Lori Schmidt, CEO of GO Productivity

During the 10 years she spent as a consultant in the private sector, Lori Schmidt learned what she believes to be the two most important lessons of her professional life: Attach yourself to top-notch mentors and pay close attention to the advice they dish out.

“I’ve been blessed in my career to find people who encouraged me in whatever I was doing. They helped me to develop a focus on strong planning processes. And not just one plan. You need a plan B, C and D,... Keep Reading

Surveillance Shop soars to new heights

As far back as he can remember, Curtis Dyck never nursed any entrepreneurial ambitions. He played high school football and generally enjoyed himself while he was growing up. But once he started getting serious about life, he really put the pedal to the metal. He’s a natural organizer with a deeply rooted work ethic which has helped him build a super-successful security business and has enabled him to beat out enormous corporate competitors for important contracts on a... Keep Reading

Ficaccio forges bright future in real estate south of the border

Madeleine Ficaccio may work closely alongside business partner Patrick Gergen, but she will never be accused of standing pat.

From managing her three sons’ minor hockey teams, taking in her daughter’s snowboarding and lacrosse competitions and driving the kids to a vast array of other activities, to managing a fast-growing real estate investment business, Ficaccio is one of the busiest people you will ever meet.

And you will hear nary a complaint about her... Keep Reading

Shelter boss builds on solid foundation

After a period of retooling, reorganization and revitalization, Harold Clifford is expecting a banner year, for himself, for his partner, Dan Anderson, and for the company they’ve been able to rebuild with a little help from their friends, now operating as Shelter Modular Inc.


“We remain extremely optimistic about the outlook for 2014,” Clifford says. “We spent most of our time second half of 2013 preparing the business for a significant growth phase in... Keep Reading

Katch Kan captain ramps up rig safety

As a very young man working on oil rigs, Quinn Holtby suffered more than his share of crushed fingers and cracked elbows, not to mention routine drenchings with drilling fluids and muds. While he worked, many of his colleagues suffered more serious injuries, including one young man whose arm was broken in eight places when an operator hit the wrong control on a rig’s drawworks. At that time, rig safety didn’t seem to be a major priority for many drillers. But Holtby... Keep Reading