the start to hopefully get something going home-based up here for the people,” she said. “So that dogs didn’t have to do the massive journey to town, the drive time, plus the four hours in the production line of a salon.”
Having a home-based business is ideal for Harel, who is able to work around her family’s schedule.
As a dog groomer for nearly 20 years, she felt confident in the timing of opening up her own space, where dogs could get a haircut and avoid the pressure and potential stress of public groomers.
The entry level of her three-level split home is her salon, with a bathroom and a wide open space shared with a TV and wood stove.
“It is, from what people have told me, a very comfortable space,” Harel said. “I groom right in front of the window, so all my dogs have a beautiful view.”
A full groom includes a bath, brush, fluff, clip, nails, sanitary trim and ear cleaning, with glands and ear plucking available upon request.
A guideline on Facebook, with contact information listed, specifies that coat condition, density, size and temperament determine final price, ranging from around $75 to $200.
Sun Peaks Creatives
Along with her co-owned business, Discover Sun Peaks Adventures, Maria Cannon began her own business in 2019.
Passionate about music and design, she started up Sun Peaks Creatives to share these passions with others.
The flexibility of a home-based business is a large benefit for someone working seven days a week during the busy times of the year, she explained.
From a music studio space in her home, she offers singing and voice coaching lessons, as someone trained in vocal technique with the Berklee College of Music in Boston and with experience in radio.
Her voice coaching helps with public speaking and voice confidence.
Singing lessons are popular among her client base, which is mostly local to the Sun Peaks area.
“I’m not a classically trained singer,” she said. “But I’ve always loved to sing, always loved music, and I’ve done it since I was very young.”
From six year olds to those around 75, there’s no age limit to who she takes on as a student, and no discrimination when it comes to skill levels either.
Lessons are individualized based on age, skill and preferences on style and genre.
“It really helps [students] build confidence,” she said. “And they’re not necessarily going to be performers or anything, but it’s something they really enjoy, and they kind of want to develop that a bit more.”
Another music lesson she will be offering starting in the fall is Cello lessons, something she’s looking forward to immensely.
Life Untethered Coaching
In 2021, certified life coach Emma Hull began Life Untethered Coaching, an online-based business offering one-on-one life coaching to a range of people.
Using Zoom, she meets with her clients once a week, with chat support offered between these calls, providing help with career, finances, relationships, anything she can.
Her main focus is women in midlife at a crossroads, perhaps to do with empty nest syndrome, divorce or retirement.
“It’s having a safe, non judgmental space where they can talk about whatever is bothering them, no matter how inconsequential it might seem,” she added.
Having a virtual business allows Hull to work with clients across Canada and even around the world, with some in Europe and Australia and allows flexibility.
She enjoys being able to move around to different spaces when working on content creation and holding calls at her dining room table.
Noise from neighbours in her home can be a hindrance to hosting efficient Zoom meetings, however, and maintaining proper work/life separation takes focus.
Aside from these challenges, another benefit is choosing when to make herself available to clients. Hull chooses to run meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays, providing space in the remainder of her week for speaking engagements, workshops, social media, podcasting and writing her book, Your Goddess Era.
“It’s an intense relationship,” she said, explaining that she works with a maximum of 10 clients. “It takes a lot of focus and energy, and I want to be able to be there for each one of them.”
Some clients have been with her for years, but three to four available spaces are opening up in the next few months. People wanting to fill these slots can book a free 40 minute strategy session online.
“Whether people do decide to be a yes for coaching or not, they always get value from those sessions,” she said. “….even from the very act of you showing up for yourself and asking for support and thinking it through out loud with someone, it will get you some clarity and help you figure out how you want to move forward.”
This story was featured in SPIN’s Home Issue. To read more from this print edition, visit our archives.
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